More Than Exes (7 page)

T
he LA traffic gods smiled on us for once. We got back to the club with a little over an hour to spare. Hector and Jared were already in the parking lot, watching while our van was hooked to a tow truck. Getting our gear home tonight was going to be a pain, but I added that problem to the list for later. I mentally crossed off
get Becca
and
return to the club
. Time to focus on item number three: win the Battle.

I let Becca out of the car, and she immediately lit up another cigarette. I stared over the hood at Alexis. We’d been quiet on the drive back, too conscious of Becca behind us, and in the silence, all my doubts had crept back in. Being around her was intoxicating, but when I stopped to think about getting involved with her again, my heart wanted to don battle armor to protect itself. I didn’t trust her not to break me again.

I moved around the car to stand in front of her. “Thanks for helping me find Becca. I would have been screwed without you.”

She smiled up at me with those dark red lips I’d so wanted to kiss. “It was my pleasure.”

“About what we said…” I rubbed the back of my neck, unsure how to continue. I was tongue-tied and awkward, like I was sixteen all over again and asking Alexis out for the first time. “I need to think about it, okay?”

She bit her lip but nodded. “I understand.”

I hated seeing her look so disappointed. “Maybe we can talk about this after the show. Or some other night. I just have a lot to deal with right now.”

“Of course. The Battle. I can’t wait to see you perform again. It’s been a long time.”

“Yeah.” I glanced behind me in the direction of the other guys. “Um, I better go sort things out with the band before the show. I’ll see you later, okay?”

Before I could think better of it, I wrapped my arms around her in a hug. She slid her hands up my back, pulling me closer, tucking her face into my neck. Her breasts flattened against my chest, and I buried my nose in her hair, savoring the feel of her against me, how perfectly we fit together, how amazing it was to hold her again. The wind kicked up around us, tearing at our hair and our clothes, and we pulled apart.

As she walked away, I admired the view from behind, resisting the urge to run after her. I shook it off and gestured for Becca to come with me. She groaned but tagged along, and we joined Jared and Hector on the other side of the parking lot as the van was being towed out of the lot.

“Hey,” I said. “What’s going on with the van?”

Jared ignored me and scanned Becca. “Where have you been?”

She waved her cigarette at him. “Don’t even start.”

His eyebrows shot up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” she snapped.

“No, what exactly is the problem? Is this about that night? ‘Cause we both agreed that was a mistake. You said you were fine with it.”

“I am fine with it! I’m just tired of your shit!”

I stepped between them, giving them each pointed looks. “Hey, as far as I’m concerned, you both messed up, but that’s over now. It’s done, it’s in the past, and you both need to move on. We’re a band, and we have to stick together if we want to win this thing. Can you two handle that?”

Jared’s face went blank, putting his cool mask on again. “Of course.”

Becca flicked ashes on the ground and said nothing. Hector took a sip of his beer and shook his head, like he was disappointed in all of us. So much for my rousing speech.

I sighed. “At least for tonight, let’s try to keep it professional, okay?”

“Not a problem,” Jared said, practically spitting the words out.

“Whatever.” Becca dropped her cigarette and took off without another word, her heels clicking on the pavement.

“That went well,” I muttered. If Jared and Becca got through the night without killing each other, it would be a miracle.

Behind us, someone sniggered. Todd leaned against a nearby parked car, looking like a cat who’d just caught a mouse. “Told you he was screwing her.”

“What do you want, Todd?” I was too tired to deal with him on top of all the other shit going on.

“Oh, that’s easy. I want to watch you lose. I want the three of you to walk off that stage with your tails between your legs, knowing I beat you.”

“Keep dreaming,” Jared said, crossing his arms. “We’re going to crush you.”

“Guess we’ll see, won’t we?” He flashed that cocky smirk and headed back to the club.

Hector downed the rest of his beer and crumpled his red cup. Probably pretending it was Todd’s head. “I want to snap that guy in half.”

“Pretty sure that would get us kicked out of the Battle,” I said.

Hector shrugged. “Worth it.”

“Forget him,” Jared said, though he still glared in the direction Todd had gone. “We’re going to win tonight, end of story.”

“You mean, as long as Becca doesn’t ditch us or pass out?” Hector asked.

