Song Chaser (Chasers)

by Kandi Steiner

  “I love you, Mee Ma. I promise I’ll call again soon, but I’m walking up to the hospital now.”

  “Don’t hesitate to call me. Or text me. Believe it or not, your brother has me figuring out this damn fancy thing he got me for my birthday.”

  I giggle, thinking of my Mee Ma holding the screen of her phone to her face and punching out a text message. “Okay, I will. Give Seth a hug for me – Daddy, too.”

  “Love you, Peaches. Take care of yourself.”

  I shove my phone in my back pocket and take a deep breath before walking into the hospital, my mind still reeling, but before I have the chance to ask the receptionist for directions – I see him. Tanner is dressed in all white scrubs, making his bronze skin take on a kind of glow, and his sideways smile spreads into a full grin when he sees me. He strides over to me and my ovaries start bouncing off the fucking walls thinking about last night. He’s holding a small vase in his hand with a beautiful arrangement of lilies and roses as he leans in and kisses me softly on the lips, a kiss way too short for my preference but appropriate in a hospital, I suppose.

  “Those are beautiful,” I motion to the flowers.

  “I’m glad you like them. Sadly, they’re not for you.” I lift my brow, questioning. Tanner smiles even wider and takes my hand, “Come on, we’re late.”

  * * *

  “Would you like some more tea, Princess Kellee?” Mariah asks me, holding up her purple plastic tea pot.

  “Please,” I insist, holding up my cup. She meticulously pours an invisible hot liquid into my cup before placing the pot back down on the red and white checkered blanket spread out on the floor near her bed. Tanner and I are sitting cross legged across from each other with Mariah between us.

  “I just love my flowers, Prince Tanner. They’re bee vine,” she smiles and leans forward to smell the flowers Tanner brought. He smiles, too, and I swear there is a whole new demeanor in his smile around this little girl. It’s like she has a magical key to bring out his most genuine, teeth glowing, full faced smile – a key I would really like to steal and have as my own.

  “Bee vine? I think you mean, DI-vine,” Tanner says pointedly.

  “Yes, divine. That’s what I said,” Mariah replies, sighing and rolling her eyes. Tanner’s eyes meet mine and we smile together, my heart bursting at the sight of him around kids. I knew this was his passion, his future career that he talked so much about – but I never imagined this is what he would be like around kids. They love him – no – they adore him.

  Jesus, Kellee – stop thinking about having the man’s babies already.

  “If you’ll excuse me, Queen Mariah and Princess Kellee, I have to check up on a few things. Can you two ladies keep each other company while I’m gone?”

  “I think we can manage,” I say as Tanner gets up to leave.

  “Do hurry back, Prince Tanner. Sir Fluffy was just about to tell us that story about his journey through the Magical Woods,” Mariah gestures to her purple teddy bear that matches her tea pot set.

  “I’ll be back before you can finish your next cup of tea. Promise.” Tanner bows and exits, leaving me with Mariah. He filled me in that he owed her a date and that he wanted to bring me along, knowing how nervous I was for tonight. He didn’t warn me about her burn marks, though – probably because he’s a good enough person to not even notice them – but it broke my heart when I saw them. Mariah doesn’t really seem to notice, either, though, which makes me think about why Tanner said he wanted me to meet her. He said once I saw what these kids went through, what Mariah went through, I would know I could handle anything.

  I’m still not so sure I wouldn’t prefer to be stuck in a hospital than in a bar with his lover girl, but I’m trying to play along.

  “Dr. Tanner said you’re going on a date with him tonight,” Mariah says softly, sipping from her tiny tea cup. She looks at mine expectantly, so I pick it up and pretend to sip, too.

  “Something like that.”

  “Do you love him?”

  I smile, “Love is a very powerful word. You have to save it for only the most special people.”

  She shrugs her shoulders, sipping from her cup again. “I think he loves you.”

  I falter a little, surely spilling my imaginary tea all over the front of my shirt. “Oh yeah?” I try to recover, setting my cup down and placing my hands in my lap. “What makes you think that?”

