Right?
“I like Sophie. We’re together. That’s it. There’s nothing else to it. So just keep your holier than thou opinions to yourself,” I had growled in his face before storming off.
I hadn’t broken my knuckle thankfully and after I had simmered down I felt like a fool for going off on Jordan like that. We both apologized later, but Gracie and our one-night stand was never mentioned again.
Sophie never brought her up either.
Gracie became the dirty word never uttered. Which made it hard when said dirty word was friends with all of my friends.
At first seeing Gracie had been like torture. Silent, horrible torture. Because on the outside I never let on that I was a miserable, fucking mess inside.
To everyone else I was just Mitch. Maybe a little colder than normal, but the same I had always been. But I made sure to never be alone with Gracie. I purposefully avoided eye contact. And I sure as shit never got close. I wasn’t sure what I’d do if I could smell her. If I was close enough to see the mole on the side of her neck, I’d lose my damn mind.
But Sophie never left my side. She was my savior. She kept my mind off the person who had hurt me the most. I was lucky to have her.
She helped me move on.
And I had moved on.
Or so I thought.
But there were times when my newly erected armor had some serious chinks. And just hearing her name and knowing that I’d see her, left me with a feeling that I tried to suppress.
Gracie Cook made me feel out of control. She made me wild and crazy.
She was the drug I could never get enough of.
And going cold turkey had been the only way to survive her.
I realized I had balled my hands into fists and I forced them to relax.
“Yeah, she sounded pretty good. I was getting worried when we hadn’t seen her for so long,” Garrett was going on. My mouth went dry and I tried to swallow.
Why would they be worried about her? Had something happened?
It didn’t matter. Gracie had issues. A lot of them. I had tried to help her, to be there for her, and she had shit all over me.
But if something was going on with her—
It doesn’t matter!
She had Viv and Maysie. She had her parents.
Who treated her like crap. Remember how she cried in your arms as she told you about how cold and horrible they were. What if she was drinking again? Maybe she needs me…
I had to stop thinking about this stuff.
I slammed the top of my case down and quickly closed the clasps.
“I’m heading out,” I said a little too loudly as I got to my feet.
Garrett looked at me and nodded. I refused to meet his eyes. The fucker saw too much as it was.
“You ready to go?” I asked Sophie, who was still sitting quietly on the edge of the stage. She nodded and scrambled to her feet.
I picked up my bass and started to head off the stage.
“Are you guys going to be around before the show on Friday? We thought once the girls were in town we could all go out and get something to eat,” Cole said.
I gripped Sophie’s hand tightly. “I doubt we’ll be around,” I responded coolly.
I noticed the look that passed between Cole, Jordan, and Garrett. It was obvious I was a topic of discussion when I wasn’t around.
“Well, if you change your mind, let us know,” Jordan added.
I didn’t bother to respond as I all but dragged Sophie out of the venue.
“Whoa, Mitch. Slow down. My legs are half the length of yours,” Sophie laughed once we were outside.
I let go of her and shoved my hands in my pocket, feeling like an idiot. “Sorry. I was just feeling a little claustrophobic in there. It’s a small venue, isn’t it?”
Sophie frowned. “Yeah, it’s a lot smaller than some of the other places you’ve played. Are you sure—”
“You hungry? I could eat a horse,” I interjected.
Sophie’s eyes narrowed. “What’s going on, Mitch?”
I shrugged and started walking towards a small diner at the end of the block. “Nothing. I’m fine. Just hungry and a little tired, I guess.”
Sophie sighed from beside me. “I had hoped that by now this wasn’t still going to be an issue,” she murmured under her breath.
I knew what she was referring to and I felt a rush of my old friend guilt.
“Soph—”
“Let’s get something to eat. Maybe you’ll feel better after that,” she said brightly. But it was fake. So fake.
Just like your entire relationship.
Wait a minute! Where did that come from?
I didn’t think that, did I?
I looked down at my girlfriend of over a year and the guilt became overwhelming.
I cared about Sophie.
But I didn’t love her.
No.
Maybe.
I wasn’t sure.
I only had my feelings for Gracie to compare it to. And there really wasn’t any comparison. But I wanted to love Sophie. It would be so much better than this giant lump of balled up bullshit in my gut that Gracie had left behind.
Fuck feelings. They sucked.
We remained quiet until we were seated in the restaurant.
“So Maysie and the other girls are coming up this weekend. That’ll be…fun,” Sophie hedged, looking at the menu.
Sophie really was pretty with curly brown hair that fell to her shoulders and nice brown eyes. She had a sweet innocence that was appealing. She was quiet and on the shy side and made me feel as though she needed protecting.
It seemed I had a thing for the girls I felt the need to take care of.
I had to stop thinking about Gracie.
It would only lead to all sorts of trouble.
Crap.
Now I was thinking about Gracie.
Her smile.
Her laugh.
The way she rolled her eyes at my lame attempts at jokes.
The cute little birthmark shaped like a heart on the inside of her thigh…
Stop it, fuck face! Look at your nice girlfriend!
Sophie looked nothing like Gracie.
Gracie.
Messed-up-but-I-couldn’t-get-enough-of-her Gracie.
Cue the minor heart attack and need to upchuck all over the table.
Sophie cleared her throat and pushed hair out of her eyes. I remember how much I liked her in high school. She had been the first girl I had ever gone on a date with. I had been a total dork back in the day. Talking to girls left me stuttering and unable to formulate sentences. And Soph had been the new girl who had taken pity on the socially inept dweeb who wore tube socks way past when it was acceptable to do so.
It hadn’t been a relationship by any means, only a few dates. She let me kiss her and touch her boob once and then it had fizzled out. No messy break-up or tears. We just sort of stopped hanging out.
The truth was that before she came back into my life, I hadn’t thought of Sophie Lanier in years. Not until the night we ran into each other at Barton’s.
“Sure,” I said, staring so hard at the menu I’d have the damn thing memorized.
“Is something wrong, Mitch? You’re really tense?”
I forced my shoulders to relax and I looked over at Sophie and gave her, what I hoped, was a sincere smile.
“Like I said, I’m just hungry. You know I can be a real diva until I up my calorie intake,” I teased.
Sophie’s face darkened. “Is this about Gracie?” she asked quietly. Too quietly.
I feigned surprise. “Gracie? What are you talking about?” God, I sounded like I had sucked down helium.
Sophie sighed and turned her attention back to the menu. “I’ll be glad when this tour is over. I think everyone is a little frayed around the edges,” she murmured. I was glad the topic of Gracie had been sidelined for the time being.
Crisis averted.
“Yeah, this tour has been pretty draining. It feels like no matter how much our shows rock, it just isn’t good enough anymore. At one time our music was the only thing that mattered. Now it’s all about ticket sales and single downloads.”