We drop down on his couch, and he grabs the remote, searching up his animal documentary shit. This has become our routine over the years since I moved out. The two of us hanging out after practices, watching his weird shows. Sometimes Tanner and Liam join us, but Tanner is always in a rush to get home and he’s Liam’s ride.
“Did you ask her to come? Maybe she’d cut her trip short.”
I shake my head. “I’m not going to ask her to do that.” I thought about it multiple times, though. “What about you? Decide to invite Ellie?”
“I told her about it. Kind of left it open on her end.”
“Sounds messy.”
He works his fingers through his mohawk. “We had an agreement—friends with benefits—which normally would sound fucking sweet. I like her, but I can feel her getting attached.” He shudders.
“She seems like a cool chick. What’s the problem?”
He drags a hand across his face, looking truly stressed out. “I don’t know, fuck. I don’t do girlfriends. What a fucking hassle.”
Travis has only had one relationship. They started dating during their sophomore year in high school. He was crazy about her, probably would’ve married her right after graduation if he thought she would’ve said yes. She went off to school in California, and he stayed here. They tried long distance for a while, and it seemed to be working for them, but one weekend he flew out there to surprise her and caught her with some dude. It fucked him up even though he’d never admit it.
“Just ask her how she feels. See if you two are on the same page or not.”
His face twists in horror. “Feelings? Fuck that. I gotta shut that shit down quick.”
I shake my head, hoping this doesn’t get messy, but knowing him, that’s exactly what’s about to happen.
I spentthe last two days prepping for the show, and in my free time, I attempted to write. I managed to get a few lines out before I got restless and gave up. This time of year sucks. Without Dad and Pacey, my mom and I spend the holidays pretending there isn’t a huge fucking void that will never be filled the way it once was.
Despite what people say about time and wounds, it never gets any better. If anything, it’s only gotten worse because of Pacey. She might not say it, but I know my mom is just waiting for me to fix it. To find a way to bring Pacey back to us.
I wish I knew how.
“Hurry the hell up, man!” Tanner yells at Travis, who’s been styling his hair for twenty minutes.
“Fuck you! Some of us want to look good. This will probably be televised locally!” Travis spits back.
Everyone’s been on edge about this gig, and now that it’s finally here, it’s like the rubber band has snapped. As excited as we are, we’re nervous too, but none of us will admit it. This could be a huge break for us.
The local show at Water Fire has been going on for a couple of years, but this year, they wanted to make it even bigger. It’s only a five-minute drive from Brown, which means a shit ton of college kids will be there. There will be seven other performers, everything from pop, hard rock, punk, and country.
We were only able to pick two songs to perform due to all the other entertainers set to take the stage, so we had to vote unanimously on which ones we’d play. In the end, we chose one of our fan favorites—somewhat of a love song. I’ll never admit to Travis that it was inspired by his relationship with his ex, Candace. The other is a fun party song that seemed fitting for the night.
Tanner heads out. “Let’s go, assholes!”
Everything’s already loaded in the van. Tanner climbs in the driver’s seat, with his girl up front and Liam in the back, while Travis hops in my truck. Since the spot is only ten minutes from my house, I’m driving so I can head home after. I’m not interested in staying for the festivities.
“Fuck, it’s packed,” Travis says, seeing the line of traffic and the mass of people already filing inside the gates.
I follow Tanner as he leads the van to the vendor parking lot. This is definitely the nicest place we’ve played. It’s a large outdoor space with a killer view of the water. Vendor trucks line the street, everything from food and drinks to merch. There’s a large, heated tent near the stage where we’ll be performing, and a few heaters placed around for people to stay warm. At midnight, they’ll let fireworks off from the boats.
“We need tomeet back here at ten. Keep your phones on you.” Tanner looks at Travis pointedly.
He throws his arms out. “I’ll be here, man. Where the fuck would I go?”
Tanner ignores him and walks off with Katie on his arm. There’s really no reason we needed to be here so early other than Tanner is crazy, but at least there’s shit to do and food to eat.
Liam and Travis take off through the crowd while I pull my phone from my pocket to see if Olivia has texted me. We’ve been talking more over the last few days. I find myself needing more, itching to get any morsel of information from her, to feel that extra pump of my heart when her name flashes across my screen. She comes home tomorrow, and I have every intention of asking her out on a date. Something I haven’t done in years, but fuck it, it’s like riding a bike, right?
When she sent me that picture of her all dolled up, I really was carving a turkey and nearly sliced my finger off, rushing to grab the phone when the image popped up. The way the material hugged her body and the sexy as hell cut down the middle showing off the skin between her tits. I didn’t jack off to it like I told her, at least not at first. I said that to gauge her reaction. When she didn’t freak out and call me a pig, I assumed she was okay with it.
After we FaceTimed that night, I kicked my boxers off and started stroking myself. I closed my eyes and pictured her in that dress while I held it up and took her from behind. Pictured her on her knees, doe eyes staring up at me, with her pink mouth wrapped around my cock. It took me less than three minutes to come.
