by Bonnie Dee
Kelly felt exposed and embarrassed. Why did this woman know who she was? What had Ren said about her? ‘I met my neighbor and got fucked the first night in my new building’?
Ren gestured Kelly into the apartment. “Come on in. Stay a while.”
“No. I, uh, have some things I’m in the middle of.” Kelly thrust the lasagna pan toward him. “It’s still kind of warm. Be careful.”
Emily reached to take the pan from her.
Kelly felt the urge to dash it into her face, but she surrendered it into the other woman’s hands with a polite smile. “Ren, I’m glad you’re okay. Nice meeting you, Emily.” She turned and fled before her cheeks could turn from pink to crimson.
***
That evening Kelly removed the dry cleaning bag from her symphony ‘uniform’ of a long black dress in preparation for the concert the following night. The gown looked elegant from a distance but was shabby up close, the black folds worn shiny with age.
She thought about the kind of woman Ren appeared to be interested in. Emily’s look was as cutting edge cool as Ren’s. She would never be caught dead in a sweater set or pastel colors unless she was making some kind of statement against conformity that involved a retro-fifties look.
Kelly thought of her own conservative wardrobe and how it reflected her personality. She wasn’t flashy or spontaneous and couldn’t pretend to be something she wasn’t. She had been right to dismiss the possibility of Ren from her mind.
But the next evening at the concert he was in her mind. As she closed her eyes and bowed the strings, her fingers moving up the neck of the cello, she played her yearning and melancholy for the brief encounter that would never be anything more. Her aching heart poured into her music and swelled out of the instrument in an intense vibrato.
At the end of the evening, Alice McGuire, the first cello, leaned over and told Kelly she’d never heard her play with such passion before. “You must be in love,” she teased.
After the concert, struggling through the backstage door with her cello, Kelly was confronted by the unexpected sight of Ren and Emily waiting for her in the alley by the stage exit.
Emily was dressed in a spangled, gypsy skirt and wore a crocheted poncho instead of a coat. Army boots showed beneath the hem of her skirt. Her hair was teased into a bouffant and tied in a bright red scarf that clashed terribly with her hair.
Ren wore a black overcoat. It was open to show a dark suit, white shirt and black tie. His hair was tamed and the silver stud removed from his eyebrow for the occasion. Without the accoutrements of his usual casual style, he still looked extremely hot; James Dean cool exchanged for James Bond sophistication. And again, the blue bruises on his jaw only added to his sex appeal.
“That was amazing.” He hobbled forward, presenting Kelly with a rose. “You get to do that for a living? What a sweet gig.”
“Oh. Thank you.” She accepted the flower with a nervous smile. “I never got you those tickets. I didn’t expect you’d come.”
“I told you I would.” His voice was so warm and deep that it felt like a magic spell surrounding her and setting the hair on the nape of her neck prickling.
“We’re taking you out for coffee,” Emily announced with a grin, coming forward and hooking her arm through Kelly’s.
Kelly was taken aback. How could this woman be so friendly? Did she not know about the one-nighter or did she simply not care? Maybe Kelly was too uptight about sex, allowing it to mean more than it should, but she was incapable of adopting the ‘we’re all just friends here’ attitude. It did matter to her. She didn’t like seeing Ren with someone else even though she had no business caring.
“Thank you but I, uh, can’t. I don’t feel well,” she excused herself.
“Well, at least let us give you a ride home,” Ren said. “You don’t want to haul that thing on the subway.”
“I do it all the time.”
“But you don’t have to tonight,” Emily said firmly. “You guys wait here. I’ll pull the car around.”
Before Kelly could protest, Emily released her arm and walked off, her colorful skirt swirling around her legs in the cool evening breeze, the sparkles in the fabric reflecting the streetlight and making her shimmer.
“You sure I can’t convince you to come with us for a snack or a drink?” Ren asked, coming up beside Kelly. “Emily and I would love it if you would.”
