Then Kiss Me (7 page)

I went to the Arts Center early in the afternoon before work.  The director was able to meet with me and I explained to her that I was an artist who had recently moved to Winchester from Denver.  “Well,” she said, motioning to an empty chair across from her desk, “we love to feature local art.”  Her blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun, but her
big-boned
features were muted.  “The biggest problem, Ms. Williams, is that our
displays are planned out well in advance, and that includes themes for each show.  I wouldn’t even be able to consider anything of yours until fall.  But you might be able to join in the fun of that.  In September and October, our theme is going to be tattoo art.  Now, of course, we’ll feature the obvious.  Tattoo artists will display their artwork as well as pictures of their art on flesh.  But even if you’re not a tattoo artist, you can be included in the display.  Do you have any paintings or drawings of tattoos?”

“No, but I could.  When would you need to see them?”

“Sometime in August.”
  It was May now.  I thought I could have something done by then.  So she had me fill out a contact form and promised to call in August.  She said she couldn’t guarantee a spot in the show but definite consideration.
 
That
made me happy, so when I went into work that evening, I was smiling.

It had been a busy day, Ed said, and he needed me to do some prep work.  They’d used up almost all the LTOPs
at lunch
.  Ugh.  That meant I had to slice tomatoes and onions, and even
though slicing them with the big meat slicer made each individual piece uniform, it was boring, tedious work.  But that’s what I got paid for and, I reminded myself, I was getting a nice raise for it.  So I got the vegetables out of the walk-in and started fixing a tray of hamburger garnishes.

Two waitresses, Wendy and
another older woman
, were coming inside after taking a break but were involved in a conversation
, either oblivious to my presence or they just didn’t give a shit
.  Wendy was the one girl I thought stood between me and a chance with Scott…
if
I chose to pursue
him
.  So when I realized they were talking in hushed voices and it involved a guy, I couldn’t help but tune in.  I acted like I was just working, minding my own business, but my ears were working hard.

The older waitress
was responding to something Wendy had said just as they’d entered.  “Yeah, he’s really good with kids.”

“When he saw
my
Jenny last year
at Ed’s birthday party
, he played and played with her.
  Some kind of card tricks.
  And I’ve seen him with babies.  He’s excellent.”

“When was that?”

“You know…Ed’s birthday party last September—at the park
.”

Wendy asked,
“How old is Jenny now?”

“She’s almost six.”
 
With a smile in her voice,
the other waitress
asked, “Have you set your sights on him?”

“I did a long time ago, but Jim ruined all that.”  Oh, of course. 
Jim
,
the asshole.
  Why didn’t that surprise me?  “I don’t know, though.  After the last few weeks, I think I still might have a chance.”  Well, I was assuming a lot, but I was pretty
damned
sure they were talking about Scott.

They started walking tow
ard the front again.  I heard the other waitress
say, just before they walked out of earshot, “Well, Wendy, Scott’s a nice guy, but he has a lot of growing up to do.  Give him time.”

I felt my heart beat harder, faster. 
That confirmed it. 
Wendy
was
competition. 
But w
hy the fuck did I care?  Scott wasn’t interested in me anyway.  What was I thinking? 
Competition?
  What the hell?  Who needed a man anyway?

But my entire perspective changed
later
that night.  Scott came into work around five and I knew from the schedule that David would be in around six.  Normally, I would have liked the chance to be around Scott by myself, but after hearing the exchange between Wendy and
the other waitress
, I was feeling a little disheartened.

Scott
wrapped the standard bib apron
we
cooks wore around his waist and tied it.  Then he
asked, “Where do you want me tonight?”

I knew he meant at what station in the kitchen.  Since I was
the closer, I got to choose.  But
I still had that irrational crush on him
,
and
t
he evil part of me
considered
tell
ing
him I wanted him up against the wall with
my
tongue in
his
mouth.  Instead, I took a deep breath.  “I don’t know.  Where would you like to be?”  I wasn’t in the mood to think, and I hadn’t been working there long enough to absolutely hate any job, so I was willing to let him choose.

“If you really don’t care, I’ll take grill.”

“It’s all yours.”  For some reason, the guys liked operating the grill, probably because it required the most finesse out of all the jobs there.  They had to tend to steaks and burgers and make sure they were cooked to perfection.  I liked it too, but I didn’t feel some sort o
f primal satisfaction from grill
ing a steak like they did.

He moved over to the grilling area as though claiming it.  I was standing over near the fryers, close to the area where the waitresses would pick up their orders.  “Hey…you got any plans tonight?”

Had I heard him right?  And here I’d been worried about little
ol
’ Wendy.  But I felt cautious
just the same
.  “Yeah…I’m closing, remember?”

He smiled, but it was a sarcastic smile.  I could tell, though, that he appreciated it. 
From one smartass to another…
  “I meant
after
.”

I couldn’t help myself.  “After
work
, I plan to shower.  I usually smell like greasy shit after I leave here.”

He sighed.  I was a hopeless cause.  “A few of us are
gonna
be at a party tonight.  I thought you might want to join us.”

My heart leapt inside my chest. 
Serio
usly?
  Was Scott
Wardell
real
ly inviting me to a party?  “Sounds fun,” I said, trying to sound as casual as possible.

