Kiss Kiss

by Various Authors

  “Honey, why didn’t you tell me there was someone? Is it anyone we know?” Lauren demanded.

  “Like I’d tell the Gossip Queen of Jefferson Point.” Jules sniffed.

  Lauren laughed and Avery couldn’t help but snort.

  A phone began to play the chorus of “You and Me.” All four girls looked around in confusion and finally, Nicole reached out for her phone on the bedside table.

  “Is that my phone?” She looked at the screen, which they all could see had Aaron winking in a self-portrait. Nicole rolled her eyes. “I’m gonna kill him.”

  “Ooh, put him on speaker phone,” Avery chided, with a golf clap. Nicole answered the phone, on speaker.

  “Nice ringtone,” Nicole began the conversation.

  “I knew you’d love it. Did it make you think of me?” Aaron mumbled into the phone.

  “I always think of you when I hear Billy Joel.” Nicole winked at the girls. Lauren snickered.

  “That’s not Billy Joel, Nicki.”

  “Whatever.” She shrugged and Jules laughed out loud as she rubbed her eyes.

  “Are you home?” he asked. Lauren began bouncing on the bed and making moaning sounds.

  “Do you have me on speaker phone?” Aaron tone was scolding.

  “No?” Nicole responded and Avery cackled.

  “Oh Aaron, you’re so romantic.” Lauren cried dramatically. “You make my lady garden moist!”

  Avery grimaced at the vulgar comment and slugged her in the face with a pillow.

  “Get off the phone and come buy me a beer.” Shilah’s voice carried through the speaker. All the girls looked at Avery, and the fun was sucked out of her night.

  “Nicole, I’m going to give you such a tongue lashing.” Aaron now played to his audience and Nicole blushed. “Come outside to the porch.”

  All the girls ran down the stairs. Lauren disappeared into the bathroom and Jules opened the fridge. Nicole and Avery went out into the frosty night.

  “Okay. We’re freezing our asses off. Now what?” Nicole demanded.

  “Look across the street.” Avery heard Aaron say. They both turned and looked at O’Connell’s. Aaron and Shilah stood by the streetlight. Aaron gave her a quick wave and demanded she take him off speakerphone.

  Avery willed her legs to turn around and go back inside. She fought herself, trying not to look at him. It was impossible. Seeing her, Shilah did a double take. Unsure what else to do, she gave him a small wave. He nodded in return, flicking the ashes from his cigarette, and Avery could hear his phone ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and began to speak. Avery went back inside, but found herself drawn to the window, where she peeked out at Shilah. As he talked on the phone, she ached as she remembered late night phone conversations they’d often had. He looked up at the window where she was standing, and then he disappeared into the bar. With a resigned sigh, she joined Jules in the kitchen.

  Aaron entered the bar, wishing he was across the street at Nicole’s instead. He purposely ignored Colin and his father, Patrick, who were giving him the stink eye from behind the bar. He wished like hell he could have a drink, but he promised Jack he’d be the designated driver tonight. He spotted Shilah and Jack near the dartboards and headed in their direction, ditching his coat at their table, where Ron was pouring a glass of beer. He noticed Jason and the Port Skanks from Halloween playing pool at a nearby table.

  “I thought we lost you to the house across the street,” Jack razzed him.

  “Nope,” Aaron responded. “She’s got plenty of company over there right now.”

  He heard rowdy laughter come from the pool table and he looked in that direction. He noticed Jason glaring at him.

  “What are you looking at?” Jason called and Aaron raised his eyebrows and shook his head. He saw by the way Jason was stumbling around that Colin had not been exaggerating. Jason was out of control. Without replying, Aaron took the darts from Jack and prepared for his turn.

  “Aaron’s still pissed that I used to screw Nicole in the back of my car,” Jason announced to the entire bar. The Port Skanks chuckled, and Aaron felt his entire body tense. His eyes angrily calculated the time it would take him to get from where he stood to swinging distance. Jason stood closest to him, casually spinning his pool cue, Dave at his side and Nick on the far side of the table. He felt someone’s hand on his shoulder.

  “Don’t,” Shilah demanded. Aaron took a breath.

