Finding Love for a Cynic (7 page)

“Who’s house is this?” he asked as she guided him through the massive oak doors.  He could hear the music blaring as they moved farther into the massive structure.  Someone was singing Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”, and very badly, he observed.

“Myron and Danny’s.   They always host karaoke night.  We do it every couple of months just to let our hair down,” Delona explained.  “I thought it would be a great way to break the ice with any newcomers to Soul of the Matter.” 

It didn’t take long for them to make it to the source of the racket.  Koen couldn’t believe his eyes.  The large room they entered had been transformed into a bonafide karaoke club.  The sight of the wet bar raised his guard a little, but the feel of Delona’s hand still holding his aided in tamping it down.  The long bar occupied the rear of the room and was very busy with people shouting their orders at the only other person wearing a tie besides him.  Everyone else, with the exception of him, Delona, and Cara, was dressed in casual clothing. 

Suddenly self-conscious, Koen started to remove his tie with his free hand while continuing to take in his surroundings.  A large stage sat at the front of the room with a DJ set-up to the side.  The person on stage was a small Asian woman who couldn’t have been more than twenty-two.  She didn’t sound anything like Lady Gaga, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind.  It looked like most everyone was on the dance floor having a good time as a disco ball spun and colored lighting flittered about the room.

“Heeyyy!” Katie said loudly, approaching Delona with her arms wide open.  The two women hugged.  Katie’s ponytail rocked back and forth as Delona tried to stabilize her, keeping the both of them from toppling over.  “I didn’t think you’d be here.” Katie released her boss.  It was apparent she’d had a bit too much to drink.  “Heard you were out on a date,” she said, slurring her words.  “Hey, Koen,” she added, waving at him with a huge smile accompanied by glossy eyes.

“Hey, yourself,” he replied with a curt wave of his own.  Although he was grateful his drinking days were behind him, he found it hilarious to see the ever-efficient Katie full of drink.  At least she appeared to be a happy drunk.

“Oooh!” she declared with wide eyes.  “I heard you had started talking with an accent.  I like, I like.”  Koen blushed, allowing a coy smile to cross his lips.  Katie suddenly gasped as if something huge had just occurred to her.  “Now that you’re here, you guys can do your number!” she squealed excitedly, jumping up and down.  She turned and began making her way through the crowd shouting, “Hey, everyone.  Delona’s here!”

Luckily, the Lady Gaga butcher-er had just finished her number, and the DJ had taken over with some dubstep.  A loud cheer went up from the crowd as they continued dancing.  Some craned their necks in their direction, lifting their drinks in acknowledgement of her presence.

Delona started laughing and began to remove her shoes as Koen looked on in confusion.  “What’s going on?” he asked.

Before she could answer, Cara appeared.  “Let’s go, sister-girl!” she cried, dragging Delona away. 

Koen grabbed a seat at the bar and immediately turned his attention to the front of the room, ignoring the liquid temptation behind him.  He watched as Myron, Danny, Cara, and Delona took the stage.  The crowd cajoled them wildly as the four of them lined up with individual microphones and started bopping to the opening music of “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas.  Myron and Danny were impressive as they sang the male portion of the song while gyrating to the music.  He had never seen them so relaxed sporting matching khaki shorts, white button-down shirts, and beach sandals.  The two women danced around in the background doing a combination of hoedown, line dancing, and cheerleading moves until it was their turn to sing.  At that point the men took over the dancing, doing moves similar to those seen in the “Vogue” video.  Their voices were far from stellar, but they commanded the stage with a super charged energy that spilled over into the horde of people in attendance.  The whole thing was kooky and wild, and everyone loved it, including him.  He found himself joining Katie and a few others on the dance floor, having the time of his life, the strain of his past temporarily falling away.

When the song ended, the group of four bowed and blew kisses to the audience as though they were rock stars.   The act was well received as everyone cheered and clapped loudly demanding an encore, which they didn’t get.  Koen watched Delona as she made her way through the crowd toward him.  Concern came over him once he noticed the guilty look on her face.  He waved her over, purposely increasing the intensity of his smile so that she knew he was having a good time.  He was touched that, though surrounded by her closest friends and family she was still concerned about his well-being.  He felt better when her face lit up with a smile.   

