Chapter 26

Keira finished drying her hair and put on a touch of makeup. “So what do you want to do about breakfast?” Jon asked.

“There’s only one thing that works when I’m hungover, and that’s a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich from McDonald’s. I’ll go get it. What do you want?”

“I’ll have the same. I’d go pick it up if I had my car here.” He picked up the shirt that he’d worn last night and sniffed it, making a face. “Smells like cigarettes and beer.”

“I probably have something that will work. Let me go look.” She went into her bedroom and rifled through her dresser, chuckling as she came up with a Red Sox shirt. She walked out and tossed it to him.

He held it up. “Are you kidding me?”

She shrugged. “It’s either that or my ‘Jesus hates the Yankees’ shirt.”

Laughing, he pulled the shirt on. “Do you know how much shit I’m gonna get from people if I’m photographed in this?”

She raised her eyebrows at him. “Are we planning on going someplace that you might be photographed?”

“You never know. Even if there’s no paparazzi around, everyone has camera phones these days.”
Keira frowned, wondering if he missed living a “normal” life, or if he even remembered what that was. Pushing the thought aside, she said, “I’ll be back in 15 minutes. Make yourself at home.” She grabbed her keys and headed for the underground garage to get her car. She drove to the nearest McDonald’s, bought their food, and was back home within 20 minutes. They sat side by side on the couch and dug into the hot, greasy breakfast sandwiches.

“What is it about needing gross food the day after drinking? Does the grease soak up the alcohol or something?” she asked.

“I have no idea, but whatever it is, it works.”

When they finished eating, she balled up their sandwich wrappers and threw them in the kitchen trash. Walking back to the couch, she glanced at him and let out a low wolf whistle. “You look hot in a Red Sox shirt,” she said.

“Yeah, well don’t get used to it. Next time I crash here I’m bringing my own clothes.”

“Oh. Is there going to be a next time?” She was teasing, but was genuinely interested in hearing what had given him that idea.

“I don’t know. You tell me. I’m not the one who’s engaged.” Jon leaned back on the couch, crossing his legs at the ankles. “So tell me about him.”

Keira sighed. She’d been dreading this moment, but knew it was inevitable. “His name’s Rob. We’ve been together for two years. He lives in an apartment upstairs. He’s a great guy, has always treated me like gold. He’s almost perfect.”

“Almost?”

“I’m just…bored, I guess. He’s very predictable. He likes to stay home all the time. We never do anything spontaneous. The passion is just…not there. And honestly, up until a week ago I thought I was okay with that.”

He nodded his head knowingly. “And then you came to my show and realized that you were missing the passion of a real man.”

She played along. “Exactly! How did you guess? Watching Richie with that guitar was such a turn-on, it made me realize that I need that kind of passion in my life. And Tico, with those arms – whew!”

“And how ‘bout that lead singer…”

“Ehh, he’s kinda cute but he dances like a dork.”

“Hey!” Jon elbowed her.

“I warned you that girls always win at these games.”

“One of these times I’ll win.” He went to the kitchen to get more coffee. When he came back, he said, “So what are you going to do about Rob?”

Keira looked at the floor, her eyes filling up with tears. “I have to tell him I can’t marry him. The only reason I said yes in the first place is because he asked me in a crowded restaurant and everyone was staring at us.”

“Ouch.”

“I know. This sucks.” She swiped at her eyes, not wanting to spoil the morning.

“If it makes you feel any better, I think you’re doing the right thing. If the passion’s gone after only two years, imagine what things would be like five or ten years down the road.”

She wondered if he was speaking from personal experience, but she didn’t feel comfortable asking about his divorce. Not yet.

“So what do you want to do today?” he asked.

She thought about it. “You know what I wish we could do? Spend the day doing the kind of thing that we used to do, when we were young and carefree.”

He laughed and took a minute to reflect on that. “So you want to raid my parents’ liquor cabinet, hang out at the beach and get drunk, and then go park somewhere and fool around?”

She laughed too. “That’s not all we did, but yeah, I guess. Minus the liquor and the parking, though.”

“So you want to go to the beach?”

“It sounds kind of boring when you put it that way, but yes. Can you do that, or will you get mobbed?”

He shrugged. “We can give it a try. I’ll stick the hair under a hat and hope for the best. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I don’t have a swimsuit, though.”

“Oh yeah,” she said, sounding disappointed.

“We can swing by my place first. Then I can get out of this traitorous t-shirt too.”

She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Alright, alright.” Under her breath, she added, “Chickenshit.”