Behind Blue Eyes

Chapter 8

Debbie stood in-line for a taxi outside LAX's Terminal 2. She was overly hot and grimy from her flight from Montreal that had been sufficiently delayed to prevent her time to go back to her condo in Santa Monica for a shower and change of clothes before she was due in Glendale for her twin nephews' tenth birthday. Dylan and Dermott had had the usual birthday party with their friends a few days before, but this was the official gathering of the entire Malone and Dornan clans to celebrate the first of the next generation, and her attendance was mandatory. Everyone had rearranged their work schedules and feeling tired and gross were not acceptable excuses to be a no-show. Only Luke had a legitimate reason; no one expected him to cancel a tour date in New York that had been sold-out within hours of the tickets coming on sale almost a year previously.

After the usual round of welcomes, and apologizing to the twins for not having their gifts with her, she excused herself and headed down to the guest room in the basement for a quick shower and change of clothes. She was still drying her hair and wearing just a towel when Katie, her elder sister, and Laura, her sister-in-law, walked in.

"We stole these from the kitchen," Katie said, holding up two bottles of Chardonnay. "I don't think anyone will miss them."

"We thought we could chill out down here for a while away from all the testosterone upstairs," Laura added, setting glasses down on the dresser so Katie could fill them. "How was the trip?"

"Just the usual," Debbie said, accepting a glass from Katie. "I really don't know how the boys do it: sleeping all day and then working and partying when normal people should be asleep."

"So you did get some sleep then?" Laura asked.

"Huh?"

"What's his name? You've met someone. Don't deny it. I can tell."

Debbie laughed. "When one least expects it, I did."

"What's his name?"

"Matt. Luke met him on his flight from Vancouver to Montreal and invited him to the concert. I had to babysit him."

"And?" Laura asked, topping up their glasses.

Debbie unlocked her phone and pulled up her camera roll to show to them. "He didn't know I was taking these."

"Holy fuck. Single?"

"Apparently so. And British. Even without his eyes, his accent alone..."

"And?"

"And nothing. I watched the concert with him and then he went out for dinner with the band."

"With the band?"

"Yes. Luke invited him."

"Since when does Luke invite fans to a post-concert dinner?"

"Technically he's not a fan. He just got caught up in a crazy few days—at least for him. But there's something about him that makes you want to spend time with him. I, I mean he seemed disappointed I wasn't going and..."

"Do you have his number?"

"No. All I have is his name and that he works for some biotech company in Vancouver."

Laura laughed. "Ever heard of LinkedIn? I'm sure we can find him but you don't want to, do you?"

"Even if he's interested, I don't do long distance relationships."

"You don't actually do any relationships, sis," Katie said. "When was the last time you had a romantic dinner?"

"I'm on a diet."

"Just don't become anorexic," Katie said. "The twins are already a handful, and I'm not sure I could handle an intervention."

Debbie laughed. "It was unexpected but still unworkable. I'll be fine. Now let me finish up. Did I smell lamb when I came in?"

"So what's up?" Mark asked pulling a bottle of Old Speckled Hen from the small fridge on Matt's balcony. "Not that I have any objections to pre-loading with the free stuff, but you said it was important."

"I have a confession to make before Jenna arrives." They had a strict schedule as to who the designated driver was, and it was Jenna's turn. "I went to the Blue Fusion concert last night."

"Ahh. I can see why you didn't want to mention it in front of Jenna. She's been driving me crazy while you've been gone about not having tickets."

"It's worse than that."

"Worse? Other than you joining the band I'm not sure how... "

"I had dinner with the band after the show."

"Okay that is worse," Mark agreed. "Jenna's our designated driver this evening, and I'm not sure how keen she'll be on fulfilling her assigned duty this evening when she finds out you're an official Blue Fusion groupie."

"She's likely to find out sooner than later, because we had dinner at the The Terv."

"Fuck, Matt. Way to screw up our evening."

Later that evening, Jenna looked at Matt with one of her stock judgemental expressions that he'd hoped to have left behind him when they'd split up. He couldn't help but notice her white-knuckled grip on her fork. But she didn't stab him in the throat. The look on Mark's face suggested he was equally surprised at the fact Matt was still breathing. Jenna proceeded to conduct a debriefing session until they were ready to order dessert, at which point Matt was all done with apologizing for his perceived failures, and comfortable with their decision to have called it quits.

He was also done with apologizing for the female attention he'd been receiving all night. It wasn't anything new, but it was a little more intense than usual courtesy of Cameron pointing him out as Luke Dornan's buddy. It had been a while since he and Mark had had just a boys' night out, and he wasn't too sure why that was. Mark was usually very keen to go on-the-hunt, yet lately had been less enthusiastic. But largely, his lack of action was his own doing. He wasn't in a hurry for another longterm relationship and one-nighters had never been his thing. Mark liked to tell him he was wasting his youth with no comprehension as to what a wasted youth really was. But Matt knew. He'd lived it. And infrequent sex was a cross he could bear. He'd lived with heavier burdens on his shoulders.

Karaoke started, and conversation became impossible. The regulars glanced in his direction, knowing he'd be up on one of the world's arguably smallest stages—or was it an orange crate?—at some point in the evening. He'd already decided on Simple Minds' Don't You Forget About Me. He knew it pissed-off Jenna and though they were now only friends, it annoyed him that he still sought her approval, and the readiness with which she withheld it.