Dean pushed the blue drink at me again. “Who else would he get on stage and sing for, Damon?”
The music started, and on their own accord my eyes followed Kasper as he began to sway to the beginning notes of the song.
He remembered.
My heart thumped against my chest as I recalled telling Kasper that I loved this song. The day that we had been driving to the school. The day that our relationship took the next step. It was a song about more than friends, and the differences between love. I had always thought of Kasper when it came on, and now he was singing it for me.
My eyes refused to move away as they stayed on Kasper, pulled into his magnetic field. It was the sound of his voice and the sway of his hips. It was just him and I couldn’t look away. Without thought, I picked up the blue mystery drink and sipped the unknown beverage in front of me.
And promptly coughed.
Eyes watering, I croaked out, “What the hell was that?”
Damon laughed harshly. “That was an adios motherfucker, Darling.”
He leaned in closer, to be heard over the country croon of Kasper, and said, “Maybe you need to stick to your white wine.”
I leaned back, eyes watering and turned and looked at him. “Ass.”
He smiled. “You know it.”
I rolled my eyes, and put the blue demon spawn drink back grabbing another one, turning my attention back to Kasper.
The chorus came on about three little words and I was entranced.
Thoughts about break-ins forgotten, worries for another day. ‘Cause right now for the first time ever, I had a man singing to me. And I loved it.
I bopped my head along to the music, as I sipped slowly on mystery drink number two.
Sweet. A little tart. Not too bad.
I poked Dean in the arm to get his attention. He looked away from Kasper, and I gave him two thumbs and nodded towards my drink.
Laughing he shook his head and turned back to watch Kasper.
I didn’t know what was so funny, it was a pretty good drink. I continued to take small sips as I focused back in on Kasper.
My eyes caught Kasper’s, as he finished the line of the chorus his remaining glued to me for the rest of the song.
Was he trying to tell me something? Maybe through a song? It could happen right? It also could be the yummy goodness of the drink talking too.
The song flew by his eyes never leaving mine, and mine never veered away from his.
The song died down and yet his eyes never wavered. Women around us yelled and whistled as he bowed but he seemed to have eyes only for me. With a small smile he made his way towards us, a slight swagger in his step, courtesy of three or four shots from earlier.
Almost to us, a hand with long red nails shot out grabbing onto his forearm, stopping him mid-stride, and I watched his grin drop.
My eyes followed the red nails, down to the body, to see who would be so presumptuous to grab him.
Camille.
Oh hell no.
After everything that had happened these last few weeks I refused to let anything else put a damper on my life.
I pushed back my chair, not saying anything to the others, but behind me I could hear Dean shouting my name telling me to wait. While Damon’s laugh echoed through the building.
Coming around to her other side, I planned to tell her to take her hand off my date.
I planned to calmly tell her to leave us alone.
I planned a lot of things.
But then she smiled.
Twenty-One
Kelly
1. I can’t believe one of my favorite drinks was Sex on the Beach.
2. I liked a guy singing to me.
3. Apparently, I had a temper and a good right hook. Thank you, Ben.
I couldn’t believe I hit her. I had never hit a person in my entire life. Not even when I found out about Trevor cheating, I just left. But when I saw Camille smile at Kasper, well it was the last damn straw.
And I hated to admit I liked it... a lot.
Of course I didn’t really like the after part. After I had hit her, she started screaming about her now broken her nose. Which caused me and the guys to be promptly escorted out.
And I didn’t break her nose….I didn’t think.
I mean she kind of deserved it and the little red devil on my shoulder had concurred. Kasper of course, drunk or not, had quickly grabbed me around my waist as I continued to yell obscenities that would have made the girls proud. Dean, who had finally made his way towards us through the crowd, paid our tab in an attempt to soothe the owner while Damon was of no help to anyone as he had not stopped laughing.
Damon apparently had a sadistic side.
And judging by the glances he gave me on the way home, I think he really enjoyed seeing me hit Camille.
And I couldn’t say anything to him because secretly.... I enjoyed hitting her.
Maybe this was why Damon and I worked.
We both had a dark side.
His was just more noticable.
Palms sweaty, I smoothed them down my dark purple summer dress. Necklace slightly askew, I twisted my antique steampunk necklace to the right centering it evenly. Today was the day that I met Kasper’s parents. After the fiasco at the bar, on the way home Kasper had finally told me about how he had gotten roped into appearing for supper. Apparently, the guys had planned to get me a little tipsy so I wouldn’t freak out about meeting his parents. And when that backfired they ended up just telling me in my driveway. But being so happy after hitting Camille, I wasn’t angry about any of it and agreed without much convincing.
What did one wear to meet parents? Was my purple summer dress too dressy? Or not enough?
The last time I had met a boy’s parents while we were dating it had been disastrous. I remembered I was nervous, so I had stopped by the closest doughnut and coffee shop to get a coffee and their new limited edition doughnuts. I figured that it would calm me down but instead I was in such a rush that I buckled myself in too quickly, and ended up knocking my iced mocha right down my dress. What was worse was I didn’t have time to change, so I went straight to the parent’s house with coffee down my dress and frosting smeared across my cheek.
