Thoughtless (5 page)

I tried to fix my face into a smile. I hadn’t known why his old roommate had left, and I was a little shocked and, of course, still a little embarrassed at the crude conversation we’d walked into. Denny smiled and smoothly said, “Hello.” I managed to mumble out a, “Hi.”
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“Hey.” The bassist nodded his chin up in greeting. “Griffin.” He eyed me up and down, making me extremely uncomfortable and I squeezed Denny’s hand harder, moving slightly behind him.

His could-be twin across the table from Kellan, stuck his hand out in a more polite greeting. “Matt, Hi.”

“The guitarist, right?” Denny asked him while he shook his hand.

“You’re really good!”

“Yeah, thanks, man.” He seemed genuinely pleased that Denny had remembered what he played. Griffin however, snorted, and Matt threw him a look. “Oh, get over it, Griffin.”

Griffin shot him a look right back. “All I’m saying, is that you totally messed up that last riff. I rock that song, I should totally play it.” Ignoring what sounded like an on-going argument, the big teddy-bear looking guy beside Matt stood up and extended his hand to us. “Evan, drummer. Nice to meet you.”

We shook his hand while Kellan stood up. He walked across the aisle to the drunken women. I thought the one who had been gaping at him earlier might pass out at his nearness. He leaned over the back of her chair, brushed aside a lock of her hair and whispered something very closely in her ear. She nodded, flushing slightly, and then he stood, grabbing a couple of empty chairs beside them. The women were giggling like school girls as he walked away.

He set the chairs down for us at the end of the table, with a slight smile on his face. “Here, have a seat.”

Feeling odd about that whole exchange, and not entirely comfortable with our new companions, I sat down with a small frown on my face.

Kellan’s smile widened. He seemed to really enjoy it when I was uncomfortable.

Griffin was turning his attention to Denny as we sat down. “What’s your accent…you British?”

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Denny smiled politely at him. “Australian.” Griffin nodded, like he knew that all along. “Ahhhh. Ahoy, mate.” Kellan and Evan laughed. Matt looked over at him like he was the world’s biggest idiot. “Dude, he’s Australian…not a pirate.” Griffin sniffed haughtily. “Whatever.” He took a swig of his beer.

Laughing a little, Denny asked, “What’s the name of your band anyway?”

Griffin chuckled while Kellan stated, “D-Bags.” I looked over at him incredulously and then smiled. “Seriously?” Griffin surprisingly frowned a little. “They made me condense it, the pussies. I wanted the full thing. State it loud, state it proud!” He smacked the table.

Matt rolled his eyes. “If we ever want to play somewhere bigger than Pete’s, then we need a name they can put on the marquee.” At least one of them seemed to have goals for a bigger future.

Griffin shot an irritated look over to Matt, while Kellan and Evan chuckled. “Dude, I made t-shirts… ”

“No one is stopping you from wearing them,” Matt muttered, rolling his eyes again.

Kellan and Evan laughed harder, and even Denny chuckled a little. I couldn’t help but smile at them. “Are you guys brothers?” Griffin looked at me in horror. “Absolutely not!” Surprised, I looked back at Matt and then to him again. They really could have been twins. “Oh, sorry it’s just you look so…”
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“We’re cousins,” Matt explained. “Our dad’s are twins, so the resemb-lance is…unfortunate.” He frowned.

Griffin snorted again. “Unfortunate for you…that I’m hotter.” The rest of the guys at the table laughed while Matt rolled his eyes again.

Abruptly, Kellan lifted two fingers in the air and nodding his chin up, motioned the fingers down at Denny and me. I looked across the room to where he was focused. An older woman, who smiled at him oddly, was running the bar at the far end of the long room. She seemed to know exactly what he meant, and handed two beer bottles to a waitress, pointing her in our direction.

I looked back over at Kellan, but he was already talking with Denny about Denny’s new job position. Kellan was curious about what an internship in advertising entailed. Having heard the story a million times before, I tuned it out and took a look around the bar.

Pete’s was warm and comfortable looking. The floors were oak and worn with years of use. The walls were a pleasant cream and red with nearly every square inch covered with signs of various brands of beers.

