Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 125135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
“I feel exactly the same.” I looked over at the clock. “Shit, I have to go.”
“Okay,” he murmured.
I gave my gorgeous maybe-boyfriend one final-final kiss on the lips, took one last look at his beautiful face, and walked out of my apartment, feeling empty and worried for the future, despite all of Holden’s assurances.
CHAPTER 21
Holden
“What the fuck, Catalano?” Dylan, our bass player, said. “You got an STD or something?”
I looked up from breaking down my drum set. “What the hell are you talking about?”
He motioned to the woman who’d just stopped over to tell me how much she’d enjoyed the show…and asked if she could buy me a drink.
“Oh, that. Not interested.”
“Really?” Monroe chimed in. “She looks right up your alley. Long hair, big tits, nice ass. Not to mention those plump lips look like they would make some really nice dick pillows for your head.”
I chuckled but shook my other head. “I only have one type these days, boys—a certain brainiac blonde who’s back home waiting for my return.”
Dylan raised a brow before glancing around to the other guys. “I got fifty he doesn’t make two weeks.”
“A hundred says he doesn’t make it out of Oregon without at least a blowjob,” Kevin added, putting away his guitar.
Monroe pulled a wad of cash from his front pocket and twirled the microphone in his hand. He motioned to two women I hadn’t noticed, who were gazing my way and smiling. One sucked on the straw in her drink suggestively. “Oregon? I’m pretty sure those are identical twins. They were sitting in the front row. The one in red has a tongue ring. I got two hundred he doesn’t make the night.”
I shook my head as I dismantled the tension rod from the bass drum. “I’ll take every single one of your bets, you fools. Because the only thing I’m looking forward to taking to bed with me tonight, or any other night during this trip, is my iPad, so I can FaceTime with my girl.”
Dylan nodded. “It’s definitely gonorrhea.”
After we finished loading the van, the guys went back into the bar for drinks, but I decided to call it a night. I was all too familiar with the attention we got when we stuck around after playing, and I didn’t want to put myself in that situation. Not that there would be any temptation on my part—I was a blissfully satisfied man these days—but even hanging out with women I knew would be into fooling around seemed wrong. The guys could joke all they wanted, but I was living my best life getting to play on stage and then going back to my room to tell my girl all about the day. Which was exactly what I did.
“Oh my gosh. You need to put a shirt on.” Lala’s face came on the screen, and she smiled. “It’s unfair that I should have to look at that and then go to bed alone.”
I was sitting with my back against the headboard, wearing only boxer briefs. Locking my hands together behind my head, I made sure to flex my biceps. “Are you saying you like what you see, sweetheart?”
Lala sighed. “I wish I could lick what I see right now.”
I smiled. “How was your day?”
“Good. Busy. I went to one of the assisted-care centers I’m working with to check in on how everyone is doing.”
“Is it going well?”
She nodded. “I really love working with older people. They have so many stories to share. Mr. Wentz, one of the gentlemen in my study, has been married for fifty-seven years. He met his wife at three years old, when her family moved in next door to his in Chicago. They grew up as best friends, but by the time they were teenagers, they were madly in love. When his wife was sixteen, her father got transferred to Switzerland for work. They wanted to get married and stay together, but their parents wouldn’t allow it, and eventually they lost touch since she lived so far away. Eight years later, they were both engaged to be married to other people when they wound up on the same subway car in Manhattan. Mr. Wentz was there on a business trip for only that day, and Mrs. Wentz was there to visit her sick grandfather. According to Mr. Wentz, his heart started beating again on that train. That very night, he broke off his engagement and quit his job, since they wouldn’t let him extend his trip in New York. He said he wasn’t letting her out of his sight a second time.”
“Wow. Sounds like it was fate. It’s not as impressive as winning the girl from her fiancé by acting like a complete douchebag in a bar, but it’s a decent story.”
Lala laughed. “How was your show tonight? I didn’t expect to hear from you this early. What time did it end?”