Blissful volume 3 (New Adult Romance) (8 page)

This song is for him. It’s about him, and all I feel when I look at him. I know I picked it because I thought of him. It’s always in my mind whenever I think of him. I think I’m really starting to fall in love with him.

And just looking at him from afar, sitting at that table sending me kisses just with his eyes, makes it even clearer to me. My heart beats faster, and I know it’s not just the love I feel for him causing this.

The
idea is unsettling, too. Terrifying, even. Because it means making a choice between pursuing my career in the big city, and staying here with him.

I don’t know what to do.

“Why don’t you play something you wrote?” Karen whispers.

I’m torn from my thoughts and gape at her with confusion, processing her words. “Um … I don’t know. Mind if I try this with other songs fi
rst?”

“Sure. I get
it; you’re not comfortable having them hear it yet.” She winks at me, and I want to refute what she says, because that’s not the reason at all, but I don’t. It’s too much of a hassle.

“But go on, play what you like. You’re already drawing in so many customers, and I’m loving it!” She claps her hands, and walks away to the bar to pour some drinks.

Madeline jumps off the stool again, already bored and distracted by a lamp in the corner that flicks on and off. It makes me laugh, but now that she’s gone it makes it easier to play some really difficult songs, too.

I play another song, but then I see Nicole coming in, and I’m distracted. I try to continue playing when Karen shoots me a look that could kill. Nicole takes off her coat and walks straight past Jack, not realizing
it’s him I was talking about. She comes over to me and pats me on the shoulder.

“Hey, Amy.”

“I can’t believe you actually stayed.”

“Of course I did! I’m not going to leave until you tell me your plan.”

As if I know that yet … God, I hate deciding these things. It makes me wish I could just stop time for a second.

“
What are you up to?” she says.

“Getting paid to play. Awesome, huh?” I whisper, hoping it won’t disturb the customers.

Her mouth drops open. “What? Seriously? Omigod!” Her huge smile is making me blush, and I scoot over so she can sit next to me.

“Damn, I wish I brought my guitar. We could be playing together. You and me again. Just
like always,” she says, as we both start playing the piano again.

Our combined efforts make the songs even more beautiful.
But her words strike a chord in my heart that I’d rather not feel. It reminds me of what I’ve been missing all this time. Playing in a band with her, crossing the land, trying to get a record deal. God, I miss the anxiety right before a show, the people whistling and clapping right after, the endless struggle to make it big. I miss it all.

Karen walks to us with a drink in her hand, her hips swinging, which I’ve never seen before. She leans over the piano, her boobs so overwhelmingly
bulging over her clothes, it’s making me wince. “Here you go, darlin’,” she says, and smiles slyly at Nicole.

“But I didn’t order anything,” Nicole stammers, her cheeks reddening.

“I know, doll. It’s on the house.” Karen purses her lips and hands the drink to Nicole. Her fingers linger a little too long on Nicole’s hand.

Nicole blushes and takes a gigantic sip from the drink as Karen darts off again.

“That’s sweet,” she mutters, in between drinking. “And it’s delicious, too!”

I chortle a bit. I know where this is going. I recognize that look I saw in Karen’s eyes. I’d recognize it anywhere, no matter if it were a boy or a girl.

“She digs you,” I say.

Nicole spurts out her drink. “What?”

“You heard me. I think she likes you.”

Nico
le gasps and puts down her glass. “You think?”

I nod. “Definitely.
And I’m not talking about the ‘friends’ type. I’ve never seen her so peppy before. It’s as if she’s a completely different person when she sees you or even talks to you. Even if it’s only two words.” I snort.

“
Hmm …” Nicole takes another sip, and I swear I can see her cheeks getting even redder than before. Sometimes she glances at Karen while still playing the piano, and the looks they exchange makes me muffle a smile.

“So, where’s your man at,” Nicole says, with a wink.

“Right there.” I tilt my head at Jack’s table.

“What? Where?” Her head perks up like
a meerkat checking to see where the danger is.

“Don’t be so obvious!” I say, and I poke her.

“Oh … Oh!” Her tone of voice increases to a higher pitch at the second ‘oh’. “Oh my god … He’s hot!”

I shake my head. “Nicole,
shhh,” I say. She’s so loud, I’m afraid he’ll hear, and that’d be so embarrassing.

“What? He is! Check out those muscles. He has to be a
friggin’ god in bed.”

“Nicole!”
I shove her aside, and she almost falls off the stool.

“You can’t convince me he isn’t,” she says. “
God, I can’t wait to talk to him. I’m going over there.” She stands up.

“No, wait!” I say, trying to snatch her shirt, but she’s run off already, and I’m still clinging to the piano. Karen gazes at me again and the
look in her eyes doesn’t predict anything good. It’s almost like a threat that I have to keep playing or else …

Meanwhile, Nicole grabs a chair near Jack’s table and introduces herself.
Anxiously, I watch their faces to see if I can discover what they think of her. I already know what she thinks of him. I direct my attention toward the piano again and try to play some music.

Then the door to the bar opens and slams shut. Someone stomps inside and screams, “Amy!”

My eyes are immediately drawn to the voice. I’d recognize that voice anywhere. I freeze, and the music stops. My breath falters, and my heart drops to my shoes.

It’s
Ronnie Keston.

Chapter 7

Amy

Ronnie
stumbles into the bar like a drunken bastard, his coat caught by a table. He lets it drape off him before continuing on his destructive path toward me. He looks miserable with his unshaven beard and dark sunken eyes. But he’s here, and I can’t stop staring at him.

Oh my god.

“What the hell?” I scream as I slam my fists on the piano.