Dozens of tables, in varying sizes and styles, dotted the wooden floor, crammed packed where they could fit, except for a twenty foot area in front of the stage that took up one of the shorter walls.

The stage was oak as well, the wall behind it painted black, and covered with hanging guitars in different styles and colors. Huge speakers sat on either side of the stage, pointing out towards the crowd. The lights above the stage were currently off and the microphones, guitars, and drums sat on the darkened stage, waiting for their owners.

I looked over to the other side of the large rectangular room while the guys chatted around me. The other short wall was one long bar. The mirror behind the bar was lined with shelves, all filled with every bottle of liquor you could imagine. The bartender was now busy filling drinks for the crowd starting to pour in from the double doors along the front wall.

Large windows dotted that wall, letting in the glow of the various neon bar signs.

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A pretty, blonde waitress approached, and handed Denny and me our beers. We thanked her and Kellan gave her a friendly nod, which made me curious for a second. The waitress only smiled politely at him however, so I figured they were just friends.

I sipped my beer and watched the waitress walk through some double doors on the other long wall of the bar. I could see steel and movement, and hear the clatter of food being prepared. That must be the kitchen. A large archway, not far from the kitchen doors, led to a decent sized room that appeared to have a couple pool tables in it. Continuing down the rest of the wall, I noticed a hallway close to the stage that re-ceded around a corner, signs above it indicating that restrooms were in that direction.

As I was looking at the hallway, my eyesight came across the two women who had been watching the guys earlier. Denny and I were now partially blocking their view, sitting on the end of the table as we were.

The one who openly wanted Kellan did not look happy that I was sitting right next to him. In fact, she looked downright pissed. I quickly turned back around.

I felt someone approaching me from behind then, and for a moment, I worried that the woman was going to try and start something with me.

My body involuntarily tensed as I looked over my shoulder. I sighed softly with relief at the sight of an older man approaching our table.

He was dressed nicely, in khaki slacks and a red collared shirt with the name of the bar in the upper corner. He looked to be in his mid-fifties with graying hair and a weathered face. He did not currently look happy at all.

“Guys ready? You’re up in five,” he sighed heavily.

“You alright, Pete?” Kellan asked him, frowning a little.

I blinked. Pete must be the owner of Pete’s. How cute.

“No…Traci quit over the phone, she’s not coming back. I had to have Kate pull a double, so we were covered tonight.” He glared, rather angrily, at Kellan. That made me curious, until I remembered that the ex-34

roommate, Joey, had left abruptly because of Kellan. Maybe it was a pattern with him?

Kellan in turn, glared over at Griffin. He looked a little sheepish and took a long swig of his beer before muttering, “Sorry, Pete.” Pete sighed and shook his head. I guess there were just some risks that Pete was accustomed to involving his entertainment. Surprising myself I said, “I was a waitress. I need to get a job, and working nights would be perfect when school starts.”

Pete looked over at me curiously and then back to Kellan. Kellan smiled and pointed to us with his bottle in turn. “Pete, these are my new roommates, Denny, Kiera.”

Pete nodded and looked me over. “You twenty-one?” I smiled nervously. “Yeah, since May.” I wondered briefly what he would do if I said ‘no’ while sipping on a beer?

He nodded again. “All right. I could use the help soon though. Can you start Monday, six pm?”

I looked over at Denny, wondering if I should have talked this over with him first. With his internship during the day, nights would be all we had together. He was smiling at me though, and nodded near imperceptibly.

“Yeah, that would be fine. Thank you,” I said quietly. And just like that, one full day being in this new city, I had a job.

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3

Chapter

My New Job

Listening to the band play their full set was amazing. They really were good at what they did and Kellan was unbelievable. I was a little surprised that someone hadn’t scooped him up yet. He was the poster child for a bankable rock star - talented, seductive and smoking hot. And they already had quite the fan base; almost immediately upon starting their set, the floor around the stage had crowded with people.

Denny pulled me out to the floor near the edge of the pack, where we had more room to dance and move about. The song they were playing was extremely catchy and easy to dance to, and Denny twirled me around, then brought me tight to him as we danced close together. I laughed and slung my arms around his neck. Then he dipped me and I laughed harder. Most of the D-Bags songs were fast, but Denny and I were comfortable with each other and danced together easily.

