One (Bar Dance) (6 page)

“
My friends little one but she tried out every single one. I think so.”

The girl smiled at that. “Figured you let her do that.”

I’d just smiled back.

When we got to my place Rand carried in most of the stuff. I had never once in my life had someone carry my groceries in. It was weird in a good way. He handed me stuff and I put it away. He was methodical in how he did it. Freezer stuff first. Fridge stuff next. Then pantry stuff last. I asked, “You always do it that way?”

“Do what?” He asked confusion written all over his face.

“Put stuff away so organized. I go from bag to bag. Not place to place.”

I saw the light dawn. “I may not cook but I make a good pack mule. Mom cooked for eight or more every day. She said it was easiest to hold one door open for a while instead of opening it time and time again.”

That made sense to me so I nodded. I pulled out a pot, filled it with water and dumped a few potatoes in it. I then pulled out a cork screw and a bottle of wine. I started to open it when it was taken from my hands. “Mom also says that I should never let a lady get her own drink.”

That made me snort in laughter. He opened the bottle leaving cork in it. Then he stared around my kitchen not having the first clue where anything was. I pointed to a cupboard. “Glasses are in there.”

It took him a little while to find the wine glasses before he pulled one down. He poured and looked around again. “Spoons? I left stuff in the bottle.”

I started giggling hard enough to shake with it. I walked to the sink poured that portion out and poured more. “Get a beer and go explore while I cook.”

I had
stuff everywhere. I knew it would take him a while to look around even if he only glanced at some of my do-dads. I made a simple dinner. Broiled chicken kabobs. Boiled potato chunks that were now sitting in seasoned butter soaking up flavor. That greek cucumber sauce that had a name but I didn’t know what it was. Even if I did know what it was called, I was sure that I wouldn’t be able to pronounce it, as dipping sauce for the chicken. I also had rounds of orange sherbet in tall glass glasses sitting in my freezer. I would add the nearly frozen 7up over the top just before I served it. That was the only way that I had found to make it crystal goodness.

He came back wide eyed and nearly glassy. “How many pictures do you actually have?”

“Thirty thousand more or less.” I answered straight faced.

“Any of your family?”

“Three but they’re in a box. You wouldn’t have found them.” I did have a ton of pictures. All of them were of me and my friends dancing or school events. If I liked it I put it out. Some were big. Most were small so they were everywhere. I also had coffee cups depicting places that I would like to go but haven’t. Most of them had that colored paper stuff that you put in a bag for presents or Easter baskets. It cut down on dusting. They usually had a picture thrown in them too. I also had a fascination of Loony Tune characters. I had little glass ones scattered randomly throughout the house. I plated up dinner and motioned for him to sit at the bar. I did have a table with six chairs around it. I rarely if ever sat at it. If I did it was with my laptop that I only opened when I was doing homework. Since I wasn’t in school right at this time I just sat beside him at the bar. I got him a new beer and me a refill of wine.

Rand asked about my parents and I told him. I expected more questions about them. What I didn’t expect was for him to decimate the three kabobs in front of him without much comment. I was dipping my last bite of potato in the sauce when he took my wrist and put the piece in his mouth. He was looking around for more food and I made a mental note that five chicken tenders and two potatoes were not enough food for him.

“Uh… are you still hungry?”

“Not really but
that was really good and there’s still sauce.”

He stuck his finger in it and then licked it off. “What do you call this stuff?”

I stood up and gathered our plates then rinsed them off in the sink. I put them in the dishwasher as I answered. “Cucumber sauce?”

He scowled at it. Then he shrugged.

I pulled the sorbet out and poured the 7up over handing him his. He looked a little perplexed at it but dug in. On his second bite he smiled at me and finished it immediately. I had given him five healthy scoops to my three small scoops. He was done and staring at my cup longingly. “You want more?” I asked around a bite.

“No. Not really.” He watched my spoon as I took the last bite. I held the cup out to him with just the dredges that could only be slurped.
It was too thick to just be a drink. He took it and let out an, “Ahhhh.” As he set it down.

“How long ago did you move out of your parent’s house?”

He let out a nearly silent burp. “About five years ago.”

“You eat anything that hasn’t come out of a microwave since then?” I stood and took our glasses with me.

“Fast food count?”

“Nope.” I answered.

He sighed. “I roomed at college. Had a microwave and an iron. Hell on wheels for ironed grilled cheese or cereal.”

“Ironed grilled cheese?”

He smiled. “Aluminum foil on the counter and on the iron. Ruined the first iron because I didn’t put foil on it and left the steam on.”

I put my hand to my forehead shook my head and did an erase motion in the air.

“It’s too early for bed. Want to watch a movie or something?” Rand filled the void of silence that had taken over. I had been alone for so long that I didn’t watch TV much. I worked four days on three days off. My days off weren’t always the same. I also had been in school forever. Nights exclusively. Even now, I was simply on term break. I was going for my ER certification.

I guess that I blinked a few too many times and Rand realized that I had no clue how to answer him. “You have wifi?” He finally asked.

That I could answer. “Of course.”

“You have Wii?”

I knew what a Wii player was but I didn’t have one. “Uh… no?” It came out as a question because why would I have a Wii. I worked full time and went to school. Wii was for the patients at the hospital not something that I would have.

He tilted his head and then asked. “Blueray?”

Again I must have blinked too many times. “Cable to hook your laptop to the TV?”

“I have an aerial that hooks to a box that hooks to the TV.”

Rand looked at me as if I had sprouted a third eye over where my nose went. He stood up and walked to my TV. He eyed it up. Turned it around on the stand. When he put his hands on his hips at my second hand TV he looked back at me. “How old is this thing?”

