“I wish you the best, Angel. I know you’ll be amazing at anything you do,” I said with a forced smile, as I fought my own tears. “I’ll always be your biggest fan and you will always have a special place in my heart. I can never thank you enough for your love and support… for always believing in me. Anytime you need me, for any reason, I will be there for you.”

“We aren’t saying goodbye yet. We will still see each other before you leave?” Her words were more of a question than a statement.

“Yes, but who knows if we’ll get another chance to be alone. I just wanted you to know… this way when I do leave, we don’t have to do the sad goodbye. Okay?”

She gave me her best fake smile, and as desperately as I wanted to pull her back into my arms and kiss her full lips, even if it was for one last time, I didn’t. Neither of us said anything else, we went back inside the bar and each went our separate ways ~ her to the table with Ash, Mina, Max and the rest of 32 Leaves while I went to find and check on Andi.

SCARLETT

When I returned to the table, I could feel the inquisitive eyes on me. I was sure they saw Mason and I come in the back door together, but I was at the point that I didn’t give two shits what everyone else thought. I sat down next to Ash and he put his hand on my thigh, squeezing it for comfort. He knew what I had just done, and he understood that it wasn’t easy for me. I gave him a quick peck on the lips and a look that said we would talk about it later. Max gave me a look that told me he was completely lost on what was going on, but as soon as the waitress approached the table, his attention was drawn to her.

“Can I get you anything to drink, Scarlett?” I heard a sweet female voice ask.

Confused on how the waitress knew my name, I looked up to meet those same crystal blue eyes that I was introduced to the day before. “Andi!” I exclaimed, remembering that Mase had said he was getting her a job. She leaned in and gave me a quick hug before asking me if I wanted anything to drink again.

As she walked away, both Ash and Max asked in unison, “Who is that?” I laughed, looking back and forth between the two of them. “That’s Andi, she’s Mason’s new roommate. I picked them both up from the center yesterday and took them to his apartment.

Max crinkled his forehead in displeasure, “Are they together?”

I shook my head. “No, not that I know of or that was evident yesterday. From what I could gather, she doesn’t have any family so he offered her a place to stay and a job. Her issues are…” I struggled to find the right word without spreading her business to others. “Different. She’s got different problems than Mason,” I explained vaguely.

Thankfully, Noah interrupted us, letting us know that it was time to take the stage. Suddenly my belly filled with nervous butterflies, I really hoped I was ready for this. I kissed Ash before joining the rest of the band, waiting for Noah to introduce me. As soon as I took the microphone in my hands, I forgot about everyone and everything but the music; it was just me and the band in my world for those four songs.

When I was finished with my part of their performance, I hopped down off the stage and made my way back to where Ash and Mina were sitting. I knew the smile on my face stretched from ear to ear and I felt like I was floating. God, I felt amazing. The beats were still thumping through my body, in the same pattern as my heart was beating, and the adrenaline coursing through my veins was exhilarating. They both stood up to hug and congratulate me when I reached the table. Ash picked me and swung me around, whispering in my ear, “I’m so proud of you, Scarlett. You were absolutely incredible.”

We sat there to watch the rest of 32 Leaves’ performance, and several other people, including Andi, stopped by to tell me that I did a great job. I was seriously on cloud nine… I only wished Mase would’ve come by to say something too, but I understood why he didn’t.

After the guys finished up, they all re-joined us for a celebratory round of beers and they all bought me shots, saying that it was part of the initiation process. Spirits were high, we all knew that we had nailed it, and I had three shots down when I heard that familiar voice come through over the speakers.

“Evenin’ folks. I, uh… I’m not used to being up here by myself. I’m Mason, for those who don’t know me.” Some girl interrupted him, yelling out, “We’ve missed you, Rat!” He laughed, “Or Rat, if you prefer. The rest of Jobu’s Rum is in Austin, but I’m here a few weeks, so I thought I’d play a song or two.”

I heard him rustling around and getting ready, but I didn’t look up. I knew that Ash and Max were watching me, and that combined with the liquor that I had just consumed, had my face burning. I desperately wanted to get up and walk outside. I had no idea what he was going to sing, but I didn’t want to stick around to find out. However, I also knew that if I left, it would make even more of a scene, so I just sat there staring at the beer on the table in front of me.

