“Hey, guys,” I said with a warm smile. “No practice tonight?”
“Got rained out,” Steve said, jerking a thumb toward the windows. Sure enough, it was pouring outside.
I got them both draft beers, catching Matt looking across the bar at Kade and Blane.
“You going to tell us who the guys are?” Matt asked me.
I hesitated, but it wasn’t like it was a secret. “I met them in Indy,” I said. “Just some friends of mine. Thought they’d drop in for a visit, that’s all.”
“That one looks familiar,” Steve said, his face creasing in a frown. “Yeah, I know. He’s that guy running for governor, right? The one who dropped out?”
“Um, yeah, that’s him,” I confirmed, unsure what else to say.
“And you’re friends with him?” Steve asked, a bit of admiration creeping into his voice. “Wow. That’s cool.”
If Matt had been cranky before due to the presence of Blane and Kade, he was downright surly now. He finished his beer quickly and ordered another. As I delivered it, he started chatting with me.
“Remember old Mr. Tyler?” he asked.
“The basketball coach?”
“Yeah, that’s him. Well, he retired, but his son’s the coach now, you know Andy. And he married Betty McCarthy. They have two kids.”
“Really?” I said. “How ’bout that.” I was pulled down memory lane as Matt started reeling off names I knew and telling me what had happened to various high school friends. Even while I’d still lived in town when my mom was sick, I’d been so focused on paying the bills and caring for her that my social life had been nonexistent. I’d fallen out of touch with so many people.
The dinner rush was over, so I stood in front of Matt for a while as he continued to bring me up to speed on old friends and where-were-they-now. He had me laughing at a tale of how the geekiest kid had hit it big, and as a result, married the homecoming queen and moved to LA.
“And don’t get me started on Theresa Honeycutt,” Matt said with a laugh.
“What did she do?” I asked, grinning. Even I knew that Theresa had been dubbed Tiny Tits Theresa in high school.
“She decided she wanted a boob job,” Matt said, “so she went someplace in Indy, came back, I shit you not, like a double F or some shit like that. I thought Sal’s eyes were gonna pop right out when he saw her.”
“Oh my God!” I giggled, shaking my head. Theresa had always struck me as having more ambition than sense. Why someone would want boobs that big was beyond me. I was pushing a C cup and definitely wouldn’t want to be any bigger.
Steve had been laughing with us, but suddenly stopped. He took a nervous swig of his beer, then said, “Kathleen, I think your, uh, friends need a refill . . . or something.”
I glanced over my shoulder to Blane and Kade, then sucked in a breath.
Blane had always been on the possessive side, so it shouldn’t have surprised me to see the hard glare he was sending Matt’s way. But considering our new “friends” status, I wasn’t expecting him to still display that streak toward me, yet that’s exactly what he appeared to be doing. And as for Kade . . . Well, he’d apparently left the notion of possessive way behind, and by the look in his eyes, had already moved on to contemplating Matt’s untimely demise.
“Um, yeah, I’d better go see what they want,” I said uneasily.
“And they’re just friends?” Matt scoffed, bitterness edging his words.
I cleared my throat. “Maybe a little more than friends,” I admitted.
I thought Steve’s eyes were going to bug out of his head. “Both of them?” he asked.
My face felt on fire at the look Matt gave me. I didn’t bother answering Steve—it wasn’t any of their business anyway—and I scurried back to Blane and Kade.
“Will you two stop with the glaring at Matt?” I hissed at them. “Now he thinks I’m sleeping with both of you!”
Kade just raised an eyebrow and smirked.
“At the same time,” I clarified, my embarrassment reaching new heights, or lows, depending on how you looked at it.
Kade’s smirk got bigger. “That would be—”
“Awkward,” Blane cut him off.
I covered my burning face with my hands, moaning, “Oh my God . . .”
“Yeah, on that note, I’m gonna bug out,” Blane said, getting to his feet.
I dropped my hands. “Wait, where are you going?”
“Since it looks like we’re driving to DC, he’s heading home to pack a bag,” Kade answered.
I let out a breath, not sure why I was relieved. “Oh. Okay then.”
“I’ll grab Tigger and see if Mona will watch him,” Blane said. “I’m sure she will.”
My hand rested on the bar and Blane reached out, giving it a light squeeze. “I’ll be back in the morning,” he said reassuringly, then he clapped a hard hand to Kade’s shoulder. “Kade’ll pick up my tab, won’t you, Kade.”
Kade grimaced. “Why do I think I’ll be picking up your tab for the foreseeable future?”
“You got that right,” Blane said, then headed out the door. I watched it swing shut behind him.
“So we’re taking a road trip?” I asked. “Just the three of us? To DC?” Talk about epic proportions of awkward.
“Looks like it,” Kade said.
Hmm.
It was just after ten when the place had cleared out, and I thought we’d get to close early tonight, which would be nice. Matt and Steve had left shortly after Blane. Matt hadn’t said much to me, but Steve had given me a friendly smile on his way out.
Carol offered to close and since I was too tired to argue, I took her up on it. Kade followed me home and it felt good to kick off my shoes. I headed up to shower, trying not to think of how Kade had been the last one to stand under the water and how he must’ve looked while doing it . . .
My eyes suddenly popped open. Wait a second. Who said I had to wait for Kade to make the first move? If nothing else, the past few months had shown me that he wasn’t immune to the chemistry between us. If I could manage to get him back into my bed, that should put the kibosh on him shoving me at Blane. Surely not even Kade would think that I would sleep with him one moment, then get back together with Blane the next.
Excited and a little nervous, I hurried to dry my hair. Too impatient to get it fully dry, I settled on damp. Crossing the hall to my room, I dug through my closet. Surely I had some kind of sexy nightgown I could put on.
Okay, well, maybe not. I settled on the skimpiest, laciest black thong I owned. My little bump showed, but there wasn’t a thing I could do about that. I dug an old satin robe from a drawer. It was for looks only and I never wore it. It came just to the top of my thighs and was also black. I belted it around my waist, then for the final touch, I added the champagne-colored stilettos I’d gotten when Kade and I were in Vegas.
Looking in the mirror, I used my fingers to fluff my hair, then added a spray of perfume and a touch of lipstick. My intent was ever so obvious, but I didn’t care. If Kade was going to persist in being a stubborn ass, then it would take drastic measures to make him see the error of his ways.
I turned down the covers on my bed, wondering if I was being too optimistic. Well, I’d find out in a few minutes.
Taking a deep breath, I headed down the hall to the living room. I could hear Kade moving around as he settled into his makeshift bed on the couch. My heels clacked on the floor and I winced, now wishing I hadn’t worn them. Stupid stupid.
My pulse was hammering from nerves and my palms were clammy with sweat. If this didn’t work, I was going to feel like a complete and utter idiot.
I tried not to focus on that.
My steps slowed as I rounded the corner. I stopped, leaning sideways against the wall, which probably looked like I was posing, but really I needed the support so my trembling knees wouldn’t give out.