Page 78 of Tangled Up In You

“Give me a pick,” she said.

He handed her one, though he feared what was to come next. The sound she made with her indiscriminate plucking at the strings was horrible. It made him cringe to see his exquisite maple wood and cherry-red Sunburst-designed guitar played that way. But then he saw the unfettered joy she had in playing. She knew it was awful, but she was enjoying it anyway. Her laughter rang out.

“Wait, how about this? Remind you of anyone?” She set about imitating the way he strutted across the stage during a live show, somehow capturing the confidence bordering on showmanship he knew he projected.

He watched her with a small smile, unable to look away. This attraction wasn’t exactly new. He had been drawn to her from the first day she arrived at school, all legs and blond hair, tanned skin, and extraordinary eyes. But Gavin had claimed her first and he’d had no choice but to back off.

“Got a new band member, then?”

Sondra stood at the door, her eyes trained on them. Conor blinked to clear his focus. Sondra being here felt incongruous and he wondered how long she’d been watching.

Sophie laughed again and shook her head. “No way. I’m just messing around. Here, take this thing before I fall over. I still can’t believe you make it look so easy.”

Conor took the guitar from her and placed it in its stand.

“Can I have a quick word, Conor?” Sondra asked, and gestured toward the door.

“Sure,” he said, but groaned inwardly. Sondra’s hints about wanting to be more serious had become less subtle lately, and he imagined she wanted to take this inopportune time to press the issue once more.

They walked out into the garden, closer to the main house but not inside. The air felt wet but rain hadn’t fallen in a few hours.

“What on earth was that?” she asked, her face flushed.

Conor was taken aback by her sudden anger. “What are you talking about?”

“You and Sophie—what is that?”

“Just now? She was just messing, like she said. What are you on about?”

“Is there something going on with you and her?”

“She’s Gavin’s fiancée—you know that.”

“The way you look at her … it’s not right.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Did you ever have something with her?”

Conor sighed. “No. She’s always been Gavin’s.”

“Don’t sound so disappointed, Conor.”

“What do you want, Sondra? You want me to tell you that I’m after my best friend’s girl?”

“Are you?”

He took a deep breath and shook his head on the exhale. “No, of course not.” He knew this delayed response was too telling but he tried to keep his face impassive.

“Where is it going with us?”

“Don’t let’s do this again,” he said.

“You owe me the truth.”

“That’s all I’ve ever given you. Fuck’s sake, can’t we leave it be? It’s been grand with us the way it is. Isn’t that enough?”

“I’m not sure,” she said quietly.

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