  Mariah shrugs again, “I don’t know, he just acts weird around you. Dr. Tanner is always sad, but he’s not sad when you’re here.”

  I can’t help it, Mariah’s words literally make my heart swell. I smile, “I think he’s just happy to be around you guys.”

  “Maybe,” she says, but doesn’t seem happy with that solution. “Are you nervous for your date tonight?”

  I bite my bottom lip, thinking about our “thing” – I hardly consider entertaining the girl who made him break down a “date”. I nod, “You could say that.”

  “Well don’t be,” she asserts. “You’re a princess. And princesses are never nervous. Princesses are brave and pretty and fearless. And Tanner is a prince, which means he has to dance with you and give you a goodnight kiss.”

  I laugh, “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. There’s not really much to worry about, huh?”

  “Nope!” she smiles a toothy grin and I ruffle her hair. I wish I could be as carefree as she is, wish I could go back to the days when I believed in fairy tales.

  When I believed in perfect, flawless, uncomplicated love.

  Tanner strolls back in and offers me his hand, helping me stand. “Okay Queen Mariah, I’m stealing the princess for the evening. I’ll see your pretty face tomorrow night. Don’t get into too much trouble,” he winks and Mariah giggles before giving me a thumbs up. I smile and she skips away as Tanner pulls me out of the room.

  “So, I have one more surprise for you before tonight,” he says, holding out an envelope. I tilt my head to the side, studying him as I take it from his hand. He’s acting strange – nervous, almost.

  “What are you up to, Prince Tanner?”

  “Just open the damn thing before I fuck up and tell you what’s in it.”

  I rip into the envelope before my hand flies to my open mouth, my breath completely stolen.

  Holy shit.

  “Is this – are these? Oh my God, did you get me tickets to see The Loner Boys?”

  “I got us tickets to see The Loner Boys. They’re coming to the city the middle of next month. After last night, I couldn’t resist – I wanted to have another first of yours.”

  “I, shit Tanner, I don’t even know what to say,” I look up at him, my hands shaky as I grip the tickets.

  “You don’t have to say anything. I know what I’m asking you to do tonight isn’t easy, that it isn’t fair, and that it’s really just a fucking douche move all the way around. But I also know that for the first time in a year, I’m starting to not feel so numb. I don’t know what it means, I still can’t promise anything more than what this is right now, but I can say that I will take you to this concert next month. I can say that I want this to just be added to the list of firsts with you that I’m not done adding to yet. And I can say that I will uphold my title as your certified Ear Drum Lifeguard,” he smiles. “If you’ll let me.”

  I just nod and crush my lips to his, forgetting that we’re in a hospital – or not caring, rather. Tanner grins against my kiss and pulls back, still holding me in his arms. “So I take that as a yes, you’ll go?”

  “Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t turn this down for anything! If you screw up, I’ll just take Sal with me,” I smirk, stealing one last kiss. “He would probably be a better Ear Drum Lifeguard, anyway.”

  “Already replacing me? Such a cold heart you have, Princess Freckles.”

  I smile as he throws his arm around my shoulders, leading me out of the hospital. We’re both laughing, but inside I know he’s just as worried as I am for tonight. It’s like our laughter is fighting hard to
cut through the thick tension surrounding us, but to no avail.

  I can’t help but wonder if there will be laughter tonight when all is said and done, or tortured silence instead.

  Chapter 11

  Storm Warning

  Tanner

  If there’s one positive thing I can say about myself, it’s that I’m unusually good at keeping my cool. But tonight? Tonight is different.

  I am fucking nervous.

  I pull up to Kellee’s a little after nine. It’s a little colder than I expected it to be and I pull my jacket closed, hopping out of the cab and walking toward the door. I’m about to walk inside the building when I realize she’s standing outside, right near where the cab pulled up, except I didn’t recognize her.

  Hell, I still don’t.

  Kellee’s long blonde hair is flowing all around her in soft curls. She’s in a dress, which is a first for me to see, and damn if she isn’t the best thing I’ve ever seen in a flowy piece of fabric. It’s black and strapless with some shiny diamond-like shit all along the bust. Her legs stretch on for miles and she’s wearing high heels, another first for me to see. I kind of want to just take her back upstairs and see her in only those heels.

