She giggles. “You remind me of someone I know.”
“Think Jaci and Logan are just as bummed as we are?” I ask.
Alex exhales, lips pursed. “Probably, yeah. But they’re solid people, they’ll bounce back. Honestly, we’re just too fucking awesome. That’s therealproblem.”
She giggles, and I grin. “No one out there can handle the combined force ofthis muchawesome.” I gesture between us like it’s obvious.
She throws her head back laughing. “Exactly!See?You get me. Logan would’ve looked at me like I was insane for saying that.” She groans. “God, I just hope the next guy isn’t a walking red flag.”
“You need someone completely different,” I tell her. “Like… nerdy. Gentle. The anti-bad-boy. Someone who’s gonna actually treat you right.”
She tilts her head, one brow raised. “Yeah. Maybe it’s time to get out of my comfort zone.”
I smirk. “Let me pick him.”
She immediately shakes her head. “Absolutely not!You’d pick some unhinged weirdo just to watch me spiral for fun.”
I snort, raising my brows at her. “Wow!So much trust.”
“Oh, I trust you… to be chaotic evil.” She grins.
I jerk my head back with a snort. “Did you just call me evil?”
She smirks, shrugging her shoulders. “If the shoe fits, babe.”
I grin, fighting back a full beaming smile. “Wow. Disrespectful… yet, accurate.”
She nods. “Yeah, wear that badge with pride, Matt. But seriously, you’re not picking my nextLovepessimistmatch. I’ll let you help scroll, though. That’s your limit.”
“Deal,” I chime. “And you can help me too. I wanna find someone in time to bring to Danger and Lunar’s wedding in three months.”
Her eyes light up with evident excitement. “Ooh, I love weddings!”
“Well, you never know. I might be able to wrangle you an invite.”
She chuckles. “Pretty sure I should meet them first before crashing their big day. I’d be like… ‘Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here’s my number, now wedding maybe?’”
I can’t help but grin. “You crack me up. And that, making a musical pun mid-sentence, isexactlywhy we’ll always be friends.”
She reaches out and grabs my hand, and unlike when Jaci touched me, the warmth of Alex’s skin spreads through me, soothing and electric at the same time. It’s strange how something so simple feels like safety—like home.My heart stumbles over itself, and for a moment, I forget to breathe.
“Hey, we’ll always be friends, no matter what. Even if there was no music left on earth, Matt.”
“Friends for life!”
She grins wide. “Yeah, boi,” she exclaims, trying to sound gangster as she purses her lips and throws up the rock-and-roll symbol.
I smirk as she starts headbanging dramatically, her hair flying, her expression pure mischief. I can’t help but laugh.This chick.She knows how to steal the spotlight. She knows how to steal…me.
Alex stops suddenly, catching my gaze. Her playful energy softens as she exhales a heavy sigh. “Matt,” she says, her voice tinged with something deeper. “You need to loosen up. I know there’s a guy in there who knows how to have fun. Right?”
I blink, still caught in the storm of her. The way her eyes search mine, the way her presence wraps around me like a melody I can’t forget. For the first time in a long while, I feel seen. Really seen. I jolt back a little. “I know how to have fun!”
She rolls her eyes. “Pfft… you always follow the rules. Fuck, man, you have a set of rules for who your future misses should be. You never doanythingexciting. I bet this internet dating thing is the most adventurous thing you’ve done in a while,right? I mean, you’re a rock star for fuck’s sake, but you act more like a preacher!”
I sit back in my chair and huff because I know Alex is right. I’m always trying to look after everyone else. Keep Nate in check, make sure the band is doing the right thing and looking after our interests, so, in doing that, I’m always making sure to follow the rules and keep everything on the straight and narrow. The craziest thing I’ve done lately is hire a hack Fung Shui master. I nod and swallow hard. “So what do you think I should do about that?”
She shrugs. “I dunno. All I’m saying is you’re too tense. Relax and let yourself live a little, Matt. You only live once, remember life’s short. Grab that bull by the horns and ride that mother like you mean it.”
