Even worse though, was when he would ask me my opinion on one of Griffin's little stories. I would blush horribly and dart away as quickly as I could, without ever answering him. Evan would frown and tell him to be nice while Matt would chuckle quietly. Kellan and Griffin would laugh loudly, like it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen. Their laughter would follow me all the way up to the bar, where I actually looked forward to talking to Rita, instead of them.
All throughout my shift, he had made snide, suggestive comments. He watched me coldly and intently wherever I went. He flinched whenever I touched him - even accidentally. He made me so uncomfortable.
It made me a little sad, that one stupid mistake together had changed what had been a very nice friendship. I longed for the Kellan who chatted with me over coffee, who sweetly put his arms around me, who let me rest on his shoulder, who sat with me when I cried, who had tucked me into bed. And on the rare occurrences when I could look at our drunken night together, without the usual horrifying guilt, it was a pleasant memory, a fond memory even. It hurt me that Kellan obviously didn't feel the same. That in one night I had ruined everything between us.
Mostly though, it made me angry.
Frowning at the memories, stirring in my brain, I turned my head away from Denny on the couch so he wouldn't see my frustration. I could see now why Joey had fled. Kellan post-sex was kind of...no he was - an ass! I didn't have the luxury of simply skipping town though. Not when I had made such a big deal of Denny leaving, not when it would raise too many questions in Denny's eyes. I was starting to really dislike Kellan, and really miss him at the same time. I wished he would leave, that would greatly simplify things for me. That thought put an odd feeling in my stomach though.
Denny noticed my frown anyway. "You alright?"
I forced a smile and shrugged. "Yeah, just worried about you." I hated lying to him. Well, it really was only a half-lie; I was worried about him. I was just more preoccupied by Kellan's behavior. It bothered me that Kellan concerned me more.
Denny slipped an arm around me and held me close to his shoulder. He stopped sighing. He was always trying to please me...it only made me feel worse. My guilt increased ten-fold every time Denny smiled at me. He tenderly kissed my head and I looked up at him. He smiled sweetly and brought a hand to my cheek, running a finger down it. "It will be okay, Kiera." His tenderness expanded my heart, and broke it at the same time.
He leaned down and softly pressed his lips to mine. Sighing, he cupped my cheek with his hand, stroking me softly with his thumb, and kissed me deeper. I relaxed into his comfort, his warmth and tenderness, and returned his deep kiss. He ran his hands down to my hips and scooted me over to his lap. I smiled, and thought how much I liked him being home with me all morning, and that I had a good hour before school started...
I nestled into his lap and ran my fingers through his hair. He smiled at me between kisses. My breath was just beginning to increase when I heard the front door open. Kellan hadn't come home again last night; he hadn't spent a night here the past two nights. I wondered who he was dating and that thought irrationally irritated me. Whoever it was, he was just now getting back. I immediately froze and looked at the door. Kellan's eyes locked onto mine instantly. He smirked at me, his eyes suddenly mean. Then, as Denny turned to look over, his expression immediately softened. He smiled at Denny, although it did nothing to warm his eyes.
"Mornin'."
"You just gettin' home, mate?" Denny asked casually, his hands softly rubbing my thighs.
Kellan watched us for half a second then smiled again, looking only at Denny. "Yeah, I was..." he coolly glanced over at me, "...out."
Denny didn't notice the look. He simply shrugged and warmly looked back to me. I scooted off his lap and he laughed a little at me, slipping an arm around my waist. I sat in such a way, that I could see Denny and Kellan at the same time. It was odd to have both of them in my vision together; it did weird things to my stomach. Denny was still looking at me lovingly, Kellan was still watching us coolly, a slight frown on his face now. I wanted to crawl inside the couch and disappear.
Eventually, Kellan murmured something excusatory and wandered upstairs. I relaxed fractionally when I heard his door close. Denny raised an eyebrow suggestively at me and made a move like he was going to move me back on his lap, but I frowned at him. Laughing, he held me close to him until it was time for me to get ready for school.
Denny drove me to school and finally took a walk around the campus with me. I tried to be as good of a guide as Kellan had been. The memory of that day squeezed my heart painfully, as I quickly pointed out the various brick buildings on our way to my Psychology class. Denny, of course, wanted to talk about my Econ class and smiling as we walked hand in hand down the concrete pathways crisscrossing the expansive lawns, I relayed as much of it as I could in the short time we had.
We entered the building and Denny was just as impressed as I had been at the beauty of the school. It was truly remarkable, like stepping back to a time where art and the detailed, intricate beauty of architecture, not just practical form and function, were rampant. He opened the door to my Human Sexuality class and chuckling, said he wanted to hear all about it after school when he picked me up. Chuckling back, I leaned over and gave him a long kiss. Someone brushing past us in the door broke us apart, and I grudgingly said goodbye and went to my seat.
It was an odd class to have when my mind was so conflicted. The class had more to do with the psychological and social aspects of sexual behavior, than the mechanics of sex. The course went over cultural diversity, sexual health, abuse and assault. It still felt very relevant to my current situation however, and I had to force my mind away from analyzing my problems and back to what the professor was saying, on more than one occasion. I was a little relieved when the class was over.
I smiled at seeing Denny's old Honda in the parking lot in the same spot he had parked it before class. He climbed out of the driver's side and walked over to me, smiling widely.
"Hey," he said as he met up with me and then, with my favorite goofy grin on his face, he picked me up and spun me around. I laughed and laced my arms around his neck. He stopped spinning and setting me down, leaned in for a long, passionate kiss.