After emptying the bulk of their moving boxes, we ate dinner then Mom brought out a large birthday cake. Holding my three-year-old nephew, Jakey, on my back, he and I along with both sets of parents and Claire sang happy birthday to Anna and Nate. I had put as much passion into my singing as I did into karaoke, making Jakey laugh, but the person I hoped to make happy just gave a small smile. Nate on the other hand came alive from all the attention. His birthday wasn’t until next week, but since he would be spending it with his friends, we decided to celebrate his and Anna’s birthdays together.
Jakey clapped his hands and bounced on my back until I put him down so he could help blow out the candles. Anna stood behind him smiling and then I saw her. For a brief moment, I could see the old Anna in the way she laughed when the candles relit, and Jakey’s eyes rounded in amazement. But before I could enjoy the moment, the sadness returned.
We took our cake and sat in the living room and listened to Nate and Claire discuss their summer plans. I had been picking up empty plates to take into the kitchen when I noticed the college course catalog on her desk. When Anna looked at me, I tilted my head toward the kitchen. Without saying a word, she followed me, and when we were alone I asked, “Did you finish registering for Fall classes?”
She shook her head. “I can’t until next week.”
“But you are.” It wasn’t a question. I bullied her into applying for college, and I refused to let her get out of it.
“Yes,” she groaned. “I’m not going to back out. I swear.”
I wanted to believe her, but I could hear her hesitancy in her response. If I were a good sister, I would be happy with the progress she had made to move forward, but it felt like I dragged her instead of helped her. Maybe me butting in was a hindrance to her. I hadn’t given her the chance to make changes on her own…or allowed her to fall.
Anna poured herself a cup of coffee and pulled out one of the stools from beneath the counter, plopping down with a sigh.
“I wish Ryan was here to see this so he could make some sort of inappropriate joke about having sex with a co-ed.” The words were out of my mouth before I realized I had said them out loud. I cringed knowing a spiral was coming, but it came faster than expected. She went from groaning to laughing to sobbing in a span of thirty seconds.
“He was supposed to be here, Kimmie. I supported him through college, and he was supposed to do the same for me. We made a deal.” She pounded her fist on the counter with a mix of anger and grief.
“I know, Anna, and if he could, you know he would be here for you.”
“I do know.” She pinched her mouth closed holding in a cry as she wiped at her tears. “I know,” she repeated. “But it doesn’t make it any less fair.”
By the time I walked out the door that night, I had needed a drink. Overwhelmed by memories of Ryan and seeing and feeling Anna’s grief felt like too much. All I wanted to do was go home, take a long bath and have a glass––or bottle, of wine.
Just as I reached my car, I gave myself a pat on the back for managing to spend a day with my mother without hearing one critical comment from her.
“Kimmie.”
Ugh. I spoke too soon.
I eyed my car wondering if I could make my escape before she reached me. “Yeah, Mom?”
“Are you really sure this was the best idea?” She looked at Anna’s house then to me. Her face drawn and filled with concern.
I had been waiting for this. Not only did she not trust me with men but also with money. It didn’t matter I had a business degree to back me up or own my own home, had a healthy savings and retirement account. My mother questioned the advice I had given Anna. “Mom, I’ve been through this with you. I know you and everyone else wanted her to be able to stay in the house, but I looked over her financial situation in depth. She needed to do this. That house was a drain on her finances. Moving here, her mortgage is almost nothing, her taxes, utilities and upkeep are lower, and she’s won’t be paying homeowner association fees.”
“But it was their dream home. It’s just a shame.” I didn’t need her to make me feel guilty for giving my sister advice. In a perfect world, she would be able to stay in her house and not have to worry about money, but we didn’t live in a perfect world, and I hated being put in the position of being the bad guy.
“It is, but if she stayed she wouldn’t be able to finish college before the money ran out. With only a high school diploma and no recent work experience, it would be difficult to find a job that would support her let alone her and the kids.” I sighed with frustration. “Just trust me, Mom. She’s going to be okay. It might be hard for a while, but life is already hard for her.”
“You might be right.” I rolled my eyes and pretended she didn’t just insult me. Would it have killed her to at least admit I was right?
14
“Kim, you’ve done a fantastic job,” Jim and his wife Renee gushed as they gave me a quick hug.
“Thank you. I’m thrilled to see the turnout and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.” I scanned the rooftop, watching the servers carrying champagne and hors d’oeuvres that everyone snatched up as soon as they were brought out.
The slight breeze kept the evening comfortable and cool while making the twinkly lights swing, casting a romantic feel over the party. The soft hum of people mingling with the music coming from the live band eased the stress of a long day of preparations. With the number of compliments I’d received so far, I would call this party a success.
“I can’t believe all the famous people who came.” Renee’s expression switched back and forth between awe and excitement. When she pointed out the two Portland Trail Blazers, I smiled and made a mental note to introduce her to them before she left.
