KRISTIE LOOKED at herself in the mirror, doing a last-minute touch up before she walked out into her party. Her mother and Lionel had rented out her favorite place to eat, and the guests milled around outside, talking in low tones. She was ten minutes late for her own party. It all boiled down to one guest she was dreading to see.
Her graduation had gone off without a hitch, and her heart had raced with excitement the entire time. This was what she had been working so hard for. It had been a long journey, but she had done it. Kristie couldn’t believe that she was now an English graduate.
The last semester had been touch and go. After a holiday filled with nothing but tense moments and one stressful event after another, Kristie had come back to her dorm in a state of mental anguish. Even though she had a new boyfriend, she still couldn’t help but think about Gray.
Always Gray. The final semester, Gray had kept floating into her mind. How could she feel this way about her own cousin? Upon meeting her mother’s new husband, she had also met his nephew, Gray. Her connection with Gray had been immediate. She had felt something with him that she had never felt before. And he had felt it as well.
The two of them had slept together twice and fooled around once. Kristie had wanted to be with him and pushed aside any negativity that could be in their way. She had wanted to make it work, ignoring their vast differences, since Gray was the leader of a motorcycle gang.
But ultimately, their lives were too different. Armand, a member of Gray’s gang, the Devil’s Advocates, had accidently killed someone in an illegal street race. Officer John, a cop Kristie had briefly dated, had wanted to arrest Gray, who had skipped town once he had gotten wind of the arrest. The two of them had parted on bad terms.
But now, summer was upon them. In a twist of fate, Kristie had found comfort in Armand. In Gray’s absence, she had grown fond of him and the two of them had been dating steadily since she had gone back to college. The long distance had been hard, but Armand would come up to visit whenever he could.
A sudden knock at the door jarred Kristie from her walk down memory lane.
“Kristie? It’s Kass.”
Kristie let out a sigh of relief and opened the door, letting her friend in. Kass had fallen hard for Rick, Gray’s second in command at the Devil’s Advocates, and the two of them were now engaged. Her engagement ring sparkled under the dim lighting of the bathroom. They had barely been dating for six months. Kristie thought it was too whirlwind for her liking, but Kass only looked happy when she was around Rick.
“Hey, you’re taking forever. You look great. What’s the hold up?”
Gray and Armand being in the same room together. “Just nervous. A lot of people. Not a huge fan of crowds.”
Kass nodded as if she understood, even though Kristie knew she was a social butterfly. “Well, it’s all people who are thrilled with you. Even your cousin showed up. I haven’t seen him since he skipped town when everyone saw John gunning after him.”
Kristie went to run her fingers through her hair, but at the last moment remembered it was up in a fancy bun. “Yeah, well, John took a leave of absence after that mess.”
There were rumors that the leave of absence was forced because John had gone after Gray with no true evidence. Kristie didn’t know. She tried not to think about the whole thing.
“So come on! Armand is waiting, too.”
Kristie gave one final glance in the mirror, knowing that she couldn’t put it off any longer. It was time. She followed Kass out of the bathroom and down the hallway leading to the main floor of the restaurant. Her mother had invited what felt like half the town because she was so excited. Kristie didn’t see them as she stepped out onto the main floor. Her eyes scanned for one person and one person only.
Her mother and Lionel swarmed her first, congratulating her. Lionel would never replace her father, but she knew her mom was happy with him. He was a hard-working man, gentle and kind, and Kristie had warmed up to him the last few months.
Her mother was the same as always. Overly excited, trying to smooth out part of Kristie’s dress as she shielded her from the crowd.
“A little snug,” she commented quickly before moving to announce her to everyone.
Kristie felt her face flush. The last thing she wanted to hear was something from her mom about her weight. The tiny comments here and there, reminding Kristie that she wasn’t super model thin, always stuck underneath her skin like tiny needles.
Everyone swarmed around her, people she knew and some she had never seen in her life. They shook her hand and asked a few questions. Must be proud of yourself, right? Are you going to be an English teacher? I personally wouldn’t have gone to college for English, but I’m glad you found your niche. Settling down after this, I presume? All the comments made her skin itch.
In the midst of all of this, Armand found her. People tended to give her boyfriend a wide berth. He was burly and bulky. Kristie could imagine him being a gladiator back in the olden days, swinging a sword around and taking people down. But in this day and age, he was just a biker.
Armand had dressed up a little today for her. His clothes were faded and clearly old, but the effort counted for something. She smiled when she saw him, and her heart skipped a beat. Almost everyone she knew disapproved of her dating Armand. Even she didn’t understand the connection that she felt with him. They were part of different worlds, like she and Gray had been, but there was one less obstacle with him – he wasn’t her cousin.
Besides, many times, late at night, Kristie told herself that she wouldn’t ever settle down with Armand. He works for where I am in my life right now and nothing more. But Armand had no idea she thought such things.
Her thoughts were cut off by Armand pulling her into a bear hug, pressing his lips against hers. Kristie kissed back and quickly pulled away, always too shy to show too much affection in public. Armand pulled away but kept his arm wrapped around her waist. There was something different in the way that he was holding her. She knew why – Gray. Everything boiled down to Gray.
Almost as if Kristie thinking about him had conjured him up, the crowd parted and Gray stepped forward.