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Bobby glares at me. A torrent of emotions races through his dark brown eyes, but I can’t decipher any of them. “No.”
“Bobby.”
“I’m pissed because I thought it us versus them. We’re not about commitments. Single forever. But I guess I was wrong.”
Is that all this is? Bobby is pissed because I’m not standing firm on the single for life promise we made years ago. If that’s the case, I’m not going to ask him if he has feelings for me.
“Dude, I wouldn’t stand in your way if you found someone special. Besides, we can hang in Korea. Come with me. Help me find Lyric.”
“Fuck no.” Bobby looks away. “You know what? Forget it. Do whatever the fuck you want. I’m heading back to Vegas tomorrow. You can find me there, balls deep into whatever person I find, once you are done ghost hunting.” He then storms off.
What just happened confirms my belief that there’s no way Bobby has feelings for me. He gave me no signs just now, especially when he mentioned hooking up while he’s in Vegas. And he’s never given me the slightest indication all the times before when we’ve each hooked up with different people—men and woman. No. Ron is wrong.
Irritation and guilt hit me in the balls. I’m irritated about his barb on ghost hunting, because ghosting is exactly what Lyric did to me. Then the guilt gallops in like a racehorse, because Bobby is my best friend. We have always hung out during our off times, but this time will be different. Lyric is different.
I stand there, alone, like a fucking idiot. Not sure what to do about my friend. Should I chase after him?
My indecision is interrupted when Dante strides toward me, an envelope in their outstretched hand. They don’t hand it over though. “What’s up with Bobby?”
“I think he’s mad at me for going after Lyric,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck.
“You think?” Dante’s incredulous tone has me eyeing our manager before I release a heavy sigh.
“He’ll get over it,” I utter under my breath.
“If you say so,” Dante says, then adds, “I’m sticking my neck out for you, and just to let you know, Lyric will be pissed at me for giving this information to you. But Ron says to do it.” Then they finally hand me the envelope.
I take it and open it to read the contents. Now that I know where Lyric is, I have to come up with a plan to woo the man I can’t stop dreaming about. But first, I need to head home to see my family, to get their input on my insane decision before I jump on a plane to Seoul.
My cell phone pings with a text message. I glance at the screen and smile.
“Right on cue.” I tap the screen and call my mother.
“Sweetheart, when are you coming home? We miss you,” she says in the overly dramatic way she’s known for. I roll my eyes skyward. I love my mother, but she can be slightly suffocating.
When she gets that way, my father word’s stick out of my mind. Son, she’s your mother. It’s her right.
I shake my head and answer her. “I’m coming home tomorrow. Need to talk to you and Pops about something.”
“Good. Your brothers will be here too. We’ll have our listening ears on.”
I groan. “I’d prefer them not be there.” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. I love my brothers, but all three of them are a pain in my ass. They tend to stick their opinions in my business, especially when I don’t ask for it.
“We’ll see,” she singsongs. “I’ll make your favorite, lasagna. When are you coming, exactly?”
“I’ll try to catch a flight tomorrow morning, but Mom, I’m not staying long.”
“We’ll talk tomorrow, Rafe. Now I have to go to the store. Love you.” She hangs up without hesitation.
I let out a sigh, thinking that going home might be a bad idea after all.
Chapter Two
Lyric
Iwake with a start. My cell phone, which is being charged on the nightstand, vibrates. I glance at the screen and grin. My crazy sister sends me a wake-up emoji. This one is a black cat playing the piano, with a caption that says, It’s time to wake up and start the day with a song.
I turn on my side instead of answering her and stare, blurry-eyed, out the window.
