Nova and Quinton: No Regrets (15 page)

“The only reason we got the gig is because Jaxon hung out with Stella.” Nikko laughs under his breath and then sticks out his tongue, making an obscene gesture with his fingers, and Spalding rolls his eyes.

“Children.” Spalding shakes his head and I laugh. Spalding’s twenty-two, but he acts like he’s thirty, which from the tidbits of information I picked up from Jaxon is because he became the legal guardian of his sister when he was eighteen. I’m not sure why, though, and I don’t have the lady balls to ask because, more than likely, there’s a tragic story behind it.

“Shut the fuck up,” Nikko says hotly as he picks up a bottle of water from the top of one of the speakers. “You’re only four years older than me, dumbass.” He takes a swig of the water and then sets it back down.

They start arguing and I turn to Jaxon as I pick up my jacket up off the floor in the corner of the garage. “So did you get the gig because of Stella?” I dare ask. Stella is the owner of Black & Red Ink, the place where we’ll be playing, and a very popular club in the potato state.

He shakes his head, getting a little bit uneasy as he pretends to search for something behind the freezer. “No… well, yeah, I mean she’s how I got the gig, but I didn’t like sleep with her or anything.” He turns in a circle as he looks around at the floor. “Have you seen my cell phone?”

“Yeah… it’s in your hand.” I hate the awkwardness between us, but until Lea and he can come to terms with their breakup, I think it’ll always be there, especially since I have a hunch she was out on a date earlier today.

He glances down at the phone in his hand and then shakes his head. “Sorry, I guess I’m tired or something.”

I offer him a smile. “Yeah, it happens sometimes.” I slip my arms through the sleeves of my jacket and then take the drumsticks from my pocket. “So what time are we practicing tomorrow?”

“About six,” he says, checking his cell phone screen. “I know we usually do it earlier, but I have to go out with the family for an early Christmas dinner.”

“Early Christmas dinner?” I ask as I zip up my jacket. “But Christmas is in three days, so why don’t they just wait two extra days?”

“Yeah. I’m going to be gone for Christmas and my parents think they need to have an early one for me,” he says. “I’m flying out to New York with Spalding to hang with his family for the holidays.”

“Oh. Well, I’m glad my parents don’t want to have a makeup dinner for me,” I say, ignoring the bang as Nikko bumps into one of the cymbals. “I mean, I love going home and everything, but I can’t go anywhere right now. Not when I just picked up some extra hours at work. Plus the band and our stellarly awesome gig we just got on New Year’s eve.” There’s also the fact that Tristan won’t go home and I don’t want to leave him here for almost a month. My mom’s planning on coming out after New Year’s so everything should work out.

The corners of his lips quirk. “I’m glad to see where we are on your list of importance.”

“Hey, you guys are totally important,” I say, heading for the door. “However, my job pays the bills and my education will hopefully be able to pay the bills in the future.”

“What? You’re not planning on becoming a rock star?” he jokes as he follows me, weaving around my pink drum set, the one Landon gave to me on my birthday years ago. It’s sad he never got to see me perform, just practice. He didn’t get to see a lot of things, which makes me even sadder. But it’s an obstacle that I’ve overcome and I can find solace in playing now.

I pause, contemplating what he said. “I’m honestly not sure what I’ll do… what about you?”

“I’m not sure either,” he says. “I mean, I’m majoring in general education so I have no idea what the hell I’m going to do with that or if I want to do anything with it at all.” He hurries to my side and opens the door to the wash-room for. “Honestly, if I could make a living singing, I would, but there’s a slim chance that’ll ever happen.”

“Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky ones.” I step into the room and breathe in the warm air and faint scent of cookies flowing from the kitchen.

“Maybe,” he says, but doesn’t seem too optimistic. And I don’t blame him. There is very little chance that he’ll be able to actually become a famous rock star. Life doesn’t work that way. You can try and try but it doesn’t mean you’ll get what you want. You just have to make do with what you have.

He continues to walk me to the front door and I’m hoping he’ll say good-bye to me there, since Lea’s outside. But he doesn’t and ends up walking out with me to the driveway, where Lea is waiting in my car.