I shrugged. “It turns on and I can listen to the news while I eat breakfast. That’s the only time I
have it on to be honest. I don’t even watch it I just listen to the weather report in the morning.”

He not only looked at me as if I had a third eye but as if my hair was Medusa’s with squirming snakes.

I put my hands on my hips. “Do you see that sound system? If I want company I have thousands of artists that can come in and entertain me. I do not need an ‘Office’ or, or, or a ‘Physic Cop’ or a,” I kept trying to come up with a show that I saw in patients room that didn’t annoy me. I finally found one that I actually found funny. “I guy who says ‘Donuts’ then drools.”

Rand started laughing. “All you can come up with is those three?”

“You want a slushie?” I did a perfect imitation of the character from the Simpsons.

Rand did his eye roll. “Road trip. If I am going to hang out here, even on occasion, we got to get you tricked out.”

“I start school in three weeks. I won’t be here much.”

“You want me to hang
here sometimes in between now and then?”

“Yes.” I answered immediately.

“You want me to stay here after that?”

I studied him
. Really looked at him. Then I answered slowly. “I don’t know.” I hurried on quickly. “Do you want to be here for more than three weeks?”

I watched as his reaction ran through his mind. First I assumed was anger as his eyes hardened and a vein pulsed down his forehead. Then that faded quickly and he went pale. I was getting ready to grab him. I was afraid that he was going down.
Color came back to his face slowly but he swayed for a second. I did go to him and I grabbed an arm.

“Let’s go sit down
,” I started leading him to where I wanted him. “Then we can keep breathing for a minute.”

I sat him down on one of the kitchen chairs. It was the closest. I put a hand to his neck and wrapped a finger against his pulse. I counted as I
looked my watch. His pulse was high. Not alarmingly high but high enough that I kept my eyes on him.

He said from the chair with his elbows on his knees and his hands against his face. “Ever felt like you have been sucker punched in the gut and kicked in the nuts at the same time?”

I moved my fingers back to take his pulse again. “Don’t think that I have.”

He was leveling out to a normal range. I still kept my hand against his neck.
He was still warmer than he should have been. Not hot like when I set him down in the chair though.

His breathing had evened out. His pulse was still a little fast. His color was a little high but at least he wasn’t pale anymore. He looked at me and I watched the decision he made. “I think I’m good now.”

I let him stand. If he was going to walk out it was best that he did it all on his own. I knew that he was walking out. I also knew that I wouldn’t ever see him again. I was fine with that. I mean what other choice did I have other than to be fine with it? I hadn’t been looking for a relationship when I met him. In all truth I hadn’t even been looking for sex. That was just a nice bonus. I gave him the exit that he wanted. “Do me a favor will ya. Lock the door on your way out.”

He opened his mouth as if to speak. Luckily I was saved from whatever he wanted to say when my phone started ringing. It was in my bag that I had on the bar against the wall. I turned and
walked away from him. That easily I dismissed him. I heard him walk towards the door. I didn’t even look. I pulled my phone out of its little pocket and put it to my ear right before it would have rolled to voice mail.

“Hey Angie.” I answered in greeting.

“Hey back.” She said. “We have been working on your song for the last couple of hours. Bray is the bomb. He has it mastered and he almost has me there too. He wants to add vocals tomorrow so that we know where to tune to. You up for that?”

“Yeah. It actually sounds fun. I’m done for the night so it’ll have to be tomorrow.”

“Me too. Today was intense for me I can’t imagine what Keiley is feeling.”

“I can’t either.” And I couldn’t. Her sister may look like her but they were nothing alike. I had never liked Kelley. I wouldn’t even just set down my purse if she was there. That little girl was bad news from the word go. “I love those kids of hers though. If Keiley gets them it would be the best thing that ever happened to them.”

“Right?” She said it as a question but it wasn’t. It was a statement.

“I can see her and Adam having a fifty year anniversary. They just fit.”
I said happy for my friend.

“I hadn’t thought of it that way but you’re right. I can see that too. I’m thinking of keeping the one I found around for a while too. How about yours?”

“Not gonna happen. He just left. At least I got some before he bolted.” I rubbed my forehead. “Nice enough guy and he works at the same hospital. I just need to change which pharmacy I get my scripts filled at.”

“Sorry sweetie.” She genuinely did sound sorry.

I kept my breathing even so that I didn’t show that it actually hurt. I felt it in my chest. If it had been more than two days I’m sure that I would have cried on my friends shoulder but it hadn’t been. Two days was simply a drop in the bucket of crap that I called my life. One single drop and I was not going to let that turn in to more than what it was.

“So. When, where, why and how do I get to practice with the two of you?” I carried on. Randall Frasier no longer existed for me.

“What’s your schedule like tomorrow?”

I smiled. “I have two more days off and all I have planned is making sure that I have clean underwear for the next week. I’m at your mercy.”

“I’ll text you after I talk with Bray. You good with that?”

“I’m good with that.”

“Love ya Terra.”

“Love ya too
Angie.”

I disconnected and put my phone back in my bag. I went to stand and screeched. Rand was three feet away. He had his arms crossed over his chest. Feet planted shoulder width apart. He looked furious.

“What are you doing here?” I asked breathlessly. He had scared the crap out of me.

Rand just stared at me. So I tried a different approach. “Why are you here?”

He still glared at me not saying a word.

I tried again. “I’ll lock the door. You can go.”

“What’s not gonna happen?” He finally said through gritted teeth.