Road To Me

by Erica Andrews

  Might. Pfft.

  If. It had sugar, right?

  I was lying to both of us.

  Well it wasn’t like Kasper needed to know of my addiction… yet. A guy had to wine and dine a girl before he learned her flaws. Until then we buried them deep, at least until we had you in our grasp.

  He shook his head. “No, they’re great, trust me.”

  I might already trust him more than I should.

  As he followed the exit, everything kind of slowed down. Some of the buildings appeared to be to be over a hundred years old, the style quaint and almost relaxing. You know the kind of place where your brain almost wanted to slow to match the pace around it. My mind always seemed to be going ninety to nothing, but here the atmosphere already seeped into my pores and the tension coiling in my muscles fled.

  Kind of like coming home, even if it was the first time I’d seen the place.

  I could also easily get attached to a guy like him, and I shouldn’t. That was what I told myself at least. It was too soon to be even thinking about caring or having a relationship with anyone. Besides, he probably had a girlfriend. If he didn’t, then something had to be wrong with him. Though so far… everything looked just right.

  “Here it is.”

  Abandoning the very long rabbit hole that I shouldn’t even consider traveling, I studied the small graveled parking lot instead. The building before us was an old colonial house. Not just any colonial house, either. Picture The Christmas Story house and you’d be close to the idea. I was too busy turning and twisting around hoping to see Ralphie and the bully Farkas to realize Kasper had parked and was waiting for me.

  Misunderstanding my silence and wandering eyes, he said, “I know it don’t look like much, but wait till you see the inside, and the food is great.”

  Regretting the bad impression I’d already made, I tried making him feel better, “Hey, no judgement here, It’s just a whole new world for me. And not one with Aladdin or Genie in it.” He didn’t get my joke, and most people didn’t, so I moved on. “Seriously, it’s fine I was just taking it all in, ya know, maybe find Ralphie and Farkus.

  Drawing his eyebrows down in a manner that made for the sexiest confused face I’d ever seen, he said, “Ralphie?”

  “You know ‘you’ll shoot your eye out kid.’ You know Ralphie.” Who didn’t get the quote? Did he not watch movies?

  Understanding finally dawned and smoothed the furrows on his forehead. “Oh yeah that’s in Cleveland. Not here.” With a wink, he exited the car and then came around to my side.

  Unbuckling my seat belt and twisting in the seat as Kasper opened the door, I tried to figure out the best way to get down from this huge truck without shoving my blueish brown shorts in his face. I knew it didn’t paint a pretty picture. Before I fully decided on which ninja move I was going to execute, Kasper picked me up by the waist before carefully setting me on my feet. Thankful for his help but uncertain about the butterflies that had taken over my stomach, I checked his expression. “Nobody’s, ever done that before.”

  Grinning, he released my waist and then pushed a piece of hair behind my ear.

  “It’s their loss and my gain then.” Letting go of my hair, he put his hand out for me to grasp. This was a very bad idea, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself from grabbing hold anyway. Yeah, I had just set myself up.

  Following him to the door, I tried to adjust my dirty clothes one handed as best as possible. Brushing a couple of stray tendrils from my face, I quickly said a prayer that the mess that was me didn’t seem as horrible as I thought. Breath caught, I steadied myself before meeting Kasper’s friends. Without a word, Kasper opened the door and let me enter first. Upon first glimpse of the inside of the colonial house. My mouth dropped open quite a bit. Though my recollection might be a bit hazy. Because the first thing lying in wait for me was a large glass case with rows and rows of the different types of pastries. In the case beside it were rows of different cheesecakes.

  Have I mentioned that right behind pastries in my love of food was cheesecake?

  As I abandoned the evil temptation of such lovely desserts, it hit me. The rest of the place was set up just like a house. It featured different sets of dining tables and mismatched dining chairs throughout each area of the house. Apparently, you could decide what decade you wanted to eat at depending on the table style and decoration. It was like going to your favorite grandma’s house to eat but having an array of eclectic sitting spaces.

  After tapping my arm, Kasper motioned to a 50s style table where two men waited. Then he put his hand on my back and said the two words that send the butterflies in my stomach into an uproar.

