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THE RECEPTION WAS held at a local bar. As I walked toward the entrance, I ran into Detective Stone. I’d seen both him and Detective Williams at the funeral, but was surprised to see him at the reception.
“Hello, Adriana,” he said, holding the door for me.
“Detective Stone. I didn’t know you were going to be here.”
“Please, call me Jeremy.”
I smiled. “Sure.”
“I wanted to pay my respects,” he said, walking behind me. “How have you been holding up?”
I glanced at him over my shoulder. “It’s been hard.”
“I can only imagine.”
“How is the case going?” I asked as he moved next to me.
“Slow.”
“Can’t you find any DNA or fiber matches to convict any of the Devil’s Rangers?”
He grinned. “You’ve been watching CSI?”
“Of course,” I said, smiling sheepishly.
“Well, they’re still working on it. That’s all I can really say,” he said as we entered the area that was reserved for the reception. I noticed Tiffany, Monica, and Amber were already there, ordering drinks.
“Thanks for coming,” said Krystal’s mother, Bonnie, who looked like she was about ready to start crying all over again. “Both of you.”
“Of course,” I said, hugging her.
“You, too, Detective. Have you found the people who’ve done this yet?”
“Please, just call me Jeremy. We’re still working on it. You’ll be the first to know if we do, though.”
“I’m counting on it,” she said, blowing her nose.
“Hi, Adriana,” said Tiffany, walking over with two glasses. “Here, I bought you a rum and Coke. Figured you’d need it after giving that speech. You did great, by the way. I was bawling my eyes out.”
“Thanks, Tiff. I missed the last part of it,” I said, taking the drink from her. “I was too choked up to continue.”
“How could you not be? At least you had the balls to get up there. I’m sure Krystal was proud of you, though.”
“I hope so,” I said, getting choked up again myself.
“And, who is this?” she asked, smiling up at Jeremy.
I was going to introduce him as Detective Stone, when he jumped in.
“Who me? I’m Jeremy Stone,” he said, smiling.
“Are you two...?” she asked, pointing to both of us.
“No,” I said quickly, realizing what she meant. “We’re not dating.”
He laughed.
She smiled at Jeremy. “I wasn’t sure. You’re not wearing a ring and I’ve never seen you before. I know that.”
Oh, my God, she’s interested in him, I thought, not sure if I should be amused or horrified.
“Nope. No ring,” he said, holding up his left hand. “Not anymore, at least.”
“Oh, were you married before?” she asked.
“Engaged. I guess you could say it fell through.”
“Well, you know what they say – if it’s not meant to be, it’s not meant to be,” said Tiffany, taking a drink of her Screwdriver. “You’ll probably find someone much better.”
It was then that I realized he was actually a very nice looking man. I hadn’t thought much about it before, but I could see why Tiffany was interested. He was tall, with brown hair, caramel colored eyes, and a goatee. I pegged him to be in his late twenties and he obviously kept in very good shape.
“How did you know Krystal?” she asked.
As he began explaining, I glanced over to the bar and noticed that Trevor was standing next to it, ordering a beer. My stomach knotted up.
What was he doing here?
“Excuse me,” I said, moving around my friends and toward him. When I reached the bar, Trevor turned to me, smiling.
“What are you doing here?” I said in a not-so-friendly voice.
“Well, hello to you, too,” he said, the smile falling.
I looked around. “Is Tank here, too?”
“No. He’s taking it pretty hard. He just wanted to be alone.”
I stared at him for a few seconds, my foot tapping anxiously. I had to admit that he looked so handsome that I wanted to jump his bones again. But, I was more pissed than horny. “You shouldn’t be here, you know.”
He frowned. “Why? I knew her too, you know. I’m just here to pay my respects.”
“You did that at the cemetery.”
He grunted and shook his head.
“What?’ I asked.
“Why are you being such a bitch?” he said angrily.
“Excuse me?” I said, shocked.
“You heard me.”
My eyes narrowed. “Maybe because you bring that out in me.”
“Why? I haven’t done anything to you,” he said, taking a drink of his beer.
“You’re here, Trevor.”
“Yeah? Why is that a problem?”
