Page 8 of The Fire Walker
Despite all of that, I kind of liked America. It was something different, something fresh, and maybe that’s what I needed to get myself out of this funk. Pining over a woman would probably make it worse, especially if she shot me down. Jessiewouldshoot me down, and I didn’t even know her yet. Expecting me to be the typical musician rock star type, she would turn up her nose, and that would be that. Pigeonholed into a bad boy stereotype that gave me theshits.
By the time we got back to the hotel, it was almost time to go out again, and we planned to rendezvous out front in an hour or so. My idea of getting ready was to have a quick shower, forgo shaving, and throw on a ‘nice’ pair of jeans and a T-shirt with some random band logo and a beat up denim jacket. I didn’t do shoes. I did boots. I shoved my phone in my pocket, and I wascomplete.
I didn’t really care that much about how I looked, but I found myself staring at my reflection in the mirror wondering what this Jessie would see. Handsome Aussie rocker, or deadbeat busker? I could probably beeither.
My lifestyle pre-band wasn’t ideal for my parents. Starving busker wasn’t really their thing. I guess they wanted me to become a doctor or a lawyer or settle into a nothing middle management job with a steady income. Too bad I was dumb as dog shit. The only things I had an aptitude for were books and music. I always got top grades in Drama. I didn’t go to Uni or TAFE. I went to Centrelink, got an unemployment payment, and sat on the street busking from dawn until dusk. Imagine the parental units telling the extended family about their one and only son sitting on a street corner all day and collecting thedole.
That was pretty much everything that went into being DeeCosgrove.
I didn’t have a secret past. I didn’t have anything horrible happen to me like Zoe. I was just a guy. I’d probably made some stupid decisions in my time but nothing epic. Hell, I’d never had a steady girlfriend before. Twenty-five and perpetuallysingle.
It wasn’t like I wasugly. Shit, I had my fair share of attention from girls, but I wasn’t into casual stuff like that. I was old-fashioned. I wanted a relationship. I wanted to fall in love. I didn’t want meaningless. I wantedmeaningful.
So that was my inspiration for approaching Jessie. Talk to her like Zoe had suggested, and ask her out on a date. Fucking hell,I wanted to kiss her, but I also wanted to know what she was about. What she liked and disliked. Where she grew up. What music she liked. Why she was interning and not running theshow.
I didn’t know how I was going to do it, but I figured I would know when I sawher.
Sitting in the back of the town car that was taking us over to the restaurant, Zoe crammed in next to Frank and me, squashing me in themiddle.
“What, not riding with lover boy?” I asked with a smallsmile.
“Nope.” She patted me on the knee as Frank typed a message into his phone. “Are you really okay,Dee?”
“Yes.” I snorted as the car pulled out into traffic. So another round of questioning was why she was here and notthere.
“Dee, seriously.” Frank elbowed mesharply.
“Is this an intervention? Because you need something to intervene,” I said sarcastically, eying the driver in the rearview mirror, but his gaze was fixed on theroad.
“C’mon.” Zoe smiled kindly, threading her arm through mine. “I haven’t seen you this down before.Ever.”
“What do you want me to say, Zo? I don’t know. Here’s me”—I held out a hand—“and here’s my wits’ end.” I clapped them bothtogether.
“He’s got the hots for a girl, Will style,” Frank said, and I remembered our short convo the night before at the studio. The ‘I saw her first’shenanigans.
“So what are you gonna do about it?” Zoe asked, pulling my hands down. She knew this already from our awkward deep and meaningful at thestudio.
“Tonight?” I asked, raising aneyebrow.
“Yeah.”
“Talking is a good start.” I’d already plannedit.
“Try not to be a smartass,” Franksuggested.
I scoffed. “Thanks for the advice,mate.”
He grinned stupidly at me as the car pulled up out the front of the restaurant. “Anytime.”
As he got out, Zoe leaned into me and whispered, “Never take advice from a drummer.” Despite myself, I let out a laugh, and she slapped me on the chest. “That’s myDee.”
As we stood on the footpath and the others joined us, she let go of me and waltzed over to Will. As my gaze followed my best friend, it kept going and latched straight onto the woman I’d seen at the studio last night. The woman whose name hadn’t left myhead.
Jessie.
She was standing less than three feet away, and she was even more stunning close up. Tall but delicate with almond skin and dark blonde hair that she’d tied up into a messy do at the nape of her neck. She was just as underdressed as I was. She wore tight black jeans and a slouchy T-shirt, but she had on a black blazer that hugged her waist, and the stilettos on her feet made her almost as tall as me. I couldn’t have looked away even if I wanted to. There was something about her that just made my gaze latch on and not want to let go, and I was determined to find out what itwas.
She glanced up as if she sensed I was staring at her, and her gaze met mine with eyes just as captivating as the night before…and then she smiled, and I knew I was agoner.
