and gets up to throw his cup away. “I should get going. Thanks for letting me run this by you.” He holds the paper up for Hollis’ benefit, not mine.
She’s not fooled, I can tell, but this is not the place she wants to have a confrontation. “I’ll go, too. Maybe I’ll come down to your place to hear the new stuff you wrote.” When her attention is on me again, she smiles like she means it. “See you tonight at practice?”
The entire thing is making my stomach cramp, but I force a smile in return. “Yeah. Of course. Seven, right?”
She slips out the door, and I know she’s waiting in the hallway for Tyler. I want to tell him good luck. I want to tell him I’m sorry. But when he brushes against me and leans toward my ear, every nerve ending in my body responds.
“Bye, Pretty Peach.”
I’m still in a daze when Laura walks in an hour later. She cocks her head to the side and purses her lips.
“You look better than yesterday.”
“No, I don’t. I’m halfway hungover and haven’t taken a shower this morning.”
“But you’re all pink.” Her eyebrow raises like she wants to ask me a question, but I beat her to it because I can’t shut my fat mouth.
“We didn’t have sex.”
She leans forward and blinks. “I’m sorry. What did you say? And who did you not have sex with?”
I fall onto the couch and clutch a yellow pillow before I whisper, “Tyler.”
The weight of her dropping onto the cushion sends my body bouncing a little. “Oh my God. What does that mean?”
“I mean we did other things, but we didn’t have sex.” The pillow is covering my face now while I wait for that to sink in.
“Everything but sex?”
“I guess everything but sex. And butt sex. Let’s just say he knows what his band name means, and there’s probably a reason why he chose it. Oh my God. I can’t believe I did this. I should ask for a transfer. Or we could switch bands. I’ve never screwed up like this before.”
She’s quiet for a bit, thinking but not looking at me. “Does anyone else know?”
“No.”
“Are you sure no one else knows except me, you, and Tyler?”
“I think so. I don’t think he’d tell Hollis, but I don’t know bro-code and if that’s a thing you tell your bandmates about.” The pillow is at my stomach now, and I’m getting chest pains.
“Here’s what you do. You forget it ever happened. Do your job, and then get the hell out of Texas. It’s a few more weeks. That’s not long.” She’s more serious than I’ve ever seen her. “If Rynn finds out . . .”
“Rynn Thompson won’t know shit about this. I swear.”
Laura’s hands cover her eyes again. “You’d better hope not.” She checks her phone and gets up quickly. “Ethan landed this morning, and he said he’d be by around this time.”
When she leaves, I’m left with the sinking feeling that things are about to go terribly wrong. Leaning against my window, I stare across the street and watch smoke rise from somewhere below. My shoulders stiffen when I see a trash can go flying down the alley and hear Tyler cussing as it echoes against the bricks.
Ethan comes with me to the practice. I know for a fact that the band has their music down to a science, but getting a slot to perform in front of industry people at South by Southwest is a huge deal. Being only one of over two thousand performers playing the largest music festival in the world is a lot of pressure. I would want to be as prepared as possible, too, in their position.
They’re already into their set when we enter The Music Room and crack the door of their practice space. I’m a little thankful that they play here instead of Tyler’s apartment.
The air is thick with tension, and Tyler’s posture is rigid behind the drum set. Hollis is speaking to Jonathan on the other side of the room, and Shawn is fiddling with the height of the mic stand.
“Hey. This is Ethan, and he’s here to take some pictures of you in action for
She’s not fooled, I can tell, but this is not the place she wants to have a confrontation. “I’ll go, too. Maybe I’ll come down to your place to hear the new stuff you wrote.” When her attention is on me again, she smiles like she means it. “See you tonight at practice?”
The entire thing is making my stomach cramp, but I force a smile in return. “Yeah. Of course. Seven, right?”
She slips out the door, and I know she’s waiting in the hallway for Tyler. I want to tell him good luck. I want to tell him I’m sorry. But when he brushes against me and leans toward my ear, every nerve ending in my body responds.
“Bye, Pretty Peach.”
I’m still in a daze when Laura walks in an hour later. She cocks her head to the side and purses her lips.
“You look better than yesterday.”
“No, I don’t. I’m halfway hungover and haven’t taken a shower this morning.”
“But you’re all pink.” Her eyebrow raises like she wants to ask me a question, but I beat her to it because I can’t shut my fat mouth.
“We didn’t have sex.”
She leans forward and blinks. “I’m sorry. What did you say? And who did you not have sex with?”
I fall onto the couch and clutch a yellow pillow before I whisper, “Tyler.”
The weight of her dropping onto the cushion sends my body bouncing a little. “Oh my God. What does that mean?”
“I mean we did other things, but we didn’t have sex.” The pillow is covering my face now while I wait for that to sink in.
“Everything but sex?”
“I guess everything but sex. And butt sex. Let’s just say he knows what his band name means, and there’s probably a reason why he chose it. Oh my God. I can’t believe I did this. I should ask for a transfer. Or we could switch bands. I’ve never screwed up like this before.”
She’s quiet for a bit, thinking but not looking at me. “Does anyone else know?”
“No.”
“Are you sure no one else knows except me, you, and Tyler?”
“I think so. I don’t think he’d tell Hollis, but I don’t know bro-code and if that’s a thing you tell your bandmates about.” The pillow is at my stomach now, and I’m getting chest pains.
“Here’s what you do. You forget it ever happened. Do your job, and then get the hell out of Texas. It’s a few more weeks. That’s not long.” She’s more serious than I’ve ever seen her. “If Rynn finds out . . .”
“Rynn Thompson won’t know shit about this. I swear.”
Laura’s hands cover her eyes again. “You’d better hope not.” She checks her phone and gets up quickly. “Ethan landed this morning, and he said he’d be by around this time.”
When she leaves, I’m left with the sinking feeling that things are about to go terribly wrong. Leaning against my window, I stare across the street and watch smoke rise from somewhere below. My shoulders stiffen when I see a trash can go flying down the alley and hear Tyler cussing as it echoes against the bricks.
Ethan comes with me to the practice. I know for a fact that the band has their music down to a science, but getting a slot to perform in front of industry people at South by Southwest is a huge deal. Being only one of over two thousand performers playing the largest music festival in the world is a lot of pressure. I would want to be as prepared as possible, too, in their position.
They’re already into their set when we enter The Music Room and crack the door of their practice space. I’m a little thankful that they play here instead of Tyler’s apartment.
The air is thick with tension, and Tyler’s posture is rigid behind the drum set. Hollis is speaking to Jonathan on the other side of the room, and Shawn is fiddling with the height of the mic stand.
“Hey. This is Ethan, and he’s here to take some pictures of you in action for
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