What?
The more stressed I got the more I needed the sugar.
Plus, who would waste doughnuts?
God, I remember how horrible that was. The date had come to a close not soon after arriving and I never saw the boy again.
This one couldn’t possible be as bad as that… could it?
I didn’t think it could, but I’d learned never say never to what I could accomplish.
I was multi-talented that way.
As I sat on the side of the bed I reached over, and grabbed my gladiator sandals. I found them for a steal and quickly discovered that I loved strappy shoes. There was just something about them that made me feel like an amazon warrior.
Okay, maybe not an amazon, but a warrior all the same.
Finished, I headed for the living room, where I could guess exactly where Duchess was.
Yep.
There, not ten feet from her own doggy bed, she laid on her back, on my once clean couch. I say once because, me and Duchess have come to an understanding of a sorts.
The understanding was I cleaned the couch free of dog hair, and she got right back on it and dirtied it up again.
A symbiotic relationship at its finest.
Though to be honest since she was hurt, I had been a little more giving in the whole department. As in she had no rules anymore.
When I saw on her on that floor hurt and not moving, the stupid rules that I tried to get her to obey went out the window.
And she quickly figured it out. Hence the lying across the couch.
I eyed her as drool dribbled from her mouth and onto my expensive upholstery.
Maybe a few rules needed to be put back into place...
But just not today.
Instead I headed for the kitchen wh
ere my new coffee maker sat on the counter.
I really missed my pink hutch and all my cute coffee mugs. Only having two mugs, and one being a dick mug at that, was for the birds. But I just hadn’t had the time and well to be honest I hated the idea of replacing the one I had. It just wouldn’t be the same.
Carefully, I poured the coffee, careful of my dress and shoes hoping that I wouldn’t have the same mishap happen twice. And as for the doughnuts, well, I found another addictive element to partake of.
Chocolate.
And not just any chocolate...waffered chocolate. They were so addicting.
As I took a bite, I savored the different layers letting it soothe my stress for what was to come.
Ding!
The boys were here.
Before I could place my coffee on the table or sit my waffers down, Duchess had already rolled over and hobbled to the front door.
Even with her small cast she was not deterred. That dog loved Damon.
Arhooo!
Sighing I looked at the half eaten wafer and the half cup of coffee, hoping this wasn’t a sign for how the introduction of parents would go.
“I really am sorry. I didn’t know it’d tear so easily.”
At the front door of one of the biggest houses I had ever seen, I listened to Dean apologize again for tugging on the, what I guess some would now say was a flimsy strap of my summer dress. Dean had thought it would be sweet and funny to tug on my strap to pull me to him. I don’t think anyone could have anticipated that it would snap from his little tug.
But here we were. And the chocolate wafer that was left unfinished on my table predicted this would happen.
Though if anyone felt worse than me at this moment, it was Dean. He looked so forlorn, standing in front of me as he clenched his hands in front of him. I knew he didn’t mean too. But it really couldn’t have come at a worse time. Here I was meeting my boyfriend’s parents and I was already flashing boob.
That had to be a record.
I knew not finishing my coffee and chocolate was a sign.
Now here I stood with my dress clasped between my fingers, hoping that a sweet smile would maybe keep them from noticing the wreck that was my dress.
I smiled at Dean, so he knew I wasn’t blaming him. “It’s fine Dean, I know you didn’t mean to. And that you were just playing. Who knew spaghetti straps broke so easy, right?”
“Everyone knows that, everyone.”
I glared at Damon, but he just shrugged his shoulders, my glare not affecting him one bit.
What he said was true...mostly. Just, right now was not the time for it. Plus, he could be a lot nicer to his brother.
Hair pulled back into a ponytail and dressed to a tee, Kasper nudged Dean and Damon out of the way. Ringing the doorbell he draped his hands on my shoulders leaning down to whisper, “As soon as the maid gets the door, I’ll ask for a pin or something so you can fix it. Okay?”
I almost dropped my strap flashing everyone, my pink tulip bra when his words registered to me.
“The maid, you have a maid?”
Kasper opened his mouth, but Damon beat him to it.
“It’s a big house darling, you didn’t think they could afford to have extra help?”
“Okay, number one,” I narrowed my eyes at Damon, “quit being an ass.” Turning my attention to Kasper I continued, “And number two I don’t think we’re dressed appropriately for this luncheon.”
Kasper opened his mouth in what I was sure to reassure me, but the sound of the door drew our attention away from the conversation.
A maid, slight of stature, dressed in white shirt and black pants stepped to the side allowing us to step into the foyer.
“Mr. Stone, it’s a pleasure to see you back. Is everyone staying for the luncheon, I believe we were only expecting two?”
Kasper smiled and patted the somewhat quiet spoken maid on the back. “I’m sure it’s for four, Becky. Do you really think Mother would say no to having Damon here?”
She glanced shyly over at Damon and quickly at me. “No,” she shook her hand emphatically, “Mrs. Stone would never say no to Mr.Timbers.”
Wait.
Damon was a favorite here?
