Denny let out an amused grunt. “Wouldn’t want that . . .” He grabbed Kellan’s hand, shaking it firmly. “Yeah, I’ll keep an eye on her. She’ll be apples.” I giggled at Denny’s saying and he gave me my favorite goofy grin. But when he released Kellan’s hand, his face turned serious. “I hope things work out for you, mate.”
Kellan grinned and looked down on me. “Yeah, me too.” By the look in Kellan’s eyes, I couldn’t tell whether he meant hitting it big, or not hitting it big. I got the feeling that, as long as we were together, either scenario was fine. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I laid my head on his shoulder.
Kellan gave me one final squeeze and whispered, “See you soon.” I nodded as I watched him sprint over to his car to get his only piece of luggage—the black case holding his prized guitar. Slinging it over his shoulder, he sauntered back to the taxi. The driver packed it in the trunk for him while Kellan slipped into the backseat. I had to bite my lip to stop the sadness from building. I would join him shortly . . . I could wait.
After every band member was tucked into the taxi, it pulled away. Kellan was by the window, and he stuck his hand out of it to wave at me, his wedding ring gleaming in the afternoon sun. Grinning like an idiot, I waved until the taxi turned a corner and disappeared from sight.
Denny looked over at me when I let my hand fall to my side. “So, how’s married life treating you, Kiera?” His accent wrapped around my name in a wonderful way. Despite how our relationship had changed, the sound of his voice was still fascinating to my ears.
I studied his dark eyes, looking for any sign of pain. There didn’t seem to be any as he casually stood beside me. As I considered everything that had happened in the very short span of time since my impromptu wedding, I shrugged. “Good . . .” Remembering Joey’s unexpected visit, my voice gave out on me.
Denny caught the uncertainty. “You don’t seem so sure about that.”
A part of me really didn’t want to talk about my marital problems to Denny. After everything that had happened while we were a couple, it felt wrong to confess my hardships. Didn’t I deserve them? But Denny was an exceptional human being, and once he’d forgiven someone, he let go of the pain and resentment and moved on. Well, he tried to anyway. I’d seen him struggle with being around me. I’d heard the pain of betrayal in his voice. But he hadn’t fled. He was still in my life. He was still my friend. And I owed him an honest response.
“There was an incident at the house,” I muttered, looking back at my parents, who were talking with Anna, Jenny, and Rachel.
“Kellan’s jaw?” I returned my eyes to Denny. “You do that?” he asked.
I smirked at him. “No. His ex-roommate came by . . .”
Denny, his mind a steel trap at times, remembered who she was. “Joey? The girl who took off after she slept with him?”
A twinge of something awful stirred in my stomach, but I pushed it down. “Yeah, Joey. Anyway, she came back for her stuff, but I sort of tossed it a while ago. Kellan had to pay her for it.”
“Well, that seems reasonable, considering it was hers.” He paused, then added, “I’m guessing there’s more to the story. What else happened?”
I really didn’t want to tell Denny about this, but I had to tell someone, and aside from Jenny, Denny was my best friend. “She gave him back their . . . sex tape . . . then made him pay her for it.”
Denny didn’t answer me for a long time. I could tell his mind was spinning, and he wasn’t sure how to answer. As a gust of warm air swirled my hair around me, I wasn’t sure what I wanted him to say. Maybe nothing was best. I stared at my feet and kicked a pebble on the cement while I waited for some sort of response.
“If she gave it back before he paid her . . . then it wasn’t her only copy. You’ll hear from her again,” he said.
My eyes shot up to his. I hadn’t considered that. I knew that other sex tapes were out there, but I hadn’t thought about Joey duping Kellan. She’d brought it to the house to return it before she’d known about me. She’d acted like it was the only copy she’d had, and that she despised Kellan so much that she didn’t want it near her anymore. Of course, maybe that was an act, her way of showing Kellan that she didn’t need him, that he was beneath her. She seemed like the type to hold on to trophies of her conquests, and what greater trophy could she have than video footage? Denny was right; she had multiple copies. She hadn’t ever intended to give Kellan the only recording.
Denny looked apologetic and sympathetic. “I don’t know her so I can’t say for sure, but if he does make it big, I wouldn’t be surprised if she tried to make some money off of it. It could be everywhere someday, Kiera. Sorry.”