Effortless (36 page)

Denny and I released each other and twisted to look back at
Anna. Her mouth was wide open as she stared at Denny in our
doorway. With everything that had happened, I’d forgotten to tell
her that he was back in town. She was looking at him like he’d
magically materialized into the room.

I stood aside and motioned for him to come in while she
sputtered, “Denny? What the hell? Did I wake up three years ago?”
She looked over to the window with a view of Lake Union. “God,
we’re not back home in Ohio are we?” Her brow bunched into a
perfectly adorable pout. “Because I cannot go through living with
Mom and Dad again, Kiera.”

Denny chuckled at her while I rolled my eyes. “No, Anna, you
didn’t time travel in your sleep. Denny’s back in town for
work.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, eyeing him both suspiciously and a
little unhappily. Denny wasn’t really Anna’s favorite person
anymore, not since he’d beaten Kellan to a pulp and rattled my
melon. I don’t think she’d ever forgive him for kicking me. It
really wasn’t his fault, I was the one that had stupidly used my
body as a shield, and Denny hadn’t exactly been in his right mind.
But Anna couldn’t get past the fact that he’d hurt people she cared
about…even if we had sort of asked for it.

“Hey, Denny…long time, no see.” She said it with a very slight
edge, like she’d preferred the “no see” part.

Denny looked away, guilt flooding his face. He knew how Anna
felt about him. She’d bluntly pulled him aside and told him. My
sister wasn’t one to mince words. If she had a problem with you,
you’d know it. “Hi, Anna.”

Not liking the tension building, I twisted to Denny. “So,
shouldn’t you be at work or something?” I glanced at the button-up
shirt he had on, the coordinating slacks. He looked like he’d just
stepped away from a GQ photo shoot.

“I’m on lunch break.” Hands causally tucked in his slacks, he
nodded his head at the door. “Care to join me?”

Seeing that I had just enough time to squeeze in lunch before
class, I nodded and grabbed my bag off the table. Anna frowned at
me, but didn’t say anything in front of Denny. I mentally reminded
myself to ask her to not say anything about this to Griffin. I
wasn’t sure how often they communicated, but I didn’t need that
particular D-Bag mouthing off to Kellan about Denny. I would tell
Kellan, when the time was right, and in a way that wouldn’t be
hurtful to him. I was sure Griffin wouldn’t be so tactful.

Thinking of Griffin reminded me of Kellan’s odd text, a text
that he’d said was from him, but I pushed the thought away as Denny
led me to his company car. Kellan may have fibbed, or maybe not.
Maybe Griffin had gotten a new number that Anna didn’t know about,
or maybe he was sending gross pictures from Matt’s phone. That
seemed plausible.

Just as I was feeling better about the strange text, Denny
stopped us in front of his sleek, two-door sports car. It looked
like one of those cars that they always show doing 360s in the
commercials, like real people drove that way.

I let out a low whistle as Denny popped the passenger’s side
open. “Now I see why you don’t need your Honda back,” I muttered,
sliding in to the creamy, leather seats.

Denny softly laughed as he got into his side. “Yeah, it’s not
bad.” He started it, revving the engine. Giving me a crooked grin,
he shrugged. “There are some perks to being in charge.”

I laughed at his expression as he drove us along the roller
coaster steep hills, happy that he was thriving too. At least I
hadn’t damaged the men in my life so badly that they’d never
recover from it.

My bag rang as we headed out to a café that Denny liked when
he’d been here before. I reached in and grabbed it, wondering if it
was Anna, about to give me a mouthful for heading out with Denny. I
stared at the screen and hesitated, just for a second. Denny eyed
me curiously as I answered it.

“Hello?”

“Hey, gorgeous…guess where I woke up today?”

I smiled as Kellan’s sultry voice met my ear. “I have no idea.”
And I really didn’t, I’d lost track of his exact location ages
ago.

Kellan chuckled and I glanced over at Denny, his eyes back to
the road. It gave me a weird sort of guilt to be back in a
situation that was eerily similar to last year. Different though,
since Denny and I weren’t doing anything inappropriate.

“Kansas…know what’s in Kansas?”