His mere presence was sending ridiculous shivers through her and making her nipples stand at attention even under layers of clothing. “No thanks.” She frowned slightly, wondering why he appeared to be coming on to her and how Emily fit into the picture. Maybe he was hoping for a threesome!
Ren moved even closer, his eyes holding her transfixed like a moth on a pin. “Look, I want to start over. I know I got off on the wrong foot with you somehow. Rushed things too much like I always do, I guess. And I know I should give you some space, but being in that accident kind of shook me up. It made me realize how…uncertain life is. I don’t want to waste time playing around, pretending I’m not interested in you and just being your neighbor. I like you. I want to keep dating you and see where it goes. Won’t you give me a chance?”
Kelly was amazed at how sincere he sounded. “What about Emily?” She couldn’t keep the disapproval from her voice.
Ren looked blank. “What about her?”
“How does she feel about this?”
He frowned and shrugged. “Does it matter?”
His nonchalance startled a sharp laugh from Kelly. “A little.”
“I’m sure she’ll like you just fine, but it really doesn’t matter to me. I hardly need her approval.”
The puzzled look on Ren’s face flipped the light switch in Kelly’s brain at least halfway on. She began to understand that maybe she had misread Ren and Emily’s relationship.
“Em will be going home soon, anyway. She was only here to help me out for a while, but I’m getting around pretty good. Of course, Mom thinks she should stay longer. Thank god she wasn’t able to come take care of me herself. I couldn’t deal with that.”
“Mm-hm.” Kelly suddenly remembered what Ren had told her about his large family with all the half and step-siblings. “So, Emily’s your…sister?”
He frowned. “Yeah, didn’t I say that when I introduced her?”
“No. Not really.”
“Oh.” There was a long pause during which realization dawned on Ren’s face. “Oh! You thought…?” He grimaced in disgust. “Ew!”
“I didn’t know. I assumed…” Kelly was flustered and starting to blush, which she seemed to do a lot around Ren.
“Well, obviously, not my girlfriend.” The dimple flashed in his cheek as he smiled. “I told you I wasn’t seeing anybody. What? Did you think I picked up some random chick while I was out on tour?”
She didn’t answer.
“Oh my god, you did!” he exclaimed. “Thanks a lot! I told you I’m not like that.”
“Sorry,” Kelly said. “I don’t know you that well.”
“Again, that’s something I want to change.” He stepped toward her.
For a second Kelly thought he was going to take her in his arms and lean down to kiss her.
He jammed his hands in his coat pockets and looked down at the pavement between them. “My band is playing a memorial concert in honor of Austen next week at Razor Wire, the club where we got our start. Justin Brown from Dead Dogs is going to sing. If you feel like showing up, I’d love to see you there. If not, I’ll get the message and stop harassing you. Okay? That’s about a week away. Between now and then I won’t call you or run into you in the hall. I’ll give you time to think and see what you decide to do.”
Kelly nodded. She didn’t promise to be there. Too many emotions were tumbling through her for her to make the date right now. She was relieved that Emily was his sister, embarrassed at her false assumption, elated that he was so interested in her and terrified that she might care for him too much.
She reall
y needed time to think.
Chapter Four
New horizons are wide open for you if you are willing to seize the opportunity. Great things come to those who try a new point of view. Take a chance today in your business or social life and see where it leads.
Kelly snorted as she read her daily horoscope in the newspaper. The words were vague and generic. They could easily fit anyone’s situation. It was typical astrological nonsense.
She turned the page to read about local crime and took a sip of her morning coffee before setting the cup back on the table.
Then she turned back to the horoscope and read the advice again. Take a chance and see where it leads.
And again.
New horizons are open for you.
It wasn’t much of a prediction, but it was extremely on the mark in reference to her life right now. She was entrenched in routine. Her twenty-seventh birthday was a little over a week away and what did she have in her life? A career she loved, yes, but you couldn’t cuddle up with a cello at night.
