Rock Chick 01 (54 page)

Lee and I were never going to go to Barolo
Grill.

I shook off thoughts of delicious truffle
risotto and followed Kitty Sue. “Kitty Sue, wait.”

She stopped at the door and turned. Tears
were shimmering in her eyes and the sight of them made me freeze. I
didn’t recall ever seeing Kitty Sue cry.

Ever.

Ally halted beside me.

Everyone was silent.

“Sometimes,” Kitty Sue broke the silence, “I
forget and pick up the phone to call her. Still. After all these
years… it seems like just yesterday.”

I swallowed and Kitty Sue began to get fuzzy
as I looked at her but I could tell she was looking at me too.

“She’d be so happy,” Fuzzy Kitty Sue
whispered.

Before anyone could say anything, she opened
the door and was gone.

Ally and I watched her through the window as
she got in her car and took off.

“Do you think she’ll be okay driving?” I
asked and my voice sounded funny so I cleared my throat.

“We’ll call her in a bit, check on her.”
Ally’s voice sounded funny too.

“Good idea.”

We stood there, silent, staring out the
window.

Ally broke the quiet, the first to tamp down
her emotion and get on with it.

As always.

“I need a drink. Mom downed mine.”

“My ice is all melted,” I said.

“I’ll get you another one.”

“I need to call Lee. I forgot about the
barbeque. Barolo Grill is off.”

“Bummer.”

Ally picked up my glass and walked to the
kitchen.

I stared at the box and decided to go through
it later, when I was alone and no one would be able to call me a
sissy or see my ugly, blotchy, red face when I was done.

* * * * *

I was lying in my darkened bedroom attempting
a Disco Nap.

I heard Lee (or what I hoped was Lee) come
in. The house was so silent, even at the distance of the kitchen to
the bedroom, I heard his keys hit the counter.

I decided we were going to have to have
another talk about the keys-on-the-counter business. I had a cute,
kitty-tails-as-hooks key holder on the wall by the backdoor. Keys
went on one of the kitty tails. I’d already told him once, but did
he listen? No. He just smiled at me like he thought I was cute.

I heard his footsteps on the stairs and put
my arm over my face.

I’d gone through Kitty Sue and Mom’s box,
sifted through the memories, read and reread the letter until I’d
memorized my Mom’s girlish handwriting, held the treasures in my
hands, touched them, turned them, even smelled some of them.

Because of this, I had been crying and no
way, in hell, did I want Lee to see me post-crying-orgy.

“Indy?” Lee called my name quietly and I knew
he was standing by the bed.

I feigned sleep.

The bed moved when he sat on it and moved
more when he took his boots off. I heard them hit the floor, one
then the other. Then the bed moved again when he settled into it,
turned to me and pulled my back to his front, arm around my
waist.

“Stop pretending to sleep,” he said.

“Go away. I’m taking a Disco Nap,” I told
him, my voice muffled as it was coming from under my arm.

“You’ve been crying.”

What?

How on earth could he know that? He hadn’t
seen my face.

“Have not,” I lied.

He sighed. “Mom told Dad about the box. Dad
told me.”

Shit.

This was going to be my life. I knew it. With
Malcolm and Dad best friends and Ally and me best friends and Hank
and Lee super close and Kitty Sue and Malcolm married, nothing was
ever going to be a secret.

I decided to keep quiet.

Lee decided he didn’t like that.

He moved me so I was facing him.

I struggled for a bit then, realizing I
wouldn’t win, I ducked my head and pressed it into his chest.

“Look at me, Indy.”

“No,” I said into his chest.

“Look at me.”

“I said no.”

“Why?”

“My face is splotchy.”

His body started shaking with laughter.

“I don’t fucking care if your face is
splotchy.” Amusement was heavy in his voice.

I was
so
sure.

Like it mattered that he didn’t care.
I
cared.

“Well, I do,” I snapped.

“Look at me.”

“I’m not crying about the box. I’m just
pissed we’re not going to get to go to Barolo Grill and especially
pissed that Dawn doesn’t have to make reservations for us,” I lied,
again (though I
was
kinda pissed about that but, as Lee
said, we had time).

“You’re lying.”

“Am not.”

His arms went around me and he pulled me into
him, tight.

I waited.

Nothing happened.

I waited some more.

Still nothing happened.

Then I realized Lee was giving in.

That made me feel warm and happy and, yes,
gushy again, and I relaxed into him.

“Marianne called,” I told him for no reason,
face still pressed into his chest. “She put an offer on a house, it
was accepted. She’s moving out of her parent’s house in a few
months.”

Lee’s fingers started drifting up and down my
spine but he didn’t answer.

I went on. “Andrea called and she wants us to
come over for dinner next Tuesday.”

“Her kids going to be there?”

“Probably.”

“Jesus,” he muttered and I didn’t blame him.
I’d actually had dinner at Andrea’s house with her kids in
attendance. I went home with Jell-o in my hair (the Jell-o fight
wasn’t my fault, Andrea’s oldest started it, I just participated
out of self-defense).

“Should I say yes or no?” I asked.

“Yes but I might have to work. Do you mind if
last minute you have to go alone?”

I tipped my head back and glared at him. “I
do not
think
so. You aren’t going to bail at the last minute
because of some fake work thing.”

He looked down at me. “It might not be
fake.”

“It’ll be fake.”

“It might not.”

“It’ll
so
be fake.”

His eyes crinkled at the corners, his head
lowered and he kissed me.

I forgot about my splotchy, blotchy,
sissy-girl, crying face and kissed him back.

Then I forgot about Andrea’s
dinner-party-with-kids-from-hell and Lee’s fake work thing when his
mouth opened over mine and his tongue slid inside.

Then I forgot about my Disco Nap when his
hands went inside my t-shirt.

Then, sometime later, I forgot about
absolutely everything in the entire universe when we were naked and
Lee slid inside me and started moving.

“Lee,” I whispered.

His head came up, he looked down at me with
melty-chocolate eyes and he smiled his Killer Liam Nightingale
Smile.

Then his mouth came to mine and I could still
feel his smile against my lips.

“You love me,” he said there.

My hips tilted, he slid in deeper and it felt
nice.

“So,” I breathed (or, kind of panted),
“damned cocky.”

####

About the Author

Kristen Ashley lives in the beautiful West
Country of England with her husband and her cat. She came to
England by way of Denver, where she lived for twelve years, but she
grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana. Her family and friends are loopy
(to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write.

Kristen’s Mom moved her and her brother and
sister in with their grandparents when she was six. Her
grandparents had a daughter much younger than her Mom so they all
lived together on a very small farm in a small farm town in the
heartland. She grew up with Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO
Speedwagon and Whitesnake (and the wardrobes that matched).
Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music, clothes and
love was a good way to grow up.

And as she keeps growing up, it keeps getting
better.

Discover other Titles by Kristen Ashley
at
Smashwords.com

Rock Chick Rescue

Rock Chick Redemption

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Official Website:
www.kristenashley.net

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www.kristenashley.net/menu/blog.html

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