“Looks busy in there,” I say, sliding down to join her on the ground. I turn away from her for a second, because the sight of the freckles that are sprinkled across her nose and her intense green eyes have planted a seed of doubt I can’t afford to nurture.
“We’re slammed,” she says, popping a stick of gum in her mouth and fishing around in her pocket for her phone.
“Listen,” I say, staring at a tiny lizard that is sunning itself on the top of the wall. “I’m leaving. And I wanted to give you something.”
Savannah stops texting and looks up at me. “Leaving? For how long?”
I shrug and hope it looks casual. “Forever. Tonight. I’m catching the Greyhound just before midnight, and I’m not coming back.”
A flicker of shock and what I hope is maybe a little sadness crosses her face. “Forever? Where in the world are you going that requires it to be forever?”
I pick up a pebble off the ground and bounce it in my hand. “Vegas.” I look up and meet her eyes. If there’s any sign of doubt or laughter, I’m out of here. “I’m going to audition for American Voice.”
Her eyes widen. “Seriously? That’s awesome!” She reaches over and gives me a hug, her hair smelling of bacon and shampoo. It’s all I can do not to bury my face in it.
“You think so?”
“Oh my God, yes!” She pulls back and swats me on the arm. “With your voice you’ll be America’s Sweetheart in no time.”
“America’s Sweetheart is for girls,” I say, relieved that she thinks I can do it.
“America’s Next Hot Guy then,” she says with a grin. “You’ll sing the hell out of that place. Nobody can beat you. Nobody.”
I smile at that. ‘Hell’ is as close as Savannah ever gets to swearing. I know I’m going to replay her words in my head over and over again as the audition gets closer. “Thanks.”
Savannah sits up straighter. “Have you figured out what you’re going to wear to the audition? I think something clean but casual, you know, like you’re confident and not trying too hard. What are you going to sing for the audition? Probably a ballad, right?”
I laugh at her enthusiasm. “I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
“What do you mean you haven’t thought that far ahead? This is important Dillon, not something you pull out of thin air at the last second. My God, have you thought about this at all?”
I realize that I haven’t imagined anything past the moment that I get on the bus and see the lights of Phoenix receding in the distance. “I’ll be fine.” I shift the guitar closer to her. “I brought you this. To keep.”
She puts one hand on the black case and stands up, so I do too. “The Gibson? Why in the world would you give up your Gibson?”
“I told you; I’m out of here. I’m taking the Martin, but I can’t take both, and I know you’d give this a good home.”
Savannah leans the guitar back to me. “I can’t take this; it’s worth thousands of dollars.”
“I need you to have it,” I say. “I’m not kidding when I say I’m not coming back. You’ll be doing me a favor.”
I see her hesitate, but she wraps both hands around the case. “Okay.” She nods slowly. “Thanks. I love it. I’ll take good care of it, I promise.” She glances toward the screen door. “I should probably get back.”
I don’t want her to go. Don’t want this last moment to end. Savannah is the one thing in this whole town that I’m going to miss. That I’m going to miss so much it already hurts. “Okay,” is all I say.
There’s a heaviness between us. In the movies, this would be the moment when the guy leans down and pulls the girl toward him in a long embrace. Except this isn’t the movies. This is a guy saying goodbye to his best friend in an alley behind a diner.
“Guess I’ll see you on TV,” she says, taking a step toward the door.
The thought rushes through my brain and out of my mouth before I can stop it. “Come with me!”
Savannah stops and turns back toward me. “What do you mean?”
I can feel my heart pound in my chest. What the fuck am I doing? “Come with me. Come to Vegas. Tonight. I’ll buy the ticket, I’ll pay for everything.”
She shakes her head. “I can’t come with you. I’ve got stuff to do…my apartment…Aunt Mike’s…”
I can see that she’s thinking about it. That this crazy idea might not be so totally crazy. “It doesn’t have to be forever,” I say quickly. “Just come for a week. Help me out, pick out a shirt for me to wear to the audition. Choose the song I should sing.” I need you to be there with me. That’s what I don’t say. That I don’t want to do this alone. I gesture toward the door. “Aunt Mike’s isn’t going to fire you—you’re the best waitperson they have. Just take a little break.”
“I don’t have any money,” she says, and at that moment I know that I’ve got her.
“I’ll pay for everything,” I repeat. “I got…an inheritance. We’ll get two rooms, I promise. But let me pay for it all. Kind of like I’m hiring you to be my consultant.”
“This is crazy,” she says.
“I know. But that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”
“When are you leaving?”
“The bus pulls out of the station at 11:15 tonight.” I wait, my nerves tense. Please God let her say yes. In the past two minutes it’s gone from an idea to a necessity. I can’t do this without Savannah.
I see her quick nod before I hear the words. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
“You will? That’s great!” I pick her up and swing her around. “Sorry,” I say, setting her back on the ground. “I’m just happy you’re coming with me.”
Savannah picks up the guitar case. “You’re sure you want me to?”
“More than anything,” I say, knowing that it’s true.
—◊—
Read the rest of Dillon and Savannah’s story in Unfiltered & Unknown, coming February 14, 2014 from Payge Galvin & Lynne Jaymes. If you want to be notified when future books in the series are released, sign up for the mailing list here.
Acknowledgements:
I just want to add a quick note to say thank you to the rest of my UNFILTERED friends! It was scary to be the first book, but I knew you all had my back. Extra servings of cosmos to Abby and Lynne for the sexy times (on the page, people!!!).
Top shelf cosmos must go out to the readers. There are literally millions of books out there to read, so it’s such a gift that you picked this one. Thank you for reading!
Also, I want to add a last minute note to the folks at RT Magazine and to New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost who gave this book a chance without knowing anything about the series or the authors beyond a few sentences in an email. Your words meant a lot to all of us! Hopefully, someday I can tell you in person just how much they meant to me.
Kisses and cosmos to all of you,
Ronnie.
Table of Contents
About Unfiltered & Unlawful
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
A Note From Payge
Sneak Peek of Unfiltered & Unknown
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents
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Unfiltered & Unlawful (The Unfiltered Series) Page 15