Chapter 11

11

King took a sip of his beer and watched as Sadie walked around the bar and drew a couple of beers from the tap. He was at the Keating Hollow Brewery with Briggs for dinner even after he'd stopped in at lunch to say hi to Sadie because he'd found out Melissa and Sadie's dates were meeting them there, and he just couldn't resist checking out the guy who was trying to steal his girl.

"Yes!" Melissa cried, taking the beer from Sadie. "Now we can pre-game." She clinked glasses with Sadie, who was still behind the bar, and proceeded to down almost half of her beer.

"Mel, slow down," Sadie insisted. "The night hasn't even started yet." She glanced over at King and Briggs, who were sitting at the bar, and grimaced. "If she gets sloppy, I'll never be able to ditch my date."

"I won't get sloppy!" Melissa cried. "Geez, Sadie. You act like I'm a teenager who's never had a drink before."

"Maybe that's because the last time we went out and started drinking early, I had to help you as you prayed to the porcelain god all night," Sadie countered. "One of us has to be sober enough to get the other one home."

King chuckled into his beer, enjoying the hell out of Sadie and her friend. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so relaxed around anyone other than Briggs.

"Just how many drinks did you have before you lost it?" Briggs asked, eyeing Melissa with amusement.

"I don't know. More than five, less than a dozen?"

Briggs snickered. "You're my kind of girl." He moved down one barstool so that he was sitting right next to Melissa, and the two of them discussed their favorite bar drinks.

Sadie looked at King. "If I send an SOS tonight, will you come save me?"

"I could save you right now," he said as he put his own beer on the bar and gave her what he hoped was a devastating smile. "Just ditch the loser and we'll go to the festival. Maybe get funnel cake and ride the Ferris wheel."

"You're evil, King McGrath. You know that, right?" Sadie asked him as she clutched at her heart. "You know how much I love funnel cake."

"I do." He shrugged as if he wasn't doing his damnedest to win her over. "It's an open-ended offer. Just let me know when and if you want me to sweep you off your feet and carry you out of here like a rom-com hero."

Her lips twitched as she tried to stifle a smile. "A rom-com hero?"

"Yeah," he said. "That would make a statement, right?"

"Definitely." Sadie walked back around the bar and took Briggs's previous seat.

They both glanced at her friend, who was blushing furiously as Briggs was telling her how sexy she looked in her black dress. Then Briggs reached out and pushed Melissa's dark curls back and said, "If you need any help getting it off later, you know where to find me."

Melissa giggled. "I'll keep that in mind."

Sadie rolled her eyes. "Can you believe this? She's making me be her wingman for this date, and she's over there flirting with Briggs."

"I think it's Briggs flirting with her," King said. Briggs had always been a relentless flirt, so he wasn't at all surprised by the attention he was paying to Melissa. It was just his MO. "You know, it's not too late for me to carry you out of here. But if I have one more beer, we might have some issues."

She chuckled. "I can move under my own steam, thanks."

"Does that mean we're making a break for it?" he asked hopefully.

The door opened and the douche twins walked in. King had a visceral reaction to the men and was tempted to lay his claim to Sadie right then and there. He probably would have if he hadn't thought she'd throw her drink in his face. And she'd be justified. It wasn't for him to say who she went out with. Especially since he and Sadie weren't even formally dating.

But they would be if he had anything to say about it.

Soon. Very soon.

The one with slightly darker hair, that he thought was named Jasper, paused as he looked around, and then he frowned when his gaze landed on Melissa. She had her hand covering Brigg's, and she was laughing so hard she hadn't even noticed her date walk in. Jasper's expression turned annoyed just before he walked right up to them and crossed his arms over his chest. "Melissa?"

"Jasper?" she gasped out and then whipped around so fast King actually winced.

"How does she not have whiplash?" he wondered aloud.

Sadie just shook her head and stared at the remaining twin.

Kasper walked over to her, a big grin on his face. Then he held his hand out like a salesman. "Sadie, it's so wonderful to see you again."

She glanced at it, hesitated just a moment, and then shook his hand. "Hello, Kasper. I hear you're a big fan of Crimson Vamps."

"Not really." He squeezed her hand, holding on longer than was customary.

King cleared his throat.

