Kyle was late for his fitting.
At half-past ten, when I’d asked Arthur where he was, I got the same, non-committal answer as before: I’m afraid I can’t tell you that, Miss Reid. The man was a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma – encased in a marble statue. I couldn’t even get him to smile.
When I arrived at Viktor Pešek’s tailor shop at ten to eleven, the others were already there. Walter met me at the door and instantly noticed that Kyle wasn’t with me.
He folded his arms across his burly chest and eyed me balefully. “Well, Miss Reid?”
I smiled weakly. “He’s running a little behind,” I said. I wished I’d had my planner with me to use as a shield, because Walter looked like he wanted to strangle me.
“We’ve had this discussion once before, Miss Reid,” he said darkly. “I engaged you to keep Kyle in line and on time. Tell me now: are you having trouble doing your bloody job?”
I shook my head. “No, sir.” I swallowed nervously. “He’s been –” Should I tell him? He was their manager, after all. “He’s been disappearing a lot lately. I can’t get Arthur to tell me where he is.” I shrugged helplessly.
“Bloody hell.” Walter stiffened, like he knew something I didn’t. “Not this fucking shit again,” he muttered. He pointed at me. “Call him. Now.”
I pulled out my phone. “I’ve called him three times since ten-thirty,” I said, “but I’m not getting an answer.” Once again, the call went through to voicemail. I held my phone up to Walter so he could hear Kyle’s voice:
“Hey there; you’ve reached Kyle Chase. I’m either in bed or incommunicado. You know what to do.”
There was a soft beep. Walter glared at me, then at the phone, shouting into it so loudly, I thought my eardrums would break.
“Kyle, you fucking cunt! Get your ass to Pešek’s right fucking now, or you’re a fucking dead man!”
I cringed and cut the connection. “Sorry,” I said, and Walter growled. “As soon as I hear from him, I’ll let you know.”
“See that you do,” Walter said shortly. At the inner door, he looked at me over his shoulder. “Not entirely your fault, Miss Reid.” His voice was still edged with anger. “But I’ll tell you now, Tasha has complained about you.” I raised my eyebrows, and he leaned against the doorway. “Want my honest opinion?”
I nodded glumly.
“I don’t give a flying fuck what Tasha thinks. You’re not her PA.” I blinked, and he cleared his throat. “But I engaged you for one bloody reason, and this is twice I’ve had to talk to you.” He took a deep breath. “It looks bad for you, Miss Reid. Talk to Kyle; make him see that he can’t pull this shit any more.” He turned and disappeared into the shop proper.
Talk to Kyle about what, exactly? He never told me where he was going. Besides, if Walter had already tried it and failed, what made him think I could do any better?
I ducked out of the shop and sat down on the top step, leaning against the intricate metal railing and looking up at the building. It was a beautiful old brownstone, a home and shop all in one. Viktor Pešek was the best tailor in the city, maybe in the whole state. His wife was a fabulous seamstress in her own right, and I almost wished I’d been able to attend Natasha’s fitting the next day.
I pulled out my phone again and checked the clock. Samantha would be at one of her clubs about now. I dialled her number and waited. She picked up on the third ring.
“Hey, Sam.”
“Oh my god, Charlie, I’m glad you called.” She sounded worried. “I was just about to phone you.”
My heart started beating a little faster. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Adam. He’s looking for you.”
“What?” I blinked.
“Yeah, he came into Roses yesterday afternoon.” Roses are Red was one of Samantha’s clubs. She’d inherited it – and its sister club, Violets are Blue – from her godfather when he passed. I didn’t begrudge her the gift. It was more work than I’d ever be able to manage. “I ducked into the back, but he barged in and found me. Demanded to know where you were and why you weren’t taking his calls.”
I cringed. I didn’t want Samantha to have to deal with Adam’s bullshit.
“I’m so sorry, Sam,” I said. I wracked my brain trying to think of how to get Adam to back off without ever actually speaking to him again. “He had no business doing that.”
I could practically hear her rolling her eyes. “I know, right? Little prick. But I wanted to warn you: he’s on the warpath. I have no idea what he wants.”
I sighed. “He wants to get back together,” I said with disgust. “As if he doesn’t know why we split up in the first place.”
She lit a cigarette; I could hear the flare of a match, and her sharp inhalation. “Yeah, that’s so not happening,” she said, and I laughed. “What’s going on with that handsome devil you’re working for?”
I blushed, glad she couldn’t see it. “It’s... complicated.”
“Oh my fucking god, Charlie. You slept with him, didn’t you?” She took another drag. “I mean, again.”
I slumped against the railing. “Yeah, kind of.”
