How to Be a Rock Star's Ex-Girlfriend (4 page)

But at the moment the DJ was playing some great dancing music, and I could feel myself swaying to the beat. The first notes of
Jumpin, Jumpin
by Destiny’s Child came through the speakers. It was, at the moment, our “going out” song. We would rush to the dance floor each time we heard it played and had requested it ourselves on many occasions. We each owned a copy of the CD and it could be heard coming from the apartment at least once a day. Without a word to each other, Cara, Sophie, and I all set our drinks on the table and stood up.

“Is this some sort of ritual that I know nothing about?” Braden smirked up at us as we moved from the table. “Is this one those trips to the ladies’ room, where you have to go as a group?”

“No, you moron!” Obviously, Cara wasn’t having any issues when it came to getting to know Braden. She was her normal, flirty self. “This is our song! We have to dance to it. Are you going to join us?”

I could swear he looked straight at me when he replied. “I’m waiting for a slow one. It’s the only way you can really hold someone while you’re dancing.”

“Okay, watch our drinks. We’ll be back.” And with that we plowed our way to the crowded area they called the dance floor.

My mind was not on dancing when we finally shoved open a spot we could move in. I kept trying to imagine the way it would feel to dance with Braden. I must have stopped moving altogether, because Sophie poked me in the side.

“I bet I know where your mind is!” She jerked her head in the direction of our table. “Thinking about Braden and his not so subtle dancing hints?”

“What do you mean?” I was so glad that someone else had noticed his attention on me that I almost forgot to be coy about the situation. I so wanted to be right about him looking at me! I had such a big crush on him already.

“Ava, be serious! He was looking right at you when he said all that stuff. He must be as interested in you as you are in him. And don’t tell me you’re not, I can always tell when someone had caught your eye! I bet if you had asked him to dance, he’d be out here right now.”

Having heard the end of our conversation, Cara agreed. “He was totally checking you out! Go for it already!”

“We only met for a second, and it wasn’t my finest showing.” I dismissed their opinion on the subject, not wanting to get my hopes up. “I doubt he’s even considering me as a potential dance partner, and the two of you have us going at it already! Look at how many girls are here tonight. He has a lot to choose from.”

“Well…,” Cara looked over my shoulder and back at me. “I guess we’ll see, since the guys are headed this way!”

“Hey, listen up everybody!” The DJ’s voice boomed. “Thanks for coming out tonight for our Summer in the Winter bash! I hope you’re all having a great time. We’re just going to slow it down for a bit with a little Keith Sweat.”

Twisted
by Keith Sweat began to play as couples paired up to dance in each others arms. I saw Kevin grab Cara and swing her into a tight hug before they floated away together. Dylan asked Sophie to dance since Mark was away for the weekend, and he was currently unattached.

That only left Braden and me. He smiled and held out his hand. “Just what I’ve been waiting for.”

Suddenly, I found myself in the arms that I had just been imagining. I fought to remember the topic I had planned to bring up. Something about warm weather? Sunbathing?

“How did you get such a nice tan?” Thank goodness it came to me. “I don’t know many guys willing to fake bake in tanning beds!” I could only hope that what I had said didn’t come across as lame.

“I’d love to tell you that I just got back from a trip to Mexico or some other exotic location, but truthfully, I did fake and bake!” He laughed, a good sign that my question wasn’t a complete turnoff. “I like to stay tan since I’m the lead singer in the band Dylan and I have. It’s all part of the image.”

I smiled up at him, thinking that I had guessed wrong. He wasn’t arrogant like Dylan at all. Instead of his answer sounding conceited and showing, his voice held signs of uncertainty and embarrassment. I liked him more and more.

“Well, I think it takes a real man to go tanning. And it looks fantastic.” With those last words, I leaned into him just a little more and let myself fully enjoy the dance.

I reached into the fridge to grab the coffee grounds. I could hear Cara in the shower, and Sophie appeared to still be crashed on our couch. It hadn’t made any sense to us that she go home to an empty house, when she could stay with us.

