Poughkeepsie (23 page)

When Livia finally entered her bedroom, the beautiful blue dress Kyle had chosen for her was already comfortable.
Why have I never seen Kyle in this before?

Blake stood at Livia’s dresser with a ceramic Cinderella and Prince Charming figurine in his hands. He almost dropped it when he looked at her, dressed for him.

“Thank you, Kyle,” he said, not loud enough for Kyle to hear.

She smiled and was pleased when he counted, again.

“Livia, you make the rest of the beautiful things in the world cry for even trying at all. You make it hard for me to breathe.” Blake looked reluctant to move.

Livia felt a pedestal forming under her feet.

“Blake, I’m about to kiss the hell out of you for saying that.” She scampered around her bed to get to him and pressed her now clean, dry body against his warm chest. Blake refused to drop her keepsake from Disney World and twirled it in her hair as he accepted her kiss. He worked hard to get every bit of vanilla gloss off her lips.

“This lipstick is like icing on the most delicious Livia cupcake,” Blake murmured.

Livia wanted to say something equally sexy but could only manage a small moan.

“All right, you two, do I need to put a hose on you or are you going to come willingly?” Kyle stamped one of her pointy heels.

Blake laughed and had to wave Kyle over to help him untangle the figurine from Livia’s hair.

“Am I allowed to put shoes on?” Livia asked.

Kyle looked her up and down and declared, “Black flats and your black dress jacket.” Then she went off in search of her pinging phone.

Livia dug around in the bottom of her closet while Blake put the figurine back where it belonged. He handled her belongings like he was the curator in a world-renowned museum.

“This bear looks well-loved.” He gently lifted the hairless, torn bear that Livia kept in a prominent position on her shelf.

“That’s Teddy. He’s my favorite.” Livia felt herself blush.

“Obviously. What a lucky bear.” Blake sniffed the frazzled old toy. “He smells just like you.”

Livia located her fancy jacket and stepped out of the closet. Blake took the coat from her and held it out in an old-fashioned ritual only he could get away with. He moved Livia’s hair out of the way and kissed her neck as he buttoned each of her buttons from behind her. He skimmed parts of her she wished he would linger on. She turned her head to claim his lips.

They kissed until he stepped back and shook his head, as if to clear it. “I can only take so much of that with your bed so close.”

Livia wrinkled her nose. Blake noticed the pile of stuffed bears in the corner of the closet.

“Why are those poor suckers in prison?”

“Ah, they were replacement bears from people who thought Teddy wasn’t good anymore.” Livia shut the closet on the tokens of misplaced goodwill.

“They didn’t know you very well. You’re exactly the type of person to love the hair right off of something.” Blake gestured to the door.

Livia almost told Blake the bears were mostly from Chris, but she didn’t want to bring his name into this beautiful moment.

“Let’s get a move on,” Kyle yelled from the front door. “The party doesn’t start until I get there.”

17

The Maxi Pad

K
YLE
I
NSISTED
O
N
S
ITTING
in the back of the Escort. Blake held the door for both ladies before taking his spot in the passenger seat. Kyle spent most of the drive leaning up between Livia and Blake to adjust the radio. She cranked it to an ear-splitting level. Like a football team before the big game, Kyle seemed to be psyching herself up. Every once in a while she’d put her hand in front of Livia’s face and point the direction she wanted the car to turn. When she finally told Livia to park, they found themselves at The Launch Pad.

The Launch Pad had formerly been a gym called Maximum Exercise, and the new owners had invested precious little of their money in a remodel. The club’s flimsy sign was not quite opaque enough to hide that of the previous business behind it, which gave the illusion that the club might actually be called The Maxi Pad.

Blake tried to get to Livia’s door before she could open it, but he failed and had to satisfy his gentlemanly urges by holding it ajar and shutting it behind her. Kyle seemed rejuvenated by the ride and bounced out of the car. She’d brought a small duffle bag instead of a purse, which had Livia a little worried.

