Then Kiss Me Read online

  One day in early June, Wendy—the waitress who also liked Scott—spent the evening giving me dirty looks and muttering under her breath. What the fuck was her problem? Well, I had an inkling of an idea. Scott probably was interested in me and she must have known it.

  Later on that evening, I took a break outside. I was having a cigarette and Wendy and another waitress were out there too. When the other waitress left, Wendy asked me, “So…you like Scott, huh?”

  I looked at her. I didn’t know that I could analyze her intent. I finally just said, “He’s a nice guy. What’s it to you?” At least now I knew Wendy definitely had her hooks poised for him and she’d sensed my feelings for him too.

  She feigned concern…which was weird. “I just wanted to warn you, woman to woman, not to do it.”

  Okay, that was really weird, especially if she’d thought I hadn’t noticed her fascination with the man…and her subsequent dislike of me. “Why? It seems to me you think he’s pretty special.”

  Her temper flared, but she didn’t raise her voice. “Yeah, at one time I thought he was, so I guess I still care. But if you get involved with Scott, you get involved with Jim too. And Jim and Scott like to swap and share, mix and match. Believe me, honey, it’s not worth it.”

  I managed to stop my jaw from literally dropping. I didn’t quite believe her, but if she’d been trying to shock me, it worked. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “If you don’t believe me, ask Julie, Jim’s wife. Hell, ask Jim himself. Ask anybody.” She lowered her voice for emphasis. “But don’t ask Scott. He’ll say anything to get in your pants.” And, with that, she stomped back inside.

  Whether what she’d said was true or not, it made me feel ill. And I would never ask Scott about that anyway. What a horrible accusation.

  But over the next week, I did catch myself watching the interaction between Scott and Jim. I couldn’t help it. I knew they were good friends, but Scott seemed to be better friends with David than Jim. Of course, that was the blood is thicker than water connection. I almost asked David once about what Wendy had said, but then I chickened out. If it weren’t true (and I didn’t think it was), it could have pissed David off. Hell, it could have ruined my chances.

  So, even though I saw Jim and Scott sharing lewd jokes and slapping each other on the shoulders on occasion, I didn’t get the sense that they were best friends or even the type to share women. Scott seemed too nice to do something like that. Jim, though…well, I could believe almost anything about him. He was a creep. In the short time I’d known him, I’d already surmised that he was a drunk and, yes, a womanizer. In short, the guy was a jerk. Yeah, I could believe he’d be capable of that.

  Ultimately, I decided I wouldn’t believe Wendy’s information about Scott unless Scott himself did something that changed my mind.

  The only waitress I felt comfortable around, the short blonde-haired girl named Carla, started hanging out with me during breaks. She was going to community college, was in her third semester, and was taking an art class. I told her about my artwork, and she asked if she could see it sometime. So one Sunday afternoon, she stopped by. I showed her a lot of the paintings I had in my studio. “Oh, my goodness,” she said, stepping close to a large painting I’d done of the Denver skyline, complete with Wells Fargo Center (what most people like to call the “Mailbox Building”) and blue snow-capped mountains in the background. I’d painted a few of them, because I was fascinated by Denver’s skyline, and I had a great view from the apartment I shared with Barry. It had been a constant source of inspiration. Now I could see that the surrounding mountains would become a new inspiration.

  “Do you like it?”

  “It’s breathtaking, Casey.”

  “Thanks.” She stood there staring at it for minutes. Finally, I asked, “Would you like it?”

  She looked at me, her brown eyes earnest. “Oh, no, I couldn’t.”

  I picked up the unframed canvas. “Oh, but I can.” I handed it to her. “It’s not framed, but…”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely. Please…take it.”

  “Oh, my gosh. I’ll ask my dad to frame it for me.”

  I nodded. “Great! Would you like some iced tea or lemonade?”

  “I think I’d love some iced tea.”

  We walked to my kitchen via the living room. She set the canvas beside her purse on the couch. “Hey…can I ask you a weird question?”

  “Sure.”

  This would be her payback of sorts. “What do you think about Scott Wardell?”