I lowered my voice. “I thought you were going to stay away?”
He laughed coldly. “Oh, I see. You think this is about you. Well, Kitten, it’s not. This is about paying my respects to Krystal, who I was friends with too, believe it or not.”
“Really?” I snapped. “You’re not here for anything else?”
“No, I’m not. And,” he sneered, “in case you don’t remember, you approached me, I didn’t approach you.”
I clenched my jaw. I was so angry. I wanted to slap the asshole grin right off of his face.
“So, feel free to unapproach me,” he said, looking away.
Trying not to make a scene, I turned around and walked back over to the others.
“Isn’t that Trevor Larson?” asked Jeremy.
“Yes,” I said, taking a drink of my cocktail. “Yes, it is.”
“Is everything okay?” he asked, leaning closer me.
I looked over at Trevor, who now was staring at Jeremy, looking pissed.
“It’s fine,” I said, looking away.
“Adriana, we’re going across the street to Gibby’s later. You want to join us?” asked Tiffany.
“I don’t think so,” I said, staring down at my drink.
“Come on,” she said. “Just for a couple of drinks and some dancing. You know that’s what Krystal would have wanted. To see us together and having fun. This will be our big send-off, for her.”
“I don’t know...”
“Come on, I’ll even drive you home,” she said. “If that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Right, you drive? You’d better quit drinking now,” I said, smirking.
“Tell you what,” said Jeremy. “I’ll drive all four of you home, if you want. I don’t work tomorrow and I have nothing better to do.”
“You would?” squealed Tiffany. She grabbed his arm. “Thank you so much.”
I sighed. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I know. But, I want to,” he said. “Like Tiffany said, this will be your tribute to Krystal. You may as well have fun.”
I saw the way he kept glancing at Tiffany and wondered if he was doing it for other reasons as well.
“Well, I’m game then,” I said, still watching Trevor from the corner of my eye. He was talking to Krystal’s mother, now, and she was smiling at him.
“I’m going to grab a soda, does anyone need anything?” asked Jeremy.
“No, I think we’re all good,” said Monica, holding up her drink.
“So, who is this Trevor Larson?” whispered Tiffany as Jeremy walked away. “He’s hot.”
“Somebody you want to stay away from,” I said, taking another drink.
“Are you sure?” she said, licking her lips. “I wouldn’t mind inviting him over to Gibby’s with us. Something tells me he knows how to move those hips like a boss.”
An image of Trevor moving his hips between mine flashed through my brain and I felt a quiver down below. Forcing those intimate thoughts away, I cleared my throat. “That’s Raptor,” I said. “He’s part of the Gold Vipers.”
“Raptor, the biker?” she said. “Oh, yeah. Didn’t you and he...?”
“Almost,” I said, turning to her. “Why are you asking about him when you have your eye on Jeremy?”
She grinned. “He’s cute, too. But, he’s too serious. The only kind of serious I want tonight, is a seriously good fuck.”
“Is that all you ever think about?” asked Monica, shaking her head. “I mean, we’re at a funeral.”
“This isn’t the funeral. It’s the celebration of our friend’s life. We’re supposed to remember her with fondness and have fun. That’s what she would have wanted,” said Tiffany.
“She’s right,” said Amber, who was texting on her phone. “Although, I can’t believe you’re already thinking about who you’re going to have sex with tonight. It’s not even seven o’clock.”
“I like planning ahead,” she said, taking a drink of her cocktail.
“Look at you, Amber. You’re probably setting up a booty call yourself right now,” said Monica.
“This is different. It’s Paul. My fiancé,” she replied. “Sex is a given.”
“Why isn’t he here?” I asked.
She shrugged. “He’s working. Like usual.”
“Are you still going to Gibby’s?” I asked.
She nodded and put her phone away. “Yeah, for a little while. I’m not going to drink much, though.”
“What about you?” I asked Monica.
“My mom is babysitting. I’m definitely going out and partying my ass off tonight. Especially, if he’s driving.”
Jeremy returned with a soda.
“So, what’s it like being a detective?” asked Tiffany, sidling up to him again.
