by Raine Thomas
“Lily will be there as the band’s social media specialist,” he said. “She’s not going as Archer’s girlfriend.”
Though, of course, she was and they both knew it.
Nikki had huffed and steamed over it some more, even sounding on the verge of tears by the time she was done. She claimed he wasn’t making any effort with her and she was hurt that he wasn’t even going to check with the band to see if they’d be okay with it. He supposed she was trying to guilt him into changing his mind.
He hadn’t budged. The band deserved his full focus while they were recording and Nikki would only serve as a distraction. It wasn’t his problem she didn’t like Lily being closer to the band than she was.
The truth was, she was right. He wasn’t making any effort with her. He’d realized on his first day back in L.A. that he was happy having some time to himself.
The argument about the studio session had been the perfect opening to break up with her. He’d been just irritated enough by her wheedling to do it. If they hadn’t been on the phone, he would have. Even though they’d only been exclusive for about a month, he felt it best to do it in person.
His knee-jerk annoyance had eased after the call. Nikki just wanted to feel closer to him, he thought. It wasn’t her fault he wasn’t approaching their relationship the same way. This was all new—and largely uncomfortable—for him.
To help ease things between them, he had called later in the day to see if she wanted to go with him to visit Lex. Her mood had instantly improved. She had sounded so enthusiastic that he’d once again waffled over breaking up with her, wondering if he was really giving her a fair chance.
His uncertainty followed him into the studio session where he saw Archer and Lily together. The impact Lily had on Archer’s performance had been staggering. Keith couldn’t associate with it on any level.
What would it be like to have what they did? To be with someone who supported him no matter what, someone who propelled him beyond what he ever thought he could do?
Thoughts like those had turned his attention to Sydney...quiet, unassuming Sydney who had strong-armed him into learning to read. She sat on the couch next to Lily looking perfectly comfortable and somehow right at home among all of the sound equipment.
Her gaze was riveted on Archer as he sang of yearning for someone he couldn’t have and how empty life felt without the heart of the one he loved. There were tears in her eyes by the time Archer finished the last chorus, tears the song was meant to evoke.
And Keith knew he couldn’t stay with Nikki.
He was an artist at his core. He connected with Archer’s lyrics during the recording, much as he had the first time he heard them. He just didn’t feel that way about Nikki. It made no sense pretending there was a future together.
The question then had been where and when to break things off with her. Having no experience with this kind of thing, he decided the right moment would present itself.
He opted to go through with letting Nikki meet Lex and give her the T-shirt. He’d spoken with Lex the night before the studio session and told her about Nikki and the gift, and he didn’t want to disappoint her. He figured he’d let Nikki give Lex the gift she was so excited to give her and receive Lex’s appreciation for it. He would find a more appropriate time to let her know things weren’t working out between them.
Sure.
What the hell had he been thinking? he asked himself now. He had just parked his motorcycle near the park across from the apartment complex where Lex lived with their mother, Megan, and Lex’s father, Jeff. Nikki had driven separately and stood beside her car waiting for him. She held the plastic bag containing the T-shirt.
The moment he saw her, he knew he’d made a mistake by seeing this meeting through. He’d been feeling guilty about how he’d treated her over the first few days in L.A. and it had affected his judgment.
Hadn’t he just gotten all bent out of shape with Sydney because of his concern over Lex’s attachment issues? Yet here he was, encouraging this meeting between his sister and the woman he intended to dump at the earliest opportunity. It would have been much smarter to just buy Lex another gift and leave Nikki out of it.
Many thoughts ran through his mind as he walked over to Nikki, none of them complimentary towards himself.
He saw Lex in the distance on the swings. Megan was pushing her. Lex waved exuberantly, telling him she’d seen them.
Shit. No going back now.
“Hi there, stranger,” Nikki said, leaning up and brushing her lips against his.
To discourage her from deepening the kiss, he nodded towards Lex, who was trying to slow herself down on the swing so she could greet him.
“Thanks for coming,” he said as they started up the gentle grassy slope leading into the park.
“Thanks for inviting me.”
They stopped walking when they got to the top of the slope. “Would you wait here for a minute?” he asked.
“Sure.”
He continued on towards the swings. Lex had gotten herself slowed down enough that she could hop off. She ran up to meet him with so much excitement it seemed as though she had forgotten she had just seen him yesterday.
He smiled as she reached him and flung herself at him. He lifted her easily into a hug. She was small for her age, only four-foot-seven and barely over seventy pounds.
His gaze moved over her shoulder as Megan approached. She gave him a brief smile.
“Hi,” she said.
He didn’t return the smile. “Hi.”
Her gaze moved over to Nikki in the distance. “Are you going to introduce me to your friend?”
Lex wriggled against him, so Keith let her down. She immediately grasped his hand.
“No,” he replied to Megan.
“I should rephrase that,” she said, undeterred by his cool response. “I’d like to meet your friend, much as I like to meet all strangers who meet my daughter.”
Keith held her stare. In it, he saw a stubbornness unmatched by any outside of his own.
