Dusty settled at the bar. The bartender recognized him. “Same draft?”
“Sounds good. Thanks.”
The beer was placed in front of him with a coaster. “Sorry again about having to card you.”
“No worries. It’s your job. Gotta be hard in a college town to be guessing people’s ages.”
“You got that right. You ordering food?”
“Not tonight. Thanks.” The bartender hurried away to help someone else and Dusty scanned the bar. He couldn’t ask about Ronald. He’d have no reason to be asking for him. The bartender’s nametag read Benji. He doubted that was made up. No one would fake that name in a place like this. Dusty jumped at the sound of plates hitting the floor. Benji hollered to the back, “Hey, Ronald! Clean up in aisle three,” as a crowd of tipsy customers applauded the accident.
“Be right there, goddammit.”
Dusty took a sip of his beer and waited to see who would come out from the back.
Within a few minutes, a man who appeared to be in his very late twenties or early thirties brought out a mop bucket and a small trash can. He picked up the broken stoneware plates with the help of the young busboy who’d dropped them. “Way to go, dipshit.”
“I slipped. Sue me.”
Ronald handed him the trashcan. “Take this to the back. I’ll get it mopped up. Bring back a wet floor sign.”
“Yes, sir,” the bus boy said in a mock salute to Ronald. So far, Dusty was not impressed.
Watching Ronald over the next couple of hours, Dusty figured he was the glorified gofer of the place. Through the night, he stocked the bar with supplies and glasses, brought up food orders, helped seat people and bussed tables. No wonder he didn’t want Courtney visiting him here. He’d probably told her he was the head bartender or something.
Just before closing, a woman walked through the door and went straight over to him. He quickly held his hand up and said, “Out back,” before she could say anything.
Dusty reassured the bartender that he wasn’t skating out on his tab and that he would be right back in. He hurried out to the back alley, hoping to catch the story. He hid behind a wooden slatted fence surrounding a dumpster. He couldn’t hear any talking, but he did hear moaning. Dusty dared to peek around the wall and saw Ronald with the woman high up on his thighs. She was pressed into the wall and they were kissing like crazy, both equally “handsy.” Hurrying back behind cover, Dusty waited it out.
“I told you a hundred times that you can’t show up at my bar, Deb.”
“But I needed some lovin’,” she said with a whiny tone. “You own the place. Why can’t I visit?”
Oh boy. This guy was a winner. How many girls was he stringing along?
“It doesn’t set a good example. If I allow it, everyone will start doing it.”
“I guess it makes sense.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow, sugar buns.”
Sugar Buns? Even Dusty never resorted to that one. He heard what sounded like a smack on her ass. Dusty leaned tight to the wall, hoping to remain out of sight. She and Ronald passed by without spotting him. Dusty went back in, finished his beer, and paid his tab.
The bartender was talking hockey with Dusty when the phone rang. “Hang on a second, buddy. I have to get the phones after nine.” After putting the call on hold he called out to Ronald. “Dude. It’s your wife. I keep telling you she can’t call here unless it’s an emergency. Get a frickin’ cell phone already like the rest of the planet.”
Ronald walked behind the bar and took the call. “Gina. You’re going to get my ass fired. What the hell do you want now?”
Gina? Who the hell is Deb? Duh. A wife would know he didn’t own the place, dumbass.
The bartender walked back over to Dusty and waved him in closer so he could whisper. “That guy isn’t that much to look at and I know he ain’t got money, but he must be hung like a goddamn walrus.”
“Why is that?” Dusty decided it was best to play stupid.
“He gets more pussy in a month than I see in a year.”
“No shit?”
“No shit. I wouldn’t give a crap except his wife seems like a real sweetheart. He has a little girl, too.”
Now Dusty was seeing red. “Makes me want to beat the shit out of him as a matter of principle.”
“Well, get in line. He missed work for a few days last month messing with the wrong dude’s wife.”
“Good.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Benji knocked on the bar. “Duty calls, my friend. Have a good night.”
“You, too. Thanks.” Dusty left him an extra five again for the helpful information. There was nothing to do about Ronald tonight. He’d found him, that was a good enough start. Dusty had his share of beers and wasn’t going to start a fight with a guy who had a few pounds and inches on him. He didn’t need the added bonus of Ronald being the sober one as well. Besides, beating him up wasn’t going to solve anything. Dusty needed to find a way to get him to scratch Courtney off his ‘people to do’ list.
Driving wasn’t the smartest choice, but it was side roads for the quick jaunt home. Dusty wasn’t going to call a cab after having only a few beers. Again his thoughts went to how he and Katie left things. Already he was thinking about cracking another beer at home, but first he needed to make one stop. Good thing there was a specialty store that had a little bit of everything and was open late on weekends, right across the street.
An hour after Dusty arrived home, there was a knock at his door. He pulled back the door quickly, as if he was bothered by the intrusion. “I’m sorry if I’m disturbing you,” Katie said.
