“Hey,” I said, jogging to her like Penny had to me earlier, but I threw my arms around Sophia.
Her complexion was ashen, and her pretty features were pinched. She looked like she could use a hug. I knew I needed one. She returned my embrace, sagging into me like I sagged into her.
Everyone knows bestie hugs have miraculous powers.
“Are you mad at me?” Easing back, she scanned my face for an answer.
“No,” I said. “Were you really afraid I would be?”
“A little.” She bobbed her head. “Okay, a lot. You just broke up with Saber, and I’m your best friend.”
“We just broke up, but you were right all along. He was wrong for me.”
Her eyes widened. “I’ve never heard you sound so certain about that.”
“I spent the night with Journey. We talked. We’re going to see how we do together as a couple.”
It was difficult saying the words, because though he thought I had a lot of faith, that faith didn’t come without fear.
“Wow,” she said. “That’s a big development.”
I nodded. From waking up in Journey’s arms to now, it had been a wow type of a day.
“So, you and Saber . . .” I let that hang so she could fill in.
“No we. I got drunk. He was wasted. We hooked up.”
“You don’t like him?” I asked.
“I never liked him. He’s authoritative, self-involved, and arrogant.”
“Yeah.” I made a face. “I guess he’s all that.”
“But he’s amazing to look at, like Pierce Brosnan in Golden Eye. And, of course, he’s brilliant in bed. Oh, sorry. TMI.” She shook her head, and her straight black hair fanned around her slender shoulders like a cape.
“I never thought Saber was all that good at it.”
“Really?” Sophia’s hazel eyes rounded, revealing her surprise.
“I guess it depends on who he’s with.” I put my hand on her arm. “He and I didn’t have chemistry.”
I sighed and gave it to her real. She was my bestie. She deserved that.
“I think I wanted us to work more than anything. Some because Cork loved the band and looked up to him.” There was a caution to be heeded about Journey in that regard. “You said I wasn’t interested in Saber until I saw him with a guitar. That’s true, but it was more than just that. It was also because he was Storm’s brother. Being with him connected me to the past.”
“Oh, honey.”
“Yeah, I know. Pretty pathetic to continue to pine over my first crush, but I’m not doing that anymore. With Journey, it’s only him I’m interested in. No one else.”
Storm
“I NEED YOU to hold back a moment,” Saber said to me, his eyes meeting mine as I clacked the last latch on the case for my SG.
“Been at it all day, man, no break except for that vending machine crap at lunch.” I gave him a look. “I gotta get some real food.”
“You want to see Lotus.”
“Fuck yeah, I want to see her.” I popped a brow.
Did he not look at her when he was with her? Know her? Touch, taste, feel her?
I lifted my chin. “But she isn’t your business anymore.”
“Right.” His mouth flattened. “Unless it interferes with the band.”
“Oh fucking hell. Not this again.” I rolled my eyes. “I thought you were gonna make an effort to lighten the fuck up.”
“OB Hardy is performing in front of six thousand people soon.” He suddenly looked green under his golden tan, and my heart went out to him.
Saber wasn’t as cocksure as he acted. And now that he wasn’t the competition for Lotus anymore, I remembered things about him. Good things. How he used to move in front of me when I was small and my old man laid into me. He didn’t stopped looking out for me until I hit the big growth spurt in my early teens.
I placed my hand on his shoulder to steady him. “We’re going to rock the Surf Fest concert. It’s not going to be if we knock the people on their asses. It’s gonna be how hard they fall.”
“You might be right,” he said, and some of his color flooded back.
“I’m right.” I gave him a look. “Other people in this group can be right, not just you.” I couldn’t help but get in a dig. He deserved it and then some.
“I hear you.”
“Good. ’Bout fuckin’ time you listened. Can I go eat now?”
“Sure. But after you and I go over the set list.”
His cell phone rang, a shrill tone that made him cringe.