He couldn’t even blame her. He’d insist on the same thing if he’d been in her place.
“Fine. Come on.” Letting go of Lex’s hand, he signed, Let’s go meet the friend I told you about last night.
She smiled and nodded, once again taking his hand. She skipped beside him as they headed towards Nikki. When Nikki saw they were approaching, she smiled and started forward to meet them.
“Hi,” she said as they reached each other. She both spoke and waved, looking between Megan and Lex.
“This is Nikki,” Keith said, also speaking and signing. “Nikki, this is Megan and Lex.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Nikki greeted them.
Megan gave Nikki a once-over before replying. Keith was sure she was taking in Nikki’s ripped jeans, high-heeled boots, and tight T-shirt. Her gaze settled on the bag under Nikki’s arm.
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Megan replied. “I see you know ASL.”
“Only a little. I’m still learning.”
“It’s nice of you to make an effort,” Megan said. “I’ll just go wait on the bench over there so you can visit with Lex.”
She turned to Lex and signed, Make sure you say thank you.
Lex nodded. Keith waited until Megan had crossed over to the bench before turning back to Nikki.
“I’ll interpret for you,” he said.
“Okay.” Nikki looked at Lex and smiled. “Keith talks about you all the time. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
She spoke with deliberate slowness, as though Lex needed her to in order to understand what she was saying. It wasn’t unusual. People often did that the first time they met her. It still left him feeling insulted on Lex’s behalf.
Pushing that aside, he signed the words to Lex.
She replied, Is she your girlfriend?
No. Just a friend.
“What did she say?” Nikki asked.
“She said she likes your boots.”
>
“Oh. Thanks,” she replied to Lex, who looked puzzled.
“Nikki has a gift for you,” Keith conveyed to Lex to distract her.
Lex’s eyes lit up as Nikki handed her the bag. Lex opened it and looked inside, pulling out the T-shirt. Her resulting smile made Keith feel as though this had all been worth it.
After holding it up to herself and admiring the way it would fit, Lex handed the shirt and bag to Keith and signed, Thank you. This will go great with everything Angel gave me.
Keith paused in the middle of refolding the T-shirt. Jamming it into the crook of his arm to free up his hands, he signed, What do you mean?
Angel brought me some TMNT gifts, Lex responded.
When?
Lex thought about it. Two days ago.
Keith’s intuition flashed.
“What is she saying?” Nikki asked as she looked between them.
“She’s excited about the shirt,” he said, focusing on putting it back into the bag. “She can’t wait to wear it.”
“Oh, good.”
Can we play on the swings? Lex signed.
He nodded and conveyed the request to Nikki. She smiled and walked with them over to the swing set.
The rest of the visit went uneventfully. Keith tried to focus on Lex and not on the nagging suspicion he’d had in his head since Lex mentioned Sydney. He didn’t want his temper to interfere with his and Lex’s time together.
They stayed for another hour until Megan declared it was time for them to head home. Lex made Keith promise that he was going to visit again soon before she allowed her mother to lead her off. Keith waited until they had safely crossed the street to their complex before he and Nikki started walking back towards where they had parked.
“That went well, don’t you think?” Nikki asked, struggling in her impractical boots to keep up with his long strides.
He made a noncommittal sound. They soon reached the street-side parking. He paused beside his bike. Nikki moved in front of him and wound her arms around his neck.
“So what do you think we should do now?” she asked, her eyes moving to his mouth.
He started to suggest they get something to eat. What came out was, “Where did you get the T-shirt?”
She blinked. “I don’t remember. I just found it while I was out shopping.”
“And when was that?”
Whatever she read in his eyes had her lowering her arms and taking a step away from him. Her posture went taut with anger.
“That bitch told you, didn’t she?” she fumed. “I knew she was setting me up.”
His suspicions had been correct. Sydney had given Nikki the T-shirt to give to Lex.
“Why would she do that?” he asked, more to himself than to Nikki.
“Why the fuck do you think? She’s trying to make me look bad because she wants you.” She issued a low growl and started pacing. “I knew that whole goody-two-shoes thing was all an act. How could I have been so stupid? She made me look like an idiot so she can make her move on you.”
Keith just couldn’t make that explanation fit. If Sydney really wanted to make a move on him, she could have just let him know she was making a point to see Lex and bringing her gifts that she obviously loved. Instead, Sydney hadn’t said a thing about it.
And that was a whole other thing he fully intended to address later.
“Sydney isn’t trying to get between us, Nikki,” he said. “I think you’ve just confirmed there’s enough between us already.”
She stopped walking. “What do you mean?”
“I mean it doesn’t matter why Sydney gave you the T-shirt. It matters that you used a lie to convince me to bring you to meet Lex. That’s a line you shouldn’t have crossed, no matter what your intentions.”
“You didn’t give me any other choice!” she declared, tossing her hands up in the air. “You’re keeping me at arm’s length and you never tell me anything important. I shouldn’t have to force my way in here.”
He nodded slowly. “You’re right. I have been keeping you at arm’s length and you shouldn’t have to force your way into anything. That just confirms I’m just not ready for this.”
