Chapter Twelve

Lincoln

 

My phone buzzed while I was tugging the sheets off the bed. As much as I wanted to see her again, sleeping in her scent would torture me. I stuffed the bundle in the hamper, then pulled my cell out of my pocket, a tiny piece of me hoping she’d already reconsidered yet knowing it wouldn’t be that easy. No, the text was from Mikey.

Hey, man, I ordered a pizza before knowing Hannah wouldn’t be home tonight. Wanna share free food?

Sure, what the hell?

It beat sitting here alone feeling sorry for myself about my first rejection.

A quick shower, then I made my way up to the Bird Streets. Mikey and Hannah lived in a white Mid-Mod house with a gated driveway. Every group thing had been at Jake’s compound, so this was my first time here.

I punched in the code he texted me and parked by the garage.

The front door opened. “Nice daily driver,” he called.

I rolled up my window before getting out. “Thanks,” I said with a chuckle. “She’s not practical, but I don’t care.”

“Hey, enjoy it while you can. We’ve all gotten too famous for distinct cars. Come in, pizza’s still hot.” He left the door open for me to close.

Inside, the walls were white, too. Instead of paintings or posters, fiber art added color.

A Christmas tree was still in the far corner.

“Smells good.”

“Hope you like an ‘everything pizza’.” He lowered the oven door, removed the box, and flipped the lid.

“As long as it doesn’t include ham and pineapple.”

His face screwed up. “Eww, no. This is a classic with Italian meats and most of the veggies.” He set the box on the island counter, then snagged a few paper towels. “Coke?”

“Sure.” Two glass bottles joined the box. We sat on bar stools and dug in. “So, where is your lovely wife tonight?”

“Knitting class.”

“The day after Christmas?”

His face said I know, right while he chewed. “Senior ladies. Happens weekly. I just didn’t realize that meant December twenty-sixth still. Did you enjoy last night?”

I choked on pepperoni, coughed, and swigged a third of my Coke to force it down. “Yeah.”

“How long did you stay? We didn’t see you leave.”

I hadn’t blushed since I was twelve, but felt close to it now. “Oh…sometime after cake and stuff. Nice party. I’m happy for Dylan and Jen.”

Mikey nodded. “They’ll love being married. Any luck with that girl you have your eye on?” A reference back to Dylan’s bachelor party. “The wedding singer, by any chance?”

I shook my head. “You fuckers miss nothing.”

He laughed. “In our defense, Linc, you’re not subtle.”

“I’ll admit, she stirs more interest than I’ve felt in a long time.” And I would’ve played the long game if she hadn’t shoved her tongue down my throat last night.

He pushed his glasses up his nose with a clean finger. “And?”

“And…we’ve connected, but I don’t think it’s going anywhere. She’s adamant she doesn’t date or do relationships.”

“I’m sorry. Think you’ll ever see her again?”

Shrugging, I sighed. “She has my number.”

Bit into meaty-cheesy goodness. Nice to indulge tonight without having to cook. My kitchen didn’t have much junk food at the moment.

A pat on the back. “Her loss. You’re alright in my book.”

“Thanks.”

He swallowed soda, then added, “Tour starts in a few months, so maybe for the best, anyway. You’ll be the one guy not missing home.”

“Lucky me.”

We stuffed our bellies, then sat on his sofa to watch Die Hard (which was definitely a Christmas movie) and snack on a tin of gourmet popcorn from his parents in Iowa.

When Hannah returned from her class, I left the lovebirds to the rest of their evening.

Maybe he had a point about the tour. When April arrived—provided Aaron hadn’t rejoined the band—I’d be away from L.A. for months. Even if I started dating Michaela tomorrow, it wouldn’t be enough time to hold a long-distance thing together, and I’d be a heartbroken rockstar instead of the lone single one. She carried too much baggage to not take any easy out that presented itself to her. Letting her go now saved me pain later.

I’d only known her a few weeks. Ending this crush would be easy.