He rose from his chair then stepped away. “Whatever.”
“Whatever?” Is this guy five years old? “I’m sorry it didn’t work out like you wanted. But that’s not my fault. And you shouldn’t be rude to Cash because of it.”
“He’s a bloody asshole. I’ll be rude to him all I like.” He stormed off through the exit.
I sighed and leaned back into the chair. I knew this would be bad. Having to live with him for the next few months made it even more of a pain in the ass.
Desi and Mason returned, looking concerned.
“What the bloody hell happened?” Mason asked.
“Gavin is being…difficult.” I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling cut off from everyone.
“He said he isn’t playing tonight,” Desi said.
“What?” I understood he was mad but that was unacceptable. “He better be playing. Unless his mum dies, the show goes on.”
“He said no.” Mason shrugged. “What did you say to him?”
“I said I wasn’t into him and he needed to get over it.”
Desi raised an eyebrow. “Well, that was sensitive…”
“He was being a jerk first,” I argued. “You didn’t hear all the mean things he said to me.”
Desi ran her fingers through her hair, flustered. “I don’t care what he said. You need to make this right.”
“Me?” I asked incredulously. “He needs to be the bigger man. I’m not going to baby him. That will only perpetuate his childish behavior.”
Mason grabbed my shoulders and shook me gently. “The show starts in five minutes. Stroke his ego then give him hell later.”
I knew Mason was right. “Fine.” I walked outside then searched for Gavin. He was sitting on the curb, his arms resting on his knees. “You’re playing.”
“No.” He didn’t look at me. The LA traffic was more interesting, apparently.
I sat beside him. “You can hate me all you want but don’t take it out on Mason and Desi. That isn’t fair to them—at all. You and I can work this out in private. This is not the way to go about it.”
“I’m not doing this because of spite,” he snapped. “I just don’t want to play with you. Not right now, at least.”
“Then pretend I’m not there.”
“You don’t understand!” He gripped his hair. “I just can’t right now. It’s too hard.” He shook his head. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
“Every love song I’ve ever written has been about you.”
I wasn’t expecting that. He had a girlfriend for the past year, so that surprised me even more. Poor Brooke.
“And I can’t sing those songs after you’ve ripped my heart out.”
I wish I had something intelligent to say. I was too awkward to think of anything. “Let it fuel you. That’s what I do.”
“I would. But it’s different when you’re standing next to me, singing the same lyrics. I can’t do the show. I’m sorry.”
I sighed. “Gavin, pull it together.”
“I just can’t do it tonight, alright? It’s just one show. We have hundreds of others.”
“People already bought their tickets. That isn’t fair.”
He stood up and brushed the dirt from his jeans. “I’m sorry I’m in love with you. I’m sorry I ruined everything.” Emotion escaped his mouth, hurting me with every sound. “This was the summer I was going to win you over. I know in my heart you’re the person I was meant to be with. Instead of being too shy to do something about it, I ended it with Brooke so I could pursue you. Then that cunt had to ruin everything.” He marched through the parking lot, not looking back. If I hadn’t convinced him to do the show by now, I wasn’t going to convince him at all. With a heavy heart, I walked back inside.
“What happened?” Desi asked.
I shook my head. “He left.”
“Fucking asshole,” Mason mumbled.
“I did my best. He said he just can’t do it—not tonight.”
“Fuck.” Desi paced in a circle. “Now we’ll have to cancel.”
“Yeah.” Mason rubbed his chin. “Fucking blows.”
“Wait,” I said. “I can play the guitar. I know all the chords and the lyrics.”
“So?” Mason said. “We don’t have a bassist.”
“But we could do an acoustic version of our songs.”
“Which we haven’t practiced,” Desi said.
“I can do it,” I said firmly.
“And what am I going to do?” Mason asked.
“You can still play the drums. Just follow my lead.”
“And me?” Desi asked.
“You’ll do the tambourines.”
Mason shook his head. “This is going to be a disaster.”
“As long as we’re able, we’re playing this show. I’m not letting Gavin ruin that.”
♫
When we took our places on the stage, I adjusted the strap over my shoulder and gripped Gavin’s guitar. It was different than mine, but I’d be able to pull it off. The lights were bright on my face so I couldn’t see the audience.
“Hello, everyone. Unfortunately, our lead guitarist had a sudden emergency so we’re playing without him. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
“Marry me!” a male shouted from the audience.
I smiled then strummed my guitar. Not being able to distinguish the faces looking back at me made my performance easier. When I wasn’t singing, I had to actually move across the stage and entertain the audience. As the bassist, I could get away with swaying from side to side.
Mason did his performance based on mine, not doing the set like we normally would. But we were in tune with one another to pull it off. Desi just handled the tambourines, seeming somewhat bored. When we finished the set, I played the final song on the piano. But when we were done, I was surprised by the applause we got. White and red roses littered the stage, falling at my feet. That was a first, and it never happened in London.
When the lights came back on, I rose from the piano and walked across the stage, waving and smiling. As soon as I was behind the curtain, I breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad that’s over.”