Her anger transitioned into wariness. “Not ready for what?”
“Not ready for this relationship. I’m done pretending that I am.”
She drew herself up as though she’d been struck. “Pretend?” she sputtered. “You’re going to stand there and say you’ve just been pretending with me?”
“No, Nikki. I’m saying that I tried the relationship thing and it didn’t take. You knew this was a strong possibility when we agreed to give this a shot.”
“You haven’t given this a shot,” she argued. “You’ve given it less than a month. We’ve barely even tried to make this work.”
“And the truth is I have no real interest in trying. This just isn’t for me.”
Her lips worked as though trying to form a response. All that ultimately worked its way free was a snarled “Fuck you” before she stormed over to her car and climbed in, slamming the door behind her.
That about sums it up, he thought, walking over to his bike.
As breakups went, he figured that was about what one could expect. He supposed he could have handed her some lines to gloss it up a bit, but why bother? He’d given her the truth.
He had more important things to deal with now...beginning with having it out with Sydney over not telling him about her visit with Lex.
Chapter Thirteen
Sydney knocked on the door to Keith’s apartment. It was her third visit there since they arrived in L.A. Her first impression of the place had been that it was more upscale and pretentious than she expected. Keith hadn’t ever struck her as that kind of guy.
Once she had walked into his apartment, she felt more of the connection with his personality. It had warm, durable wood floors, the bare essentials in comfortable furniture, and serviceable white walls decorated in frames displaying Lex’s artwork. She later learned that he had chosen the apartment for its location to Lex and the downtown recording studios. The practicality of it made perfect sense.
It was still disconcerting to pull her eight-year-old Toyota Prius into a parking lot full of luxury vehicles that cost more than any house she could possibly afford. Walking through the grand lobby with its crystal chandeliers and marble floors on that first visit had made her think she had written down the wrong address.
She was rather surprised to be standing there again. She had expected Keith to use the fact that they were in L.A. to stop their lessons. It had surprised her when he casually brought them up while he was teaching her Poker at the Duet event.
He had initially asked to meet with her at her apartment. She had explained that Aria was going to be in and out, so they wouldn’t have much privacy. As an alternative, she had suggested meeting somewhere like a library between his apartment and hers in Long Beach, but he didn’t like the risk of someone seeing them. With no other logical option, he had proposed the idea of her coming out to his place.
She could tell he wasn’t thrilled about it. She figured he was reluctant because of the nature of her visits. He still treated her with thinly veiled resentment more often than not. She’d almost gotten used to it.
She had decided she would just embrace the positive thought that he wasn’t giving up on the lessons and be happy with that.
Her attention returned to the door as Keith answered it. He was wearing the casual clothing he typically wore at home, a pair of loose navy blue training pants worn low on his hips and a light blue T-shirt that made his already vivid eyes even more arresting. Even his midnight black hair was more casually tousled, giving his sculpted features a softer edge. Something about being with him when he wasn’t styled out like a rock star gave these sessions a much more intimate feel than Sydney had anticipated. She almost wished Nikki was there to help keep her stray thoughts in line.
She hadn’t seen Nikki since they arrived in L.A., though, nor had Keith ment
ioned her. She was afraid to pry by asking why that was.
Keith seemed even more churlish than usual. She still smiled at him.
“Hi, Keith,” she said.
Knowing better than to wait for him to return her greeting, she moved past him with the bags she was carrying. She crossed the foyer and took the two steps down leading into the heart of the spacious open-concept apartment. The long, dark wood dining table where they’d had their past couple sessions was situated on the right side of the space. She headed over to it and placed everything on the table.
Keith stopped next to her with his arms crossed.
“What’s up?” she asked as she began unpacking some of the bags. “I thought you’d be in a good mood today.”
“Did you?” The words sounded like deadly blades aimed right at her.
She gave him a perplexed look. “Of course. The recording session went so well yesterday and you got to see Lex today. Why are you staring at me like I just slashed the tires on your motorcycle?”
He looked as though he was going to say something scathing until he registered what she was unpacking. “Is that Thai food?” he asked.
“Yep. I stopped at the Thai restaurant you mentioned at our last lesson. It’s dinner time and I thought you might be hungry.”
His gaze moved from the food to her and then back to the food. “What did you get?” he asked.
“Pot stickers, Mango Pad Thai, Panang Curry, and pineapple fried rice.”
When he just stared at her, she turned and walked over to the galley-style kitchen to grab a couple of paper plates and some silverware. She had learned that he didn’t own a set of dishes, though he did have a set of cereal bowls and basic cutlery. She also tore off a couple of paper towels and opened the fridge to get him a Coke. She blinked in surprise when she saw a six-pack of Diet Coke, her beverage of choice. She’d had water to drink the past couple visits because regular Coke had too much sugar for her.
She managed to carry everything back out to the table and smiled when she saw Keith had finished unpacking everything and taken a seat.
“How did you know my favorites?” he asked as he took his soda and a plate from her and began opening the containers.