The Theory of Second Best (Cake #2)

by J. Bengtsson

  “I’m showering, Jesus. What’s with all of you? I really don’t smell that bad,” he said, as he lifted his arm and took a sniff. I saw his eyes squint in response, but he masked it quickly. “See? Nothing.”

  “Just go, Kyle. No one can procrastinate like you. I’ll keep Kenzie company.”

  “Fine,” he huffed, and disappeared into the bathroom.

  Casey motioned to the couch. “Sit. I’ll be right back. I’m going to get my makeup so I don’t scare you off.”

  I smiled as she disappeared behind a door. Casey was definitely not the type of girl I’d think would be dating a rock star. There was nothing glamorous or mouth-dropping in her appearance. Certainly she was a pretty woman, but she was also real… just an average, everyday girl, like me. I wondered how long she had been dating Jake. There were so many questions I had swirling around my brain, and so far, not a single answer.

  Casey whooshed back in and sat down. She fixed her gaze on me and said with sincerity, “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Me too. How is he doing, really?”

  “Not good. This is the best I’ve seen him actually. He’s been having a rough time. I mean, we all have, but Kyle…” Casey choked up. “Sorry, it’s been… hell. And Kyle, he’s just struggling. He’s not eating or sleeping or showing emotion. I’m scared for him. How long are you staying?”

  “I don’t know. As long as he needs me, I guess.”

  “That might be awhile.”

  “Then that’s how long I’ll stay.”

  Casey smiled, but it was a sad one. “He missed you. He was just too proud to admit it. You being here will help. I really feel that.”

  The fact that this girl cared so much for Kyle’s well-being gave us an instant connection. Casey’s face tensed and her forehead wrinkled. Tears filled her eyes. “Sorry.”

  “Are you doing okay?

  “No. But I’m trying to stay strong. It’s just not that easy.”

  “I’m sorry, Casey. I really am.”

  She nodded; the tears that had earlier pooled in her eyes were now rolling down her cheeks. She wiped them away. “I can’t control them. I feel like all I do is cry.”

  I reached out and touched her shoulder. Not knowing what to say to ease her pain, I simply stayed silent.

  Casey shook slightly and sat up straighter. “Anyway, he’s going to wake up,” she said with determination. “I feel it in my bones.”

  “He will.”

  “And when he does, he’ll be happy to meet you. We watched the first few episodes together with Kyle. Oh, my god, Kenzie, you and Kyle were adorable together. We laughed so hard.”

  “I can’t believe we got so much airtime,” I marveled.

  “How could they not?”

  We chatted about the show until Kyle came out in a towel hanging dangerously low around his midsection. I’m not sure but I think my eyes bulged out more than normal. Wow. Just wow. He’d definitely been working out since the last time I’d seen him. If Carl were here now, he wouldn’t be calling him a runt anymore. I’d seen Kyle half naked plenty of times and had always considered it a treat, but now? Yikes!

  “So shaving is asking too much of you, then?” Casey questioned, not seeming nearly as impressed by his nakedness as I was.

  “Are you never happy, woman? I have no idea how Jake puts up with you.”

  “Watch it, creep. I’m a lovely person. And you need a shave.”

  “You’re sounding more like my mom every day.”

  “Thank you. Michelle and I are like this,” she said and held up her hand with two fingers crossed.

  “It wasn’t meant as a compliment, Casey, but take it whatever way you want.”

  She grinned and then cast her uninterested eyes over Kyle. “Can you please get dressed? I’m afraid bits of you might dangle out, and I’d prefer not to see that.”

  “I’m not doing it for you.” Kyle said dismissively then looked over at me and assumed his sexiest man pose. “You like?”

  Um, yeah! Do I ever! I fought the urge to tackle him to the ground, but since his brother’s girlfriend was in the room, I figured I’d better play it cool. Shrugging, I said, “Eh, I’ve seen better.”

  Casey transformed her hand into a gun and pulled the trigger. “Ooh, shot down.”