Sadie pulled her hand away and gestured to King. "Kasper, this is King McGrath. He's… a friend of mine."

Friend. King wanted to protest. To tell this guy to take his beige slacks and his orange sweater vest and get lost. Instead, he nodded at the other man. "It's nice to meet you, Kasper."

See? His media training had kicked in. If it hadn't, it was likely King would have tossed Kasper out of the brewery right on his ass.

"You, too." Kasper offered his hand to King, who took it and couldn't drop the man's clammy hand soon enough.

King shoved his hands into his pockets and asked, "So, Kasper, do you live here in Keating Hollow?"

"No. I've always wanted to, though. A house like Sadie's would be just perfect for me. But for now, I live over on the coast in Eureka."

"A house like Sadie's? Have you been there?" King probed, trying to tamp down the rising jealousy.

"To her house? Oh no," Kasper said with a chuckle. "I looked it up on Google Maps. It's really charming."

"You looked my house up online?" Sadie asked, her voice high pitched. "Why?"

"No reason, really," the tall, too-tanned man said. "Just curious."

King leaned in close to Sadie. "This is how you're going to end up on the missing person's list. You know that, right?"

Sadie glanced at Kasper, who was frowning at his brother for some reason, and then back at King. Her voice was barely a whisper when she said, "Be ready for that SOS."

"You know you can use it now, right?" King asked.

"I can't." She nodded to Melissa, who had just gotten up and was swaying a little on her feet. Hadn't she only had one beer? King glanced at the bar in front of her and noticed it looked like she'd somehow emptied three large beer steins. "I have to babysit," Sadie added.

King wanted to protest but kept his thoughts to himself as Sadie walked over to her friend, and a few moments later, the foursome headed out the door.

King looked at Briggs and noted him staring at the group as they left the brewery. As soon as the door shut, he shook his head at his friend. "You've got a thing for Melissa."

"What? No, I don't," Briggs said, sounding taken aback. "I was just having a friendly conversation. Can't a guy talk to a woman without everyone assuming he only wants one thing?"

"Nope. And I don't think you're just trying to get into her pants. You like her. You can't fool me. I know you better than anyone else," King insisted.

"Maybe just a little bit," Briggs finally admitted.

"Enough to help me disrupt their date?" King asked, giving his friend an innocent look.

Briggs let out a bark of laughter. "I'm in, brother. Those two weasels are toast."

King left some bills on the bar for their dinner and drinks and then led Briggs out into the cool air.

"Where are we headed?" Briggs asked. "Surely not the concert venue. It's at Equinox, right? I'm pretty positive it's sold out. Otherwise, we'd be there, too."

Equinox was a local pub that had also started hosting live performances by up-and-coming bands. On the nights they had concerts, the pub was restricted to only those who'd purchased tickets. King had to admit that he was pretty annoyed he'd missed out on getting tickets for the Crimson Vamps show. After he'd learned Sadie was headed to the show, he'd gone online to check them out, and as far as King was concerned, they were doing something really special. He'd have to remind himself to look for upcoming dates to see them live. "Not the venue," he confirmed. "Not yet anyway. Just follow me."

An hour later, King and Briggs were sitting at an outdoor table in front of The Magic of Pie, a new shop that was open from seven a.m. to midnight every day. And on the street across them were two horseless carriages that had been painted black and decorated with the skeletons of the horses that would normally pull them through the streets. He sent a quick text to Sadie that just said, Your SOS is right outside Equinox in the form of headless horseman carriages. Meet us out front.

"This is how we're going to get Sadie and Melissa away from those two losers?" Briggs asked, sounding skeptical.

"Yep! And we're going to be the drivers, despite still having our heads," King said, staring at the carriages. "Think you can handle that, Briggs?"

Briggs glanced at him. "Are you serious? You want me to steer the invisible horses through town while Melissa is in the carriage with that jackass? Is that what you're going to do to crash Sadie's date?"

"Not quite. The carriages mostly guide themselves, so you won't have to worry about that. But if you're there when they climb in, suddenly you've become the third wheel. A very obnoxious one. Understand?"

"Are you sure Sadie and Melissa won't get angry?" Briggs asked, looking more than a little skeptical.

