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“I know that.”
“Do you?” he asks, leaning in a little closer. “Because the way I see it, this all started because she thought you stole lyrics from her. And then it turns out you two were thrown together by some random act of fate, and those lyrics mean something to both of you in different ways. Can you imagine how much she’s dealing with right now, on top of having a broken heart and a cell phone that won’t stop exploding with messages.”
“They are my lyrics.”
“Yes, they’re the lyrics of you, Reed,” he sighs softly, shaking his head. “But they’re also the lyrics of her. Just give her some time to come around. If she really has feelings for you, then you might get what you want. But women don’t like to be forced when they’re dealing with emotions and shit.”
“When did you get to be so wise?”
Quinn smiles and slides back out of the seat again. “Just don’t do anything stupid you can’t take back.”
“I miss her.”
He nods and grabs his bag from the overhead bin. “Pretty sure she misses you too.”
“You think?”
“Just put yourself in her shoes, Reed. Chasing her down will just drive her farther away.”
He walks away from me, leaving me with the thought that maybe he’s right. Why is he always so rational and level-headed? I mull his words over and over in my head, thinking things through. Coming up with a way to get through the next three months without Brinley by my side, in my heart, in my bed, is the stuff nightmares are made of.
But it could also be the one thing I need to make all my dreams come true. I have to fix this. I have to find a way to make things right with her again.
She needs time. Fine. I’ll give her time.
But I will be coming back for what’s mine.
I send her another text message. Just short and sweet.
Me: Wait for me.
And then I switch off my phone and get off the plane with the others.
We have a job to do, and I’m going to give this tour everything I’ve got. There’s too much riding on it. My future.Ourfuture.
It’s time to go do what I do best.
Brinley
Three months later…
Spending the holidays alone in the city was actually more liberating than I thought it would be. I slowed down, I reflected, and I took my time to appreciate all the little things in life. Christmas came and went. I missed my family, of course I did, but I couldn’t face going back to Ohio again, not so soon after the wedding.
The new year rolled around, and with it came opportunities I never thought possible.
I wandered the snowy streets of New York, exploring places I’d never been to before. I spent my mornings sipping hot chocolate in Times Square, reading books, and writing songs. I wrote a shitload of new songs. Amazing, really, what a broken heart can do to get your creative juices flowing.
I spent my afternoons strolling through Central Park, and I even tried my hand at ice skating in front of The Rockefeller Center.
The first week of January, I bought myself a new car. Not a brand new car, of course, but newer than my old one. The money I earned from theGoodbye NYconcert, added together with the income from my other gigs, was enough to buy a car, cover my bills and rent for the coming months, and still allowed me to set aside a little nest egg for the future.
The concert had generated a lot of interest in my music, and by the end of February, I was at the point where people were chasing me to book their events. I even had to knock some work back, I was so busy. But busy was good, and it kept me from having too much time to think.
By mid-March, I’d paid off all my debts to both Ray and to Reed. I wrote Reed a check for everything I owed him and left it at the reception desk of his building. It was hard to walk into that place and not think of him, but I did it, and I’m proud of myself for how far I’ve come in such a small amount of time.
Speaking of Reed, I haven’t heard from him since he sent me that text message almost three months ago, asking me to wait for him.
I didn’t really know what he meant by it at the time. All I know is that I miss him like crazy, and I wish things could have been different between us.