Ronnie struggles to get to me, but when he does, I immediately scramble away from the chair and back away into a corner far away from him.

“Amy … it’s really you,” he says, his voice changing in pitch with every word.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Ronnie?”

A chair scoots back with a lot of noise, and I can see it’s Jack standing up, his stance aggressive and ready to strike if need be.

“Looking for you,” Ronnie says. “Oh, Amy, I miss you so much.”

“Stay away from me!” I inch back and hold out my hands when he tries to get closer. “How the heck did you find me here?”

“
I snuck into Nicole’s apartment and searched her phone for your address.”

Nicole’s eyes widen and she gasps. She, too, gets up and
stands there, gaping. We’re all surprised he’s here, and that’s the understatement of the year.

“You did what?”

“Please, Amy. I did it for you. My god, you don’t know what a wreck I’ve been since you left me.”

“And I’m supposed to care?” I say, folding my arms.

Ronnie just gazes at me, his eyes glazed with tears. His black hair is all ruffled up and looks like a mess.
He
looks like a total mess. I’ve never seen him in scruffy jeans before and especially not with a ripped shirt. His face is red, and I can smell he’s been drinking. I don’t need to be close to smell that stench.

But seeing him here
brings back a lot of thoughts I don’t want to think about. Memories I’ve blocked out. Memories of us hugging until late in the evening, watching the stars, him helping me fight off the bullies, kissing him.

Damn, why the
hell did he have to come here and ruin everything again?

Ronnie turns around and grabs a beer from someone’s table, indulging on the liquor. He’s really gone crazy now. He blows out a deep breath and slams the bottle back on the table again.

Then he goes on all fours.

“Amy, please. I beg you. Forgive me, please!” He holds his hands in the air, almost like a prayer, as if he’s offering me his very soul. I can see the hurt in those puppy dog eyes as he looks up at me. Even after everything he’s done, I can’t believe my heart is cracking. After all the shit I’ve been through because of him, I still feel sorry for him. I feel pity for him, and I don’t want to see him like this. No matter what he did to me, he was still my second best friend for all those years. All those memories can’t be taken away in a whiff.

“I can’t …” I mutter.

Ronnie gets up again. The look in his eyes is so extremely painful, it’s almost too much to look at. Suddenly he snatches the bottle again and smashes it against the floor.

I shriek and cover my face with my arms. Jack storms to us and pushes Ronnie, who falls down on his ass.

“What the fuck!”
Jack screams.

“Is that him, huh? Is that your boyfriend?” Ronnie shouts.

I freeze from the words, but Jack’s all pumped up and in his fighting stance. I need to do something before they attack each other.

“That’s it, dude. You’re
outta here,” Karen says, and she busts in on our not so private conversation. I’m glad she breaks them up before anyone gets hurt, though.

She hauls Ronnie up to his feet with no problem and shoves him to the door, slamming it behind him. “And don’t you come back here!”

“I’ll come back for you,” Ronnie shouts, bashing his hands against the window. Each slam makes me jolt up. Then he storms off into the distance, and I’m left completely baffled.

The whole bar has gone quiet, and I feel
as though I’m in the center of a giant stage getting egged. That’s not even close to how embarrassed I feel.

Karen grabs my hand and pushes a couple of bills into the palm. “Here, for your trouble. I guess you’d like to
get some rest now.” And then she starts cleaning up the pieces of glass and beer that’s splashed onto the floor.

Flabbergasted, I look at the money in my hand as Nicole rushes over to me.

“Amy, are you okay?” she says, and she pulls me in for a hug.

“Yeah … I guess,” I stammer.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t know he was capable of that kind of crap.” She looks me in the eye. “Damn … he’s really pulled some crazy shit now. I can’t believe he broke into my apartment and checked my phone! Dammit.”

Jack soothes Madeline
who’s crying from the whole ordeal, and then checks up on me, too.

“Hey, you okay?” he says, dragging me toward him for a firm hug. His arms are warm, but his muscles are still tense from the fight mode he was in.
He cups my face and looks me straight in the eye, as if he doesn’t think I’m going to speak the truth.

He knows me way too well.

I swallow. Of course I can’t say I’m okay. I’m shocked and feel split in two. Ronnie, of all people, came to this place. And he did it to find me.

I’m still trembling in place. I can’t believe
he was actually here. It’s as if two worlds that absolutely do
not
belong together are meshing.

Jack squeezes my back lightly as he waits for my answer. It’s almost as if he’s trying to keep me from falling apart.

I nod softly, but I only do it for him. I don’t want him to worry about me, although it’s totally valid to do so. I’m shattered.

***

Jack

My fucking god. That was really her ex.

I can’t believe that little shit bag was here.

My blood is still pumping just from the memory of him. He looked like a giant pile of shit, and from the way he was wobbling I could see he’d been drinking. A lot.

He
was Ronnie motherfucking Keston, the asshole that made Amy cry.

Who the fuck does he think he is showing up here?

My fingers curl up into a fist, but I force myself to relax again. I don’t want Amy to see this side of me, this person I can become if I’m confronted with people who have hurt my family. And I consider Amy my family, now, regardless of our relationship.

Of course I’m hoping that he’ll leave
, and that she’ll soon forget about him, but who am I kidding? He just made a threat not to leave her alone again. I’m sure that fucker is going to come for her again.

And I’ll be ready to smack him into oblivion.

I get Amy to the car where she starts sobbing like crazy, and I don’t know what to do. Nicole went after Ronnie in the hopes of convincing him to get the fuck out of here again. But I don’t think he’s going to give Amy up so easily.