One to Keep (One to Hold 2)

I’d met Stacy’s brother Ron once on a dinner date in Chicago. He was high the entire time, and Stacy was worried I’d do something. But I didn’t have any intention of busting one of my fiancée’s close family members. Looking back, it all seemed so stupid.

The cinder-block shack Toni sent me to off Highway 1 was painted light blue and reminded me of something you might see abandoned near the beach. The yard was nothing but weeds and scrub, and sheets hung over the small windows. I parked the Charger in the driveway next to a beat-up Cobra and walked around to the side entrance facing the street. Cars shot by, and the door looked like I could kick it in without much effort. I was about ready to kick something in. Instead I banged and waited.

Several minutes passed, but I still waited. If Ron was anything like I remembered, it was no telling what was happening behind this closed door. Finally, I beat on it again, this time harder, and sounds came from inside. Two seconds and the door jerked open in a crack. My hand shot out and pushed it all the way open hard.

“What the fuck?” Ron stumbled back squinting. He wore jeans that barely stayed on his hips and a dirty white tee. I stepped into the dim room that reeked of cigarettes, pot, and burritos. “What the hell, man?” he continued.

I didn’t have time for his shit. I was ready to get this over with and be with Elaine. Lose this bad memory in her soft skin and sweet perfume.

“Do you remember me?” I demanded.

It was possible he didn’t because for one, he was out of his mind when we met, and for two, I was slightly bigger now thanks to Derek’s “kill the pain” weight-lifting regimen.

Without a word, Ron jerked around, trying to make a break for the back exit, but I caught him easily in one lunge.

“I can get your money by tomorrow,” he whined. “Just give me twelve hours.”

I had him by the neck, so I gave him a good shake. I wanted to punch him in the face, but I wanted him to talk first.

“Idiot,” I growled. “You don’t owe me money. I’m Patrick Knight. Stacy’s ex.”

His dirty hand passed over his lined face, and then he threw an elbow at me, twisting as he tried to escape my grip.

“Let me go, motherfucker,” he yelled, no longer the sniveling idiot he was half a second ago.

I held on and shook him harder. “Why did Stacy send Toni Durango to me?” He flailed again, and it was all I could do to keep from kicking his sorry ass. “Stop struggling and tell me.”

He tried one more time, and my grip tightened on his neck. Whining, he dropped to his knees. “You’re hurting me, man.”

“What was the lesson?”

“Stacy said you didn’t give her a chance.” He was spilling his guts fast. “She said she wanted a hot chick to teach you a lesson. That’s all I know.”

I let him go with a shove. “That doesn’t make any fucking sense!” I yelled. Ron lay on the floor now, and my leg was itching to kick him. But I held back. “A lesson for what? She cheated on me.”

He crawled over to the couch and pulled himself into a sitting position. Then he reached for a soft pack of cigarettes and pulled one out. I watched as he lit up, inhaling deeply and then blowing out a long stream of smoke.

“That’s just it,” he said. “She wants to get you back.”

Rubbing my eyes, I turned to the door. “For what?”

“No, man, she wants you back. She wants you to be together again.”

Not so long ago, those words would’ve affected me. Even after Kenny, and our supposed “rebound sex,” I would’ve cared that Stacy wanted me back. Now everything was different.

“That logic is about as fucked up as you are,” I said, pulling the cheap door open and inhaling the fresher outside air.

“You should call her,” Ron yelled after me, but I slammed that door shut.

It was late, and I wanted nothing more than to drive to Wilmington and spend the night holding Elaine in my arms. But I was mad, and I smelled like old cigarettes. And I had to get to the bottom of this bullshit first. So instead of going back to heaven, I drove to the nearest Hyatt and got a room.

Chapter 17 – Changing Everything

Stacy’s voice sounded the same as it always had—light and breezy, like a Saturday afternoon by the lake. I could still remember how that sound used to make me feel back when I thought she was worth having. I lay on the king-sized bed staring at the ceiling as I listened. It was ten o’clock, and I had the room until noon. I wanted to finish this now, shower, and then get on the road to Wilmington. It was only a two-hour drive to Elaine, and she’d be almost finished with her teaching day when I got there.

“I’ve thought about you a lot,” Stacy said, but her disembodied voice on the line wasn’t enough for me.

The entire Star episode and fallout, that it happened at my office, that she orchestrated the entire thing was too sharp in my memory. For a half-second, I wished I was back in Chicago having this conversation.