“How the hell would you know?” he barks, the tension in his neck and shoulders growing stiff, his eyes narrowing into slits.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve met.” I smile, thoroughly enjoying this little taste of karma on my lips. I reach my hand out between us and say, “You may not recognize me, but my name is Ivy Thomas. I wish I could say it was nice to see you again, but we both know that’s not true. Ain’t that right, Brix?”
His eyes widen in recollection before a salacious grin spreads across his arrogant face.
“Ivy fuckin’ Thomas. It’s too fucking bad, even knowing that I’d still fuck you like it’s the best you’ll ever have.”
“You’re a real prick.”
“So I’ve been told.” Brix takes a swig of his beer, not taking his eyes off me.
“Yo, Brix!” a voice booms through the speaker. We both turn our attention toward the stage to find their other bandmate, Tysin, staring back at us with his hands up and an annoyed expression on his face.
“If you change your mind, come find me after the show.”
He has the fucking nerve to wink at me before he turns, heading toward Tysin, Madden joining them as they start setting up the rest of their band equipment.
“What did he say to you?” Kyla asks, returning with a beer bottle in her hand.
“He didn’t even recognize me,” I snicker. “Tried hitting on me, probably assuming he could convince me to come home with him. I turned that shit down real quick.”
“You’re kidding,” she snorts.
“Not in the least. You should’ve seen the look on his face when I introduced myself.”
“Oh my God, I can’t believe I missed it.” She giggles, looking both amused and disappointed.
We slide into our booth, catching up. We spot a few people I remember from high school who stop by to chat with us before the show starts.
I’ve watched the guys play before, although it was years ago when they played on their makeshift stage in Madden’s garage. Thankfully, their dad eventually said they had to find somewhere else to keep their equipment, which meant they started coming around less and less.
When they take the stage a little while later, I try to avoid showing any interest, but even I can’t deny they’re good. I’m thankful for the lights being turned down, so I’m able to hide in the darkness from the possibility of Brix spotting me.
The last thing I want is for him to see me watching him or give him the satisfaction of thinking I’m enjoying his performance. I’ve seen a lot of bands play while pursuing a career in music journalism. I’d never utter these words to anyone, but I’m surprised they haven’t been scooped up by a major record label. They’re talented.
Brix smiles flirtatiously at the crowd while he sings, leaning over the speaker, letting the women in the front touch him, thrusting toward their roaming hands.
Tysin plays the bass guitar next to Brix, nodding his head to the beat of the music. Madden’s size alone makes him hard to miss sitting behind his drums.
I watch in awe for most of their set before I decide to cut out early and head to my new home. Exhaustion from packing up my car and making the drive back to CB weighed on me. A text from my mom came through around midnight as she was boarding her red-eye flight home. She left me with detailed instructions on where to find her hide-a-key and directions to the room I’d be staying in for the summer.
When she called me last week, I was in the heat of finals. My workload was piled high, and every available minute was spent with my head crammed in my books. When she broke the news she had gotten engaged, I couldn’t believe my ears.
Honestly, I never thought I’d see the day she’d want to get remarried after her divorce from my father. I spent an hour on the phone listening to her gush over the man, Jasper, she recently met and how she’d been swept away in their whirlwind romance ever since.
I was shocked when she broke the news that not only had he asked her to marry him, but she had also recently decided to move in. It wasn’t a big deal to me in the grand scheme of things. We had bounced around from place to place throughout my childhood, so it wasn’t like I was coming home to a familiar house I had lived in all my life only to find out it was now gone.
It made the decision to come home for the summer all the more difficult, but in the end, I needed the help. I needed to find a job and save up money, so when I went back to school, I could put all focus on my degree.
I wanted to find a way to enjoy the next couple of months while I was here, but nothing could’ve prepared me for what happened next.
Two
Brix
I don’t remember who brought me home, much less why I chose to crash on the couch, of all places. My back screams in agony from the pain and stiffness, moving to stretch, peeking one eye open.
The piercing ray of sunlight combined with the skull-splitting headache has me regretting the round of shots we had after wrapping up our show last night.