Page 129 of Make Me Laugh

“But you’re going to?” I need her to say what I know she’s already decided.

Joey doesn’t nod. She doesn’t shake her head. She stares at me, tears streaming down her cheeks. “It’s my dream job.”

God, I’m so fucking happy for her, but this is really going to suck for me. This isn’t Joey letting her unhealed wounds get in the way—it’s the job of her dreams, and who am I to come in between that?

I force a smile, even though Joey knows when it’s not real. “Tell me about it.” If she doesn’t distract me, I’ll focus too hard on losing another thing I love… and I can’t do that right now. “I wanna know everything there is to know about the woman who’s stealing my favorite employee.”

I don’t want to think about what this means for my future. I want to live in bliss for three more weeks, continuing to fall more in love with the girl who warned me she’d break my heart.

This is over when tour ends.

But I know I’ll love Joey for the rest of my life.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

THE ONE WHERE JOEY DOESN’T SHARE

ItsFrankie.mp3: IF U DON’T WISH HEX A HAPPY BDAY TODAY, DISHONOR ON YOU, YOUR COW, AND YOUR MAMA

HerFavoriteSyn commented: If only she was around to celebrate like last year Happy bday!

WestParkerComedy: Happy birthday to the head witch herself! My life is a HEX of a lot hotter with you in it

HexedHeroine: Well, in case you haven’t heard, it’s my birthday…

I feel thirty-two this morning when Kell and West dog pile me at 9:00 a.m. with Frankie on FaceTime, singing some over-the-top rendition of Happy Birthday.

Pulling the covers over my head is only going to buy me a couple seconds, but I’ll take it, since an overzealous twenty-five-year-old kept me up until the birds started to chirp. I should be used to functioning on little to no sleep by now!

We’re officially under two weeks until the end of the tour, and I booked a red eye flight to the Sullivan’s Thanksgiving morning.

West hasn’t brought up the end of tour again, and he hasn’t started treating me any differently either. He’s still the same goofy and sweet West I’ve come to worry I’ll never be the same without.

He yanks the comforter from over my face. “We made FrankieCakes,” West whispers in my ear, crushing me under his weight while passing me his phone.

I squint at the bright light shining through the open blinds to find Frankie sporting a fresh cut bob skimming the top of her shoulders with wispy curtain bangs and a gloss to make her natural copper shine. “I walked them through it, JoJo, but I don’t know how good they’re gonna be.” She doesn’t address her hair, and neither do I—every girl needs a hair change after a breakup. It’s a good sign she’s moving on!

West crawls off me, staying close on the bed while Kell climbs into frame. “Hey, Enzo is a great cook! They’re gonna be better, I bet. We’ll have to rename them EnzoCakes.”

Frankie sticks her tongue out, and I can smell breakfast now that I’m coming to.

Sitting up with a yawn, West’s eyes dart to my chest. I don’t bother looking down, because I know he’s staring at my nipples poking through my shirt.

We catch eyes, and his smile confirms exactly that.

I shift my focus to Frankie, watching her plop down on her couch. “Okay, so listen to this. Remember that band Syn was playing in a couple years ago with the drummer from Canada?”

I hum, smiling to myself softly. “How could I forget?” That’s how I was introduced to the blonde guitarist with the best set of tits I’ve ever seen in my life—I’m pretty sure West and I have similar taste in women… Which doesn’t explain his attraction to me.

Frankie groans. West stiffens. Kell decides it’s time to leave the room. “And on that note, I’m gonna go help Enzo. Food’s ready in twenty.” He leaves the room, his head popping back through the doorway. “Oh, and Jo?” He smiles, looks down at my chest, then back up to my eyes. I freeze, caught off guard, but before I snap, he mouths, nice shirt, and disappears again.

Naturally, I look down, catching a quick glimpse of West’s I Heart Cougars cut off.

Frankie hasn’t noticed, or she would have already said something. I tilt the phone up and shoot daggers at West.

“Back to Syn…” he offers, grinning like a fucking idiot at my realization he hadn’t just been staring at my nipples.

“Stop hooking up with my girl friends,” Frankie sneers.