“Don’t what?” I asked.
“Don’t bring this shit up,” he told me. “Not everyone gets a happy ending. Just because you think you’re going to find one with Ginger Ann, doesn’t mean I even deserve one.”
“What the fuck is that about?” I asked.
Austin blew out a frustrated breath. “Nothing. I know what this is about. You’re falling for this girl, and now you think I need to find love, too. You’re one of those assholes who thinks all his single friends need to find someone because he did. Fuck that shit. I’m happy single.”
I wanted to push. There was something bothering Austin—something big. I decided to let it go. Austin would talk when he was ready. “If you ever want to tell me what happened, I’m here,” I told him. “Don’t give me some bullshit line about how it’s nothing. I won’t push, but I also won’t pretend something isn’t bothering you. We’re friends. No, we’re more than friends. Our band is family.”
“I know, man,” he replied. “Can we continue to get shit-faced drunk and forget women for one night?”
“Sounds good to me,” I told him. Bentley had been distant in her texts the last few days, and I’d spent way too much time obsessing over what that meant. A night without thinking about her was just what I needed. I seriously doubted that would happen, but it was worth a try.
“Give me your phone,” Austin said with an outstretched hand.
At my raised eyebrow, he continued, “Friends don’t let friends drunk text women they like.”
I chuckled and handed over my phone.
Chapter 29
Bentley
This was my last day in Boston. What was supposed to be a half day had turned into a twelve-hour day. James was flying back that night, but my flight didn’t leave until the next day. When I’d scheduled my flight, it had been with the hopes of spending an afternoon exploring Boston. That wasn’t meant to be.
I was lying in bed, having kicked off my shoes and collapsed as soon as I entered the room. The sandwich I’d grabbed at the deli was still in the bag, sitting beside me on the bed.
When my phone buzzed, and I saw Cami’s name on the screen, I grinned. We hadn’t talked in days. This was one of those weeks where our schedules weren’t aligned. She’d been taking on extra patients in the evening since her partner was dealing with a family emergency. As for me, I’d been working long days without a break. I needed a new job.
“Hey, girlie,” I said by way of greeting.
“Please tell me you had a better day than I did,” she began.
“What’s going on?” I asked, sitting up in bed. Cami sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
“Just patient stuff,” she replied, meaning it was confidential and she couldn’t talk. “I wish you were here.”
“I wish I was there, too,” I told her and then it came to me. “Let’s do it.”
“No,” Cami replied with a laugh. “That isn’t the answer.”
“Of course, it’s the answer,” I argued. “You need to hang out with me. We’ll grab drinks. It will be amazing.”
“It will be embarrassing, just like the last time we tried this,” Cami insisted.
Her protests only made me want to do it more. Skype girls’ night out had been Cami’s idea. She’d come up with it the last time we’d both needed a night out while I was on a business trip. “I’m surprised you aren’t jumping at this opportunity. Weren’t you the one who complained I’m not wild and crazy anymore?”
“I don’t want to see you at this level of crazy again,” she argued. “Having you carry your tablet around and pick up guys for me was beyond embarrassing.”
“I’m not the one who agreed to dance for them,” I pointed out.
“You are such a bad influence when you let go,” she muttered. Despite her complaints, I knew she’d had fun that night.
“I’m putting my shoes on,” I announced.
“No,” Cami replied firmly.
“I’m grabbing my laptop,” I told her, already feeling energized.
“Fine, you crazy bitch,” she relented with a sigh. “I’ll call you when I’m ready.”
“That’s my girl,” I praised.
“You are insane,” she accused before ending the call.
This was exactly what I needed to take my mind off Gage.
Chapter 30
Bentley
I was getting impatient by the time Cami finally made it to the bar, even knowing she had much farther to travel than I did. I’d taken the easy way out and gone to the hotel bar. It beat trying to find a place and then worrying about getting back to the hotel if I got a little tipsy.
With my laptop on the table, Cami’s face came into view. The last time, I’d done this with my tablet. It had been easier to carry the tablet around, but I’d knocked it on the floor too many times trying to prop it up. The downside of using my laptop was that I was less likely to embarrass Cami. I still wasn’t certain why I let go more when I was having a virtual girls’ night out with my friend, but it seemed to bring out my wild side.
“I was beginning to wonder if you were going to stand me up,” I told her.
“It was tempting,” she replied, even though I was certain she’d never stand me up.
I flagged down my waitress. “Can I get a drink for my friend?” I asked gesturing to my laptop screen.
My waitress was definitely getting a good tip tonight. She didn’t look at me like I’d lost my mind. Instead, she moved in behind me so her face was visible to Cami. “What can I get you?”
“Scotch,” Cami replied. “Neat.”
“She’ll have a strawberry daiquiri,” I told the waitress.
“Are you sure?” our waitress asked. “We have a great selection of scotch.”
“She’s just being bitchy since I have to drink it,” I explained.
My waitress laughed. “We have a regular whose wife does that to him all the time,” she told us.
“So, I’m not even your first Skype customer?” Cami sounded disappointed.