He strummed the guitar a few times, making sure it was in tune before he began. As soon as he played the opening chords, I hissed in a breath of air between my teeth as my heart plummeted into my stomach, realizing the song he was playing was indeed for me. I was frozen in place, my eyes still fixated on the amber liquid in the glass in front of me, my throat had a golf ball-sized sob lodged into it, and my heart at a dead standstill; every word he sang ripped deeper and deeper into my soul. The entire bar was silent, watching him in awe, as he performed the song better than the original artist, his voice saturated with sadness and sorrow. As he whispered the last “And you let her go,” I finally pulled my gaze up to look at him. He was staring directly at me and then said in a low whisper the five words that cut me deeper than I ever thought possible. “I’m letting you go, Angel.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Beneath Your Beautiful ~ Labrinth (feat Emeli Sandi)

It Won’t Stop ~ Sevyn Streeter (feat Chris Brown)

ASH

I should’ve gotten some kind of fucking award for sitting there listening to him sing to her. If it had been any other song other than one with him telling her goodbye, I probably would’ve gone all caveman and thrown Scarlett over my shoulder, hauling her ass out of there. It still killed me because I knew that he was upsetting her, but I also knew that she had just told him about our moving. I tried to put myself in his shoes, and I gave him his chance to say goodbye. I hoped he truly realized that he had blown his shot with her, and now that she was mine, I wasn’t ever letting her go.

As soon as the song was over, I put my hand on the small of her back and leaned in to her ear, whispering, “Are you ready to go or do you want to stay?”

She didn’t say a word; she just hopped off her bar stool, grabbed her purse, and began walking towards the exit. I said a blanket goodbye to the table and followed after her. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I finally caught up to her. Honestly, I expected tears and a pretty foul mood, but when I finally reached her waiting by the car, she seemed to be fine. I still proceeded with caution. I wasn’t sure if I should bring up anything or not. I went with not.

We got in the car and she began talking about her performance and things that she needed to work on. I of course told her I thought she was amazing, because well… I did. She then started talking about what classes she wanted to take in the fall at UC Berkeley. It made me happy that she seemed excited about the upcoming move; I had this amazing feeling that everything was happening the way it was supposed to.

When we got back to her apartment, Scarlett took a quick shower while I prepared us both a grilled cheese sandwich and a glass of milk for a midnight snack. I had it waiting for her on a tray in bed when she got out. I loved seeing her eyes light up with joy at little things that I did for her. That alone was payment enough for pampering her for the rest of our lives.

“Thank you so much! I was just thinking how hungry I was,” she said as she sat down and leaned over to give me a kiss.

“You’re more than welcome. I figured you would be; I noticed that you didn’t eat much dinner earlier, and then the beer and those shots…”

“Ugh, yes. Please don’t remind me.” She picked up one of the warm cheesy triangles and took a big bite, then chased it with a big gulp of the ice cold milk. “Mmmm… there is really nothing better. How can this not put someone in a good mood?”

Shrugging, I followed suit, devouring my sandwich in less than five minutes. “I don’t know,” I said as I wiped the crumbs off of my mouth with a napkin. “That’s the ultimate comfort food. All it needed was a little bacon.”

She nodded as she popped the last bite in her mouth. “Yessss… bacon makes everything better.”

“Next time I’ll make them with bacon.” I kissed the tip of her nose before taking the tray with the empty plates back to the kitchen.

It was my turn for a quick shower, which I did in record speed so that I could join her in bed. She was sitting up watching House Hunters on HGTV when I slid under the covers next to her. I laughed softly at her obsession with that damn show. “Haven’t you seen this one before?” I teased her.

She crinkled her nose up at me. “No, I haven’t, smart ass.” She turned her head back to the television. “And this is a good one, it’s the international version and they are buying a house in Puerto Rico.”

I pulled her into my lap so that I could rub her back and shoulders while she finished watching the show. As I massaged her lower back, I leaned in to press my lips to the back of her neck. Her clean coconut scent was intoxicating, and I couldn’t help but kiss my way over to her earlobe, nibbling on it a bit. The slight moan that escaped her lips and the goose bumps that covered her skin gave me the green light to continue. I continued to kiss her neck as my hands moved from her back around to her belly, slipping underneath the hem of her shirt. My hands slowly crept up her ribcage until my thumb swept across the swell of her breast.

“Which house do you think they’re going to pick?” I asked in a breathy whisper against her ear.

She slightly arched her back, pressing her chest into my hand. “I think they’ll get house number two,” she mumbled.

I quickly had both nipples in between my thumbs and forefingers, tugging and twisting gently. “You think so? I think they may get house number three,” I said without even looking up at the television.

After several minutes of kissing every square inch of the back of her neck and caressing her boobs and nipples, I began to walk my fingers back down her belly until I was tracing the elastic edge of her panties. Groaning, I slid my fingers inside the waistband, softly running it back and forth along the soft flesh of her lower abdomen. Continuing to move my hands further south, my fingertips quickly found her already damp folds. Gently parting her lips with my fingers, I began to lazily trace a circular pattern around her clit. She leaned her head back on to my shoulder, eyes closed, and lifted her hips into my touch. My cock was pressing into her back and I growled when she arched and pushed her tight little ass up against it.