“Kind of?” She snorted. “How do you kind of sleep with someone? Or are we talking about actual sleeping?”
I groaned. “No, not a lot of actual sleeping involved.”
Her broad grin was audible even over the phone. “Was he good?”
I laughed weakly. “He was fucking phenomenal,” I said, remembering how Kyle had described the blow job I’d given him. “Oh, god, Sam. I’m so smitten. I can’t even explain how bad.” I rubbed my forehead. “But the timing is just terrible. I have another week of work left, and I think I said something to piss him off, and now things are really awkward.” The whole story started spilling out. “And then this morning he was masturbating in front of me again, and I... I kind of helped him, and I think I might have gone a little too far, and...” I was babbling, but my sister just let me rattle on. She was too good to me sometimes.
She chuckled. “Take a breath, kiddo,” she said, and I heard her blow smoke into the phone. “Does he feel the same way?”
I thought for a minute. “Honestly?” I sighed again. “I’m not sure. I mean, when we were together the other night, I thought maybe he did, but now... Now I don’t know.”
“Have you asked him?”
I blinked. “Huh?”
She snickered. “Have you asked him how he feels?”
“Hell, no!”
Her laughter was so loud, I had to hold the phone away from my ear.
“You’re an idiot, Charlie,” she said, still laughing. “Why don’t you just ask him, for god’s sake?”
“Besides the obvious reason?” I said drily.
“And that is?” she mumbled around her cigarette. I could hear someone in the background asking for her signature.
“Well...” I swallowed thickly. “What if he doesn’t feel the same way?”
Samantha snorted again. “What do you have to lose, kiddo?” she asked. “You’re obviously already uncomfortable. If he doesn’t like you, you can move on and find some other rocker boy to keep you warm at night.”
I rolled my eyes, forgetting that she couldn’t see me. “Yes, because I have such good luck with musicians.”
She laughed. “I’m telling you, Charlie; accountants are the way to go.” Her laughter faded, and her voice grew serious. “But if this hottie of yours does feel the same way, then you’re wasting time.” She took another puff on her cigarette. “Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one in the family?” she teased. “Why haven’t you figured this out yet?”
I grumbled. “Smart ass,” I said, and she blew a raspberry into the phone. “Maybe you have a point,” I added.
“Of course I have a point.” She grunted. “Brains are only good if you use them, kiddo.”
I shook my head and laughed. “I love you too, Sam.”
I heard her grin. “Yeah, yeah. Go get ’im, tiger.” She hung up, and I smiled down at my phone.
Of course, she was wrong. I couldn’t just ask Kyle how he felt. That would be too easy – and too difficult. Put my heart on the line so he could step on it? Was she insane?
But would he step on it? He’d never been anything but kind to me. Tender. Loving, if I was really honest with myself. I thought back over the last two weeks. Yes, he was a tease, with his early morning ‘time-wasting’, and his little flirtations. But he’d never been cruel. Never hurt me. He hadn’t even tried to take advantage of me when I’d delved a little too deeply into that bottle of wine. No, if anything, he’d gone out of his way to make me feel safe.
And then he’d made me feel fucking phenomenal.
I swallowed past the renewed lump in my throat. Maybe Samantha was right, after all. Maybe I was wasting time. And what was the worst he could say?
He could say, “No, I wouldn’t be seen dead in outer space with you.”
I sighed once more and took off my glasses, taking slow, deep breaths, doing my best to enjoy the late autumn sunshine. I must have been there for close to half an hour before my phone buzzed in my hand. It was Kyle.
“Where the hell are you?” I said, not even bothering with a hello.
“I’m on the road,” he said. There was a note of apology in his voice. “I’ll be there by twelve, I swear.” He paused. “I’m really sorry, Charlotte. Time just kind of... got away from me.”
“This can’t go on, Kyle. Walter is furious.”
“Yeah, I got his voicemail.” He chuckled.
“It’s not funny, Kyle! Do you know what’s at stake here?” I growled into the phone. “Not just for me, but for you?”
There was a brief silence. “I know, doll,” he said. He sounded tired. “Look, just tell him I’ll be there by noon.”
“You’d better be,” I said sharply, “or we’re both out of a job.” I hung up and hurried into the shop.
Walter, Joey, Tyler, and Dan were all in the main anteroom. Joey was standing on a small platform, and Viktor Pešek was kneeling at his feet, pinning up the bassist’s leather trousers.
“Oh, do stand still,” Viktor grumbled through a mouth full of pins. “Are you sure these are the boots you’ll be wearing?”
Joey looked down at him. “Yeah.”
Viktor slid his hands up Joey’s leg towards his crotch, and Joey jerked back.
“I said stand still, you insufferable man.”
“That tickles!”
