“So anyway,” I heard Keith say. “Let me show you where I was thinking of getting a tattoo of aplatypus.”
The animal that haunted my dreams was practically hollered, leaving no doubt it was the elusive code word, and that set me in motion. I was slipping into the dressing room when I saw Keith flash his ass to the guard. “Right here on my left butt cheek.”
A minute later he came strolling through the door with a satisfied smirk on his face.
“The guard wasn’t the biggest fan of the idea.”
“No,” I laughed. “I can’t imagine he would be. Come here.”
Keith wasted no time. He practically swept me off my feet after bounding across the room. His enthusiasm was contagious, and the kiss that followed was just as wild. Unpredictability had always been his thing. Although while I applauded his spontaneity, sneaking into Jake McKallister’s dressing room felt all kinds of risky.
“How will your brother feel about us being in here?”
“Um…you know,” he replied, shrugging.
No, I didn’t know, and now I had one foot pointed toward the door, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. “Well, that doesn’t sound promising.”
“Relax, Sam, we’ll be out of here before he’s done performing. Now do you want to hear my life story condensed into thirty minutes or not?”
I smiled, running my hand over his face. His humor and tell-it-like-it-is charm was what had hooked me in high school, and it was proving to be just as captivating to me as an adult.
Keith began his story the night ours had ended – the night Jake was abducted. He’d chosen to mask the pain instead of work through it with me by his side. He was remorseful. It was a decision that had changed both our lives, but had immeasurably shaped the last six years of his. And although he seemed hesitant to dive deep into a discussion about the hard years following Jake’s return, he did speak freely of his descent into drugs, the withdrawals, the rehabs, and the relapses. I also got a sense of his rock bottom moment while on tour with his brother that led to him finally getting clean.
“I often wonder what my life would have been like if I’d made a different decision that night. Would I be further ahead or further behind? I think maybe I needed to go through all that to be where I am today. Even if nothing had happened to Jake and nothing had happened with your mom and we’d just gone about our lives as normal, I think I still would have found a way to screw us up somewhere else down the line. I mean, if you will recall, I was the king of bad decisions.”
“Oh, yes, I recall.”
The two of us smiled at the memory of his wayward self.
“I guess what I’m saying is it was only a matter of time before I did something stupid – something that would have ruined us to a point where there could be no reconciliation.”
I wondered if maybe he wasn’t giving himself enough credit. The boy I remembered had been committed to reevaluating his life. But I understood his reasoning. We’d been so young back then. Even if he had chosen me the night Jake went missing, our chances of surviving the fallout would have been slim.
“I know I don’t have a lot to offer you yet, Sam, but I’m working on it. Being a drug dealer taught me I’m a good business man, so that’s what I’m focusing on.”
Only Keith could put a fun spin on a felony. “Maybe don’t lead with that fun fact in job interviews,” I teased.
He rubbed his stubble thoughtfully. “So, I should remove it from my resume? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Yes,” I laughed.
“Anyway, I just want you to know I don’t plan to sell unlimited texting plans forever. Jake and I have a plan. As soon as I get some business classes out of the way, we’re going to open that surf shop, Sam, just like I always said I would do.”
It was indeed a dream he’d spoken of often. That he might realize it made my heart swell. “I’m so happy for you.”
He grabbed my hands. “For us.”
“Maybe we should get to know each other again before you start planning our future.”
“I don’t need more time to tell me what I already know.” Keith gathered me in his arms, and my body melded to his.
“And just exactly what do you know, Keith McKallister?”
A sudden influx of voices outside of the dressing room drew our attention. Keith and I exchanged startled glances at the exact moment the door swung open, and Jake, drenched in an hour and twenty minutes’ worth of sweat, stepped inside. We jumped to our feet and he halted in his tracks, all of us looking like we’d come upon a grizzly bear in the clearing.
Thirty minutes? Yeah, I don’t think so. Why had I trusted Keith to accurately tell time when, back in high school, he’d struggled with the concept of counter clockwise? I slugged him in the arm.
“Ow.” He rubbed the sore spot. “What’re you hitting me for?”
