CHAPTER FIVE
KNOX
“Is it too late to call her?” I ask when we’re all piling back into the bus.
It’s nearly two a.m., two hours since I saw her.
She could be home by now, tucked in bed and sound asleep.
Except I’m way too wired to even sit still just thinking about her, and if I’m feeling this way, it’s possible she is too.
“The woman you met tonight?” Jason asks, laughing. “I’d go more with too soon. Don’t you want to give it a day or two. Let the anticipation build a bit?”
“If I wait two days to call her the anticipation won’t just build, I’ll explode,” I say dryly.
He laughs harder. “I meant for her. Damn, dude. I don’t even remember the last time I’ve seen you like this.”
“That’s because you’ve never seen him like this,” Matti chimes in, moving past me to have a seat on the sofa. “I say call her. Be in the moment. Don’t overthink it.”
Cass comes in last, pulling the door shut behind her. “I’m with Matti. Women hate games. Or waiting. Or guessing. We like direct. Honest. Communication.” Her eyes move to Jason, and I get the sense this list isn’t just for me.
“I’m gonna call her.” I start back for the same door we all just climbed in through.
“Where are you going?” Matti calls after me as I’m stepping outside.
“The only place I’m going to have any kind of privacy. The back alley. I don’t need you all in my ear while I’m doing this.” I throw the door shut before anyone can say anything. Not that they’d argue, but they’d sure as hell give me shit about it. And still will when I return.
As soon as I’ve cleared a bit of space between the bus and myself, I hit call. I keep walking the length of the alleyway. The House of Rock is attached to three other bars, so I’ve got plenty of walkway and enough nervous energy to make use of it.
“You called!” she says after just one ring.
“Woman, I told you I would.” I chuckle. “Is this going to be a thing with us?”
She laughs quietly on the other end. “I’m kind of enjoying it. The constant high of a pleasant surprise. It’s quite nice.”
I smile. I like her laugh. I like even more that I’m the reason she’s laughing. “Well, if it makes you happy far be it from me to change things.”
“Did you guys just get done at The House of Rock?” she asks, and I notice the sound of conversation in the background.
“Yeah. The place was packed, took longer than expected to get out of there, but it was good. Great crowd in there tonight, so it was easy to stay,” I pause when I hear a man’s voice offering someone more coffee. “Where are you at?”
“Denny’s. All you can eat pancakes.” She thanks someone, presumably her server, for the refill.
“You gonna be there a while?” I turn around and head back to the bus.
“It’s all you can eat pancakes,” she says, like my question has already been answered.
“Perfect. Make room for five more. We’re heading your way.”
KENLEY
“You have that look on your face again,” Arizona remarks, using her fingers to swish a piece of pancake through the excess syrup on her plate. “You know, the one you had after he asked for your number. What’d he do now? Propose?” She laughs at her own joke.
“He’s coming here,” I say flatly. “They all are.”
Now even Arizona’s gaping. “Now?”
“Yes. He said to make room for five more,” I inform her. Hearing it out loud in my own voice helps me too. It doesn’t sound near as crazy when I say it versus when he said it.
She crinkles her brow. “Five? There’s only four of them in the band.”
“Yes, I can count too. I’m guessing their driver? I don’t know. This falls under the rock star hypotheticals we weren’t going to touch, remember?”
She nods, eyeing our extra-large round booth in the back corner of the dining room. “I guess our desire for space and privacy backfired? Or it worked out even better than planned? I can’t really tell with this one.”
“Right now, I’m just glad we don’t have to switch tables.
” We’ve been here over an hour. I’m settled in.
It feels like our booth. Our territory. And I like the feeling of that.
“We just have to establish how many pancakes we’re claiming we’ve already eaten and then politely ask Jake, our server, not to tell everyone we’re big, pancake-gorging liars. ”
Arizona picks up another pancake from her stack and rips it in half, preparing to start up with the syrup soaking again.
“Have you noticed you only panic after you’re no longer talking to the man?
Like, you were totally chill on the phone.
