Thoughtful (Thoughtless, #1.5)(26)

Concerned, I asked, “Are you sure? These guys can wait a few more minutes.” If you need me, I’m here for you.

She smiled, touched by my offer even as she rejected it. “No, really, I’m fine. I should get back to work anyway. I missed getting you your beer again.”

I didn’t want to, but I released her. With a chuckle, I told her, “Next time.”

I rubbed her arm, wishing she was as fine as she was pretending to be, cursing the fact that I had to leave her to go onstage, and wondering why the silkiness of her skin made my heart beat faster.

Shaking that irrelevant thought aside, I let her get back to work. Maybe she’d feel okay enough after the show to open up to me. I really hoped so. I wanted her to talk to me, wanted her to trust me. I would never do anything to hurt or betray her, and I wanted her to see that. She meant a lot to me.





Chapter 6





I’m Here for You




Evan was eyeing me strangely when I walked onto the stage. Relax, I’m not going to do anything with Kiera. I wouldn’t charm her, hit on her, or be inappropriate in any way with her. She was Denny’s.

I watched her throughout the set, trying to gauge her mood. I’d run off the stage and collect her in my arms if she needed me to again. She just had to give me a sign that she was breaking down. She didn’t though; she just gave me reassuring smiles whenever she caught me looking.

But when her shift was over, she sat backward in a chair and looked for all the world like she didn’t want to go home. She even wiped away some more tears, like she was starting to cry again. Hoping she’d finally open up to me, I sat in a chair beside her. “Hey,” I said when she peeked over at me. “Want to talk about it?”

She looked over to where the rest of the band was still lingering. She hesitated to answer me, and I figured they were the reason why. When she shook her head? I was sure of it. Instead of pressuring her to talk to me in front of them, I asked, “Want a ride home?” I understood the need for privacy, and I also understood the reluctance to talk. I wouldn’t press her.

She looked back at me with a grateful smile and nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

“Sure, just let me get my stuff and we’ll head out.”

I gave her a warm smile of assurance. Like she was embarrassed, her cheeks mildly tinted. Maybe she felt bad, like she was inconveniencing me. She shouldn’t feel that way though. It’s not like I wasn’t going in her direction anyway; we did live together. I headed back over to the guys to get my stuff. Griffin had a look on his face like he knew something. I was sure he had an assortment of kinky imagery of Kiera and me in his head. Awesome.

Sam was there with them. He had a glass of something in his hand, and raised it to me when I got close enough. “Want to have a drink with us?” He narrowed his eyes. “Just one, mind you. I don’t need to babysit your drunken ass again.”

I laughed at his comment. It had been a while, but Sam had had to give me a ride home on more than one occasion. It was an aspect of his job that he didn’t enjoy. He only did it at all because we were coworkers. And friends. “No thanks. Kiera needs a ride, so I’m gonna take her home.” Griffin pursed his lips and poked Matt in the ribs while he nodded. Obviously, he thought he was onto something.

I shook my head at his incorrect assumption and grabbed my guitar. As I turned to leave, Evan grabbed my elbow. Leaning in close he said, “I saw you two earlier. Anything going on there?”

Irritation prickled my spine that Evan’s mind was running in line with Griffin’s. He should have a little more faith in me than that. “No. Something happened earlier with Denny, I’m not sure what…and she’s upset. I’m being a friend, because she needs one. But that’s it.”

Evan accepted my answer and let go of my arm. And he should accept it; I was telling the truth. Letting the encounter roll off my back, I returned to Kiera. “Ready?” I asked her.

Standing, she nodded, and we left the bar together. She was silent for a while, and I let her be. If she wanted to talk, she would. If she didn’t want to, I couldn’t force her. The soundlessness between us wasn’t oppressive though. There was no tension, no apprehension. Just comfortable friendship.

When I was sure the silence would last the entire trip home, Kiera quietly said, “Denny is leaving.”

I couldn’t have been more shocked by her words. No…I just got him back, and they’ve been so happy together here. What could have possibly happened? Why would he want to leave? Did I do something…? “But…?”

Her face scrunched like she was mad at herself. “No, just for a few months…just for his job.”

I relaxed as I realized Denny’s departure was only temporary. Our relationship was still intact, then, and so was theirs. Adding long distance to it would be trying, but I was certain they could do it. “Oh, I thought maybe…” You were over.

She interrupted me with a sigh before I could finish my thought. “No, I’m just overreacting. Everything is fine. It’s just…” She paused, like even the act of saying the words would hurt her.

“You’ve never been apart,” I guessed.

Glancing over, I saw her lips curve into a small smile of relief. Relief that I understood, and relief that I hadn’t judged her. “Yeah. I mean, we have, but not for that long. I guess I’m just used to seeing him every day, and, well…we waited so long to live together, and things have been going so perfectly, and now…”