Coming into Focus

Home : Stories by Catw00man : RCR 2008 AU : Path of Thorns - Coming into Focus

Summary: Kevin’s pissed.

AUTHOR: Catw00man
EMAIL: catw00man@cryptoffic.com
RATING: R
SERIES/SETTING: Path of Thorns
CHARACTERS: Kevin Harvick, Kevin POV
PROMPT: Taming the Muse #77 (#52 for me) - Rocking the Boat
COMPLETED: January 12, 2008
WORDS: 1,275
DISCLAIMER: I own NOTHING and am affiliated with NO ONE mentioned here. Not the drivers, not the teams, no one. This is all fiction and fun. In other words...NOT REAL, NOT REAL, NOT REAL. ;-)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the Kevin figures it out fic. I have to say, I really love it when he’s piseed.
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Kernersville: New Years Day, 2008

Hear the phone ring and with only a glance at the caller id, I send it straight to voice mail and toss it on the coffee table.  I’m still in no mood to talk to him no matter how many times he calls my cell.  Grab the remote from its place on my stomach and flip between the college bowl games, trying to find one that will hold my interest.  But how can they?  It’s just one blow out after another, just like my stupid fucking bet.

Growl softly to myself and stretch out on the couch.  Stupid fucking Shifty, he wasn’t supposed to even take the damn bet much less win it.  I just made it up to give him a hard time and give me a reason to lay claim to the bastard interloper.  Stupid Earnhardt and his fucking smug attitude.  I still can’t believe that son of a bitch fucking winked at me.  I swear he’s so gonna pay for that.

Dammit Shifty why did you have to take me seriously?  I know the shit head must have told Earnhardt about our bet.  Why else would he have been looking at me so smugly?  He knew he got me by letting Clint win.  I still can’t believe he won!  God damn it I’ve been trying to get Bowyer to kiss me for over two years and in one night that spoiled, rock star, prick gets it all.  Wasn’t it bad enough he was coming to my team to take all the attention?  Now he has to go kissing on my best friend too?

Hear D moving around in the kitchen, what a shock, and roll towards the back of the couch.  I’m in no mood to catch annoyed and disappointed looks from her.  Apparently she had it in her head I’d promised her “an Earnhardt” for Christmas and she’s yet to get the fuck over it.  Just what I wanted, my wife on my ass for not bringing home another man.  Bitch.  Merry fucking Christmas to me.

It’s one thing for her to be willing to play.  It’s another thing entirely not to be enough for her on my own.  I don’t know what she had in mind for Junior but I swear to God I’m sorry as hell I ever mentioned the damn bet.  All I wanted was a way to show that damn prick his place, to show him he’s on my turf now.  But instead freakin’ Clint has to get to him first and cause it all to blow up in my face.  That is why I haven’t talked to him since the damn party.

Phone rings again and this time I just reach out to shut it off.  His calls are getting more frequent and I’m not sure why.  He’s still in Kansas with Athena and their families.  Why the hell is he worried about rubbing it all in my face now?  Shouldn’t he have better things to do than humiliating me?

Sigh and roll over on my back to stare up at the vaulted ceiling.  Cross my arms over my head and rest them on my forehead.  Why can’t I let this go?  Why is that night still fucking haunting me?  I just…feel like I’m missing something and I don’t know why.  I know what happened.  Clint cornered Junior, must have told him about the bet and stole a kiss…I just wonder if Earnhardt enjoyed it half as much as I know I would have.  If I’d had the chance I would’ve….

Shake my head and rub my eyes.  Can’t go there.  Can’t.  Not about Shifty even if he is a fucking traitor.  He’s my best friend, and that’s not going to change even if he does rub this all in my face.  Give me another week and I’ll get over it and call him back.  Scrub my hands over my eyes again and then slide them through my hair.  Why can’t I get that bastard’s smug redneck face out of my head?

I can still see him, coming back from the front of the shop with a cocky swagger to his walk and an arrogant smirk on his face.  The bastard actually stopped, looked around the room until he found me and winked.  Stupid jackass.  I swear the way he swaggered over to talk to RC you’d think he’d just gotten some.  The way he lounged against the bar, sipping his beer like he was basking in afterglow….

Hold on a sec.

I remember grabbing D’s hand to storm out as I glared daggers at him and Clint as he finally reentered the shop floor.  Didn’t something seem a little out of place?  He was…fidgety, smoothing his suit and fiddling with his left ear the way he always does when he’s rattled.  But what did he have to be nervous about?  It was just a mock kiss, right?  Frown as I try to think back and I remember the way he walked in…stiffly, almost awkwardly….

“That mother fucking, manipulative, cock sucking son of a BITCH!”

Sit up on the couch, back ramrod straight and eyes wide as it all falls into place.  Earnhardt’s blissed out look, cocky swagger and the way he couldn’t seem to help from “adjusting himself.”  Clint’s slow measured steps, slightly bowlegged stance and the urgent tone of his voice as he told me over and over on my voice mail how he really needed to talk to me.  He wasn’t trying to rub it in my face.  He was trying to tell me.  Earnhardt fucked him.  He fucked him!

“Kevin, what are you bitching about now?  Lose another bet?”

Look up to see her standing at the entrance of the living room, motioning to the game on TV, but I don’t have time to deal with her right now.  Snatch my phone from the coffee table and roll off the couch to my feet, making sure to spare her a glare as I pass by and head out of the room. 

Out the door and across my property because this isn’t a conversation to be over heard.  Make my way though D’s manicured dream lawn to the garage and my small shop, my only refuge here at home.  I have beer there and I’m gonna fucking need it because right now I want nothing more than to drive over to Junior’s “Dirty Acres” and tear him limb from limb.

How could this happen?  It was just supposed to be a fucking kiss!  That prick wasn’t supposed to take over everything.  Shifty is my friend.  RCR is my team.  Why the hell couldn’t he have gone somewhere else?  Fucking bastard. I swear, if he hurt him at all I’m gonna rip him a new one the likes of which he’s never seen!

Finally reach the door of the shop and head inside.  Make my way to the back room and grab a beer from the fridge by the door then drop down on the older more comfortable couch that D said was no longer fit for the house.  Fits here just fine, just like all the rest of my stuff D doesn’t want to “look” at.    Crack open my beer and down about half of it before pulling my cell from my pocket and dialing Clint’s number.  I hope he’s not too busy with family shit now.  Dammit why didn’t I figure it all out before?  Stupid Earnhardt.  He’s going to pay for this.  Take another long drink and then let out a soft sigh of relief when I finally hear Clint pick up on the other end.

“Shifty?  Yeah, it’s Kev.  Talk to me….”

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Catw00man - catw00man@cryptoffic.com