“One of them.” Summer grinned, nodding to Garrett, who was approaching behind me. I inhaled his familiar scent—musk and vanilla—a combination that I wished wouldn’t make my heart beat a little faster. But oh boy, it did.
I swallowed hard and turned, meeting Garrett’s beaming smile. He was Casual Garrett, a sight I loved to see. And he was tanner than usual, making his blue eyes appear even brighter, and his smile even more ridiculously perfect. He took me in his arms and lifted me up in a tight hug. It felt odd that Garrett was doing this in public, while the people we were having sex with watched directly below my head. Drew shifted in place with pursed lips, trying his best to act cool, despite being visibly uncool with another man’s arms around my waist. Garrett set me down and beamed at me with a sly grin. He glanced over my shoulder, eyes scanning Drew.
“Hey, man,” Garrett said, not coldly, but not warmly, either. Like it was a chore. He stuck his hand out and Drew shook it. “Garrett.”
“Drew.”
“I’m Blaire!” the super-hot woman said, squeezing her body between Garrett and myself. “You must be Maggie.”
“That I am.” I smiled into her doe eyes.
“Babe, I’m gonna go get us some pretzels. They look so good,” Blaire cooed.
It didn’t upset me that she owned that body and could enjoy carbs. It didn’t. Because that would make me petty as fuck. And I wasn’t. I was a feminist! Feminist with an asterisk, apparently.
Drew tightened with each body and beer that curved past his broad shoulders. “So many humans,” he muttered. I glanced up to find Garrett’s eyes on mine, with a look that said he’d heard it, too. I chewed the insides of my cheeks.
“Not a fan of New York?” Garrett asked Drew.
Summer’s eyes widened toward me. She fought a grin, her gaze darting between Drew and Garrett, as if she were eager to grab a bag of popcorn and stay a while.
“Everyone here is always in a hurry to go nowhere,” Drew said with a scowl.
Garrett nodded silently, but he made a point to put his eyes back on mine. I felt the tips of my ears redden. I was being judged for someone else’s opinion. Which I guess is what happens when you choose to date Someone Else.
Drew tightened a grip around my waist. “Big fan of hers, however,” he said, holding me close against his large body. “Drink?” Drew asked into my ear, with eyes that were not on me. I was certain they were on Garrett, but my chest was pounding too hard to turn and make the confirmation.
I nodded and smiled brightly, purposefully, as if to show Garrett I was happy.
“Yes, please.”
Drew turned and tilted my chin up to him, kissing me hard. As he left, I let my eyes dance toward Garrett, who looked away instantly, picking up a Ping-Pong paddle as a worthy distraction.
Summer sidled up to me with a shit-eating grin.
“Don’t say a thing,” I warned between gritted teeth.
“I wish I had filmed that so I could replay it whenever I’m sad,” she whispered.
“We playin’ here, or what?” Garrett asked Summer, twirling the paddle in his hand, eyes refusing to meet mine.
“First, while she’s gone, we need to talk about your girlfriend.”
Garrett set his paddle down, his attention on Summer.
“I don’t know how to tell you this, but your girlfriend likes pussy,” Summer announced.
“Summer!” I said, recovering from choking on my own spit.
I arched my neck back farther, realizing Garrett was unfazed. He was grinning, actually.
“I think you could have tried a little harder to tell me that differently?” he suggested.
“I couldn’t have. It’s not in my nature. But I attempted a qualifier.” Summer looked across the bar at Blaire, who was engaged in a conversation with Summer’s new fling, Shira. I had received multiple effusive screenshots of Shira’s dating profile while I was on tour, so I could pick her long blue hair out of any lineup. Blaire’s lips were parted, her body hanging on Shira’s every word. “Blaire was very fast to tell me she’s an ‘above-the-waist lesbian,’ but give her time.”
Garrett smirked. “Good to know.”
“Great legs,” Summer added, her eyes exploring Blaire’s legs in a micro miniskirt. I was certain her vagina was going to pop out at any moment.
“Are you asking for my blessing to steal my girlfriend?”
“Gross. I don’t do commitment. I don’t want to steal her, I just want to have sex with her.”
Garrett shrugged half-heartedly. “You know what? If she wants to do below-the-waist stuff with you, you both have my blessing.”
Summer batted her big blue eyes up at Garrett. “I can’t believe I ever thought you were just a dumb meathead.”
“Keep the compliments coming.”
Summer patted Garrett’s head and floated across the bar toward Blaire. My eyes shifted from Summer to Blair to Garrett as I pressed my brows together.
“Really? You’re cool with that?” I asked.
“I’ll just find another girlfriend.”
“Garrett. Women aren’t expendable creatures. We have hearts and feelings, and we should be treated with a full spectrum of humanity.”
“Blaire asked me in the middle of sex last night if I was into threesomes—we’ve only been dating two months, and she’s already getting bored…not exactly an ending to lose sleep over.”
I grabbed Garrett’s beer from him and took a sip, hoping the light ale would wash away the bile rising to my throat thanks to the image of Blaire’s naked body wrapped around Garrett. I knew this was the kind of information best friends shared—but it was playing like a horror film in my brain.
“Well…great relationship, Garrett.”
“I don’t have big feelings for her, Maggie. Not everyone has All The Feels All The Time.”
His arms were limp at his side. I’d never seen him this cavalier.
“What’s going on with you?”
Garrett shrugged, eyes refusing to meet mine. I punched his biceps, bringing his attention down to me.
“Stop doing that!” I said.
“Doing what?”
“Shrugging. Acting like life is just a sequence of events that happens to you.”
“Isn’t it, though?”
I narrowed my eyes on his face and grabbed him by the hand. Garrett’s gait was slow as he let me drag him toward a hidden archway on the other side of the Ping-Pong tables, where no prying eyes could find us.
“Spill. Right now.”
He looked away from me and rubbed the side of his neck for a moment, a vein pulsing with emotion under his skin. He paused, then his eyes came back toward mine.
“I had to give up playing in the band.”
I uncrossed my arms, my eyes moving quickly around his sad face. The band was his lifeline. “You did?” I asked gently. “When?”
“Last month. And I’m just—” He pinched his forehead and slid his hand down his clean-shaven jaw. “Work is all-consuming. My dad’s eyeing early retirement, so I’m on this fast track to become him.” He looked down at his fingers for a long moment. “I thought I had more time. It feels like I’m entering a life sentence.” I took Garrett’s hand and stepped forward into his personal space, forcing his eyes to meet mine.
“It’s going to be okay. I know this feels overwhelming right now, but I’ll help you figure it out. You won’t live in a world where you aren’t getting to do what you love. Even if it means you have to join me onstage after finishing paperwork at midnight—I’ll make sure you get on that stage.”
He swallowed hard, before quickly painting on a smile and shaking his head. “This is stupid stuff. I know how lucky I am to have the opportunity and the job—”
“Hey.” I set my hand on Garrett’s cheek, bringing his eyes onto mine and silencing him. “Stop it. You don’t have to do that with me. You can be honest about your feelings.”
He put his hand on mine and brought it off his cheek.
“I’ve tried that before, Maggie.”
He shook his head, revealing a tiny, sardonic smile. I winced and tugged my hand out of his hold. This was the first smile I’d received from Garrett that thundered inside me like a storm.
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t want to do this right now.”
“Do what?”
“Bring up shit while some guy you’re sleeping with waits for you on the other side of the bar.”