“No. Not at all, babe. You’re never a disturbance. I just wasn’t expecting anyone. Least of all you, to be honest.”
“I felt bad about how we left things.”
“Please come in.” He took her hand and walked her through the door then took her coat. “How did you get here?”
“I sent Court a text. I have her car. She’s still out with Dean.”
“I’m glad they are hitting it off…even if you are having second thoughts about me.”
“Dusty—”
He cut her off. “Can I get you anything?”
“No. I’m fine. It’s late. Can we sit?”
“Of course.” They sat on the couch, facing each other. Dusty picked up the half-full bottle of beer from the coffee table, then reconsidered and put it back. He’d probably had more than enough already. “You have something you need to get off your chest?”
“Sort of. I don’t think you understand how much I really liked you.”
The past tense wasn’t missed on him. “Liked?”
“Like, Dusty. I like you a lot. We just need to slow down. I really didn’t plan on dating someone, but we really clicked. You have to understand how hard it is for me to try to push you away and get this going at a more reasonable pace.”
“Then don’t.”
“I have to. My studies are going to start hurting. All I want is to spend time with you. You keep talking about things like moving in together and buying vehicles, but it’s too soon.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“Maybe not for you, but for me it is.”
“No. I mean for both of us it isn’t.”
“Dusty—”
“Just let me finish. I’m the right amount of drunk to finally tell you this. I can’t stand another minute of you trying to break up with me again.”
“What do you mean again?”
He knelt down in front of her. “Please let me say this. You are going to think I’m crazy, but let me finish.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“I first met you in St. Paul in an Irish Pub.”
“I’ve never been to a pub in St. Paul.”
“You were twenty-nine.”
“I’m only twenty-five now.”
“I know. I was twenty-five then.”
“What in the hell are you talking about? You’re not making any sense at all.”
“You were there for a baby shower and got pretty trashed.”
“I was trashed at a baby shower?”
“It was the after-shower party. You and a few single girls went out afterward. I finally got brave enough to approach you. We kind of hit it off and we went back to your place.”
“So, I’m still a slut when I’m twenty-nine?”
“You weren’t a slut. I was the smooth talker back then that I am now or vice-versa. However this messed-up shit works. Wait, I don’t mean that. I love every minute that I remember with you. You have more memories than I do, though. You don’t only stick to our past. You meet me in a different future and I win you over in that timeline, too.”
Still looking confused, she crossed her arms. “Okay. I’ll play. So what does this older you and me do?”
“You have a successful vet practice and I work at a newspaper doing a few columns.”
“So why do I time travel? We seem to be doing what we said we wanted to do.”
“You tried to dump me on your thirtieth birthday. You thought I was too young for you, just like you thought tonight.”
“This is one hell of a tactic you are trying to pull over one comment I made. Now you’re talking crazy.” She tried to stand but he held her back. “You said you’d let me finish.” She relaxed again to keep true to her word.
“You time traveled, Katie. Fate, or whatever it was, sent you back to me. We met again at the ages we are now and I won you over. We’re married and we have a wonderful family.”
She looked deep into his eyes. For a minute, he thought she believed him, at least until she spoke.
“You’re drunker than you look and you’re an idiot for thinking I’d buy this. For God’s sake, Dusty. I only asked to slow down a little. I never said I wanted to break up, but now you’re talking crazy.” She crawled over the back of the couch to escape. He rushed over and took her by the arms again.
“You’re the love of my life, Katie. I know everything about you. I love how you blow on your coffee before you drink it. I love the little moans that escape your throat when we kiss. How you squeal just right when I ‘jumper cable’ you like this.” He touched her sides in a way he usually did when he snuck up behind her. He had dubbed it ‘jumper cabling’ her because of the way she reacted. She jumped and squealed then covered her mouth with her hand. “I know every spot on your body that makes you gasp for breath when I touch you just right. I know you had a belly ring when you were eighteen and your mother made you take it out. Your parents call you on your birthday every year at the time you were born, and they are always each on a phone extension. Tom Petty is on your ipod and “Breakdown” is one of your favorite songs. You lost your virginity when you were nineteen, and it kills me that it wasn’t me that took it. It was another year before you had sex again and that was only because you thought the guy looked like Hugh Jackman. Lucky for me the guy was a dick and it didn’t last long, but I wish you would get rid of the ID bracelet from him that you keep hidden in the false bottom of your jewelry box.” He stopped talking when she stood there with her mouth wide open. Her eyes fluttered. “Please sit back down before I lose you.” He took her by the arm and sat her back down on the couch. She was still speechless.
“How do you know those things?”
“I told you. We’re together now. We have been for a long time. There isn’t a thing we don’t know about each other or a secret we keep. I meant it when I said you were my destiny that night in the bar. My world would have ended if you were successful in breaking up with me. Something brought you back and put us together earlier. I couldn’t be more grateful for whatever or whoever is responsible.”
“So, I time travel?”
“Yes.”
“Am I time traveling now?”
