She motions to me with her taco. “Explain.”
Leaning over, I brace my elbows on my thighs and scrub my face. I’m not one to talk about emotions or feelings or yuk it up about women. This is outside my wheelhouse. But I can appreciate that Rory is outside of her comfort zone too on this tour.
I kick off my boots and slide back on the bed and tuck a pillow under my head. “I got in over my head with her. It started out like they always do, just fucking around. I’m sure you know that’s my MO.”
“Yes, you’re the Manwhore of La Mancha.”
“What?”
She snickers. “It’s a play on the titleMan of La Mancha, a musical. Librarian joke. Sorry. Continue.”
“Anyway, we did a mini-tour together. Hung out a lot. And I guess I thought we were building something together. Then, one day, she ghosted me.”
“Are you serious? Who does that?”
“It was the end of the tour, and I thought we were good, thought we were getting serious, and then poof. It was over.” When Rory doesn’t say anything, I glance at her, and she’s watching me with those sad hazel eyes. “I survived. I’m okay, but I spiraled for a while there. Partied a lot. Fucked around. That sort of thing.”
“So before Marlowe, you weren’t the Manwhore of La Mancha?”
I chuckle at that nickname. “Not really. I mean, I wasn’t a saint, but I didn’t use sex as an escape or let women hop in my bedroom window.”
“I heard about that. Paige said she’d find random girls’ clothes around the house.”
“Yeah, that wasn’t cool. Especially not since I was living with my nephews and baby Ella.” I shrug. “It’s why I went on my sex cleanse.”
“What’s that?”
Rolling over onto my side so I can face Rory, I tuck my arm under my head. “I did an abstinence thing, starting last November.”
“Was it hard?”
We stare at each other, but then we both break out laughing, and I lift my brows. “Why, yes, it was very hard.”
Her face flushes, and she shoves me. “You know what I mean.”
“At first it was a challenge, but I needed a reset. So I gave up sex and partying. I’ll still have a beer or two, but that’s it.”
“How long did you do the cleanse?”
“It’s still going.”
She stares at me like I sprouted two heads. “You haven’t had sex… going on seven months?”
“Yup.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to say that.” She nibbles on her churro. “Do you think the abstinence has helped you recalibrate?”
“I can’t say for sure, but I don’t think about sex all the time or focus on getting laid after every show.”
Her nose wrinkles. “Every show?”
“Most, yeah. And before you lecture me, I’ve gotten a clean bill of health. First thing I did when I started my cleanse was get tested for everything.”
“Aren’t you a lucky duck?”
“I know I am. And this is probably TMI, but sometimes I get a raging erection when I perform. It must be the adrenaline. So now I do push-ups afterward or pull-ups. Anything to refocus that energy.”
She gives me a once-over, lingering on my arms. “So you do a lot of push-ups, huh?”
