The Low Notes (12 page)

“
I ruined your dress,” he whispered.

Nina just shook her head and continued to clean him up. She stood and wiped off the table and returned the rags and the empty glass to the bar before going back to her place across from Kevin. His head was hung low again.

“
Let’s get you home,” she said, grabbing his hand and helping to steady him as he stood up. He fumbled for his wallet and laid down more than enough money for his drinks. As they got outside she slung his arm over her shoulder, making herself a crutch for him. A breeze wafted over them as Nina helped Kevin into the passenger seat of her car. She smelled the pungent scotch they’d both been doused in and prayed she didn't get pulled over on the short two block drive.

“
Are we going to talk about this?” she asked him cautiously.

“
Talk about what?” Kevin slurred.

Nina craned her neck to look him in the face. His eyes were bloodshot and his breath stunk of booze.

“
If I’d known you were going to come and drown your sorrows tonight, I wouldn’t have invited you,” she said pointedly.

“
I’m sorry,” he said, sounding pitiful.

They rode in silence for the rest of the journey. Nina helped him up the front steps to the porch and she wordlessly coaxed his keys from him and opened the front door, letting them both inside, fear filling Nina from the inside as she realized what a horrible decision she might be making. As she helped him, however, she made the internal choice to not let anything she might regret happen between them. She was only helping him.

“
Oh God, you’re in my house,” Kevin said loudly, unable to mutter the phrase.

Nina laughed a little as she shut the door. Kevin began walking by himself and plopped down on the bottom step of the staircase leaving Nina to stand awkwardly in the entryway.

Sasha, the large red setter, rounded the corner rather cautiously before walking briskly toward Nina. The dog immediately rubbed her face against Nina’s legs and wagged her tail with excitement. Nina giggled and bent over to pat her on her head sweetly.

“
That’s Sasha, my dog,” Kevin said, still slurring his speech.

“
She’s sweet,” Nina replied.

“
You’re sweet,” Kevin said with a goofy smile.

“
And you’re drunk,” Nina said, rolling her eyes. She came toward him and saw his red eyes widen. Kneeling in front of him, she slowly wrapped her hand around his ankle, pulling his leg up. Tugging at his shoelaces Nina stayed quiet, careful not to encourage his loose lips. She could tell he was staring down at her as she slid one shoe off of his foot and set it to the side. He sighed.

“
How can you be so wonderful and so gorgeous and only seventeen?” he breathed, the smell of whisky coming off him in waves.

Nina kept her head down as she slipped off his other shoe. She saw his hand reach out to her face and she pulled away and stood up.

“
Come on, you need to sleep this off,” she said, reaching for his hand to help him stand. He frowned at her and sighed in defeat, allowing her to steady his balance as they walked up the steps. Hopeful the amount of alcohol in Kevin's system was keeping him blissfully unaware of their surroundings, Nina felt a nervous twinge when they reached the doorway to his bedroom.

Nina uncomfortably stepped in with Kevin clinging to her shoulder. She felt her embarrassment creep up her neck in a hot, bright red splotch. Kevin stumbled forward and yanked the covers down before clumsily climbing into his bed. The silence that hung stagnant in the air between them was nothing short of pure torment.

“
Okay, um...goodnight,” Nina mumbled as she turned to leave.

Kevin’s hand reached up and grasped her wrist delicately and a chill ran up her spine. Her head and her heart were playing a dangerous game with one another. She turned slowly looking down at his pathetic frown, a wrinkle set in his brow.

“
Stay,” he said.

Nina shook her head back and forth slowly. She didn’t have the will to say the word ‘no‘. She wanted to stay. Her dreams had brought her to his room many times and yet he was never drunk or sad with the guilt he undoubtedly felt about caring for her. This wasn’t how she pictured it and she refused to let her weakness allow it.

“
Not like that...just for a little while,” he said, still holding her hand lightly.

