Kathy's World (3 page)

“It wasn't her fault. He lied to her too, and then he suggested a threesome when I showed up. Then she came back today to find her phone, and she told me about what he'd been doing, and... yeah.”

Eddie whistled under his breath. “And she brought you down here. I swear, that girl gets the strangest ideas.”

“No! No, I'm glad I came,” she said, giving him a weak smile. “I didn't want to face Mark or our friends right away. I'm actually kind of happy I met Gina, and you.”

He squeezed her hand. “For what it's worth, I think a guy would be nuts to cheat on you.”

He looked so sympathetic that Kathy teared up. She stifled a sob. Eddie patted her shoulder while she began to cry again. The loss of Mark she could probably accept, but she couldn't help questioning herself, and her judgment. It hurt that she didn't know where to go or what to do without him.

“I'm sorry,” she said, “I'm sorry...”

Eddie stood and tugged on her hand. “Come on, you can stay in one of the dressing rooms for a while. It's okay, Kathy.”

He slung an arm around her shoulders and brought her back behind the stage. The first dressing room had a few clothes racks, a mirror, a chair and a couch, and it smelled like dust and stale beer. Eddie set her down on the couch and got her some tissue from the restroom.

“It's not your fault,” he said, rubbing her back. “Your boyfriend's an asshole, and you're not responsible for that. It's just bad luck, that's all.”

She blew her nose and sniffed. “I just don't feel like I can trust myself any more,” she said tearfully. “I mean, my boyfriend's been cheating on me for who knows how long and I never worked it out, and now I'm in a heavy metal club in the bad part of town talking to a strange guy instead of trying to convince my friends that I'm not actually Hitler in disguise.”

“Hey, I'm not that strange,” he said jokingly. “I've worked with some guys that you'd swear come from Mars. All I have is the long hair and T-shirts.”

Kathy tried to smile while she wiped her eyes. “You don't even know me and you're being so nice to me.”

“I just don't like seeing beautiful women cry,” he said gently. “And you are very beautiful.”

On a sudden whim, Kathy reached out and hugged him tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered.

For a moment, he hesitated. Then Eddie put his arms around her, holding her firmly with his hands flat on the base of her back. It was just a friendly hug, from one stranger to another, her common sense said, but her libido and her sense of betrayal joined forces and threw her common sense out the window. Mark had sought out his own pleasure with other women and broken her trust. That meant she owed him nothing, especially not any kind of fidelity.

Eddie felt good, and comforting. He made it hurt less. His hands on her back were more than warm; they were hot, and she had an almost supernatural awareness of the pressure of each finger. It would be incredible if he moved his hands elsewhere... She was actually contemplating the unimaginable, the absurd, for a clean-cut business analyst with a nine to five job. Kathy took a deep breath, inhaling his scent of beer and sweat and feeling the slow heartbeat against her cheek.

The world was already turned upside down, and she was in parts unknown just by being here. Maybe it didn't matter. Maybe it was time to stop thinking.

“Eddie?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah?”

“Are you single?”

His head turned towards her; she could feel his breath on her shoulder. “Why do you want to know?”

She froze up, suddenly terrified at how she'd even explain the vague, slow-burning need for... something. Pleasure. Intimacy. A connection with another human being that hadn't been shattered with lies. Her heart started to race and her head started to spin as she imagined herself with him.

“Kathy -”

“I'm attracted to you,” she said quickly, “and – and I just got out of a bad relationship and I'd like to have some fun.” She felt giddy, repeating the same thing Mark had told Gina. It was true in her case.

Eddie pushed her away, and looked at her with one eyebrow raised. “Okay, not that I'm not flattered or anything,” he said evenly, “but I don't think you really want to do what I think you're telling me you want to do.”

“No, I do,” she replied, and the conviction was a bit stronger now. Still the world felt unreal, like she was on a set course that she couldn't deviate from. “Eddie, I thought I'd be spending my weekend with Mark. I thought I had a boyfriend I could trust, and it turns out that all I have is a lying asshole who's been using me for the last year.” She looked down at his arm, and reached out to touch it lightly with her fingertips. “I guess I'd like to have something that isn't a lie, even if it's just for a few hours.”

