Broken Pieces (21 page)

He motions for me to sit on the chestnut-colored leather couch at the foot of his bed. I sit on the edge, trying to see if I missed any more of my surroundings. He sits with ease, throwing one arm on the back of the couch.

I really look at him for the first time today. His jet black hair is styled the Kace way, he has on his signature T-shirt and red flannel, and those jeans … nope, not going to look … yeah, he still fills them out nicely. My eyes roam back up to his smirking face, and I drop my head in shame. I should not be looking at him in anyway, I have a boyfriend.

“Why did you stop checkin’ me out for? I was thoroughly enjoying it.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I have a boyfriend, and we are friends. That was wrong of me.”

“I didn’t mind it. So, do you want to talk about why I had to discreetly pick you up from a funeral today, or are we going to ignore that pretty pink elephant in the room?”

I fall back into the lush couch and sigh. “Do I have to?” I poke my lip out and look up at him.

That makes him laugh out loud. I have missed that laugh. I sit and admire the friend I have missed, until his long fingers come up to push my bottom lip in. Oh, my gosh. I probably looked like an idiot. However, that thought quickly disappears as his finger comes into contact with my lip. My breath catches as I stare into long amber-colored eyes.

He moves towards me and I quickly sit up. “I’m sorry …”

“No, it’s my fault.” He doesn’t act too sorry. “Would you like something to eat?”

We walk back downstairs, passing the obnoxious guys in the living room on our way to the kitchen. We decide on simple subs; me a ham and cheese, while he opts for the turkey and Swiss. I make a gagging motion when he goes to put spicy mustard on his. He just laughs and nudges me with his shoulder. We figure if we take our food back upstairs, we might be able to eat in peace.

As soon as we walk in the door to his room, I can hear my phone vibrating in my purse. Without looking, I know exactly who it is. I put my plate down and blow out a breath as I roll my eyes. I am really not ready to deal with this. Can’t I just hide from reality for a little while? I guess that is too much to ask, considering Drew has already called about ten times.

“You don’t have to answer,” Kace says.

“I can’t ignore life too much longer.”

“Yeah, you can.” He takes my phone and turns it off.

Oh, great. He will start calling Lauren when he can’t get ahold of me, then she will tell him that she did not come and pick me up. I glance at the clock; it won’t be long until he knows who picked me up. Maybe I can just ignore life for a night?

Without the buzzing of my phone, I peacefully eat my sub while we watch some reality show. I feel so comfortable with Kace because I don’t need to pretend to be something I am not. He tells me stories about each guitar, from his very first to the one that he waited in line four hours to get signed by Van Halen. I just laugh, shaking my head. I feel thankful for having him, and for the break.

I notice that it is getting dark out; time flew while we were catching up on what we have missed in the past few months. He asked me what happened the night of my graduation dinner, even though I tried to avoid that conversation. I told him everything, I mean everything! He was quiet for some time afterward, but eventually told me that he is not the person to judge me for my actions and that he just wants the best for me. Under the rock façade that he wears, Kace is a considerate person.

While he had me on a role, he asked me about today. I pause, as I gaze up at the ceiling. We somehow moved from the couch to the floor. He is leaning his back against the couch, and I am laying down with my head in his lap. He used to always massage my scalp; it relaxes me.

“The funeral we were at was Drew’s mother. The reason I called you was because one of his friends showed up.” I don’t divulge too much.

“Okay … that does not seem like a reason to call someone you don’t even
like
to come pick you up,” he says, playful.

“I just didn’t want to be there,” I say, hoping he’ll drop it.

“Mhm … spill it!” He gives me a pointed look.

“Drew’s friend ended up being … HIM.” Kace doesn’t know his name or details about what happened, just the basics.

“What! Why didn’t you tell me when I picked you up that he was there?” He is acting like he’s mad at me.

I move to a sitting position, looking down,”I’m sorry. I didn’t want to make a scene at the funeral.”