  He clutched his chest as if the invisible bullet had punctured it, but his towel slipped and Kyle grabbed for it on its way down. He caught the cloth just before exposing himself, and then turned and ran for the bedroom door. His naked ass was in full view of both of us girls.

  “Dammit, Kyle!” Casey complained, covering her eyes. “I told you this would happen. I can’t ever unsee that.”

  “You better not tell Jake!” he called from the bedroom.

  “Oh, I will, and he’s gonna be pissed. In fact, I’m going to go tell him right now. If that doesn’t wake him up, I don’t know what will,” Casey said with an amused look on her face. She turned to me and winked.

  Casey finished putting on a little makeup and swept her long brown hair into a ponytail before standing up. “I’m leaving,” she called to Kyle.

  He opened the door and stepped out dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, flip-flops on his feet. “Okay, give Jake a big, smoochy kiss for me.”

  “I always do,” Casey affirmed, and hugged me. “It was really nice meeting you Kenzie. When Jake wakes up, we’ll all hang out.”

  Just as she turned to leave, I saw the flash of grief in her eyes. I knew that look. It was the same one my father had worn after my mom died. I prayed she would get the happy ending my dad had been deprived of all those years ago.

  “You ready?” Kyle asked.

  “Where are we going?”

  “You said I needed fresh air. I have somewhere I want to take you.”

  “Are we leaving the hospital?”

  “Yes. I need a break.”

  “Are you sure that’s okay?” I questioned. The last thing I wanted was for him to feel obligated to entertain me.

  “With who? Jake? I hardly think he’ll mind. Besides, we have a family group message. Any changes are reported within seconds.” Kyle opened the door. “Let’s go. We don’t have much time.”

  “For what?”

  “You’ll see.”

  I followed Kyle to the elevators, which we took to the ground floor parking garage. He led me to a white truck and opened the door for me. The entrance was higher than normal, and I contemplated how to get into the damn thing.

  “Do you need a boost?”

  Tapping one of the tires, I asked, “Are you compensating for something?”

  He dipped his head as if he were embarrassed and shrugged. “Probably, but not for the reason you think.”

  Kyle helped me into the cab, and after exiting the garage, he maneuvered his way through traffic until we merged onto the freeway into a sea of brake lights.

  “Damn LA traffic. I guess you don’t see this very often?”

  “Sometimes I get stuck behind a tractor, but otherwise no.”

  Kyle didn’t react to my joke, as he was busy expertly changing seven lanes of traffic to get his truck into the carpool lane. I gawked at his driving skills. “That was impressive.”

  “You like that?” He grinned.

  “You’re like a magician.”

  “Naw. Any Los Angeles driver worth anything can do that.”

  We drove on the freeway for a short time until Kyle performed his second straight lane change miracle of the day, and within minutes we were sailing along the Pacific Coast Highway, the long sandy beach off to the right. Kyle pulled into a parking spot along the road, and my face lit up. I now understood why we were here.

  “The sunset?”

  He nodded. “I haven’t seen one in a while, and I miss it.”

  As we walked down the beach, Kyle took my hand in his. I looked at our fingers entwined and wondered what he was thinking. Was it just a friendly gesture?

  “It’s so warm,” I said. “I can’t believe it’s December
.”

  “I know. It sucks. Is it too much to ask for some seasons? It’s frickin’ December! It’s supposed to be cold.”

  “Yeah, well, I love it. For me, it’s been raining almost non-stop for months. Which explains the ghostly skin tone you love so much.”

  “Are you mad at me for all my on-air insults? I was only joking. It was like a game, coming up with different ways to describe your skin.”

  “No, I thought it was funny.”

  “Over here.” Kyle led me to a lifeguard station, and we propped ourselves up against it. There were very few people left on the beach, so it almost felt like we were alone. Kyle gazed out at the horizon, sighing heavily. I wrapped my arm around him and laid my head against his shoulder as we breathed in the ocean air and watched the sun fade to black.

  “This reminds me of the island,” I whispered wistfully, “I miss it.”

  “Yeah, me too. It was the calm before the storm.”