  “Have another beer, asshole,” Aaron called at Jason, who chuckled. One of the Port Frank dudes yelled something unintelligible at him.

  Jack drawled back, “Why don’t you shut your pie hole?”

  “Uh, guys? Remember, we’re supposed to be here to help defuse the situation?” Sean approached them. Colin was with him, and Aaron didn’t appreciate the dirty look the little Irish prick was giving him.

  “This is your last warning. If you can’t control yourself, I will haul your ass out of here,” Colin instructed Jason, who pointed his finger back at Colin.

  “I feel for you, Colin. You missed out. As quiet as Nicole is, she’s a hellcat in the sack.”

  Aaron cracked his neck, plotting how he’d take Jason’s pool cue from him and stick it up his ass.

  Colin cocked his head at Jason, and Sean put his hand on Colin’s shoulder.

  “Dude, he’s wasted. Find your center,” he said to his brother. Aaron fumed and felt the grip on his arm tighten. He turned and saw Shilah, looking doubtfully back at him.

  “Aaron, I cannot hold you back, so don’t make me try. Let’s just go. “

  “Maybe you should,” Colin chimed in. Aaron glowered at Colin, then Jason, Dave, and Nick. Nick came around the pool table, pool cue in hand.

  “Why do we have to go?” Ron took a long pull off of his pilsner glass and smacked his lips. “Jason started it.”

  “Why don’t you all shut the hell up?’ Patrick O’Connell called from behind the bar.

  “Shut up, old man.” Nick shouted at him, and Sean’s face contorted in anger. Sean stepped forward.

  “Don’t you disrespect my dad in his own bar,” Sean shouted. His hulking size dwarfed Nick, but Nick didn’t back down.

  “Okay, everyone breathe,” Shilah instructed. Jason’s drunken glare shifted past Aaron and settled in on Shilah.

  “Hey, Shilah. I hear Avery kicked you out of her bed. That really sucks. Speaking of suck, damn what that girl can do with her mouth.” Jason rolled his eyes back in his head and grabbed his crotch. Before Aaron could react, a dart whizzed by him in his left peripheral vision and impaled the beam three inches from Jason’s temple. Aaron turned and Shilah shot past him and grabbed a handful of Jason’s hair, slamming his head into the pool table. Nick pushed Sean in an attempt to grab Shilah, and Sean backhanded him, sending him sprawling into a table of girls. Dave also made an attempt to stop Shilah. Shilah kicked him, without letting go of Jason’s hair. Nick hit Sean in the back of the head with a beer bottle. Sean dropped to his knees, and Colin launched himself at Nick, tackling him to the ground. As he watched Colin pummeling him, Aaron was impressed at the little scrapper. Jack and Aaron looked at one another, and with a shrug, Jack tossed his half-full beer glass and lit off after Dave, who had the presence of mind to make for the back door. Unsure of whom to grab first, Aaron made his way to Shilah, since Jason looked bad off. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned and saw Chrystle looking up at him angrily. She hauled back and socked him in the mouth. The sound of police sirens stopped all activity, except Shilah and Jason, who still struggled against each other.

  “I smell bacon!” Ron yelled from his spot at the table where he sat with his feet kicked up.

  Shilah leaned his forehead against the cold jail cell bars. His fists ached and his knuckles were split open. He glanced at the opposite cell and saw Jason, who looked like he’d filmed a Rocky movie, lying on the cot. Dave held an icepack to his right eye and Nick slumped in the corner, facing away from them.

  Holding his ribs, Sh
ilah surveyed the varying degrees of injury of his own cellmates. Sean held pressure on the back of his head with gauze; Aaron had a tiny split in his bottom lip. Colin’s hands and face were covered in blood that didn’t appear to be his. He seemed completely relaxed, bored even. Jack looked pristine and snored softly on the cot.

  A chuckle erupted from Aaron, and Shilah saw Jack crack an eye.

  “What’s so funny?” Jack asked.

  “You messed that pretty boy up, chief.” Aaron chuckled. His expression hardened. “Did anybody get a phone call?”

  “Yep,” Jack responded. Shilah stood with a groan and crossed to the cot, wincing in pain as he took a seat next to Jack.