She gets out to let me drive and tenses as her eyes meet Jaxon’s and Jaxon freezes in the middle of the frosted lawn. No one speaks and I can hear Christmas carolers down the street singing a very cheerful “Joy to the World.”

“Hey,” she says, cracking the tension like the ice on the ground. She glances around at the yard, the front door, the garage, pretty much everywhere but at him.

“You cut your hair,” he says, his brows knitting as he takes in the sight of her as she steps around to the front of the car. “It looks good.”

Lea touches a strand of her hair, finally looking at him. I remember that when I first met them, over a year ago, there was a sparkle in her eye every time she looked at him, but it’s not there anymore and that makes me sad. What makes me even sadder is that I wonder if that’s how Landon and I would have gotten if he were still alive. Would we have gotten to this point? I believed at the time that we’d always be together, but it’s hard to say now, especially when my feelings for Quinton are so strong.

“Thank you,” she says formally, her hand falling to her sides as she reclines back against the front of my car and crosses her arms. “I thought it was time for a change.”

That comment makes Jaxon sad. I can see it in his fallen expression and the way his shoulders sort of slump in. “Yeah, change is good, I guess,” he mutters.

Poor guy. I feel so bad for him. He’s actually been writing really depressing songs lately and I sometimes wonder if they’re about Lea.

“So we should get going,” I say, attempting to break the awkward tension as I head toward the driver’s side. “We have to go pick up some stuff for Christmas dinner.”

“You’re not going home?” Jaxon asks Lea as she heads for the passenger side of the car.

She shakes her head, opening the door. “Nah, I thought I’d stay here and catch up on some schoolwork. I’ve kind of fallen behind the last few weeks.”

Probably because she’s been spending a lot of time at football games and restaurants, and swimming, or whatever the hell she was doing that day.

“Are you going home?” she asks Jaxon, holding the door open and looking at him.

He shakes his head, fidgeting with a leather band on his wrist as twinkle lights sparkle in the background, highlighting the sadness in his eyes. “Nah, I’m actually going to New York to hang with Spalding and his family.”

“New York. Holy shit. How fun.” She rests her arms on top of the car door while I debate whether I should just climb into the car and let them chat or stop them from chatting to avoid Jaxon getting more attached. “I’ve always wanted to go there.”

“I know you have.” He steps for her with this look in his eyes like he’s about to ask her something really important.

That’s my cue to stop the conversation. “Hey, Lea, we gotta go, otherwise Tristan’s going to head out on his own to go shopping and, well, I can only imagine what he’ll buy for us to eat for Christmas dinner.”

“Probably TV dinners.” Lea chuckles under her breath. “Yeah, we should get going.” She waves at Jaxon, who looks crushed. “It was nice catching up with you. Hope you have a blast in New York.” She lowers her head into the car and climbs in.

I wave at Jaxon and he gives me the dirtiest look, like I’ve just hit him in the face or something. I’m guessing it’s because I broke up the conversation, but it’s for his own good. I know for a fact that right now Lea’s not looking to get back together with him. Maybe in the future, but I won’t say for sure because the future is always changing.

After I get into the car, buckle my seat belt, and drive down the road, Lea turns to me with excitement in her eyes. “I have a huge favor to ask you.”

“It wouldn’t by chance be helping you get back together with Jaxon, would it?” I ask with false hope.

“No.” She frowns. “Nova, I already told you that isn’t happening.”

“I know what you said, but I’m always hoping you’ll change your mind,” I say. When she scowls at me, I opt to change the subject. “Okay, tell me what your favor is.”

She lightens up a little. “I need you to play with my band tomorrow at Red & Black Ink.”

I gape at her as I slow the car down for a stop sign. It’s fairly late, the sun descending behind the hills, but there’s still enough light that I can see Lea’s face clearly. “Band? Since when are you in a band?”

She pulls a whoops face. “Oh yeah. I should probably explain that part, huh?”

I nod as I press on the gas. “Yeah, that would be awesome, since I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”

“Hey, there’s no need to get snippy,” she says. “I kept it a secret for a good reason.”

“And what’s that?”

She bites her thumbnail as she gazes out the window at the sliver of sunlight left, painting the sky bright orange and pink. “Because…” She sighs, lowering her hand onto her lap. “Look, I get that you like Jaxon, but he just wasn’t the right guy for me, so I need you to remember that when I tell you what I’m about to tell you.”