  “I’m sorry about Jake.”

  “I know.”

  Kyle leaned into me and our eyes met. He was going to kiss me, and although it was what I’d dreamed about since our last one, I worried that his newfound interest in me was because of the tremendous stress he was under. Was he just looking for a convenient outlet to release his tension? His lips dipped close to mine.

  “Kyle?” I said, stopping him with my hand.

  “What?” he asked, sounding confused as he leaned away from me.

  “You can’t kiss me…”

  “Why?”

  “… because you don’t mean it.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “There are things you don’t know.”

  Kyle immediately tensed up, his face turning hard and defensive.

  “On the island, it wasn’t just a crush. I actually fell for you… like, really hard. And that day, when I let it slip how much I wanted you… and that look on your face…” I looked away in embarrassment, the memory still raw. “I knew you didn’t feel the same way. This whole thing right now, I think there’s so much sadness in you that you’re confusing the emotions. You’re looking for something to ease the pain. And I’d totally do that for you if it weren’t for the fact that I won’t be able to turn off my feelings, and my heart just can’t take anymore.”

  After my speech, Kyle and I sat there quietly staring out at the ocean.

  “Are you finished?” he asked.

  I’d just poured my soul out to him and was taken back by the brashness of his response.

  “I… yes, I guess.”

  “Good.”

  Kyle leaned into me again, and before I could protest, his hands grabbed my face and his lips touched mine. The kiss took me by surprise, and my body reacted by tightening in response. I knew I should fight it, but I couldn’t. I wanted this more than I could say, and even though I knew I was going to pay for it later with a big old slice of heartbreak, I gave in to my need and melted into submission.

  “Kyle?” I moaned.

  He responded by kissing me deeper and with more heat. Okay. Yep. I was done for. Wildly out of control, I threw myself onto him, straddled my island boy. My intensity matched his. His hands went around me and grabbed my butt as he drew me closer into him. I threw my head back and he attacked my neck with kisses. From the distance I heard snickering. We were in public and this was wrong, but Kyle wasn’t stopping, so neither was I.

  With his hands tangled in my hair, I wrapped my arms around his back and slid my hands up his shirt. Our lips were locked in furious intensity. I had never wanted anyone like I wanted Kyle right now. I rocked into him and he groaned, his hands still cupping my ass.

  “Get a room!” a female voice yelled in our direction. Kyle pulled his lips off mine and looked toward the source. It was a woman walking down the beach, and she did not look pleased by our display of unabashed passion. I pulled my arms out from under his shirt and covered my mouth as I giggled in embarrassment.

  Kyle laughed out loud before shouting, “Thanks, we will.”

  The woman shooed us with her hand as if saying ‘The hell with you’ and marched on her way. Kyle lifted me off him and stood up. His pants were tented in the front. Obviously whatever had just happened between us had excited him as much as it had me. He pulled me to my feet.

  “Where are we going?”

  “We’re getting a room.”

  I liked his thinking.

  The walk back to his truck took longer than expected. Kyle wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into him. My dazed eyes met his lust-filled ones, and I couldn’t control myself. I was back in his arms and we were putting on another public display of affection. Kyle lifted me off the sand, my legs wrapped around his waist, and carried me a few feet to the public bathrooms.

  “Are you serious?” A laugh caught in my throat. We rounded the corner to the women’s bathroom. “Kyle!”

  He deftly held me up with one hand as he attempted to open the door with the other. It was locked. Thank God.

  “Well, fuck,” Kyle verbalized, clear disappointment and frustration in his tone.

  “It’s just as well because if you think I was going to do you in a public restroom, then you are more delusional than I thought.” I smacked him. “Now put me down and find me a more appropriate room.”

  “Would a hotdog stand suffice?” he grinned.

  “Good lord, Kyle. You’re like the bargain basement hookup. Is that all I’m worth to you? You couldn’t find a nice steak house bathroom somewhere?”

  Kyle dropped me to my feet and reached down to adjust himself. He looked up at me with a sheepish grin, pulled me to him again, and whispered in my ear, “How about my truck?”

