Page 43 of Hold Still

Ozzy

I DIG INTOthe homemade apple pie. “This was awesome, Siobhan. Thanks for such a great meal. Aiden here is lucky to have you as his mom.” I reach out and thump my assistant on the back.

Her cheeks pinken. “Why, thank you, Ozzy.” She turns her attention to her son. “And Aiden would do well to remember that.”

Aiden gives me a dirty look before popping more pie into his mouth. I decide to let the good-natured banter slide, and we enjoy the rest of the Thanksgiving feast. When we finish, I offer to help Siobhan clear the table but she shoos me out of the kitchen.

Grabbing a beer, I join Aiden and his sister and her kids in the family room. They’re gathered around a large television where the football game plays. The kids are too young to really participate, but the older one is learning the rules of the game from his dad.

This scene reminds me of how things were with my family in Puerto Rico, with my cousins and extended family. We’d watch the game and then head outside to party all night long. Usually with Tío Miguel playing on the guitar.

I sigh. Everything’s changed now.

Aiden captures my attention when he says, “I’ve noticed you’ve laid off the towel throwing at your shows.”

I mull over his statement. The last time I tossed a towel into the audience was when McKenna was in attendance. Ever since then, I’ve been too focused on writing ‘Take Me’ to even bring anyone up to the Penthouse. Or distracted byher. I shrug. “I’ve been preoccupied.”

Aiden turns and gives me his full attention. “With what, if not pus—” his eyes stray to the kids, “uhm, the ladies?”

I take a swig of beer. Might as well come clean. “I’ve been writing.”

“Really? Hey, man, that’s totally cool.”

I place the bottle on the side table. “Yeah. I think it’s a pretty good song. McKenna likes it.”

“McKenna, huh?”

I’ve had more fun with McKenna since I can’t remember when. And we’ve both been fully dressed the whole time. Well, mainly. I smirk, remembering a couple of early morning swims that ended up more fun than I had anticipated. If you consider self-torture fun. I’m certainly not in the market for anything long-term—and something tells me McKenna might be the long-term kind.

“She reminded me what fun is.” I pick up my beer again.

“I bet.” He snickers. “Guess I’m off the hook for giving her your home address.”

My hands knead together. So, he’s how she found out where I’m staying. She has some mad investigative skills. I lift my eyebrow and warn, “I didn’t say that.”

He grins at me and our conversation moves on to the game. When it’s over, I stand and say goodbye to the room. Specifically to Siobhan, I say, “Thanks for having me over for Thanksgiving. It means a lot to me since I’m so far away from home.” And I mean it. I kiss her cheek.

She hands me a container filled with enough food for three more meals. “You’re welcome here anytime, Ozzy.”

Aiden pipes up, “I’ll walk you out.”

Escorting me through the front door and out to my motorcycle, his eyes shine. “So, when can I hear your new song?”

Aiden’s a great assistant. “Stop by tomorrow at the house and I’ll play it for you.”

“Cool.”

We shake and I hop on Shirley. On the ride back to my place, I consider my newfound writing creativity. McKenna certainly woke something up in me when she took me to the dunes. It’s like I’ve been hibernating and now I’m wide awake. Because of her.

I shake off my last thought. No. She just took me out so I could enjoy myself again. Outside of the bedroom. I’ve certainly been living it up in there. By twos and threes. Then why didn’t my muse return until the girl with the multi-colored hair popped back into my life?

Walking into the house, Bans races to greet me. “Hey girl.” I scratch behind her ears. She’s the only girl worthy of my attention. Feeling the Thanksgiving meal settling around my torso, I ask, “Want to go outside and play?”

She barks and wags her tail. I give her some pieces of turkey and laugh. “C’mon, let’s go.”

We head outside and play fetch for a long while. The last time I throw the ball to her, instead of dropping it at my feet, she heads over to the grassy area on the side and plops down. Even with all this exercise, I still feel restless. My gaze lands on the pool.

After the meal at Aiden’s, more laps can’t hurt. I shed my clothes, dive into the pool and start swimming freestyle. Around lap twenty-five, visions of McKenna on the dune buggy and flying into the air at the indoor skydiving place yesterday start playing in a loop.

---