Merrick grins. “He’s been with me, so you can rest assured he’s been taken care of.”
“Mm. Seems like it.” Jordy hops off the stool. “Well, it’s really good to see you, Merrick. I was inviting Alejandro to come out with us this weekend. Do you want to join us?”
Merrick glances at me for a second before shrugging. “Sure. I’m down.”
“Great!” Jordy exclaims, heading for the door. “Talk to you both soon.”
Once he’s gone, I walk toward Merrick. “You kissed me.”
“I did.”
“In front of someone.”
“It’s not like he doesn’t know.”
“I know, but. . .”
“I missed you,” he says with a crooked grin.
I roll my eyes. “It’s only been a day and a half.”
“Way too long if you ask me.”
“How’s things going with the guys?”
Merrick sits in the middle of the couch. “Good. Sky’s already ready to leave,” he says with a chuckle. “We got together and talked about what each of us have been working on. Well, it’s mostly me and Sky who do the writing. We’ve already put music to one of the songs. A rough draft, but still.”
I nod. “That’s good.”
The silence between us stretches. He knows I’m curious if he’s said anything to them, but the fact that he hasn’t told me he has lets me know it just hasn’t happened yet.
“How long are they going to be in town for?”
“A couple more days, probably. I mean, we’re still not required to be anywhere right now, so they can always come back.”
He shoots me a nervous look, like he’s hoping I don’t question when he’s going to tell them, and fear settles in my stomach.
Merrick may never be ready, and while it’s upsetting for me, I feel even more sad for him, because he’ll never be able to live his life the way he wants.
31
Merrick
Present Day
“Are you sure we should be here?” Ali asks for the second time, glancing around.
I lean back in the booth and smirk. “You’d think you were the famous one.”
He rolls his eyes. “Whatever.”
“It’s my brother’s bar. He’s not gonna let anything get out of control, plus it’s not even that busy yet,” I say, inspecting the room.
“It’s Friday, it’s bound to get busy.”
“So? We’re just hanging out. Those two guys over there are hanging out,” I say, gesturing to two older guys at the bar.
“Yeah, but I can’t get what Jordy said out of my head. I wonder if people look at us and know we’re not just friends.”
I bite down on my bottom lip and smirk, leaning forward. “If we’re not just friends, what are we?”
Ali points at me. “See. That’s what I’m talking about. If anybody saw the look you just gave me, they’d know something.”
I sit back again. “Fine, I won’t look at you like I want to devour you, but know I do.”
“When are we gonna be alone again?” he asks quietly.
“Whenever you’re ready.”
He licks his lips then his eyes go to the door behind me and he shifts back. “The guys are here.”
I spin around and lift my hand in the air, and the few people who are in here turn their heads and start getting excited. A couple people pull out their phones to take pictures or record videos, but nobody rushes up.
Sky, Jay, and Carlos join us. Sky sits next to me while Carlos slides in next to Ali, and Jay grabs a chair from a nearby table and sits in it backwards at the edge of the table.
“What’re y’all up to tonight?” Sky asks, elbowing me in the side.
I look across to Ali and say, “Nothing. Just hanging out.”
“Cool. We’re probably gonna chill here for a while and drink, then I was gonna head over to this chick’s house. You remember Megan Appleman from high school? She has a nice place up in Jonquil Park and is having a little party.” Sky grins. “There’s gonna be some hot girls there if you’re interested. You should’ve joined me in the Caribbean. Dude, chicks galore, and they were topless like ninety percent of the day.”
I snort. “Right, so I could’ve been photographed right next to you as you jumped into the water completely naked? No thanks.”
“I thought you said only one dick was allowed on that island,” Jay says.
“I can change my mind.”
“Where did you two go?” I ask, looking at Carlos and Jay.
“I spent time with Tish,” Jay says. “But we broke up.”
Sky’s laugh fills the room. “Yeah, tell them why.”
Jay shoots Sky a dirty look before meeting my curious gaze. “She was fucking someone from another band.”
“Man, I told you that chick was a groupie,” Sky laughs.
“My girl is in Florida with her family, so I went there, then I joined Sky on his party island,” Carlos says.
“Anyway, so you comin’ or what?” Sky looks at Ali. “You can come too.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” Ali says with a laugh. “I don’t think it’s my kind of scene.”
“Why? Because you’re gay? There’s gonna be dudes there, too,” Sky states.
“Leave him alone,” I say. “He doesn’t want to go.”
Sky pushes his black hair out of his face and shrugs. “All right, well, let’s start drinking.”
An hour goes by and we’re all enjoying the drinks and having a good time telling Ali stories about stuff that happened on the road. The bar gets a little busier, and a few people stop by and ask for pictures, but for the most part, people have kept their distance.
“Oh shit, I almost forgot the best story,” Jay says. “We were in. . .shit, I don’t remember. Australia? I don’t know, anyway, after the show’s over, there’s some girls hanging around near our dressing room, so Sky pulls a few in.”
“You got two for yourself, so don’t make me out to be the deviant,” Sky adds.
“Shut up, let me finish the story. Anyway, Sky has three chicks hanging all
