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They all looked at me as if I was just as insane.
“Ballsy fucker. What you play, hombre?” Santi asked.
“Guitar.”
He nodded at Yorke. “He thinks he’s that good. We should hear this, eh?”
Yorke shrugged, unimpressed, and passed me his guitar.
I started to sweat. I’d been all confidence when I made the decision to come back here. I had no idea what had possessed me. I’d heard hundreds of shit bands come through here. Except this one was different. They weren’t shitty. They knew what they were doing. They were just missing something. I hadn’t actually meant to tell them that I was what they were missing, but then the guitar was shoved in my hands, and everything disappeared.
I strummed the opening to “I See the Real You” and let loose.
I got through the first chorus when Bobby Rogers stepped out of the shadows and changed my life.
“I See the Real You” was my big break in every sense of the word. I’d never suspected that I’d join this band, this family. Especially not after years of busting ass in LA, trying to “make it” like everyone else there.
People asked me all the time if I was going to go solo, but I’d tried to be solo for years in LA. The only way I’d ever found my way into the music industry was with this band. They were as much my family as Hollin and Julian were. I couldn’t imagine ever doing this without them.
“We’ll get it worked out,” I assured them as I went back to the bar.
“Of course we will,” Viv said, reaching out and pinching my cheek. “Because I told Bobby I’d stay until the end of July, and if we didn’t have it by then, we’d figure it out in LA.”
“Seems fair.”
Back to this deadline.
A month.
A month to figure out an album.
A month to make Blaire fall for me.
Again.
15
Blaire
“I can’t believe you’re moving out tomorrow,” Piper said with a sigh as she drove us to the soccer game.
Jennifer couldn’t hide her grin. “I know. But I’ll still see you all the time.”
“But I won’t come home to you in a marathon editing binge.”
“That is true,” I agreed. “And you’re taking the cats.”
I was still sad to see Avocado and Bacon go. I definitely wouldn’t get to see them as much as Jennifer.
“They deserve to be with Tortilla,” Jennifer said of the little white kitten that Julian had gotten her last year that had transformed into a large white cat.
“Your cat names are ridiculous,” Piper said.
“I know. That’s why I like them.”
“We’ll miss you,” I told her.
“I just want all the tea about you and Campbell,” Jennifer said, leaning forward against the center console.
“There is no tea,” I said.
Piper rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. You went to his place on the Fourth. Something happened. You’ve been more cagey than normal.”
Jennifer poked my shoulder. “Spill.”
“Well, he kissed me.”
The girls squealed, and I burst into laughter, covering my ears.
“You kissed!” Piper gasped. “How have you kept this from us for so long?”
“That is an excellent question,” Jennifer agreed.
“I freaked out and left after it happened.”
“Why?” Piper asked.
“It’s Campbell Abbey!” Jennifer said. “Come on.”
“That’s exactly why.”
And then I sighed and decided it was beyond time. I should have told them when they first started asking about Campbell. I’d held it so tight to myself for years that it was terrifying to tell someone.
“We dated in high school.”
Piper reached across the Jeep and took my hand. “You can tell us.”
I nodded and swallowed down the lump in my throat. I could barely talk about it. Let alone let myself relive it.
“It was a vivid few months. As if I were finally living in Technicolor after living my entire life in black-and-white. I don’t think I’ve ever loved someone so much, and I’ll never feel like that again.” I clenched Piper’s hand tighter. “Living with such abandon that I let myself fall that hard.”
“What happened?” Jennifer whispered.
“He left,” Piper said as if she’d already heard the story.
“Yes. He went to LA, and I stayed here.”
“You didn’t try long-distance?”
I laughed hoarsely. “At eighteen, when I was about to go to college and he was a thousand miles away? No. He didn’t want to, and it wouldn’t have worked anyway.”
“Are you going to try again now that he’s back?” Piper asked.
I shrugged. “Is he back?”
Jennifer chewed on her bottom lip but didn’t say anything. Piper didn’t either. Because none of us knew. He was here for a limited time to figure out his album, but then what? I couldn’t imagine him ever moving back to Lubbock permanently. And I could hardly see myself leaving Lubbock.
Even if I wanted something with Campbell, I couldn’t get past that point. He’d left me once at the hardest time of my life. It wouldn’t be enough to have a little fling while he was in town even if I wanted it. And I still didn’t know if I did.
