“Me, too.”
He looked out the window. Snow had fallen steadily, had covered the grass and sidewalks and was still coming down. He wondered if his flight would take off as scheduled tomorrow.
He set the alarm on his phone. They climbed into bed and he pulled Jenna against him, realizing how much he was going to miss her when he left town for his road trip tomorrow.
He didn’t like being separated from her.
Is that what love was like? Feeling empty when you weren’t with that person, as if something essential was missing from your life?
Was he falling in love with Jenna? He hadn’t intended to. He never intended to love anyone. Ever. Fun times, yeah, but love? He’d seen what love could to do people who’d once claimed to care about each other.
He was sure he never wanted to do that to Jenna. Tearing apart someone you cared about? Yeah, that wasn’t what love was supposed to be about.
TWENTY-THREE
JENNA DIDN’T KNOW WHAT HAD POSSESSED HER TO call Elizabeth and Tara and invite them to the music club.
Maybe she was tired of being afraid. Or maybe she needed a second opinion.
Ty, after all, was sleeping with her. Having sex with someone could skew your opinions, make you like something that other people thought was terrible. The only way she was going to be able to figure that out would be to get the opinion of two people she trusted most.
Tara and Liz would tell her if she had no talent. Okay, Tara would be polite and sweet. Liz would be blunt and tell her she sucked. Then she’d have sweet Tara to hold her hand when she cried.
She’d brought along her guitar, though she’d left it in the trunk of the car, since there was still a ninety-eight percent chance she’d chicken out and never muscle up the nerve to get up there and sing.
“Oh, I’ve heard about this place,” Liz said as they got through the line and found a table. “It’s a new hot spot. Great live music.”
“I read about it in the paper’s entertainment section,” Tara said, looking around for a waitress. She slid out of her coat and hung it over her chair. “It’s getting great reviews.”
“Ty brought me here a few weeks ago.”
“Did he? Was it good?” Tara asked.
“It was amazing.” One of the best nights of her life. Now if only she could drum up the courage to sing again.
The music started with a scruffy-looking bearded guy who came up and sang some bluesy number that rocked her right down to her black-and-white painted toes.
“Wow,” Liz said. “You definitely couldn’t judge that book by its cover. That dude looks homeless. But oh, his voice.”
“I know, right?” Jenna said. “He was fantastic.”
A band set up after that and laid down some serious rock tunes. They played two sets. A little loud, but she loved their beat. They didn’t play any covers, all original music, and they had people up on the dance floor hopping to the music.
There was a lot of talent coming forth tonight. No duds like there had been the first night Tyler had brought her. Jenna felt inadequate. Maybe tonight wasn’t the best night for her to get up and try this again.
“I wish I could sing,” Tara said as another band went up and started to set up. “It’s a talent I’m in awe of.”
“I can’t sing a damn note.” Liz lifted the glass of wine to her lips and took a sip. “Not that it ever stops me from belting out Beyoncé tunes in the shower.”
Tara laughed. “Oh, me either. I mean, I don’t suck at it, but I don’t think any talent agents are going to be knocking down my door anytime soon.”
“What about you, Jenna?” Tara asked. “Do you like to sing?”
Liz looked at her, too, and Jenna realized it was now or never. “Well, here’s the thing, you guys. I do sing.”
“Honey, we all sing,” Liz said. “Are you any good at it?”
Her heart slammed against her ribs, her skin cold and clammy while her face flamed with heat. “My guitar’s in the trunk of the car.”
Tara’s eyes widened. “What? You have a guitar? I didn’t know this.”
“Shut the front door.” Liz pushed away from the table. “You’re going to sing tonight, aren’t you?”
“I’ve thought about it.”
“Well, stop thinking about it and go get your guitar.”
“I don’t know.”
Tara shoved her. “Don’t give us that. Go get your guitar. I want to hear you.”
“Okay.” Trepidation was replaced by nervous excitement. She got her hand stamped so she could get back in, then rushed out to the parking lot and grabbed her guitar. She saw Tara and Liz talking nonstop to each other as she made her way back to the table.
Liz looked down at the guitar in its case, then back up at her. “I’ve known you for how many years, and I didn’t know you sang.”
Jenna shrugged. “I’ve never told anyone before.”
“Why?”
“Because I might not be any good.”