I smile, give him a little wink and turn around to make my way back to my spot. I’m still wiping the blood off me when I stop ten feet away from the beer tub Amber is working, and I turn to look at Paul. Still cleaning myself up, I just stare at Paul. He doesn’t make a move to come over to me, so I just shake my head and smile a little fuck-you smile. I walk back over to my spot at the bar and finish wiping up. I ask Tiffany if I have gotten it all, and after a quick inspection, she tells me I’m good, hands me a water, and takes the towel to throw it away.
“May?”
“Paul.”
“Are you okay?” he asks me through the radio.
“Fucking fine.”
And that’s how that goes.
All of the sudden, a hand is placed on my shoulder.
“May?” the stranger says.
I know that voice. It isn’t Paul’s, but it’s so damn familiar. When I turn around, my jaw drops open, and I cannot find the ability to move, let alone speak. I lower the water bottle down, seeing as how my jaw has stopped working, but yet I somehow manage to get a whisper out of my mouth.
“Kevin.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
We stand frozen forever where we are and stare at each other. His eyes are a light honey brown now. The color of shock, I think to myself.
“What are you doing here?” we ask at the same time. He laughs and smiles. I do neither of those. I just stand there.
“What are you doing here?” I ask again.
“Uh . . . I live here,” he answers. Our eyes never leave each other’s.
“You live here . . . in town?” I repeat.
“Yeah . . . well not in town town but on the outskirts of town, yeah. What are you doing here? Are you looking for me?” he asks a little awkwardly.
Laughing, I put my hand on his shoulder and run it down his arm, as if testing that he is in fact here.
“I’m working.”
“Working? I thought you sold security equipment?”
I laugh. “No, I am the security equipment,” I say, still laughing, but after I see the confusion on Kevin’s face, I stop laughing.
“Wait . . . what?” Yeah, he’s confused big time.
I look over his shoulder and see two guys getting into a shoving match. That was Matt’s section, so I now have to look after it.
“Excuse me for just a second,” I say at Kevin as I calmly walk past him and to the incident.
“I got it,” I radio, but after a once-over of the two guys involved, I continue to say into the radio, “On second thought, give me one more guy please.”
Separating them was a little difficult, but we got it done alright except for the punch that connected to my right cheek. I blink a couple of times and move my jaw around. There wasn’t enough on it to do any serious damage, but I’m going to have a nice bruise. Leading the guys out, we pass Paul and Amber. They are engrossed in some conversation and don’t even bother to look at us.
Once the guys are out, I shake Andrew’s hand for the help and send him back to his section. Walking past Paul and Amber again, I notice that Paul’s earpiece is hanging on his shirt, not in his ear. That’s why he didn’t look because he didn’t even know. Now he doesn’t give a shit about his job? What is the matter with him?
Something inside me snaps. I make a ninety degree turn and walk right up to him, making sure that he sees the bruise that is now forming on my right cheek.
“I’m gone tomorrow.”
He moves his gaze from me to my cheek. His face reads anguish. He lifts his hand to touch my face, but I step back.
“Are you kidding me?” I ask, obviously shocked at his gesture. “Don’t ever fucking touch me again.”
Amber whispers something in his ear, and he banks his head to the right, away from her mouth. Her smile fades as she turns to see me standing there.
I take a step backwards, still looking at Paul. I drop my eyes to his earpiece hanging on his shirt, and he grabs it and puts it in without looking away from me.
I turn around and walk back to my post, pretty proud of myself, actually. When I get there, Jessica has a towel full of ice for me and hands it to me.
“It’s going to be one of those nights, isn’t it?” she groans out to me.
“Yes, I think it is.”
Pressing the toweled ice to my face makes me flinch, but it feels very relieving.
All of a sudden, I am very much aware that Kevin is standing next to me, completely dumbfounded. I have some explaining to do.
