| “So what’s with that look you gave me when Dana said she’d babysit you tomorrow night?” “What are you talking about?” Scott shifted uncomfortably in his chair in Kaylie’s room. “Cut the crap. I saw your eyes light up.” Kaylie’s mouth dropped open “You like her, don’t you?” She stood, a smile emerging on her face. Scott crossed his arms. “She’s nice, if that’s what you mean…” he trailed off, avoiding Kaylie’s eyes. “Scott…” Kaylie whined. “What?” He rolled his eyes as Kaylie plopped in his lap. “I can set you up…” she sang, her voice lilting. “Kaylie,” he said, standing up and dumping Kaylie in the floor. She pouted. “But ya’ll would be cute together,” she whined. “No.” “Why not?” He sighed. “Because if you set me up, I’ll get attached and I have to go back on tour after this weekend, remember?” “Eh,” she shrugged, “Dana can handle it.” His eyebrow rose. She rolled her eyes at him, plopping on the bed. “Just play it by ear tomorrow night, and if it goes well, I’ll set ya’ll up next time you have a break, or something. I could drag her to a concert or something.” “No,” he said quickly. “I don’t want her to know, okay?” Kaylie rolled her eyes. Just then the phone rang, and Kaylie jumped up to answer it. “Okay, I’m sorry. We’ll be right down. God, no, he’s my cousin. We were talking about something and lost track of time. We’ll be down in a few minutes. Thanks. Bye.” Kaylie replaced the phone on the hook and headed for the door. “Where are you going?” “We are leaving. I have to check you out – it’s midnight.” He stood and followed, grabbing her arm before she headed down the hall. He spun her around to face him. “Don’t tell her, okay?” “I promise.” Kaylie headed into the elevator, Scott following, and she checked him out. He hugged her and headed out the door, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his black leather jacket. He did a double take, thinking he saw Dana sitting on the steps outside the hall. The second look revealed he was right, and he silently sat next to her. She looked up, startled. “Hey,” he said quietly. “Hey,” she responded. “What are you doing out here all alone?” he asked, a slight smile breaking. She smiled and showed him the cigarette she had been hiding in her other hand. He nodded. “I see…” She laughed slightly. “I tried to quit, but I hate being fidgety and nervous, so I started up again.” She took a drag and exhaled slowly. “Smoking is so disgusting.” “Tell me about it,” Scott said, laughing. “Those don’t smell as bad though, what are they?” “Cloves,” Dana said quietly. “They’re worse for you and more addictive, but they taste a hell of a lot better.” “Hmm,” he said, carefully taking the cigarette out of her hand and taking a puff. She opened her mouth to protest, but he just smiled at her. “You smoke?” He shook his head and exhaled. “Used to.” She nodded. “I quit when I had a kid, and so did all the guys I spend a lot of time with.” She nodded, a smile emerging. “We all kind of raise him, and didn’t want him to be around that, so we all quit together.” “You have a kid?” He nodded, uneasiness growing in the pit of his stomach. “How old?” “He just turned five,” Scott said slowly, fidgeting with his fingers. “Do you have a picture?” He nodded and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, flipping through until his fingers came upon the picture. She took it from his hands carefully, staring at the picture as a she smiled. “He looks just like you.” A smile grew on Scott’s face. “Yeah,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “What’s his name?” “Jagger.” She smiled. “Cute.” A pause. “So are you still with his mother?” Scott shook his head slowly. “We were married when he was born, then had a fight and got divorced. We ended up getting back together to raise him, but I came home from a con--- from work one night and she was gone, along with all her stuff.” “She didn’t try to take Jagger?” “Nah. She knew it would be better for us to raise him, so I guess she didn’t even consider it.” “Do you still love her?” Scott took a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” she said, handing the picture back to him. “It’s none of my business.” “It’s okay. I guess I still do, but there’s no chance of getting back together now,” he said quietly. She nodded. “Can I ask you something else that’s personal?” He nodded slowly. “Did you write ‘Arms Wide Open’ for Jagger?” Surprise filled his face. “You… you know?” She smiled and nodded slowly. He laughed. “I didn’t figure it would matter, so I didn’t say anything.” “And here I was trying to hide it.” She smiled and stood. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. I’d better get in there before they lock me out,” she said, nodding toward the residence hall. He nodded. They said their goodbyes and he watched her walk through the doors until she disappeared. He took a deep breath, shoved his hands back in his pockets, and moseyed out to his car. *** “So what do you want to do?” Dana asked, glancing over at Scott. Kaylie was out on her date, and they were walking around campus. He shrugged, and she rolled her eyes. “Aren’t we decisive,” she said with a laugh. He chuckled. “Well, how ‘bout dinner?” She smiled. “Good suggestion.” She dug through her pockets and found her keys, shifting her path to head toward the car. He followed her. “Well, thanks for dinner,” she said as they boarded the elevator to go up to her room. “Anytime,” he returned, pressing the button for the seventh floor. “Promise,” she asked, batting her eyelashes playfully. He laughed and shook his head. “You’re too much.” She returned the laugh and stumbled off the elevator, heading down the hall toward her room. He followed her in the door and plopped on the bed, watching her. She turned on the television and sat down next to him, flipping the channels nervously. He watched her intently, absorbing everything about her. She truly was a beautiful girl, her eyes intense and firey. She leaned over and picked up a pack of cigarettes and a lighter off the floor next to her bed and tried to light it. Her fingers shook so badly she couldn’t keep the flame, so Scott took the lighter from her and lit it for her. She smiled her thanks and leaned back against the wall, slowly exhaling the smoke. “Are you always this nervous?” She looked over at him. “What makes you think I’m nervous?” He raised his eyebrow and she laughed at herself. “Okay, so I’m nervous.” He chuckled. “Why?” She shrugged. He took the hint and dropped the subject. Dana yawned, and Scott smiled as her eyes closed involuntarily. She slowly slid against the wall, finally flopping onto the pillow, snoring softly. His smile remained as he quietly lay down behind her. He, too, was soon asleep. *** Kaylie knocked on the door louder, then tried the handle. The door was unlocked, so she entered the room. The lights were still, on, and a smile found its way to her face when she saw them on the bed. Dana was curled up, Stapp behind her with his arm draped over her side, his fingers intertwined with hers. Kaylie reached over and tapped his shoulder, waking him gently. His eyes fluttered open, and she wiggled her eyebrows at him. He rolled his eyes and untangled himself from Dana, carefully getting off the bed so he wouldn’t wake her. She muttered something in her sleep, and shifted, finally settling back down into her sleep. He smiled as he glanced back at her, then exited the room, quietly closing the door behind him. |