  “You ready?”

  Two

  Kelly

  “Yep.” The word popped out with a huge emphasis on the p like I was smacking gum. If he seemed to notice the rigidness of my back or the slight tremble of my hands as I smoothed them down my shorts, he didn’t mention it. He couldn’t possibly understand that this was a big thing to me. His friends were the first people I would meet besides Kasper in the new town destined to become my home. Instead of commenting on my lack of response, he took my still trembling hand and put it lightly on his arm as he guided me toward his friends.

  Bending his head slightly, he said in a low voice, “So, we sit at the same table every week. Since this is the first time any of us have brought a girl to our table, it’ll probably be best just to ignore their reaction at first.”

  Was that advice supposed to relax me? God, I hope he didn’t mind disappointment. My anxiety levels accelerated.

  “What would I need to ignore? I mean, is there gonna be yelling, fist fighting, or a slightly awkward silence? What am I working with here? Because if it’s fist fights, I think I’d rather call a cab. I don’t wanna make the next WWF match, ya know?”

  He stopped abruptly, surprising me with a laugh. “What? No, you go to the worst-case scenario every time, don’t you?”

  “It’s a gift I have,” I admitted with a shrug of my shoulders.

  He shook his head. Poor guy. Was he already regretting inviting me along?

  “Well in either case, no fist swinging I promise. We just made the rule because we haven’t ever liked any of the girls each of us have dated. So, for sake of peace and to avoid fist fighting wars like the WWF. So, no girls at the diner. We just figured it’s easier to keep dating and friends separate. Besides, technically I’m not dating you, but they will probably assume I am and it might piss them off thinking I broke the rules.” Rubbing my hand on his arm, he winked. “Now is everything good?”

  Rising on my tip toes, I used my free hand to tug on his shirt. The act revealed a smattering of dark chest hair and a hint of very defined pecs. Yum. Dragging my gaze upward once more, I murmured. “Technically?”

  Covering my hand on his shirt with his, he said, “Yeah, technically as in waiting.” Straightening before I could press him for more he pulled me forward. “Kelly?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks for understanding, about the whole rules and girls thing.”

  Squeezing his arm, I didn’t share any more of my doubts. “No problem, I understand, really.”

  They were the right words, because we plowed forward. “All right, well let’s go meet the guys.”

  The guys table looked like it belonged in an old Happy Days episode right down to the vinyl seats. The pair waiting sat on one side of the table, and Kasper failed to mention they were brothers. Or at least related. They looked a lot alike. Too much to be coincidence. They were for sure the polar opposite of Kasper, light to his dark. Both seemed to have a rare shade of blond hair with the hint of red throughout and the same complexion of skin. Though I could have been wrong, the lights in this place were horrible. Hello fluorescent. The similarities ended at their hair and skin though. The one who wore a green shirt kept his unusual colored hair in a short crew cut. While the man beside him left his long and wavy.

  Moving my gaze back and forth betwee
n the two men I thought one was more Simon Baker while the other was clearly more Alexander Skarsgard, brooding face and all. If you’d been there, then you might have recognized why my brain had left the building. When it came to these three men, I didn’t think even an angel on my shoulder could have salvaged my reaction.

  Eyebrows drawn downward and arms crossed, both utterly ignored me and stared at Kasper. I waited to see how Kasper handled their stares and obvious frustration.

  Moving my arm away from him, Kasper pulled me in front of him and set his hands on my shoulders.

  “Guys, this is Kelly, her car broke down on 58. I told her I’d help her get home, which is here in Hazelton. She was on her way here to the house she had rented. Since I had to be here, I didn’t want to just drop her off without something to eat.” With this very short explanation their faces, or I should say at least one face, became more understanding. The other remained emotionless.

  Huh, an emotion free face. A thing I almost envied considering every emotion I ever experienced was written on my face. It never allowed me to lie… ever. Kneejerk honesty was my second flaw behind my love of pastries.

  The Simon Baker one rose and extended his hand. “Hi, I’m Dean Timbers.”