I had to keep reminding myself who you were talking to because you sounded like you were chatting it up with someone you’ve known forever. ”
I have noticed that. I just haven’t made sense of it yet. “I can’t explain it. When I’m with him or talking to him...it’s just him. But then as soon as he’s gone, in my brain, he morphs right back into Knox Marley, sexiest rock star alive .”
“Got it.” She nods, stuffing sticky pancake into her mouth. “The normal guy versus the rock star is still a work in progress.” She grins, still chewing. “At least you’re only embarrassing yourself when you’re with me.”
“Silver lining.” I grin back. Then I catch Jake passing through and wave. “Have a sec?”
He comes over, smiling. He’s young, probably not even twenty-one yet, with bright red hair and freckles for days.
Even if he wasn’t the sweetest kid I’ve crossed paths with in a while, I’d wanna stuff him in my pocket and take him home.
Freckles do that to me. I think because my own kid is covered in them too. Just brings out my mama side.
“Ready for more pancakes?” he asks, already hip to our appetite.
“Actually, we’re good for now,” I explain, smiling up at him. “But we just found out we have some friends joining us, so would it be possible to clear the evidence...and by that, I mean plates. We’ll probably need the space.”
“And one of our friends is hot and she doesn’t want him to know how many pancakes she can eat in one night,” Arizona adds, smirking.
“I just think that’s something you ease people into.”
“Probably a good idea,” Jake agrees with me.
“I’ve been working here for over a year, and I’ve seen people eat a lot of pancakes, but even I got a little frazzled the first three times I came to check on you guys only to find empty plates where two minutes earlier I’d left small stacks of pancakes.
” Then he seems to rethink his candidness, because he adds a rushed, “No offense.”
“Oh, sweet, youthful boy,” Arizona muses.
“We’re women in our forties. We’ve had time to learn all there is to know about ourselves, confront all of our patriarchal induced insecurities and no longer give a shit what anyone else thinks about any of it.
It’s all good. We eat a lot of pancakes. We know it.”
“She’s right,” I follow up what she said.
“Except this once. Where I care a little what this one man thinks.” Then I roll my eyes at my own issues.
“You know what, never mind. I mean, yes, please clear the plates, but then go ahead and keep the pancakes coming.” I look at Arizona and shrug.
“The man deserves to know what he’s getting himself into. ”
“That’s the spirit.” Arizona grins. “And perfect timing, because I do believe I see him coming toward us.” Before I can fully register what she’s said, she starts waving enthusiastically at someone behind me.
Jake and I turn our heads at the same time.
“Is that?” Jake wheezes, clearly having recognized Knox as he leads his party of five through the nearly empty Denny’s dining room.
“Yep.” I nod, eyes stuck on the scene before me. In all my life, I can’t think of another time a man this beautiful looked this pleased to be walking toward me.
“Wow,” I hear Jake’s low mumble from my side.
Jake promptly has my attention again. “Interesting. He has the same effect on men,” I observe, amused by the way Jake’s cheeks turn instantly red and his eyes get about twice as big as before.
Knox must be nearly to the table now because Jake can’t seem to decide whether to bolt or stay put.
And whether to hold onto his tray or drop it.
It’s nearly slipped from his fumbling fingers at least three times since I’ve been watching.
I notice Arizona is doing more than just waving now, she’s saying words. Which can only mean one thing.
Knox has reached the table.
And I haven’t had a chance to determine the appropriate greeting.
Do I stand or do I stay seated?
And if I stand, do I shake his hand? Lean in for a hug? Get really crazy and kiss his cheek? Or dial it way the fuck back to a shy wave? Though, if I’m going with the wave, it’s probably best not to stand.
Either way, the moment is here. Time to do something .
“That was fast,” I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind even as I’m turning my head back around to face him.
“We were all on the bus and ready to go when you mentioned pancakes,” he says, sliding into the booth to sit beside me.
I guess I can chalk the last sixty seconds of my life up to another minute of time wasted on overthinking things that were never going to be an issue.
The next few seconds are more productive, mostly because they involve a lot of scooting and situating and getting another five people comfortably seated at our table.