by Ella Fields
As predicted, he wasn’t there the next morning, and judging by the shouting and screaming we all heard from across the street, he’d gone to pay his parents a visit. A visit that clearly hadn’t gone well and had resulted in Everett storming off down the street toward the beach.
“I’ll check on him,” Dale had said as we all stood on the small front porch. He’d slept on the bus, still on the outs with his parents for ditching Brown.
The scrambled eggs and bacon wouldn’t go down easy as Mom, Dad, Hendrix, and me sat around the table, eating breakfast together before the band was due to leave.
We were but a quick pit stop.
“Graham needs money, so he’s gone to his grandparents to ask for a loan. He’ll be back soon,” Hendrix said, tearing off a bite of bacon. “Jesus, I forgot how good your cooking is, Mom.”
Mom smiled, then asked, “And you? Have you run out of money?”
Hendrix shook his head, then took a sip of orange juice. “Nah, I don’t hit it as heavy as the other idiots. As long as some venues keep giving us something, I’m good for a while.”
“Some don’t?” Dad asked, setting the paper down.
Hendrix tipped a shoulder. “If there’s not enough of a crowd, no. We make sweet fuck all. But word has spread in some places, and if we keep booking opening gigs with some bigger bands, I think we’ll be able to stay afloat.” He paused, grinning. “Oh, and Dale has some chick making merch that he’s selling on our website, so that helps too.”
“Not a bad manager after all,” Dad murmured, brows raised.
“That depends.” Mom frowned. “What does this girl get in return?”
Hendrix blinked. “Uh… his love? I don’t know.”
Mom blew out a frustrated breath, and Dad collected her hand.
“Besides, thanks to the stuff Everett has been writing, it’s hard for chicks not to dig us.”
“Do you need to call them chicks?” I asked.
“Aw, Steve. Don’t be like that.”
I rolled my tired eyes, sipping my tea.
Mom laid her chin on her hand. “What about these songs, then?”
“Right.” Hendrix laughed, brief and quiet. “I’m positive he’s met someone on the road.” My heart stalled until he kept going, “They’re powerful, hey. The kind that only a guy in love, or who’s been in love, can write.”
“Wonder who it is,” Mom mused, reaching for her tea as her eyes slid over to me.
I just about fell headfirst into my eggs, my pulse screeching in my ears as I lowered my gaze to my half-eaten food. I didn’t dare let myself read too much into those words. He was leaving. Again. And knowing it and knowing how bad it would hurt, I’d still handed myself over to him like a fool. Again.
“No idea. You know how he is.” Hendrix waved a hand, flippant. “He never talks about feelings and shit. The only way you’d know anything about him is by listening to him sing.”
“I suppose that’s what attracts them, then,” Dad pondered aloud. “Gaining knowledge of the mysteriously broken boy who knows a little something about love.”
I wasn’t sure if Dad knew, but I was willing to bet he didn’t, or he’d have said something to me months ago.
I didn’t stay to watch them leave again. Thanks to the hours spent possessed by Everett and his magic, hypnotic ways of making me forget last night, I had places to be anyway. I tried not to wince when I got up to take my plate to the sink and scraped the leftovers into the garbage disposal.
In the shower, I washed gingerly between my legs, both reveling and feeling disgusted over the lingering soreness, though it wouldn’t linger long. Just like last time, it would fade. But his absence, that phantom touch would remain.
After throwing on a strawberry-colored button-down sundress, I slipped into my Chucks, then threw my wet hair up into a messy bun and snatched my purse. “Can I borrow your car, Mom?” I called when I heard her leaving the bathroom.
She stepped into my room, her brows puckering at my hastily made bed. “Ah, yeah. You’re not staying to say goodbye?”
I swiped some gloss on my reddened lips, then grabbed my sunglasses. I hadn’t bothered with makeup, as nothing but big square pieces of UV protected plastic would help mask the puffiness beneath my eyes. “I’ve had enough of goodbyes.”
