“You two make a fine couple,” Belle Cooper said.
I glanced at Mari, but she just smiled and shifted the conversation to donations for next year’s band trip to Knoxville. She’d managed to gather quite a few donations this evening because of the show they’d put on. I wasn’t surprised. Just in awe.
Mari had given no indication of our relationship status. We hadn’t discussed labels. Anytime we got close to it, she shifted the topic. It was hard not to feel like that was my sign that she didn’t want to be seen as dating me.
I gestured to a display of snow globes, thinking of the one at her apartment, when her features pulled into a frown. She pulled me behind a stall, out of the flow of traffic.
“What’s all this?” she asked.
My hand was tugged up to her face as she examined all the pieces of fabric covering my palm and parts of my finger.
“It looks worse than it is. It’s just an added layer of protection.”
She pressed one of the hands to her chest. “Poor thing.” Maybe I should have played it up more than this. The attention and pampering were nice. In fact, she’d been touchy-feely all afternoon. I couldn’t be sure, but she seemed to have less control of her body as parts of her continued to accidentally graze me. If her ass brushed my crotch one more time...
“Does it hurt?” she asked.
“Not too bad. I’m just getting some calluses back but mostly it’s for grip and to prevent worse pain.”
“It looks metal,” she said, not releasing me.
“All for that rock star aesthetic,” I joked.
“Are you doing okay?” she asked.
“Yep.” I smiled.
“This isn’t too much? Being here around the masses of Green Valley?” She studied me carefully from under her winter hat.
“I’m having a good time.” My gaze moved over her cheeks, rosy from the cold. If I leaned forward to kiss her, in front of everybody, would she let me? I leaned closer to whisper, “Don’t tell anybody.”
She swallowed and licked her lips. “I like being here with you,” she said.
Warmth spread through me. She had no idea. “Me too,” I said.
“Can I?” She reached for my hand, and I squeezed her hand tight.
“Much better.” I smiled at her, and she grinned back up.
We continued to walk hand in hand. Adrenaline surged through me at the small gesture. She wasn’t ashamed to be seen with me. I tried to calm downmy internal celebration. Mari was here, in the middle of her town, essentially shouting for all to see that we weresomething. I felt important and good and special.
“You never finished telling me about how the rest of the album went,” Mari said.
“It’s been really great,” I said nonchalantly. I didn’t want her to think I wasn’t grateful for her support. She and Janice had been incredibly encouraging when I’d hemmed and hawed about playing with the band again.
I was grateful to be drumming, and glad to be on good terms with the band, but my heart wasn’t in it anymore. I gave The Burnouts a shot. Just a few sessions. The Burnouts had made progress, and it was nice to be playing with them, but I was able to leave at the end of the day feeling like I’d done a day’s work with a healthy level of detachment. The record wasn’t done, but most of the guys were back home to be with their families. Except Vander, who opted to keep his place at the Lodge and hang out here rather than somewhere else. He was coming for Christmas, but I still felt bad that he’d be alone for so much of the holidays.
“And things are good with Vander?”
“It’s nice to be talking again,” I said lightly, but in reality, it was so much more than that. Thanks to Mari, a piece of myself had been returned to me. Thanks to Mari, so many missing parts of my shaken-up soul were coming back together like the perfectly constructed climax of a song.
“I’m jealous, I’m being usurped,” she said it lightly as she brushed her coat against mine.
“No way. You are still bestie number one. Tied with Janice,” I said with a shrug.
She stopped and looked at me with such wide and open eyes I thought I missed something and glanced around. “What?”
“I’m up there with Janice?” she asked in wonder.