In many ways she had relied on her mother and sister’s dependence on her. They’d given her a sense of purpose and made her feel needed. But now she had no one to care for, no one to love. Maybe she should get a cat.
For the hundredth time in the past week, Kelly thought about the ticket Ren had slid under her door for the memorial concert tonight. The small club was going to be packed, especially with the Dead Dogs’ lead singer fronting the band, and Kelly was lucky to have a pass. She should go. Ren had come to her concert; she owed him a return courtesy. Her stomach clenched as she remembered how extremely hot he had looked in his suit at her concert.
A sudden thought blossomed. She would show him that she could do the same, dress for the occasion. Nothing in her closet was going to cut it. She would have to go shopping today.
New point of view, eh? She would show Ren--and herself--that she was as capable of change as anybody.
And she would let him know that she was ready to take a chance on a new relationship, however challenging it might prove to be.
***
Playing without Austen stirred up a welter of emotions in Ren. He thought this whole memorial gig was a rotten idea. The band was over, they should let it go and move on with their respective careers, but Brian had pushed for it and Ren was too tired to argue. Brian, who had fought with Austen practically since the day they’d formed Loose Threads, was now apparently overcome with grief and could only release it by paying homage to his friend. Cynically, Ren thought the gig had much more to do with Brian’s desire to eke a last drop of fame out of Loose Threads before they disbanded permanently. On the other hand, maybe Brian’s tribute was heartfelt. It was hard to say.
Standing on the stage playing the songs that Austen had sung while Justin howled them in his unique style, Ren felt waves of grief and nostalgia course through him. A disloyal part of him noted that Brown was taking the songs to more interesting places than Austen ever had.
Ren couldn’t wait for the concert to be over so he could go home, but at the same time he didn’t want the show to end before Kelly arrived…if she showed at all. They were halfway through their play list and she still hadn’t come. He kept darting glances at the door and the milling throng in case he’d missed her but she wasn’t there. Maybe she wasn’t coming.
He turned his eyes to the neck of his guitar and concentrated on fingering the tricky solo in the middle of Goodbye and Drop Dead. For a moment, all of his doubts and worries fled and only the music mattered as his hand raced up and down the frets and he picked some complicated rhythms. He drew the last, long, whining note out for an unbearable, discordant moment then Justin’s voice came back in to finish up the final verse and refrain.
Again, Ren looked up and scanned the room for Kelly. His eyes slid over a group of hot, probably underage chicks clamoring for his attention at the edge of the stage. One of them was lifting up her shirt to show her tits. He glanced right past her and on down the line then stopped…backed up and looked again. Not at the girl with the tits.
Two rows back there was a platinum blond with a red-dyed streak shot through her hair, which was drawn up in a messy topknot on her head. She wore a tiny, black leather halter-top with foot-long fringe covering her bare midriff. Around her neck was a black, silver-studded collar and her ears were bedecked with a row of silver earrings that followed the curve up to the top.
It was Kelly. She caught Ren’s stare and winked at him with one kohl-rimmed eye.
He blinked, fumbled his notes then quickly recovered and brought the song to its conclusion. Luckily that completed the set.
The audience applauded wildly and Justin announced that the band would take a break, but Ren had already pulled the plug on his guitar and set it on its stand. He limped quickly off the stage and was instantly surrounded by the crowd of female fans. He smiled and touched hands, accepting their adulation graciously, but his eyes searched for Kelly. Then the half-naked, nubile young bodies parted and she was there, standing in front of him.
“Hey.” He leaned close to her to be heard above the canned music turned up loud to get people dancing and drinking between sets. “I’m glad you came.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Kelly shouted back.
“You want to go in back? It’s quieter.”
She nodded.
Ren put a hand at her waist to guide her through the crowd, aware of her warm skin under his palm. His eyes dropped to her tight pants. They rode halfway down her hips and molded to her pert ass like a second skin. He could see the swell at the top of each cheek and the dark shadow in between. His cock sprang to attention.
