Page 26 of Road Trip
“Did we just watch him blow his wad?” McShane asked, and then shook his head. “Dude, what are youdoing?”
We all cracked up. Kelly laughed, too, but the astonishment on his face was priceless.
“I can’t believe we just saw that!” Kelly said in complete disbelief.“I mean, he had to be pretty worked up, or on something, to just…whoa…it’s not even like he’s a teenager! He has to be at least my age—”
“And what is your age?” Stevie asked Kelly, winking at me. Fuck, did I even want to know?
Kelly cleared his throat and shifted his weight on his feet.Oh boy.
“Uh, I’ll be twenty-seven next month.” His eyes shot to mine to gauge my reaction.
I deserved an Academy Award for how well I played this one off.
“What day? Because I’m thinking you have to be a Virgo. You’re too sweet to be a pompous, narcissistic Leo.” Yeah. Too sweet. And six years younger than me. What the hell was I doing?
He rubbed at the back of his head, a move he often did when it seemed I was making him uncomfortable.
“It’s August twenty-seventh.”
I narrowed my eyes at him and nodded. I’d shared my age, now his was on the table. I had to believe if he wasn’t okay with the difference, he wouldn’t be with me right now, not like this.
“Good. I’m a Taurus. We’re compatible as long as you let me get my way sometimes.”
He laughed, looking a little nervous again. I walked around behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist.I could never tire of this, I thought to myself. His ass jutted out proudly into my abdomen and he seemed to shiver a little when I brought my hands up under his tank. McShane and Stevie were cuddling and talking to each other, so I took this opportunity to check in with my cop.
“Hey, you. You enjoying yourself?”
He turned slightly and pulled me to his front, wrapping his arms around me. It was baking hot outside and we were both sweaty, but I didn’t mind being close to him at all. He’d picked up some toiletries this morning on his run, including some Irish Spring soap that smelled delish on him. I rested my chin on his sternum.
“Well?”
“I’m having a terrific time. How about you?”
I pushed up on my toes so I could kiss him. Those pouty lips responded so eagerly, I was tempted to back him up into the bushes and have some playtime. Instead, I backed down and smiled up at him.
“Your friends are pretty great, too,” he continued. “And so far the music has been interesting. Who did you say we were seeing on the main stage?”
“Trivium is first, then Asking Alexandria, then Korn, and then Avenged Sevenfold. I can’t wait! I totally came late to the game with Korn, but they are incredible! Their lyrics and all the ways they have changed up their sound…and A7X? I missed them last time they toured. They cancelled their show at Shoreline and when they came back, they were playing in Oakland and the only tickets available were nosebleeds. No way was I going to do that.”
He had a strange expression on his face.
“What?”
“Nothing, you’re just so passionate about your music, that’s all. You’re passionate about life! I love that about you. It’s infectious.”
“You keep talking like that,” I warned. Maybe I was actually warning myself. What happened when the real Abra poked through? Would he find me infectious then? Would he sink down into the depths of my madness with me? He might, and then he’d lose that purity I found so attractive. Nope. I couldn’t let that happen.
Kelly
I was beginning to notice little things. Like right now. Abra would be all flirtatious one minute, then I’d flirt back and I’d see a glimpse of almost terror in her expression. Why? What could she be so afraid of? Was I being the cop with her? Too intense? Did she feel like I judged her? I didn’t want to be like that, but how could I avoid it when she was so different from me? I liked her difference, but I had to admit to myself it scared me how out of control I felt with her. Pre-incident Kelly never would have run off with some tattooed angel.
The security guys opened the gates and we walked to our seats. McShane and Stevie were one section over and down a few rows, but we decided to hang out in our section until it was full.
“Hey, Kelly, you seen any of these bands before?” McShane asked me.
I chuckled to myself. Confession time. “Actually, I’ve never even heard any of this music before. I’ve always been a jazz and blues kind of guy.”
McShane laughed. “Can’t go wrong there. I love those as well, but I’m a rocker at heart. Always have been. First song I learned to play on the guitar was ‘Back in Black’ and, depending on your tastes, it was downhill from there.”