  I was pouring the tea out by pushing the little button on the bottom of the sun tea pitcher, but I made sure to watch her face. I wanted to be able to read her expression. But she didn’t freak out or look weird. She certainly didn’t communicate to me anything like Wendy had. “Scott? Well…I’d say he’s kind of hard to read. He likes to joke a lot, and I don’t always know if he’s joking or totally serious. But…he seems to be all right, you know?”

  I nodded, handing her the glass of tea. “Yeah, I thought so, but…”

  Carla raised her eyebrows. “Don’t tell me. You have a crush on him and Wendy told you a bunch of stuff you didn’t want to hear.”

  All right. I hadn’t expected that. “Yeah…how’d you know?”

  “Well, I might not know Scott, but I do know Wendy. She’s like that.”

  But… “So how’d you know…I have a crush on him? Is it that obvious?”

  Carla started laughing. “No…I’ve just seen you two flirting with each other sometimes when I’ve been in the kitchen. So then, when you asked…I just kind of put two and two together.”

  I didn’t want to pry too much, so I left it at that. The bottom line…I trusted Carla and believed she had no reason to lie to me. Wendy, though, was invested and had plenty of reasons to shine me on. So I let her words go and decided not to worry.

  The next day, David came into work, obviously excited. “Casey,” he said, “we are going to have the biggest party ever next Saturday night. You have to be there.”

  “Are you kidding me? Remember how fucked up I was after your last party?”

  “What if I promise to make sure you don’t do that again?”

  I smiled. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, buddy.”

  “Still…you have to be there.”

  Honestly, there was no question that I would go…after all, David had said we when he talked about the party, and that told me it was Scott’s party too. Besides, after the last one, I think he knew that even if I’d be late, I’d show up if I’d promised to. I’d just have to be smart about drinking. “All right,” I said, making it sound as if it had been a difficult decision. “What time?”

  “Whenever you get off of work. Around five or six…or eleven, whatever. I’m going to get a keg that morning, so I’ll just need to go home and open the doors. But you have to be there.”

  “Why?”

  “‘Cause everybody will be there. This is the party you don’t want to miss.”

  So I checked the schedule for the week. On Saturday, I was scheduled to get off at four. Unfortunately, I worked the morning shift the next day, so I definitely should go easy on the alcohol. But I could have fun anyway.

  I didn’t see Scott until Thursday, but when I did, he asked if David had invited me to the party.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Why? Don’t you want me to be there?”

  He laughed. “You figured me out.” Then he said, “Seriously, do you plan to be there?”

  “Maybe.” I licked my bottom lip. “What kind of music will you be playing?”

  “Oh…very good stuff, even by your standards.” He smirked.

  I grinned back. “So…David said he was getting a keg, but then yesterday he said BYOB. So which is it?”

  “Both. If you like beer, we’ve got you covered. Anything else, though, you’re on your own.” I nodded. “But you can have whatever I’m having.”

  “Thanks.” I smiled. That was
pretty sweet…and pretty suggestive. “But I think I’m turning out to be a lightweight. I think I’d better stick with the beer.”

  “Actually, I think you should stick with coffee.”

  I stuck my tongue out at him while he laughed. The dinner crowd picked up and we couldn’t talk much…and I didn’t want to when Jim joined us. But I started thinking about the possibilities two nights from now. Should I become more aggressive or just let our relationship take its leisure goddamn time like it had been? Part of me just wanted to jump him the first chance I got, but the other part of me just wanted to let things flow naturally. After much thought, I decided I wasn’t going to force or push anything. I was just going to go to the party, have fun and let loose, and if nothing happened, that was okay. But I felt comfortable enough at this point to decide that I would hang out around Scott so that if fate was on my side, I could push my luck to the limit.

  Saturday, I went in to work at eight o’clock. I hardly ate all day, I was so excited. I felt like I was sweet sixteen getting ready for the prom. What a silly girl I was acting like.

