“He didseemoff.”
“It’s weird. After this morning. Mybirthday.”
“It’s very sudden,” he agreed. “You should just ask himstraightup.”
“Squash my fears,” I declared, already feeling a littlegiddy.
“Did he say who the textswerefrom?”
“No, I was too afraidtoask.”
“Zoe…”
“What if he has a secret girlfriend? Whatifhe…”
“Stop it.” He shushed me. “I don’t believe it. Not after seeing him with you thiswholetour.”
“I don’tknow,Dee…”
“If you’re so worried, you should confront him about it. It’s the only way you’ll find out for sure. The only thing you’re doing right now is overthinking and jumping toconclusions.”
“Youreckon?”
“I reckon.” He pushed my drink back into my hand. “Now drink up. It’s still your birthday, and I refuse to let you spend it down in thedumps.”
A smile spread across my face despitemyself.
He grinned in return. “That’smygirl.”
I didn’t know if it was the fact I’d just downed a bright orange cocktail on an empty stomach, but I was determined to set things straight. The moment I laid eyes on Will, I’d just say it. I was going to put my insecurities to rest once and for all and take control of my life. I wasn’t going to be a punching bag for anyoneanymore.
I was just goingtoask.
* * *
Everything always seemed sosimple when you were a littletipsy.
Last night’s outing had boosted my confidence, but now that I was standing backstage, I felt uneasy. Setting up for a show had become familiar territory, a second home, but now it felt like a battlefield. The last time I had confronted somebody, it didn’t end wellatall.
The moment we came off stage from doing a sound check, I found Will loitering in the back hallway, lookingflustered.
“We need to talk,” I declared, grabbinghisarm.
“Zoe…” he began, but I pulled him into a small room that looked a lot like a storagecloset.
Flicking the light on revealed a table, some old chairs, and old boxes full of papers. Storage closetitwas.
Closing the door behind us, I faced him, trying to will back some of that confidence I’d felt the night before, but having him in front of me made it all dissolve into a pile of ash. I cared for him so much I was suddenly petrified he was going to break it offwithme.
“Is everything okay?” I asked as he leaned back againstthewall.
“Yes, of course, it is,” he replied like Iwasmad.
That wasn’t really flying. “You’ve beendifferent.”
He frowned. “It’s just…we’rehomenow.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” I asked a little tooforcefully.