She grabbed my wrist in the hall, pulling me back to her and cupping my face in both of her soft, slightly callused hands. I tried not to flinch under her inspection. Even though I was taller than her by a couple of inches, she still had the power to make me feel six years old with one look. “What happened?”
“You don’t need to know,” I said.
After assessing, searching my eyes for a beat, she nodded and brought my face to hers to kiss my forehead. “Love you.”
“Love you too.”
She handed me her keys, and I rushed outside.
I flipped my sunglasses down as I reversed out of the drive, doing my best to maneuver Mom’s small SUV around the gigantic black bus with a nasty dent in its front end.
I was out on the street when I saw Everett behind the car and yelped, slamming my foot on the brake.
Dale saluted me, then headed inside. I waved back, watching Everett round the car to my cracked open window. “Where are you going?”
“To the drug store, remember?” My foot eased off the brake. “Bye, Ever.”
He slapped a hand on the window. “We’re heading out soon.”
Offering a tight smile, I said, “I know, but I don’t feel like watching you leave.”
He reached for me as I turned the wheel and remained standing there as I drove away.
Raslow was a quaint town filled to the brim with hipsters, retirees, and students from the local college.
As soon as I’d seen the pamphlet, I’d immediately researched local florists and nurseries in the area and found two of each. I scored a job at Petal Power, a florist owned by a couple in their late fifties. It boasted such an array of flowers and plants that even I had to research some of them to figure out what they were.
“Ugh, we need to get that plumber back out here,” Adela said. “The tap won’t stop dripping. Can you imagine the water bill?”
“It’s included with our rent, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but still sucks for the landlord who’s paying that sucker.”
She had a point. “I’ll call them on my break.” I finished my coffee and closed my textbook before rinsing my mug in the sink. “I need to go, but I’ll grab some milk on the way home.”
Adela stuck her head out of the bathroom, her toothbrush hanging from her mouth. “You don’t have class until tomorrow.”
“I’ve picked up extra shifts. Gloria’s off for the week.” I combed my fingers through my hair. “Sinus infection.”
Adela disappeared, and I heard her spit and then the running of the tap before she returned. “She suffers from allergies but works in a freaking flower shop?”
I laughed. “That’s what I said, and Gloria said we don’t choose who and what we fall in love with, even when it’s a hazard to one’s self.”
Adela cackled, ducking back into the bathroom. “What a woman.”
“That’s what Sabrina said.” Adela laughed again as I grabbed my bag and shut the door behind me.
I jumped down the steps, then hit the sidewalk, the mist from last night’s rain heavy in the autumn air. We were leasing a three-bedroom apartment. Though it was old, it was well kept and nestled in the outskirts of the business district of Raslow.
Another reason it felt like the perfect fit was due to its proximity to home. It was a fifty-minute drive down the highway. Not that I had a car yet, but Adela did. I’d wanted to leave, but I didn’t want to leave completely.
There’d been nothing but radio silence from Everett, but then again, I hadn’t expected any different, and what I’d said to him was true. I was fed up with this feeling hollowing out my insides. Dad said last he’d heard from Hendrix, they were heading farther north to a
series of gigs they’d lined up before Christmas.
Another perk that being away from home provided was a break from the memories. No longer did I stare across the street at the run-down house where he’d lived, or the walls of my own where he’d spent most of his time, growing, learning, and making me fall.
Finally, for the first time in over a year, I found it easier to breathe.
Cursing interrupted my thoughts, and I stopped, staring back at a guy who was kicking the tire of his car. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, no.” He groaned, threading his hands behind his head over his jet-black hair. His eyes were almost the same shade, which made his luminous smile blinding and hard not to notice on that chiseled, clean-shaven face. Not that he was smiling now.
Aiden Prince.
We shared the same business class. He was also on the college baseball team.