  It had been a long day, but I had a party to go to. Later in the afternoon, I felt like I was twenty again (instead of sixteen). Ed let me go at four. I rushed home and jumped in the shower. I let the water roll down my back, warm and invigorating. It was blazing hot outside when I’d come home from work, but I suspected the night would be chilly like the evenings had been, so I enjoyed the warm water while I could. I was pruney when I stepped out of the shower.

  I spent extra time getting ready, extra time primping. If nothing happened tonight, fine, but if it did and I wasn’t prepared, I would be angry that I hadn’t been ready. I’d decided for certain that I wanted Scott. I wanted him in the worst way, no matter what Wendy had said. I might not even have a chance, but if I did get the chance, I didn’t want to blow it. A uniform, hat, and heat wreak havoc on any woman’s looks. I wanted Scott to know I could look good. And not like the morning I had a hangover in a clingy black dress.

  I wore a pair of skintight jeans and a pink t-shirt and sneakers. I didn’t want to seem like I was trying too hard. I didn’t want to seem obvious. But, finally, after painting my toenails and messing around with my hair, trying to make it look pretty without looking like I’d put forth a lot of effort, I hopped in my little Versa and sped off to Scott and David’s place.

  I got there around seven. The place was already packed. I knew a lot of people from work, but just like their last party, there were several people I didn’t know. I recognized a few faces from the last party they had but knew no names.

  I saw Carla and talked with her for a few minutes. “I thought I might see you here,” she said.

  “Caught me red-handed.”

  “Oh, my dad framed that painting for me. My mom and dad liked it so much they asked if they could hang it in the living room.”

  I smiled. “I’m flattered.”

  “It’s really good, Casey. Good stuff.”

  “I’ve got a couple of things showing at the art gallery right now.”

  “I wish I’d known that yesterday. Dad’s boss was over for dinner last night raving about your painting. I bragged that one of my friends painted it. I’ll have dad tell him he can look for more of your stuff downtown.”

  I considered warning her that some of it was unusual and decided against it. After all, Isabel had taken a more traditional piece from me recently, so there was no need to cushion the blow. “So…where’s this fantasy keg I heard about anyway?”

  “Oh…it’s in the kitchen.”

  I thanked Carla and told her I’d no doubt see her later. In seconds, I found the keg. David was minding the tap. “Hey, Case. Would you like a cold one?”

  “Love one.” He held the tap, and the beer foamed up inside the blue plastic cup. I dug my cigarettes out of my jacket. “Do you have somewhere I could hang my jacket, and can I smoke in here?”

  “Yes and yes—you should know that.” Well, I didn’t know that, because I hadn’t seen any people smoking in their house now, and I didn’t want to assume anything. “Give me your jacket and purse. I can throw them on my bed. And there should be an ashtray in the living room.” He came up close to me so he could quit shouting. Even though the party was loud, that didn’t mean people couldn’t discern his voice. “I think someone’s been looking for you.”

  Feeling coy, I raised my eyebrows in feigned disbelief. “Really? Who?”

  He smirked and winked, then said, “Living room.” Then he walked upstairs with my jacket and purse. I made my way through a couple of groups of people, saying an obligatory hi here and there. In fact, I spotted Lee, the singer in Scott’s band, but he didn’t see me. That was probably for the best. I finally made my way to the living room. I spotted Jim and Scott on the couch. Scott looked…delicious. He was wearing a white shirt with a skull design on it. His short hair was mussy in a sexy way and he looked like he was feeling extra devilish tonight. There was a sparkle in his eyes I could spot across the room.

  The guys on the couch were watching a video on the television and didn’t notice me at first. Jim said hi and nodded his head my way as his elbow met with Scott’s ribs. Scott looked up and beamed. He stood up. “I didn’t know if you were coming.”

  I teased, acting like I was offended. “I promised, didn’t I?” The two of them made room for me on the couch.

  Scott held up a bottle. “We’re drinking schnapps. You game?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “I’ll take a shot.” I promised myself that I would take one shot.

