Thomas & January (Sleepless 2)

“Oh, nothing. Got a sweet deal from the label a few days ago. Going to Europe to scout.”

“Damn,” he said, his cereal-laden spoon stopped halfway to his mouth. “That’s cool.”

“Yup,” I said, heading toward the room I hadn’t seen in a while.

“I had Sal clean in there. That cool?”

“Of course,” I said, before closing the door behind me.

My room was in perfect order and exactly as I’d left it. I brushed my teeth in my attached bathroom, threw on my workout clothes and headed out into the New York streets to run a few miles. Working out in New York was definitely different than working out in Austin. The air was very different and I was finding it hard to adjust. I went five miles before turning around and heading back home, unable to go further. In Austin, I’d run six before turning back. It probably didn’t help that I drank so much the night before. I’d come to be a lightweight. I only drank socially and usually had only one or two beers but that night I’d gone a little overboard.

At home, I showered and tucked a towel around my waist before heading for my suitcases and dragging out a pair of boxers. I unpacked, putting everything up so I could see what I could scrounge up that was decent enough for the party. I was spoiled in Austin. It was such a laid-back city, there was no dress code for things like this.

I couldn’t find anything, then decided I didn’t care. I threw on a pair of jeans and belt, stuck my wallet in my back pocket, making sure the chain didn’t hang weird, then picked a black t-shirt and hoodie and threw my green military jacket over that. I cleaned my boots up a bit and threw those on as well. Since I’d woken so late at Cherry and Charlie’s, and unpacking had taken forever, I’d lost track of time. When I looked at my watch, I was actually fifteen minutes late.

“Shit! Nine-fifteen?” I asked no one.

I rushed out the door, not because I was in a hurry to see what January looked like after all these months or to see what she thought of me. No, I was excited to meet my friends. Yeah, that’s it. I hailed a cab but when the cabbie asked where to, I couldn’t tell him. I’d forgotten to ask Jason. I’d flipped my cell open and rang him.

“Yo!”

“Jason, where’s this party at?”

“The Bowery.”

Seriously? Did she do this on purpose?

“The Bowery,” I told the cabbie.

The Bowery was special to me for lots of reasons. I used to perform there all the time with my band, The Ivories, and Callum married Harper there. It was our place.

“See you there,” I told Jason and hung up.

The cab pulled up in front and I could hear the dull bass from the club beat into the street. My stomach dropped a little and my heart jumped in my throat. Just go in there and chill out. I walked up to the doorman.

“Name?” He asked.

“Thomas Eriksson,” I said.

The guy flipped through the list. “Sorry, you’re not on here.” His eyes lit up. “In fact, your name’s under the ‘Do not permit under any circumstance’ list.”

“Is that a joke? What kind of list is that?”

“Exclusively yours, it seems. Your name is the only one under it.” He smiled smugly.

“You’re screwing with me.”

“No, sir.”

“Get Jason Barrett out here.”

“I’m sorry, but it says right here...”

“I know what it says. Just get Jason Barrett here.”

“I apologize, sir, but we can’t,” the bouncer said, stepping in, enjoying his position of authority a little too much.

“Screw this,” I said, reaching for my cell. I flipped it open and dialed Jason.