Occasionally, I would glance up at the group onstage. Kellan would gently keep time to the music with his body as he smiled flirtatiously through his words. He was captivating to watch and I found myself doing it more and more frequently as the night went on. While watching the way his body swayed while he sang, I happened to notice Griffin look over at Matt suddenly, then scowl deeply. Somehow, without ever looking at him or missing a note on his guitar, Matt managed to flip him off, making Denny and I giggle and Griffin roll his eyes. Evan watched over the group, slowly shaking his head and laughing as well. Kellan didn’t seem to witness the exchange, or he was just ignoring it, his eyes focused on the adoring crowd instead.

For some of the songs, Kellan would pick up his guitar and play along with Matt. His guitar wasn’t amplified like Matt’s, and the different sounds blended together nicely. He started off an intro to a slower song
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by himself, and I couldn’t help but notice how good he was on it, probably as good as Matt. Most of the people around the front of the stage were still cavorting and dancing, even though the song was slower, but some of the couples near Denny and I were starting to slow dance.

Denny pulled me close, slipping his arms around my waist. He grinned at me goofily, in a way that I immensely loved, and pulled me tight against him. I sighed happily and brought my arms around his neck again. Running my fingers through his dark hair, I gave him a soft kiss. As the music swelled and picked up intensity, I hugged him tight and laid my head on his shoulder, breathing in his wonderful, familiar scent. Looking out over his shoulder, I watched Kellan on stage. He was smiling sweetly at me during a break in the vocals and I smiled back.

Then he winked at me and I blinked in surprise. He laughed at that, finding my reaction highly amusing.

They played one more fast-paced song after that, most of the couples going back to regular dancing, Denny and I choosing to stay locked together, smiling at each other and softly kissing. When that song finished, Kellan’s speaking voice broke through the noise of the crowd.

“Thank you for coming out tonight.” He paused, waiting for the crowd’s sudden eruption of screams to die down. After a minute, he smiled charmingly and held up a finger. “I want to take a second to introduce you all to my new roommates.”

His finger pointed right at Denny and me. I blushed deeply and Denny laughed, moving to my side, his arms still around my waist. I looked over at him, biting my lip and wishing we had left after the slow song. He grinned and kissed my cheek while Kellan told the whole bar our names.

I buried my head in Denny’s shoulder, mortified, while Kellan cheerily said, “Now, you’ll all be happy to know that Kiera is joining the happy little family here at Pete’s, starting Monday night.” The crowd screamed again…I had no idea why, and I blushed even deeper and glared up at Kellan, wishing he would be quiet. He laughed at my look. “I want you all to be nice to her…” he looked over to the D-Bag beside him who was grinning indecently at me, “…especially you Griffin.”
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He said good night to the crowd, that hollered yet again, and then he sat down on the edge of the stage. My embarrassment fading, now that the attention was no longer focused on me, I thought to go up and tell him how great he was. It apparently wasn’t necessary though. Almost instantly, about five girls hovered around him. One brought him a beer, one played with his hair, and one even made herself quite comfortable on his lap. I’m pretty sure at some point I saw her lick his neck. After witnessing that, I figured he didn’t need any encouraging words from me, and I could just tell him something nice in the morning.

Denny and I left soon after the band finished, and practically stumbled to bed in our tiredness. I don’t know exactly when I heard Kellan get home, but it was much later than us. So naturally, I was pretty surprised when I groggily made my way down to the kitchen the next morning, and there he was, already sitting at the table, fully dressed, looking annoyingly perfect while sipping his coffee and reading the paper.

“Mornin’,” he said, a little too cheerfully.

“Uh,” I replied grumpily. So, not only was he talented and ridiculously attractive, he was also one of those people who could run smoothly on very little sleep. That irritated me a little.

I grabbed a mug and poured some coffee while he finished his paper.

Upstairs, I could hear the water start running as Denny prepared for his shower. I finished making my coffee and went over to sit across from Kellan at the table.