  These two had never seen me drink before. At one time, I’d been able to hold a lot of liquor, but anymore, it seemed, I couldn’t hold much at all. I’d have to be careful. I picked up the shot and downed it in one gulp, then chased it with a swallow of beer. The warm liquid flowed down into my chest, spreading, tingling. I almost instantly relaxed.

  Scott and Jim exchanged a glance. Jim said, “Nice. But can you keep up with us?”

  I smiled. “Remains to be seen.” I lit a cigarette and leaned back, sipping my beer.

  Scott smiled back. “You’re in a good mood tonight.”

  “Yeah, I’m in a damn fine mood.” I held up my cup for a toast. “I’m not workin’!”

  Jim and Scott touched their cups to mine, and we all downed another gulp. Jim started pouring us each another shot of schnapps, and Julie came and sat next to him. I waved at her. It was too loud to talk with the music and the crowd. Scott held the shot glass up to my face. I drank it, already breaking my promise to myself. I said something he didn’t hear, so I cupped my hands to his ear and repeated myself. “Are you trying to take advantage of me?” Oh…that had been a bad idea. I was too close, and I could smell his musky cologne…and him. Jesus…what a heady mix. I felt a quiver run through my body. I was going crazy. I wanted to touch him. But I had to reign it in.

  He turned his head, and the look on his face was one of mild amusement. “You decide,” he said and held up the bottle again.

  “In a little while,” I yelled to be heard over the music, but he poured it anyway.

  I started to grow too relaxed and feared that if I didn’t get up and move around, I’d pass out after the long day I’d had. I used my empty beer cup as an excuse to get up.

  I walked back to the kitchen. A few people had already left, so it was getting a little easier to move through their house. It was still packed, though. When I got to the kitchen, I saw David there, but he was standing on the other side talking to a small group of people. There was one well-groomed tall gentleman standing next to David and he looked rather enamored—was that the guy David had cooked for the other night? A better question…was that the tall guy he’d first met at the party when I’d first seen Scott playing in his band? I’d fill up my cup myself then. I bent over to fill it up and it hit me. I was already getting drunk. I was pretty damned buzzed already. So I decided not to fill up my cup. I stood up to get my bearings and instead walked to the sink to rinse out my gl
ass and then poured myself some water. I figured out then and there that I couldn’t hold my liquor like I used to…as if the last party hadn’t taught me that lesson.

  No matter, I thought. I was having fun. I stopped by the restroom to check myself. Nothing seemed quite real, but my makeup and hair still looked good. If I slowed down (or completely stopped) my drinking at this point, I should be fine.

  I stumbled a little bit but was feeling all right. When I got back to the living room, I saw Wendy sitting between Jim and Scott, and Julie was nowhere to be seen. I stood there for a second and was getting ready to move forward when I felt someone’s hand on my shoulder. I turned around. It was Lee. “Casey, right?”

  I smiled. “Right. Hi, Lee.”

  “Did you hear our CD earlier?”

  I cocked my head. “No…what CD?”

  “We’ve put together a CD and so we were playing it for everyone. How long have you been here?”

  “Half an hour maybe.”

  “Oh…you missed it. Maybe we can play it again later.”

  “That’d be great.”

  I heard Scott’s voice. “Casey!” I looked over, and he was motioning for me to sit where he’d been next to Wendy. I looked over at Lee. “Hey…see you later, okay?”

  He grinned, white teeth gleaming. “Sounds good. Nice to see you again, Casey.”

  “You too.”

  When I walked over to Scott, I asked, “You sure you want me to take your seat?” He nodded. “So I missed hearing your CD, is that right?”

  He smiled. “Yeah. I’ll give you a copy and then you can listen to it whenever you feel like it.” I smiled back. That would be fucking awesome.

  As I sat down, I gave the expected hi to Wendy. She gave me a look I couldn’t quite figure, but I supposed she wasn’t very happy with me. Scott sat next to me on the arm of the couch. He asked, “You ready for another one?”

  “No way. I need a minute or two.” He didn’t seem affected by the alcohol at all. Before I knew it, his hands were on my shoulders, squeezing them.

  “You’re tense, woman.”