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A knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts. When I opened, Lala was standing there holding two smoothies.
My heart wanted to burst. Her hair was especially unruly and wind-blown. And her scent, which had unfortunately begun to fade from my shirt, was back in full force as it wafted toward me. Despite everything, I’d missed her so damn much.
“Hey!” I smiled.
“Hi.” She lifted one of the cups. “I, uh, know you like that smoothie place. I passed by on the way home from work and figured I’d bring you one.”
“Thanks. That was sweet of you.” I stepped aside. “Come in.”
“Is…everything okay with you?” she asked.
“Yeah.” I swallowed. “Why do you ask?”
“I feel like maybe I made you uncomfortable the other night at the hotel. And that’s why you’ve been quiet.”
Fuck. “No, Lala. You didn’t do anything to make me uncomfortable. Trust me.”
“Okay. Well…I can get out of your hair if you’re busy.”
“Stay,” I insisted. “I don’t have anything going on. Just a gig later tonight.”
“Oh. Is it in the City?”
“Yeah. At a bar. We played there last night, too.”
She sat down on my sofa. “What have I missed in Holden’s world?”
“Not much.” I sat down, took a sip, and kicked my feet up. “The band has been busy, and I fixed not one, but two leaky sinks this week. Other than that, things have been pretty boring. What about you?”
“The research project is going more smoothly. I got a second admin finally.”
“Nice.”
“Hey…” She grinned. “You never told me what happened with the guinea pig. Did you give it to Saylor?”
“Well, after her triumphant recovery from the Hot Cheeto incident, I took her to Colby’s the following morning. Right before you called me about the car, actually.” I laughed. “Colby’s still pissed at me. But, yeah, Saylor was psyched.”
“He’s gonna let her keep it, right?”
“Yep. He and Billie basically had no choice. That’s why he’s pissed.”
Lala laughed. It was good to see her smile.
I ran my finger along the side of my cup. “Any more news on the California situation?”
She shook her head. “He won’t find out anything for a while. It’s been weighing on me, though. I’ve been in kind of a funk about it ever since I got back.”
Don’t ask her to come out tonight to break out of her funk. “You should come to the show tonight. Let loose.”
She didn’t immediately answer.
“I don’t know.” She bit her bottom lip. “It’s a work night.”
Good girl, Lala. Stay away from me. “No pressure.”
Silence filled the room. Then out of nowhere, she seemed to perk up.
“You know what? The days are passing fast. I won’t have endless opportunities to see you play. So, yeah. I’ll go.” She smiled.
Inwardly psyched, I also felt like I’d taken a hundred steps back in my resolve to distance myself. Nice going.
***
There was nothing like looking out into the audience and seeing Lala watching me play. It wasn’t always easy to identify faces, depending on the lighting. But I made sure to take note of where she was going to be standing. Tonight at this smaller venue, I found I had a clearer view than normal. My performance was also on point.
As I stepped off of the platform at the end and looked over at Lala’s smiling face, all seemed right in the world. Well, except for the fact that Lala was still with Warren, and I still seemed incapable of staying away from her.
Wiping sweat off my forehead, I asked, “What did you think?”
“Was it just me or were you particularly amazing tonight?”
“It wasn’t just you. I felt the same. Thank you for noticing.” I lowered my mouth to her ear. “How about a vodka cranberry to celebrate?”
“Just one. I have to be alert tomorrow,” she yelled through the noise.
“You got it.”
I went to the bar and fetched us two vodka cranberries. I only ever drank them when I was with her—or when I was using that particular drink as an excuse to text her.
We chatted and sipped for a while, and then since it was a work night and Lala had to get back at a decent hour, I opted to get us our own car rather than wait to share the SUV with the guys.
As we were exiting the bar, Cara—the girl I’d kissed the night before—stopped me.
“Hey, Holden, you left this at my place last night.”
Shit. When she handed me my beanie, my stomach sank. “Thanks.”
I resumed walking, placing my hand on the small of Lala’s back to guide her forward and away from Cara. I couldn’t even look at Lala because I realized the conclusion she must have drawn. But why did it matter? That was the fucked-up part.
Lala’s face had turned beet red by the time we faced each other on the sidewalk outside. “I guess you lied when you said not much has been going on, huh? Or maybe sleeping over at some rando’s house isn’t all that special? Just par for the course?”
