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“Can I give you my number?”
“I assume that means you want mine?”
“I do, but I won’t ask you for it.I just want you to be able to connect with me if you decide you want to.”
“Okay.”He rattles off his number and I type it into my phone.
Fifteen minutes later, Mick pulls up outside Molly’s house.
“We’re playing again tomorrow night—I guess tonight now.I’d really like it if you would come.”
“I’ll try.”
“Fair enough.”
He reaches out and tucks some hair behind my ear.I want to lean into his touch, and that is a bad, bad idea.Instead, I pull away.
“I have to go.”
NINE
Mick
The next evening,I meet up with the rest of the band for dinner before heading to Frets.
“What was that about last night, man?”Dylan asks after the server is finished passing out our drinks.
I don’t bother to act like I don’t know what he’s talking about.I knew this was coming.“It’s an old story that will require a lot more beer than this before I’m willing to share.”
“We’ll meet up at your place after the show, then,” Jesse says with a grin.
“No, we won’t.”
Sid, our bass player pats me on the shoulder.“Yeah, we will.”
I give in.It’s clear the boys aren’t going to give me a pass and if Erin comes to Frets tonight, I want to take her back to my place after.
“Fine.Her name is Erin.We met in Skipton?—”
“Wait.She’s English?”
I shoot Jesse a dirty look.“If you’re going to interrupt, I’m done.”
Jesse presses his lips together and nods.
“As I was saying, we met in Skipton about sixteen years ago.Back when I was playing with Echo of Defiance.I’d seen her around—we drank in the same pubs and had a friend or two in common.Hard not to, given the size of the town.”
I take a long sip of my beer to give me time to gather my thoughts.“Anyway, she was playing pool, and I challenged her to a game.She beat me, and I bought her a drink.Actually, I bought her a couple drinks, walked her home, and arranged to meet her at the pub the next night.”
Another sip.More memories.Most of which I can’t share.“We wound up dating for the better part of a year.Then one day, out of the blue, she broke up with me.That was the last I saw of her—until last night.A few weeks after she dumped me, I heard that she’d returned to Canada.”
“Wait a minute.She’s the oneLast Smileis about.”
Trust Sid to put it all together.
My answer is to throw a bunch of cash on the table to cover my tab and walk out.
We’re almost halfway through our first set and there’s no sign of Erin.