  “Hey,” she says softly, nervously. I can feel the tension – I think we both can. I’m silently praying that tonight won’t be a total fucking disaster, but I can’t decide really what would make it a disaster in the first place. Part of me is worried about Kellee and how she will feel around Paisley, but another part of me is worried about how I’ll feel when I see Paisley again.

  I’m such a fucking chick right now.

  “You look, damn,” I fumble, trying to find the right words. “Kellee, I don’t even know how to accurately describe it. You are beautiful.”

  She smiles now, and not a fake smile but a genuine, cheeks flushed, cute as hell smile. “There you go being sweet again,” she says playfully. “Better be careful, word might get around.”

  “We can’t have that, can we?” I smile, trying to keep the easy conversation going as I hold the cab door open for her. As she steps closer and ducks inside, I notice that she’s wearing more make-up than usual. Normally I’m not impressed by girls who wear a lot of make-up, but Kellee looks gorgeous without it. Now, it’s like she’s on a whole other level.

  “You act like you’ve never seen a girl in a dress before,” she says as I join her in the cab.

  “I’ve never seen you in a dress before.”

  “Wow,” she says. “Looks like I got one of your firsts, for once.”

  I smile, “Indeed it does.”

  I reach over and rest my hand on her thigh. As soon as my skin hits hers, she tenses. I can’t tell if it’s because she’s unsure or if she’s thinking of last night. I like to think the latter, which really turns me on. Again, I’m wondering if I shouldn’t have just taken her back upstairs and skipped this all together.

  But, I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to see Paisley – even if she did bring her douchebag Army boy with her.

  The rest of the cab ride is silent other than Kellee’s breathing, which I notice gets more unsteady the closer we get. I feel her thigh start to sweat a little beneath my palm, so I lean over and pull her in for a long kiss. I press my lips to hers, kissing her deep until she moans a little and I slip my tongue inside and massage hers with mine. I run my thumb across her cheek and nibble at her bottom lip a little before pulling back.

  “What was that for?” she asks a little breathlessly.

  “Nothing. Just because I wanted to. And because I’m afraid you might jump out the window any second.”

  She smiles, but it’s a weak smile. “I’m fine.”

  We pull up at The Box and I help Kellee out of the cab, noting that she’s not completely stable in her heels. It’s actually really fucking adorable because she’s wearing those heels for me. Once again, I make a mental note to get her alone in just those shoes later.

  Paisley texted me just before I picked Kellee up and said she was already here, so as we walk in my nerves start going haywire as I search the bar for her. When my eyes finally catch hers from across the room, I instantly calm.

  She hasn’t changed one bit.

  “Tanner fucking West!” she yells, running toward me. She hits me with a force and throws her arms around my neck, drowning me in the scent that’s haunted my dreams for so long. “God, I have missed you!”

  “Damn Corbin, can’t you contain your chick? Running around throwing herself at other guys like that,” I joke, trying to keep the peace I established with Corbin the day I told him the truth about Paisley and I just being friends back in Orlando. I think I finally earned his trust when he was deployed and I went to visit Paisley a few times. I don’t really care much to have his trust or his friendship, but if it’s the only way I can keep Paisley around, I’ll take one for the team.

  “Oh ha, ha,” Paisley says, dropping out of my arms and onto her feet. Corbin is standing just behind her now, smiling that smile that swept Paisley off her feet. He reaches out his hand and shakes mine in a firm, businessman-like way. It kind of annoys me, but I keep a straight face.

  “Good to see you, Tanner. I never got to properly thank you for taking care of my girl while I was gone.”

  I force a smile, “Ah, she was pretty easy to take care of. Fed her twice a day, took her out when she needed to go pee.”

  “You are such an ass,” Paisley chimes her signature line and I smile. She really hasn’t changed, not like I thought she would when Corbin came back. Even after all this time, she’s still the same girl I’ve always known. Her bright green eyes are like neon against her tan skin, her smile bigger than I’ve seen it in a long time. I kind of hate it, because I know it’s mostly because Corbin is back. Her auburn hair is pulled up in a loose, curly pony tail and she’s wearing a red dress and shiny heels, which is completely normal for her and her best friend McKenzie. They always loved to get dolled up.

