Ever Enough (14 page)

She shrugged her shoulders. “I didn’t know what to say. It just sort of happened and I wanted to forget all about it.”

“When?”

“You remember when I stayed home from school after the triplet bitches took that stupid picture of me?” I nodded. “And you know that Kyler came over to my house to talk to me?” I nodded again. “Well it happened that afternoon.”

“Jesus Harp. You should have told me. We’ve never kept secrets from each other.” She was looking down. “Wait. You’d never slept with anyone before. Did Kyler take your virginity?”

She shrugged again. “Yeah, but it’s not a big deal. I don’t know why girls always make such a stink about their first time. It’s just sex.”

I was getting the sense that it was a bigger deal than she was trying to make out. I’d known Harper far too long for her to be able to play something like this off, despite managing to hide this from me for all these years. “Did Kyler know it was your first time?”

“Yeah, he was worried about hurting me. I knew he liked me and that night when he came over, we talked for a long time and we just clicked. He was nervous about taking my virginity because we weren’t even in a relationship. He tried to talk me into going out with him. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it and I thought it was the right time to hand in my V-card, so we did it. He wanted to do it again a few days after the first time but I told him it’d been a one-time deal.”

I had a feeling this was so much more than just handing over her virginity to Kyler. “Did you like Ky back then?”

“He was cute, but I didn’t want to date the guy that would sleep with every girl in school if he could.”

“What about now?”

“What about it?”

“Harper, we just saw Kyler. There was no mistaking the look on his face when he saw you, and I saw the way that you were looking at him too. I’ve always known he had a thing for you but I didn’t realize you two had been together. So I’m asking, do you like him now?”

She laughed out loud at me. “Em give me a break! That boy has been living in California living it up, and sleeping with any piece of ass that walks in front of him. Kyler certainly still looks good, I’ll give him that! But no way, no how, would I ever get into a serious relationship with him. I don’t think he’s the type that wants to settle down. And frankly, I’m not so sure I am either.” She paused and a smile broke out across her face. “Well, that was until you just found out you’re pregnant and I’m going to be your baby’s Daddy-Momma.”

I shoved her shoulder and cracked up. We both leaned back against the bathtub and I laid my head on Harper’s shoulder. “Hey Harper?”

“Hmmm…?”

“Thanks for always being there for me. I love you.”

“I love you too Em. It’s going to be okay.”

“Hey Harper?”

“What?”

“For once your sex stories actually helped me out, so… thanks!”

She laughed and helped me off the bathroom floor.

I walked into the studio that I’d been working in for the past six years and my head instantly felt clearer. This studio had become my home away from home. When Kyler and I first moved out here to Los Angeles we hit up to all the record companies, trying to sell the songs we’d written. We finally got our big break when the band ‘Down Glory Road’ heard a recording and paid for the rights to the song. They ended up listening to—and subsequently purchasing—some of our other material, and now they kept Kyler and I on a retainer. We wrote the majority of their stuff, and fine tuned the music. The band was a great group, the record company treated us like kings, and we’d since sold several of our songs to artists in all sorts of music genres. Things had really taken off for us. We had a good life; more money than we could ever want writing everything from love songs to heavy metal. I was recently was asked if I could come up with something reggae but declined! That’s where I draw the line. If you wanted reggae then you needed to go find Bob Marley.

But all the success, the women, and even our new house, it meant nothing without Emilyn. I realized a long time ago that she was the missing piece in my life. I had thought about going back to Mountain Home and begging her to take me back about eighteen months after I moved away, but I’d heard from Michael that she was in a serious relationship with someone. Despite knowing that she’d had such a hard time after I left, I was glad that she’d found someone who made her happy. I hadn’t deserved her. At least the other man was smart enough to find her and hold on. Admittedly, when I found out that they were getting married I went through some serious shit. I’d partied my ass off and drank myself into oblivion. I wrote a lot of our darker songs; which had worked out great because they’d ended up selling really well. But it turned out I’d been a pretty shitty roommate and Ky had to give me a few slaps on the face and a ‘coming to Jesus talk’. I had eventually pulled myself out of my slump, but I’d always thought of Em as the one that got away. I’d thought about getting in touch with her over the years, but I didn’t want to interfere or ruin anything that she may have had going. I didn’t even know that she would want to hear my explanation of why I had broken up with her that night. The time had come for me to try and move forward and get on with my life. So I did.