  Aaron laughed harder and Shilah turned slowly to look at him.

  “You have to be my best man, Shilah.”

  “He’s sort of annoying when he’s happy, isn’t he?” Jack muttered as Aaron continued to guffaw.

  “And Colin. I am in awe of you, dude.” Colin turned to Aaron, seeming unsure of how to respond. Aaron wiped a happy tear away. Shilah laughed, and then groaned.

  “Dude. You knocked out my tooth,” Jason mumbled to Shilah.

  Aaron laughed harder. “Maybe you can get a gold one like Ron’s.” He called across the way to him.

  A clanging sound alerted them all that someone was coming toward the cells. Shilah heard the sound of a baton rattling along the bars. Shilah saw Aaron’s face light up and watched him wince as his wide smile cracked his lip back open.

  “Uh oh, Jack.” He managed just before Lauren came into view. She passed their cell with a look of reproach and turned to glare at the opposite cell.

  “Well, well, well…” She began slapping the baton against her palm repeatedly.

  “Here it comes,” Jack announced, rubbing his furrowed brow.

  “When I go out with my friends to have a good time, no one ends up bloody,” she began, pacing the narrow hall between the cells. “You know, I should let your asses rot here all night long. But from what I understand, Jason and the dipshits were the perpetrators.”

  “No. Shilah threw the first punch,” Dave called from across the hall.

  “Did I ask you to speak?” Lauren spun on him and he flinched back away from the bars.

  “Where’s Nic?” Aaron asked.

  “She said she didn’t want a jailbird daddy for Ike,” Lauren responded and Shilah laughed at Aaron’s shocked expression. A guilty look crossed Lauren’s face.

  “Relax, big guy. You’re lucky she can use those bedroom eyes for evil as well as good. She’s out flirting with the officers to get you a reduced sentence.”

  “And Avery?” Shilah asked quietly, bracing for her answer.

  “I took her home before I came.”

  Lauren turned and seemed to focus on Jason.

  “The officers brought you here to cool down. No charges are going to be pressed. The cops and I got the entire story from Ron and Pat O’Connell.” Jason opened his mouth and Lauren cut him off. “Test me, Jason. And see how fast it gets around town why you are being transferred.”

  Avery heard the sound of a car as she prepared for bed. She put on her robe and peeked out the curtain. Lauren’s car was in the driveway and she saw Shilah hobbling along her path with Jack’s assistance. At the sound of a light tap at the door, she opened it. Jack smiled and winked at her, and Shilah struggled to pull something out of his inside pocket. He looked like he’d been in a UFC fight. He had a swollen black eye, and she could tell by the way he moved he’d be hurting for days.

  He shoved a long, slender box at her. The once lovely wrapping paper looked like it had been mauled by an angry cat, and the box seemed misshapen. Avery looked from the package to Shilah’s swollen eyes.

  “This is for you. I should have brought it to you on Christmas.” She took it from him and opened it. It was a necklace she’d admired in Arizona, but hadn’t realized that Shilah saw her looking at it. She wondered when he bought it.

  “Shilah, it’s beautiful.” She turned to Jack. “Just leave him with me. I’ll take care of him tonight.”

  “Mmm hmm. Well, just be gentle, ma’am.” Jack trotted out to the car.

  Shilah made his way gingerly to her couch. Avery left him and retrieved an ice pack in the kitchen. She returned and was unsure of what part of his battered body to ice first. Noticing his hands were badly swollen, she placed it on top of them and he winced. She took a seat close beside him.

  “What happened?”

  “Jason.” It was a simple answer, but it was all the answer she needed.

  “He was trying to start shit with Aaron. He must have a death wish. He was screwing with everybody in the bar. Then he disrespected you.” Shilah shrugged and winced.

  Avery’s jaw dropped at his words and she delicately removed the icepack, carefully inspecting his hands.

  “Shilah, you shouldn’t have done this to yourself.” Her voice was quiet as she looked up from his hands to his eyes.

  “I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I’m not proud of the beating I gave him tonight, but if he ever speaks your name in my presence again, I’ll snap his neck.”

