Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(48)
He lowered his eyes as mine watered. “I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have done that.”
Swallowing, I brought his mouth to mine. “I love you, too,” I muttered between our lips.
Grabbing his head, I pulled him back as I laid down on the couch. He went freely, settling himself over the top of me as our mouths moved in perfect synch. Breaths heavier, our kiss intensified and my body melted under his, ready for him to stake his claim on me again. But when I tangled my fingers in his messy hair, lightly scratching his scalp, he pulled away from me.
Staring down on me, he shook his head. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but can we not have sex right now? Can we just…cuddle…until you have to go in to work? I just want to be close to you for a while.” Shifting my fingers to brush some stray hair from his forehead, I searched his eyes. “Yeah, of course.”
He smiled lightly and kissed me one final time before shifting to lie beside me. His head on my shoulder, he wrapped his leg over mine and laced our fingers together. Kissing my knuckles, he sighed softly. “I love you, Kiera,” he whispered.
Kissing his forehead, I rested my cheek on his head and absorbed the feeling of his body sprawled across mine. I was wrong before, this was the most comforting thing ever.
We stayed that way, cuddling and silently comforting each other, right up until it was time for me to go to work. Almost immediately upon entering the bar, Kellan was handed a shot of something from Sam. A big grin on his imposing face, the huge bouncer clapped Kellan’s shoulder.
“Here, man, it’s your night, drink up!”
Kellan immediately swished it back. “Thanks, Sam.” He grinned, laughing a little as he handed the empty glass back to him. “I never thought you, of all people, would hand me alcohol.” 134
Kellan laughed a little more and Sam rolled his eyes, his smile dropping. “Well, since you’re not going to end up on my doorstep tonight, I’ll allow it.”
I frowned at Kellan, remembering his confession of getting himself ob-literated on Sam’s doorstep because of me. I’d had to deal with the drunken idiot that night, when I’d had no idea why he’d gotten tossed. It was a little surprising that he could joke about that evening now, but that was Kellan. If anything, he’d developed the ability to bounce back. I supposed, with his life, he’d had to.
Sam shook his head then laughed and clapped Kellan’s shoulder again. “We’re gonna miss you, Kell.” Walking away from Kellan, I thought I heard Sam mutter, “Drunken idiot.” Ignoring that last part, Kellan shouted back, “Thanks!” I tried to walk with Kellan to his table, but it seemed like every third step we took someone stopped him, usually offering him a drink along with their congratulations. He happily took them all, slinging them back and thanking the person offering it. After the fourth such stoppage, I gave up walking with him and kissed him on the cheek, telling him that I had to get to work. He nodded as he took another shot from someone.
Shaking my head, I hoped he slowed down enough so that he could actually give his final performance tonight. It would be quite a disappointment to his fans if I had to drive the drunken idiot home in an hour.
By the time I officially started my shift, he was surrounded by a boisterous group of men and women. Everyone seemed to want some time with him before he left tomorrow. I was grateful that we’d had our tender moments already today, but it did make me sad that our private time was over. I’d have to share him from here on out.
About an hour after my shift started, the rest of the band showed up.
The place erupted into fanfare with the whole group assembled; it was about ten times as loud as the applause they’d received after Bumbershoot. Everyone here was proud of their boys and wanted to wish them well. The bar was bursting at the seams, and there were still a couple of hours before the show officially started.
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Hearing the noise, Pete popped out from the back. He sighed des-pondently at his entertainment moving on from him, then shook his head and raised his hands into the air. The place eventually quieted as everyone twisted to look at him. Kellan, working his way through the crowd to stand near his band mates, locked eyes with Pete.
Smiling at the singer, Pete said, “Kellan…boys…you’ve done wonders for my little pub and I’ll never forget that. If and when you return, you always have a place here.” Kellan smiled, his eyes drifting to the floor.
The other D-bags beamed, smiling at each other. Sniffing in a clearly emotional way, Pete shook his head. “Anyway…a round for everybody, on the house!”
The bar erupted and my eyes widened. There were a lot of people here. As Pete went over to chat with his band, Jenny, Kate and I got to work on pleasing the masses with their free beers. It took an eternity to get everybody satisfied, but eventually, with Rita, and the day bartender, Troy, helping out, we did. As a content murmur filtered throughout the place, I leaned against the bar and sighed, already exhausted.
Kate and Jenny leaned against the bar with me, one on either side of me. Kate blew a stray piece of hair out of her eyes, the first stray piece of hair I’d ever seen on her. “I’m gonna miss those guys, but whew, this is gonna be a long night.”
Rita popped over behind us, pouring us each shots. “A round for the ladies!” Troy walked up to her side and Rita gave him a suggestive smile before pouring him one. “And you too, I suppose.” I hid my smile from her, not bothering to tell her that I was pretty sure Troy would never be interested in her the way her smile insinuated. I was pretty sure Troy’s interests laid elsewhere…like in my boyfriend.