to hold me. Is that such a bad thing? We both know we’re friends. He’s had girlfriends. I’ve had a boyfriend or two. It’s really not that big of a deal.
A little chill in the air tickles my arms and I shiver.
“Hey, are you cold?” Sebastian asks.
“A little,” I say.
“I have some hoodies in the backseat,” he says. “Want me to go get you one?”
“No,” I say. “You can just put your arm around me.”
“Of course,” he says.
Sebastian wraps his arm around me and pulls me close to him.
There’s an odd second between us where time feels like it’s stopped.
Then he turns a little.
“Does my armpit smell?” he asks.
He shoves my nose into his armpit and I throw an elbow to his ribs.
He groans as he laughs.
“Gross jerk,” I say.
He keeps laughing. “Sorry, babe. I had to. I won’t do that again.”
“Yes, you will,” I say.
Sebastian puts his arm around me again and I put my head to his shoulder.
He hugs me.
We sit in silence.
I feel myself ready to fall asleep.
I’m lucky to have such a good friend like Sebastian.
I jumped up from the bed as the memories tried to flood my mind.
Not that they were bad memories, it was just…
At least it was better than grieving my mother’s death, right?
Then I had two sets of memories in my head.
I didn’t even take a sip of the coffee as I walked back to the kitchen.
I put the coffee down and texted Mia.
As I stared at the phone, I felt the emotion trying to wash over me.
She didn’t take long to reply.
On my way.
Mia really was a good friend.
I hadn’t even thought about the shop until she mentioned what was going on there.
It was the first time in forever I hadn’t been thinking about work.
She left Jess in charge but obviously had her phone at hand in case something happened.
I felt guilty for bothering her.
Part of me told myself I should have just asked Sebastian to stay another day.
But he couldn’t.
He was in his own world.
His rock star life. The death of a band member.
The band was trending online because of that too.
Waiting for Mia, I did a little searching and it wasn’t hard to find some really harsh articles written about Mitchy. I never met him. But the way he was portrayed, he was a really bad drug addict. So many articles were written as though Mitchy deserved to die.
It was heartbreaking.
“You never opened the letter,” Mia said.
“Not yet,” I said.
“Bree…”
“I know,” I said. “I will. Later. I still have to wrap my mind around picking her up. They’re going to hand me…”
Mia nodded and rubbed my arm. “I know.”
“It’s just a lot,” I said. “Sorry about the shop today. I wasn’t even-”
“No need to be sorry,” Mia said. “Take some time to yourself. The shop will be fine.”
“I don’t want to just wander around here for days. I don’t want any more flowers or fruit. Speaking of which… where’s the chocolate? Where’s the booze? I don’t want fruit.”
Mia laughed. “We’ll get you some chocolate and booze later.”
“Is everyone at the shop talking about it?” I asked.
“Of course they are,” Mia said. “Customers too.”
“I think it’s going to be in the newspaper tomorrow,” I said.
“Everyone in town already knows,” Mia said.
“I have to face all of that too,” I said.
“Nothing to face, Bree.”
“Just the same conversation over and over.”
“Which is people telling you how much they cared about her.”
“Mia. It’s the same hit to the heart over and over.”
“I know. I’m just trying to be supportive.”
“And the letter… knowing my mother, it’s something dumb. Like instructions on how to cook her famous lasagna.”
“Oh, that’s good stuff,” Mia said.
“You’re not helping,” I said.
“You’re kind of smiling. It’s the least I can do since Sebastian left.”
She winked.
I felt myself on the verge of blushing.
I walked away.
“I’m just teasing,” she called out.
I spun around. “You know how famous he is? He texted someone to send a plane here. Like a text message. Just… boom.”
“Yeah, I believe it.”
“I’m just… I see him as Sebastian still. My friend from high school. The cool, tough guy who played guitar and drums. Now he’s just…”
“Gorgeous and rich?” Mia asked.
“You think he’s gorgeous?”
“Does that bother you?”
“No.” I said.
It bothered me a little, but shh…
“Let me put it this way,” Mia said. “The hubby and I have an agreement. He has a list of actresses and I have a list of musicians. If we ever have the chance to hook up with one, it’s allowed. Sab is way up