by Leigh Landry
But a few seconds later, the phone was face-up in his hand anyway.
Darren stared at Tyler from the next seat over. Just staring. Waiting. Not say anything.
“She has something for me,” Tyler whispered.
He’d had time to cool off after she asked him to leave, but he was still angry. Confused.
Hurt.
Especially after things had been going so well. He didn’t understand how they could have been so close, connecting in a way he’d never experienced with anyone before, only to have her shut down and ask him to leave.
Darren made a curious noise, then turned back to the movie screen. More shit blew up in front of them, as promised. When the room fell quiet again, he leaned and whispered, “You going back over there?”
“No.”
Tyler didn’t know what he was going to do, but he did know that if Lauren was manipulating him to get him over there, he wasn’t playing that game. He never would have thought she would do something like that, but maybe he was wrong. He’d been wrong about people before.
What he did know was that he wouldn’t guess what was going on with her. He couldn’t play games, and he couldn’t guess how to fix things for her. So if this was going to work, she would have to meet him halfway. She would have to be the one to show up at his doorstep this time, to tell him what was wrong or what she needed from him.
But that meant Tyler needed to take a step back and give her the chance to do that.
“You gonna blow her off?”
Tyler shushed his friend and said, “Shit’s blowing up again.”
Darren laughed, but he left Tyler alone to watch the last half hour of the movie.
* * * * *
When she texted Tyler, Lauren didn’t know how he’d respond. She couldn’t blame him if he ignored her or told her to leave him alone, but she had to try.
It wasn’t even about needing to share her good news of getting another shot with the band. Although that would be a bonus. Her parents would be home soon, Brandy’s room was mostly cleared out, she was going back to work tomorrow…everything was going back to normal. Or whatever this new normal was supposed to be.
And although she never would have guessed it before the weekend, she couldn’t imagine her new normal without Tyler in it somehow. Whatever that meant. If they only kept in touch as friends, or met up once a year to remember her sister, or whatever worked for him, she wanted Tyler in her life in some capacity.
Even though he had reminded her of her ex for that one moment, that was her stuff to work out. Not his. He had only been trying to help her, not change her.
All he did was believe in her, and she’d pushed him away.
Lauren pulled up to the movie theater and found Tyler’s car in the parking lot. She drove into an empty space, two spots over, and got out to wait on her trunk.
With her jacket wrapped tightly around her, Lauren watched people leave the building in staggered groups as different showings ended. Finally, after about half an hour, Tyler exited the building with a man she had never seen before. The two men waved to each other then separated in the parking lot. Tyler walked down the long aisle with a soda cup in his hand, and tilted his head when he found Lauren standing near his truck.
“You didn’t have to wait out here for me,” he said.
“I did.”
He narrowed his eyes in confusion. “You said you had something for me? Did you find something in Brandy’s stuff?”
Lauren shook her head. “This isn’t about Brandy. Not anymore.”
His face was tight. Reserved. She had done more damage than she’d anticipated.
“Then why are you here?” he asked.
“Someone told me I should fight for what I want.”
Tyler fought a hint of a smile. “Oh yeah? Sounds like a smart guy.”
“Yeah.” She smirked at him. “He’s pretty smart.”
He straightened his face again. “Then what is it you’re fighting for?”
“Right now?” She gestured at him with both hands. “You.”
He stared at her so long she was sure he was going to tell her to fuck off and leave.
When she couldn’t stand the silence anymore, she did the only thing she could. She filled it. She fought.
“I’m sorry I snapped at you. You didn’t deserve that.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “I just got out of a bad relationship about a month ago. Found out he was cheating with my roommate the same day I found out Brandy died.”
“Shit, Lauren, why didn’t you tell me?”
She shrugged. “I was embarrassed, I guess. And I didn’t realize it then, but I see now that it had been a bad situation for a long time. He was controlling, at the very least, and I’m having to learn to trust my own judgment again.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry. I should have said something sooner. I should have trusted you instead of second-guessing everything I already know about you.”
“You’ve been through a lot. It makes sense.”
Tyler moved forward, eliminating the space between them. He set his drink on the trunk of her car and wrapped his arms around her, warming her more than just against the chill.
“I’m very glad you decided to trust me with that information now,” he said.
Lauren smiled up at him. “Sorry it took me a while to realize there was a real thing to fight for.”
He shrugged. “We were both a little slow on that.”
They met each others’ lips in a kiss that made the whole parking lot fade away around them. Lauren squeezed his body to hers and smiled against his mouth.
“We should probably get out of here,” Tyler said.
“Mmm I wish I could, but I need to get back. My parents will be home soon, and I want to be there.”
He rubbed her back and raised a mischievous eyebrow. “Oh hey, did you fight for that other thing you wanted?”