“Why me, though?”

“You said I was beautiful,” she whispered.

Eddie tilted her chin up. “I meant it,” he said emphatically. He paused for a moment, seemingly deep in thought, then sat back on the couch and held out his hands to her. “Just... sit here for a minute.”

Kathy stood, turned, and slid sideways into his lap. Her legs were tucked up against his, and she rested against his chest as he cuddled her close. It was deeply satisfying, being held and comforted like this. It was honest. Someone thought she was worth holding, who, as far as she knew, wasn't a colossal bastard.

She didn't move when Eddie put his hand on her hip and stroked her gently with his thumb. It made her want to fall asleep here.

“So you're single, then?” she murmured.

“Maybe I am.”

“Am I your type?”

He chuckled under his breath. “You answer that first.”

“I don't know anymore. I thought I knew my type, but then again, I thought I knew a lot of things.”

Kathy felt him shift and his hand traveled a little farther down her leg. “So I'm guessing you don't usually take any notice of heavy metal drummers then?”

“No, you're the first.” She lifted her head. His face was close to hers. “I guess you don't get many analysts asking you for sex?”

“I could get used to it if they look like you – and, you know, if they don't expect me to shave or anything.”

Kathy leaned up and kissed the edge of his jaw. It was different. Mark was clean-shaven, after all. Not unpleasant, not off-putting, just... different. “I don't expect you to shave,” she said, looking up at him and hoping that he wasn't going to push her away again. “So, am I your type?”

Eddie didn't answer. He cupped her face and pulled her closer, and in a heartbeat their lips met. It almost came as a shock, but the sensation of being kissed and wanted was a familiar one and she instantly gave in to it. It didn't have to be mind-blowing and it certainly wasn't all that romantic, but it was pure and honest. No illusions. No emotional messiness.

She twisted sideways, rearranging herself to straddle his lap and throw her arms around his neck. The heat and power of his body pressed against hers was incredible. Her hands tangled up in his hair, and his belt buckle started digging into her stomach, but his mouth – tongue and lips and the taste of beer – god, his mouth on hers was wonderful. He kissed her with the kind of unrestrained passion she'd never known before.

He was so different. Mark had been good in bed, and she'd always enjoyed herself, but her experience of men in general was pretty limited. It had never been this raw before. She'd always been thinking about it too much. Now, she didn't have to think at all – but she still felt a sense of triumph, that he hadn't cheated because she was unattractive or frigid. Here was another man who was willing to be with her after only a few hours of knowing her, and he was warm and funny and somehow pushed all her buttons...

“Tell me what you want,” he growled against her neck. “Dammit, tell me fast before I lose my mind and fuck you right here.”

Oh, that was good, that deep tone. It carried enough distilled desire to set a nunnery alight. She wanted – she needed – to hear it again, preferably with no clothes on, and who cared that she might crash at the end of this particular roller-coaster? “Talk to me,” she gasped. “Oh god, Eddie-”

“Eddie! Kathy! Are you guys in here?” The door slammed open to reveal Gina, and she was clearly furious. “Where – oh...”

“God fucking
dammit
, Gina, do you ever knock?” Eddie shouted. Kathy could only freeze in surprise. Her first instinct – to shove Eddie away – wasn't going to work while he held her tightly.

Gina backpedaled at speed when she saw them. “Okay, I am totally sorry that I'm interrupting, but Mr. Shitface is here!”

“Who the hell is-”

“Mark is here?” Kathy said, her voice rising in horror.

“Yeah! He's at the bar and I think he's trying to pick up Axeman's girlfriend! I can't believe this son of a bitch would come back here after last night!”

“Oh no... oh no, I don't want to see him, I don't want to be anywhere near him!” Kathy started to panic. “What's he going to say if he sees me in a place like this?”

