Chapter Twenty-Four #2
Or maybe she wants to divorce me because things haven’t been the same since we kissed. Even though we’re trying to move past it and pretend it never happened, things have changed.
And I also can’t forget that she called me sexy today. I’d never think Evie would ever put me and that word together.
It still feels weird, but mostly confusing. And honestly, it makes that strange feeling enter my body again.
“What?” she demands.
“What?”
“You’re staring at me.”
I drop my gaze to the paper. “I’m not. Anyway, I spoke to Mrs. Duncan and asked her if I could change my career. So we’re not getting divorced, but we’re having a major life change. I’m giving up pro football to follow my dreams of being a musician.”
Her jaw practically sweeps the floor. “Are you serious?”
I can’t hide the small smile taking over my lips. “I am.”
“Oh my gosh! That’s awesome.” She makes a move to fling her arms around me, but then she gets an odd look on her face and turns away, tucking some hair behind her ear.
I back away, too.
Things are definitely not back to normal. But why can’t they be? We were perfectly fine at yesterday’s practice. Maybe the music distracted us, or maybe she can’t get the kiss or the fact that she called me sexy out of her head, either.
I clear my throat. “So Mrs. Duncan told me we need to decide together if my going after my dream is something we both want.”
“Of course it is. In real life and in our pretend life.”
I nod slowly. “Right. But I’ll have to start from the bottom and won’t be bringing in much money. And I’m still injured, so we have to take that into consideration. And you’re still looking for a job, right?”
She sighs heavily. “I came up with a few options, but none of them sound good.” Groaning, she slides down in her desk. “I hate this class.”
“But you love being married to me.” I wink at her. “Your sexy rockstar husband.”
Her face goes beet red. “You’re not sexy.”
“Pretty sure you said that I am earlier today.”
Her eyes are wide as she stares at me. “I don’t believe it. Noah Barrington is teasing me. I didn’t know Mr. Stick-Up-His-Butt had it in him.”
I scowl at her. “I wish you’d quit calling me that.”
“Yeah, well I didn’t call you sexy. You’re not sexy. Just the girls think you are.”
I tilt my head from right to left. “But you’re a girl and you think I’m sexy.”
“I didn’t…I never…” She throws her hands up as she groans. “Be quiet or I’m divorcing you!” Her face is red again. “I don’t even want to be here anymore.”
I reach for her, but she gets to her feet. “Tell Mrs. Duncan I don’t feel well. I’m going home.”
“Evie, wait. I’m sorry—”
She’s not listening to me as she grabs her stuff and zips out of the room.
I throw my back against my chair, berating myself for being such a jerk. I don’t know what came over me. She’s right that it’s not like me to tease her.
I have no idea what happened.
***
“What did you say to her?” Elliot asks as he twirls his drumstick between his fingers. He and the others and I have been in the basement for fifteen minutes, waiting for Evie to show up. But she hasn’t. Nor has she responded to our texts.
Sighing deeply, I drop down on the couch. “Nothing. I have no idea why she’s not coming.”
Mateo glances up from where he’s tuning his guitar. “You said you last saw her in LRG class. What happened?”
I rub my hand down my face. “I don’t know. I think I might have offended her.”
Wyatt lifts a brow. “Trouble in paradise?”
I shoot him a glare. “This is serious, man. I think I made her uncomfortable. Things have been so off with us today. Actually, things have been off with us since…” My eyes widen and I look away from them.
“What?” Mateo asks. “Things have been off since when? The performance? But you both were great up there. Why should things be off? They should be better. And you guys were fine at yesterday’s practice.”
Wyatt nods like he got an epiphany. “She’s jealous you’ve been getting attention from other girls.”
I shake my head. “Evie doesn’t like me. We have a mutual dislike of each other. No, things went downhill after the…” My eyes widen again.
“What, darn it?” Elliot demands. “What aren’t you telling us?”
I rake my fingers through my hair as I pace the basement. “I’m going to tell you something, but you guys need to swear not to say a word of it to Evie.”
They nod in agreement.
Still pacing, I shut my eyes and fist my hands at my sides because I’m trying not to remember how great it felt to have her soft, warm lips pressed to mine.
“Noah?” Mateo says. “Everything okay?”
I whirl around to face them. “No, nothing is okay. Evie and I…we kissed.” I drop down on the couch and bury my face in my knees.
“What the heck?” Wyatt exclaims. “You and Evie?”
“How did that happen?” Mateo asks.
Slowly, I lift my head and look at them.
“It was after Mr. Tabbitt told us we couldn’t perform at the concert hall.
Remember Evie threatened him that she’d get my mom to destroy him?
Well after he told us we could perform there…
we kissed.” I drop my head to my knees again.
“And we’ve been trying to pretend it didn’t happen, and things were going well.
But then today she…” I shake my head. “Gosh, I’m a jerk. ”
“What?” Elliot says. “What happened?”
I tell them about the events that took place in the hallway, her calling me sexy and then me rubbing it in her face during LRG class.
“I don’t know why I embarrassed her like that,” I tell them. “I feel awful about it and now she’s avoiding me. Us.”