“Shit,” he continued. “Stinking, putrid shit.” Then he turned and saw me standing there.
I winced at being caught and offered a wave, hoping the flush in my cheeks receded.
His lips pursed, those dark eyes narrowing. “You,” he said.
“Me?” I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yeah, you.” He swung his legs forward, prowling toward me with a glimmer in his gaze. “I’d bet if you were standing exactly where you were not even five minutes ago, the bastard who wrote me this ticket”—he flicked it in the air—“would’ve been too distracted to even remember what day it was.”
I coughed out another laugh. “Distracted, huh?”
“Yeah.” He sidled even closer until the scent of his caramel, woodsy cologne reached me, and I could make out a faint smattering of freckles across his straight nose. “In case you haven’t noticed, you’re kind of really fucking beautiful.”
I’d always thought of him as lean; muscular and tall, but lean. However, having him this close, standing feet above me as he stared down into my face with crooked lips and fanned out lashes, I discovered I’d been way wrong.
He was a muscular giant.
My voice was scratchy as I muttered, “That a pick-up line of yours?”
His straight teeth slid over his lip as he studied me. “Uh-huh, I just go round getting tickets on the regular to pick up the ladies.”
I laughed again, and his head tilted.
My cheeks tinged under his inspection, growing warmer as he said, “Do that again.”
“What? Laugh?” I snorted, then laughed at the fact I’d snorted. Dear God.
“It’s music. Anyone ever told you that?”
Feeling like I’d exited my own body, I shook my head, then backed up. “I need to go. Um, sorry for gawking.”
“Please.” He scoffed, half rolling his eyes. “You can gawk all day long. Stevie, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
He licked his lips, nodding too as he retreated a step. “Well, hopefully my dad won’t curse up a storm when I tell him I got my sixth ticket for the year. I figure he’ll be okay when I tell him the story of how it led to meeting my future wife.” Tipping his shoulder, he added, “He’s a sucker for true love.”
I nearly choked on my next breath. “Excuse me?”
He chuckled, and I noticed a faint dimple in his right cheek. “I’ll see you round, beautiful.” With a wink, he turned and climbed into his black Audi.
“Girl,” Sabrina said, clipping the stems on a bundle of roses as I walked in. “That boy looks like bad news. The kind that’ll trample all over you, then return to feast on your remains.”
She was wearing purple rain boots today with a white sundress, and a glittery white scarf draped over her graying red hair.
I huffed, mumbling as I took my bag into the backroom, “He basically just did.”
I was still thinking about Aiden Prince that night when I got home, so naturally, I decided to do some detective work.
I mean, if a guy declares you’re marriage material the first time you have a conversation, I figured he deserved a little stalking.
His Instagram page was littered with shirtless pictures of him either on a yacht, at the beach, playing ball, or even washing his car. My stomach flipped at the latter, spying bunches of muscle tucked beneath his golden skin.
I had to wonder who’d taken the pictures for him, and as I kept scrolling, I realized it was probably one of the many girls he’d been photographed with.
I didn’t use Facebook much, but I logged in to find a few notifications before searching for him there too. Empty, for the most part. Only tags from some of his teammates with pictures of him playing.
I had to admit, those pants did great things for his ass, and the ball cap… I shut my laptop, then reopened it when I remembered I hadn’t even bothered to check in on the band.
Aside from the usual hangover or partying posts, there were no updates on Hendrix’s profile or the page Dale had started for the band.
After putting my laptop away, I showered before curling up on the couch and flicking through Netflix. I’d managed to go an entire day without thinking of him, thanks to Aiden, and then one tiny thing sent me tumbling back down into the murky void that was Everett Taylor all over again.
Did he even think about me when he was gone? The way he’d touched me, looked at me, and fucked me told me he had to be feeling at least half of what I was, and in that case, how could he keep doing the things he did if he’d left half his heart behind?
