Hidden Gem Short Story Collection (9781301405985) by India Lee Page B

it is the same Sophie, she was kind of creepy for not
saying anything.”
    “ Isn’t that just being
professional?” Tyler asked. He winced at how quickly he had jumped
to the waitress’s defense. “Maybe?”
    “ Maybe,” Mike shrugged,
not sensing anything odd or out of the ordinary. He seemed to think
Tyler was just making conversation. But the fact of the matter was
that Tyler had lost sleep over his curiosity. By the time they left
the restaurant, Sophie had ended her shift and gone home. The
owner, a cranky-looking elderly man, was the one who closed up
shop. He made sure to give them a disapproving eye as he held the
door open for them to leave.
    Tyler wasn’t sure why he didn’t just ask
Sophie if she was, by any chance, at his concert the other day. It
was probably half in part due to feeling generally intimidated
around Rufus and Moss. Despite the fact that he was now bigger than
both of them, Tyler couldn’t help but feel like the little kid he
was when he first met them. He didn’t want to come off as some
child trying to hit on their waitress, especially when it wasn’t
even his intention to be “hitting on her.” He didn’t want to deal
with the car ride home where everyone would be giving him shit for
trying to “be suave.” He just wanted to know a little more about
her – that was all.
    Not asking proved to be a big mistake. It
had been a long while since any girl had caught his eye, and he
wasn’t really sure how to deal with it anymore. He knew himself. He
knew how he had a tendency to fall fast and fall hard, to see
someone just once and create, in his head, an elaborate story of
what their lives would be like together.
    After all, that was what had happened with
Gemma.
    Granted, then, he didn’t know that Gemma was
her name. He just knew her as Queen Bee, like everyone else in the
world. He had seen her on stage, performing the last concert of her
European tour in Barcelona. He had wanted to meet her after the
show, but he was informed that her family had already whisked her
away. She was covered in ornate disguises and surrounded by
protective handlers, but Tyler was convinced he could see through
it all. Tyler was convinced he knew that the person underneath the
makeup and masks and costumes, was a person just like him. His
other half. He was sure of it.
    There were brief moments
during their relationship where Tyler cursed the day he tweeted
about Queen Bee. She had been, at the time, only a success abroad –
a no-name in the states. Perhaps she had been long overdue for
American fame and it was just a coincidence that she blew up after
Tyler’s tweet, but he knew better than that. He knew it was all on
him. In sharing his excitement for the strong feelings he had
suddenly developed for her, he had shared her with the rest of the
world, thus having to share her with the rest of the world. Though looking
back, he realized he never truly had her.
    In the most rational parts
of Tyler’s brain, he knew he sounded crazy. Even within his own
mind, he would scold himself for thinking the things he
thought. This is why she left you. Because
you were smothering her. He bit his lip, embarrassed by
his self-admission. It was never his intention. He had never wanted
to scare her off the way he did. But he had felt so strongly about her, and
it killed him to know that she had probably never felt the same way
back. Tyler never doubted that she loved him, but within their
relationship he had learned there were many different kinds of
love. He left the relationship still unsure what type of love it
was that he was receiving from Gemma.
    He found himself parked outside of the
unnamed, wood cabin restaurant that they had spent the previous
evening. Tyler had slipped out of the house while Mike was on the
phone, not wanting to have to explain his whereabouts. He kept his
phone on him, knowing Mike would probably worry.
    As Tyler stepped out and closed the car
door, he heard the familiar, raspy voice