Sitting in an armchair on the far side of the room, Walter looked up. “Close your eyes and think of England, you twat,” he said drily. He glanced over at me. “News, Miss Reid?”
I nodded. “Kyle said he’d be here at twelve.”
Viktor looked over at me, his eyes narrowed. “And who might you be?”
I smiled weakly. “I’m not important,” I said. Viktor grunted and pulled out his tape measure, sliding it around Joey’s thigh and hiking it up against his groin.
“Whoa, watch it!” Joey jerked again. “I have to use those someday.”
Tyler snickered, and Dan threw his head back and laughed. “Hey, spider,” he said, spinning a drumstick end-over-end and catching it deftly. “What do you call a beautiful woman on a bassist’s arm?”
I shrugged.
“A tattoo.” The twins both laughed, and Joey glared at them.
“Oh yeah?” Joey looked over at me, as Viktor tried in vain to get him to stop moving. “What do you call a drummer with half a brain?”
I shrugged again and tried to suppress a smile.
“Gifted.” He pointed at Dan. “Rim shot that, fucker.”
Viktor stood up and stamped his foot. “If you don’t stand still, Mr Grzeskowiak, I will nail your feet to the floor.”
Joey blushed and stood ramrod straight, staring fixedly into the three-way mirror. Viktor huffed and went back to work.
I looked over at Tyler. Grzeskowiak? I mouthed, and he grinned at me. The guys all just referred to the bassist as Joey G, and now I understood why.
Walter rolled his eyes. “Fucking kindergarten,” he muttered.
For the next twenty minutes or so, the guys threw jokes back and forth about each other. A bassist’s best method of contraception was his personality. A drum solo was like a sneeze, because you know it’s coming, but there’s nothing you can do about it. And the difference between a lead guitarist and a terrorist?
You can negotiate with a terrorist.
I was laughing so hard at their barbs, I nearly forgot about Walter’s irritation, and Kyle’s mysterious disappearances. At noon, my alarm went off, and I glanced down at my phone. Kyle still hadn’t arrived. Walter gave me a meaningful look, and I swallowed my laughter.
“I’ll go call Kyle and see what’s keeping him,” I mumbled, heading for the door.
I’d just stepped into the entry when Kyle threw the door open. He stopped short when he saw me. There was a pleading, desperate look in his eyes. I folded my arms and sighed.
“Are you trying to get us both fired, Kyle?”
He swallowed tightly and pushed past me, into the main part of the shop. I took off my glasses and rubbed my forehead with the back of my hand. Not knowing where he went on his little escapades was starting to make me wonder if he trusted me at all.
I wandered back into the shop as Joey was stepping down off the small platform, and Kyle was bending over Walter’s chair, whispering in his ear.
“Finally,” Joey muttered, and Viktor shot him a dirty look.
“Go take those off,” the tailor said, pointing to the changeroom at the rear of the shop. “And mind you don’t lose any pins.”
Joey glared at him and stripped off the leather trousers, right there in the main room. I quickly looked up at the ceiling as Tyler and Dan both roared with laughter.
“Fuck, Joey!” Kyle made a disgusted noise. “There’s a lady in the room, you know. She doesn’t want to see your pencil dick.”
I bit my lip to hide my smile.
“Yeah?” Joey said, and snorted rudely. “You think yours is so hot? Whip it out, fucker, and let’s see who’s got the goods.”
I did my best not to laugh. Or blush.
Walter’s rough voice cut through Tyler and Dan’s howls of laughter. “All right, you wankers. That’s enough.” There was a pause. “You can stop staring at the crown moulding now, Miss Reid.”
I cautiously lowered my gaze. Joey was zipping up his jeans and glaring at Kyle, who’d balled his hands into fists. Viktor was standing next to the mirror, his arms folded, his expression one of intense annoyance.
“You.” He pointed at Kyle. “Here.” He pointed to the platform. “Now.” Kyle growled at Joey as he stepped up. Viktor poked him in the chest, and he looked down. “Are these the boots you’ll be wearing for your ridiculous music concert?”
Kyle nodded. “Yeah.”
Viktor snapped the tape measure from around his neck, and I winced. How did that not hurt? He measured Kyle’s thigh, then his calf, muttering to himself in what I could only assume was Czech. He grunted and turned to a low table, snatching up a pair of black leather pants and shoving them into Kyle’s hands. “Put those on,” he said shortly. Kyle stepped down from the platform and started towards the changeroom, but Viktor stopped him with a word. “No,” he snapped. “Here. We don’t have time for your modesty.”
Kyle looked over at Joey and grinned wickedly. He yanked open his jeans, and I just had time to raise my eyes to the ceiling again before I could be confronted with what he was hiding behind his fly.
