I kissed her forehead. “Take care, okay? Let me know when the baby comes. I’ll swingby.”
“Of course,” shesaid.
After that, I circled back to Summer, bringing her a non-alcoholic blender drink from the bar. I hopped up onto her platform and let her congratulate me on my performance. She’d already heard me practicing the song earlier in the week, and I knew sheapproved.
“You sounded great,” she told me, kissing my cheek. “Not a dry eye in the house, I’m tellingyou.”
“Yeah. Thanks. Fuck, that feltgood.”
“It should. You killedit.”
It really did feel good. Was the first time I’d played in front of any kind of audience in way toolong.
Fucking missedit.
Plus, Jesse Mayes and Seth Brothers were pretty kick-assbackup.
Unfortunately, my band, the Penny Pushers, were officially done. But no one really knew that yet. Our management company knew. Summer knew and Dylan knew. We’d announced on all our social media shit that we were on hiatus. And that was about it. Rumors were flying around left and right, but we hadn’t officially cutties.
We’d be doing itsoon.
No use kicking a deadhorse.
It was all for the best, anyway. In a way, it would be freeing,right?
Painful, butfreeing.
Like a breakup from someone who was a great person, someone you’d come to love and you’d gotten really fucking used to having around… but was just wrong foryou.
I gave Summer a kiss on the temple and a squeeze and left her at her deck to continue on my rounds. I could see Dylan and Amber together across the room, and Elle withSeth.
And when I saw them all like that, from enough of a distance… looking exactly how they were supposed to be… I knew it was finally time for me to letgo.
It was time to moveon.
Fact was, I really wasn’t sure where the fuck I belonged anymore, but it wasn’t with any ofthem.
* * *
Later,I headed out to the balcony. It was well after midnight and the party was dwindling. Most of the older guests and the ones with babysitters at home had already takenoff.
Without booze to keep the party going, the remaining guests were discussing afterparty options as they gathered by thedoors.
But I wasn’t feeling much like partyingtonight.
Dylan and Amber already had their coats on when I’d said goodnight to them. Most of Dirty seemed ready to head out, but I was waiting for Summer; told her I’d hang with her after. She was playing Three Dog Night, “Mama Told Me (Not to Come),” her final song of the night, and the lights were up in the ballroom as everyone said theirgoodbyes.
But it was dark out on the balcony, and empty except for me. I was smoking down at the far end when someone came up behindme.
Half of me hoped it was Dylan… and half of medidn’t.
“Hey,brother.”
I looked up to find Zane watching me. He wasalone.
I mashed my joint out on the stone wall and flicked what was left in a pot of flowers. “Sorry. Dry wedding party, and I’m the asshole smokingup.”
“No worries.” He came over and stood next to me, looking me over. He had a pink drink with berries floating in it in his hand. “Yougood?”