“I don’t think you need to tell me,” I say to her. “You’re dating one of your band members, aren’t you? And that’s why you’ve been acting so vague about what you’ve been doing the last couple of months.”

She hesitates and then nods. “Well, that and I’ve been sneaking off to band practice.”

“But what about the football game? And the face painting thing?”

“Oh, Brody also plays football.”

“Brody’s the guy you’re dating, I’m guessing,” I say, unable to hide the disdain in my voice. Brody? What kind of name is Brody anyway? It sounds like a meathead’s name.
Jesus, what the hell is wrong with me?

She tucks a fallen strand of her hair behind her ear as she slouches in the seat so that she can put her feet up on the dashboard. “Yeah, he’s also the guitarist of Moon Glory.”

“Moon Glory?”

“Yeah, it’s the name of our band,” she says cheerfully. “A band in desperate need of a drummer, since our old one decided to bail out on us last week. Just up and quit.” She throws her hands in the air exasperatedly. “Can you believe that?”

“Kind of.” I turn the car onto the main road in town. “Bands break up a lot.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” She sighs and then looks at me with a silent plea in her eyes. “So what do you think? Can you be our drummer?”

“I’m already in a band,” I remind her. “And I like them.”

“Yeah, but I’m your best friend,” she says, lowering her feet onto the floor and sitting up in the seat. “And I’ve been there for you a lot in the last few months.”

“I know you have,” I reply heavyheartedly. “But I can’t just up and quit when things are going so great right now… I don’t get great a lot.”

“But it’s our first gig and if we bail out on it, then Stella might not give us another chance.” She pouts, giving me her saddest puppy-dog face, trying to guilt-trip me into it.

“I’ll tell you what,” I say, turning onto the side road that leads to our apartment complex. “I’ll fill in until you can find your own drummer, but I’m not quitting my band.”

She claps her hands and bounces up and down excitedly. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

I force a smile, hoping this doesn’t come back to bite me in the ass. For one thing, I can picture Spalding getting pissed off because he thinks I’m cheating on the band or something. And Jaxon… well, God knows how that’s going to go over if he knows I’m in a band with Lea and her new boyfriend.

* * *

“So what’s the hell’s bugging you?” Tristan asks me later that night as Lea, he, and I wander around the grocery store, attempting to plan some sort of Christmas eve meal for the three of us to have in just a couple of days. I can still feel the awkwardness from earlier and it only builds every time he gives me a more-than-friendly look, which has happened four times so far.

“What do you mean?” I ask as I assess the frozen vegetable selection, tapping my finger on my lips as I decide which one to get.

“I mean, why have you had a permanent frown on your face since Lea and you showed up at the apartment earlier?” he asks, rolling up the sleeves of his blue hooded jacket, which matches his eyes.

“I’m just tired.” I yawn, pretending to be exhausted, and I am, kind of. Mentally exhausted, anyway.

He flirtingly bumps his shoulder into mine. “I know you’re lying, so fess up. What the hell is making you so down?” He pauses. “It’s not something with Quinton, is it?”

I quickly shake my head. “No, nothing like that.” I reach for the handle of the freezer door. “In fact, now that you’ve said that, it seems really stupid.”

“Tell me anyway,” he says, reclining against the cart as he studies me. “Maybe I can help you with a problem and pay you back for all the times you’ve helped me out.”

I shouldn’t do it. I know that.

I glance around the aisle. Lea wandered off to get rolls, but that was a few minutes ago and I worry she might come back and hear me talking to him. “It’s nothing. Just band stuff.”

“Like what?”

I open the door and the freezer air hits me. “Lea wants me to help out in her band. Step in for the drummer until they can find a new one.” I grab a bag of frozen corn and drop it into the cart. Then I let go of the door and it slams shut.

“She’s in a band?” he asks. “Since when?”

“For a while, I guess.”

“So that’s why she’s been acting so weird, then?” he asks, and I nod. He muses over something, then asks, “And you don’t want to help in her band out because she lied to you?” he asks, turning around and pushing the cart forward.

“It’s not that,” I say, stopping in front of the frozen pie selection. “I don’t want to help out because I worry that my band’s going to get pissed off at me and kick me out.”