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Page 8

  Their claimed table happened to be in my section. On my second night, they had all come in together, and I'd had to grit my teeth to approach them. Luckily, Denny had been with them too. That had definitely made it easier to talk to them; they were just way too intimidating, all grouped together like that, especially with the bathroom homage still fresh in my mind. And, as predicted, I had blushed furiously at Griffin, and he had found that immensely entertaining.

  By the following Monday, after a hectic weekend of waitressing the throngs of people the guys had brought in both Friday and Saturday night (that was so crazy-busy, I couldn't even remember it), I was finally comfortable approaching the group. Unfortunately, they were all too comfortable with me by that point as well. They all seemed to delight in teasing me. Well, not so much Evan - he was just a big sweetie.

  Watching them walk in, I sighed and rolled my eyes. Here we go again. Evan came in first and gave me a great big bear hug. I laughed when I could breathe again. Matt and Griffin seemed lost in some disagreement, but Griffin still managed to smack my ass on the way to his chair. I sighed at him and glanced over at Sam, who was paying no attention to the quartet whatsoever. Anyone else would have been kicked out on their rump for that, but apparently, these four owned the place.

  Kellan came in last, looking perfect as usual. He had his guitar slung over his shoulder tonight; he brought it in sometimes when he was working on new stuff. He nodded at me with a small adorable smile on his face and took his seat.

  "Usual tonight, boys?" I said, trying my best to sound as confident as sweet Jenny did.

  "Yeah, thank you, Kiera," Evan replied politely for the group.

  Griffin was not so polite. "Fuck yeah, of course, sweetheart. " He grinned at me mischievously. He seemed to know how his crudeness irritated me and he played it up whenever I was around. I ignored him the best I could, and worked on keeping my expression even.

  Apparently, I hadn't worked hard enough and he noticed my irritation. "You're so sweet, Kiera. You're like an innocent school girl. " He shook his head in open delight. "I just want to. . . deflower you. " He winked at me.

  I blanched and stared at him, totally speechless.

  Kellan chuckled softly, watching my face, and Matt beside Griffin snorted. "Dude, she's been with Denny forever. I'm pretty sure you missed that opportunity. "

  My mouth dropped open as I listened to them in mortification. Were they really discussing my virginity. . . right in front of me? I was too stunned to move away from the table.

  Griffin turned to face him. "Too bad. . . I could have shown her the world. "

  Evan and Kellan laughed at him while Matt, barely containing his own laughter, said, "When have you ever shown any woman. . . the world?"

  Griffin scowled at them. "I have skills. . . you guys just don't know. I've had no complaints. "

  Kellan grinned. "No repeats either. "

  "Fuck you, man. I'll show you right now! Grab a girl. . . " He looked around the bar, like he was searching for a volunteer. His eyes eventually rested on me and I paled even more and backed up a step.

  "Noooooo," All the guys loudly said at the same time, backing away from Griffin a bit and holding their hands out, as if to physically restrain him if necessary.

  Regaining my composer, since the conversation had moved away from my experience level, I thought now was as good a time as any to slip away from them. I started sliding slowly to the side, but Griffin's eyes were still on me. He grinned widely as he ignored the laughing going on around him.

  "Kiera, if you've already been deflowered. . . " he threw an irritated glance at the guys, "by a tool, I'm sure. . . " he looked back to me while they laughed harder, ". . . then let's hear something naughty. " His pale eyes sparkled with playfulness and he started playing with his tongue, more specifically, the barbell pierced through it. My stomach turned a bit at the sensuality of the move. I really didn't want to answer his stupid request.

  I grimaced and made to walk away. "I have to go back to work, Griffin. "

  "Oh, come on. . . just one little curse. Don't you ever swear?" He reached out and grabbed my arm as I tried to walk by him.

  More focused on pulling my arm away from his grasp, than what I was saying, I sighed and stated, "Yes, Griffin, I swear. " I immediately regretted saying that.

  "Really, let's hear it. " He seemed genuinely amused at the idea of me trying to be as crude as he was. Evan looked embarrassed by his persistence and rolled his eyes. Matt put a hand on his chin and leaned forward and Kellan ran a hand through his hair and leaned back, both looking at me curiously. I was starting to get uncomfortable under their scrutiny.

  I glared at Griffin. "Damn. "

  Both Matt and Kellan chuckled. Griffin tucked his blonde hair behind his ears and pouted. "Ooh, vicious. Now let's hear a real one. "

  "That is a real one. " I really just wanted to walk back to the bar, but felt trapped by the odd conversation. Kellan was openly laughing at my discomfort now, and my irritation towards him specifically was growing.

  "Okay, how about a little more colorful one. . . an easy one. How about. . . bitch?" He grinned devilishly at me as he crossed his arms over his chest.

  "You're such a child, Griffin. " I rolled my eyes and looked over at Evan, silently begging him to end this conversation, since he was the only one besides me who looked mildly uncomfortable.

  Griffin laughed at my obvious plea. "You really can't say it, can you?"

  "I don't need to. " It wasn't that I never swore. . . it was just usually safe in my head, where it wasn't quite so offensive. I wasn't about to do anything just to please Griffin anyway. I considered simply walking away from the table to end his stupid game, but I could just imagine how hard that would make him laugh.

  He leaned across the table, hands held together. "Come on. Something, anything, I don't care. . . just say somethin' dirty," he begged.

  I shifted uneasily, still thinking of an escape. I could just slap him? That would definitely take the focus off of me. . . but I didn't know him well enough to know how he would react to that. I really didn't need him mad at me. . . or turned on by it.