Women had pretty much been a constant fixture in my life since I moved to LA. None of them were ever any more than sex and a good time. I’d used them as much as they used me, but I never took things further with any of them because emotionally I was lifeless inside. I’d known only one girl who could open that side of me and I’d lost her. A year ago I met Valerie at a Down Glory Road CD release party. The record label CEO, Andre Campbell, introduced me to her. She was gorgeous and was being shot in one of their music videos. We connected and started seeing each other. We had a pretty simple relationship in that Val made most of the decisions and I went with the flow. She became a convenience for me. I realize that made me sound like an asshole, but I knew I was using her as much as she was using me. She came with me to all the press release parties and mingled with the big wigs, and I had a companion to pass the time and relieve my sexual tension. I could take that girl any way I wanted and she complied. But we never had a deeper connection than that. Lately she’d been getting pretty clingy. Marriage had come up during a conversation a few days before the reunion, and it took me completely by surprise. I hadn’t even had a clue that she viewed our relationship like that. I’d only looked at one girl as
‘the one’
and it certainly wasn’t Val. She’d walked out that night but like always, she came back and we’d resumed our usual routine of sex, parties, and fake companionship. As long as she knew marriage was never going to be an option for us—as far as I was concerned—the charade could continue.

I sat down on a couch that was pushed up against a deep-red wall. Recording studios tended to be dark inside. Equipment and computers lined the walls and a glass window looked into a room with microphones, headphones, and some musical instruments. Kyler walked in with a Starbucks cup in one hand and skateboard in another. He was always riding on that thing, or his bike.

He sat down next to me on the couch. “What’s the plan for today?”

“DGR are coming in at ten to take a listen to that new song we wrote last week, and we have a meeting at noon with Andre. He has an up-and-coming artist he wants us to meet and possibly work with.” I grabbed the cup of coffee out of his hand.

“Cool.” He got a notebook out of his backpack to jot some things down. “So I found out something that might interest you.”

Taking a sip of the coffee I looked at him, urging him on. “Okay.”

“I emailed Harper this morning. I’m heading back home in a couple months for a week to do some house hunting and she’s going to be my realtor. Well, technically she doesn’t
know
she’s going to be my realtor yet, but I’m plan on taking her out to dinner and asking nicely.”

I grinned, “Yeah? You know how to do that?”

He frowned, “I will for her. It’s not always about getting in their pants.”

I laughed. “I’m not so sure what makes her so different, but look out for that one. She’s got some claws.”

“Eh, I can handle her.” He was still looking at me and I got the feeling there was more.

“Well, besides being happy for you for living closer to your parents, what part of the conversation would interest me?”

“She told me something about Em that you might want to know.”

Now he had my full attention. “What did she say?”

“Have you been talking to Em on the phone?”

“Not really. I’ve text her a few times and I’ve tried speaking to her but she’s always dodging my calls. Why? What’s the deal man? Quit beating around the fucking bush and come out with it.” I was starting to get pissed.

“Harper said that Emilyn is back in town.”

“Why? Are her parents okay?” That was the only reason I could see her go back.

“I don’t know. She isn’t there because of her parents. She went back and is living with Harper.” I was so confused now. Kyler was grinning like an idiot. “Apparently when she went home early after the reunion, she caught West in bed with another woman, and they’re getting divorced.”

All the oxygen was sucked out of the room. Why the hell hadn’t she said anything to me? She’s so damn stubborn, she probably didn’t want me to worry about her. “Are you sure?”

“Yep, and now’s your chance dude. Maybe you should fly out there with me and go see her.”

“I need to try calling her again. I don’t know if flying out there is so wise though. Emilyn has always had her pride and me just showing up could just push her further away. We haven’t talked about how we left things the night of the reunion.” I ran a frustrated hand through my hair. Grabbing my cell I decided to text her. I wanted to see if I could get her to admit it to me first. My pulse was racing. I couldn’t even imagine what she must’ve been going through. After the shit I pulled on her, to then catch her husband cheating… I knew I needed to tread lightly.

F:
Hey, how are you doing?

E: Great! Thanks for asking.

I let out a frustrated growl. Stubborn woman! I needed to change tactics. How could I get her to tell me what was going on?

F:
Anything new going on? I still think we should talk instead of txts.

E:
Nope. Nothing new. Sorry not a good time Finn. I’ll let u know when.

F:
I’m getting impatient Em. Not going to wait 2 much longer.

E:
Pls Finn not now. What’s new with you?

Oh sure, change the subject. She really was going to make this difficult.

F:
Just work. Home. Work. Home. Chicago nice? Maybe I should plan a trip. We can meet up and u can introduce me to West.

E:
NO! That’s not a good idea Finn. I told u I’ll tell u when I can talk. Listen I got 2 go. TTYL.

Fuck! She wasn’t going to give. I knew she’d always been a private person, but this was me. Why wouldn’t she just talk to me? But as much as I would go out of my mind not going home with Kyler, I knew I needed to stay home and not push her. He could always find out some stuff for me. Let the waiting game begin!

My first few days at Beans went smoothly. I’d thought about waiting to tell Rose that I was pregnant—I didn’t want to drop the news on her right after hiring me—but I also didn’t want to ask for time off for doctor’s appointments without her knowing why. My sense of honesty won out and I pulled Rose aside during my break on my first day. She was surprisingly supportive. She told me to let her know if I needed time off not only for doctor’s appointments, but also if I had any morning sickness or was too tired to work. I still didn’t know how I’d got so lucky finding such an understanding boss. My co-workers were also pretty great.