“We owe all of this to you. I don’t know how you talked so many people into donating or managed to invite so many influential people, but thank you. I thought this would be a low-key event where we would have to beg for every penny. But Kevin already added up the proceeds, and we brought in twice as much as we hoped.” I smiled, proud of the turn out, but the mention of Kevin’s name made my heart want to jump out of my chest. I kept an eye on him all evening but lost sight of him about ten minutes ago. Kevin had been moving around the rooftop schmoozing, except it didn’t look like he schmoozed; it appeared as if every person he spoke to was his friend, even people I knew he didn’t know.
“You busy next year?” Jim joked.
“Yes.” His smiled dropped until I finished. “I have you scheduled for the third week of June,” I said with a grin. I already made a list of ideas for next year.
He chuckled, and Renee gave me another quick hug. “I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.”
“Ms. Franklin?” Dalton, one of my long time servers called for me from the door leading to the restrooms and elevators. I felt his urgency in his serious expression and the way he bounced from foot to foot. Everything was going so well, what could have happened?
“Excuse me,” I said with a smile not exposing my concern.
“Duty calls,” Renee singsonged.
As I drew closer to Dalton, he shook his head. “One of the guests got wasted,” he said as I stepped through the doorway. It happened at almost every event, so I didn’t understand why he looked so panicked until I heard the cries.
On the floor leaning against Kevin sat a girl who couldn’t be more than eighteen wearing silky lingerie barely covering her private bits.
If any of my bartenders served her, they were getting fired tonight. Just looking at her, you could tell she didn’t need any more alcohol. She hit the crying stage of the evening. Next up, her head in the toilet.
I knelt down on the other side of her, only glancing at Kevin for a second to see if he needed to say anything. He shrugged his shoulders and waited for me to speak. “Hi, sweetie, can you tell me your name?” She lifted her head off of Kevin’s shoulder and looked at me with droopy eyes. “Alicia.”
“Hi Alicia, I’m Kim.�
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She gave me a crooked grin then her head fell back onto Kevin’s shoulder. I had to work fast to get any more information out of her before she passed out. “Alicia, are you here with anyone? Is there someone I can get for you?”
She mumbled what I interpreted as a no then she sat straight up with her eyes wide and looked straight at me looking sober. “My boyfriend brought me here, but he’s gone,” she slurred then slumped against the wall.
“He left the party?” I asked.
“No,” she said drawing out the word. “We’re staying at the hotel for the weekend but his wife called, and he said he had to leave.” The tears were back. “I ran out of those little bottles of alcohol, so I wanted to go to the bar to get another drink, but I got lost.” She began to slump forward, but Kevin managed to get a hold of her to keep her from hurting herself.
“Aww sweetie,” I whispered running my hand up and down her arm trying to comfort her. “Do you know your room number?” She shook her head. “May I look in your purse for your identification?” She nodded.
I went through her wallet and found her license. She just turned twenty-one. Even though I had felt the pain of being the wife of a man who cheated, I couldn’t help feel a wave of sympathy for this poor girl. Young and naïve, she didn’t know love didn’t have to be that hard. Even I knew that.
I looked up at Dalton and asked him to call the front desk to get her room number then asked Kevin to help me get her to her feet. The girl couldn’t have been a hundred pounds soaking wet but lifting dead weight while wearing heels took balance. Lucky for her, I spent the past year doing yoga every time I wanted sex. I did a lot of yoga.
“Let me put my jacket on her. I’d hate for anyone else to see her like this,” he offered. One of the female servers put an arm around her waist while Kevin slid out of his suit jacket and placed it over Alicia’s shoulders.
While we waited for Dalton to return with a room number, I asked one of the bartenders to bring me a bottled water and a couple of packages of aspirin we kept in the First Aid kit.
Once we got her settled into her room and bed, Dalton returned to the party to finish his shift while Kevin and I stayed. She couldn’t be left alone, not in her condition. At one point I managed to get her to sit up long enough to take the aspirin. Water dribbled down her chin making her cry again. As I helped her back under the covers, I whispered to Kevin, “You don’t have to stay.”
“Neither do you,” he said with knowing glance.
“I can’t leave her alone. She’s consumed a lot of alcohol and I have enough experience to know she shouldn’t be alone, at least not until she’s thrown up some of what she drank tonight.”
“Experience?” he asked.
I smirked. “I have some experience being the drunk girl, but also taking care of the drunks,” I said not feeling the least bit of shame. Unlike this girl, I always had someone to call or be there for me.
When she began to snore, Kevin and I slipped out of the bedroom and into the living room of the suite, leaving the door open in case she needed anything. I made myself comfortable, toeing out of my shoes and plopping onto the couch with an exaggerated sigh. My long day no longer had an end in sight.
We sat in silence for a few minutes listening to Alicia snore in the next room until Kevin mentioned the one thing I didn’t want to talk about.
“You never called,” he stated.
“I didn’t. We had plenty of help with the unpacking.” I played dumb hoping he would drop it. I didn’t want to have to explain my promise to Tim or why I would agree to it. With only a week left, I could stall.
“I hoped you would call for any reason.”
A whoosh of relief filled my chest when I heard Alicia whimper. I escaped having to respond to his comment. At least for now. We both looked at her through the open door and noticed she was looking a little green. “Grab a trash can.” There was no way we could get her to the bathroom in time.