“I can tell by the look on your face you have no idea what’s going on, and you had no idea that I was here, huh?” I ask, but I already know judging by the look on his face.
He just shakes his head no.
I’ve told him about Paul, but I never told him about our business together. I quickly run through it all with him. The whole time, he just stands there and listens. Taking the ice away from face is a relief.
Kevin steps forward, places his hand on my jaw, and brushes lightly. I lean into his touch. He leans in and kisses my bruise. I close my eyes and inhale as deeply as I can. God, I have missed that smell. As I open my eyes, I see Paul, completely beside himself. Time to go in for the kill and really hurt him.
Let’s see how you like it, asshole.
I turn my head, so my lips are almost touching Kevin’s ear, my eyes still on Paul.
“Don’t ask me any questions please, but I need to dance. Will you dance with me, Kevin?” I ask softly and slowly.
“I’ve got just the song,” he says, taking my hand and leading me out on the dance floor. Leaving me there, he walks over to the D.J. and tells him the song that he wants played now. After a couple of seconds, the song begins to play, and Kevin has made his way back over to me. Effectively engulfing me in his arms as we start to move, I wiggle my hand from his only to reach up and take my earpiece out, and then it’s right back in his hand.
Dancing slowly, we stay in our little moment. It is just the two of us as we should have been once upon a time. I push the past out of my head and focus on the present.
Closing our eyes, we lean into each other, and he places his stubbly chin against my temple and takes a deep breath.
He just smelled me, and I smile.
“I’ve missed that smell so much, May,” Kevin says as he makes his way to my neck and places a small soft kiss there.
There is that shake.
I’m suddenly aware of the song that’s playing. It’s the song he told me to listen to and think of him.
I grip him tighter, and he does the same.
“I’ll be loving you ‘till the sun doesn’t shine
Till time stands still,
Until the winds don’t blow . . .”
As Restless Heart croons on about an undying love, I feel a tear run down my cheek. This would’ve been our song, if it had worked. Jesus, this is killing me badly.
“Don’t think about it, May,” Kevin whispers to me. He knows what I’m thinking. That’s right, he reads minds.
As the song winds down, I realize I don’t want it to end. Maybe I can get the D.J. to play it again. On the other hand, my mind has begun to wander to a very interesting idea. Maybe this is why I couldn’t tell Paul that he was taken. Shit, I don’t know.
As the song ends, I thank him for the dance, and let him know that he can go back to his friends or whomever else he came with. I take one last inhale of his scent, and I walk back to my spot. Damn amygdala. If I could maybe short circuit my nose somehow, I wouldn't be reminded of the love we had and lost just by inhaling a scent.
When I return to my post, I work up the nerve to put my earpiece back in, only to turn around and see Kevin standing right behind me.
The radio is completely silent, and I thank God that it is. I don’t chance a look at Paul because I know he’s officially pissed off, and I just can’t take my eyes off Kevin.
“Kev, I really am working. So if you give your number to Jessica, I’ll give you a call when I get out of here if it’s not t
oo late.” Work, work, work.
“You deleted my number?” he asks me, obviously hurt.
“Well after the phone call I got from your girl, safe to say, it wasn’t a number that I wanted to keep around,” I bring up the past. Not a great move on my part, but it is the truth.
“Wait . . . What call? What girl?” he asks.
Another incident is happening in Matt’s section.
“Kev, really, I’ve got to handle this. Give Jess your number, and I’ll get back with you later, okay?” I say, not taking my eyes off the incident that’s now unfolding.
I don’t give him a chance to answer because I’m already stepping around him and moving towards the fight.
As I’m getting ready to reach the fight, Paul comes out of nowhere and does what he does best: He goes to town. Go for it, man. I’ve got my brief battle wound for the night written across my face.
So I hold back. If he wants this on his own, he can have it. I remember what he said about keeping me from harm. Because, after all, I am just backup, and he doesn’t want me getting hurt. Ha! Too late!
