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Epilogue
“They’re really good,” Austin calls over to me while we listen to The Electrocutes.
Skye’s band is playing a show, and EJ invited us to come and check it out.
“Aren’t you glad I changed your mind?” I ask him.
Austin finished his second semester of school, but he doesn’t think it’s a big deal. He had to take half of the credits he took while attending the high-priced university last semester because he needed to work to pay for his half of the rent with Shawn and pay for his tuition. Ever since he walked out on his dad, they haven’t spoken.
“I guess.” He lifts his shoulders, grinning. “I mean, anytime I get to be your arm candy, I can’t complain.”
I laugh. “Right. I know all you wanted to do was finish the Big Ben Lego set you bought.”
“It’s four thousand pieces, Jade.”
I roll my eyes, giggling. I had every intention of starting again slow with Austin after the dust settled from his withholding of information, but after that night in the club, everything synced back up between us. He really is the same person that I was falling for all those months ago, and I’ve never been happier. Working with the boys, we’ll go out for a photoshoot or travel to some location for an interview, and sometimes Austin comes with us. Sometimes he doesn’t.
He never invites himself, and some people might look at that like he doesn’t want to be around, but I know the truth. He couldn’t care less about the spotlight. He just wants to be around me, so when I do invite him if he doesn’t have class or doesn’t have to work, he happily comes along. It still feels great that I’m just a girl he wants to be with and not some superstar he’s dating. To him, I’m just Kristen.
“You want to grab something to drink?” he asks as the song comes to a close.
“Sure.”
Heading over to the bar, I stand behind Austin as the bartender waits on the other side. Austin calls over to get his attention, but he ignores him. The small club The Electrocutes are playing in isn’t very full. I’ve had a few people come up to me and ask for an autograph or selfie, so has EJ, but it’s a small enough place that we’re not bombarded with requests. So the bartender isn’t busy, but there’s a pretty brunette at the other end who seems to be occupying his attention.
“Hey, excuse me,” Austin calls over again.
I watch as the bartender turns and looks, lifting a brow. He gives Austin a nod, but instead of coming over, he turns back to the girl, who starts laughing.
Austin glances back at me. “We may be here a while.”
I can’t help the chuckle that floats out. “Allow me.” He smirks, watching me step to the bar, knocking on it. “Hi, excuse me. Can I get two bottles of water?”
The bartender looks back, still with the same uninterested face he had a moment ago. The second his eyes land on mine, they pop open, and he hurries over. Grabbing two waters, he hands them to us. I reach into my pocket, but he shakes his head at me.
“On the house,” he says with a smile.
I return the smile. “Thank you.”
Turning back to Austin, I watch as he grins. “Show-off,” he says. He’s just about to lean in to kiss me when we’re interrupted by someone from behind.
“Hey, Jade.”
I look over and see Vic, the drummer for Skum Bucket. I give him an awkward smile while scanning the area, searching for Bret and Mitch to be close by. He must notice what I’m doing because he speaks up. “They aren’t here.”
“Oh.” I blink, unsure how I’m supposed to react. I haven’t spoken to Bret, or any of them, since that final night at the club.
Vic awkwardly looks around, then down at his feet, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. Gone is his cosplay rock star getup. He still has the long hair, but it’s not combed in front like Bret did. And while he’s wearing regular jeans and a T-shirt, his long chain necklaces and leather bracelets are nowhere to be found.
“So, uh …” Shuffling his feet, he finally gazes up at me. “I wanted to apologize.”
“Oh.” I’m not sure why he’s apologizing, so it catches me off guard. “Okay?”
“I just wanted to say sorry for trying to leach on to you and the guys. Bret always thought it’d be how we get a big break and … anyway, I’m sorry.”
I’m not sure how to reply, but I am touched that he’s apologizing. “Okay. Thank you. Um … how are things going?”
He lets out a defeated chuckle. “They’re not.” I cringe, unsure what to say. “We tried recording our EP, and the third day in the studio, we got in a huge argument. Two weeks later, Bret kicked me out of the band.”