Eddie sat her back on the couch and stood up. “Right, I'm gonna go throw him out. You stay here with Gina for a few minutes.” He adjusted his pants uncomfortably and grumbled under his breath. “Someday there'll be a goddamn saga composed in honor of my bad luck...”

“You sit the hell down, Lancelot, we're not throwing him out.” Gina came in and shut the door, a manic grin plastered on her face. “That fucker needs some major payback for sleeping around and lying about it, and I'm going to be the one to deliver it. No one –
no one
– gets to bullshit me like he did and hurt you and get away with it.” She pulled out her phone and handed it to Kathy. “That thing takes video, you know how to use it?”

Kathy stared at it, and up at her. “You want me to go out there and record him?”

The evil glint in Gina's eye said it all. “All you have to do is hide behind Eddie and record Mr. Shitface when I get him talking. I'll keep his attention on me. Then we'll see how many of his friends want to take his side.”

She looked at Eddie. He shrugged. “Your choice, beautiful.”

It was a good plan. She could show everyone just what kind of utter bastard Mark really was. All she had to do was muster up the courage to get through the next few minutes. But it felt like a mountain rising in front of her, and one wrong move would leave her buried in a landslide. If it went wrong, well... their friends already believed she was evil. It probably couldn't get any worse.

Maybe it wasn't like that. Maybe it was all just in her head. Maybe Mark would have an explanation, or something, and the world would be right again. Kathy nodded. “Okay. Let's do it.”

Gina lead them out into the bar. Kathy spotted him almost immediately; he was sitting next to a rather butch goth with black and pink striped hair, who clearly had no interest in him and was trying to talk to Tony. Axeman was already walking over from the stage with a frown on his face. The bar was starting to fill up, and tonight's main heavy metal act was tuning up on stage.

“Go around the side and get ready,” she said. “It's got a pretty good mic but you'll probably want to be as close as possible, so just stay behind Eddie and Axeman.”

Kathy fumbled with the phone, pulling up the video app with trembling fingers. All she had to do was hit the button and it would pick up everything Mark said. She followed Eddie, making sure to keep out of Mark's line of sight. Please, please let it be okay, she thought.

Axeman stood in front of her ex-boyfriend with his arms folded. “That's my girlfriend, man, how about you back the fuck off?”

Mark got out of his chair and made a good show of bravado. “I don't see your name on her, asshole.”

“Actually she's just too polite to tell you to go away, man,” said Tony, displaying his usual sense of subtlety.

The lady in question rolled her eyes. “Real smooth, Tony. No wonder you're single.” She stood up as well and tugged on Axeman's arm. “It's okay, babe, just ignore him.”

“Yeah, just ignore him,” Gina called out. “That's the same sad fuck who came here looking for tail when he had a girlfriend back home. She dumped your ass yet, loser?”

Kathy stared to record, pointing the phone out from behind Eddie's arm as he stood off to one side and watched. She could see the video clearly on the little screen.

Gina marched right up to him and got in his face. “You got a lot of nerve coming in here again, asshole,” she sneered. “You're a lying, cheating sack of shit, you know that? I hope she cuts your balls off and feeds them to you.”

Mark shoved her away roughly. “You think just because we had sex you can talk to me like that? Fuck off, you skanky bitch.”

“Oh yeah? At least I'm honest when I go whoring it up! I don't have a girlfriend to cheat on,
Mark
! Or is it Dave? What stupid fucking name are you using tonight?”

Axeman's girlfriend looked down her nose at Mark. “He said his name was Steve.”

“Steve!” Gina laughed. “Steve, Dave or Mark! How are you going to explain that to Kathy, huh?” She took note of his surprise. “Yeah, I found out her name. I think I might just go tell her that last night wasn't a once-off.”

“You're not gonna tell her shit,” Mark snarled. “I got her wrapped around my little finger, bitch, so when I make up some bullshit story about what happened, who do you think she's gonna believe? Her boyfriend or some cheap slut from a shitty bar?”