“Thank you, Luke,” she said. “Are you excited for the show?”
“More excited now that I know you’re here,” he said.
They were slipping into flirting, and I couldn’t help but smile. Taking a step back, I gave them more space and watched. The bassist wasn’t a bad fit for my friend. He would be good to her, and it was obvious how much he liked her. I had to feel bad for him, though. Piper was basically torturing him. She went to the shows and danced, flirting with him from the audience and chatting with him after he played. But she never went home with him. That was going to take some time.
The thing was, I knew Piper was into Luke. She might not have ever come right out and said it, but I could see it when she looked at him and heard the way she talked about him. She just wasn’t easy. She definitely wasn’t one of the groupies or even just a casual fan who wanted a thrill. Piper thought of herself much more highly than that. She liked it when guys put in an effort and tended to carry it along for a while to see if they would be willing to keep it going. So far, Luke was doing a pretty good job. He made sure Piper knew he was thinking about her and gave her special attention. She hadn’t caught him with anyone else. I was feeling fairly confident they would hook up soon.
“You know, I’m not going to play as well on the road if you’re not there. You’re just going to have to come on tour with us,” Luke said.
At first, it sounded like he was teasing, but then I realized he was serious. My eyes widened.
“Wait, what?” I asked.
Luke looked over at me like he had forgotten I was even there. His eyes narrowed slightly.
“The tour,” he said. “Didn’t Jayson tell you?”
“Didn’t Jayson tell her what?” Piper asked, sounding slightly impatient and wanting to get the attention back on her.
It worked and Luke turned back to her with a wide smile.
“The Monsters have hired us to open for them on their national tour,” he told her.
Piper’s face lit up, and she gasped. “That’s incredible! Congratulations! I’m so excited for you. That means big things for you, right?”
Luke nodded. “Yeah, it does. The Monsters are really moving up, and we can ride their popularity right to the big times.”
Piper laughed and moved slightly closer to him, her flirting reaching epic new levels now.
“Does that mean I can get comped tickets since I know the band?” she asked.
She was clearly excited, and I had a feeling this revelation was going to put them on the fast track to something much more than flirting. But I was devastated. My mind was reeling, and I could barely even hear the conversation going on between them. Jayson hadn’t even mentioned the tour to me. This was huge, a major step in his career and the potential for the band, but he hadn’t said anything to me about it. Did that mean he didn’t even consider me worth knowing about it? Maybe he didn’t think it would matter.
But it was more than that. It wasn’t just about him not telling me about the tour or what that might mean about his feelings for me. There was no way he could be a father and also be on the road. These tours were long and intense. He would barely have enough time to himself to breathe and eat. He wouldn’t be able to be an active part of our baby’s life.
In that instant, all my plans changed. I wasn’t waiting for the perfect moment to tell him about my pregnancy anymore. I had to keep quiet about it and not let him ever know. Jayson was a good guy. If I told him about the baby, he wouldn’t want to leave me without his help. He would want to be there for the pregnancy and definitely after the baby was born. He might do something noble like insist on quitting the band so he didn’t have to go on tour. That would kill his dreams.
Of course, that wasn’t the worst that could happen. As much as I didn’t want to think about him giving up something he’d worked so hard for, what was even worse was thinking about him leaving me altogether. He could break up with me and disappear. That was a rejection I didn’t think I could handle.
I couldn’t stop thinking about it for the rest of the show. Every time Jayson looked at me, I tried to smile and look like I was enjoying myself, but I was distracted. After the show, we met outside and he brought me home.
Rather than walking me to my door, he took my hand and guided me to his apartment. As soon as we were inside, he gathered me in his arms and ducked his head down for a kiss. He moved his mouth to the side of my neck and kissed along it until he reached my ear.