  Avery touched Shilah’s cheek and he placed his hand over hers, taking her hand and kissing it.

  She felt her heart swell in her chest and struggled to gather the breath she needed for the words she wanted to tell him.

  “Do you have any ibuprofen?” he asked.

  “Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?”

  “I’ll be okay.” She left him and went in search of painkillers. As she closed the medicine cabinet, she analyzed her gaunt reflection in the mirror. The words of advice from her friends bombarded her.

  “What are you running from?”

  “He told me he took you to meet his parents. That’s some serious shit for a guy, Aves.”

  “Take chances.”

  She brought him a glass of water and the pills. As he swallowed them, she spoke.

  “I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to open up to you. With my mom and all the stuff about Ryan…”

  “You don’t need to explain.” He shook his head and his long hair fell into his face. He pushed it away and met her eyes.

  “Yes, I do,” Avery insisted. “There were just so many things I took for granted, that ended up being a lie.”

  “I know. Lauren told me.”

  Avery smirked. “Goddamn, Lauren.”

  Shilah rested his head on the back of the couch. Then he rolled his head to the side to meet her eyes.

  “I understand why you’re scared to trust me. You need to understand why I’m hesitant to put myself out there and have you pull away from me.”

  She thought of his frosty exchange with his father and nodded. “I want a do-over, Shilah. I missed you so much.”

  He looked deep into her eyes, and warmth spread throughout her body.

  He cupped her face and kissed her softly. She carefully rested her head on his shoulder. She pulled a blanket over them and snuggled close to him.

  “So I’m guessing we’ll need to wait a few days for the makeup sex.” Avery joked. Shilah chuckled.

  Nicole hopped out of her Jeep and plunged her boots into half a foot of snow. The temperature was unseasonably warm and the sun blazed in the azure sky. She carefully made her way through the snowy cemetery to the spot where her first love was buried. She approached his tombstone and brushed a drift away from his name.

  “Hey, baby.” The term of endearment fell off her lips naturally. Her love for Ryan, no matter how strained or unhealthy, had always been very organic. She pulled a laminated, scribbled picture out of her pocket and propped it against his grave marker, wedging it in the snow.

  “Ike drew a Viking for you.” She smiled broadly as she looked at the yellow construction paper marred with a purple crayon. She breathed deep inhalations of cold air as she decided where to begin.

  “I still can’t believe you’re gone. I think a part of me will always be waiting for you to come through the
door.” The wind whipped at her ponytail and she put her hood over her head. Ryan’s smile hadn’t faded from her memory, but with each passing day it got harder to remember what his voice sounded like. A twisted part of her considered demanding the DVD from Avery, but Nicole knew in her heart it would hurt much more than it would help.

  “I’ll never forget your face because I look at it every day when I look at Ike. You and I are bound together. As long as I have Ike, I’ll always have a part of you.”

  She focused on the reason she’d come, and her mind rifled back in history to her first wedding reception.

  Ryan walked off to do shots with his med school pals and was meeting and greeting in classic Harper style. She’d spent a lot of the reception sitting and watching him, wondering if she would spend the rest of her years as a silent observer to his one man show. The Lawrence Welk style band began to play some old tune from when her grandma was a girl, and Aaron appeared before her. She’d carefully avoided being alone with him the entire weekend. Seeing him in his perfectly tailored black Armani tux was torturous.

  “You look beautiful tonight, Mrs. Harper.” There wasn’t a trace of humor in his voice. She felt a lump in her throat and her eyes stung. Maybe it was the release of pent-up stress leading up to her wedding or maybe it was the tragic look that hung in Aaron’s eyes.

  Without a word, she took his hand and let him lead her to the dance floor. Her legs felt like Jell-O as he enfolded her in his arms. Rigid at the recollection of their last physical encounter, Nicole tried to thrust the memories of his taste and his touch from her mind. She could feel her face and chest on fire. Finally after a full minute without eye contact, she reluctantly looked up at him.

  Aaron’s face was an open book. He opened his mouth and Nicole braced for whatever she was about to hear. Ryan’s abrupt appearance next to them startled her, and gauging from the way Aaron loosened his hold on her, she knew he was also taken aback.