Effortless by S.C. Stephens Page B

course. He was throwing kisses with his hands
in-between deep, dramatic bows. If Kellan hadn’t clapped him on the
back to make him stop it, I think he would have started in on an
Oscar-worthy speech once all the noise died down.
     
    Still shaking his head, Kellan said a polite thank you to the
crowd once it was quiet enough to hear him. Matt immediately darted
to their table, thankful to disappear. Laughing at the guitarist,
Evan walked over to Jenny, lifting her into a mammoth embrace.
Kellan shoved Griffin forward, but not before the bassist loudly
exclaimed, “My Johnson is gladly accepting all forms of praise…if
anyone wants to congratulate me privately.”
     
    I rolled my eyes and looked away as Kellan smacked him across
the back of the head. Seriously, my sister must have a screw loose
to date that man. If what they were doing could even be considered
dating.
     
    A few minutes after the guys were seated, Pete, the middle-aged,
weary owner of the bar came out to congratulate them. With a thin
smile on his lips, he shook hands with each band member. While Pete
looked far from unhappy, he didn’t seem thrilled either. Kellan had
told me once that Pete had no talent in finding bands to put on his
stage. It was the main reason the D-bags played here so much. Pete
and his business partner, Sal, had made a deal with Kellan and the
guys, not too long after the boys moved up here. The two men agreed
to let the boys have the exclusive rights to the stage every
weekend, if they wanted. It gave the boys a home base to play from,
and a safe spot to store their instruments. And for Pete and Sal,
it allowed them to stop searching for gigs that would bring in the
customers. It was a win-win; the band brought in a lot of
customers.
     
    With a slight frown on Pete’s brow as he shook Kellan’s hand, I
figured he was starting to believe that his act might outgrow
him…and then he’d have to start looking for talent again.
     
    Once Pete left the guys to their drinking, clapping Evan on the
back as he left, the bar subdued back to normalcy. Most of the
people started engaging in their own conversations, only a few
going up to congratulate the boys personally. Thankfully, none of
those few were women congratulating Griffin in the way that he
wanted.
     
    A few female fans did eye Kellan, but nothing more than the
I-want-you eyes I was used to him getting. None of them seemed
quite brave enough, or drunk enough, to approach his table, though,
and I was just fine with that.
     
    Throughout the course of the evening, the D-bags eventually left
their bar. Matt left by himself an hour or two after arriving, a
shy smile on his face as he said that he had plans with Rachel.
Griffin rolled his eyes as his cousin left, gesturing obscenely
with his hand in the air over his naughty parts. Thankfully, he
left about an hour later, some blonde bimbo on his arm. She gave
him sultry, seductive eyes as they left, and I was pretty sure
she’d give him the praise he’d wanted earlier. I shook my head and
ignored the sight of Griffin leaving with another woman. It
happened all the time. I’d asked Anna about it once, but she’d only
shrugged and said she didn’t care. He was free to do whatever he
wanted. Her too.
     
    Evan stayed until closing, escorting Jenny out when she was done
with her duties. Kellan stayed, too. Feet kicked up on a chair, he
watched me with a deliciously provocative smile while I wiped off
some tables nearby. And Rita watched him just as provocatively.
     
    Yep, everything was back to normal.
     
    Refusing to sleep in my bed again, Kellan drove us to his place
instead. A small, peaceful smile was on his lips as he pulled onto
his street. I wasn’t sure if that was because he was coming home
after a couple of days, or if he just enjoyed having me come home
with him. I supposed it was a little of both.
     
    His tiny, white two-story house was dark as he shut the car off.
When we’d all lived there, Kellan, Denny and