Page 20 of Here's to Yesterday

He reaches over and grabs my laptop, presses play on the movie I was watching, and makes himself comfortable on my bed.On my damnbed!

“Are youfreaking—”

He quickly hits pause and peeks over at me. “Hey, don’t be rude. I’m trying to watch a movie. This is my favorite part, and you’re ruiningit.”

Tucker taps the laptop again and sounds of explosions fill theair.

That ass!I stand there in absolute shock over the audacity this man holds. He barges intomyroom, sits onmybed, watchesmymovie, and bossesmearound.

The saddest part of all this is that I’m walking toward my closest and pulling out clothes to wear tonight. A part of me finds it sweet he came over to make sure I go, and another part finds itannoying.

In this moment, sweet iswinning.

Padding toward the adjoining bathroom, I stop to glance back at Tucker, who is absorbed in my movie. I grab the closest thing to me—a stuffed bear Tanner won for me from a claw machine last September—and throw it at Tucker’s smugface.

I hear him shouting, “Fuck! My eye!” as I close thedoor.

Maura: 1; Tucker:3.

* * *

“Buckle up.I hear I’m a crazy driver,” Tucker says as he settles himself into the driver’s seat of his black ‘96 BMW M3. I don’t know jack shit about cars, but I know that Tucker has put in a lot of work to make this car unique, fast, and sexy. He’s successfully accomplished allthree.

“Joy.”

“Tsk, tsk, Maura. We’re happy tonight. It’ll be fun,” hesays.

I ignore him and reach for the radio. Turning it to the local college station, I crank the radio up as a Transit song fills the confined space. I swear I hear him mutter something about Rae and me, but I ignore thattoo.

We ride with the stereo blasting the entire way to Mic’s, a local open-mic type place where Tucker frequently plays. It’s a hole in the wall of sorts, but it’s filled with so many awesome things from the many performers who have played there. It’s one of my favorite places to visit now, and not because it was where I went for my first date with Tanner. Tucker’s the one who made it thatway.

Much to my surprise, he motions for me to wait as he opens my door for me when we park—something Tanner’s neverdone.

Which is not important at all, Maura.I want to slap myself because I’m comparing these two brothers when I definitely shouldn’tbe.

He holds his hand out for me, and I automatically place mine in it. Itfits.

Tucker pulls me out of the car, eyeing me carefully. He glances down at my outfit, and I watch as the corners of his mouth tipup.

“You clean up nicely, Maura,” he saysshyly.

I—for some unknown reason—blush at hiscompliment.

“Thanks. You do too.” And he does. All he’s wearing are jeans and a grey t-shirt—apparently leaving the flannel at home tonight—but he’s still handsome ashell.

He closes my door, and we begin making our way toward the entrance. Bumping into me so I peer over at him, Tucker tilts his head toward the club. “You ready forthis?”

I roll my eyes. “I’ve seen you play before, Tucker. This is nothing new forme.”

“I didn’t mean about that. I meant going out to any place other than Clyde’s for the first time inmonths.”

Not too long ago, I was a bit of a shut-in. I never went anywhere other than class, the library, Rae’s house, or work. That was it. Nowhere else. Even though I was away from them and living with my aunt Kassi in her spacious three bedroom ranch house, my parents made sure that I was full of nothing but paranoia all the time. I was so scared of their words and how they burned that I would rather spend my time in “safe spaces” so I wouldn’t do anything to upsetthem.

I may have already been to Mic’s about a dozen or so times, but this is huge. I’m nervous because I’m still not used to large crowds yet—something that’s become worse over the last few months—and there’s always a big one when Tuckplays.

“Oh,” I say. “Um, yeah, I guess. I mean, it shouldn’t be too difficult.Right?”

“No, it definitely shouldn’t be. You bring that mask of yours, just incase?”

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