“Have you figured out your way around town yet?”

“
Kinda
.”

He walked into the prep station where the phone was
located
and grabbed a small piece of paper off the notepad.  Then, using a pencil next to the phone, he wrote something down and walked back to the cooking area.  He handed me the paper and I looked at it.  It had an address on it.  “If you don’t have a GPS, you’ll want to look it up on Google Maps or something.  It’
s just outside of town
.”

“How late is it
gonna
go?”

He shrugged.  “I’m not sure.  At least till eleven.”  I wanted to know because Bob’s closed at eight.  It would probably take me an hour to finish my closing duties, and then I’d need to go home, shower, and put on fresh clothes.  It could be as late as ten or ten-thirty before I got there.  But if they were
partying
till eleven, I’d at least have a little time with Scott.  And maybe that would be all I’d need.
  “So you’re coming then?”

“Yeah.
  I’ll be there.  I just don’t know when I’ll get there.”

“Oh, yeah.
  That’s right.  You’re still a rookie closer
…could take you hours.
”

I stuck my tongue out at him. 
“Very funny.”

The night flew, and once David got there, the three of us had a lot of fun laughing and joking, in spite of how busy we were.  Both men did their pre-closing duties and as Scott
was
pulling his apron back off, he said, “See you later, okay?”

I nodded, trying to keep the giggly girl inside down.  She’d be embarrassing if she escaped.  David said, “Oh, Casey’s
comin
’?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.”  He hugged me, a wicked grin threatening to overtake his face.  I knew exactly what he was thinking.  Yeah, yeah…so the guy Casey had a crush on invited her to a party.  But I knew that didn’t necessarily mean anything, even though it was promising as hell.

And so after closing, I went home and showered, then carefully chose my outfit:  snug blue jeans with rhinestone
s on the
back pockets, a camouflage baby doll tee, and bl
ue
sandals.  I walked out the door to my car, more excited than I’d been for something in years.

Chapter Four

I
DID
ALMOST
get lost, but I managed to find the place where the party was.  It was outside of town some and when I got out of my car, I thought
having the party away from civilization
was a good idea.  The music coming out of the house was loud, and neighbors in town wouldn’t have tolerated it.  It was good music, though.  It was a cover of a song I’d heard before, but it wasn’t a song I was completely familiar with.  It was a metal tune, but the metal I listened to wasn’t as heavy as it could get.  What I was hearing had an industrial thrash sound.
  It was great for a party.

I walked up the steps to the front door.  There was a deck in front and I was sure that during the daytime, the views were spectacular.  Winchester was nestled right up against beautiful green forests, and breathing in the crisp country air out here, I was starting to understand why my parents had moved here.

The front door was open although the screen door was closed.  I let myself in, because there were lots of people inside and I knew no one would hear a doorbell (or care if they did).  I had slid my keys and cell phone into a front pocket so I wouldn’t be fettered by
my
purse.

The place was packed and I didn’t recognize a soul.  I did notice, though, that the music was quieter.  I realized that the music must have been outside.  I made my way through the crowd toward the back of the house.  I saw people with plastic cups full of beer too, and I figured I’d get something to drink later, but first I wanted to find the music…and see if I could
spot
anyone familiar.

When I got to the kitchen, I saw a sliding glass door that led outside.  The music changed and this time I recognized th
e tune.  It took me a few seconds
, though, but I finally placed it.  It was Lamb of God’s “
As the Palaces Burn
.”  But…it wasn’t off their album.  I realized the music was live. 
Holy shit.
  I was at a way cool party, and now I was bummed I’d missed part of it.  As I walked out the door onto another deck, there was a guy standing, looking across the lawn at a band
rocking out
. 
I asked h
im, “Who are they
?”

“Oh…they’re local
boys.  They call themselves Pain and Agony
.”

“
Nice. 
How much have I missed?”

“They just started playing an hour ago.  They’ll probably take a break here in a little bit and then play for another hour.  That’s what they usually do.”

“This is a great cover.”

“Yeah, it is.”  He stuck out his hand. 
“Name’s Mark, by the way.”

“Oh.”  I shook his hand.  “Casey.”  I looked across at the band.  The lead singer had gorgeous long brown hair and he was doing a great death metal scream.  “So…where’s the
beer
?”

Mark chin-nodded down the deck where there were three kegs. 
“Right there.”

“Thanks.”

He walked with me down the deck.  “So, Casey, are you here with anybody?”

I looked over at him.  He wasn’t a bad-looking guy—closely cropped blonde hair, steely brown eyes.  But I wasn’t interested.  So I told him, “Not exactly.  But I was invited by someone, and I’m looking for him.”

Mark nodded, looking reluctant.  “Well, if you can’t find him, hunt me down and I’ll show you a good time.”

Ooooooh
.
  Teenage Casey might have taken him up on the offer, even
with
a guy waiting in the wings.  But Casey didn’t do that anymore.  I nodded and smiled and thanked him for everything.  Then I made my way down the steps.  I kept looking around for Scott or David and couldn’t see either.  Maybe they’d already left, but I had the feeling I hadn’t even seen half the party yet.  I figured I’d check out the band for a while.  They were really good.  They didn’t sound exactly like Lamb of God, but ther
e was no denying they were awesome.