"Hey, girl. What are you doing?"
Addison's called to check on me every day—sometimes twice. She's been very attentive for…well, for Addison. I've never seen her so concerned. I think her feelings for Zac have given her empathy—something I'm not certain she was capable of in the past. "Umm, I just got home from my mom's."
"How'd that go?"
I hadn't had enough time to process Jake Beckett, so it wasn't something I was ready to discuss, especially over the phone. And Addison is going to have a come-apart when she finds out. "It was fine."
"What about your meeting with your record pro-doucher?"
I can't help but laugh every time I hear Addie call Blake a pro-doucher. The name is so fitting. "It went great. He was very cooperative—until he followed me out to my car and basically held me down while he threatened to ruin my career if I didn't come back to him."
I hear Addison huff. "Did that f**ker hurt you?"
"Nah! You know I'm a tough bird. He scared me a little, but it's more likely that I'm the one who hurt him. I don't think he'll be needing a vasectomy any time soon. I can say with a fair amount of certainty that my knee probably busted his balls."
Addison cackles. "I'm really glad to hear you racked 'em good for him, but what does that mean for your career?"
I sigh deeply before I admit where I stand, as if it'll make it sound better. "It means I've lost it all—everything I've worked so hard for—and I'll have to start over. All because I refused to have an affair with a married man."
"But that's not fair!" she yells and almost bursts my eardrum. "You can't walk away with nothing. He should at least have the decency to give you back your songs."
She didn't see the fury on his face. "That's not going to happen, but it's okay. Really. He can hold my songs hostage if he wants. I still own half so he can't give them to anyone else. And I have new material that's way better than any of my old stuff."
"That's because all of them are about him."
I don't have to ask whom she's referring to. "They are, but they're honest and from my heart."
"Then they'll go platinum ten times because fans know when it's real. They'll get what he means to you. I just wish he would."
Me too.
"I have good news." Her words are cheerful but her voice lacks its usual pep. "At least I hope you think it's good. I'm coming home tomorrow. Cleve has an audition for me and says it's mandatory that I'm back on Thursday for it."
Thank goodness. I don't think I could go on being alone in the apartment. "I'm thrilled you're coming home, but you don't sound excited."
"The audition is with a band and I won't be lead vocalist." Not being lead could definitely be a problem for Miss Front and Center. "I'll have to share it with a dude."
"Those kinds of bands are doing really well in country right now. It's sounds like a great opportunity," I encourage. "Would I know them?"
"Southern Ophelia."
"Damn, Addie. They're hot right now. Like, really hot. I can't believe one of their vocalists walked away in the middle of all that success. That's crazy."
"Maybe, but it's not what I want because it's not my style. I just don't see me being happy with sharing the spotlight. You know I love being the center of attention. It sounds like a great gig, but the whole thing is so rushed. Heather quit last week and they're scheduled to cut an album next month, so it won't give us long to mesh. After that, we'd be hitting the road for six months to promote the album."
Addison was no spotlight sharer, but Cleve was right in thinking this was a good move for her. As such, it was my job to encourage her. "Addie, that sounds like exactly the opportunity you need to give your career a huge jumpstart. Cutting an album and going on the road—that's huge. And who knows? You could love singing with a guy."
"I'm gonna hate it. I just know it."
Always the pessimist. "There are worse things."
"I'm sorry, Laurie," she apologizes. "It's really insensitive of me to be whining to you after what happened with Blake."
Frankly, I'm a little shocked by her consideration. Her relationship with Zac seems to have changed her in a very positive way. "It's sucks but I'll be okay."
"I know, but I haven't been very considerate of your feelings. I've been a shitty friend and I'm sorry. I swear I'm gonna make it up to you."
I accept Addison the way she is and I don't expect her to make anything up to me. "You haven't been a shitty friend. You've called every day—sometimes twice—to make sure I'm okay."
"We both know I could do a lot better."
She wasn't the only one who could improve. "I'm the one who moved out on you to live with a man I barely knew."
"Because of what my brother did to you. And I took his side. I'm so sorry."
Agreed. She definitely should've supported me more on that. "It's okay. It all worked out for the best. Living with Ja…Lachlan for those two and a half months was the best experience of my life."
"How are we ever gonna get over those Aussie men?"
"I have no idea, Addie." And that is the honest-to-God truth. I don't know how I'll ever be able to give up the love of my life.
I'm helping Addison sort her laundry—all humpteen bags full—when I see her take a gift bag from her suitcase. "I bought something for you while I was in Cali—not that you couldn't get them here—but I knew it was something you wouldn't buy for yourself."
Some people are natural-born gift givers. They love giving because it makes them feel good. But Addison isn't one of them, so I'm interested in seeing what would spurn spontaneous gift-buying. "You didn't have to get me a gift."
She's beaming, so I see she's proud of herself. "I think I did. Because I'm pretty sure you need this. A lot."
I take the box from the bag and instantly feel heat rise to my face. No she did not. I stare at the purple vibrator through its plastic packaging and I know that she did.
"It's purple—your favorite color." She swipes the package from my hands and takes it out when she sees I'm not going to. "This thing is fantastic, Laurie. Look what the tip can do. It swirls."
That's not natural. "I've never seen a penis that swirls or twirls or has bright-colored beads rotating at the base." Of course, I've only spent time with a couple of them, but if any man's dick did tricks, it would've been Jack Henry's. I'm sure of it. "It looks like it has a gumball machine in it. If it starts lighting up, I gonna swear it's a kids' toy."