“Come in Friday morning,” Matt said. “I’m out of town until then.”
Now I’d had the contract rewritten to my liking, I was anxious to get it all finalised. To come this far and have my dreams snatched away from me would be the cruellest fate of all.
I called into Trouble, still not wanting to discuss things until they were concrete but the other guys hadn’t been so careful.
“Hey, Alex, I heard the news,” said Carlie. “Congratulations. Does that mean you’ll be on the road touring and I’ll have to take over? I think I’d need a raise for that.”
I gave her a salute but didn’t answer.
“Summer Rock,” said Holden. “We’re doing that too. Carlie might be coming with me.” He grimaced.
“Then who’s going to look after the bar?” God, I hadn’t thought of that. If I didn’t have Carlie to run the place, there was no one else.
“Ha, I’m the obvious choice,” said Drew. “I know this place back to front.”
Carlie laughed. It was a pretty ridiculous idea.
“I’ve not even started to think about that yet. The contract’s not signed and it’s all up in the air.”
Still, a sense of satisfaction filled me. This would all work out and the future would be mine. The dull ache Dee had left in me would soon be filled. She was just a girl.
“Hey, want to know some other exciting news? Gina’s pregnant.”
“To Jackson?”
“Of course to Jackson, you dick. Who else?”
I didn’t really think Gina’s pregnancy was on the same scale as my band getting signed but, since I’d been trying to downplay my success, I couldn’t really bring up the deal again. I’d really been expecting everyone else to make a fuss for me, so I could be the one who was cool and unaffected.
Before I could say anymore, Dee walked in. My breath caught in my chest. Even if I told myself that I needed to stay away from her, my body had an entirely different response. The sight of her was like a punch in the guts.
There was something different about her. I was so used to seeing the rock side but she seemed somehow softer than usual. The eyeliner was less intense, the clothes less black. Was the change in image because of me? I didn’t see what she hoped to achieve with it.
I tried to fade back into the shadows of my corner, wanting to observe her unnoticed.
“How’s the new job going?” Carlie asked.
She seemed to have gotten awfully friendly with Carlie in such a short time. That would make sense. Violet had been Carlie’s best friend but she’d left the club months ago and, since Gina and Jackson had gotten together, Jackson had quit drinking, so they rarely came into the place. The absence of Jackson always left a hole at the bar, a sense that something was missing. He’d propped up the bar for so many years.
Anyway, that would’ve left Carlie without many friends. And Dee had a job?
“You know, it’s a job. It pays the bills.”
“Do you get free clothes?” Carlie asked.
“Not really but if you come in, I’ll get you a discount. We’ve got these fantastic boots in stock at the moment.” She raised her leg to show them to Carlie. Then caught sight of me and lowered it again.
“Hi,” I said. I wasn’t sure if I should say anything to her but figured it’d look weird if I didn’t.
She nodded her head. “I should get upstairs to sound check.”
She smiled but that smile was directed at Carlie, not at me. I would not go upstairs and watch them. I’d ignore the sound check and I’d ignore them playing. Knots tied in my stomach but I’d ignore them too. I had important things to do. I’d go home and read over the contract again, rather than give her one thought.
Dee
Even with the stupid woman coming in five minutes before closing and wanting to try on everything in the store, I still made it to rehearsal on time. Maddie, the other girl I worked with, said she’d do close up, and I ran like the wind.
I’d intended to find work in a cafe when I started job-hunting but, when I’d seen the sign up in this shop, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. It was actually the awesome pair of cowboy boots in the window that had caught my eye. That was love at first sight. Thinking if I got the job, I’d get a discount on the boots, I walked in full of swagger.