“I have fifteen minutes to pull myself together before I have to open,” I groaned. That’s when my sneezing fit started.
Marie was already behind the bar when I went downstairs. Cory came in a few moments later. Both of them would be working Friday night; I had
a band scheduled to play. Marie’s grin twisted to a concerned stare when she spotted the wad of tissues in my hand. I wasn’t in the bar for more
than a few minutes before she turned me by the shoulders and sent me packing for my apartment.
“I’ll wait to hear about your trip when you’re not contagious. We got this,” she insisted. “Cory and I will be all right. Go, and take your germs with
you!”
I curled up on my couch with a box of tissues and my quilt and drifted back to sleep.
I woke up when the band started playing down in the pub. The reverb from the sound system made my pictures vibrate on the wall.
“How are things going?” I asked Marie. It hurt to swallow. I looked around at the crowd in the pub. Pete waved to me from his stool by the front
door.
Her eyes stealthily slid back and forth. “Kyle is in the poolroom shooting pool,” she informed. “What the heck is he doing here? He already
asked for you once!”
I rubbed my face with both of my hands. “He drove me home from the airport.”
“What?” she yelled. “How the hell did that happen?”
“He saw the pick-up assignment and volunteered. I’m in so much trouble.”
She looked at me, trying to ascertain why I thought I was in trouble.
“I didn’t tell Ryan… yet. He’s going to be so pissed.”
“Did something happen between you two? I mean, you and Kyle?” she corrected.
“No, there’s nothing going on.” I looked over my shoulder to see if I could spot him in the poolroom. Our eyes accidentally made contact and I
watched him set his pool stick up against the wall and head in my direction.
“Hey Taryn! What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Kyle asked.
I shook my head. “No, I have a cold.”
Other thoughts ran through my head, like how much I wished Ryan was here so I didn’t have to try and explain all of this over a cell phone. The
crowd in the bar was definitely manageable but I started washing dirty drink glasses anyway. Cory looked at me like I was crazy – little did he know I
was using it as an excuse to get away from gorgeous Kyle.
“Boss, what are you doing?” Cory grumbled, dropping the bottle of house whiskey back in the tray.
Marie grabbed my arm and hauled me away from the sink. “Go back upstairs. This is all under control. You’re sick. You need to go rest!” she
ordered, loud enough for Kyle to hear.
Kyle waved his fingers in the air to say goodbye but I ignored him and kept on walking. The way I felt was odd. Kyle was a professional
bodyguard; his presence should have made me feel safe and secure but instead I felt the complete opposite of that. His presence around me was
surprisingly dangerous.
It was almost noon on Saturday when my doorbell rang, rousing me from my comfortable resting spot on the couch. I pulled my hair back in a
hair tie and grabbed a few tissues along my way.
Kyle was standing in my alley with a large, brown paper bag in his arms. “Hey, how are you feeling?” he asked.
Oh, God, why are you torturing me?
“Worse, actually,” I squeaked.
He held out the grocery bag. “I got you some supplies,” he said happily. “Thought you might need some of this stuff.”
He followed me up to my apartment and set the bag on my coffee table.
“Tissues, nighttime cold medicine, daytime cold medicine, cough drops, and a whole container of chicken noodle soup from my favorite corner
deli.” He pulled each item out of the bag. “Oh, and some crackers.”
“Thanks, but you shouldn’t have,” I muttered. Little did he know how many facets that one statement had. I knew for a fact that he had to drive
over an hour to get here. It wasn’t like Kyle lived right up the street or anything. He was definitely going out of his way to see me.
“Would you like some soup now?” he asked, testing the temperature of the container with his hand. “It’s still slightly warm.”
I nodded and started to stand up. Some hot soup sounded appealing for my sore throat.
“Sit down!” he insisted. “I’m pretty sure I can figure out how to use your microwave.”
My eyes traveled to watch his incredible body and his nice ass walk towards my kitchen. I covered my eyes and rubbed my face to banish the
thoughts. I had to get him out of my apartment – as soon as possible. Then another thought flashed through my mind. This wasn’t just my apartment
anymore. This apartment was a home that I chose to share with Ryan; a home where we were living together in happiness and where no other man
should be standing.
“Careful, it may be too hot now,” Kyle cautioned, handing a mug of soup to me.
“Thanks,” my voice strained as I set the cup down on the table. “Kyle? I appreciate all of this, but why… why are you here?”
“What, we’re not allowed to be friends?” he quickly replied.
I thought about his question for a moment and replied with one of my own. “If your girlfriend was traveling out of town for work, do you think she’d
appreciate another woman being in her home while she was gone?”
“What does that have to do with us being friends?” he countered.
As sick as I felt, I still wasn’t falling for his bullshit. “I don’t think you’re here because you want to just be friends.”
“You think I have some ulterior motive?” Kyle questioned my glare.
“Please!” I squeaked. “You’re a man; you have a pulse. Don’t question my intelligence.” I wiped my snotty nose with a tissue, hoping that would
discourage his thoughts even more.
“All right. To tell you the truth, when I saw that you were flying home alone I thought that maybe you and pretty boy broke up. I mean, you’ve got to
admit that being with him definitely has its drawbacks!”
His little dig on Ryan really irritated me.
“Oh, and I suppose things would be a lot better for me if I was dating someone else? Someone like you perhaps?” I hoped my tone was
sarcastic enough.
“Your life would be a hell of a lot more private, that’s for sure! No cameras, no photographers, no fanatics.” He tossed a pack of crackers over
to me.
“Wait. Let me see if I got this straight. So instead of being with someone like Ryan, who is trying to do everything possible to shield me from
danger, you’re saying I’d be better off with someone like you, who willingly risks his own life every day to put himself in front of danger to protect
complete strangers. Is that right?”
He looked away and then a little cocky smile appeared on his lips. “You’ve at least thought about it. That’s a good start. And I would protect you
a hell of a lot better than he would. Besides, being with me doesn’t come with risk.”
“Don’t be so sure of yourself. You are the one who’s forcing me to compare the two of you. And to tell you the truth, there is no comparison.” I got
up from the couch, irritated now by his presence.
“Kyle, I appreciate the soup and the kindness, but we can’t be friends.”
He crossed his foot up on his knee, getting even more comfortable in the chair. “Why not?”
“Because you don’t want just a friendship!” I scornfully stated the obvious. “Kyle, I love Ryan. I have committed my heart to him.” I picked up
Kyle’s coat. “I’m sorry, but I think it’s time for you to leave now.”
“That’s a shame. You’ll never know what could have been.” I noticed he didn’t even attempt to get up. “You’re not married to the guy, and I don’t
see a ring on your finger, so the way I see it, you’re still available.”
“Available? Did you not just hear what I said?” I was no longer just irritated; I was starting to get angry now.