“No. I am this time. You actually came back the other night, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“After you hit your head on the ice. The ‘you’ that came to was my you.”
“Your me?”
“The you from…actually, it was a you from before. You slipped on the ice in our past but when you came to, it was you that was traveling back. Somehow I got that you.” Her look told him she was as confused as hell.
“I’m sorry. I know I’ve had a few too many beers, but there isn’t a better way to explain it. It seems our lives are twisted together like a pretzel and we are destined to be together at every section, no matter what. I don’t know why I got so upset tonight. I should have known everything would be okay. It always is.”
“So if we’re together, why are you back again? Why risk not getting me to fall for you? Did something happen?”
“We’re fine. It’s someone else.”
“Who?”
“I don’t want to upset you. This is already too much to sink in for one night. I’m sorry. I was really trying to get through this without having to tell you. After I left you tonight, I found what I was looking for. I’m sure I can find a way to fix things.”
“Fix what? Tell me, Dusty.”
“Babe, please.” He held her hands. “Can we just leave it at this for now?” He pulled her to his chest and held her tight. She was putty in his arms, no doubt still letting things sink in. “I really do love you more than life. I’m sorry I’ve put you on a rollercoaster these past couple of days. I really don’t know what I’m doing. I always get crazy around you. I can’t believe I ever found the courage to speak to you that first night.”
Katie released the hug and looked up at him. “What did you do?”
He grinned. “I waited for you outside of the girl’s bathroom and pretended to not see you and bumped into you.”
“Smooth.”
“I was, wasn’t I? Anyway, I apologized and introduced myself. You went straight to turning my name into Dusty. You put your hand on my cheek and said, “You’re cute and all, but you’re a little young to be in here, aren’t you?”
“Did I really?”
“Those exact words. I walked you back to your friends, but they made me pull up a chair. You were getting razzed a lot for not dating much. They made up excuses and left so we could be alone.”
“Then we went to my place?”
“Yup. Your friends picked you up, so I drove you home. I really didn’t want to blow it and push for sex, but one last drink turned into…you know.” Again he moved his eyebrows up and down. “You were kind of an animal.”
Katie blushed and he chuckled. He brought his hand to her cheek.
“Don’t be embarrassed. Being shy about sex is never who we were. We clicked from the get-go. You asked me to stay the night and I was more than happy to. We spent Sunday between the bedroom, the shower, and occasional food breaks. The rest is history. Of course I have to go by what you told me. My memories of you are from our days now. After you were sent back, you stayed and the clock re-set.”
“So, why did I try to dump you when I turned thirty?”
“You thought I wouldn’t be ready for kids. You couldn’t have been more wrong. Birthdays are not your favorite time and you were handing me out an extra dose of cranky.”
“Did I take you back after I time traveled and discovered differently?”
“Yes, but I thought I had won you over with the key chains.”
“Key chains?”
Dusty pulled one out of his pocket. It was almost identical in style to the one that he had made her before. It read Dusty Loves Katie. “They only had the one so I made this for me. I really thought I screwed up tonight. It’s all I could do to keep a hold of our present.”
Katie kissed him. Gently at first, but then she needed more. They leaned back on the couch together and shared a long kiss of tongues, ravenous for more with each touch. Katie’s hands went to the elastic of Dusty’s boxers, but he stopped her and held her hands in place.
“I don’t want this, babe. Knowing I have you again is all I want. I didn’t spill my guts out so we would have sex.”
“Since when is this about you?” She playfully bit at his bottom lip then removed her shirt.
Dusty cuddled into Katie’s back the next morning. Although he had played it tough, he was more than happy she’d stayed over. He would have been happy to have just “slept” together, but this was Katie. He knew better. She suddenly bolted up and shouted, “Courtney!”
“Babe? What is it?”
She turned to him with a look of pure fear. “It’s Courtney, isn’t it? She’s why you came back this time. You said something the first time we met.”
He let out a heavy breath. “Yes. I’ll have it taken care of, though. I promise. We can’t tell her about this. There’s no way she’d believe us. We have no idea what it’ll do to her. She could end up pissed off at you for making up such a crazy story and never speak to you again or something.”
“She’d never do that. I have to help. What is it you’re trying to do?”
“I promise I have it taken care of. If I didn’t, I’d be begging you for your help now. I finally pieced things together.”
“Is this why you set her up with Dean? You trying to keep her from someone?”
“Damn your female intuition. I never do get away with anything our whole lives.” He gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.
“Is it Ronald?” His head dropped. “I knew it. What happens? Does he beat her up or something? That asshole.”
Dusty jumped out of bed and whipped the covers off. “Go to school, Columbo.”
“I don’t want to go to school. I want to help you.”
“You can help me by doing what you’re supposed to be doing. Get to class before you get an A minus, cupcake.”
“Dusty…this isn’t fair. I want—” Her protests were interrupted by her phone.
Dusty picked it up and read the text. “Courtney is looking for her car.”
“Shit. Tell her I’ll be right there. We’re not done, though.”