I want him to feel the discomfort. I’m spending my spring freaking break here so we can reconnect, and that’s what I want us to do.
“You have to be in the studio tonight?” Grip asks.
“Yeah. The singer’s coming in to lay some new vocals.” Rhyson scowls. “I hope we can knock everything out tonight. Maybe go to Santa Monica Pier tomorrow. But there may be another short session or two.”
“If you want, I can swing by the studio to get Bristol tonight on my way to Brew.” Grip directs the comment to Rhyson, not looking at me. “Take her with me.”
He’s barely spoken to me all morning. We talked last night for hours, and if I hadn’t conked out, we probably would have talked for hours more. Maybe he has this kind of connection all the time, authentic and easy. He probably stays up all night talking to girls all the time. To me, though, it feels exceptional to be able to talk with someone so openly in such a short time.
“That cool with you, Bris?” Rhyson asks.
“Sure.” I check Grip’s face for any sign that this is a pain in his ass. “If you don’t mind. Aren’t you working?”
“Just deejaying.” He taps his fork against his lips. “Jimmi will be there, too. You guys can hang.”
I chuckle and drag my fork through the sticky syrup on my plate. “She seems cool,” I say. “And really talented. She blew the roof off Mick’s yesterday.”
“They finally let her on stage?” Rhyson rubs his eyes and yawns. “Good for her.”
I read between the lines of fatigue on my brother’s handsome face.
“You still seem sleepy, Rhys. Why don’t you go catch some z’s until you have to be at the studio?”
“You sure?” Rhyson’s eyes already seem to be drooping at the prospect of crawling back into bed. “I only need like another hour or two, then we can roll out.”
“No problem.” I walk my plate over to the sink and rinse it off. “I can clean up in here.”
“You don’t have to clean up after me.” A small frown lands between Grip’s eyebrows.
“You didn’t have to cook for us,” I come back, loading my plate and utensils into the dishwasher. “But you did. It was delicious, by the way.”
“Glad you enjoyed it,” he says politely before looking away. I’m struck again by the contrast from last night when he was warm and open. This morning, he isn’t so much cold as he is indifferent. I just met him yesterday and refuse to allow myself a sense of loss. I mean, come on. We had a few intelligent conversations and a couple meals. No big deal.
Keep telling yourself that.
“Take a change of clothes with you to the studio,” Grip says. “You can get dressed there before we go to the club.”
He comes to the sink, handing me his empty plate. When I tug, he doesn’t let go, and we have a childish tug-of-war for a second between our hands and between our eyes. He finally relents, grinning and walking back to the table. Rhyson watches the byplay between Grip and me with eyes that are suddenly alert and speculative.
“I better get going.” Grip grabs his backpack from the floor near his seat. “Stuff to do and people to see.”
“Thanks again for everything,” Rhyson says.
“It’s nothing.” Grip gives me a smile before waving at us both and disappearing through the kitchen door.
“You know not to get all giddy over Marlon, right?” Rhyson watches me with big brother eyes. “I mean, he’s a great guy. My best friend, in fact, but he goes through girls like toilet paper.”
“You mean he wipes his ass with them?” I ask with false innocence.
“Good one.” Rhyson doesn’t grin as he comes to stand beside me at the sink. “Seriously, Bris, all the girls fall for Marlon, and he isn’t ready to be good to any one girl.”
“And are you?” I challenge him with a smirk, disguising the pinch in my chest hearing him describe Grip. I should be glad he’s telling me, though I don’t need him warning me about his best friend. “Ready to be good to one girl?”
“Hell, no.” Rhyson laughs, crossing his arms over his wide chest. “I want to be as good to as many girls as I can.”
We laugh, but once the joke is over, I realize we’re alone for the first time since I arrived in LA. Alone for the first time in years. This is nothing like the comfortable silences Grip and I