Chapter Twenty-Two
Istrum the same chords for the thousandth time as I sit beside the pool and stare at the other mansions sitting high on hills ahead, my mind drifting to thoughts of Julia and what she could be doing right now. Is she missing me as much as I’m missing her? Unlikely because I ruined everything when I opened my lying mouth.
A hand falls hard onto my shoulder, and Ryker sinks into the lounge chair beside me, sighing dramatically. “Haven’t been out with you lately. That should change.” As he knows, I’ve barely gone out of the house since coming back from St. Croix because my mind is too preoccupied with Julia to do anything but sit inside and write lyrics I’m not sure she’s ever going to hear. When I don’t answer Ryker, he groans and leans forward with a frown. “Come on, man, just come out for a bit tonight. We even managed to get Mack to come out with us, too, and you know how rare that is.”
He’s not wrong. The only times Mack has ever agreed to go out with us is right before we get ready to go on tour and to award shows that we are nominated for. I guess it’s his way of celebrating us, which is why it’s not much of a surprise to me that he’s agreed to go out tonight. In two days we head out on the road to start the tour and I’m dreading the entire thing.
I refuse to acknowledge that the only person I want to see in the crowd is the one who will never be there, and that’s exactly what going on this tour will make me do. “I don’t know, Ryker, just not feeling it.”
“You know the best way to get over someone?” Ryker asks, wiggling his eyebrows at me suggestively before opening his phone screen and shoving it in my face. “Misty Cress is going to be at the club tonight, posting it all over her socials, and she’d be the perfect rebound for you.”
“I don’t need a rebound, man. I’m not you. I can’t just go from one woman to the next – contrary to what the entire world might think.”
Ryker lifts from the chair and pats my back. “I know, just wanted to get the idea out there. But, hey, it can just be a bro’s night if that makes you more comfortable.”
“A bro’s night doesn’t sound too bad, actually.”
He heads back inside but turns around and points at me. “You won’t regret this, man. You’re a hermit and need a little bit of chaos back in your life.”
I follow Ryker’s trail inside and find Evan sitting on the living room couch, XBox controller in hand like it’s been since I got back, and he lifts his chin at me in greeting without taking his eyes off the TV.
I plant myself on the arm of the couch and clear my throat. “You going out tonight with us?”
“Ryker managed to convince me since Mack is going to be there, but I’ll probably end up heading out early.” He growls angrily at the TV and shakes his head, cheeks turning red from the anger. “Bullshit!” I raise a brow silently, my lips tipping up at the corners, and he glances at me before rolling his eyes. “They shot me before I even finished coming around the corner, there’s no damn way.”
I throw my hands into the air and chuckle softly. “Hey, no judgment from me. Carry on with the game, man. I’m going to get ready for the night because I’m sure Ryker will convince me to leave early.”
Evan’s the one who’s had it more rough in life and I couldn’t be happier that we all became as tight as we are. If it weren’t for our trio, I’m not sure where Evan would’ve ended up in life – it wouldn’t have been good though, that much I know. Ryker’s speakers thump through the ceiling as I push through my room, and I roll my eyes at the ceiling, knowing he’s up there having his own kind of party before we head out to the club.
My lyrics book is sitting on my bed. I lift it up to scan the most recent words I’ve written, then throw it down because I might change my mind about going out.
I need to let things go.
I grab a pair of black jeans from the walk-in closet, then opt for a simple white t-shirt with a leather jacket to go over it and snatch a pair of white Converse from the floor. The Cartier watch I took off before leaving for St. Croix is still resting, where I left it on my dresser, and I pick it up slowly to clip it back around my wrist. It looks brighter than it did before, so someone must’ve come in here while I was gone and cleaned it up for me.
The rose tattoo on my neck is clearly visible, but the rest of them are hiding because it seems women love a man with tattoos, and I don’t want to be bombarded tonight. It’s bad enough I’ve already got plans to meet up with Misty. I use some of my curling products and swipe them through my hair, making sure the curls stand out, then give myself a once-over before heading out of my room.
Evan is no longer sitting on the couch, but Ryker is, and he’s smiling knowingly at his phone like the horny shithead that he is. That man has no pause button, and it’s only gotten worse in the last year. Ryker looks up at me and shoves his phone into his back pocket. “You ready to head out?”
“Are we not waiting on Evan?”
He shakes his head. “He said he’ll meet us there, still needs to shower and shit.”
“I’m good to go.”
Her name tastes like acid on my tongue, but I ignore the feeling and follow Ryker out of the house. Here goes the first step of getting Julia out of my damn head.
It doesn’t surprise me when Misty approaches our table a couple of hours into the night, a knowing smile on her face as she looks me up and down, and I shiver uncomfortably under her stare. “Brent Dominic, fancy running into you here.”
I grunt in response, my fingers tightening around my bottle of beer as I stare straight ahead into the crowd. Even though I’m barely sparing her a glance, Misty still chooses to perch herself onto the edge of the stool next to me and lean into my personal space. She runs her fingers along my arm and I flinch away from the touch, hating how cold it makes me feel because it’s not Julia’s, then aim a glare at her. “Not happening, Misty.”
Misty giggles as if my response is funny, and she playfully smacks my arm. “Oh, Brent, you’ve been playing hard to get for too long. I saw you with her, but I bet she wouldn’t be as good as me in bed.”
“Could you please find someone else to flirt with? I’ve already told you I’m not interested more than once, and at this point, it’s a little pathetic.” She gasps in shock at my words, and I narrow my eyes. “Also, don’t bring her up again, or I’ll make your life hell.”
She rolls her eyes and jumps off the chair, flipping her dyed hair over her shoulder dramatically. “Whatever.” Her nose scrunches, and she shakes her head. “You aren’t my type anyway.”
I’m not her type, yet she never stops trying to get in my bed. I’ll never understand women. Mack approaches the table, half-empty beer in his hand, and arches a brow at me but doesn’t say anything. I’m surprised he’s still here because, normally, he’d be gone by now. Granted, I’m not sure anyone in their right mind can say no when Ryker asks something of you, and Ryker asked Mack to stay until Midnight.
I shrug in response to his stare, then take a sip of my beer as a loud Ryker stumbles onto the table with a bright grin. He makes a comment to Mack, but I don’t hear anything as I continue looking around the large crowd with a frown. The only thing I can think about is how Julia would hate to be somewhere like this. She wouldn’t want the attention on her and would become self-conscious, even though she doesn’t have to be.
Julia is bright and sweet, with a wild side hidden under all that innocence. With Julia, I never knew what I was going to get.
I should be fighting for Julia, exactly as my sister suggested I do, but the first moment that things go south, I’m more than ready to throw in the towel. Ryker eyes me curiously as I lift from my place at the table, my beer bottle still sitting on the flat surface in front of me, and I shake my head. “I can’t do this right now, man. I’m heading back home.” I look at Mack and nudge my head toward Ryker. “You okay to get him home?”
Mack groans but knows someone needs to be responsible for the wild one tonight. “Yeah, I’ll get him there.”
Misty nearly falls on her ass when I stumble away from her, a frown on my face, and she gasps before narrowing her eyes on me. “What the hell, Brent?”
I say my goodbyes and head straight for the exit that’s calling my name.
I have a girl to win back, and getting in bed with another isn’t going to help with that.