  Hmm. Dean Timbers sounded much better than Simon Whatshisname. Shaking his hand, my gaze wandered over him starting with his cargo shorts and boat shoes. The green shirt he wore said nature and shit on the front of it. Funny and cute it seemed. When I finally got up to his face I paused. The most entrancing thing by far on him was his eyes.

  A quick check of the man next to him confirmed their eyes were nearly carbon copies of each other. Of course, then the fact I’d been staring while still holding Dean’s hand sunk in, and I released his hand hastily. Trying to scoot back, I had forgotten that Kasper was still behind me. After almost tripping over his feet, I steadied myself with Kasper’s help. Clearing my throat, I tried to ignore what had just happened. “Hi, I’m Kelly Green, and I just moved here, but I guess you already know that.” God, what was wrong with me? Hot men equaled stupid talk.

  Sitting back down beside the mystery man, he—Dean I guess—smiled at me. “Your name is Kelly, Kelly Green? Did your parents do that on purpose?”

  After I scooted into the seat Kasper pulled out, he dropped onto the chair next to me.

  “Yes, my dad seemed to get a kick out of it. I also have a brother and a sister who are named Moss and Jade. I don’t know why Mama let him do that, but Dad always said our names would be hard to forget.”

  Still smiling, Dean said, “I know I certainly won’t forget.”

  Cheeks heating, I turned my head slightly to hide a blush. If I hadn’t, I might not have caught the mystery man rolling his eyes. Yeah, I didn’t think we would be getting along. I studied Mr. Anti-Social Skarsgard. If he could roll his eyes, then I could blatantly stare.

  Dressed in a plain white t-shirt and tight jeans, he seemed to be channeling his inner James Dean, only with longer and lighter hair. His black clunky combat boots were visible on the chair where he propped his legs. I’d always had a secret fantasy about bad boys. Though the fantasies I dreamed up usually had them submitting to me. I doubted the bad boy across from me submitted to anyone.

  Fighting not to roll my eyes right back at him, I held my hand out toward him, “Hi I’m Kelly—”

  “Yes, yes, we just went through this. You’re Kelly, I’m Damon, and now I’m hungry.” With a glare at Kasper, Damon returned to ignoring me. “Can we eat now?”

  The little red devil on my shoulder, who had only moments before shared my admiration for how cute and delicious these three men were, now helped me picture planting my fist into Damon’s face. I thought me, and little red devil had about the same ideas. The white little angel who usually kept me balanced was nowhere to be seen. Before I could give him a witty comeback, someone else had beat me to the punch. Literally.

  A loud smack resounded at the table. Ripping my gaze off Damon, I gawked at Dean. He was grinning, but Damon was glaring daggers at his… brother?

  “Asshat, don’t be rude she’s probably nervous and she’s had a rough day.” Dean didn’t miss a beat. “Sorry for my brother’s attitude he apparently doesn’t know how to act around a lady.”

  Wagging one finger back and forth between the pair, I wasn’t sure whether confirmation of my suspicion was a good or a bad thing. “You’re brothers?”

  Throwing his arm around Damon’s shoulders, Dean laughed. “Yep, twelve months apart to the day, though I’m the better looking one.”

  Shrugging his brother’s arm off him, Damon scowled. “Yeah, I’m still older than the both of you.”

  Trying not to get dizzy as my vision fluttered between the three men. I decided to remain neutral and not rock the boat so to speak. Okay, maybe rock the boat a little. “Being grumpy is fine. I get it. I’m usually a bear when I’m hungry, or haven’t had coffee, or sleep, or… well I can be grumpy a lot, too.” Winking at Kasper and then Dean I rocked the boat a little more. “Maybe you should try feeding your bear some honey, I’ve heard certain bears love just a smackerel of honey.”

  Picking up my menu and ignoring the laughs coming from Kasper and Dean, I perused the different available options. Silence descended upon the table. I peeked over the menu at the guys. Kasper stared at Damon, I guess for his reaction. While Dean grinned at me. “Wait did you just call him Pooh Bear? Like the fat yellow bear?”

