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But she wasn’t there. Ryan was trying to give her space. She wasn’t twelve, so he shouldn’t be texting her to find out where she was as if she’d missed curfew.
Right? Right.
Shit, this relationship stuff was hard. Harder than he’d ever even guessed.
He rolled his shoulders. The show was about to start, and yes, it was a major event in his life, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t take a few moments to process. More than a few now. Perhaps she’d talked to her uncle and now was taking a little time for herself before joining everyone.
Besides, Donovan always had pressing business with Lila. It wasn’t as if Denver and Ryan dating was a big deal. It was to them, but Donovan had probably seen and heard it all.
Still, Ryan had expected some response from the man. Even if it was some dubious side-eye. Nothing.
“Hey Molster,” Lo said, leaning forward toward Molly, who sat on the opposite side of the table, looking icily perfect in a pale blue dress and with her hair in a twisty knot thing on top of her head. “Is Ethan coming tonight?”
Molly blinked at Lo. “How would I know?”
“Oh, I don’t know, he just totally abandoned us at the Keith concert to play tonsil tune-up with you. Then when he returned, he said he had to go but he’d see me soon. Every time I text lately he’s MIA, so I’m thinking he’s avoiding my casual questions.”
“Casual questions?” West repeated with a smirk. “You mean full-scale interrogation.”
Molly reached for her water goblet. “I wouldn’t know his whereabouts.”
“Sure about that? Y’all seemed awful cozy.”
Molly’s blue eyes flashed. “Ask him if you want to know what happened.”
“Oooh. Something did happen.” Lo rose and scampered around the table to sit in the free chair on the other side of Molly. “Want me to kill him? We’ve been friends forever. I know all his weak spots. He’s horribly ticklish, for one. And he hurt his knee during soccer in eleventh grade, so if you kick him just right in his left leg, you can take him down with hardly any pressure.”
Molly’s lips twitched into a slight smile. “Why would you be on my side? Not saying there is a side.”
“Hello, girl power.” Lo slid her arm through Molly’s and grinned. “We are the last line of defense between men and complete asshattery. We stand together or we all fall.”
Michael leaned toward West across the table. “Dude, thinking you’ll be couching it tonight if you don’t put a stop to that.”
“Nah, I’m good. She’s on the G-spot orgasm chapter of her book.” West winked and wiggled his fingers. “She needs my help.”
Jules groaned. “Oh my God, is it time for the show to start yet? I’m dying here. Isn’t ‘Get Lucky’ first?”
“Luc,” Molly corrected, still holding Lo’s arm. Maybe she was more nervous about the award than she was letting on, or else she intended to take Lo up on her offer of female solidarity. “The Grunge is performing first, and then Luc, and Lindsey York from Brooklyn Dawn, are presenting our award.” She sighed and tugged Lo that much closer. Lo snuggled in as if they were newfound best friends. “I mean Best New Artist.”
“It’s ours. Gotta cement that shit in the Has Been Hall of Fame,” Mal said lazily, sticking his finger in one of the tiny stuffed mushrooms in the appetizer tray in the center of the table.
Elle wrinkled her nose. “Uncouth.”
“Big vocabulary from such a little girl. You been bench pressing with the dictionary, Little Ricki?”
“Little Ricki could kick your ass,” Nick said from the other side of the table. Though he was smiling, it was about as friendly as a junkyard dog about to attack. He didn’t take kindly to anyone messing with his twin sister. “And I’d help.” Nick glanced at his wife. “You want a piece of this action too, Li?”
Lila was Mal’s former stepmother. Lila had divorced Mal and Michael’s father some years ago, and Mal and Lila maintained a barely civil relationship. The civil part was entirely on Lila’s side. Mal seemed as if he couldn’t stand her.
“I’m Switzerland,” Lila said with a thin smile. “I don’t get involved.”
“Wish you’d said that two years ago before you came looking for me,” Mal muttered, jerking to his feet and lumbering off.
Lila cleared her throat and reached for the appetizer tray. “Mushroom, anyone?”
Molly narrowed her eyes. “What did he mean, you came looking for him? I thought Michael got him into the band.”
Lila didn’t glance her way. She delicately speared a mushroom far away from Mal’s finger action and placed it on her plate. “You know Malachi,” she said airily. “Always spouting things that don’t make sense.”