  Kellan butted in at that point. "She called me sexual once. "

  Griffin just about fell off of his chair, laughing.

  I glared over at Kellan, who looked at me with an adorably innocent look on his face, hands raised slightly in an expression that clearly said, 'what'? Seeing my break to get away (and really, the whole table was laughing now, even my ally Evan, so my running away really didn't matter), I headed back to the bar.

  Hoping my face wasn't too red, I, as calmly as I could, walked over to where Rita was already getting the guys' drinks ready. I cautiously looked back at the table. Griffin and Matt were still laughing over Kellan's stupid comment. Evan was looking at me apologetically; at least he felt bad about laughing. Kellan, still chuckling a little, had grabbed his guitar from the floor and was idly strumming a rhythm.

  He lightly started singing a song that I thought was a new one. I couldn't make out the lyrics from this distance, but the melody trickled over to me and was quite pretty. Instinctively, I started moving back to the guys so I could hear him better.

  "I wouldn't bother. " Rita had been watching me watch Kellan and had seemingly misinterpreted my interest.

  "What?"

  "That one. " She pointed roughly at Kellan. "Don't waste your time. "

  Not knowing quite what she meant, I forgot to tell her that I was just interested in his song and instead asked, "What do you mean?"

  She leaned in conspiratorially, happy for the chance to tell her little story. "Oh, he's deadly attractive for sure, but he'll just rip your heart out. Loves 'em and leaves 'em , that one. "

  "Oh. " I supposed that wasn't too big a shock, considering the swarm of rabid fans that seemed to attack him at every show, and the numerous comments he'd gathered on the stall walls. "We're not like that
. He's my roommate. . . nothing else. I was just listening to. . . "

  She cut me off. "I don't know how you live with that?" She looked over at him, rather seductively, biting her lip. "That would drive me crazy, day in, day out. " She set a couple of beer bottles on the counter.

  I was beginning to get a little irritated at her looking at him like she was, and continuing to call him "that", like he wasn't a fully formed person or something.

  "Well, having my boyfriend there helps, of course. " It came out a little sarcastically, but honestly, what did she think we were doing at our house?

  She laughed a little. "Oh, sweetie. . . do you think that matters to him? Baby, I was married and that didn't seem to faze him in the slightest. " She put the last two bottles on the counter with a small smile on her lips. "Well worth it though. " She winked.

  I dropped my mouth in shock. Rita was at least twice his age and, from what I'd heard, was currently on husband number four. Apparently Kellan wasn't too choosey about who he brought home? And I was starting to get the feeling that was everybody. It was kind of odd that I hadn't seen any girls at the house yet.

  Gathering my composure, I muttered, "Well, it matters to me. " I grabbed the bottles and walked back to the guy's table, slightly agitated. . . and not sure why.

  Chapter 4

  Changes

  Denny quickly impressed the people at his work, just like I knew he would, and we didn't have nearly as much time together as I would have liked. I tried to still see him off every morning, but as I started getting into the routine of going to bed later and later, it became harder and harder to wake up with him. Eventually, he got a "see-ya" kiss out of me in bed, and that was about it. Wanting to make a good impression with his bosses, he usually stayed past the time I had to leave for work as well. That made it pretty evident early on, that the only time we'd have together was the weekend afternoons before my shift, and the night or two I had off during the week.

  He did what he could to still spend time with me though. He'd come into the bar after work to see me, sometimes staying for dinner or a drink with Kellan and the guys. We would hug and kiss tenderly and the regulars at the bar would groan in mock-exasperation. Someone even threw a crumpled up napkin at us once. I had a sneaking suspicion that had been Griffin. I was glad it had only been a napkin.

  The month of June sped by in our easy routine and before I knew it, it was July. Denny had to go into the office on Fourth of July afternoon - I had been a bit perturbed over that, since we had planned on spending the day at Denny's favorite beach here, Alki Point (a little sun and water for my water-loving boy), but he promised he would come into Pete's that night and spend the entire evening there, even though I'd be working, and that cooled my ire a bit. I ended up spending most of the day reading a book in the small, sunny backyard and tanning. Well, tanning implies that my skin was the type that would darken into a beautiful sun-kissed color like Denny's. My alabaster skin did not. My skin went bright pink then right back to pale white. So, I popped on a two piece swimsuit, slathered on the sunscreen, to at least avoid the bright pink part, and enjoyed the warmth of the sun, if not the color-changing side effects.

  I read my book and basked in the warmth tickling my thighs and lower back. I looked up and spotted a dainty dragonfly just inches in front of my face, resting on a long blade of grass. Its body and the very tip of its tail were the same bright turquoise as some of the Native American jewelry I'd seen displayed in some of the local shops. It seemed completely happy, resting on its little perch and enjoying the perfectly sunny day, just like me. I smiled at it and then went back to my book. It was nice to not be completely alone back here.

  Eventually my body had absorbed its daily quota of vitamin D, and I stumbled into the house in a sun-drunken state, almost instantly falling asleep on the couch. I awoke a half hour before my shift was to start and hurried to change and get ready. I made it to the bus and to the bar, just in the nick of time. Well, at least I wouldn't be tired during my shift.

  True to his word (as he always was), Denny came into the bar that evening, when he was done with work. It was oddly packed, considering it was a holiday, and he had to sit on a stool at the bar. Rita's appealing glances at him were starting to really irritate me, when suddenly, Kellan and the band appeared. They confiscated their usual table when they came in and happily squeezed in an extra chair for Denny. Even in the packed bar, the laughter at that table was loud the whole night.