The party had continued here until three am, when we kicked the boys and a few other miscellaneous friends out so we could get some sleep. As always, Sophie didn’t work today, Saturday, and I was lucky enough to also find myself off for the day. Cara was working the afternoon shift, noon to eight, which was why she was getting ready instead of wandering around in her pajamas like the rest of us.

There was an odd noise coming from her room that I assumed was Kevin’s snoring, meaning he had survived to be her boyfriend for another day. The whole situation amused me more then it should, but honestly the boy sounded awful! Whenever he had stayed over in the past, they had kept Cara’s door shut, but in her rush this morning it had been left open, letting the snores drift into the rest of the apartment.

Not even Kevin could touch my mood today! The evening had been a blast, and our after bar had ended the night perfectly. The apartment would need a good cleaning, but it was worth it.

After the dance we shared, Braden and I hung out the rest of the night, talking and laughing. The girls and I had even coaxed him onto the dance floor a few more times. I appeared to have overcome my wariness around him. Now I just wanted to know everything about him, and he responded with the same eagerness. I learned that he had grown up here in town, he was an only child, and he had been friends with Dylan since preschool. I told him about meeting Cara and Sophie at camp, that I had one younger brother, and that my dream was to open my own store. The club wasn’t the best atmosphere for getting to know each other, but we made the best of it. The noise was a flawless excuse to sit close and keep our heads together.

When we held hands as we walked to the taxi waiting to drive us home, I couldn’t help but observe the way they fit together so easily, our fingers laced and his thumb stroking the side of my hand. It made me remember my dismissal of fate and finding your ideal match. Maybe I had discarded the idea too soon, simply because I hadn’t experienced anything that confirmed the myth.

Before I had gotten too ahead of myself, I recalled that I had known this guy for less then twenty-four hours! I wasn’t ready to chuck my whole belief system for a guy because his hand was a good fit with mine! I was always willing to take a chance with a new guy, but there wouldn’t be any hearts and flowers and cupid’s arrow involved.

Our night came to a close with a soft peck on the cheek and his quiet question, “Tomorrow?”

No official plans were made, I wrote my number on a slip of paper and told him that I would be around, but to let me sleep in. Maybe we’d get together for lunch or he could come over here and relax. It wasn’t important, really. I just wanted to see him again.

“Ava, is the coffee ready?” Cara moved into the kitchen dressed for work, with a towel wrapped turban style around her hair. “What a night! I’m going to have to drink pots of this stuff to stay awake at work. Kevin is getting dressed and then he’s out of here, too. What are your plans?”

She had witnessed the exchange between Braden and me. I knew that she and Sophie were gloating about being right. I give them credit; they know when I’m into someone.

“Well, I’m going to lay around a bit, maybe paint my toenails, things like that.” I grabbed two cups from the mug tree on the counter and poured us each some coffee.

“Wait for Braden to call…” Cara added smugly. “You two seemed pretty chummy last night. I love when I’m right! And I was right, wasn’t I? Isn’t he perfect for you?”

“He does seem pretty fantastic. I’m not saying you predicted it or anything, but you may have had the right idea when you told me to ask him out!”

“Enjoy your day! I’ll be back around eight fifteen. Maybe we could hit a late movie or something. After the excitement last night,

I don’t plan on going to the clubs.” With an air kiss, she was zipping up her coat and walking out the door.

I could hear Sophie waking up in the living room and decided to take her a cup of coffee. “How did you sleep on that awful sofa?”

Sophie yawned and rolled her shoulders. “I’ll have a sore back for a week, but it beats the floor. Thanks.” She took the mug from my hand and moved swung her legs around until she was in the normal sitting position. “I think I’ll go home and take a nice, long shower and maybe a nap! Braden’s coming by today, right?”

At least Sophie wasn’t as obnoxious as Cara when it came to the Braden situation. “I think so. We don’t have any major plans, we’ll probably just hang out for awhile. Cara said something about a late movie, if you’re interested.”

“Sounds good. Call me later with the details. Mark won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon, so I’m free.”

Kevin poked his head around the corner. “I’ll see you guys later. I’m taking off.”

“Bye Kevin!” I smiled at him and Sophie waved goodbye as she sipped at her coffee.