The rest of the band members were sitting at a table near the stage, holding court for all the fans so the back room next to the office was empty and comparatively silent. They could still hear pounding music and the roar of the crowd through the wall. Ren closed the door behind them and reluctantly took his hand from her waist.
“You look…amazing,” he said.
“Thanks.” Kelly looked down at her sexy leathers and made a face, wrinkling that cute nose. “It’s not too much?”
“No. It’s--wow.” He blew out a breath and shook his head. “Hot.” He stepped close to her again because he couldn’t stand to be away and ran his finger down the line of silver studs in her ear. “You got all these piercings?”
“Fakes,” she confided then tapped the small diamond in the side of her nose. “Except for this.”
Ren dropped his hand from the edge of her ear to caress her neck. His thumb traced her jaw and he noted the color rising in her cheeks. He pulled away, drawing his hand back to himself, remembering that he was supposed to be giving her time and space not crowding her and pawing at her.
Kelly swallowed then reached her hand up and placed it on his chest, naked underneath the vest he was wearing for the show. He thought his heart would knock right through his breastbone and end up in her hand.
She spoke in a breathless rush, her words tumbling together. “I don’t know if I told you how glad I was that you were okay after the accident. It scared the hell out of me that night when I saw the news. I swore that if you were all right and still wanted to see me after I was such a jerk, I’d stop being an idiot and let you into my life. Then there was Emily and I was stupid and scared to admit how I felt and--I guess what I’m saying is I’d like to go out sometime, if you still want to.”
Ren smiled. “I would love to go out with you.” He wrapped his hands around the curve of her waist and drew her close.
“Or even if you wanted to--not go out, we could do that too,” Kelly said, looking suggestively up at him from beneath half-lowered eyelids.
“I would love to not go out with you, too.” He leaned down and kissed her,
Her mouth was as warm and soft as he remembered.
They kissed deeply for several wet, searching moments, then Kelly drew back and whispered, “We could not go out right now in fact.”
“Right now?” H
e raised his eyebrows. “As in, here and now?”
“Yeah.” She smiled seductively.
Ren shivered as her crotch pressed against his groin. He ran a hand up her back and unfastened the halter at her neck so it dropped down to reveal the sweet mounds of her breasts. “I’ve got twenty minutes before the next set,” he said as he lowered his head to one pink nipple and sucked it in.
“Sounds good, although it might take me that much time just to wiggle out of these pants.” Kelly’s hands were already at her crotch, unfastening them.
Ren pushed her hands away from the button and soon had the painted-on pants open and peeled the rest of the way down her hips. He bent over and kissed his way down her belly then started to drop to his knees to tend to her clit.
Kelly stopped him. “No. It’s my turn for that.”
He straightened and watched as she unfastened his jeans and released his cock.
She knelt in front of him, caressing the shaft and sucking the head into her mouth. Her rose painted lips wrapped around him and gobbled him up. Her hand on his hip held him steady.
Ren groaned and thought he might explode simply from the erotic sight of her on her knees before him. He held her head, the smooth blond hair slipping beneath his palms, and thrust his hips toward her. His dick was rock hard and ready to burst and the friction of her hot, wet mouth was almost too much to bear. “God,” he moaned.
Kelly looked up at him, her mouth stretched around his girth and her cheeks hollowed with sucking. Her eyes glowed, telling him how much she enjoyed the power she held over him. Her hand rubbed steadily up and down his length then reached between his legs to fondle his balls, weighing them and rolling them lightly. She returned to stroking his cock rhythmically, pulling harder now.
Ren panted open-mouth. He was going to lose it if she didn’t stop soon. “Wait!” He jerked away from her then reached down to grab her arms and pull her to her feet. He scanned the room for a place to do it then lifted her up, staggering a little with his pants around his knees.