I leaned back in my seat and shook my head. “No.”

“Nothing,” he dryly said. “Miles and miles of nothing.” I
laughed at his answer and he sighed. “God, I’ve missed your laugh.
It’s just not the same over the phone, you know.”

Closing my eyes, I twirled a lock of hair around my finger,
imagining that it was his. “I know…I’ve missed you, too.” I heard
Denny shift beside me, but I kept my eyes closed, biting my lip as
a little more guilt flooded me.

Just as I was thinking of ways to tell Kellan that Denny was
back, Kellan asked, “So, what have you been up to lately?”

I opened my eyes and tensed, wondering if someone had told him
already. “Uh…just work and school. Did I tell you I started my new
quarter last month? I have a poetry class now.”

I rolled my eyes, hating that I’d chosen the most trivial fact
to tell him. By his reaction, though, you’d have thought I’d just
told him I’d won the lottery. “Really? I like poetry…it’s a lot
like lyric writing. Less cursing though.”

He chuckled again and I relaxed. If he knew about Denny, he
probably wouldn’t be joking. I glanced over at Denny studiously
studying his driving, maybe uncomfortable, maybe just giving me
privacy, I wasn’t sure. As I watched him, Kellan added, “So what
are you up to today?”

I flushed, not wanting to lie, but not ready to tell him.
“Nothing really…”

He sighed softly. “Well, I’ve just got endless driving in front
of me…please tell me your life is more interesting than that. One
of us needs a good story to tell.”

I smiled, knowing his current life was much more interesting
than most people would ever experience, even if it did involve
endless driving. Biting my lip, I studied Denny again. “Well…I’m on
my way to have lunch with a friend.”

Denny looked over at me, raising a dark eyebrow and frowning
slightly. I knew he wanted me to expand on that to Kellan, but I
couldn’t yet, not over the phone. I felt like this conversation
needed to be done in person.

Kellan brightly said, “Good, it’s good that you’re getting out,
having a life.”

I looked straight ahead and twisted my lips. “Of course I still
have a life. Do you think my world revolves around you?”

I said it in an obviously teasing way, but Kellan paused a
moment before answering. “No, no I don’t think that at all.” His
voice was quiet, introspective, and I again wondered if he knew
something. Maybe I should tell him over the phone anyway…

“You alright?” I asked quietly.

He inhaled a deep breath, taking a very long time before
answering. “Yeah, I’m fine.” There was so much in his voice that he
wasn’t saying. Even though Kellan was good at it, I knew he was
lying to me.

“Kellan…is there something you want to tell me?” My heart
started pounding, the ice in my stomach so painful I nearly doubled
over. That woman’s face flashed in my mind, the look on his as he’d
leaned in to whisper in her ear. The mysterious text number rang
through my brain on a never-ending loop…

He sniffed and took another long moment. “It’s nothing,
Kiera…just the stress of the road. I’m sure you can imagine what
life on a bus with Griffin is like.” He chuckled, his voice back to
light and happiness, and I didn’t believe a word of it.

I bit my lip as I stared at Denny, now giving me concerned
glances. Kellan was holding back from me, that much I could tell. I
didn’t know what or why, but I couldn’t open up to him about Denny
now. I just couldn’t.  “Okay, well…if something was going on,
you know that you could tell me…right?”

He sighed softly. “Yeah, I know…” His voice trailed off, then
brightened. “But really, nothing is up, aside from the fact that I
miss you like crazy.”

A sad smile touched my lips. “Yeah, me too.” As we pulled into
the parking area of the café, I sighed. “Hey, I’m here at the
restaurant…I need to go. I’ll call you later?”

“Yeah, okay.” With a humorless chuckle he added, “I’ll be here,
on the road through nowhere, wishing Griffin didn’t need to let The
Hulk breathe quite so often.”

I laughed, the release of it easing the knot in my belly. “I
love you, Kellan.”

“I love you too, Kiera.” He said it immediately, with no
hesitation or trace of deceit. If anything else, he at least
honestly meant it when he said it.