  Kellee clears her throat.

  “Oh, Paisley this is Kellee. Kellee, Paisley and her boyfriend, Corbin.”

  Paisley turns to Kellee and then back to me, questions in her eyes as Kellee reaches out to shake her hand. “You really suck at introductions,” she says, moving in to hug Kellee instead. “Hi, I’m Paisley. I’ve been Tanner’s best friend for years, it’s so nice to meet you! Sorry, I’m a hugger.”

  Kellee laughs a little, “I’ve heard a lot about you, it’s nice to finally put a face with all the stories.”

  “Oh shit, I’m not sure I want to know the stories you’ve heard,” Corbin chimes in behind Paisley. We all laugh and make our way to the bar, Paisley grabbing Kellee by the arm and leading the way.

  * * *

  Seven drinks and countless inside jokes later, Paisley is filling me in on her bakery development and the conference she’s in town for. I’m trying to listen intently, but I’m having a hard time focusing.

  Corbin is always touching her.

  He grabs her hip, rests his hand on her back, kisses her neck. I’m trying not to think about it, but seriously she’s like two fucking feet away from me. How the hell am I supposed to ignore it?

  “So I guess it’s karaoke now?” Paisley asks as the DJ pulls up the monitor and a few people start lining up at the table with the song book.

  “Looks that way. You ready to go drop Ice Ice Baby on them like old times?”

  She busts out laughing. God, I have missed that laugh. “Oh my God, that was one time! You’ll never let me live it down, will you?”

  “Hell no! You’re lucky I didn’t have a phone with video recording capabilities back then.”

  Kellee taps me on the shoulder, “Hey, I need to use the bathroom. I’ll be back in a second.” She doesn’t give me time to respond before she’s up out of her barstool and halfway across the room. She’s been quiet all night, and although I’m a guy and kind of terrible at being able to tell shit like this, it seems like she’s a little pissed off.

  Sal hand
s me another drink but holds his grip on it as I try to lift it. “Hey, did you forget she was here or are you really just that much of a fucking moron?”

  I frown, “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about Kellee. You know, the smoking hot blonde who’s more done up than I’ve ever seen her yet practically invisible to you?”

  “She’s not invisible to me, Sal.”

  “Could have fooled me,” he says, releasing my glass. “You need to open your eyes, kid. A girl like Kellee isn’t going to stick around and put up with your shit for long.” Sal shakes his head and walks to the other end of the bar. I sigh, I guess I’m really sucking at this “don’t be an asshole” thing. Now that I think about it, I have been kind of ignoring her ever since we got here. I mean, not on purpose, but I have been so wrapped up in talking to Paisley and joking around with her that I haven’t really focused on Kellee like I should.

  Shit. I really do suck.

  “Oh my God, Tanner! It’s our song!” Paisley says excitedly. Three drunk guys are singing Your Love by The Outfield, an old 80s song Paisley and I used to sing at closing time at a college bar called Sticky’s in Orlando. Personally, I think this song should be saved for closing time when you’re so drunk you can barely stand, but I guess these guys are practically there already. Paisley grabs my hand, “Come on! Come dance with me!”

  She pulls me out to the make-shift dance floor in front of the karaoke stage and we start jumping up and down, singing at the top of our lungs with the three drunk guys who get even more loud and slurred when they see us join in. I glance over at Corbin to make sure I’m not pissing him off. Oh who am I kidding, I kind of hope I’m pissing him off, but he’s at the bar talking with Kellee. I watch as they cheers a shot and down it. I have to admit it kind of pisses me off to see him with her, no matter how wrapped up in Paisley he might be.

  The song goes dead and Paisley laughs and laughs, the booze clearly getting to her. Next, a girl who can’t be a day over twenty-one steps on stage and starts singing a slow song. I’m not familiar with it, which is saying something considering I know all kinds of music, but she’s got a decent voice and it’s not bad.