Wyatt grins. “She thinks you’re sexy.”
I give him a look. “That’s beside the point. I embarrassed her and I wish I could take it back. It’s not like me to do that. I don’t know. Maybe this whole rockstar thing is getting to my head.”
“No, man.” Mateo shakes his head at me. “She complimented you and that’s all it was. Now you need to go to her house, apologize, and talk her into coming to practice.”
I shake my head. “I want to apologize. Heck, I apologized more than once in my texts. Clearly she doesn’t want to listen to me.”
“Go to her house,” Mateo repeats. “Apologize to her in person and tell her the band is nothing without her. That we need her. That the people love her and want her and that we’re begging her to come to practice. Make her feel special and wanted and loved by us all.”
I sigh deeply. “You think she’ll talk to me?”
Wyatt claps me on the back. “Go for it, man. We need her and we need you guys to go back to how you were and make magic on stage.”
I get to my feet. “I’ll try. Guys, I really messed up.”
Mateo grins. “She’s your wife. I’m sure she’ll forgive you.”
As I make my way to my car, I’m not so sure. Evie is very strong-willed and hardheaded, and when you tick her off, it’s very hard to get back in her good books. Considering we’re practically enemies already…how exactly am I supposed to fix my mistake?
My thoughts are troubled as I drive to her house. Feels like forever until I get there, but when I do, I greet Ally and go down to the basement to Evie’s studio. She’s hard at work on a painting. Looks like it’s about Lily and herself.
My feet creak on the floor, and she whirls around, her eyes widening when she spots me standing in the doorway. Then she faces her canvas again.
I inch deeper into the room, keeping my gaze on her. “Evie? Can I come in?”
She shrugs. “Whatever.”
I linger in my spot. “Yes or no? Because if you don’t want me here, I’ll leave. I just want to talk to you. To apologize for what I did.”
She shrugs again. “You’re here because you want me to come to band practice.”
Shaking my head with a sigh, I walk over until I’m at her side. “That’s not true. I’m here because what I did was wrong and I want to apologize. I’m really sorry, Evie.”
She doesn’t say anything. Then she places her palette on the nearby table and turns to me. “It’s cool. Forget about it.”
“What?”
“I overreacted. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with saying you’re a sexy rockstar. It’s an objective fact.” She shrugs again. “And you should own it. Because you’re amazing when you’re on stage.”
I rub the back of my neck. “Oh, uh. Thanks.”
She smiles. “Yep. So thanks for the apology and everything.” She focuses on the canvas again.
“Are we good?” I ask as I step closer to her.
She turns to face me again. “Of course we’re good, Noah. Couples argue all the time.”
“You’re sure?”
She rolls her eyes, exasperated. “Yeah. I was upset because you made fun of me, but painting always calms me down and helps me see reason. You’re sexy up there. I’m sexy up there. We’re all sexy.”
My heart does this weird thump that it’s never done before. It’s true. She looked very sexy singing at our performances.
“Right,” I quickly say. “Of course.” I slide my hands into my pockets. “I’d hate to take you away from your painting, but the guys were kind of hoping you’d join us for practice.”
She faces me again. “So this was about band practice.”
I hold up my hands. “Not at all. This was about me admitting that I wronged you and that wasn’t okay. Look, if you want a break and don’t want to come to practice, I’ll tell the guys—”
“No, I’m coming,” she says. “This painting can wait.”
I take a few moments to study it. “It’s beautiful.”
She smiles. “Thanks. I’m making gifts for my family, kind of like a leaving for college present. This is Lily’s.”
I examine Evie dressed in a Regency consume. “Looks like you had a lot of fun.”
“Yep. So are we taking your car to practice?”
“Sure. We’ll also need to finish our assignment for LRG. Maybe tomorrow?”
She cringes. “Yeah, sorry about running off like that.”
I hold up my hand. “Don’t apologize.”
We make our way up the stairs and out the door of my house, not really saying much to each other. Things are still a little stiff between us, which is to be expected, I guess. She might not admit it, but she’s still hurt by what I said.
We don’t talk much in the car, either, letting the music entertain us. Evie sings along with the songs, but I mostly keep quiet because I don’t want to be distracted from my driving.
It’s not long before we reach Wyatt’s house and meet the guys in the basement, where they’re lounging and chatting. As soon as he sees Evie behind me, Wyatt jumps to his feet and cheers. “She’s here!”
The others cheer and whoop too.
Evie’s face flushes slightly. “Wow. Did you miss me that much?”
Mateo wraps his arm around her. “Of course!”
“You’re one of us,” Elliot adds.
She smiles at that. And when her eyes meet mine, she doesn’t stiffen or glance away from me. Like she really has truly forgiven me.
I can’t forget how much I hurt her, but I tell myself I shouldn’t be so hard on myself because I’ll be consumed with my thoughts. So I pump everyone up with excitement for our next gig. We haven’t booked anything yet, but I’m confident and hopeful it won’t be long before we do.
Evie and I walk to the center of the room and start singing. It’s a little awkward for the first few seconds, but then we get into it and it’s like nothing has changed.
“Magic!” Wyatt calls.
Evie and I exchange a glance and smile.