If At First You Don't Deceive by Elliot York

Author:Elliot York [York, Elliot]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

TWENTY-ONE

The fire in the tavern's hearth has mostly died down. Considering the crowd packed in between the roughly plastered walls, that's a good thing. The air smells like beer and aftershave and, if I give it a good whiff—fish. I'm sure I'll eventually get used to the fishy odor that seems to shroud the island from one end to the other. The workday and the nice lunch with Beck helped me push away the incident with the bikini and the uneasy thoughts I had about my neighbor. Jenna is young and still trying to find her niche in the world, and having once been in my twenties I know that can make you moody. When I left the house tonight, I knocked on her door to see if we could walk to the tavern together, but she was wearing pajamas and was wrapped in a blanket. Her nose was red. I thought she might have been crying, but she insisted it was a cold. She stayed home, and I walked alone to karaoke night. I was pleased to find that Linda and Kat saved two seats for us at their table. I didn't want to be that new kid at school sitting alone with my lunch in the cafeteria. While some of the residents were still keeping their distance, watching and observing, trying to decide whether or not to approach the new member of the pack, most were friendly and welcoming. Most especially Beck.

His deep tone rumbles through the speakers. "We're going to take a little break from the performances. I think we can all use it." Everyone laughs. Three performances in, including a very off-key duet of "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" I realized I could have gone onstage and no one would have noticed my lack of talent. Beck finds me in the crowd and winks. I smile back.

Kat taps my boot with her foot. "It seems you've caught the eye of a certain tavern owner," she teases.

"Kat," Linda scolds. "Kat is a hopeless romantic."

"Nothing wrong with that," Kat says. "Shit, it's hot as Hades in here tonight." She pushes the sleeves of her khaki sweater back to her elbows, and for the first time, I notice she has a tattoo on her forearm.

"Hold on there," I say. I take her hand and straighten her arm to get a better look at the ink. Given Kat's rugged fashion sense I'm expecting a skull or an anchor. "It's a kitten," I say, stunned.

Linda laughs. "Same reaction she gets every time."

The kitten is gray with a pink bow around its neck, and the name Fluffy is handwritten beneath it in curly lettering.

"It's cute," I add; however, it's too late to wash away my initial reaction.

Kat tugs down on her sweater and sits up straighter. "Fluffy was my first cat, and he was, hands down, the best cat in the world."

Linda is holding back a grin as she looks at me.

"It's a great tattoo, Kat. I love it," I add.

"Thank you." She smirks at Linda and changes the topic.

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