“Huh?” Val said, looking at him over the rim of his sunglasses.
“Kaj’s the new drummer of Artificial Suicide.”
Noah’s heart thudded in his chest.
“What are you talking about?” he grumbled as he sat up, crisscrossing his legs. As comfortable as he’d been listening to music while lying on the wooden surface of the dock for the last hour, his entire body hurt now.
“Look.” Theo handed them his phone.
“We would like to officially welcome Kaj Larsen as the new drummer of Artificial Suicide,” Val read out loud. “What the actual fuck?” He chuckled nervously.
Artificial Suicide had grown a lot during the past few years, breaking records within the metal music industry. They had ranked on several charts all over the world and became gold-certified by the RIIA, in barely five years, with their third album—which was a lot for their genre.
However, their now-former drummer had been dealing with health issues for a while until he decided to step down from the stage.
“Didn’t he mention anything when you saw him the other day?” Val asked Theo.
“Not a word, but this kinda explains why he’s been so elusive this past month. I mean, they’re releasing a fucking single and avideo.” He gestured with his hand, leaving the palm up for Val to return his device.
“Yeah...” He shook his head in disbelief, grinning. “This is insane. Kaj, the drummer of Artificial Suicide. Wow!” He laughed.
As they fangirled over their friend signing with a record label to be part of one of the biggest metalcore bands of the moment, Noah’s mind drifted away.
He wasn’t jealous of Kaj. Sure, he still daydreamed about being swamped in the bustle of a wild crowd as he stepped on stage, but he also had a clear, more realistic goal for the near future. Yet, learning that he was continuing with his life, keeping secrets while getting where he’d always wanted to be, without him...
Uneasiness settled in Noah’s chest.
They hadn’t seen each other as much after the weekend they’d spent together, and like Theo had said, this explained why. But it still bothered him. Although he knew beforehand, the cold realization that they were, in fact, nothing but sex buddies, hit him harder than expected. They were extra nasty when they fucked. They had even silently agreed to a temporary truce, having normal conversations from time to time. But this was clearly a one-way road.
Why am I so stupid?
Why couldn’t he just fuck Kaj without emotions clouding his reasoning? It had been three fucking years since they had broken up. They both had met other people. They’d built lives of their own.
Why couldn’t he let go of this man?
And most important of all, why the hell did he think he would be able to handle this?
Still, against his better judgment, while Val and Theo continued talking about Kaj’s achievement, Noah grabbed his phone and texted him.
I heard about Artificial Suicide
Congrats!
Wanna celebrate?
Stupid didn’t even cut it.
“I’m gonna go home,” Noah said with a groggy voice.
“Already?” Val asked, pouting. “It’s early, dude. And you’re gonna leave us in three weeks.”
“I’m tired and hungry.”And also wanna bang my head against a wall.
“We can order some pizzas or something. They have a three-for-one offer on Tuesdays at that crappy place near the apartment,” Theo noted.
“Pizza, beer, and friends. What do you say?” Val pressed.
He rolled his eyes, feigning annoyance. “Fiiine. But no more beer, Coke or something else. I think I’m dehydrated from all the alcohol and sun.”