He’s a guy, Adela would say when I brought it up to her. But that didn’t matter to me. I thought controlling yourself would’ve been easy if you had a reason to.
Then Aiden bulldozed his way into my life, and I’d soon learn not everything could be controlled.
“Beautiful.” The heated whisper stole my attention from the notebook I’d been scrawling in.
I blinked, and then Aiden was in the seat next to me. Prying my eyes off his curling lips, I smiled straight ahead at the scowling professor.
Aiden’s arm slid close to mine, causing my skin to prickle, the tiny hairs rising as they met before the warmth of our bodies did. “What are you doing?” I asked between cracked lips.
“What do you mean?” he asked so casually while taking notes in his messy, barely legible cursive.
After looking at him with narrowed brows for three thudding heartbeats, I sighed and faced forward again, trying to ignore the touch that was causing my toes to scrunch.
We both remained silent until the lecture ended, and we began packing our things.
“Have dinner with me,” he stated more than asked.
I laughed at his audacity, then stood and slung my backpack over my shoulder. “I’m surprised you’re starting that low. Do you need to pay your ticket before you can buy a ring?”
Grinning, he rose with his book tucked by his side and inched so close, all I could smell was his cologne and all I could see was the golden column of his throat.
I forced my gaze up, and it skated over his clean-shaven, square chin to meet his fathomless dark eyes, as he said, “I’ve already got one picked out, but I figured you’d at least like to know I’m capable of feeding you before you say yes.”
My head fell back, laughter pouring out as students vacated the lecture hall around us.
When I stared back at him, I chuckled some more, swiping beneath my eyes to make sure the leakage hadn’t smudged my mascara. “You’re a total rogue.”
“Rogue?” he questioned.
“Mischievous,” I said. “And I’m guessing you’re going to make me climb these seats to get out if I don’t say yes to dinner.”
He puckered his full bottom lip while tilting his head. “You’d be right. But I’m willing to negotiate.”
“What?” I laughed out. “Breakfast instead of dinner?”
“I’ll settle for buying you a milkshake.” All humor left his face. “Right now.”
I didn’t have any other classes for the day, but he might. “You don’t have class?”
“Nope, and I’ll take that as a yes.” He backed out of t
he aisle, bowing with a swinging arm for me to go ahead of him.
I sighed, yet I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. “Fine. You’re paying.”
He scoffed, walking beside me up the stairs. “I may be a rogue, but I’m no scoundrel.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“I’m smitten.”
“You don’t even know me,” I countered once we’d hit the stairs outside.
He stopped at the bottom, catching my hand gently in his. “So give me a chance to.”
I turned to him. Chewing on my lip, I studied the earnest set to his jaw and the honest spark to his eyes. “Okay, but I must warn you…” I pulled my hand from his and headed in the direction of the cafeteria. I stopped talking, unsure why I wanted to divulge my cracked open heart to him. As if any guy wanted to hear about how the girl he was chasing was hung up on someone else.
“Warn me?” he asked, catching up and walking backward as he surveyed my face, then my tangled mess of hair that kept slapping my cheeks courtesy of the wind.
“Milkshake first,” I said, pushing open the door. “I’m scoring a freebie before you run for the hills.”
He said nothing to that but ordered two vanilla malts, and the sight of them was enough to curdle my stomach.
“So,” he said, sliding his wallet into the back pocket of his jeans before taking a seat opposite me. “You’ve got an ex you’re not over or something?”
I pursed my lips, then dunked my straw, eyeing the frothy milk. “Pretty much, but I’m trying.” Aiden was quiet, and I looked up to find him staring at me. “Sorry.”
He whistled, blinking, and it was then I realized he’d asked the question in jest.
Silence crept in, and I struggled to hold his gaze.
“You don’t need to apologize,” he finally said. “Everyone’s got some kind of baggage to carry.”
A little relieved, I smiled, and some passing girls cooed and waved to Aiden. He flicked his head at them, then returned his attention to me.