  Damon continued watching me like a puzzle missing a couple of pieces. Trying not to fidget under his scrutiny, I stared at Dean instead. “Yes, yes I did. Now can I get some pastries?”

  I devoured three different pastries and drank two cups of coffee. The guys, who seemed to eat slightly healthier than me ordered eggs, with bacon and fruit. Who ate fruit for breakfast? Apparently people who didn’t really like pastries. It was a travesty really. We all sat around quietly and ate until I couldn’t take it anymore. “Kasper, I hate to be a bother, and thank you so much for breakfast.” My second breakfast, but they didn’t know that. “I really do need to get going. I’ve got to get the house ready for the movers tomorrow.”

  “You have a moving company coming with the rest of your stuff tomorrow?” Damon pounced.

  Why did he care? “Yeah, after my divorce, it just seemed easier to have someone else pack and move. So, I figured I’d get here early and meet them here. Didn’t really plan on the running out of gas part, though.”

  Pushing his plate away like he suddenly found something more interesting, Dean asked, “Wait, you’re divorced? How long were you married?”

  Grabbing my hand, Kasper glared at Dean. “You don’t have to answer that Kelly. Some people are too nosy.”

  I scrunched up my nose at Dean. “Uh, we met in college, everybody loved Trevor, including my parents. So, I did what southern girls do, and married an upstanding guy of the community. We were married five years, almost six.”

  With Kasper still holding one of my hands, I took a long swig of my coffee. My marriage and subsequent divorce wasn’t a topic I wanted to discuss.

  Leaning back in his chair with his feet still up on the borrowed seat, Damon asked, “What time is the moving truck coming?”

  “I think they said about nine, why? What are you thinking?”

  Silence descended as the three at my table communicated via stares and nods and shakes of the head. It was almost primitive, and at any second I waited for the pounding of chests.

  After coming to some mental agreement Star Wars style, Damon focused on me again. “Where are you moving to?”

  What the hell had I just witnessed? “On Washington Street. I’d have to borrow one of your phones to plug it into the GPS, to tell you where it is.”

  Damon shrugged. “We know where Washington Street is you just need to give us your address.”

  Pushing my plate to the side, I pulled my hand out of Kasper’s and rested my elbows. “I know why Kasper needs my address, but why do you guys need it?”

  Gettin
g irritated it seemed, Damon mimicked me by putting his arms on the table, too. “Well if you don’t want us to come over and help you unpack, then we won’t. Problem solved.”

  I pushed myself slightly up onto the table, digging the sides of it into my stomach. Closer to him, I gritted my teeth. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t take the help, but you didn’t ask. You just Obi-Wan Kenobied some shit amongst yourself. I’d prefer to be asked.”

  Feeling a hand on my bare leg, I yelped and started to ungracefully roll off the table. What did you expect to happen when you grabbed a girl by the leg unbeknownst to her? You got a woman who resembled a floundering fish, that’s what you got.

  Instead of landing on the floor, like I had assumed would happen, I landed in someone’s lap. Though I was pretty sure of the someone whose lap I was in. Because I was pretty sure they guided my body there.

  Turning my face upward to see the darkest eyes gazing at me. I decided to play the damsel in distress if only for a second. Batting my eyes at Kasper, I deepened my southern drawl. “Well hello, my Superman.”

  His reaction was instantaneous, ignoring everyone else around us he leaned toward me. “Does that mean you’re my Lois Lane?”

  I loved that he could go back and forth with me. Deciding to keep going, I quipped back quickly, “Hell no I’m Wonder Woman!”

  Shuffling off his lap, I went back to my seat. Narrowing my eyes, I zoned in on all the guys at the table. Dean smiled, Damon curled his lip, while Kasper sat there like the cat that got the cream. Pointing my finger at each guy, I drew their attention back to me.

  “Next time, ask me or I’ll go really Wonder Woman on your ass, capiche?”

  Holding up his hands in surrender, Dean laughed. “Capiche.”

  Skipping over Damon, I acknowledged Kasper who was holding up his hands in surrender. Turning slowly back toward the one I skipped over, I pointed at him. “All right, Timbers, what’ll it be?”