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“You could have taken the Chevelle,” José suggested as they passed Milo’s car.

“I could have …”

But he wasn’t ready for that yet. Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow morning, but not now. So he got into José’s car without any guilt and closed the door. Thanks to the air conditioning, it was already pleasantly cool.

“Can we make a quick stop at Valerie’s?”

Valerie’s was on the way and only five minutes from Tristan’s home. It was the place in the area for the best sandwiches.

“Sure,” José replied as he revered the car. “But you do realize we’re already running late.”

“It wasn’t my fault,” Tristan countered with a smile. “You’re only showing up now.”

“You know the traffic in this city. And Iggy’s car is still in the shop. You could give him the Chevelle; it would save me a lot of driving time.”

Tristan didn’t respond to that. He would never give Milo’s car to anyone—and José knew that too well. Too many memories were attached to it. After all, they had come here from Vegas with this car.

José parked in front of Valerie’s, and they entered the store together. They ordered sandwiches and waited at a small table in the air-conditioned dining area. After picking up their to-go order, they headed to the Gaucho. During the drive through traffic, Tristan rested his arm on the window, mentally reviewing the setlist. Eventually, he retrieved his black notebook and a small pen from his back pocket, jotting down notes.

“The setlist?” José asked.

“Yeah …”

“Why is it suddenly so important to you?”

“It has always been important to me,” he murmured, concentrating.

“You do realize that Andrej won’t just accept it like that?” José asked, amused.

“He’ll have to,” Tristan replied. “There’s no other option.”

There was silence for a while until José turned from Alvarado onto 7th Street.

“I really hope Leaf shows up. Andrej is already waiting for his next mistake.”

“He’ll come.”

“Like he showed up at the Standard yesterday?” José asked, giving him a quick glance. “I met Andrej later at the Gaucho. He told me what happened. Damn, Tris, why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because … it’s already too far in the past and I …”

“That Clint caught you off guard. Fuck … And Leaf knew?”

“Mhm …”

“That was nice of him to drop everything and come to your rescue.”

“Yeah.”

When José stopped in front of the Gaucho, Leaf’s car was nowhere in sight. Still, Tristan hoped he had already arrived and parked a few streets away—which was nonsense. The sound of thumping bass emanated from the rehearsal room. Tristan carried the food, while José marched ahead and held the door open for him.

“Hey! Guys!” Andrej called out, abruptly stopping his playing.

Tristan attempted to smile, though it proved challenging. Leaf’s absence felt like a setback after they had spent so many enjoyable hours together yesterday. Despite this, Tristan’s appetite hadn’t waned. Feeling hungry, he sat down on the couch and ate his sandwich. José joined him, doing the same.

“No! You went to Valerie’s?” Andrej said enviously.

José tore open the paper bag further and pulled out a sandwich for Andrej.