“How did that all happen anyway?”
“It’s not a fun story.”
“I’ve got time.”
She threads a hand through her hair. “We had been seeing each other for almost a year. We were in that beautiful stage of the relationship, you know? Where you’ve passed over the hump of commitment, and you both think it’s going to last forever, or at least a really long time. At least, I did. Anyway, I had been working on that song Tomorrow Never Comes for a few months. He’d heard me working on it. ‘Not bad,’ he said. I was insecure about my original songs at the time and didn’t want to play it in front of people. So he was the only one who’d heard it.”
I bite the inside of my lip. I can see where this story was going.
“I don’t know if he broke up with me to play the song, or if he just broke up and then had the idea to sing it,” Harmony goes on. Either way, I went to an open mic one night after we had broken up, and I heard him introducing his new song, ‘Tomorrow Never Comes.’”
“Oh, fuck.”
“Yes. I confronted him about it after the show, in front of everyone at the bar. He responded like I was an insane person. Like he didn’t know what I was talking about. He said he’d already trademarked it and that was the stupidest idea he’d ever heard.”
“Had you recorded it?”
“I had recordings going back for half a year.”
“If you had a recording of it earlier than his, you could sue him for the copy right.”
“How do you know that?”
I shrug. “There was an IP lawyer I met in the clink.”
Harmony shifts her eyes. “I don’t know. I just feel like it would happen again. The pain from that moment was so huge…I entered a tailspin after that. I tried to tell people, but Roddy had them all believing I was insane. I couldn’t contrate on classes. I had to drop out.”
I put my hand on Harmony’s shoulder. “No, it won’t happen again.”
She scoffs. “How can you be so sure?”
I lead her into me for a kiss, and then I pull back.
“I’m so sure, because if they do, I’ll kill them. We won’t even need the courts to weigh in.”
Her eyes go wide, and she slaps my chest. “Zach! No!”
“I’m joking!” I retort. “But I am serious. This time will be different.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know.”
She pushes her tongue against the inside of her cheek and sighs. “The mysterious man who gave me a ride home on his motorcycle somehow ‘knows’ I’m going to be a huge success in the Nashville music scene this time. I don’t even know what to make of that.”
“Just so you know, I have a buddy in Nashville,” I say. “And you should know I’m serious about this conversation. Let’s go find a producer for you in Nashville.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You say you need to shake things up. Well, me too. We’ll leave tomorrow. And by tomorrow, I mean today, since it’s already Sunday.”
“Is that a bit . . . soon?” she argues. “I need some time to prepare! I can, like, tie up my loose ends and stuff.”
“What loose ends?”
Harmony shrugs, clearly overwhelmed.
“Do you have a job you need to quit?”
“No, but there’s . . . stuff!” I can feel her heart thundering hard against me.
“I have money saved. We’ll figure something out. Fuck it. Honestly, what do we have here? Both of us. Other than my shitty friends and your family who doesn’t believe in you?”
“How about we wait one more day? We could leave on Monday. Not today. Tomorrow.”
“But, Harm,” I say, wrapping my arm around her and pulling her in closer. “You should know better than anyone that tomorrow never comes.”
Harmony runs a hand through her long brown hair and sighs. “Damn you for being right.”
Chapter 17
Harmony
Sunday morning, I flutter my eyes open and lift my head off Zach’s chest. The smell of warm food penetrates my nostrils—is that eggs and bacon? I squint through tired eyes at him, confused on where the scent is coming from.
I’m about to poke him awake when I feel him twitch. Incoherent words escape his mouth while he sleeps.
“Zach,” I whisper, touching his shoulder. “Hey.”
He flips up violently, grabbing my shoulder and letting out a noise close to a growl, his eyes bulging as he struggles for breath.
Gripping me tightly, he stares me in the eye for a full five seconds. I swallow, my heart hammering.
It’s Zach, but it’s not. His eyes seem darkened and he doesn’t seem to recognize me.
“It’s me,” I gasp desperately. “It’s Harmony.”
“Fuck,” he says softly, his soul creeping back into his eyes as he lets go. Catching his breath, he shuts his eyes. “I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you?” He rubs my shoulder.
I look at the spot on my arm where he was grabbing it. The marks are white from the tightness of his grip.
“I’ll be fine,” I say, my pulse slowing. “But what was that?”
“Night terrors. Fuck. That’s why I wanted to take you home last night.”
“We were drinking. And it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not,” he growls. “I could have hurt you. Fuck.” Raking a hand through his hair, he brings his eyes back to me.
“You won’t hurt me,” I say. “I’m tough. You said so yourself. Remember?”
He smirks. “I do remember you telling me I can be rough if I want.”
“That’s also true.” I grin, my voice sultry. “Want me to be rough?”
“Try me.”
I straddle him and press his hands down behind his back. He fake-struggles for position, knowing he could easily overpower me.
But it’s fun to play.
“Now I’ve got you right where I want you,” I joke.
“Oh? And what are you going to do with me?”
He presses his hands into mine, and I have to push harder, with my whole body, to keep leverage.
“Whatever I want.” I smile.
“And what do you want, Harmony?”
This time he means something else entirely…and I oblige him with a truthful answer.
“I want to sit on your face,” I whisper, and his eyes widen.
“Is that your third wish?” he asks, baiting me and biting his lip.
“No. This doesn’t count. I’m holding you hostage this time.”
“Right. And that’s my wish, too, anyway.”
“It is?”
Before he can respond, we hear the low mumbling of voices in the mobile home.
He slips his hands out of mine, and I collapse on his chest.
“My grandparents are awake,” he whispers. “And by the smell of it, they’re cooking bacon and eggs. As much as I want to do this right now . . . it’s probably not a good idea.”
“Uh, duh!” I say as I scramble to grab my shirt and slip it on.