“Nope,” the waitress replied. “This guy travels a lot, and he misses his wife. They pretend they’re on real dates wherever he goes. I’ll be right back with that drink.”
“That is so romantic,” I said on a sigh.
“You should have one of those with Gage,” Cami suggested.
“I am not dating Gage,” I reminded her.
“Are you planning to see him tomorrow?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied before quickly adding, “I shouldn’t. It’s a mistake. A huge mistake.”
“Is it as huge as his-?”
I cut her off before she could finish that thought. “Don’t even think about it.”
Cami batted her eyes innocently. “I was going to ask if it’s as huge as his career is going to be.”
“Sure you were,” I replied with a laugh. “We are not talking about Gage tonight.”
“Come on, Bennie,” she crooned, making guppy lips at me. For some reason, my friend always had the strangest facial expressions on Skype. “I’m in a dry spell. We have to talk about your sex life.”
“Sex life?” I asked. “I’ve gone longer without sex than you have.”
“Betcha that changes as soon as you see your man tomorrow,” she told me.
“First, he isn’t my man,” I reminded her. “Second, there will be no sex tomorrow.” It’s sad when you want to argue with yourself. It was time to change the subject. “What happened with the paramedic you just started dating? I figured you’d be inviting him for naked sleepovers by now.”
“I met his mother,” Cami replied.
“And?” I pushed, watching as Cami dipped a chip in a bowl of salsa over and over again. There wouldn’t be any chip left by the time she pulled it out of the bowl.
“Do you remember me telling you how much Charles liked my new haircut?” she asked. Cami had recently cut her long blonde hair into a cute bob that went just past her ears. I’d never seen it that short.
; “I also remember he suggested you cut it short,” I began. “Don’t tell me his mom has the same cut.”
“It is so much worse than that,” she muttered, dipping her chip with even more vigor. “Same cut, same color, same build as me! The dress he bought me is exactly like the one she wore when we met for lunch.”
My laughter poured out as I listened to her tirade. “Who could have seen that coming?” I asked around my giggles.
“This isn’t the time to say I told you so,” she insisted.
“This is the perfect time,” I argued. I’d only met Charles once, but that had been enough to pick up on his unhealthy obsession with finding a woman like his mother. He’d told me no less than a dozen times how much Cami reminded him of his mother. “You were learning to make his favorite childhood recipe after your first date.”
“Ugh!” She was looking at the tiny corner of her chip that had survived the assault. “Why do I always do this with men?”
“Do you want the truth?” I asked.
“No,” she replied automatically. “I most certainly do not want to listen to you psychoanalyze me. Just because you took a psychology class in college does not mean you have the training to act as my therapist.”
“I have a master’s degree in psychology,” I pointed out. “Besides, I don’t need a degree to know what’s going on with you. You hate confrontation.”
“Lies!” she insisted, waving a new chip at me. “I argue with you all the time.”
“That doesn’t count because you know I won’t leave you,” I reminded her.
“True,” she agreed. “You’d be completely lost without me.”
“As much as I’d like to argue that point, you’re right,” I agreed. “You’ve never gotten over your parents’ divorce. It messed with your mind. Now, you believe you need to be perfect in any relationship, and you are.”
“I truly am every guy’s dream girl,” she said with a sigh.
I couldn’t argue with that. She had more exes trying to win her back than anyone I’d ever met. They were all lost without her.
“But you aren’t being yourself,” I reminded her.
“We are both going to die old spinster women,” she lamented.
Our waitress set the drink down quietly and left—I was definitely tipping her well.
“I could still find Mr. Right,” I argued.
“You’ve already found him,” Cami began. “You like Gage.”
“He’s a good friend,” I agreed.
Cami snorted. “Whatever. Promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“When we’re both old spinsters, promise me we’ll marry each other,” she began in a serious tone.
“You aren’t my type,” I insisted.
“I’m everyone’s type,” Cami boasted. “I’m the perfect girlfriend.”
I pretended to consider her suggestion. “You do make fantastic cheesecake.”
“Thanks to my time with Derek,” she stated.
“And you know how to change the oil in my car,” I continued.
“I can do more than that,” she boasted. “Jeremy loved a woman who could do auto repairs.”
“I’m still amazed at how well you sew,” I continued.
“Dear lord,” she muttered. “I really have a problem. Can we get back to talking about Gage?”
“I’ll make you a deal,” I began before taking a sip of her daiquiri. “Wow! This is fantastic.”
“As good as the ones at Sancho’s?” she asked, holding up her own drink.
“Better,” I replied.
“Now, I wish I’d gone to Boston with you,” she told me.
“It was a business trip,” I reminded her. “James didn’t offer to let me take a friend.”
“But we’re practically engaged,” she insisted. “So, what’s this deal?”
“I won’t talk about your exes if you don’t talk about Gage,” I replied.
“Fine,” she relented. “Let’s see if we can get drunk enough to have phone sex with each other tonight.”
“Not going to happen,” I insisted.
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” she teased.
