“Don’t worry,” Kellen said to the stunned driver who visibly relaxed at Kellen’s placation. “I’m sure he has his own supply of tissues in his bag.”
“If not, I’ll just use your shirt.” Owen looked at Kellen and jerked, as if taken aback by his lack of shirt. “Where’s your shirt, bro?”
“Where do you think, Jizz-o-matic Plus?”
“Sorry about that. We really need to stock up on more tissues.”
When the driver was busy digging around in the trunk of the limo—probably for tissues—Owen and Kellen performed their secret victory handshake. Fucking with people was great fun. Owen had relaxed twenty-fold since they’d left Lindsey’s company. So how exactly did he plan to put up with the chick for the next three months—and if the baby did turn out to be his, put up with her forever?
Owen yanked Kellen’s overnight bag from the luggage compartment and handed it to him while he rummaged around for his own bag. By the time their baggage was in the limo’s trunk, the driver was in a panic.
“It seems I’m out of tissues,” he said.
“And I’m out of shirts,” Kellen said.
“That’s okay,” Owen said to the driver. “I’ll just use your sock. Hand it over.”
Kellen knew it would give up their juvenile gig, but he couldn’t help but laugh when the driver winced and then bent to remove his shoe.
“Dude!” Owen said, pounding the driver on the shoulder. “We’re just fucking with you. I don’t need your sock or a tissue.”
The driver’s shoulders sagged with relief.
“Kelly swallows.”
Kellen slugged Owen half-heartedly and took another bite of his sandwich before sliding through the open back door of the limo.
“That was a joke too,” he heard Owen say outside. “Lighten up a little, man.”
“I apologize, sir,” the driver said stiffly. “My regular passengers don’t usually joke about such things.”
“What do they joke about?”
“Uh, the stock market mostly, sir.”
“Hmm, I’m afraid I’m not sophisticated enough to joke about the stock market, but I do know a joke about a donkey, three potatoes, and a sailor.”
“Owen, get in the car,” Kellen said. He was glad Owen was more himself now that they were out of Lindsey’s presence, but he still wanted to have a serious conversation with him. If Owen ended up in an anus-and-fart-joke frame of mind, there was no way Kellen would be able to get him to have an adult discussion. He’d be too busy trying to make Kellen laugh.
Owen entered the car and sat next to Kellen. “Good sandwich,” he said and took another bite. “Anything to drink in the minibar?”
Kellen opened the small fridge to his left and fished out a pair of beers. “Are you comfy?” Kellen asked him as he handed him a cold bottle.
Owen squirmed around in his seat. “Yep.”
“Good. Start talking.”
“About what?”
“What happened after I left last night?” Kellen opened the twist top on his beer and took a long drag.
Owen told him about Lindsey showing up unannounced and Caitlyn beating a trail out of there as fast as she could go.
“She was really upset,” Owen said
“Because she likes you and she probably wonders how it can possibly work out between the two of you now that you have a baby on the way.”
“I don’t think it’s mine,” Owen said.
“Then why are you the one taking responsibility for it?”
“Because no one else would.”
“So you had to stick your neck out and be the nice guy? Owen, sometimes you have to put yourself first.”
“If you saw the look on Lindsey’s face, you’d have done the same thing. She’s better today. Last night, she had a complete emotional meltdown and everyone was treating her like she’s toxic.”
“And you’re treating her like that today.”
Owen winced. “I am? I’m not trying to. I just really don’t want this to mess up things with Caitlyn. I should have gone after her last night, not let her walk away. I was just completely stunned that she took it so hard.”
“Didn’t her husband have an affair with a younger woman?”
Owen nodded. “Yeah, so? What does that have to do with anything?”
“Lindsey is younger. And hot. And very pregnant. Maybe Caitlyn felt threatened.”
“She shouldn’t. I haven’t been able to think of anything but her all day. And I can’t seem to stop texting her and calling her. She’s going to think I’m a desperate loser.”
“Because you are.”
Owen’s response was to slug Kellen in the arm.
“So how are you going to be with Caitlyn when Lindsey’s around?” Kellen asked.
“I can be just friends with Lindsey.”
“You can be just friends with a hot woman who wants you?”
“Yeah.”
“Owen, if you really want to be with Caitlyn, you need to stay away from Lindsey as much as possible. She’s vulnerable and interested and you’re easy.”
“I’m not easy.”
Kellen lifted an eyebrow at him.
“Okay, I’m totally easy. But I don’t have to be.”
“So what are you going to do with Lindsey?”
“We’ll get her a place to stay. Help her with medical bills and stuff. It’s not like we can’t afford it.”
“Are we sure she’s not just making up this whole thing so she can have a free place to stay?”
“You sound like Adam.”
“He does have a lot of experience with mooches. His father, for instance.”
“So what do you think we should do with her? We can’t just toss her out in the street. And there is no way she’s going on tour with us.”
Kellen sighed. There really was no easy solution to the problem. “We can set her up in a place in her hometown.”
“I mentioned that to her last night—tried to convince her that she’d be better off around her family and friends back home—and she cried for over an hour. Apparently her family has disowned her.”
“Oh.”
“I thought maybe my mom could keep an eye on her while we’re on tour. You know what Mom’s like. She loves these little charity cases.”
Kellen knew exactly what Owen’s mom was like. He’d been one of her charity cases, after all.
“Besides,” Owen continued, “Mom’s been bugging Chad for grandchildren ever since he proposed to Josie. Maybe this will get her off his case.”
“Because she already has a grandchild on the way?”
“It’s not mine. You were there. Was I wearing a condom?”
“Yeah.”
“End of story.”
Not necessarily, but Kellen figured it wouldn’t do any good to argue about the baby’s possible parentage. They’d just have to wait until this thing played out.
“So I guess you have this all figured out. You didn’t need to talk to me about it after all.”
“I always need to talk to you, Kelly. Seems I wasn’t the only one who had an adventurous time last night. How’d you do at the house?”
Kellen shook his head. “I never went inside. I was out on the beach, trying to throw away that damned cuff you gave me, when I heard a piano melody that lifted me out of the depression that’s been holding me under for five years.”
“A song? Is that how you met Dawn? I wondered how you hooked up with her.”
“She’s renting the house next to mine while she works; she says the sea inspires her compositions. I knocked on her door so I could hear the song she was working on.”
“And then you got busy with her.” Owen slugged him in the thigh. “You stud.”
“It was more than that. We talked and she shared her music with me and then…” Kellen winked at Owen. “Then I got busy with her.”
“When are you going to see her again?” Owen asked.