Page 34 of The Second Deal

Goingto that show only would’ve gotten my hopes up, andIdidn’t want to have them dashed by a vindictive ex.

NotthatIdidn’t deserve it.

Butno matter how many hoursIput in at the studio, allIcould think about wasTimeless,NewYear’sBall, home.Iconvinced myselfIcould smell barbacoa and mesquite and cedar, crispy burnt grass and dusty dry clay until my stomach ached so badly thatIcried myself right intoSanAntonio.

IloveAtlanta.Hell, to some extent,IknowTyis right—Ibelong there more thanSanAntonio.Thenonstop texts from myDirtyPeachmusicians asking whenI’llbe back to record and hang confirms it.

But, goddamn it,SanAntoniois my home.

Timelessis my band.

ButI’mnotAdrian’sgirlfriend.

Coldbeads of condensation drip over my fingers, the margarita in my hand completely melted.Myphone lights up with a notification.

Igrab it and tap away untilI’mon his social profile, looking at his blank relationship status.

Ittakes sifting through his friends list and mutuals untilIfindNorma.

Ladies, here’s your fair warning theTimelesstwins are off the market for the foreseeable future,her first public post reads.Acertain blonde guitarist is back in town.

Isnort, chuckling inappropriately before knocking back the rest of this watered down margarita that’s making me sadder.IfAdrianimmediately confessed toNormathat he cheated on her, it’s safe to say he confessed our misdeed to his brother afterIbailed.

Thesmirk falls off my face, realizing thatI’mthe reason why this poor girl is having a really shitty day.God, you really are a piece of shit.

Haven’tIseen pictures of her online?Orseen posts of them together?Shelooks vaguely familiar.

Ikeep scrolling untilIfind it: she taggedAdrianin a relationship status update just a couple of months ago.Thelike button is highlighted, displaying that me and a couple hundred others liked it.There’sa picture of her kissing his cheekItry tapping on, but an error pops up:Postnot found.

“CanIget you another?”

Myattention snaps up to the bartender.

Hisbrows knit together. “Youokay?”

Warmthrolls down from the corner of my eye and traces the outline of my cheek.Iquickly dash it away and reach for my purse. “I’mgood.”

MaybeAdrianandIdeserve each other.

Aline already wraps around the corner with people sportingTimelessmerch at a venue that hosts big names in an intimate bar setting.Ieven spot a couple ofTimeless-themed tattoos hiding in the shadows, away from the rain sprinkling from the sky.

Irap on the backdoor of the venue with our old “let me in” secret knock.

Theheavy metal thing flings open. “Evenwhen you’re not in the band, you’re still one of the first ones here,”Shannonsays.

Thedoor slams behind me with a metallicclankasIfollow him into a dim, cool hallway crammed with black cases and trunks withTimelessspray-painted in white across all of them.

“Atleast one of y’all are responsible without me around, huh?”

Shannongrabs a random roll of duct tape and a neatly-wrapped cord from a trunk and keeps heading towards the stage. “Youleavin’ was a kick in the ass for all of us.”

Myheart sinks. “I’msorry.”

Hespins around suddenly, flashing me a pretty smile all the fans swoon over. “Didn’tsay it was a bad thing.”

Mystomach plummets.Kickme whileI’mdown, why don’t you…

“Besides.”Hebegins to unroll the cord and hooks up a board. “Itfinally gotZakto write something.”Shannonchuckles to himself. “Figuresit’d be the one song fans want us to play every show.”

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