“He said everyone suspects that a little,” she paused and rolled her eyes dramatically, “somethin’, somethin’ is going on with you two. And you are on that tour bus together and you have more in common with her, Ty. It’s so obvious. But why would you bring me to the studio and humiliate me like that?”
“I wouldn’t. And you know that. You’re letting everyone get in your head because what we’re doing is confusing as shit.”
“And what exactly are we doing, Ty?”
“We’re playing fucking house.” I shrugged. “Spending every minute together until I leave in three weeks. I get it, Ive, it’s confusing. But do you really think I’d be shacking up with you and bringing a girl that’s in my band that I’m sleeping with here to Willow Springs and introducing her to you? Come on. You know me better than that.”
“Do I?” she asked, and she glanced over to see Jo walking our way. “Did you invite her here to lie for you?”
“No. I asked her to come here and straighten this shit out because you just got played by Zane.”
“I did not.” She huffed before turning to look at Jo as she walked up the walkway.
“Hey, guys. I got your message. What’s going on?” She dropped to sit on the sidewalk a few feet away from us so she could face our direction.
“Zane basically told Ivy we had a thing going on,” I said over my laughter.
A wide grin spread across Jo’s face. “Ah, she got Zaned, did she?”
“I did not.” Ivy raised a brow defensively. “What does that even mean?”
“He likes to fuck with peoples’ minds,” Jo said. “Listen, Ivy. I can assure you nothing is going on with me and Ty, aside from being really good friends. Nor has anything happened in the past.”
Ivy looked away and let out a long breath. “And why should I believe you? You’d obviously lie for your… lover.”
Now it was Jo’s turn to bark out a laugh and she turned to me. “You’re right. She’s cute as hell.”
“Jo and I have always looked out for one another, that’s it,” I said.
“I promise you, it’s not even possible. And Zane knows that. He’s just scared because Ty has talked about you for years, and he’s terrified he’s losing control. So I’m the token chick in the group, and he knows without a shadow of a doubt that we’ve never been more than friends. He’s lying to you,” Jo said.
“And how would Zane know for sure?” Ivy cocked her head to the side and studied Jo.
“Because I’m in love with someone, and it is not a gross boy.” She laughed. “My girlfriend Rayne and I have been together for eighteen months. Zane does not mind the fact that I haven’t come out to my parents yet and that Rayne and I have chosen to keep our relationship private for now, because he likes the idea that me and Ty are both single and he wants the fans to think there’s something going on. Ty is his meal ticket, his golden boy, and you’re a threat, Ivy.”
“Why? This is temporary,” Ivy whispered, and her entire face relaxed.
“Well, Ty’s never asked us to do anything before. All I know is he’s talked about you for five years, and now here we are. I’m sure Zane is shitting his pants.”
“So maybe I overreacted.” Ivy bit down on her bottom lip. “I just saw the way you looked at Ty, and I let my imagination get away from me. And then Zane confirmed it.”
Jo smiled. “Ty’s like a brother to me. I don’t want him to get hurt. And I’ve talked his ear off about my feelings for Rayne, because she’s not real happy about our relationship being a secret, and Ty’s talked my ear off,” she said, throwing in a very dramatic eye roll, “about you more times than I can count over the past five years. So yeah, hearing him ask us all to pack up and come to Willow Springs, and seeing you two together—I want to make sure he’s still standing when he leaves. Please don’t take that to mean that I don’t like you, Ivy. I can already tell I’m going to love you, just by the way you flipped him the bird and stormed out of the place in a real drop-the-mic, badass way. But I want to make sure my boy is okay when he leaves here in a few weeks, because you two seem to have some crazy-ass idea for how this is going to work. And it’s the first time in a long time that I’ve seen a genuine smile on Ty’s face, and that’s a good thing. Unfortunately, there are a few flaws with your plan, and that’s okay. But I’m just protective of the little fucker.”
Ivy pushed to her feet and made her way to Jo, holding out her hands and pulling my bandmate to her feet. She wrapped her arms around Jo, who wasn’t normally much of a hugger, but she pulled Ivy into her arms and wriggled her brows at me over her shoulder.
Asshole.
“I’m sorry. I don’t really know what we’re doing either, but I shouldn’t have believed Zane. The guy gives me the heebie-jeebies, you know?” Ivy asked as she pulled back.
“Oh, trust me. The dude is an asshole, and I keep telling Ty to kick his ass to the curb. But our boy is a loyal fucker through and through.” Jo chuckled and Ivy’s head fell back in laughter.
“Okay. So, can we take all my shit back in the house? I need to get back to band practice.” I moved toward my girl and wrapped my arms around her.
I knew it wasn’t entirely fair to call her that.
But she was mine.
Always had been. Always would be.
Now I just had to find a way to keep her.
“Sorry,” she whispered, peeking up to look at me. “I’ll bring your stuff back in. I think I’ll sit this practice out.”
“Oh, no way, girl. You’re coming with us. We can’t have Zane thinking his mind games are working on you,” Jo said, moving to help Ivy and me scoop up all my things. “You’re clearly a lot tougher than that jackass realizes.”
Ivy smiled and pushed the door open before dropping all my stuff on the entryway floor. “You’re right. Let’s do this.”
When we made it back to the studio, Smith and Zack were playing around with a few new sounds. Zane was on his phone off in the corner and I walked over to him, as Jo got everyone in the recording area, and took Ivy with her so she could see what we were going to do before we got started.
“I need to talk to you,” I said, motioning for him to get off the phone. The dude would have a conniption if we were on our phones during studio time.
He ended the call. “Everything all right? Your girl seemed upset.”
“I’m going to say this once, and I won’t say it again.” I moved into his space because I knew exactly what he was up to. He was having a temper tantrum because I wasn’t doing what he wanted. And Ivy did not fit into his plan. Tough shit. “Do not fuck with her. It won’t end well for you.”