"Your shows don't end until midnight," I say.
Joel shrugs. "I don't make the rules. I just enforce them."
"Consider me warned," I say.
Joel plops on the couch next to Ethan. "What are we watching?"
Ethan shoots him a dirty look. "Vi and I are watching The Fly."
"The original or the remake?" Joel asks.
"The remake," Ethan says.
"Thank fuck. That one's way better." Joel grabs three pairs of Bluetooth headphones. He shoots Ethan a shit-eating grin as he pulls his headphones onto his ears.
As much as I hate Joel interrupting our moment, I have to laugh. The guy is a character.
I slide my headphones on and settle into Ethan's lap. He slides his arms around me and boots up the movie.
The three of us fall silent as the film starts.
Even with our audience, it feels good watching a movie in Ethan's arms. It feels like old times. Like when I was happy.
I want to be happy with him again.
But that's a dangerous thought.
Chapter 17
Violet
In the morning, we check into a hotel in downtown Portland. Once I'm semi-unpacked, I get to studying. There are still question marks about the Dangerous Noise books, but I can't answer any of them until I talk to Mal.
Catching up on my coursework makes this whole tagging along on my rock star ex-boyfriend's tour thing feel almost normal. Studying in a quiet hotel room while Ethan is off playing live on some morning radio show is a lot like studying in Ethan's living room while he's off playing in the soundproofed practice room downstairs.
I work on linear algebra until my brain is jelly then I walk to the Peet's Coffee around the corner, drink tea until my brain is solid, and I study some more.
This—me and my textbook and a steaming hot unsweetened matcha latte—this is where I belong. I don't have to play down my interest in math. I can get as excited over solving problems as I want. I can clap with joy when I figure out a tricky answer. I can chew the ends of my pen when I'm stuck on a problem.
I can let my I love math freak flag fly.
I finish my matcha latte and order another. My stomach growls. It wants food—not pastries, nuts, or candies, actual food—but my brain wants more math first. I spend another two hours finishing my work, then I grab lunch at a taco truck and head back to the hotel.
Mal is in the lobby, greeting a pretty woman with short black hair. One of his fuck buddies, I guess.
He nods hello. She eyes me curiously. After he whispers in her ear, she relaxes and waves me over.
Uh… I'm glad that Mal enjoys his different girl in every town thing (at least that's how Ethan describes it) but I'm not particularly interested in the details. The man is objectively hot— tall, blue eyes, brown hair, ripped arms and chest covered in black ink—but he doesn't stoke my embers. He really feels like an older brother.
"Sharon, this is Violet." Mal shoots her a knowing look. "Ethan's… friend."
"Oh, Violet." She shakes my hand with a friendly smile. "It's nice to finally meet you."
I'm gossip for Mal and his fuck buddy. That's fun.
"Ethan used to talk about you all the time. The poor guy couldn't admit how much he—"
Mal cuts her off. "Vi's helping with the books." He looks to me. "We're gonna be busy for a while, but I want to talk to you about this today. You coming to the show?"