Billy gave a crooked smile. “You moved back to California?”
Spencer didn’t blink. “None of your business.”
Billy shrugged, unfazed. “Just asking. Thought maybe we could talk. Negotiate getting back together.”
The old ache rose up—sharp, bitter, familiar. The kind that came from betrayal you never saw coming. Billy hadn’t just cheated. He’d done it with someone Spencer trusted. Another band member. That damn Scot! Farlan MacCormick. Someone who shared their songs, their stage, their damn hotel rooms. And then Billy let Farlan fuck him right in front of Spencer. No apology. No explanation. Just silence.
Spencer’s voice came out flat. “No.”
Billy raised an eyebrow. “You sure? You look like you’ve been thinking about me.”
Spencer lied without hesitation. “I’m married.”
Billy’s eyes dropped to Spencer’s hand, bare where the ring should have been. His laughter turned to mocking. “Too cheap to exchange rings, or are you just fucking with me to make a point?”
Spencer’s blood boiled. The nerve. The absolute gall to show up at his table after all this time, and act like he still had a shot. Like Spencer hadn’t spent months picking up the broken pieces Billy left behind.
“Leave!” Spencer shouted.
Billy didn’t move. Just stood there as if he were planted, like he wanted to see how far he could push. That was Billy’s MO.
Spencer grabbed his wallet, threw cash on the table, and stood. He pointed a finger at Billy. “Stay the fuck away from me. You’re dead to me forever!”
Spencer didn’t wait for a response. He walked out of the bar, the cold air hitting him like a slap. Nathan followed close behind, silent but steady.
Outside, Spencer exhaled hard, trying to shake the weight of it. The memories. The humiliation. The way Billy had made him feel disposable.
But then he thought of Jamie. Of the way Jamie looked at him like he was safe. Like he mattered. Like he was worth loving.
Billy was in the past. Jamie was the future.
And Spencer wasn’t going back.
Spencer sat behind the wheel of his truck, fists clenched, jaw tight, heart pounding harder than it had in months. The bar’s neon glow still flickered in the rearview mirror, but all he could see was Billy standing there like nothing had happened, like he hadn’t shattered Spencer’s trust and walked away from him without a word or a warning until that horrible day he let Farlan fuck him right in the same room they all had shared.
Nathan sat quietly in the passenger seat, watching him. “You okay?” he asked.
Spencer didn’t answer right away. He stared out the windshield, trying to breathe through the storm in his chest. “I was shocked to see him,” he said finally. “But it wasn’t just that. Seeing him brought everything back. All the hurt. All the lies. All the damn silence.”
Nathan shifted, uneasy. “I heard he broke up with Farlan. He’s been looking for a new daddy.”
Spencer turned slowly, eyes narrowing. “You knew?”
Nathan hesitated. “I didn’t want to bring him up. So I didn’t tell you.”
Spencer’s anger flared. “Do you still talk to him?”
Nathan looked down, then nodded. “He joined the new band. We’re still looking for a lead guitarist and singer.”
Spencer’s breath caught. His anger turned sharp, red-hot. “You added Billy to the new band?” His voice rose, raw and furious. “And you didn’t think I deserved to know?”
Nathan held up his hands. “It wasn’t like that.”
“No,” Spencer snapped. “You knew what he did to me. You knew how he dumped me on our biggest night. And you still let him in?”
He wasn’t just angry. He was hurt. Deeply. The type of pain that made his chest ache and his throat tighten. The day had already been heavy, and now it felt unbearable.
Nathan looked away, guilt written all over his face. “He’s coming to the party too.”