Nina sat down on the edge of the bed as Kevin sat up, bringing their faces closer to one another. Kevin twisted and rolled onto his side and groaned before sitting up again. He tugged his shirt away from his skin and looked lazily down at it with a frown. The blue and white pinstriped material of his button down was soaking wet, covered in alcohol.

Swallowing thickly, Nina scooted closer to him. Her hands rose with what may have seemed like ease but she prayed he wouldn't notice or wouldn't remember the tremor in her fingertips as she placed her hands on the top button of his shirt and undid it. Her fingers carefully worked each button from its hole until she saw the material split.

Their eyes locked for an instant and she saw his mouth gaping as he shrugged out of his shirt, exposing his torso completely. She tried to keep her eyes from roaming his upper body but the sight was too wonderful to ignore. His skin was barely tanned and his frame was solid but not bulky. He had broad shoulders and slightly defined muscles. Nina felt her tongue slip out of her mouth to wet her lips and heard a noise come from Kevin as she did.

Slowly his hand reached out and though it wasn't the first time he’d been so bold with the gesture, she still shied away a bit. His fingers landed in her hair, toying with a single curl. His deep chocolate brown eyes grazed over her entirety. Nina shifted on the bed, unsettled by his lingering gaze. His fingers moved fluidly, tracing her jawbone.

Though she knew he was intoxicated, his eyes seemed so aware. He seemed in utter control as he let one tender fingertip drag a line down the bend of her neck. Nina shivered under his touch, shutting her eyes in ecstasy.

“
You should sleep,” she said, finding the will to shrug his hand from her shoulder. Kevin paused then nodded and leaned back, finally surrendering to his sleepiness. Nina forced herself to stand and walk out of his room, not knowing if she’d ever have another chance to be there. She flicked the light switch and headed back down the steps, her entire body trembling.

When she reached the main floor, her eyes scanned the space, this time a little more shamelessly. She didn’t see the harm in having a quick look around before she left so she began in the living room. The décor was simple and classic, just like the house. She scanned the movies he had on display and approved of most of them. Next was his music collection. He had something from nearly every classic rock band from AC/DC to Zeppelin, with a large section in the middle which Nina figured had to be every single KISS album ever recorded. There was also an extensive list of 1980's hair bands in the mix of albums, something that gave her a little laugh. She dragged a lazy finger over the spines of the jewel cases that sat in the built-in shelves and then she stopped dead in her tracks.

She saw a collection of some of the greatest singers she’d ever heard sitting nice and tidy all in a row. Kevin's anthology could've been her own. With Dusty Springfield and Nina Simone, Julie London and Dinah Shore sitting on his shelves, it was as if he'd been eyeing her personal mp3 files. She smiled imagining him listening to the same songs she loved. The same artists she worshipped. Then she made a mental note to indulge in a little rock and roll in his honor.

Nina turned to head for the door, knowing it was late, when something on the coffee table caught her eye. A thick stack of white paper bound by brass fasteners sat looking untouched amidst books and graded school papers. Curiously she picked up the papers and read the cover page.

“
The Long Road of The Father by Kevin Reed,” she read aloud. It was Kevin’s manuscript. Intrigued, Nina sat on the couch and opened to the first page. She just wanted to see what it was about. She tried pushing any guilt she felt for snooping out of her mind as she began to read.

It was two hours later when Nina looked at the clock after letting out a huge yawn.
I’ll just shut my eyes for a minute and then I’ll go home
, she thought.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Kevin sat up with a jolt. The sun was creeping in through the blinds and he felt his head pound as he glanced at the tiny amount of light. He looked around his bedroom not knowing how he ended up there. Suddenly his mind was flooded with flashes of memories from the night before. A day dream of Nina putting on a sexy production. Knocking over a glass of scotch onto the real Nina’s dress. Nina driving him home. Nina in his bedroom undressing him.

His stomach flipped and he felt the stinging warmth in his chest before running into the bathroom and letting go of the contents of his stomach. He heaved once more and sighed at the feeling of the cool tile as his palms pressed against it. Raising his head, he took a few deep breaths, feeling better and better with each.