“What did Drew say? Wait, does he know about …”

“Yeah, he knows about my past. No, he does not know it’s his friend.”

“Oh, fuck. You know that when he finds out he is going to flip, right? Well, he better because if it was me …” He lets that one trail off, and I don’t argue. I don’t want to have that conversation.

I try to go a different direction. “It is getting late so I better go.”

I move to stand, but he grasps my hand. “Stay.”

“I want to, but I should go deal with walking out on my boyfriend’s mother’s funeral. Gosh, now that I say it out loud, I feel horrible.”

“No, you’re not, and one night of no drama might help clear your head. Look, I’ll sleep on the couch and you can have the whole bed to yourself.” He is practically begging. How can I say no to that face? I am really too soft-hearted.

“Okay, fine.” I fall back to the floor.

“Do you want to change? I have some T-shirts and sweats that I think you could fit into.”

I walk into his bathroom, which is too clean for a male, especially a rock star in the making. It has all the typical features, though. I change into a black AC/DC shirt and roll my eyes. This is so Kace. When I go to put the sweats on, I realize I still have my “girly panties” on. Shit, I don’t want to ask him for a pair of his boxers.

This is beyond humiliating, “Hey, Kace.” I lean my head around the edge of the door.

He jumps up, “Yeah? Do they not fit?”

“Um … yeah, they do. It’s just that I dressed in
all
dressy clothes today …” I can feel the heat rising on my face.

“Just tell me what you need, Kar.” He is so impatient.

“Uh, some boxers?” I mumble, as I turn my head away.

“Some what? I didn’t hear you.”

“I need boxers!” I bark at him.

He obviously finds this humorous. “I heard. I just wanted to make you say it again.”

I gawk at him and, before thinking of what I am wearing, I lunge at him, tackling him to the floor. I grab his wrists, placing them above his head as I straddle him. The one thing I managed to forget was that I have his shirt on and a very thin lacy thong … and that is it.

“Why must you be so mean to me? Tell me now, or I will never let you go!” I say with an old English accent. He arches a brow at me.

He bucks me with his hips and, all of a sudden, he is sitting on my legs and leaning over me, holding my hands above my head. He leans down towards my face. “Oh, really now …,” he says, cocky.

My ass is bare on his plush carpet, and he is lightly grazing my breast with his chest as he leans down. Then he rolls his hips into me, making me feel his hardness. The rough texture from his jeans on my lacy thong makes me instantaneously bow to him, closing my eyes. He leans down slowly, breathing his hot breath in my ear. “I’ve always wanted you, Kara.” He begins kissing below my ear and, for some reason, I don’t have anything in me to stop him. I know this is wrong. I need to stop him. Commotion from downstairs does it for me.

“Fuck!” he says through a clenched jaw, as he jumps to his feet. I stand, find a pair of boxers, and retreat back into the bathroom. I throw the boxers and sweats on; they keep it
freezing
in this house. Then I hear an all too familiar voice.

I rush down the stairs, only to skid to a stop, the carpet burning my feet. Drew is here, drunk and throwing a fit in Kace’s foyer. He is pointing a finger at Kace, “I know she’s here, and I know you picked her up!” Then he sees me.

I notice the other band players standing around, not knowing what to do, so I try to calm the situation. “Drew, let’s go outside and talk.”

I move down the last few steps when Kace gets in front of me. “Are you sure?”

I inhale, nodding slightly. He hands me one of his jackets, and motions for me to put on his slippers. I see Drew out of the corner of my eyes shooting daggers at Kace. Oh, boy …

When we are outside and far enough away from the window so we cannot be heard, I say, “Look, I know you’re mad, but—”

He cuts me off. “Yes! You are right about that! I am
pissed
! What girlfriend leaves their boyfriend at his own mom’s funeral?!”

I feel selfish for the first time. Not once did I think of how my actions would affect Drew. I was only thinking of me. I am a horrible girlfriend. While I have my head down, wringing my hands, I mutter, “You’re right. I shouldn’t have left. I’m sorry.”