  “I feel like you have to put in more effort.”

  “Ugh… I don’t know any five star facilities in the area,” he protested, but then he stopped and I could almost see him thinking. “Okay, I know a place nearby, but you have to promise me you won’t faint when you get there.”

  “Faint? Why would I do that?”

  Kyle’s mouth twisted in a funny way. I searched his eyes for an explanation, but he wasn’t giving anything away as he grabbed my hand and led me to his truck. Again I had to be helped up, but this time Kyle nearly chucked me into the leather bucket seat. He ran around to the other side and bounded in like an excited puppy dog. I couldn’t help but laugh. This was the guy I remembered from the island. All the stress appeared to be gone, and he had the familiar flicker in his eyes that I’d grown to love.

  Kyle was right – the place he took me to was close by. It was a gated community with brightly colored beach-chic townhomes. Kyle punched in a code and drove through the gates. There were only about eight townhomes in the entire complex. Kyle drove to the one in the far back and parked on the street.

  “Where are we?”

  “My brother’s place.”

  “Jake’s?” I asked in surprise.

  “Yep.” Kyle jumped out of the truck and came around to get me. “We have to hurry before a neighbor sees me and comes over to ask questions.”

  “You’re not supposed to be here?” I gasped.

  “No, it’s not that. They’re Jake’s neighbors and will want to know how he’s doing. I don’t have anything good to tell them. Let’s go.”

  Skeptical, I followed Kyle to the front door. I stood behind him as he unlocked it and held it open for me.

  “Should I be here?” I asked as I took a tentative step inside, feeling strangely like a burglar. Looking around, I was struck by the place. It was definitely nice but nothing fancy. Certainly nothing to suggest a musician lived here, much less a rich, famous one.

  “It feels like we’re trespassing,” I whispered.

  “Relax. I live here… or at least, I did until Jake met Casey. Then he kicked me to the curb. I was actually in the process of finding my own place until Jake’s surgery went to hell, and now everything is on hold. My whole life is on hold.” Kyle’s voice faltered, and he looked away, the tension return
ing to his body.

  “Hey,” I said, pulling him to me.

  The flirty Kyle was gone and the vulnerable one was back.

  “Did you notice that I didn’t faint?” I teased, in an attempt to change the mood.

  “I did, actually.” He nodded. “And I’m impressed. Most girls would have already knocked me over and been rummaging through his drawers to find a memento.”

  “How often do you bring girls back here?”

  “Never.” Kyle laughed. “Jake would kill me.”

  “Kyle?” I admonished him, stepping out of our embrace. My face flushed with unease. I had no business being in Jake’s home. “I think we should go.”

  “In this case, I don’t think he’d mind,” Kyle said, pulling me close again.

  “In what case?”

  “You. Jake liked you. We watched the show together until, you know, everything… anyway, he kept telling me I should call you.”

  “He did? Why would he like me?” I asked, truly stumped. The idea that someone as famous as Jake would even know who I was blew me away.

  Our eyes met, and his face relaxed. “He liked you… because you liked me.”

  Kyle’s words warmed me, making me feel, for the first time, that he had given more thought to our relationship than I’d previously given him credit for. “How could he know I liked you?”

  Kyle dropped his head to the side, grinning, “Seriously? You were like a lovesick schoolgirl. Your big blue eyes going all mushy… everyone saw it.”

  I dipped my face into my hands in embarrassment. “Oh, god. I thought I was being so sly.”

  “Yeah. You weren’t.”

  “You must think I’m such an idiot,” I said through my fingers.

  Kyle pulled my hands away and lifted my chin.

  “I don’t. I promise. If you want the truth, I was flattered. Having someone pine for me isn’t something I’m used to.”

  “You said on the island that you felt invisible.”

  “Yeah. It’s weird being related to someone as famous as Jake. When I’m with him in a crowd, people jockey for position, knocking me out of the way to get closer to him. And women – I mean, they’ll do anything to get at him. I figured out a way to take advantage of that.”