He began talking about his job and I listened with one ear, while keeping my eye on Trevor, who seemed to be in the middle of a conversation with Krystal’s aunt, Jenna, who was a beauty consultant for a popular makeup company. Jenna, who Krystal had always referred to as a ‘cougar’, was definitely intrigued with whatever they were discussing.
“That’s fascinating,” said Tiffany, who was also hanging on to every word Jeremy was saying. “What made you want to get into law enforcement?”
I didn’t hear his response because Jenna was laughing at something Trevor had said. It started a fire in my stomach. An angry, jealous one.
I finished my rum and Coke. “Anyone else need another drink?” I asked.
“Sure,” said Tiffany, holding up her glass, which was almost empty. “You know what I like.”
“Yeah, me too,” said Monica. “I’ll take a Vodka Collins.”
I walked to the bar and ordered the drinks. As I waited, Jenna walked away from Trevor and up to the bar. I had to admit, with her long blonde hair, flawless skin, and lithe figure, she didn’t look anywhere near thirty-eight. She looked like a twenty-something Pamela Anderson double.
“Hi, Adriana,” she said, smiling at me somberly. “How are you holding up, kiddo?”
I shrugged. “I’m okay. What about you?”
“It’s been tough. Really tough. Bonnie is barely holding on. She blames herself for not being a better mother to Krystal.”
“That’s not what killed her,” I said, although I knew Bonnie hadn’t been the best parent. Krystal had gotten away with murder.
“No, but if she would have been a stricter parent when she was growing up, things might have been different.” She shook her head. “Bonnie let that girl get away with too much.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t have been where she was that night.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Guess, we’ll never know.”
“I guess.”
She sighed and looked over at Trevor.
“You know that guy?” I asked, nodding toward him.
She smiled. “No, but I’d love to, you know what I mean?”
I certainly did.
“He’s a biker,” I said.
“I know. We were talking about it. I told him that I just bought a Harley Switchback and he was impressed.”
“I bet. I didn’t know you were into bikes,” I said trying to stifle the green monster growing inside of me. Deep down, I knew there was no reason for me to be jealous. I had no claim on Trevor and she was a very nice woman. If they got together, that was none of my business.
“My ex-boyfriend got me interested.”
“What happened to him?”
She sighed. “Found out he was married.”
“You didn’t know?”
“Well,” she smiled. “I did. He said they were getting divorced, so I thought they were separated. Come to find out, they really weren’t either.”
The bartender set my drinks down. “Here’s a tray. I doubt you can carry all four drinks by yourself.”
“You’re right. Thanks,” I said, handing her the money.
“It’s an open bar,” said the woman. “For another hour, at least.”
“Oh, well, here’s a tip,” I said, handing her a couple of dollars.
“Thanks, hon.” She turned to Jenna. “What can I get for you?”
“I’ll take two Michelobs. One for me and one for that tall drink of water, over there,” she said, turning to smile at Trevor, who I noticed was watching us.
Feeling angry again, I looked away.
Jenna turned back to me and sighed. “You must think I’m a horrible aunt.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
She smiled grimly. “Because my mind is in the gutter at my niece’s funeral.”
“People cope with things differently,” I said, a little guilty of it myself.
She put her arm around me. “I agree. In fact, I’ve always coped with grief by turning to intimacy. The touch of another can sometimes ease the pain of loss. It’s also a good reminder that we’re still alive and that every second matters, because you never know when your time is up.”
“I guess... that makes sense to me.”
“To me it does. That’s why I don’t feel guilty about setting my sights on Raptor tonight.” She winked. “Something tells me he just might be my salvation.”
“And you know that after just talking to him for a few minutes?”
She grinned wickedly. “To be honest, I don’t care what comes out of his mouth. It’s what goes into his mouth later that interests me. Thanks, doll,” she said to the bartender, who set two beers down in front of us. She handed her a five. “That’s for you.”
“Thanks,” said the bartender, shoving it into her front pocket. She leaned forward. “And good luck with that young man. I wouldn’t mind going home with him myself tonight.”
Jenna laughed. “You’d better get in line,” she answered before walking back toward Trevor.
Sighing, I picked up the tray of drinks and went the other way.