I cleared my throat to bring reality back to me. “Kasper”, I lifted my spaghetti strap up to remind him of what I needed.
His eyes followed my fingers as I tugged on my now non-existent strap. “Oh, yes, yes, I forgot.” He smirked. “Forgive me?”
I nodded and he turned back at Becky. “Becky, we have a problem, you see Miss. Green broke her strap accidently...”
“On purpose.”
Kasper glared at Damon, but continued talking sweetly to Becky, “Accidentally... and she needs a pin to keep it held up. Could you be a dear and find one for us?”
She nodded her head gazing back and forth between Kasper and myself. “Of course Mr. Stone, I have just the thing, hold on one second.”
Without a further word she ran off, in search of a pin.
Well that wasn’t so bad.
Becky hated me.
Upon returning and leading us down a heavily lighted hallway and into the dining hall, Becky beamed at me producing the ugliest and most enormous pin I had ever seen.
With two blue pineapples in the center and round luminescent pearls surrounding it. I looked like I was going to a Jimmy Buffett concert instead of meeting my new boyfriend’s parents.
Fuck my life.
And apparently Becky said fuck it too.
Passed the red and golden wallpapered hallway, we meandered to, what appeared to be, a sitting room of some sorts. Vaulted ceilings opened up the sitting room with Victorian antique furniture placed in coordinated poses.
It was a room that had been held in suspension. Forever in the Victorian era.
An aging dark haired man stood against the fireplace in the corner, sipping on what I assumed was brandy. He wore black loafers and a matching tailored suit. He stood ready for a photo shoot. The click of my heels against the tile floor alerted him to our presence. When he turned, I instantly saw the resemblance between Kasper and what I assumed was his father. Same nose, same eyes, and the cleft in his chin was identical to Kasper’s. Still trim for an age of around sixty, I could see what Kasper would look like in thirty years. A sound of a throat clearing alerted me to the only other person in the room besides us. She sat on the love seat to the side of the fireplace. Her auburn hair, pulled into a coiffed hairstyle, that I knew even on my best day I couldn’t accomplish. With a cream colored pantsuit on and matching heels, she screamed elegance. Something my purple sundress, with now blue pineapples fell short of.
Slightly intimidated and not knowing what else to do, I stood to the side and waited to see what Kasper would do.
Kasper, I noticed, fit in rather well with these surrounding, while I stood out like a sore thumb. And why wouldn’t he fit in? This was where he grew up. I guess I just never thought of us coming from two different worlds.
Kasper all smiles walked towards his family. “Mom. Dad. I missed you guys.”
With a kiss on his mother’s cheek, and a handshake to his father, he stepped back at my side, while Dean and Damon stood to the other.
His mother sat with her ankles crossed demurely in front of her as she raised her manicured eyebrows in my direction.
“So, Kasper this is your girlfriend?”
She made eye contact with her husband who was downing the last of his brandy. “She’s different isn’t she Marshall?”
He nodded his head as he swallowed the remainder of his drink. “Oh, yes, yes, much different than that last girl, what was her name? Barbie? No, Honey? No, oh what was it, Emily? Her name was an animal or something or other.”
She smiled back at her husband. “It was Bambi, Marshall. Remember, she did that weird thing with her hair.”
I glanced at Kasper. “You dated a girl...that did a thing with her hair?” Dean and Damon could be heard chuckling at my side at the situation t
hat Kasper had seemed to put himself into.
At a loss for words Kasper opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water.
Then turned quickly addressing his mother, “Mother, if I remember correctly you were the one who introduced us?”
Emily Stone rolled her eyes. “As a favor for Elizabeth, you didn’t have to continue dating her. “
He continued dating a girl named Bambi?
Realizing his error, Kasper turned and looked at me rubbing the back of his neck. “We had things in common, she was interesting.”
A jarring cough sounded to my right, that sounded similar to the word boobs.
Huh, go figure, a guy dated a girl for her boobs.
Eyes still on Kasper who had apparently heard Damon cough, as he started to turn red as he pulled at the man bun on the top of his head.
“Boobs? You kept dating a girl because of her boobs.”
“Well to be fair, they were quite nice.”
Dean chimed in with a saucy grin upon his face.
Men.
With a break in the conversation Emily put in her two cents. “Well that's neither here nor there, let's drop this argument, obviously Kasper’s choice in women has,” she paused looking me over, “changed dramatically.”
What did one say to that?
Was I just insulted? How do you tell your boyfriend's mother that she could shove it where the sun doesn’t shine?
I opened my mouth to say something that I would probably regret, and miraculous Becky walked into the room.
Maybe she did love me.
“Ma’am, dinner is ready.”
Maybe God did hear my prayers about this not going badly.
Or maybe not.
Instead of sitting beside my men, Emily had somehow managed to sit me on their opposite side… Alone.
With Emily and Marshall at each end. I felt like the red-headed step child. This was not how I envisioned this going.
Here with two parents staring me down as I sat at their long elegant table with cream colored linen, and so many forks and spoons that I didn't know what to do them.
Road to Them: The Road Series Book Two Page 15