“Honestly? I thought it sucked. Paco wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t Generation Rejects we were watching. It’s sad that we may never see them play together again,” I noted a tad despondently.
Gracie nodded. “Yeah, I just can’t understand why they’re letting such petty crap get in the way of their dream. Guys are worse than girls sometimes.”
“Hasn’t Mitch mentioned what he’s thinking about all of this?” I asked her, knowing my mention of the Rejects’ bassist would get a reaction.
Gracie stiffened instantly, as I knew she would, and dabbed her mouth daintily with a napkin. She took her time answering me.
“I haven’t really spoken to him about it,” she said after a while.
“And why is that?” I dug. I hadn’t had a chance to talk to her about what was going on with her and Mitch. And it helped to focus on someone else’s floundering personal life than fixate too long on my own.
“We just haven’t really talked,” Gracie responded, as if it were no big deal.
“You act as if that’s not major, G. You and Mitch used to talk every day, even when he was on the road. What changed?” I interrogated her further.
Gracie was starting to look increasingly uncomfortable. She fidgeted a bit and started to pick at her bagel.
“Well. . .um. . .” she began.
“Well, um, what?” I pushed.
“We had sex,” she said, dropping the bomb I had been expecting but was no less shocked to hear.
“Are you flipping serious?” I squealed, my voice reaching a piercing volume.
Gracie winced and nodded.
“When was this?” I asked, trying to be considerate of the fact that my roommate looked less than thrilled to be talking about this particular subject. But I wanted to know what happened. Because even though this seemed like a good thing, obviously it hadn’t turned out all sunshine and roses. Something had gone wrong afterwards.
“When we were in Raleigh,” Gracie admitted and it all clicked into place. I had wondered at the time where she was all night while I lay in her hotel room crying my eyes out. But I had been too mired in my own drama with Cole to put too much thought into it.
“So. . .” I prompted, wanting her to continue.
Gracie glared at me, clearly annoyed that I was pressing the issue.
“So, Mitch told me he loved me. I told him I couldn’t be with him. He got pissed. I got pissed. We fought. Now he’s dating some girl named Sophie he went to high school with.”
Wow, that was a lot of information for first thing in the morning.
“He’s dating someone? So soon?” I asked, still trying to process my friend’s angst filled story.
Gracie nodded, her jaw clenching. “Yeah. Apparently they had talked on and off for years. They dated for a while when they were seniors. He had mentioned her to me before, but whatever. It’s not like I have any say in what he does or who he sees,” she spat out defensively.
“Are you jealous?” I couldn’t help but asking.
Gracie glared at me again, but this time with a hell of a lot more venom.
“Why in the world would I be jealous? I just told you I turned him down. I told him that I couldn’t be with him. Mitch is my friend. That’s all he’ll ever be,” she argued.
“Except you’re not even really friends anymore,” I pointed out.
Gracie sighed. “Well, yeah, there is that.”
“But you slept with him,” I said slowly, trying to piece together the things Gracie wasn’t saying.
Gracie sighed again. “Yes, I did. I was drunk. Mitch was drunk. I was lonely and at the time I was feeling things, never mind, it doesn’t matter. I ruined an amazing friendship because I couldn’t keep my legs closed. I just had no idea Mitch felt that way.”
“Are you blind?” I laughed incredulously.
Gracie frowned. “I just didn’t think, I don’t know. I just can’t focus on a guy right now. No matter what I thought I felt at the time. Not with me only now starting to get my life back together.” She was insistent.