“Yeah, but maybe we should make more of an effort to include her. It’s got to be hard hanging out with a group of people that have already been friends for years,” Maysie pointed out.
“It’s not like she tries to get to know anyone, though, Mays. Garrett says she’s glued to Mitch’s side and that’s it. No one really knows much about her, even after all this time,” Riley added.
Maysie scowled at the three of us. “Show some compassion, guys. If you don’t want to do it for Sophie, do it for Mitch, our friend. She’s his girlfriend after all.”
Damn. That hurt.
Vivian glanced at me and I tried to smile. I failed miserably.
“Okay. Yeah, let’s go talk to her,” I piped up. Talking to Sophie was the last thing I wanted to do. I’d rather walk over broken glass barefoot. Or swallow a mouthful of wasps. Or shave my legs with a dull razor.
But it seemed I was a glutton for punishment.
And Maysie was right. She was Mitch’s girlfriend. And if he was happy, I was happy.
I just had to keep reminding myself of that.
Vivian’s eyes widened in surprise at my suggestion and I quickly walked towards Sophie before my roommate could make any comments.
“Hey Sophie,” I said once I reached her.
Sophie looked my way with a smile on her face. When she realized it was me, the smile froze in place and then slowly disappeared. Huh. Interesting.
“Hi, Gracie,” she said after a few minutes.
“Hey, Sophie! Great show, right?” Maysie asked, joining me a few seconds later. Riley and Vivian soon followed.
Sophie tucked her hands into the pockets of her jeans. “Yeah, it’s not bad.”
Vivian frowned. “Not bad? They’re amazing!”
Sophie shrugged. “If this is your type of thing, sure.”
Riley and I shared a look. What was this girl’s deal?
“Yeah, I wasn’t a big fan of their music when I first met them, but it definitely grows on you,” Riley remarked, being uncharacteristically nice.
Sophie gave her a tight smile but didn’t respond as she once again turned her attention to the stage.
We all stood there, not speaking. It became very apparent that Sophie wasn’t planning to resume conversation.
“Are you and Mitch planning to come to the club with us after the show?” Maysie asked.
Please say no, I thought.
Sophie nodded. “Mitch wants to go.”
I wanted to make a face but refrained.
“Oh, that’s great. It should be fun,” Maysie chirped, trying to be polite, which was hard when Sophie wasn’t giving her much to work with.
“She’s a real winner,” Riley muttered in my ear. I covered my mouth so that I wouldn’t laugh.
“Okay guys, let’s drop this down a notch. Let me make you feel oh so good,” Cole purred into the microphone.
The stage lights dimmed and there were four individual spotlights, each trained on one of the guys. Jordan started slowly beating on his drums and was soon joined by Mitch strumming a low, steady rhythm on his bass.
His dark head was bent forward, hair falling in his face. My throat felt tight as I watched him play the music that I loved.
There was something dizzying about listening to Mitch Abrams play. Something intoxicating about watching his fingers glide along the strings of his well-loved instrument. The passion and joy on his face made my lady parts tremble. And I wasn’t overly prone to trembling lady parts.
But it was more than jittery genitalia that made me stare at him like a crazy stalker.
It was more than sexual attraction. It was more than the memory of amazing sex that we had shared.
It was something deeper. Something indescribable. It was the way he lost himself in his music. How he kept his eyes closed and his head lowered, as though blocking out everything and everyone around him.
Staring up at him on the stage, I felt a painful ache in the center of my chest that was impossible to ignore, no matter how much I wanted to.