Cole slapped his hand down on the table. “That’s right! I never knew where you got the idea for that song. It couldn’t have been from that chick you were dating at the time. She seemed to be the lie-on-your-back-and-think-of-the-Queen kind of screw.”
Jordan scowled but didn’t rise to the bait.
Garrett started to hum and I joined him. Jordan started to tap in rhythm on the table. Finally Cole started to sing the lyrics we all knew by heart.
Desire drips off your tongue
Legs tangled and abused
Smoldering in the aftermath
Bodies tired and used.
Your eyes hold a secret
That you’ll never tell,
The fire inside consumes me
I will embrace your hell.”
I never sang. That wasn’t my role in our group. Even though Garrett and Jordan sometimes sang lead vocals I had always been content to stay in the background. I didn’t need the limelight. I didn’t crave the fame. I had always been happy to play my music and do my thing.
So I surprised everyone by singing the chorus to our song.
Touch me,
Tease me,
Need me,
Hate me…”
“Damn Mitch, I always forget you can sing,” Jordan remarked with a grin.
I ran my hand over my mouth a little embarrassed. “Yeah, well just because I don’t flaunt it like the rest of you divas doesn’t mean I can’t.”
“With all the girls here this weekend we should battle it out with some serious karaoke. Just like old times,” Jordan suggested.
“Yeah, that sounds cool. As long as Cole remembers to keep it in his pants this time,” I said.
“With my girl here, I can’t promise anything. Karaoke makes her hot,” Cole smirked.
“Reading the newspaper makes her hot,” Garrett muttered.
“Hey. I’m not the only one that gets all revved up in the trousers during karaoke. Remember the time Mitch and Gracie sang that duet? I thought you were going to go at it right there on the stage. You two were all smoldering sexual tension. Viv and I had to go bang one out in the bathroom we were so turned on,” Cole snickered.
“Man, you never know when to shut up,” Garrett deadpanned.
My good mood was instantly gone. I looked over at Sophie and could see she wasn’t amused.
“Babe—” I began but stopped because she was already on her feet.
“I’ll see you on the bus,” Sophie said quietly and with a barely there smile to the rest of the guys, she left.
“What crawled up her ass?” Cole asked.
“Dude, did you have to bring her up? In front of Sophie? You know that shit’s not cool!” I snapped.
Cole frowned. “I don’t get it. You’ve been with Sophie for what? A year? Why is my bringing up some old shit with Gracie a problem?”
I looked to Garrett and Jordan for help but neither of them said anything. Assholes.
“Because—”
“Because you boned her? So what. That was a long time ago.” Cole looked genuinely perplexed.
I swallowed thickly. “Yeah. It was.”
Sometimes it felt like another life.
My normally oblivious band mate was watching me way too closely. I didn’t like it.
“All right then. So don’t give me shit about something that shouldn’t matter,” Cole countered and I couldn’t say anything.
It shouldn’t matter.
Sophie was my girlfriend.
Gracie doesn’t matter.
“I gotta go call Viv. She gets pissy if I don’t help her out in the evenings, if you know what I mean,” Cole leered, getting out of the booth. “Order me something with a lot of bacon.” He headed back to the bathroom.
“Let’s hope no one walks in on him rubbing one out this time,” Jordan said, shaking his head.
“Yeah,” I agreed off handedly, not caring about Cole having phone sex with Vivian in a public restroom.
I pushed my way out of the booth. “I’ve gotta go,” I told them, dropping some cash on the table and getting the hell out of there, not caring that Jordan and Garrett were staring at me like I had lost my damn mind. Which right now wasn’t a far off possibility.
I should have gone back to the bus to talk to Sophie. To make her feel better. Cole’s sordid trip down memory lane had to make her feel like shit.
But I didn’t go after her.
It shouldn’t matter.
Gracie shouldn’t matter.
But she did.
And that was a really big problem.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and stared at the screen hardly able to believe it.
I hadn’t heard from her in over a year.
It felt like some kind of sign.
I could really use some Chunky Monkey right about now.
Chunky Monkey.
I was going to be sick.
I walked around the side of the diner and leaned against the wall. My back collided with brick and I slid down to the ground.
Chunky Monkey.
Our code word that she needed me.
I griped the phone in my hand until hand ached.
My instinct was to call her. To run, head first, into whatever she was offering.
I’ve moved on.
She’s not a part of my life anymore.
My head rolled back and I stared up at the clear, night sky.
“Are you sure it’s okay that I stay here,” she asked, walking into my bedroom with an overnight bag in her hand.
My stomach clenched as I watched her unpack her things. Putting her toothbrush in my bathroom. Her pajamas in my dresser drawer. Her things looked as though they belonged all mixed up with mine. Like she belonged.
And she did.
I just wished she could see that.
But I was a patient guy. I would bide my time. And I knew that the day would come when she’d realize how much I loved her.
“Of course. You can stay as long as you want. Who knows how long Cole and Viv will be at it,” I laughed, hoping she’d never leave.
Gracie sank down on the couch beside me and picked up the extra X-Box controller. We were sitting so close together that I could smell her shampoo. Something fruity. It smelled good. Her leg was pressed up against mine and I waited for her to pull away like she always did.
But she didn’t.
“You’re going down, Abrams,” she teased, giving me her sexy half smile.
God, I loved this woman.
“Not if I take you down first,” I told her and she laughed.
It was my favorite sound in the world.
She had been my best friend.
Gracie knew things about me that I had never told anyone. That I would never tell anyone.
And losing that hurt just as much now as it had when she had pushed me away.
I missed her.
So goddamned much.
I missed my friend. The girl I had played video games with and teamed up with for karaoke. I missed how she always made sure there was a full pint of Chunky Monkey in my freezer when I got home from being on the road.