Page 33 of Adore Me
"Come on! You can do it. If you could be married to my brother, you can sing with me!"
Annabeth pulled me out of my chair and pushed me towards the stage. I hissed at her as I got onto the stage.
Annabeth is going down. That's it! We are fighting and that's final!
"Come on, you know you loved singing with me!" Keith started to play his guitar and I knew which song he was going to sing.Collide, by Howie Day started to sound. He started the song out.
When Keith set down his guitar, I put the microphone back on the stand and we embraced. During our hug, I had a brigade of memories come flooding through my mind. Keith was the one that kept me together when I found out that Joel was cheating. He and Jimmy helped me out a lot.
"Thank you, you still have a beautiful voice!" Keith said in his microphone.
I blushed and ran off the stage. People were clapping around us, but I kept my head down and focused on getting back to my beer. In my seat was a surprise.
"I didn't know you could sing like that," Vincent said as he pushed out his chair for me to sit on his lap. I sat down sideways and looped an arm around his neck. "Absolutely beautiful."
"Thanks, how did you know where we were?" I asked him as I kissed his cheek.
"Oh, honey. I always know where to find you," he tickled my side. "I like that song. I never knew that you could sing especially withhim."
Shit. He is jealous. "It really was nothing. Just a song. How are you today?" I tried to lighten the mood.
"Hey, Vans. Can I speak to you for a minute?" Keith appeared in front of the table. It was extremely awkward becauseeveryonewas there. Sammy, Johnny and Vinny glared at him and Vincent flexed his hold around my waist.
"It’s really not a good time," I said with as much confidence as possible. The last thing I needed was to see a pissing contest on who is bigger and badder.
Keith looked so nervous and anxious while he spoke that I felt bad. Whatever he has to say is going to make me upset. I just know it. "Please, just for a minute. I need to talk to you about the letter."
My head snapped up and I stood up out of Vincent's hold. "Okay, just for a minute." I kissed Vincent and followed Keith to the plush section. "What did you want to talk about?" I sat down on the other side of the couch in order to still be visible for Vincent. His eyes were looking pretty crazy.What am I going to do?
"I knew he had the letter..." I started to glare at him, and he raised his hand to stop me from opening my mouth and swallowing him. "Listen to me before you freak out. I was the one that received the letter from the lawyer that day. After Joel seen it, he asked me what I thought he should do. I am so sorry."
I closed my eyes and counted to ten before I ripped his head off. "Are you fucking with me?" So much for calming myself, I was now screaming. "You weren't supposed to be a dick! Keith! You were supposed to be my friend and brother! I trusted you!" I'm screaming so loud that people were looking over at us. "You, Keith," I pointed my finger in his face, "turned out to be such a disappointment and a letdown! I never expected this from you."
"Hey, Vans... What's wrong?" Anne appeared in the doorway and I gestured for her to sit down next to me.
When she sat, I let everything come out. "He knew about the letter. My parents' estate attorney dropped it off and gave him it the day of the wedding. Because of you, Keith, I didn't get the closure that I needed! You ruined everything." My voice raised so loud that a bouncer came and stood by the door. I glared at him and I might even have flashed my teeth at him. He probably wanted to know who I was and after seeing who I am, he just stood there.
"Keith, please tell me that this isn't true?" Anne asked as she rubbed my arm that was flinching from anger.
"I didn't want her to get sad on her wedding day! Vans, I have wanted to tell you forever. If it means anything, I am the one that told my parents where it was."
Now, I was mad. "You knew where it was?" I stood up from the couch and looked directly into his eyes. These eyes didn't mean the same to me. Now, every time I think of Keith, I will imagine him with dead eyes. "After how many times you came over to my place... after how many times I mourned for my parents... after everything we did... You kept a secret like this from me." I wasn't screaming anymore. There wasn't much of a fight left in me. All of my fight has left me after finding this letter or receiving it. I finally got the closure that I needed.
"Savannah, Anne, we are leaving. Is everything all right?" Annabeth, Vinny, Sammy, Valerie, Bethany and Johnny stood at the door. I nodded.
"Tomorrow? Movie night?" Annabeth asked as she left.
"I want to leave." I stood up and glanced one more time at Keith. "Thank you for being finally honest," I turned out of the room and listened for Anne. "Do you want to have a sleep over?"
She giggled and did a little dance. "Yes! Let's go get our stuff and go back to your place. I would love a hot tub. Maybe we can discuss our plans for the new business in further details."
Vincent and Ronnie were still at the table as we walked up, but they looked up with a sympathetic smile. Like the true gentlemen that they are... or what they could be, they stood up as we approached.
"Ronnie, Savannah and I are having a sleep over tonight at her place. Do you want to come too? We have something to talk to you about," Anne started as she put her arm through her purse.
"Pop?" Ronnie helped Anne grab her coat that was on the chair and held it for her. Seeing them together was so romantic. No one would have guessed that they have only known each other for a matter of months. Ronnie took so much care with Anne and she always had a smile on her face. I hoped and begged that this isn't the honeymoon stage. Anne deserved to be happy.
"That's fine, you want to come?" Vincent asked Ronnie as he grabbed his coat and wrapped around my shoulders. I leaned into him and kissed his shoulder. He smelled so good. Man, I love this man.
