Bedo works the room in record time, carving out a few minutes of face time with anyone who looks important before escaping into the hall. My mother’s giggles intrude on my people watching as familiar disappointment fills my heart. I become more and more angry each second she schmoozes with strangers while I sit alone.
The woman from this afternoon, Cora, comes into the room at some point and steals Trent into a corner. They converse, and I have to concentrate way too hard to avert my gaze. I’m trying not to stare when Sean pulls out the chair next to me, scraping the legs against the floor as he flips it around and straddles the seat.
“Sucks to be sober,” he says with a slight grin.
“I’m okay with it.” I smile and tip my water against his bottle. “But why aren’t you drinking?”
“We get an overnighter. I’m hitting the gym tonight.”
“Really?” That surprises me, that he’d give up his free time for exercise.
“Yeah, well, this body doesn’t happen with a six pack of beer every night.” He flexes his arms, placing one on the table. “Go ahead. Squeeze it. You know you want to.” He’s teasing and it only makes me laugh.
“You guys going to dinner?”
“Yeah. There’s a restaurant at the hotel. You should come. Bring your mom.”
“Maybe.” I lift my gaze just as my mother slides into the seat across the table.
“This is like old times,” she gushes, shaking out her long locks and then leaning forward to pat Sean’s muscular forearm. “The show was amazing tonight.”
Sean leans back in his chair, clasping his hands in his lap when my mom doesn’t let go of his arm. “Oh. Um. Thanks, Mrs. Marx.”
Her eyes flick to me with a hard glare before she meets his unknowing smile. “It’s not Mrs. Marx. You can just call me Lori.” She hates that I traded my last name—his name—for a stage name.
“Lori, God damn, woman. You look the same as you did twenty-five years ago.” Iz stands at our table and my mom grins in that forced way so her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes. I wonder if she even recognizes him.
“Shame about Richie. Life’s a bitch sometimes.” The smile on Iz’s weathered lips fades and at that my mom pushes from the table.
“What are you talking about?” she says in a rush.
Iz’s eyes widen and he shakes his head with a laugh. “Oh, sorry. I just assumed you still talk. Fuck. I guess it’s true what they say about those who assume.”
“I do. We do talk. He hasn’t mentioned anything other than their reunion tour this fall.”
Iz runs his hands down his face and then pats around in his front pocket, retrieving a joint and lighter from his jacket. “Last I heard that was being canceled.”
My mom’s brow pulls tighter with her frown. “What? No way. He was so excited. Who told you that?”
“Maybe I heard wrong. You’ll have to ask him.”
“Yeah. I’m sure.”
“Lexi! Sexy fuckin’ Lexi!” Trent’s shouts from the bar and waltzes over to our table, dropping down to a crouch between Sean’s chair and mine. All eyes in the room have found their way to the lead singer and for once I have no desire to be center stage. “Lexi, sexy Lexi. Fuck, that rhymes. We should write a song!”
I glance over Trent’s head to find Sean’s eyes crinkled with unspoken laughter. I don’t hesitate with my answer. “I’ll pass.”
“No! No, hear me out ... We collaborate. A duet. And we can sing all about how fucking sexy you are in these ...” Trent’s drunk. That I know. But it still doesn’t stop the gooseflesh from expanding across my skin when he trails the backs of his fingers from the tops of my boots along my fishnets to where my skirt barely covers my ass. I’m fully clothed in this room full of people, but the way his eyes rove over my body leaves me feeling utterly indecent. “Come on, you’re always writing in that notebook. We’ve got like two more months on this tour. We could do it. I know we can.” His eyes widen with excitement and Sean tries unsuccessfully to hold in his laughter.
I clear my throat, an anxious laugh, and glance around before meeting his expectant stare. “You want me to write a sexy song about myself? Doesn’t that seem a tad egotistical?”
He laughs and leans into me, bumping his shoulder against mine, but loses his balance a little and has to hold on to my chair to keep from tipping over. “Nah you’re gonna write one about me.”
Sean stands and pulls Trent by the arm, steadying him. “Come on, big baby. Let’s say good-bye to your adoring fans and go score some food.” Before they get too far, Sean peers over his shoulder. “You should join us, Lexi.”
Not sure if I should or if I want to, I nod and twist in my seat to find everyone else has deserted our table. Iz is easy to spot, reclined on the token couch, riding his high. My mother, in her black heels and red dress is surprisingly not. I stand and search once more, confused when I don’t see her anywhere. She wouldn’t just leave without saying good-bye. Would she?Oh, she would.
Not wanting to waste another minute in this place, I stride out of the room. It’s almost time to head back to the hotel anyway. I’m so pissed I can barely see straight, my feet moving faster than my mind, and I almost take out Cora, bumping into her when I turn the corner of the hallway. “Oh, shit.”
