Chapter Eight
“What do you think of these?” AJ asked, holding up a pair of leopard-print pleather pants. They’d been at the mall for three hours, and AJ had collected three bags. Kara, on the other hand, was searching desperately for the vintage clothing store. Jeans and T-shirts were her standard.
“For me or you? I don’t have the necessary ‘Dennis Rodman wannabe’ vibe. You, on the other hand…” He gave her a wounded look.
“Dennis Rodman wannabe?”
“Do you want me to run down the list of similarities?”
“No!” He glared at her in mock anger, “WHY did I take you shopping, again?”
“Because I don’t want to be there when Kevin spontaneously combusts.”
“Understandable.” That was never a pretty sight, and AJ avoided it whenever possible, too. “But why did Brian hang around?”
“He’s telling him the combustion-worthy information.” It had been a battle, but in the end they decided that if Kara and her bruises weren’t in sight, Kevin would be slightly calmer. That was the theory, anyway.
“You’re not gonna tell me what’s going on, are you?”
“That depends..” She gave him a sly grin. “ You still using baseball bats for anger management?”
“You read that Rolling Stone article, huh?”
“You sent me an early copy, you goof!” She grimaced. “I learned MORE information that I never needed to know about you guys from that thing…” AJ’s jaw dropped.
“There was stuff in there YOU didn’t know?”
“Come on, ‘Jay- like Kevy would tell me about his one-night stands?”
“Hey, at least we’re honest.”
“As I said, too much information.” She pulled the pants out of his grasp and hung them back up. “Not under my watch, you won’t! Now, we finished here, boy? I’m starving!”
“Yeah- let’s hit Mickey D’s.” The both grinned. Somehow, Kara too had developed an affinity for the place.
“Where else?”
When they arrived back at Kevin’s, AJ turned the ignition off and looked at Kara, chuckling.“Any steam visible through the windows?”
“Not so far. Wait’ll I go in, though.”
“We can hang at my place if you want.”
“Thanks, but I’d better face it now.” AJ gave her another curious look. “I’ll fill you in later, I promise.” She hopped out of his truck and went inside. Kevin was nowhere in sight, but Brian was sitting on the couch, waiting for her. “How’d it go?” He looked up at her, shaking his head. “Ooh. Sorry. Where is he?”
“I’m here.” She jumped at the his voice behind her, startled. “Come here.”
“Uh, Kev? Are you going to explode again? ‘Cause if you are, I’d rather keep my distance. I mean, fallout can be harmful. I really don’t-"
“Come here.” His voice was slightly shaky, and she turned. Sure, he was pissed, but his usually clear green eyes were red-rimmed. Kevin had been crying. She walked over to him, and was immediately engulfed in a hug. She’d forgotten how much he blamed himself for things- especially where she was involved. She pulled back, holding both of his hands. He winced, and she looked down. His right hand was a swollen mess.
“Get into a fight with a brick wall again?” He cracked a smile.
“Something like that.”
“Kev, it’s not your fault. You know that.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Great. Now HE was hurt, too.
“I didn’t want you booking a flight to Minnesota to hunt David down and get yourself in trouble.” He gave her a guilty look, and she turned to Brian. “He didn’t.”
“Nope!” Brian stood up, gingerly rubbing his rear. “I’m tired of sitting on that dang phone, though!” They all laughed, and she moved back to Kevin.
“You okay? ‘Cause I am.”
“Yeah. You know how I get, though.”
“Yeah, I know.”