They all just confirmed my worst fears, that none of my songs are up to snuff, and I’m supposed to want to have drinks with them?
He steps around me and blocks my view of the band. “The only person here I want to share a drink with is you. Come back to my place.”
I look up into his eyes and peer around him at the band. Stokes catches my eye, waving me over. I nod.
“I should go have a drink with them,” I say, leaning in toward Taylor. “It was my first show. You can come. Will you join us?”
He crinkles his nose a bit in the cutest way. “I don’t think they want to spend time with you as much as I do right now.” His smooth voice wins me over easily.
He reaches for my hand. Our fingers lace together and the memories from the times we shared that summer come flooding back. My heart races, and I can’t stop smiling.
“I have to let them know I’m leaving.” I pull my hand away slowly and squeeze his arm as I step away. “I’ll be right back.”
He nods once, and as I walk through the crowd, I turn back and he’s still watching me. I haven’t had this much attention in so long, and now from my almost-first love who ended things before we went away to school. So much to process, I’m dizzy from it.
As the music pulses, so does my heart, and I’m barely taking in my surroundings as I reach Stokes. “Hey.” I lean in toward him. “I’ve gotta get back to Stevie. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”
He nods but pulls away with a straight face. “You sure you have to go?” he asks loudly, and the rest of the band looks over at me.
I nod and wave goodbye to them.
“I’ll wait for your ride with you.” Stokes pinches his shirt and shakes it, fending off the heat. “Or I could drive you?”
“No, it’s okay, you’ve been drinking. I’ll text you when I get home, okay?”
He nods. “Great job tonight. Seriously. Text me.”
“Thanks,” I mouth, and turn back to Taylor. He’s standing at the bar, his sharp profile glowing blue from the overhead lights, and I stride through the crowd toward him. Halfway back, a man steps in front of me. Howard.
“You’re not leaving with that guy, are you?” he asks with two drinks in his hands. “Have a drink with me.” He holds it out toward me. “I’d like to get to know you.”
“No thank you, sir.” I try to step around him, but he steps in front of me.
“Don’t waste your time with a guy like him,” he says as I step away. “You deserve better.” I keep walking, rolling my eyes. “Really?” he asks as I keep walking.
If he’s saying anything else, I can’t hear him over the crowd. I re-join Taylor’s side and he laces his fingers with mine once more, leading me out of the bar with urgency. We reach his car and he opens the passenger door for me, releasing my hand from his. He gets in the driver’s side, and as soon as he closes his door, he’s kissing me, in the middle of the dark, packed parking lot. He can barely take his hands off me, but as we part breathlessly, he pulls on my seatbelt, presses the ignition, and loud music booms through the speakers as he buckles up and peels out of the parking spot with more urgency than when we left the bar.
The car vibrates with bass as we drive north, in the direction I live, still on the streets of Auburn Hills. He grabs my hand in my lap, glancing over at me. “We’re close,” he says.
Not five minutes later, we pull into the garage of his townhouse, the last in a row of five. I get out and meet him at the door by the hood. He fumbles with his keys and gives me a nervous grin.
I just want to be kissing him—I want to keep feeling wanted.
He finally opens the door and leads me into his dark front foyer, decorated with clean edges and cool-toned colours.
“I wasn’t expecting any company, so excuse the mess.”
There’s no mess that I can see. Just a beautiful home and a hot old flame. I press my lips together and give him a little smile. He takes my face in his hands and kisses me passionately, taking little breaks to lead me toward the staircase.
“Watch your step,” he whispers, and I race up the dark steps behind him.
Once I reach the top, he turns around, kissing me again, running his fingers through my hair.
I lose track of time and space, as we lose ourselves in each other.
Chapter 9
She’s with another man,
her love won’t go to waste,
but he can’t take your place.
After we’ve dressed, I use Taylor’s washroom and stare at myself in the mirror from behind his dark slate sink. I run the tap in a daze, freshening up and fixing my messy eyeliner. I tousle my hair and leave the washroom, satisfied enough to be seen in the darkness of his place.
Taylor’s waiting for me in the kitchen, wearing jogging pants and a white T-shirt.
“Can I get you a drink?” he asks, taking a sip of something from a lowball glass.
“No, thanks, I need to get home to my dog.”
Taylor sets his glass on the grey counter and walks me back through the living room to the staircase, leading me down to the foyer, and to the front door this time.
“Have you called a ride already?” he asks. “I’d drive, but I’ve been drinking now.”
I shake my head and grab my phone, catching the time on my screen. I’ve
