Page 114 of Love, Luck & Clusterf*ck

I’d been planning on telling him about Stefanie before I left, but screw it. It was a bitchy move, but she obviously had all the means to get in touch with him. I was sure she’d accomplish whatever she wanted just fine without me passing along the message.

I was almost out the door when he called out, “Have fun with yourfriend, Perry.”

“Whoa, look at you, hot stuff.”

Stu pulled me in for a big hug and spun me around, probably bringing my hem up to my waist. “Hot stuff?”

“Hell, yeah. Love you in red. Maybe we should’ve gone to the club. You’re wasting that dress here.”

“No, this is perfect. What made you change your mind?” He shrugged and I punched his shoulder. “It was Kenny, wasn’t it? He didn’t want you there.”

“He never told me I couldn’t go. He’s not like that. But I could tell it bothered him, and since we’re still rebuilding….” He shrugged again.

“You don’t have to explain. You don’t want to do anything to hurt him or what you have. I get it, Stu. Completely.”

“Yeah, I knew you would, hot stuff.”

“Are you going to call me that all night?”

“If the dress fits, gorgeous.” He smiled and it lit up his entire face. He looked good. Really, really good. Kenny suited him. “Hey, I ordered us a bunch of appetizers and a peach daiquiri for you.”

I opened my mouth to thank him as the waitress dropped off several baskets of fried awesomeness. She set down a tapper for Stu and the daiquiri for me.

“I didn’t know what you’d be wearing. Maybe I should’ve gotten you a strawberry one instead. Now you’re gonna clash.”

I laughed. “I don’t coordinate my drinks with my outfits. It’ll be fine. Thank you for ordering.” I took a sip first, then dipped a mac and cheese ball in ranch and stuffed it in my mouth. “So, what’s the big, good news?” I mumbled.

“Well, I might have fibbed a bit. It’s not all good, just mostly. The part not good… well, I’m really going to miss you to death, Perry.”

I stopped chewing for a second, then quickly finished and swallowed it down. “Why would you miss me?”

“Um, Kenny and I are moving to Minneapolis.”

“What? When?” My face fell.

He looked like he was trying to mask his happiness for me, and I didn’t want that at all. But… Minnesota?

He gave me a sheepish smile. “In a few weeks.”

“What?”

“It’s only about five hours away, and I promise we’ll talk all the time and—”

I stopped him with a hug. I didn’t want him to feel bad for one second longer. “We’ll be fine, Stu. Friends like us can go without seeing each other for a while and pick right back up where we left off.” I pulled back, but not before giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Now, tell me what the hell’s in Minneapolis.”

“You know that I’ve been working hard on the band. Well, we’ve been in need of a drummer for a while, and Kenny knows this guy, Cleo, up there. At first, we were just going to road trip it and checkhim out, but then he suggested something wild. He asked if I wanted to move there and make a fresh start. Nothing permanent, but long enough to do something that’s just for us. After thinking about it, it just felt right.”

“Wow. I’m… happy for you. Really.” I smiled wide. “I really, really am. You two are meant to be, and you owe it to each other to have this time. But what about the rest of the band here?”

“Drew’s getting married, so he was planning on taking time off anyway. And Will’s making the move up there. Says he’s up for a change of scenery.”

“That’s pretty cool.” I stuffed a wad of fries in my mouth.

“Yeah, and I really feel it, Perry. I see great things ahead. For me and Kenny. For the band. Been throwing around some names since the last ones never took. What do you think of Hallowed Realm?”

“I like it.” He looked ready to burst. “I see great things too, Stu. Just don’t forget about me when you get too big.”

“I could never forget my best girl. No distance will ever break us, hot stuff.”

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