The second I touched the guitar, I smiled. I was happy.
I wished Liam would have been there with me too.
This whole thing was happening because of him.
I put my phone down and tuned the guitar again.
My fingertips twitched as the muscle memory of chords came back to me in a hurry.
I actually shocked myself by what I remembered.
And that it sounded pretty decent.
Another text came through.
Faye.
Record playing something! Right now!
Carla added a handful of thumbs up emojis.
There was something about it… about them… them also included Liam…
I started to feel fearless.
Play a guitar and sing? Record it? Send it to someone to hear? Screw. That. Noise.
That was my initial thought.
Anytime that happened, I just pictured Liam on that stage, singing - or attempting to sing – without a care about those who heard him.
That was all I needed.
So I recorded myself playing.
Strumming the guitar loosely. Singing for fun.
It wasn’t perfect but it was something.
I texted it to Carla and Faye and waited for them to respond.
Beautiful!
From Faye.
Fucking EPIC!
From Carla.
Still nothing from Liam.
I put the guitar down and sent him another text.
Hey. Don’t be a stranger. Everything okay?
I chewed on the bottom right corner of my lip. Knowing who I was texting, why I was really texting him, and what could possibly happen if things were to explode. In a way there was way too much at stake by texting Liam with what I felt going through me.
Call it crazy, but with the guitar next to me, I felt empowered.
Maybe I should have gotten one a long time ago.
I could have taken it on first dates.
Or first times in the bedroom.
Don’t mind my guitar… but, hey, see this string? That’s the G string on the guitar. Just pluck it once and you can go brag to your friends you found the G-spot!
I laughed to myself.
Liam finally texted me back.
Sorry, Em. Just busy with work. We’ll talk soon. I promise.
It was a reply, which was better than the nothing I had been getting.
But I wasn’t sure I believed Liam’s text at all.
I walked into the bakery with my guitar in its case across my back.
When Ember saw me, she looked at the clock, then back at me.
“I’m really late, I know,” I said.
“And you have a guitar,” she said.
“Yeah. I love it.”
“Are you playing a show here?”
“Nope. Just wanted to bring it along.”
“Badass,” Ember said. “Look at you.”
“Hey, tell me when Emily is here because-”
Lucy froze as she rushed into the back of the bakery.
“Emily is here,” I said.
“With a guitar,” Ember added.
“A guitar?” Lucy asked. “You look like some… I don’t know… like a small-town girl about to sing for a record contract. You know, like in a movie…”
“Oh, those girls usually end up with a hot cowboy, country singer too,” Ember said.
“I’ll tell you one thing,” Lucy said, pointing at me. “I wouldn’t mind seeing Liam in some assless chaps.”
I shook my head. “I’m not responding to that.”
“Well, that’s all the good and funny I have for the moment. You have company, Emily.”
“Is it Liam?” Ember asked.
“No,” Lucy said. “It’s that realtor guy who wants to bang her.”
I cringed.
Hearing someone Lucy’s age say things like bang her always sounded weird.
“Jeff is here?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Lucy said. “And he’s not alone.”
“Meaning what?”
“Your sister is here too. And another guy. I’m assuming it’s her husband?”
“Fuck,” I whispered.
“Hey,” Ember said. “Want me to slip a little laxative in something for them?”
“You’re not poisoning my sister,” I said. “I do like her.”
“It’s not poisoning,” Ember said. “They’ll just be glued to a toilet for a little while.”
She looked way too eager to do something like that.
I snapped my fingers and pointed to her. “No poop poison, Ember.”
“Fine,” she said.
As I walked to the front of the bakery, Lucy pointed to the guitar.
“You’re keeping that strapped on?”
“Yes,” I said. “I love my guitar.”
“Who the hell are you becoming, Emily?” Lucy whispered. “I kind of like it.”
She bumped her shoulder into me.
I laughed.
Then I saw Elise, Dan, and Jeff.
I wished Liam was with me.
So he could knock Jeff out.
“What the hell is that?” Elise asked.
“A guitar.”
“You play guitar?” Dan asked.
“You know I play guitar, Dan,” I said.
“I think it’s awesome,” Jeff said. He leaned toward me. “Hey, maybe you can play a show… you know where…”
He winked.
Heat rushed to my cheeks.
What was he going to do? Play up the fact that he saw Liam and I together? Which wasn’t that big of a deal at all.
I felt the left side of my lip curling.
“What is this?” I asked.
“I said I would be here,” Elise said. “To tame your bitchiness.”
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“I’ve got something to show you,” Jeff said.
Next thing I knew, a leather folder was opened and he was an inch from me.
His cologne tickled my nose.
It was like someone mixed skunk and cat piss, then sold it for two hundred bucks a bottle. All because some shirtless dude rode a horse in a TV commercial, up to a mansion, then fucked some model that hadn’t eaten a meal in six weeks.
“I found the perfect spot for your bakery,” Jeff said. “Great foot traffic. Great location. There’s parking. There’s…” He looked at me. “I’m doing too much again, aren’t I?”
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“She doesn’t want this,” Jeff said. He closed the folder. “Dan, this is dumb.”
“Emily,” Elise said.
“What?”
“Just listen to him.”
“What did I do?”
“Your demeanor,” she said. “He found a spot for the bakery. You can get out of here.”
“I can’t break this lease,” I said.
“Why?” Elise asked. “Because of Miranda? Screw her.”
“We can help with that part,” Dan said. “There are ways.”
“I’m willing to take on the building,” Jeff said. “Personally. If I do that, I break the lease. Then you move.”
It was too good to be true because the fine print of this little deal was I had to sleep with Jeff. Or date Jeff. Or entertain the idea of being with Jeff. And with him hanging saving me over my head, I would never escape that relationship.