As soon as we heard the door close behind him, Sophie burst out laughing.

“Did you hear him this morning?”

“How did you hear him?” I asked. “I thought you were sleep
in
g
!

“That noise woke me up! I was just too tired to move yet! How can Cara sleep with that snoring happening in her ear?”

“Maybe she wears earplugs!” That comment sent us into hysterics again. Holding my side that hurt from laughing so hard, I stood up, trying to keep a straight face. “Get out of here already! I can’t believe you! Kevin is a really nice guy!” Another giggle escaped. “Oh, he sounds terrible. I can’t imagine that sound close up!”

“I’m going, I’m going!” Sophie moved from the couch into the kitchen to rinse her cup. “Can I borrow something warm to wear home? All I have here are summer clothes from last night.”

“Of course. Just grab something.”

Dressed in my oldest pajama pants and a turtleneck sweater, Sophie gathered her belongings and headed for home.

“Remember to call about the movie.”

I gave her a hug, careful not to disturb the bags in her hands. “I’ll call you later. Bye!”

With the apartment all to myself, I moved to the stereo to play some cheesy love songs. They fit my mood perfectly, and I’m a huge fan of eighties power ballads. I have a collection of compilation CDS featuring songs by White Snake, Cheap Trick, Skid Row, and others. There’s something about guys with big hair and loud guitars singing about love that I enjoy.

Humming to the music, I began to pick up the mess left by our guests. It wasn’t as bad as it had first appeared. Most of it was empty cans and a few glasses here and there. No one had broken anything, and since we don’t allow smoking inside, we didn’t have to worry about cigarette burns. I was sure that the deck off the kitchen was probably littered with butts and garbage, but I’d take care of that later.

Once I had filled the dishwasher, I turned it on, and continued my cleaning spree. I picked up a few more cans and a towel that had been used to wipe up a spill. The worst of the mess seemed to be contained in the kitchen. Empty glasses had left sticky residue on the counter tops and there was even a spot of linoleum that my foot kept clinging to. I knew that Cara would have helped spruce up the place, but I was the one with the day off.

Neither one of us was very domestically inclined, and we made jokes about the state of our home all the time. I had even had a boyfriend in college who broke up with me because he could tell that I would never fit his definition of the perfect woman. I refused to apologize for not being like his mother! I mean, did he think that all women wanted to clean up after him and have babies? As you can tell, I have issues with being stuffed into the “typical” woman’s role. Maybe because I didn’t feel like I was any good at it! Cara and I

weren’t messy people by any means, but we were never going to have a spotless, eat off the floor apartment.

I have been known to get in moods where I go cleaning crazy. They usually come after a rough week at work and I need to get rid of excess energy. Today I felt like I could have redone the entire planet without stopping! I hadn’t known that felling good could lead to one of my rare cleaning frenzies!

As I finished putting the vacuum back into the hall closet, the phone rang. What if it was him? I was overcome with excitement! I ran to grab the phone.

“Hello?” I’m sure I sounded winded.

“Hi, dear!” It was my mom. “How are you? Are you feeling okay? You sound like you’re coming down with a cold.”

“No, Mom. I’m fine. I just ran for the phone. I was cleaning our apartment.” I hope that I didn’t sound too disappointed. My mom calls twice a week or so. And since I hadn’t heard from her in a few days, I should have been expecting her call.

We had always had a pretty close relationship. We weren’t best friends and there were still things that I would be embarrassed to talk to her about, but under normal circumstances, I enjoyed our biweekly conversations. A side benefit of these talks was that I learned more about my mom.

“Cleaning? What brought that on?” My mom knows about my weaknesses around the house. “Are you expecting company?”

“We had people over last night. I just wanted to get a head start on picking up. What’s up at home? How’s Cory?”

Cory is my little brother, nineteen to my twenty-one. He wasn’t exactly little, either. He was at least six inches taller, making him around six feet tall. I teased him all the time that he was still my “baby” brother, no matter how tall he got! He was attending the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities and playing baseball for the Gophers. I couldn’t wait until spring so I could make a trip to watch him play. His freshman year, he was red-shirted, so this would be his first chance to really show his stuff.