“She’ll be fine,” I said and prayed I was right.

“Hey, who was that girl who gave you a ride?” Jared asked. “With the red hair?”

His question instantly put me on alert. “Why, you want to screw her, too?”

Jared arched an eyebrow at me. “No, I was just curious.”

Hector snorted, and I looked at the ground, feeling like an ass. Maybe my question had been a bit harsh, but I was already pissed at my brother for everything else and the thought of him eyeing Alexis like one of his conquests made me crazy. And yeah, I had neglected to mention in my texts to Jared who I had gotten the ride from. I told myself it was because it hadn’t seemed like the right time to bring it up with so much other shit going on, but mostly I didn’t want to hear Jared give me a hard time about it. But I couldn’t hide it from him forever.

“It was Alexis.”

“No fucking way,” Hector said, under his breath.

Jared stared at me, his mask slipping for an instant. “Alexis is here?”

“Yeah. I was shocked, too.”

Hector shook his head. “Damn, she looks totally different. Nice car, though.”

“She’s not at Princeton?” Jared asked.

“No, she transferred to USC.” I gave them both a quick rundown of the night so far, describing how Alexis had given me a ride and helped me find Becca, though I left out the part where we’d almost kissed. That was none of their business.

“Wow.” Jared paced back and forth, like he had to walk this news off. “Alexis. I can’t believe it. Why is she here? Oh, man, I bet she wants to get back together with you, doesn’t she?”

I stared at the ground and said nothing.

He stopped in his tracks. “She
does
? What did you tell her?”

“I said I had to think about it.”

“What is there to think about? Nothing. It’s a bad idea. The end.”

I knew he’d get on my case about this. He couldn’t just trust me to make the decision on my own, like an adult. “Wow, thanks for the tip. But after this shit with Becca, I don’t think you get to give me girl advice.”

“He does have a point,” Hector said to Jared.

Jared shot him a stay-out-of-this look and turned back to me. “That’s different. Becca was a one-time mistake. Alexis is your Kryptonite. You need to stay away from her.”

“He also has a point,” Hector added to me.

I gave him an identical look to Jared’s. “I’ll figure this out, okay? I just need some time. But trust me, I know the risks. Better than anyone.”

Jared’s face softened, and he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “I’m sorry. I’m just trying to look out for you. I don’t want you to get hurt again. But I know you’ll sort it out.”

“Thanks.” I rubbed the all-black triangle on my wrist. Jared had been the one who put me back together after Alexis left the first time. I had finally gotten to a place where I could move on from her, but now she was back, tempting me again. A part of me wanted to give her another shot, to believe that this time would be different if I only gave her a chance, but I didn’t know if Alexis had actually changed. Had I, really?

Jared touched the black triangle on his own wrist, and I knew he understood. After all, he’d had his own heart broken, too, by two of the people he’d trusted most. The tattoos were a reminder of what we’d been through together, of what we’d survived, of how—no matter what happened—we always had each other to rely on. As much as Jared drove me crazy, he did only want the best for me.

“Hey, what about your friend Maddie?” he asked. “Isn’t she coming tonight? Maybe you should ask her out. Get out of your dry spell.”

“We’re not like that. We’re just friends.” Maddie was also a music major, and for all of freshman year, I’d had a thing for her. I’d sat beside her in every class we’d shared and made sure to get paired up with her on every duet or project. But I’d been too much of a chicken to do anything more. Alexis had taught me that good girls like Maddie weren’t compatible with messed-up, tattooed guys like me. So I’d let it go. And over time, I’d realized Maddie and I were better as friends, anyway.

“You sure? ‘Cause you talk about her all the time…”

“Seriously. We’re friends. That’s it.” This wasn’t the first time we’d had this conversation. He’d never met Maddie, but he was always telling me to go after her, like the “just friends” thing made no sense to him. As usual, Jared’s advice involved thinking with his dick and not his head. I couldn’t listen to any more of it. “I need a beer. I’ll see you guys later.”

