Empowerment. Engagement. Authenticity.
Rangers Lodge Saga - The aftermath
Kristen was dreaming. Dancing with Adam, then
peals of laughter that couldn’t stop. Then Adrian was yelling…something
about who had given her flowers? She tried to listen to him but
everything was in slow motion and her head throbbed. She opened her eyes
but a light somewhere intensified the pain. Groaning, shifting on what
definitely was not her bed, she pulled the blanket over her head.
“Easy, sweetheart.” It was Adam’s voice. She felt him sit beside her.
“Drink some water.” A cool bottle touched her lips and she drank
gratefully. She shouldn’t have drank so much last night.
Last night! Kristen’s brain swerved and wobbled. Not a dream, a memory.
She pushed the water away and struggled to sit up but everything was
spinning. She felt Adam’s strong arms around her, helping her up. She
leaned against him, trying to think straight.
“Did last night really happen?” She winced at her raspy voice.
“Fraid so.”
“But I didn’t drink that much.”
“You were fine as long as you kept dancing. Brendan’s refills snuck up
on you after the DJ shut down.” Adam pressed Advil into her palm. “These
should help.”
More memories stabbed through. Adrian choosing work over the dance, Adam
with a vase of lilies ready to escort her, Adrian storming into the
lounge. It played through Kristen’s sleep-fuzzed mind like a VHS tape on
jittery fast forward.
“Well,” Kristen swallowed the medication, “all it took was great
quantities of rum for me to be honest with Adrian. Was I honest with
you, too?”
Adam grinned and eased them back against the cushions. “I’m a bad
influence for making you think of yourself for a change.”
“Sounds about right,” Kristen quipped.
Adam hesitated, not sure he wanted to hear the answer to his next
question. It had felt so right to have Kristen as his date last night.
He didn’t want to consider that things could change. But he wasn’t so
naive that he thought last night signaled the end of Kristen and
Adrian’s relationship. “How do you feel about me this morning?”
Kristen glanced down at her clothes and then at her neatly folded dress
on the coffee table. “You take good care of me,” she teased. “Did you
change my clothes?”
“Nope. You managed that on your own with some coaxing.”. His voice
softened. “The dance was a lot of fun. I had a great time with you.”
Kristen knew what he was asking and, although she wanted to give him the
response he hoped for and deserved, she knew her head needed to be
clear. “I had a lot of fun with you, too,” she agreed softly. A memory
flickered across her mind. “It meant a lot to have you there when
Adrian…”
Adam hugged her to his side. “I meant it when I said we’d change things
together.” He bent to kiss her and felt a stab of hurt when she pulled
away, shaking her head.
“I need to brush my teeth,” she explained. Chuckling, Adam gathered her
into a hug
(c) Kristy Kassie, 2016