As the fight is broken up, the other guys jump in and take over just as they should. Paul sends them to take care of what they need to. We aren’t going to be here forever after all. They might as well get used to it.
Seeing me standing here, Paul walks over and stops inches from my face. I don’t back down at all.
“You have never been this kind of girl, May . . . What the fuck are you playing at now?” his eyes flash to Kevin and then back to me. “Who is that?” he spits at me.
“I don’t play games, and you know that. However, since you want to treat me differently, then I will act differently. I will give you five guesses who that is, but you are only going to need one. ” I throw it right back at him. It’s a fucking standoff. He wasn’t expecting that.
I’ve learned I’m exactly what he made me. He taught me not to have any emotions at work, regardless of who is there, except for tonight. That’s all tonight is based on: feelings, being personal, and emotions.
“Who is he? Can he do to you what I can?” he asks while moving his hand to his spot.
“Seeing as he gave me what I wanted a few months ago, yes. He does, and he will again if I feel like it,” I answer as I take a small step away from his gesture.
What is going on finally registers to him. He swallows, and his body tenses.
“Kevin?” he asks.
“Does it really matter now, Paul? You’ve moved on, making me look like a total nutcase,” my eyes flash to Amber, who is now crying. What the hell?
“Did you think I was going to break down and declare my love for you all over again, crying and shit like every single girl you have fucked before?”
He closes his eyes at that comment, and I know I got him.
“I told you,” I continue, “I’m gone tomorrow.”
The conversation is over without another word. I move away from him and back to my spot. Kevin is still standing there, and he has just seen the whole interaction with me and Paul.
More explaining? No, not tonight. I can’t tell him how Paul was the one that pushed me into getting over him. Another conversation, another day.
“Kev, my cheek is killing me, and I’m tired, so I am going to get out of here a little early,” I tell him without looking at him. I can’t look into his eyes and see the confusion.
“Oh . . . yeah . . . yeah, okay. That bruise looks a little brutal. Can I make sure you get home safe at least?” He’s sweet.
“Yeah give me fifteen minutes,” I say, turning and heading to the office.
On my way, I radio out to everyone,
“Paul’s got y'all for the rest of the night. Matt’s section needs to be covered. I’m out.” I rip my earpiece out before I can hear any response.
In the office, I empty my locker into my bag and stuff my radio deep inside. Déjà vu.
“You aren’t leaving,” Paul says very quietly.
“Oh, yes. I am, Paul.” Almost as if we’ve traveled back into time, I’m pinned up against the locker.
“Stop.” I’m serious.
“You don’t mean it,” he says putting his hand on the spot that tells me he’s serious.
“I don’t need you. Amber is crying; you might want to check on that.” He doesn’t move a muscle.
“Paul . . . don’t,” I reinstate.
“May, you know it’s only you . . . You are the only one that I will let myself love,” he says, leaning his head down and zeroing in on my lips.
At the last second, I turn my head, break his hold, and slide away from him while grabbing my bag. Without turning around to look at him, I say, “You have no idea how much you’ve hurt me, Paul, and you were the one person I thought wouldn’t ever do that.”
With that sinking into his head, I open the door and walk out of the office and away from my best friend.
Walking up to where I last saw Kevin, I find that he isn’t there.
“Hey, Jess, that guy that I was talking to, did he leave a number with you?” I ask, a little too eagerly.
Jess comes over and leans over the bar to say something to me quietly. “He’s still here. He paid his tab, but he’s over at the beer tub . . . talking to Amber.” Her face looks like she is ashamed because she just spilled a secret.
“Hm,” is all I give her while I look towards Amber’s section.
What is it with Amber? Does she has beer-flavored nipples or something? She does do the whole damsel-in-distress thing really well, and it works for her apparently. I just don’t get how the two men that I have let myself fall in love with flock to her. It’s fucking frustrating.
Shaking my head at my own damn bad luck, I walk to the back door and out to my rental.
