Kellan cringed, and finally turning to face me, put a hand under his shirt. Pulling it back, his fingers were smeared with blood.
"Oh god..." I grabbed his hand and then lifted up his shirt. A good three-inch long slice along his ribs showed just how close the fight had been. The cut didn't look too deep, but it was bleeding pretty well. "Kellan, you should go to the hospital."
He looked down cursorily and smirked. "He barely got me. I'm fine." He half-smiled and raised an eyebrow at me still holding his shirt up.
I dropped it and grabbed his hand. "Come on."
Evan clapped him on the back as I led him away. Smiling and looking satisfied with himself, we worked our way to the back hallway while people occasionally stopped him, wanting to talk about it. Men, I thought, as I pulled him past the curious guys and practically drooling girls. I drug him into the backroom with me and grabbed a clean towel and an extra large Band-Aid from the first aid kit in one of the never used lockers. I hoped it was enough, and the cut wasn't deep enough that he needed stitches. Dragging him back into the hallway, I stopped outside the women's bathroom.
"You stay here." I pointed to his chest while he grinned adorably and made an X over his heart. Opening the door, I took a quick look into the stalls and, not seeing anyone, came back out into the hallway where Kellan was patiently leaning against the wall, waiting for me. I could see the red blood stain on his shirt now as it stuck to his wet skin. I swallowed roughly.
"This isn't necessary," he said as I grabbed his hand and led him inside the bathroom. "I'm fine," he insisted.
I scowled at his stubbornness. "Shirt off."
He grinned wickedly. "Yes, ma'am."
I rolled my eyes and tried not to notice how fabulous his body was, as he stretched up to remove his shirt. He held it in one hand and waited patiently by the sink, a slight smile on his face. His cut wasn't bleeding as badly, but it still oozed a bit down his side. Butterflies danced in my stomach as I thought of what might have happened if he hadn't turned out of the way.
I turned on some cold water and soaked the towel. He inhaled a bit as I started to wipe clean the wound, which made me grin. "You're such a sadist," he muttered and I threw him a dirty look. He chuckled at me delightfully.
"What were you thinking, going up against a guy with a knife?" I asked, trying to be gentler as I cleaned the gash. It was deeper than I'd originally thought and had started to bleed a little more when I touched it.
"Well," he inhaled again, "obviously, I didn't know he had a knife." I finished cleaning the wound on his side and pressed the towel firmly against it making him grunt. "I wasn't about to let him keep touching you like that," he said softly, and I looked up to gaze into his sparkling blue eyes. I held the towel there for a moment while I locked gazes with him. Finally, I pulled the towel away and saw that the wound was no longer bleeding. I opened the large bandage and frowned, worried that it would bleed again the moment he moved. He grinned and said, "He can't touch you like that, if I don't get to. It's against the rules." He chuckled and I slapped on the bandage, none too gently, making him groan and flinch. Instantly I felt bad, as I had probably just made it bleed again.
More gently, I stroked my fingers over the bandage, flattening it out over his muscled side. "Well, it was stupid...you could have been seriously hurt, Kellan." I had to swallow the lump in my throat over that thought.
He grabbed my fingers and held my hand to his chest. "Better me than you, Kiera," he whispered. We stared into each other's eyes for a moment then he softly said, "Thank you...for watching out for me." He stroked my fingers with his thumb. My breath caught at the look in his eye, at his bare skin under my fingertips.
I blushed and looked away. "You can put your shirt back on now."
He smiled and slid it back on. I cringed at the bloody stain in the side, the tear in the fabric; that had been much too close. Tears stung my eyes and he noticed, pulling me in for a tight embrace. He inhaled a little and I relaxed my grip, realizing that I was hurting him.
"Sorry," I whispered. "You really should get that looked at."
He nodded and pulled me tighter. I sighed and relaxed into him. We were embracing like that when Jenny opened the door. "Oops...just checking to see how your patient was doing."
I pulled away from him and blushed. "We were just...he's fine," I mumbled.
He laughed softly and walked past Jenny to the hallway. Stopping just past the door, he turned and looked back to me. "Thank you again, Kiera." My heart stubbornly skipped a beat. He nodded politely at Jenny. "I should probably get that knife from Griffin now."
She looked at him, puzzled. "Griffin has it?" He raised an eyebrow at her. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Griffin...yeah, you should go get it." He looked back at me one last time, then chuckling, he walked down the hall.
She looked back at me through the still open door. "Coming?"
I sighed, willing my suddenly shaky hands and surging heartbeat to calm down. "Yeah...I just need a minute."
I ended up taking ten.
I playfully smacked Kellan's stomach as I came up to him in the kitchen the next morning. He grunted and bent over a bit and, too late, I remembered his injury.
"Oh...sorry..." I said, a look of horror surely on my face.
He chuckled and pulled me in for a hug. "I'm just messing with you. It doesn't hurt that bad."
I laced my arms around his neck and frowned at him. "That's not very nice."
He grinned devilishly at me. "No...but I did get you to put your arms around me," he finished with a wink.
I rolled my eyes and smiled at him. "You're impossible."
"True, but you like me anyway." He pulled me tighter.
I sighed dramatically. "I have no idea why."
He grinned and cocked his head to the side, momentarily taking my breath. "So you do like me. I was curious..."
Carefully smacking his chest, I pulled away from his embrace. "Let me see." I motioned for him to lift up his shirt.
He smirked and lifted it up. "Trying to get me naked, yet again?"