The club had filled up a lot since I’d left, though the crowd thinned near the back around the bar. On stage, another band was playing bad heavy metal that made my ears bleed. I spotted Maddie at the edge of the crowd at the same moment she saw me, and I instantly felt a hundred times better at the sight of her smile. She wore a plaid shirt and jeans, her dark hair loose around her shoulders, her black-rimmed glasses framing her cute face.

She said something to the guy she was with—white button-up shirt, khaki shorts, and enough hair gel to be a fire hazard—and ran over to me. “There you are! I’ve been looking for you!” she yelled over the music.

“Hey, Maddie. Sorry, I ran out for a few minutes.” I gave her a hug, and she felt nice in my arms but without the rush of desire that accompanied touching Alexis. Being with Maddie was easy, effortless, uncomplicated. If I was smart, I would have asked her out ages ago, like Jared had told me to, but it wasn’t like that between us.

She grinned up at me. “This is so exciting! I can’t wait to see you play.”

“You’ve seen me play hundreds of times before,” I said with a laugh.

“Not like this. Not with the whole band.” She bounced on her heels a little. “You know I’m Villain Complex’s biggest fan.”

“You are. I’m really glad you’re here.”

I’d given her our album a few months ago. Our band had put it out ourselves once we’d had enough songs written. We’d rented a studio for a few hours to record them all, and then I’d done all the mixing and stuff in our home studio, while Jared had handled things like production and promotion. It had been the first time I’d used the skills I’d learned at school on our own music, and I’d worked hard to make it as good as possible. It meant a lot to me that Maddie, who was basically a musical prodigy, had approved of it.

I glanced behind her at Hair Gel Guy, who was playing on his phone. “Who’s that with you?”

She looked back at him and sighed. “I’m on a date, but it’s not going well.”

“How come?”

“He already wants to leave. And he’s just…boring.”

“He can’t be any worse than Chad.” That was her last serious boyfriend. I’d had the urge to drive over to his place and smack some shit into him every time she’d mentioned what a dick he was.

“He’s basically Chad 2.0.” She adjusted her glasses. “Where’s the rest of your band?”

“They’re around here somewhere.” As I said it, Jared appeared in the crowd, heading for the bar. I nodded in his direction. “Speak of the devil, there’s my brother.”

Maddie followed my gaze, and her eyes widened. “
That’s
your brother?”

Oh, hell no. I’d seen that look a hundred times before. If this were a cartoon, little red hearts would be floating out of her eyes. She was caught in Jared’s Death Star tractor beam, and there was no escape for her. That was exactly why I’d never introduced them before. I couldn’t believe Maddie had succumbed so easily, too.

“That’s him. Do you want to meet him?”
Please say no,
I thought.

“Oh, um…” Her cheeks flushed, making her look even cuter. “I should get back to my date. Maybe next time.”

“Sure. Next time.” Hopefully, there would be no next time. The last thing I wanted was for Jared to sleep with Maddie and leave me to deal with the fallout when he moved on the next day. Maddie was way too good for him, and I’d hate to have to strangle my brother. It’s too bad, though, because if Jared wasn’t such a prick, they’d be perfect for each other. They both lived and breathed music like it was a fundamental part of them, written into their very DNA. It was all so easy for them, too. I didn’t have that gift, and I’d always envied them for that.

“I’ll see you in class on Monday,” she said. “Don’t forget we’re doing that piece from
The Dark Knight
score. And good luck tonight!”

We hugged again, and with a lingering gaze at Jared, she slipped back through the crowd to rejoin her date. I prayed she hadn’t fallen under my brother’s spell already. Maybe Chad 2.0 would turn out not to be a total loser. I doubted it, though. He didn’t even glance up from his phone when she returned. What a punk.

Maddie didn’t look back at me. Or at her date. No, she looked at my brother one last time. Just like every other girl, Maddie wanted the bad boy. She’d never once looked at me like that. No girl had…except Alexis. But even she’d said I was being too nice earlier. Her words replayed in my head:
Maybe it’s time to be not so nice for a change
.

She was right. What had being nice gotten me, anyway? Nothing. Jared got all the girls, and I was forever alone. But the girl I wanted was here somewhere in the club, waiting for me. I just had to find the courage to go after her.

Screw it. Being the good guy had never worked out for me all these years. It was time to take a chance, to be more like my brother, to do something stupid for once.