Page 113 of Secondhand Smoke
Was she answering, or was she questioning?
“Come with me. We’ve got time, and we’ll keep working on it. Plus, you’re getting better, right?” He pulled back so he could see her.
She looked up at him, her expression hard to read. They stared at each other for a few moments before her lips rose up. “Yeah. I’ll get better.”
He grinned and kissed her forehead.
He could see it now. The five of them living out of a tour van, traveling around. Him on stage, knowing she was always there watching him, thinking he was hot—that’s what she had said when she was absolutely plastered last weekend.
She thought he was hot on stage.
He chuckled and kissed her nose.
It was a dream come true. He really couldn’t imagine life getting much better than that.
“And don’t worry.” He hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her face toward his. “I’ll still give you lessons.”
She finished it for him and kissed his lips.
44 - Nell
The comedown always made the regret worse.
At first, Nell had kept the promise to herself that it was a one-time-only thing, but Tina was persistent. Once Nell had four drinks in her, overheard one of the guys talking about their potential record deal again, and Barrett was pulled away to be introduced to some people, Tina slid in at the right moment and had the cure to that darkness swirling inside of Nell.
And it was so nice. Everything was so nice. It was so nice to have a new friend, someone who she could giggle with and gossip with and spin around in her high with.
Plus, when she thought about having a new girlfriend, it didn’t hurt for about thirty minutes. And when the guilt started to creep its way back, all she had to do was follow Tina into the restroom and do it all over again.
But at the end of every night, every weekend, she’d fall into bed in Barrett’s arms, and the vivid dreams would wreak havoc on her until the morning. Sometimes, her nose would ache, and she’d get a nosebleed at random times in the day, which made Barrett worry. Or at night, which left stains on her pillow.
On the drive back Monday morning, while squeezing Barrett’s hand and having only his reassuring smile to comfort her during the difficult hour, her other hand would be in her pocket, curled around a small baggie Tina brought her as a “gift” after every show for the past few weekends.
It was fine if Barrett didn’t know. He didn’t seem to mind when she was happy, watching him play and dancing and making a new friend.
He even commented, as he pulled her onto his chest one night, on how well she was fitting in, how happy he was that she was really opening up, and how much better she was doing lately.
So if it made him happy and it made her feel normal for thirty minutes at a time, then it wasn’t a bad thing.
Plus, she didn’t want to ruin moments like these with just the two of them sitting in the booth at the diner on a Tuesday afternoon, his foot tapping against hers to the beat of the retro tune playing over the speaker. He studied the menu while she studied him over the top of hers.
“You’re in a good mood today,” she commented, noting his smile.
“I’m always in a good mood with you.” He looked up at her, grinning. “And I have a perfect view from here.”
Aside from music, Barrett’s other major talent was flirting. It didn’t matter how much time she spent with him; she never got used to how easily the smooth-talking came. She was once a force at flirting herself, but it’d been a while.
“Really?” She casually flipped the menu over, pretending she was reading through her options. “I was thinking you’re too far away.”
She tried to keep a straight face, avoiding his eyes, as she wondered how he would respond to her attempt to flirt better than he could.
There was a soft shifting, and when she finally looked up, she found him leaning against the table, face inches from her. Her eyes went wide.
“How’s that?” he asked, his gaze shifting between her eyes before dropping to her mouth. “Close enough for you?”
Nell’s heart jumped in her chest. “Not yet.” She finished off the few extra inches and pressed her mouth to his for a short moment before leaning back out of his reach and grinning. “Much better.”
He sat back down, his mouth crooked as he shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. His foot tapped against hers again, and before he could respond, the waitress appeared to take their order.
