with this girl from the day we became a band. You have her here. Hope you don’t fuck it up.”
We all got our own rooms.
I opened the door to my room and went inside.
There was something about hotel rooms…
When you first arrived, it was quiet. Lonely. Almost depressing.
I never liked to be alone in a hotel room.
And I wasn’t alone for long.
The door opened behind me and when I turned around, I saw Abby almost carrying Bree.
“She’s feeling it,” Abby said.
“I bet,” I said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a woman this drunk in my room this early.”
“Should I just take her to my room?” Abby asked.
“With Reed? Hell no.”
“Oh, no. You’d get Reed.”
“I don’t want to be near Reed,” I said.
“That makes two of us,” Abby said.
I took over for Abby, picking Bree up and putting her on the bed.
Then I ran after Abby at the door.
“Hey,” I said to her. “You know we’re all just fucking around, right?”
“I know,” Abby said. “I’ve been around this whole thing as long as you have, Sab.”
She gently patted my face.
“How did you and Reed figure out the past?” I asked.
Abby smiled. She looked at the bed where Bree was sleeping.
She looked back at me. “All I’ve heard about is you texting some girl you left behind in the town where you grew up. That girl is a woman and that woman is in your bed. She’s here. So stop thinking about the past.”
Abby backed up into the hallway.
“Abby,” I said. “Wait. Serious question. What do you see in Reed? He’s ugly. He’s the bassist. Who wants the bassist in a band?”
“He’s got a great dick,” she said with a smile.
I laughed. “Mine’s better.”
“Maybe,” she said. “Too bad you were so hung up on some girl from your hometown.”
She got me there.
I moved back into the hotel room and shut the door.
I turned and looked at Bree as she slept.
There was a drunk woman in my hotel and we hadn’t had sex yet tonight.
Also… it wasn’t even midnight and the night was over.
What the hell was wrong with me?
That was an easy question to answer.
I was in love.
I made sure there was everything Bree needed for the morning.
A lot of coffee. A little bit of everything off the menu for breakfast.
Some medicine for her headache.
And, of course, a shot of whiskey.
As I waited for her to wake up, I listened to the new song we wrote for Mitchy through wireless earbuds.
It was a very raw and rough-cut version of the song, but I liked it.
We planned on releasing the concert for Mitchy once it was touched up in the studio.
That was one good thing about technology.
We could record something and get it up on all platforms quick for the fans.
They loved to stream.
We loved to play.
I stood at the window and thought about Mitchy some more.
There was a part of me that couldn’t believe he was dead. There was a part of me that couldn’t believe it took him so long to die.
I saw movement from the corner of my eye and I took the earbuds out of my ears.
Bree slowly started to sit up.
She looked at me and shut her eyes.
“Do I look as shitty as I feel?” she asked.
I walked to the bed and sat down next to her. I moved her hair behind her ear.
“There,” I said. “You look beautiful.”
“Shut up, Sab,” she said as she shut her eyes.
I leaned toward her and put my forehead to hers.
Her eyes opened and we stared at each other.
“You want to kiss me good morning, don’t you?” Bree asked.
“Do you remember last night?”
“Of course I do,” she said. “I flirted with Reed and you got jealous.”
I laughed. “That’s not entirely true.”
“That’s my version,” she said.
“We can’t keep dancing around this, babe.”
“Around what?”
“What actually happened.”
“Which is?” she asked.
I stood up from the bed. “I watched you do that a lot, Bree. You’d feel down on yourself and then get drunk and flirt with guys. Sometimes you’d get yourself into a bad spot and I’d step in. I was never sure if I was supposed to step in or not. But I couldn’t help myself. And each time it happened, I just wanted to grab you and tell you that you were beautiful. That I wanted you. That I loved you. That I would never make you feel that way. Ever.”
“And that’s what last night was about?” Bree asked.
“Yeah.”
She climbed out of the bed and stood up.
She reached for my shirt. “How about