something,” Riley said. “You say she needed to experience it?”
Bryce shrugged. “We both did. It was just supposed to be something fun. We did one of her songs and had some fun at the fair. Sometimes performing live is the best feeling in the world. It was nice to get in touch with that again. I'm not sure you would understand.”
“It's your thing. Like how I get excited over stuff that NASA does. I get that. You just picked an interesting choice of words. Especially since from the sound of it, it seems like she's mad at you.”
“You can tell?”
“The desperation when you answered the phone was a pretty dead giveaway.”
Bryce sighed. “We kind of had a fight after the show. I told her I was in love with her and that I wanted her to be it for me. She freaked out and said I was running away from all of my problems.”
“Are you skipping a detail? Because it sounds like it. I'm not sure how those two things correlate with one another.”
Just like his brother to make things overly logical. His brother was an engineer, though. Riley only saw the world through science and logic, it seemed.
Bryce rubbed his forehead with his free hand. “I mentioned how it would be cool to get some land out there in Ohio.”
“Gotcha. So she doesn't like that idea, thought you were hiding from all of your problems back home, and now she's not talking to you.” Riley laughed.
“Not sure what's so funny.”
“You always get these ideas where you think you know what's best for everyone. Did you stop to think about what she wanted? Even with performing at the fair, did you do that? Maybe you should try talking about this stuff before making all of the plans.”
Groaning softly, Bryce closed his eyes. He did not want to talk about all the ways his brother thought him a failure. “I'm going to talk to her as soon as she'll let me.” Riley did raise some interesting points. For someone who was so emotionally detached, he did notice a lot of things Bryce had missed. “She's insecure about Katie, but no, you're right. I didn't stop to ask her how she felt about staying back in Ohio. The show had been my idea. I think we both had a good time with it, but I hadn't really asked her about it either.”
“Ace.”
“Shut up,” Bryce mumbled. “I get it. I screwed up on multiple levels. Thanks.”
“No problem. We really should do this more often.”
Laughing, Bryce nodded. “We should.”
Riley exhaled softly. “I'd go see her. Don't call her, go see her.”
“That might make her madder.”
“She's running away from you right now. Sure, she's mad, but the longer you both sit on this, the more awkward everything is going to be, man. Now that you've had your revelation, she needs to know you get it before you change your mind.”
“I'm not going to change my mind,” Bryce mumbled.
“Then before she changes hers. The longer you let girls sit on things, the more they seem to blow them out of proportion or detach. Go and see her and do something all romantic and apologetic. They like that kind of thing, according to all of those stupid movies you're in.”
Bryce shook his head. “Thanks for the chat and the advice.” Even if he hadn't wanted it. “I should go and find her before it gets to be too late.”
“Good thinking.”
“Bye, Riley.” Bryce hung up and got his things together, a plan already forming in his head. He'd need to shower before he did anything else.
Chapter Twenty-One
Arial ate a fairly heavy dinner. There would be food at the party, but she didn't know what kind. On the off chance it was something light or something she didn't like, she wanted to be prepared. If she did happen to like it, then she would overindulge. When she got stressed, she tended to eat more anyway. She could take one more food holiday before getting back to her exercise routine. She also wanted a full stomach, because she knew she would be having a drink of some kind. Alcohol wasn't generally her thing, but the idea of unwinding a little bit was appealing. If she was going to have a drink, then she would be sure to do it responsibly.
After her stomach was full, she found the perfect dress to wear. A red cocktail dress with spaghetti straps and a sweetheart bust. There was an empire waist, and the fabric