I laughed in spite of myself and examined his bandage. There was some red that had seeped through; he had bled more. I frowned at him. "You were supposed to get this looked at last night." I had even made him leave the bar shortly after the incident, but apparently, he hadn't felt the need for professional help.
He shrugged.
"Well, you need a new bandage. Do you have any?" He nodded and left to go get one while I made my coffee. Just as I was taking a sip, he returned with one.
Leaning against the counter, he handed it to me. "Would you like the honors, since you seem to enjoy hurting me so much?"
I grinned and he shook his head, smiling. He lifted up his shirt again and made a go-ahead motion with his hand. I carefully pulled back a corner and looked to make sure that nothing was sticking to the Band-Aid. Seeing that it was clear, I peeked up at his eyes and abruptly ripped it off him.
"Shit!" he exclaimed loudly, pulling his body away from me. Laughing, I shushed him, pointing upstairs to where Denny was still sleeping. Grimacing, he looked up then back down to me. "Sorry, but damn it, woman."
Still laughing, I smiled and shook my head. "Big baby..." I inspected the wound. I was no nurse, but it looked okay, not inflamed or anything. I carefully cleaned it off and smiled when no blood came out, it must have closed sometime last night. Good, he probably didn't need stitches then.
I opened the bandage slowly, enjoying the long sigh he gave me, since he knew that that one would have to come off too. I gently pressed it against his side, laughing softly to myself. My fingers started drifting a bit from the wounded area and he chuckled quietly.
"Dang, man!" I spun towards the entryway where Denny was standing there, yawning and looking at Kellan's side. "What happened to you?"
Smoothly, Kellan dropped his shirt and leaned back against the counter. He looked casual and perfect, not in the least ruffled that Denny had just walked in on me practically stroking his chest. I backed away from him, trying to mimic his casualness.
"Some fan...she went nuts, wanted a piece of me...literally." He smiled. "Luckily, Kiera here is a good nurse." He nodded over to me.
Denny smiled too. "Yeah, not the gentlest though." He smiled wider as I scowled and Kellan laughed. He walked into the kitchen, frowning at Kellan. "Is that really what happened?"
Kellan chuckled and shook his head. I watched him, amazed that he could joke and be so casual with Denny, when we were being...well, not casual. "No, I'm kidding. Some stupid drunk last night pulled a knife on me."
"Damn." Denny walked over to me and slipped his arms around my waist, oddly making me blush. "You do his girl or something?"
I looked back at Denny, he was smiling, so I knew he was joking, but Kellan gave him an odd look before bringing back his casual smile. "Maybe. Sometimes it's hard to tell, who belongs to whom." He flicked his eyes down to mine when he said that, but Denny didn't notice, he was too busy kissing my neck.
Laughing softly, he looked back up to Kellan and clapped him on the shoulder. "Well, I hope you got him back good." Kellan gave him a quick grin and nodded. "Good on-ya. Glad you're all right, mate." Denny gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and asked me, "I've got time. Are you hungry?"
"Sure." He turned in for a kiss and I gave him a quick peck, sneaking a peek at Kellan, staring at the floor.
Denny moved to the fridge and leaned in, searching for something in the back. Kellan came up behind me, grasping my fingers with his and pulling my hand behind me. I looked over at him, but his face was unreadable, his eyes watched Denny intently. He stroked my fingers for a second, then clenched my hand in his. He dropped my hand just as Denny popped up from the fridge.
"Aaahh, good...strawberry pancakes?" he asked sweetly, showing me the carton of berries he had found in the fridge.
I nodded and looked down while Kellan quietly left the kitchen. Waves of guilt washed through me and I had no idea who I felt it for...Denny or Kellan?
Jenny and Kate both approached me once I got to work that night. They wanted to hear about the knife fight yesterday, as they had both been too far away to really see it. They asked how Kellan was doing and I blushed lightly when I told them he was fine, even a little proud of his war wound. They both shared my concern over how close that had been, and how much worse it could have been for Kellan. My heart squeezed at that and I glanced back to his table, where he was eating and waiting for the rest of his band to show up. A few girls across from him were looking like they were going to join him, but he was ignoring them, talking to Sam instead. Yeah, that had been much too close.
The three of us went back to our customers and I smiled as I glanced at Kellan again. He noticed my gaze and smiled back. My heart stuttered and I had to look away. Eventually the evening progressed, and Kellan was no longer the only D-Bag at his table. Pete caught me on my way out of the kitchen and asked me to tell Kellan they were up. Smiling, I nodded and made my way over to his table.
He smiled widely at my approach. He was sitting laid back in his chair and slightly away from the table, making his lap an almost irresistible draw. For a moment, I wanted to be like his more forward fans and plop right down for a snuggle. I imagined his arms wrapping around me. I imagined being enveloped in the smell of him. I imagined the warmth of his skin as I kissed his neck...
"Kiera?" He cocked his head and looked at me curiously, and I realized my inappropriate thoughts had caused me to stare at him without saying a word.
I blushed and looked away. "You guys are up," I said to the general vicinity of the band's table.
I heard chairs squeak as the guys stood up. Matt and Evan thanked me and hopped on stage to loud fanfare. Griffin just hopped on stage, sometimes basic niceties escaped him. I turned to watch Kellan finish his beer and then slowly stand. He stood at the table for a second, smiling at me and looking like he was waiting for something. I frowned and looked at him quizzically.