“Wow!” Koen exclaimed.  “That was quite impressive, Ms. Raes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Smith,” Delona replied with a curtsy, still smiling.  “Perhaps you’d like to give it a go.”

“Me?  Oh, I don’t know about that.”

“You’re supposed to,” Katie chimed in.  “All new employees are supposed to.”

“What!  You’re joking,” Koen accused.

“Actually, she isn’t,” Myron added, coming up behind him.  “It’s our perverse way of saying ‘welcome to the family’.  You just saw Lilly do it and she survived.  Go on up.”

Koen noted that the DJ had put on a classic.  “Maybe later,” he shot over his shoulder as he turned his attention back to Delona.  “Sorry, but I just can’t pass this one up,” he stated, holding out his hand to her. 

“Of course you can’t.”  She smiled.  Accepting his invitation, she moved fluidly into his arms, placing one hand on each of his shoulders.  He rested his hands at her waist and began to smoothly sway side to side. 

As the song played, he found himself pulling her closer, enjoying the smell of her peach-scented shampoo.  She giggled when he started singing along with “Yes, I’m Ready.”  He couldn’t help teasing her, watching her squirm whenever he purposely blew a word in her ear
.
  He threw his head back in laughter after she slapped his chest while reminding him that he wasn’t Barbara Mason.  The two were so wrapped up in each other they hardly noticed the attention they were gathering.

*

“Well, sooky, sooky now!” Myron exclaimed.  “When did this turn of events take place?”

 “When did what take place?” Danny asked, craning his neck from where he stood beside Myron to see what his husband was talking about.  They had stepped over to the bar with Cara to cool down after their performance.

“Oh, she’ll swear they’re just friends.  Had the nerve to try to pawn him off on me on the way to the restaurant tonight,” Cara informed them, waving her hand dismissively in the direction of the dance floor.  “Your genius sister is a rock when it comes to matters of the heart.  That man is obviously into her and fine as hell at that!”

“Speaking of the restaurant, how did it go?” Danny inquired as he started rubbing circles on Myron’s back.

Cara rolled her eyes before she spoke.  “Let’s just say…”  She clasped her hands together, laying her cheek on top of them and began snoring in the most unladylike fashion.  Myron and Danny got a good laugh out of it.

“That entertaining, huh?” Danny joked.  “That’s too bad.  Poor thing wasted her time.”

“From what I see she might be wasting her time with all of these so-called blind dates,” Myron acknowledged as he continued to watch the couple.  “But you’re right, Cara.  She’s never been good at the whole dating thing.  That’s why she moved in with that shithead in the first place.”

“Now, now, Myron,” Danny gently chastised. “He really wasn’t bad to her, just not right for her.”

“What exactly did he do?” Cara asked curiously.  “She’s not always one to divulge the facts.”

“It was more like what he didn’t do,” Myron stated emphatically.  “I can’t say it was just him… There were others.  But, that boy, Eric, put the boy in ‘mama’s boy.’  He came from money, grew up in Cumberland Foreside, one of the wealthiest communities in Maine.  Saying he grew up is a stretch.  Delona has always been one to go for what’s practical and logical and assumed that moving in with someone who didn’t have a romantic bone in his body would be fine as long as they loved each other.”

“That does work on occasion,” Cara stated.

“It didn’t work that time.  The boy was downright lazy, contributed nothing to the relationship or the household, and was selfish as hell.  She gave him three years and then decided to move back in with our parents.  Our dad called and suggested we bring her out here just in case Eric felt the inclination to try to win her back.”

“Did he?”

“Girl, please!  As if I’d let him.  Besides, from what I hear, the dumbass is trying to save face, claiming that he broke it off with her.”

“Does Delona know that?”

“I don’t think it would matter if she did.  She’s not one to look back or hold a grudge.  As long as he doesn’t try to interfere with the here and now, I can live with it too.” Myron shrugged.

The three of them continued watching the couple on the floor, who were whispering to one another and probably laughing at secret things, things that only the two of them knew about.

“I have to admit,” Myron started, “they look good together.”  They all nodded in agreement.

*

Even in her drunken state, Katie hadn’t forgotten the stipulation placed on new employees. 