He makes a frustrated sound. “No, that’s not what I meant. Why did you lie and say Lauren was picking you up?”

“Because I knew that you wouldn’t like it if Kace did, and I didn’t wanna
listen
to Lauren’s inquisition at that specific time.”

He blows out a breath and steps towards me, grasping my fidgety hands. “It doesn’t matter. Are you going to tell me what happened today?”

I look up, meeting distressed eyes. How can I tell him his best friend is the person that damaged me? That took my dignity from me at a young age and, when I finally feel like I can have a life, he shows back up? He doesn’t just show back up, but is in the life of the person I love?

My lip is quivering. “I can’t.” It kills me to say that.

“What do you mean you
can’t
?” His voice beams with agitation, “TELL ME!”

I jerk my hands away to cover my mouth. No, please, not now. Not the sickening feeling I get every time that night goes through my mind. I make it to the bushes at the side of garage before I spew everything. Drew is by my side. “Are you okay?” He holds my hair back until I finish hurling.

I stand and wipe my mouth off with shaky hand. “Yeah, I told you I wasn’t feeling well today.”

He doesn’t look convinced. “Are you sure it’s you not
feeling well
that’s the problem, or something else?” I look at him with wide eyes and shake my head.

He runs his hand over his head and down his face as he shakes it. “Okay, will you come home with me then so I can take care of you?”

“I’m not sure that I should.”

“Well, I am sure that you don’t need to stay here.” He places his hands on his hips propping one leg in front of the other.

“Are you telling me what I can and can’t do?” I counter.

“No, but—”

“Okay, I will talk to you later then.” I try to sound confident, but fail horribly.

“You expect me to go home alone when my mom just passed and
something
is bothering my girlfriend?”

I let that sink in, putting myself in his shoes for once today. I should put myself aside and go with him. He needs me right now in this trying time. I will have to distract him from asking questions because I don’t want that conversation to rear its ugly head.

This is going to piss Kace off, but … “Okay, let me go change.”

I start towards the front door when I hear Drew mumble something he thought I couldn’t hear. “Yeah, you better.” I didn’t miss a beat in my step, but I definitely heard it.

I don’t even get a step inside when Kace is by my side. “You okay?”

After I take his jacket off, I walk past him. “Yeah, I just have to change.”

“Why!” He follows me into his bedroom.

“Please, don’t do this,” I plead with him.

He stops me from shutting the bathroom door. “You’re going with him?” I ignore him and take the sweats off, leaving me in his boxers and shirt. “He’s not good for you, Kara.”

“Let me decide that, okay? Can you shut the door so I can change?”

He cocks his pierced brow, leans against the bathroom doorway, crosses his arms, and looks utterly fuckable. He is shirtless, sporting his tattoos that cover his lean muscles. When my ogling eyes make it to his face, he flicks his tongue ring off his teeth, giving me an irresistible look of lust.

I challenge him. “Fine then.”

Two can play this game. I give him a little smirk and stick my thumbs in the elastic of his boxers. That got his attention, he straightened up. I may have done a little more hip movement than necessary when I pushed his boxers to the floor. I cross my arms, fisting the edges of his shirt and raising it a smudge.

I test him. “Will you shut the door now?”

He smirks. “No way in hell, sweetheart.”

“Okay, then.” I pull the shirt over my head, letting it drop to the floor.

He takes a step in my direction … shit! I should not have played games with him, even though it
was
fun. He locks eyes with me; we both can feel the sexual tension swarming around us.

He delicately strokes my cheek with his tattooed knuckles. I fall into his hand, as he covers my cheek with his warming palm. With tear filled eyes, I say. “Please, Kace. Don’t make this hard.”

I close my eyes and a tear escapes. Without a word, he walks out the door and closes it behind him. I wrap my arms around myself to hold the pieces that are left of me together. I don’t know how much more heartache I can handle. I love Kace, I know that now. I would never feel those feelings when we are together if I didn’t, but am I
in love
with him?