barely been dating for three months and had spent most of that apart while the band was on tour in Europe.
Right now, she’s in Nevada on her impromptu honeymoon. Meanwhile, I had no idea things were that serious between her and my least-favorite bandmate until she called to invite me to the post-wedding party they’re having at her restaurant when they’re back in town next week.
She caught me completely by surprise. I’m sure my congratulations sounded as forced as they felt, and I did a shit job of hiding my relief that I had plans that would prevent me from joining the celebration.
I want to be happy for her, I do. I want to believe that Cutter is going to grow up and treat her the way she deserves to be treated, but I know the chances that a womanizing, me-first kind of guy like Cutter is going to change his ways are pretty fucking slim.
I hate to think that, in a few years, once the new has worn off and he’s tired of living up to the expectations of a woman who has her shit together, Cutter might be the asshole bad-mouthing his woman in a bar.
And that woman will be my Theo.
Only she’s not mine anymore. She’s his. It’s another thing that’s changed, another way my world has turned upside down, and enough to put me in a confrontational frame of mind even before I step out the back door into the alley behind Chippy’s to find Fernando pissing against the wall on the other side.
“This isn’t a toilet, asshole,” I growl. “The deli next door has a restroom.”
Fernando glances over his shoulder, but doesn’t stop pissing as he slurs, “Go fuck yourself, Zack.” He laughs. “Yeah, I saw you there. Acting like you weren’t listening to every fucking word I said. Why don’t you go tattle to Colette? Maybe she’ll suck your dick like a good whore as a reward.”
For a second, I consider punching him between the shoulder blades. But I’ve never started a fight, let along sucker-punched a drunk while his back was turned, and Fernando isn’t worth a blow to my integrity.
I should turn and walk away.
And usually, I would. Old Zack wouldn’t waste another second of his time on this loser.
But Old Zack wouldn’t leave the band or miss his best friend’s wedding celebration, either. I don’t know where Old Zack is right now as I reach out a flat hand, but he isn’t here in this alley. He remains conspicuously absent as I give Fernando a gentle shove, sending him stumbling into a puddle of his own warm piss.
“What the fuck?” he cries out, his arms flying out to his sides as urine splashes onto the legs of his pants, but I don’t stick around to see what other thoughtful reflections he might have to share.
I’m already on my way down the alley, headed for the park and the apartment buildings on the other side. I’m not sure when I learned where Colette lives—or why that information stuck in my head when so many things about my hometown slip through the cracks in my awareness—but that’s where I’m going.
Someone should check on her.
Her best friend is out of town, and she’s just been through an ugly breakup.
She could probably use a friendly ear right about now.
And that’s all it will be—a friendly ear. I’ll see if I can help somehow, and then I’ll leave. At least, that’s what the Old Zack would do.
Hopefully, he’ll be back online before I get to Colette’s place.
Chapter Two
Colette Claude Blanchett
A woman looking for sperm in all the wrong places.
* * *
The doorbell buzzes, but I stay on the floor with my jumbo jar of Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme and ten thousand used tissues scattered around me like melting snowflakes.
My misery doesn’t like company.
It’s odd and contrary, just like the rest of me.
Why can’t I be a normal person with normal body parts and normal feelings? If I were normal, I would be engaged to Fernando and trying for a baby the old-fashioned way. Instead, I’m crying over lost sperm and wondering how on earth I’m going to afford in vitro fertilization now that I’ve lost my job.
Oh God…my job.
I almost forgot about that part.
Shoveling another spoonful of sugary fluff into my mouth, I ignore the second zap of the doorbell. I don’t know who’s there, but it’s no one I want to see. All my girlfriends are out of town, and I honestly wouldn’t even want to