“I did.” She gave him a satisfied little smile, then punctuated it with another tiny kiss. “But that story will have to wait. Tomorrow night? When do you go back offshore?”
“I have another week off, so I guess I can wait until tomorrow.” He kissed her again. “And the next day.” Another kiss. “And probably every day until I leave.”
Lauren laughed between kisses, but somehow managed to pull herself away from him. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
- Epilogue -
On Wednesday morning, Tyler woke with his legs tangled among sheets and Lauren’s long, gorgeous legs. He’d finally convinced her to spend the night. Darren had worked late and left early to take Nicki to a vet checkup then to visit some friends at the park, so they pretty much had the house to themselves.
Lauren still wasn’t ready to announce their relationship publicly yet, so they agreed to wait until he got back from his next shift offshore. No big deal. He could wait two weeks. He’d already waited a lot longer than that. Plus, he would need time to convince her to move in with him. Or to get a place together. Hopefully it wouldn’t take much convincing at all.
He smiled and kissed her forehead until she woke and kissed him back. “Don’t you have to be at work soon?”
She stretched and looked at her phone on the nightstand. “Yeah. I guess. But I’d rather stay here.” She draped herself on top of him and kissed his chest and neck and jawline until she reached his mouth and kissed him slowly. Hungrily.
“Wish you could. I’ve got big plans to keep you in this bed an entire day.”
“You’re gonna spoil me,” she laughed.
“Good. When do you have a day off?”
“Friday. But I have rehearsal Thursday night. Not sure how late that’ll go.”
He tucked her hair behind her ear and brushed his thumb along the side of her face. “I’ll keep the bed warm for you.”
She laughed and swatted at his arm, then kissed him before climbing out of bed, leaving him cold and alone. He watched her grab her backpack and dig through it in nothing bu
t her underwear. He wondered what the hell he’d done to get this lucky. Not just to have Lauren naked in his apartment, but to have her in his life.
“Shoot.” She knelt and started pulling out clothes and small zipper bags on the floor, unable to find whatever she was looking for.
Tyler got out of bed and knelt beside her, but before he could help, her set of keys next to the pile caught his eye. He picked them up, holding the two leather key fobs in his hand.
Lauren froze, staring at her fleur de lis and the Celtic knot that had belonged to Brandy. Finally, she said, “That was a good day.”
Tyler nodded. “More than you know.”
Lauren tilted her head at him, her mouth partly open, but words caught somewhere between thought and intention.
“What?” he asked.
She pressed her lips together, thought a moment, then said, “Are you sure there wasn’t anything between you two?”
The question surprised him, even though it shouldn’t have. He’d been asked it plenty of times over the years.
He shook his head. “No, never. We were just friends.” He put the keys down and took Lauren’s hands to kiss them while staring into her eyes. “And I really think she’d be happy. For both of us.”
Tears formed at the reddened edges of her eyes, as she nodded. “I think so, too.”
She wiped her face and went back to her task. A moment later, she yelled, “Aha!” She stood with a small bag and a wad of clothes. When she reached the doorway, she stopped and turned back to him. With a playful smile, she asked, “Want me to keep the shower warm for you?”
He stood and crossed the room, grabbing her in his arms and holding her and her armful of clothes tightly against him. “Let’s warm it up together.”
* * * * *
Lauren walked into work a little later still practically floating. She had somehow managed to tear herself away from Tyler, and they made plans for him to pick her up after work for dinner. Lauren’s face was going to hurt from smiling in anticipation through her whole shift.
Robin met her at the front of the store, a gigantic smile plastered on her face as well. “Big news, Sugar Bee.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Well, first things first.” She reached behind the register counter and pulled out a thick binder. “I found Camille’s book. I put the set list for the first gig in the front.”
“Great!” Lauren dropped her purse beside it and began flipping through the sheet protector pages.
“But that’s not the big news.”
Lauren stopped flipping and looked up at Robin. “Oh?”
“We got a gig. In April.”
“Well, that’s good.” Lauren wasn’t sure what else to say. She wasn’t even sure if she’d be around in April. None of them were sure what would happen once Camille got out of rehab in February.
“In April,” Robin repeated, a big smile stretched across her face.
“Okaaaaaaay?” Lauren was clearly missing something here.
Robin put her hands on her hips. “What is in April?”
“Easter? Crawfish Festival?”
“Close. Wrong festival.”
Lauren’s eyes stretched open wide. “Festival International?”
“The one and only.”
Festival International was a free annual outdoor festival in Lafayette that celebrated the music and art of francophone countries. The attendance the past year was something like 300,000 people. Lauren went every year, and she knew they tried to get a few local bands to play at some of the smaller stages every year.
“Wow!”
“Right? Courthouse stage on Saturday, too!”
That was one of the main stages. “That’s great for you guys!”
“Yup,” Robin said. “And for you.”
