“How about lunch tomorrow?”
“Goodbye, Ty.” She closed the door, and I told Gerard I would walk to the hotel. I needed to process my day. It was nice to breathe in the air and have a break from the hustle and bustle of going from show to show. The camera guys had finally left after watching me walk into Dean Taylors with Jett. That wasn’t the story they were looking for.
I made my way to my room and plopped down on the bed. The hotel was sub-par, not the typical places I stayed in when I traveled, but somehow, I found it more comforting. I thought about my conversation with Ivy. I laughed a few more times thinking about her ridiculous date.
Dr. fucking Pepper.
What are the chances? He made it too easy for me to make sure nothing happened there.
I pulled up the lyrics to “Missing You.” It was my first song to shoot me up to the top of the charts. The most requested song I got on tour to date. I typed in Ivy’s name to text her, hoping she didn’t go back in her phone and block me again. I pasted the link for the song and hit send.
There was a long pause before the three little dots moved across my screen.
Ivy ~ Not bad. Here’s a little something for you, Ty.
She attached the lyrics to “Cry Me A River” by Justin Timberlake and damn if I didn’t fall over laughing. I hadn’t laughed as hard as I did tonight in years. Not since I left home.
Not since I left her.
Me ~ Have dinner with me, Ive.
Ivy ~ Why? You’re leaving. There’s nothing to discuss.
Me ~ I want to apologize. Explain things.
Ivy ~ There is nothing to explain. We had a plan. I loved you and I thought you loved me. And you cut me off along with this town. You hurt me, Ty, and I don’t forgive you. Please stop pushing.
My chest squeezed at her words. I’d hurt her. And I’d hurt myself in the process. I didn’t respond. I thought about what Lucy said. I needed to do whatever it took to talk to her. So, I pulled up the Lasting Love dating app and made a fake profile. I used my bandmate and good friend Zack’s photo. Hell, he wouldn’t mind. We were close and the dude always had my back. I thought about exactly what Ivy would like.
For my profession, I made myself an accountant. I was new to town. A small-town guy with a big heart. She’d eat that shit up. I said my interests were romance books, craft fairs, and long walks on the beach. And I claimed to have a fondness for Disney Plus and journaling. I nearly pissed myself from laughing so hard.
Shit, this was brilliant. I knew she’d bite. I couldn’t help but laugh. Hell, it was a little devious, but I was determined to make amends with Ivy Baron.
Once my profile was set up, I swiped and kept swiping until I found her.
Damn. No wonder the girl was a professional dater. She was fucking stunning.
I matched with her and then sent a message.
Zack ~ Hey there, Ivy. I just moved to town and would love to get together. How about dinner tomorrow night?
I stared at my phone, willing her to respond, before finally getting up and taking a shower. I knew Ivy. The girl would never respond that quickly. She’d wait whatever she thought the appropriate amount of time was before she’d reply. After I toweled off, my phone dinged.
Ivy ~ Hi Zack. Welcome to Willow Springs. I’m not free tomorrow, but I could meet you in a few days. How does Monday look for you? Could we possibly meet for lunch instead? My track record with dinners hasn’t been that great. <shrugging emoji>
I laughed. She was so fucking cute.
Zack ~ Monday for lunch sounds great. I don’t know what our options are, so you pick the place.
I needed to make this believable. I wasn’t happy she was making Zack wait three days, but beggars couldn’t be choosers, right?
Ivy ~ The Rusty Pelican at noon. See you then.
Damn. This felt more like a business meeting than a date, but at least Zack had one foot in the door which was more than I could say for myself at this point.
I decided to text her once more as me, before I went to bed. I sent her the lyrics to “Country Girl,” another song I’d written for her. She quickly responded by sending me another song back.
“Save Your Tears” by The Weeknd.
I laughed.
I fell asleep to thoughts of auburn hair and green eyes.
And home.
“Sebastian, hustle down the field,” I shouted as my little mini-me tried to chase the guy who had the ball. The little dude wasn’t naturally athletic, but boy, did he have a lot of heart.
“He’s not terrible,” Jett whispered, and I laughed. “We can work with this.”
“Thanks for meeting me here. And for coming last night and being my wingman.”
“Dude, you know I’ll do anything for you, but you need to be careful. I mean, are you wanting Ivy back? You’re sure as shit acting like it,” he said just as Sebastian tripped and rolled three times on the field, and I shouted some words of encouragement.
“Shake it off, buddy.”
“I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. I don’t want her to hate me anymore. And being here, seeing her, it’s fucking with my head. I couldn’t stand the idea of that shithead, Dr. Pepper, with her. Plus, my therapist thinks I need closure with Ivy.”
He shook his head with a chuckle. “That was some crazy shit last night. Addy was not happy with me for messing up that date for Ivy. So listen to me carefully, Ty. If you aren’t all in, don’t come and turn her world upside down the way only you can. That girl has been hurting over your breakup since the day you left. Does your therapist know that?”
“She does. Which is why I want to make amends with her. There’s a lot of shit she doesn’t know. I want to take some of that hurt away.”
“I think you want her back.” He raised a brow and we both high-fived my little brother on his way back to the bench.
“And how would that work? Hell, the girl loves this godforsaken town,” I said, holding my hands up and laughing. “No offense. I know you live here now. But I’m never coming back. My life is crazy. I have nothing to offer her. Ivy was too good for me back in the day and she’s too good for me now. So I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing.”
“There was a time you loved this town. Remember? I was the one who hated it here.” Jett was right. I’d thought I’d end up here for the rest of my life. Boy, was I wrong about that.
“Yeah. I admit there are things I miss about Willow Springs. And we had a shit ton of fun senior year before my life imploded.”
“Take it from someone who felt judged by this town for a long time… it doesn’t really matter, Ty. People will talk shit about anyone and everyone. I just don’t care. And when I stopped worrying about what other people thought, I tuned out all that noise. No one gives a shit that your dad had an affair anymore. The only one that’s still pissed about it is you.”