“May . . . MAY!” I hear it, but I have no idea whom it is, so I just keep walking. As I am walking to my rental, I hear footsteps running after me, but I’m not afraid. I can handle whatever it is. I stop when I get to the driver’s side of my car. My adrenaline is still through the roof. That dance with Kevin only amplified everything.
“May?” It’s Kevin.
“Yeah?” I ask, digging into my bag for the keys.
“We need to have a serious conversation,” he says to me, putting his hands on my shoulders and turning me, so I’m facing him.
“Tell me, please, God. Tell me you aren’t with Amber because that’s some shit that I just cannot handle right now.” My voice breaks on the last word, but I reel it in.
“Amber is the one that called you, May.” He locks eyes with me again. “She is . . . well, was a friend, and I saw her crying, so I went over to see if she was okay. Then she told me everything. I swear to God, May, I didn’t know that she called you. And she erased everything off of my phone, I mean everything. I had no way of getting a hold of you. What she said wasn’t true . . . Please believe me?” he asks.
I just start laughing. That’s all I can think to do. When people reach their limit, they have different ways of handling it. My way is laughing.
And the plot thickens. Jesus, are you kidding me with this? I laugh harder.
I slide down the door of my car and sit on the ground, my head in my hands. I try to process it all. Kevin takes a seat next to me, puts his arm around my shoulders, and pulls me towards him.
“May, I told you I would never cheat on you. I couldn’t possibly do that to you.” He assures me again of a conversation from a few months ago. It doesn’t help because it doesn’t explain everything.
“Kev, I didn’t hear from you for three weeks before she called me. It’s like you fell off the fucking planet.” I’m still trying to hold the tears at bay, but I feel like I’m about to lose.
“I was dealing with so much shit with my son’s mom, trying to figure out what to do about us, and well, everything. I didn’t want to put all that on you. It wouldn’t have been fair . . . I‘m sorry I disappeared,” he looks up to the stars.
“I would’ve listened, given advice, reass
ured you about us, just been there for you . . . Christ, I was planning on flying out to be with you, so we could actually talk about everything face to face.” I can’t look at him.
After a couple of minutes, he sighs and gets ready to ask a hard question: “Do you love him?”
“I do, I did . . . I was scared because I knew he would cheat. He always does, and then he brought Amber back to our hotel room, and it was over before it even began. The funny thing is he hurt me more as my friend than he ever could as my boyfriend.”
And the tears are coming freely now. I wipe what I can off and stand up hoping to regroup.
Kevin stands up too and stands in front of me. When I don’t shut down, he moves closer and then closer still.
“I’ve never forgotten about you, May. I think about you every day. There is always something to remind me of you and how perfect you are for me.”
It’s a confession that I love hearing at this moment. “Do you still love me?” I whisper close to his lips now. I’m almost desperate.
“Never stopped,” he says, running a finger over my uninjured cheek. “May?” It’s a loaded question. He’s asking me for permission.
“Yes,” is all I need to say.
His lips are full and soft just like I remember. I slowly put my arms around his neck, and the kiss instantly deepens.
God, do I miss his kiss.
“Kevin,” I say in between kisses. ”I really need to get back to the hotel. I’ve got a lot to do, not to mention packing before I leave,” I say regretfully. It’s almost a cry.
“You're leaving?” he asks.
“Yeah . . . tomorrow. I wasn’t supposed to leave until next Saturday possibly the Saturday after that, but there isn’t really any point to me staying until then, so I am cutting bait and getting out.”
I open my eyes and see his eye color has yet again changed. Hazel is for horny, maybe?
“I can’t let you go again, May,” he says firmly.
“You’re going to have to, Kevin,” I say, gently pushing against his chest.
He pulls me back to him.
“You said you were leaving next Saturday, yes?” he asks. I just look at him and nod my head yes.
Need You, Need Me (The Need Series Book 1) Page 11