“I thought…but…Camille?” Lauren stammered. The idea of getting up in front of all those people terrified her. Even more terrifying was getting her hopes up that she’d be with these musicians for the next few months.
Robin’s smile faded. “Between you and me, I doubt she’s coming back. That girl had more problems than booze, and certainly more than thirty days is gonna fix.”
“Oh.”
Lauren was again unsure how to respond. She didn’t want to ask the obvious question, which was how Natalie would handle it.
Robin patted the binder and gave a wink. “You just worry about you, though, okay? You’ve got this.”
Lauren smiled back.
For the first time in a really long time, she truly believed that, too.
SIX STRING SASS
SIX STRING SASS by Leigh Landry
Published by Leigh Landry
Lafayette, LA, USA
© 2018 Leigh Landry
All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Edited by Mackenzie Walton
Cover Photography from Depositphotos.com
Chapter 1
Natalie propped her guitar on its stand and stepped over broken strings of plastic beads as she looked around the convention center ballroom. Her bandmates were gathered around a small table, enjoying their post-gig meal of free buffet leftovers before the staff packed everything up.
Well, most of her bandmates.
Natalie decided to make a path along the perimeter of the room instead of cutting through the dance floor. If she couldn’t have her best friend there, she could at least saunter past the delicious scruffy-blond sound guy Robin had hired for the night.
“Nice set,” he said when she slowed in front of his rig.
“Thanks. Not so bad yourself.” She ran her fingers through her long, dirty-blonde hair and flashed him a wink. Then she continued on her way, straightening her back as she walked, to give him a nice view of her best asset in her tightest jeans.
If there was one thing Nat knew how to do, it was how to leave her fans wanting more.
“Natalie Romero, don’t you dare.”
She narrowed her eyes at Robin, their accordion player and band founder, and sat in the empty folding chair beside their drummer, Kelsey. After Natalie picked a piece of fried catfish from Kelsey’s plate and stuffed it in her mouth, she muffled, “What did I do this time?”
“Nothing yet.” Robin narrowed her eyes right back. “Don’t you mess this up. He’s good. And cheap. And we need him again for the Mardi Gras fair next Friday.”
Natalie rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll fuck him after Friday. Happy?”
“Ecstatic.” Robin ate a forkful of crawfish fettuccine.
After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Kelsey cleared her throat. “Nice job tonight, Lauren.”
“Thanks.” Lauren’s voice crackled with hesitance.
Natalie had to admit it took guts for that girl to come back and claim the rest of her audition like she’d done, but the world was gonna roll over that one. If it hadn’t already.
The new fiddle player had held her own during the performance, despite all the shit Natalie had given her over the past few weeks. Natalie was still the only one who refused to call the girl by her name. She was no more than a stray cat, as far as Natalie was concerned, and you sure as hell shouldn’t name those if you don’t want them sticking around.
Natalie grunted softly and immediately felt Kelsey’s foot on top of hers. A dangerous move for anyone else, but with Camille gone, Natalie had to admit Kelsey was the only thing she had left that came even close to counting as a friendship.
“So when are we gonna meet this new guy of yours?” Kelsey asked. “What’s his name again?”
“Tyler.” Lauren blushed. “At some point, I’m
sure.”
“He’s welcome to come to rehearsals any time,” Robin chimed in between bites.
Natalie was really glad she hadn’t grabbed a plate of food, even though she hadn’t eaten a thing since lunch and it was damn near midnight by now. But with all this talk about Lauren and rehearsals with no mention at all of Camille coming back any day now, Natalie had lost her appetite.
Not that Kelsey was wrong. The girl had done a decent job on fiddle, especially considering it was only her second gig playing with them. But Camille would be out of rehab in a few days, and she was going to expect her spot back.
Natalie had known Camille for almost ten years. Camille was coming back. So someone needed to tell their new fiddle player not to get comfortable.
“Speaking of guys,” Natalie said. “Where’s Eric?”
Kelsey looked down at her plate. Robin frowned.
Fuck.
The new girl caught Natalie’s eye and gestured with her head to the other side of the room. When Natalie turned around, she saw tall, dark, and dickheaded Eric propped against a wall, smooth-talking a brunette in a short, purple cocktail dress.
“Leave it to Eric to find a straight girl in the middle of a gay krewe’s ball.” Natalie tilted her head at the girl with Eric. “Unless she’s not straight. She is cute…”
“She’s the sister of one of the captains.” Kelsey’s voice was small and strained, not a hint of her usual lightness. Natalie wanted to drag that clueless jerk back to their table and shake some sense into him.
“Eh. He’ll forget about her by tomorrow,” she said.
Kelsey shook her head and dropped her plastic fork on her abandoned plate, then pushed it away from her. “They dated in high school. For two years.”
Damn it.
Natalie looked away from Kelsey and twisted around for another look at Eric and the other girl. Her hand was already in his.