I hung up the phone as Denny shut off the car. Twisting to me,
he shook his head. “You didn’t tell him I was here.” It was a
statement, not a question.

I sighed, fingering the cool contraption in my palm. “Not yet,
it didn’t feel right yet.” I peeked up at him. “I will…soon. I
promise.”

He shook his head again but didn’t comment any further. Just as
he cracked open his door, his cell phone rang. He glanced back at
me, a small smile on his lips. “Well, aren’t we popular?” I smiled
at his comment and watched as he checked the screen. The small
smile on his face grew about a million times brighter. He looked up
at me real quick. “It’s Abby, I need to take this.”

I nodded as he answered, “Hey, babe.” Pushing open his door, he
stepped out to the parking lot. Before closing his door, I heard
him say, “No, you caught me heading out to lunch with Kiera…”

He shut the door and I didn’t hear any more than that, but it
marveled me a little that he’d confessed so openly to her that he
was with me. I guess they didn’t have the same trust issues that
Kellan and I had. I guess that’s what you get when your
relationship starts by betraying someone—a never-ending well of
doubt. If we could do it to someone, it could be done to us.

Giving Denny a private moment to catch up with his faraway
girlfriend, I ran my fingers back through my mostly dry hair and
stared at my phone. I wanted an explanation to magically appear on
it, but it didn’t. Sighing, I typed a message into it and pressed
send.

I watched Denny through the window while I waited for a reply.
He was leaning against the hood of the car, laughing at whatever
conversation he and Abby were having. He seemed genuinely happy,
his eyes practically glowing as he spoke to her. I wondered if he’d
looked like that when he’d talked to me so long ago. I wondered if
he’d tenderly made love to Abby before he’d left her. I was pretty
sure he had…and it had probably been a lot more romantic than
getting sloshed and having sex in a bathroom at a party.

As I watched Denny run a hand back through his hair in warm,
familiar way, my phone buzzed in my hand. Pressing the screen, I
read the message from Kellan.
‘I love you too…more than
anything. I can’t wait to see you again…soon, hopefully.’

I repeated the sentiment, then opened my door to join Denny,
since his conversation looked about over. Sighing peacefully, he
nodded over to the café doors. “Sorry about that, she was getting
ready for work and I didn’t want to miss her.” Looking down, he
kicked at a rock as we walked along. “I make sure to talk to her as
often as I can…”

He looked up at me from the corner of his eyes and a flash of
guilt ran through me. I was the reason he kept in constant contact.
My cheating spree with Kellan had started while he’d been gone. The
experience had made him all the more attentive to his current girl.
I guess something good had come out of the whole mess after
all.

Not commenting, I only nodded as we made our way inside. Sitting
down, I tried to keep the light smile on my face. “So, Abby…what’s
she like?”

He looked at me blankly before picking up a menu. “You don’t
really want to talk about this, do you?”

Watching him absentmindedly flip through the pages, I nodded.
“Yes, I do actually.” When he looked up at me, I shrugged. “We’re
friends, remember, and that means sharing our lives. She’s
obviously an important part.” I shrugged with one shoulder. “I saw
your face while you were talking to her…”

Sighing, he looked over my shoulder. A reminiscent smile on his
face, he shrugged. “She’s…she’s great. She’s warm and
sweet…loving.”

He looked at the table, a small flush coloring his cheeks. I
felt the same mild embarrassment, but I did my best to ignore it.
We should be able to talk about the people who were important to
us. His fingers flicking over the menu pages, he exhaled softly. “I
was really…broken when I got home. She helped me through it, made
me smile again.”

His warm brown eyes looked up at me and I clenched my stomach,
willing my eyes not to water. I’d done that. I’d broken him.
Smiling softly, he shook his head. “I think I love her,
Kiera…really love her. I think she’s the one,” he whispered.

Then my eyes did water and I couldn’t possibly stop the
reaction. I nodded as I swiped my fingers under my eyes. “Good, I’m
glad, Denny.”

And I was happy…and devastatingly sad too. It was hard, watching
someone you had once loved, loving someone else, and loving them
more than they’d loved you. But, really, that’s exactly what I’d
done to Denny with Kellan.