“It’s Koen’s turn to rock the house!” she shouted.  All eyes went to him as Koen shrugged, conceding to her wishes.  He casually un-tucked his shirt then started toward the stage.  People turned to pat him on the back, clearing a path for him as he made his way through the crowd. 

Delona egged him on loudly, clapping and letting out a loud whistle.  She wasn’t so sure she wanted to share him with everyone else yet.  After she’d finished her number earlier, she had immediately sought him out, feeling guilty at having left him at the bar.  She’d been glad to see that he’d lost the tie and jacket and was dancing with Katie and some of the others.  He looked comfortable surrounded by the gorgeous women.  That uncomfortable feeling she had gotten in the spa when he’d hinted toward impressing the ladies returned, but she had managed to smile and ignore it.  She forced herself to dig deep, reminding herself that their friendship was much more important than those strange feelings she kept having toward him. 

She looked on, curious as to which song Koen would sing.  After witnessing him talk to the DJ, he walked over and stood alone on the large stage.  The spotlight highlighted his gorgeous face, causing Delona to compare his features to those of an angel.  His emerald-green eyes shimmered as they moved side to side, taking in his audience.  His full lips were slightly parted as though in anticipation of the start of the song.  He was beautiful. 

The noise died down as the opening to “Nobody Knows It But Me” started to play.  Couples immediately paired up for the slow drag while others looked on in appreciative silence.  Delona watched everyone smile and sway as they listened to his highly aesthetic vocals.  His words reached out to her as she watched and listened to him expertly maneuver the song.  But it wasn’t just the awesome sound of his voice that had her attention.  Pain seemed to taint each and every verse that left his mouth.  His face was solemn, a vast change from the man she had been joking and laughing with only moments before.  She had no doubt that Koen was hurting, and it seemed that no one else in the room realized it but her.  At that moment, the strong, beautiful man she had come to know as her rock appeared to be lost and vulnerable. 

Chapter 9

A few weeks later on a Tuesday morning, Koen found himself heading to Delona and Cara’s apartment.  The dreams were increasing in frequency and intensity, cutting into his sleep every night versus once in a while.  He knew the time of the year and the taking on of more clients were contributing to this, but there was little he could do about that. 

Unfortunately, the lack of sleep had caused him to completely forget that Delona wouldn’t be at her office for the rest of the week.  He had driven all the way to Soul of the Matter just to have Katie tell him that she wouldn’t be in.  Lucky for him, Katie was nice enough to call her boss and set up the meeting at Delona’s apartment.  Most clients would have been put out.  Not his Delona.

He parked in the visitor spot, taking the steps two at a time up to her second-floor unit.  She answered the door on the first knock still dressed in purple flannel moose-adorned pajama bottoms and a pink oversized long-sleeved T-shirt.  A thick purple robe was thrown over the top, and her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail held together by a coordinating scrunchie.  Her overtly casual appearance made him feel slightly out of place in his usual business attire.    

“You know you’re not in the wilderness anymore,” he joked light-heartedly.  “You don’t need so many layers here in L.A.”

“That roommate of mine keeps it so cold in here I sometimes forget where I am,” she replied sarcastically.

“I heard that!” Cara retorted from somewhere in the depths of the tiny apartment. 

Koen didn’t converse with Cara often, but she didn’t sound like the woman he was used to.  In an attempt to avoid getting caught up in the apparent squabble the roommates were having, he shifted his attention to the confines of the apartment.  The place was small.  The front door opened right into the living room, which was barely large enough to hold the peach paisley sofa and two matching chairs that flanked it.  Little space was left between the glass coffee table and simple entertainment table in front of it where a small flat screen TV sat.  However, the room didn’t seem as cramped due to all the natural light flowing in through the picture window.   

To the right of the living room was a small open kitchen with breakfast bar.  Two stools sat in front of it.  He was tempted to make his way over to one of them in order to stay out of Dodge but knew that wouldn’t have been the polite thing to do.  Instead, he shifted his gaze to the left were a small bumpout served as a very short hallway.  Each of the three walls in the small space had a door, and they were so close together the door frames almost touched.  He speculated that their bedrooms and a bath lay beyond them.  It was such a contrast to Delona’s brother’s spacious home that Koen was taken by surprise.