"No idea, but I don't want them to spend any extra time with those bozos, do you? Sadie already doesn't want to be on this date with Kasper, who, by the way, gives creeper vibes. And his brother was far too territorial over a woman he's only gone out with once," King said, itching to go find Sadie even though the crowds had yet to disperse from the concert.

"Okay, I'm in." Briggs took another bite of his pie. "Just let me finish this first."

"You've got about five minutes," King said, checking his watch. "The show is scheduled to end right about now."

Briggs waved him off and went to town on the rest of his pie.

King, on the other hand, had stopped eating. Dread made his skin cold the instant he saw a group of young women he recognized. They were the obnoxious fans who'd been stalking him all over Keating Hollow since word had gotten out that he was in town. King stood abruptly, looking both ways, trying to find a spot that would hide him from the stalker fans.

But there wasn't one. Not in Keating Hollow, which had a Main Street and just a couple of other services on the outside of town.

"Oh. My. Goddess! It's King McGrath!" a woman called, and King cursed. There was literally nowhere to go to get away from them. He stood frozen by the realization that he was going to get mobbed again. No, not tonight, he thought. Not when he was busy interrupting a date some guy had with his girl.

The doors to the concert hall burst open, and people started to stumble out. He wanted to look for Sadie, but there was no time. The fans were already upon him, forming a circle as if to trap him in their bubble.

He made a break for it, running full speed toward the horseless carriage. The women were chasing behind him, calling out for autographs as one declared her undying love. King dove headfirst into the first carriage and landed right on top of someone's lap. He glanced up into the surprised face of Sadie's date, Kasper.

"Oof," King said, rolling off the man and onto the floor of the carriage.

"King?" Sadie cried, suddenly right beside him, rubbing her hands all over him as though looking for broken bones or signs of injury.

The carriage had already started moving, and the crazed fans were running after it.

King just closed his eyes and tried to pretend it wasn't happening. But it was useless. He could hear them screaming his name and shouting hysterically, and it unnerved him. He sat up and ran a hand through his hair.

"Dude," Kasper said, looking wistfully at all the groupies still trying to chase down the carriage. "Does this happen a lot?"

"Far more often than I'd like," he said, more to Sadie than the loser who appeared to be enthralled by the mob of women still running behind them.

"Your life is so cool," Kasper said, sounding like a major jackass.

"Oh. Em. Gee!" Sadie exclaimed as she stood and pointed a finger at Kasper. "You are the worst. Can't you see that King doesn't want to be harassed or followed? All he wants is—" She looked at King, seemingly hesitant to finish that statement.

He stood up and draped an arm over her shoulder, pulling her to him. "Peace and quiet sounds perfect. The only thing that would make it better is alone time with my girl."

Kasper narrowed his eyes and clamped his lips together in a tight line. "You're manhandling my date."

"So? You were borrowing my girl for the night. Neither of us are happy," King said calmly and then snapped his fingers. Both carriages stopped abruptly near the end of Main Street. King turned to Kasper. "It's the end of the line."

"What?"

"Time to go. This ride is over," King said, trying to ignore the catcalls still filling the air. He was tired of this loser. He wanted Sadie all to himself.

Kasper looked at Sadie, frowned, and then shook his head as he jumped out of the carriage. As he started walking away, he muttered something about shallow girls.

"I'm not shallow," Sadie called, her expression beyond irritated.

King agreed and pulled her back into his arms. "Now we can start the carriage tour and maybe end the night with funnel cake."

"I'm in." Sadie smiled up at him and then stared at his lips as she started to lean in.

Just as King lowered his lips to hers, they heard an oomph and cries of distress from the carriage just behind them. King spun, ready to jump into action to help Briggs and Melissa defend against whoever had attacked them. But what he saw made him laugh until tears streamed down his face.

Briggs was standing at the edge of the carriage, glaring down at Jasper, who happened to be lying on top of three of the fans who'd still been chasing them.

"Don't ever talk to a woman like that," Briggs ordered. "Or I'll do a lot worse than kick your ass out of a carriage."

Melissa was standing behind Briggs, scowling at Jasper. "And keep your damned hands to yourself."

Sadie stood next to King, taking in the scene. Her body was rigid as if she were on high alert. But as Melissa flipped off Jasper, Sadie's shoulders started to shake with her laughter. Finally, she gasped out, "Serves them right."