He continued to reclaim blurred memories as he became more awake, splashing water on his face and rinsing out his mouth. He shifted uncomfortably realizing he’d slept in his jeans. Tugging on a pair of sweatpants, he made his way slowly down the stairs, still feeling a little queasy.

Kevin wondered just how many drinks he'd consumed the night before. He hadn’t drank heavily enough to vomit in years. Stepping off the bottom stair to the hardwood floor, he remembered the feeling of Nina slipping off his shoes as he sat in his drunken stupor.

He was headed to the kitchen to fix himself a hangover remedy when he saw something out of place in the living room from the corner of his eye. He backed up and peered suspiciously and he saw her. Nina lay sprawled out on his couch, still in her red booze-stained dress with his manuscript tented over her chest. A smiled grew on his lips instantly as he watched her sleep peacefully. He tip-toed to her and carefully picked up the manuscript. Silently he hoped she hadn’t read as far as the page was turned. Though he was proud of his work, he wasn’t ready for anyone but a potential publisher to read it. Certainly not Nina.

Nina didn't budge. He debated whether or not to wake her. Yes it was inappropriate having her in his home and no she probably didn’t mean to fall asleep but he secretly liked the idea of her being so comfortable in his house. But as they often did on the subject of Nina, his thoughts suddenly turned pessimistic. He wondered who might’ve seen them going inside together. Which nosy neighbor had been waiting on Nina to leave the next morning in the same clothes she’d been wearing last night?

As Kevin crept quietly away from the couch and to the kitchen, he continued to let his mind run through horrible scenarios of ways he might get caught with her. He shook away the thoughts. He couldn’t get caught do anything with her because nothing happened. She was just a nice girl who helped a drunk man back to his home then accidentally fell asleep on his couch. Kevin rationalized it over and over as he pulled ingredients down from his cabinets. Then he remembered more about the night.

He wondered if it had been a dream, his hand touching her hair and her face, then her neck after she'd tentatively helped him undress. A sigh escaped his lips as he scooped the first cup of baking mix into the glass bowl in front of him. His stomach churned, less from his hangover and more from the nervous acid building inside of him.

“
Hi,” he heard her voice as she slowly entered the kitchen. He looked up from the batter he was mixing and smiled at her. Her hair was a mess, flat in the places she’d been laying on it and wild everywhere else. She had black smudges around her eyes from her makeup, but Kevin still couldn’t believe how beautiful she was.

“
Good morning,” he said. “You like pancakes?”

Nina bit her lip and smiled through it, nodding as she took a seat on a barstool next to the island in his large kitchen. They were silent together for a while, Kevin making breakfast and Nina anxiously picking at her fingers.

“
I'm so sorry about last night. I'm really embarrassed but you were incredibly kind to drive me home,” Kevin said, handing her a plate of warm pancakes, leaving out everything else about the evening.

“
It’s no big deal,” she replied.

Kevin nodded slowly, watching her carefully. The moment felt so surreal he couldn’t name any of his feelings. He saw Nina shift and glance around the room.

“
This is too weird, isn't it?” he asked dimly. Nina laughed unexpectedly and looked up at him, her smile not fading.

“
No. Well, kind of. This is just...” she trailed off, trying to find the right words.

“
I know,” he replied easily as he sat next to her.

“
Yeah,” she let out another nervous laugh, “I...uh, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

Kevin grinned at her wickedly. “Right.” He was teasing her the same way she'd teased him after ending up at home with her book bag.

Nina smirked back at him and went to tuck her hair behind her ear when she must have realized what a tangled mess it was. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped as she scrambled to smooth her hair with her hands, clearly embarrassed. Kevin wordlessly reached out and stopped her frantic hand, shaking his head.

They ate in silence, only making passing glances at each other as Kevin thought about the things he said to her the night before. He wondered if she remembered, too. His mind held on tight to the memory of him calling her gorgeous. His skin tried hard to remember the feeling of his fingers tracing her jaw.