of him.
I put my phone down and tuned the guitar again.
My fingertips twitched as the muscle memory of chords came back to me in a hurry.
I actually shocked myself by what I remembered.
And that it sounded pretty decent.
Another text came through.
Faye.
Record playing something! Right now!
Carla added a handful of thumbs up emojis.
There was something about it… about them… them also included Liam…
I started to feel fearless.
Play a guitar and sing? Record it? Send it to someone to hear? Screw. That. Noise.
That was my initial thought.
Anytime that happened, I just pictured Liam on that stage, singing - or attempting to sing – without a care about those who heard him.
That was all I needed.
So I recorded myself playing.
Strumming the guitar loosely. Singing for fun.
It wasn’t perfect but it was something.
I texted it to Carla and Faye and waited for them to respond.
Beautiful!
From Faye.
Fucking EPIC!
From Carla.
Still nothing from Liam.
I put the guitar down and sent him another text.
Hey. Don’t be a stranger. Everything okay?
I chewed on the bottom right corner of my lip. Knowing who I was texting, why I was really texting him, and what could possibly happen if things were to explode. In a way there was way too much at stake by texting Liam with what I felt going through me.
Call it crazy, but with the guitar next to me, I felt empowered.
Maybe I should have gotten one a long time ago.
I could have taken it on first dates.
Or first times in the bedroom.
Don’t mind my guitar… but, hey, see this string? That’s the G string on the guitar. Just pluck it once and you can go brag to your friends you found the G-spot!
I laughed to myself.
Liam finally texted me back.
Sorry, Em. Just busy with work. We’ll talk soon. I promise.
It was a reply, which was better than the nothing I had been getting.
But I wasn’t sure I believed Liam’s text at all.
I walked into the bakery with my guitar in its case across my back.
When Ember saw me, she looked at the clock, then back at me.
“I’m really late, I know,” I said.
“And you have a guitar,” she said.
“Yeah. I love it.”
“Are you playing a show here?”
“Nope. Just wanted to bring it along.”
“Badass,” Ember said. “Look at you.”
“Hey, tell me when Emily is here because-”
Lucy froze as she rushed into the back of the bakery.
“Emily is here,” I said.
“With a guitar,” Ember added.
“A guitar?” Lucy asked. “You look like some… I don’t know… like a small-town girl about to sing for a record contract. You know, like in a movie…”
“Oh, those girls usually end up with a hot cowboy, country singer too,” Ember said.
“I’ll tell you one thing,” Lucy said, pointing at me. “I wouldn’t mind seeing Liam in some assless chaps.”
I shook my head. “I’m not responding to that.”
“Well, that’s all the good and funny I have for the moment. You have company, Emily.”
“Is it Liam?” Ember asked.
“No,” Lucy said. “It’s that realtor guy who wants to bang her.”
I cringed.
Hearing someone Lucy’s age say things like bang her always sounded weird.
“Jeff is here?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Lucy said. “And he’s not alone.”
“Meaning what?”
“Your sister is here too. And another guy. I’m assuming it’s her husband?”
“Fuck,” I whispered.
“Hey,” Ember said. “Want me to slip a little laxative in something for them?”
“You’re not poisoning my sister,” I said. “I do like her.”
“It’s not poisoning,” Ember said. “They’ll just be glued to a toilet for a little while.”
She looked way too eager to do something like that.
I snapped my fingers and pointed to her. “No poop poison, Ember.”
“Fine,” she said.
As I walked to the front of the bakery, Lucy pointed to the guitar.
“You’re keeping that strapped on?”
“Yes,” I said. “I love my guitar.”
“Who the hell are you becoming, Emily?” Lucy whispered. “I kind of like it.”
She bumped her shoulder into me.
I laughed.
Then I saw Elise, Dan, and Jeff.
I wished Liam was with me.
So he could knock Jeff out.
“What the hell is that?” Elise asked.
“A guitar.”
“You play guitar?” Dan asked.
“You know I play guitar, Dan,” I said.
“I think it’s awesome,” Jeff said. He leaned toward me. “Hey, maybe you can play a show… you know where…”
He winked.
Heat rushed to my cheeks.
What was he going to do? Play up the fact that he saw Liam and I together? Which wasn’t that big of a deal at all.
I felt the left side of my lip curling.
“What is this?” I asked.
“I said I would be here,” Elise said. “To tame your bitchiness.”
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“I’ve got something to show you,” Jeff said.
Next thing I