“Got it!” he responded right away while I helped her to sit up. She leaned over to puke just as he brought the can to her mouth.
I tried everything I could not to gag but the moment the smell hit me, my stomach rolled. “Excuse me,” I spit out before hurrying to the bathroom to dry heave over the toilet.
Looking at the clock then back to Alicia who looked dead to the world, I wondered if it was safe to leave. After we had cleaned her up and she passed out again, I called someone to come in and take out the garbage. Dalton called twice since we brought her to her room to give me updates but it was getting late and the event had ended.
Leaving a sleeping Alicia, I walked back into the living room area where Kevin sat reading on his phone with his feet propped on the coffee table. To my relief, he hadn’t asked any more uncomfortable questions during the past two hours.
“She okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. I think she’s out for the night.”
“You need to get back to work?” he asked.
“Yeah. I’d like to check to see if cleanup has started.”
He stood and stretched, looking sexy as ever. Once again his sleeves were pulled up and his dress shirt untucked. I imagined myself slipping off his tie and unbuttoning his shirt then… I blinked back my x rated images before I began to sweat.
“I’ll check on her tomorrow morning. I left my card beside her bed in case she needs anything.”
His eyes met mine, and I could feel him seeing me. Like really seeing me. “You’re a good person, Kimberly.” I had always wanted to be a good person, but that wasn’t a word people used to describe me and I didn’t know how to respond to him, so I didn’t.
Unable to make myself put my shoes back on, I held them with the tips of my fingers as we left Alicia’s room. When the elevator doors opened, he slung his coat jacket over one arm then put his hand on my lower back. I would’ve paid anything for him to keep it there forever. I felt a warmth that was more than body heat. Kindness seeped through his every pore.
When the doors opened to the rooftop and I saw my crew busy working, I turned to face Kevin. “Thanks for your help.” He stood so close I felt his breath on my face. I looked into his eyes and felt a desperateness that I had never felt before. I needed him to kiss me. Even after spending the past two hours taking care of a sick drunk girl, I couldn’t help want him.
Taking care of people seemed to be effortless for him. I never met a guy like him and felt an uncomfortable rise of panic in my chest as I realized I would regret it if I let him go.
He lifted his hand and caressed my cheek as he pushed back a few strands of my light brown hair that the wind tried to control. “Kimberly, please call me.” The intensity in his eyes made me speechless. All I could do was nod my head. He leaned down and kissed my cheek before turning to leave. I watched him until the elevator door closed between us.
Releasing a heavy breath, I knew this man would change my life.
15
“Kim, there’s a guy wanting to talk to you.” Dalton pointed to the outside tables. I slid off the stool inside the rooftop bar and looked at my phone noting the early hour.
I carried my glass of wine and my shoes outside to the now cleaned up rooftop. The band sat just outside the bar laughing and talking with the servers who had gotten off shift at one, nearly an hour ago and were having a drink before heading home.
Just beyond the table, I noticed a lone figure sitting at a table in the far corner. With only a few lights on, I couldn’t make out the person until I stood a few feet away from him.
“Kevin?” He took his eyes off the city view and smiled up at me. I placed my wine and shoes on the table and sat on the opposite side of him. “I thought you left.”
“I did, but when I got to the front desk, I realized I wasn’t tired.” His eyes locked with mine. “And I didn’t want to say goodnight to you.” He blew out a breath and shook his head. “Even though I think you’ve been avoiding me, and I should take that as a hint, I can’t get you out of my head, Kimberly. One wo
rd from you and I’ll leave you alone.”
“I don’t want you to leave me alone, but…”
“Kimberly, I like you.” I didn’t bother hiding my pleasure. “Every meeting we’ve had, you’re always rushing out, and I just want to spend some time with you.” He took my hand holding it loosely in his. “I want a chance to get to know the person who would sit with a drunk girl until she fell asleep. I want to sit with the woman who takes babysitting jobs from teenagers.” I bit my lip to keep from laughing but failed. My cheeks began to hurt from smiling so hard. “I want to sit with the woman who is admired by her employees. I want to meet the woman who knows what it’s like to be the drunk girl and the girl who takes care of the drunks,” he said with a laugh. “Give me a chance.”
I looked out over the city wishing I had a way to hold back and protect my heart while simultaneously jumping at an opportunity to be with him. Even though, I would just be hanging out with a friend––I wanted in a biblical way, I didn’t want to break my promise to Tim. I glanced back to Kevin and realized I would––for him.
“Do you live nearby?” I asked.
“I do.” As he cleared his throat, I saw him swallow. “Would you like to come over?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Can you leave now?”
“Yes.” The word came out breathy. When I went to grab my purse and say goodnight to my staff, he picked up my shoes and carried them for me.
During our cab ride to his apartment, I didn’t speak in fear of breaking whatever spell hung over us. I didn’t want him to change his mind, and I didn’t want to talk myself out going to his place.
When the cab pulled up to an older home, he informed me the house had been turned into four apartments, and he lived on the second floor. The moment we stepped inside his apartment, I asked, “Why aren’t you kissing me?” sounding as desperate as I felt.
His eyes turned heated. “Do you want me to kiss you?” he said against my lips.
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