Not that I didn’t already know, of course. This time it was a little more difficult not to blush.
Walter gave me the all clear again. Kyle was back on the platform; Tyler and Dan had risen from their chairs, and Joey was looking in the mirror, smoothing down his light brown hair. Viktor was crouched at Kyle’s feet, adjusting the hem of his trousers, pins in his mouth, tailor’s chalk in hand.
“We’re out,” Tyler said, waving at Walter. “See you at rehearsal, yeah?” Walter nodded. Tyler grinned at me as he was leaving, and tugged lightly on my braid where it hung over my shoulder. Kyle growled softly, but Tyler didn’t seem to notice. “See you later, spider,” he said, following Dan out of the shop.
Joey was looking up at Kyle, both eyebrows raised. A slow grin was spreading across his face.
“Yeah, I’m gone too,” he said, sauntering over to me. He swept me up in a tight hug, and I oofed. He wasn’t as big as Kyle, but he was no lightweight, either. Kyle’s growl was a little louder this time. Joey grinned down at me and winked. “Catch you later, spider,” he said. He let go of me and looked back at Kyle, whose hands were clenched again, his knuckles turning white. “See you at rehearsal, big man.” Joey snickered and bolted out of the shop.
Walter rolled his eyes. “Fucking kindergarten,” he said again, and stood up. He strode up to me. “I’m heading off, as well. Because some of us have a schedule to keep to.” I smiled weakly, and he shook his head. He lowered his voice, and I wondered if he was trying to keep Kyle from hearing his words. “No more chances, Miss Reid.” I nodded solemnly as he pushed past me.
I hadn’t realised I’d been holding my breath until he was gone. I sighed and took off my glasses.
“I’ll go too,” I said quietly. Viktor grunted non-committally, but Kyle looked sharply at me.
“No,” he said. I looked up at him, surprised. “Stay. There’s something I need to –”
“Stop moving, Mr Chase,” Viktor snapped, and Kyle jerked his head around, staring into the mirror. I moved behind him so he could see me in it, and he raised his eyebrows in a silent question.
Joey, I mouthed, and Kyle rolled his eyes. I moved over to the chair that Walter had vacated and dropped myself into it. It was surprisingly comfortable.
Viktor was swift and efficient in his work. Before long, he straightened and looked balefully up at Kyle.
“Off.” He pointed to the floor, and Kyle stepped down. “Off.” Viktor pointed at the leather trousers, and Kyle slowly pulled them off. This time, I didn’t bother to look away. Viktor snatched the pants from Kyle’s hands and turned to the small table again. “One week,” he said shortly, then glanced over his shoulder as Kyle slipped into his jeans and zipped them up. “If any of you gain weight before then, I will slice it off you with my cutting wheel.”
I winced and stood up.
Kyle grinned. “I’ll let the guys know.”
Viktor sniffed. “Do,” he said, picking up all four pairs of trousers and stalking into the next room.
Kyle moved towards me, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the shop. “We gotta talk.” His voice was tight, and his grin had vanished like a snowflake in a heatwave.
I stared at him as he dragged me down the stairs. “Wait, what?” I shook his hand off my arm. “Talk about what?” I stood in front of him on the sidewalk and folded my arms. “This had better be about where you’ve been disappearing to, Kyle, because we’re both in a lot of trouble right now.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that.” He stalked off towards his car, and I trailed after him, almost running to keep up. “I was with Wendy.”
“Wendy?” I stopped in my tracks. “Is she all right?”
Kyle turned to me. “I did it, Charlie. I got her to agree to leave that fucker.” I raised my eyebrows. “I just have to find her a place to live before she changes her mind.”
I looked thoughtfully at him. “There’s a gorgeous two-bedroom suite in my building,” I said slowly. “I was thinking of moving there after this job, but I think it would be perfect for her.”
Kyle pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly. I could hear the relief in his voice.
“You’re fucking amazing, Charlie,” he said, smiling down at me. “Can you rent it now?”
I nodded. “Of course. I’ll talk to the manager as soon as his office opens this afternoon.” I hesitated, then bit my lip. “I’ll have to miss rehearsal, though.” I gave him a teasing glare. “Can I trust you to show up on time?”
He lifted his hand and made an X mark over his chest. “Cross my heart and hope to die,” he said with mock solemnity. Then he grinned broadly. “Thank you, Charlie. I love –” He blushed slightly, and I tilted my head at him. “I love my sister. I don’t want to fuck this up.” His grin was crooked, now, one corner of his mouth quirked up. “I really appreciate your help.” He leaned down and kissed me; a slow, sweet kiss that made me think of what Samantha had said.
Have you asked him how he feels?