By the time Cami got into her UBER that evening, she was in a much better mood. As for me, not talking about Gage hadn’t helped nearly as much as I’d hoped. I climbed into bed, wondering if it would be best to skip his show. Even with my brother going with me, it was going to be hard to keep things light and casual with Gage.
I definitely shouldn’t go to his show. It was time to end things with Gage. Grabbing my phone, I started to type out a message telling him I couldn’t make it. The message was long and went on to tell him how we should stop talking. Had I hit send, it would have likely spanned twenty or more messages. In the end, I deleted it.
“What am I going to do?” I asked the empty room.
It had been months since I’d seen him, but I was falling for Gage Addison.
“I’m so screwed,” I muttered.
Chapter 31
Gage
“That was our best show yet!” Xander crowed as we made our way into the dressing room.
“For once, I agree with Xan,” Harley said as she walked in behind Austin.
Austin said nothing as he mopped his brow with the shirt he’d taken off halfway through our set. He collapsed onto the sofa with a sigh. He always crashed hard from the adrenaline rush as soon as we left the stage, but he got a second burst of energy soon after that.
As for me, I immediately grabbed my phone to see if Bentley had replied to my text. There hadn’t been time to see if she’d picked up the tickets I’d left for her. I hadn’t seen her in the crowd, no surprise with the lighting and the two pits near the front. Still, I’d looked in the direction of the seats reserved for her.
“She didn’t come?” Austin asked as he regarded me from the sofa.
I shrugged, looking down at my silent phone, trying not to be too disappointed. She would have texted me to let me know she was coming. Her lack of response spoke volumes. I pushed my disappointment to the back of my mind. There was no reason to assume she’d intentionally stood me up. “She must not have made it back from Boston in time.” I told him, hoping I was right.
“Maybe you should try a different approach with this girl,” Harley suggested after swigging down a bottle of water. “What you’re doing isn’t working.”
“We’ve been getting along great,” I argued.
“We get along great, but that doesn’t mean I want to date you,” Xander pointed out.
The rest of my asshole friends nodded their agreement. Fuckers.
“I can’t believe how hung up you are on Ginger Ann,” Austin remarked. “I’ve never seen you act this way.”
“What way?” I asked before deciding it was foolish to pretend he wasn’t right. We’d already talked about my plans for Bentley. They all knew how much I wanted her with me. “I can’t get her out of my mind. It’s been that way since I met her on the plane.”
“It’s a miracle she didn’t kick you in the balls after what you said,” Harley added.
Xander chuckled. “I’m not sure that would have deterred Gage from going after Ginger Ann. I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Would you stop calling her that?” I asked once more.
“Probably not,” Austin replied with a yawn. There was a knock at the door, and Austin immediately perked up. “Time to pick out the lucky groupies to join us at the after-party.”
“Hell yeah!” Xander exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air.
“You’re all idiots,” Harley accused, pretending she didn’t enjoy the attention of the groupies. While she wasn’t into women, Harley loved that she was as popular with the ladies as we were.
“Don’t worry, Harley,” Austin began with a grin. “We’ll pick some nice groupies for you, too.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Harley warned as Xander and Austin headed into the hall to visit with those with backstage pa
sses. She wasn’t upset about the women they might bring back for her so much as the men. Xander and Austin loved finding men who were hoping to call Harley their mistress. She wasn’t interested in fulfilling the dominatrix role and didn’t seem nearly as amused as we all were by the men offering to lick her boots.
I put my phone in my pocket and went to grab a drink. After the set, I was hot and thirsty. That truly had been our best show. It was the perfect end to our tour. When my phone buzzed, I immediately grabbed it, not caring how it made me look. My obsession was no secret. I smiled when I saw Bentley’s name pop up on the screen.
Bentley: Sorry I didn’t make it to your show. My flight was delayed. I just got back from Boston.
I couldn’t hold back my grin. She’d meant to come.
Gage: How was Boston?
Bentley: I didn’t see much. James had back-to-back appointments the entire time we were there. How was your show?
Gage: Great. Come see me now. We’ll be here for at least an hour. I can bring you to the after-party.
Bentley: I’m not up to partying with the band.
I was about to respond when I felt a smack on my shoulder. Looking over, I found Harley right beside me, and I was certain she’d been reading my texts. “What?”
“Don’t push her to come here,” she told me.
“Why?” I asked.
Harley rolled her eyes, regarding me like I was an idiot. I’d known Harley long enough to realize I was acting like an idiot if she was looking at me that way. “She doesn’t want to date you because you’re a musician,” she stated.
“You think hanging out here with us will bother her,” I deduced. “Maybe I can get her to meet me at the after-party.”
“So she can watch groupies try to climb all over you?” Harley asked with a sweet smile. “No one wants to fight to get near the person they’re interested in. You already know how these parties are. After an hour or so, the women get the hint that you aren’t interested in playing with them. Until then, they’re pretty damn aggressive.”
“You’re right,” I agreed with a sigh.
“Try spending some time with her in a situation where she’ll think of you as more than a rock star,” Harley suggested. “Do lunch or something like that.”
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