“We’re waiting for Todd, Debbi, Karen, Sam, and fucking Kevin—at least they
said
they might be here,” Kyle announced as she began digging in the bag.

She pulled out a small, insulated cooler, and from that emerged the six Tupperware cups, with lids, that Livia and Kyle had used when they were children. She handed a little cup to Blake and offered one to Livia.

Livia looked at Kyle like she was crazy. “We’re having a picnic at The Maxi Pad?”

Kyle drained one of the cups as Blake drank deeply from his.

Blake licked his lips. “I love this juice.”

“Kyle, is there more than juice in those cups?” Livia watched as her sister and Blake each slugged back another cupful.

Kyle wiped her mouth with her hand. “Of course.”

Blake’s face blanched. “What else does this contain?”

Kyle gave him the smile that had so often gotten her out of trouble. “It’s Hairy Buffalo. I brought some alcohol-soaked fruit too. Would you like some?”

“How dare you give him that without telling him what it was? Are you out of your mind?” Livia snarled.

Kyle took the cup back from Blake and looked guilty. “Sorry, Mr. Mary Poppins. That stuff has a considerable amount of Everclear and a few other things from the liquor cabinet in it.”

Blake swallowed, eyes wide.

“If you hurl, it’ll hardly affect you.” Kyle pulled the fruit out of her bag and began munching on a piece of pineapple.

Blake bit his lip. That didn’t seem to be a very appealing option.

Livia smacked the fruit out of Kyle’s hands. “You brought us here to watch you get wasted? Is that your idea of a fun night out?”

Kyle shrugged off Livia’s words and pulled on a protective attitude. “I thought you might join me. Whatever.”

She motioned for Livia to unlock the Escort and tossed her duffle bag inside. She seemed to make an extra effort to appear nonchalant as she turned to go inside. “I’m here to dance. This place has the best music. Leave if you want. I’ll get a ride,” she tossed over her shoulder.

Livia took a deep breath and tried to forgive, considering the week her sister had just experienced, but looking at Blake going green kept making her angry.

“We’ll be inside in a minute.
I’ll
be the one to drive you home tonight,” Livia said. She held Blake by the elbow to steady him.

Kyle marched off to the door. She bypassed the small line, and the bouncer waved her in.

“Her Hairy Buffalo is intense. I highly suggest purging.” Livia wanted to give Kyle the biggest noogie of her life.

“That’s not very romantic, and I had the meal you prepared for me.” Blake looked at the ground shyly.

“Sweetheart, I think it’s going to happen one way or another. I’m going kill Kyle. A lot.” Livia sent her sister the evil eye through the building’s walls.

“I’ll be okay. I’ve had alcohol in the past. Let’s get inside and see what your sneaky sibling is up to.” Blake held out his hand.

As they approached the back of the line, Beckett’s Hummer crashed into The Launch Pad’s parking lot from the side, pounding the surrounding shrubs into flat testaments to his gigantic tires. His music vibrated the air as he parked in what was clearly the middle of the parking lot, nowhere near an actual space, destined to jam up the lot until he left.

“
There
the fuck you two are.” Beckett hopped down from the Hummer as the rest of his posse pulled into the parking lot conventionally. The Launch Pad was about to be busier than it had ever hoped to be.

“Why the hell are you at The Flaming Tampon? Do you have some sort of craptastic death wish?” Beckett trotted up to Blake and pounded him on the back like an exuberant Labrador retriever.

The pounding must have mixed up the meatloaf and Hairy Buffalo, and Blake barely managed to get behind a shrub before losing the contents of his stomach as discreetly as possible.

Beckett looked Livia up and down and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Whitebread’s so hot she’s smokin’ tonight.”

Blake peered up from the bushes and looked as if he might die of embarrassment. Beckett laughed out loud, stomped over to the shrub next to Blake’s, and pushed his finger down his throat in a well-practiced motion. He stood up smiling. “That’s right, bro. Puke and rally, baby. I think there are some pubic hairs in mine.” Beckett banged a fist on his own chest.

