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Cole:
Good luck
Before I put my phone away, I scrolled back to Cole’s photo. Biting down on my lip, I studied it for a minute, my gaze tracing the lines of his face. With a sigh, I gave in to the inevitable and set his photo as my wallpaper.Goodbye, Oasis. It was nice knowing you, but now I have a new obsession.
I’d just have to remember not to leave my phone lying around where our parents could see it. Or Cole.
20
Ifinally heard from Huxley just after 8:00 p.m., saying he’d eaten at the campus with Curtis and was on his way to Revolve. A wide grin stretched over my face when his text appeared on my screen, and I sent back a casual “see you soon” as if I hadn’t been obsessively checking my phone for the past two hours.
I couldn’t fucking wait to see him. I wanted to hear about his day, to find out how he got on at uni, and to—
“Someone’s extra happy today. Got laid last night?” Smirking, Tom nudged me with his elbow as he passed me with a crate of beers, which he lowered to the floor.
“Can’t I just be in a good mood?” Kneeling next to him, I began loading the fridge in front of us with bottles from the crate.
“You’re normally in a good mood when you’re here. But not like this. What’s up with the Cheshire cat grin?”
“Mind your own fucking business,” I told him without any heat in my voice. He just grinned and shook his head as he placed bottles on the shelf below the one I was refilling.
“Sooner or later, you’ll crack.”
“Will I?” So he didn’t question me any further, I directed the conversation to something else I’d been meaning to speak to him about. I purposely wanted to mention my proposal to him rather than Huxley because I didn’t want Huxley to feel like I was doing him favours all the time, in case he got weird about it. “I spoke to one of my bosses about you.”
“Me?” Pausing in the middle of lifting a bottle from the crate, he swung his gaze to mine. “Why? They’re not thinking of letting me go, are they?”
“Uh, sorry, no. I should’ve clarified. Not the bosses here. Kaito, my boss at my volunteer job. I remembered he had a relative who owns a music studio, so I mentioned your band to him. He put me in touch with his brother, and I sent him the link to the band’s YouTube and social media links.”
“And…” Tom’s full focus was on me, and it looked like he was holding his breath.
“And. Long story short, he was impressed with you guys. He said you could use the studio once a month on a Sunday morning if you want, free of charge. Something about him paying it forward and helping out local up-and-coming talent. It’s somewhere south of the river, can’t remember where exactly, but I don’t think it’s too far from Waterloo station.”
“Are you serious right now?”
“Yeah. If you want it, he told me to pass on his number, and he’ll sort it.”
Tom suddenly lunged at me, sending us both off balance as he threw his arms around my waist. “I fucking love you!” he shouted, way too close to my ear. The crate of beers wobbled as his thigh crashed into it, the bottles inside clinking ominously.
“Whoa, watch the beers.” As we straightened up, I shot him a grin. “No need to proclaim your love for me. It was nothing, really. All I did was mention you to my boss in passing.” Or harassed him both by email and in person and then sent his brother a long email detailing exactly why he should care about this band that he’d never heard anything about before in his life. But whatever. No one else needed to know that part.
Climbing to my feet, I grabbed my phone from the shelf under the bar, where I’d temporarily stashed it, and then sent the details to Tom.
“Bro, I’m buzzing. We need to celebrate this, and you’re coming with us. A proper studio. Fucking hell, look at these mixing decks! This amp!” Tom had already pulled up the studio website and was scrolling through the images at a rapid pace.
“Glad you approve. But you guys should celebrate as a band. And you should make the most of the studio. Put out some of your own songs, as well as the covers.”
He hugged me again, mumbling his thanks, and when he let me go, Huxley was there, standing on the opposite side of the bar with a dark look on his face.
My stomach churned. Bad fucking timing. I hoped he’d listen to my explanation because everything he’d just seen was completely innocent. “Hux. I, uh, didn’t know you were here already.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” He folded his arms across his chest. He looked so fucking gorgeous, even pissed off, and I had a sudden flashback to the way we used to be with each other, when we were on opposite sides. Had I wanted to fuck him even then? Yeah. Yeah, I had. Looking back, I could admit that much to myself now.
Tom stared between us, and I could see the moment comprehension dawned. His brows rose, and his mouth fell open before he forcibly snapped his jaw shut with an audible click. “I’m going to get another crate of drinks. I’ll leave you two to it.”
“No, you won’t.” I reached out and gripped his arm, holding him in place. “I’mgoing to get another crate of drinks, and I’m taking Huxley with me.” I shot him a hard look, and the second he’d recovered from his surprise, he smirked at me.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