Blake looked mortified but laughed.

Beckett pointed to his parking lot-jamming Hummer. “I got toothpaste and Listerine in there. You wanna hit that?”

Blake nodded as he followed his brother to the car. Livia tagged along. Mouse had the mouth-cleaning implements at the ready as they arrived. After removing the unpleasant taste from their mouths, Blake and Beckett touched tattoos in greeting. Beckett turned his other arm over to show Blake his bandage. Blake lifted one eyebrow, and Beckett peeled the tape back to reveal his new Sorry tattoo, a perfect replica of his brother’s.

“Cole got one too,” Beckett said.

Blake looked off in the distance as his eyes filled with emotion.

Beckett pulled Blake’s face back to look at him and held it in his hand. “Never alone, bro. You’re never alone as long as I live.”

Blake nodded. “Thanks.”

Beckett turned the touch into another pounding-of-Blake session. Then he looked at his crew. “Quit gaping at me fudge-packing my brother. Let’s get in this Maxi Pad and knock it the fuck out.”

His crew seemed minimally enthusiastic as Beckett pushed past the people waiting in line. The bouncer almost genuflected as he saw Beckett’s face.

Beckett turned to the potential customers. “This dump is at capacity now. Go home and whack off.”

Beckett lowered his voice. “Mouse, get one of our douchebags to take over here, and I want all the exits covered.”

Beckett hustled Blake and Livia into what used to be the fitness center’s reception area. The Launch Pad’s owners had not done much with the inside either. The immediate view was a cheesy mural of people working out, circa 1980, complete with leg warmers and sweat bands.

“Why for an assfuck’s sake are we in this shithole?” Beckett took in the interior like he was a tourist in a confusing foreign city.

Livia sighed and leaned her cheek against Blake’s shoulder. “Kyle wanted to do some revenge partying, and I didn’t want to leave her alone. She also tricked Blake into drinking some Hairy Buffalo.”

Beckett smiled. “Fairy Princess is on a bender, huh? And she manufactures her own Jesus Juice? Sounds like we better keep an eye on her.”

Beckett turned to Mouse again. “This place’s a festering whore’s crotch. Do I own it?”

Mouse spoke up—louder and squeakier as the glass doors to the dancefloor opened and took the music up a notch. “No, boss. You want me to arrange that?”

“We’ll see. Remind me tomorrow.” Beckett now headed for the glass doors that had just returned to their closed position. With both hands he flung the double doors wide. “You bitches are welcome!” he shouted. “I’m finally here!”

A wave of sweaty air hit Livia in the face as she and Blake followed Beckett’s grand entrance through the doors. For a place this horrible, Livia was surprised to find Kyle had been right about one thing: the music was great. As they wove their way through the humid room, Livia recognized Lorraine as the DJ, and it all made sense. Kyle and Lorraine had been in ballet together for years. Music had cemented them together at the beat before Kyle gave up her dream and stopped training. She claimed no one paid her to practice, and anyway it was getting in the way of her social life.

But now Kyle was dead center on the hardwood dancefloor, which had probably been an aerobics room in its former life, lost in herself and her dancing. She was fantastic. Even soused up on Hairy Buffalo, she moved like silk blowing in the wind—smooth and beguiling.

Blake held Livia’s hand as Beckett claimed a table in the corner of the room. The poor patrons already sitting in the prime spot watched as Beckett hefted their drinks and slopped them onto a new table. No one had the guts to reprimand him as they slunk away.

Beckett watched as Kyle danced. “Looks like Fairy Princess has wings.”

It was as if she were alone in the room. She owned the space as she combined flying jumps with conventional dance club moves. No one could touch her talent, so they stayed on the perimeter as a backdrop to her unchoreographed show.

“She’s always been a beautiful dancer.” Livia sat down in a chair that faced the dancefloor and Blake.