We’ve been friends long enough for her to be familiar with Suzan’s prickly, business-before-pleasantries attitude.
Suzan smiles, which is the equivalent of a bear hug, coming from her. “Glad to see you made it, Maude.”
“Before I head to the meet and greet, can you send Jaxon in? I want to swap a couple of songs on the set list, and I need to let him know.”
Suzan quirks a brow. Over the past few weeks, Teddy has been my preferred method of communicating with the rest of the band—mostly as an excuse to see him. No one has missed how we’re not currently speaking, though. She doesn’t ask questions, just nods.
“I’ll go grab a good seat.” Maude winks and gives me a hug, followed by a swat to the ass. “Break a leg, pop princess.”
She follows Suzan out of the changing room, leaving me alone again. I study my appearance in the mirror. The makeup artist did a good job of covering up the dark circles beneath my eyes. She couldn’t do anything about the sadness in my eyes.
There’s a knock on my door a minute later.
“Come in,” I call.
Jaxon walks inside. “Hey. You wanted to see me?”
He looks nervous, understandably. I could easily count the number of conversations we’ve had, and I know exactly how many times I’ve invited him into my changing room—zero.
“I’m swapping ‘Changing Without Us’ with ‘It Was Never You.’ Can you let everyone know?”
“Uh, yeah. Sure,” Jaxon replies. He shoves his hands into his pockets. “Was that all?”
“I won’t be performing ‘Heartbreak for Two.’ I’m ending the show with ‘Infinity’ instead.”
“I’ll pass it along.”
I nod. “Okay.”
Then, I wait for him to leave. But he doesn’t.
Jaxon rocks back on his heels. Sighs. “Look, it’s not my place to say anything. Especially since, in the grand scheme of things, this tour is barely half over and I like my job. But…Teddy is a great guy. One of the best I’ve ever met.”
Of all the places I considered this conversation heading, Teddy wasn’t one of them. It’s foolish, I guess. We travel and rehearse and perform in close quarters to one another. The nuances of the relationship between me and Teddy aren’t hidden from anyone on this tour.
I clear my throat. “I—I know that.”
“Good. I just…wanted to make sure that you did.”
More awkward silence.
“It’s messing with him. Just thought you should know.”
There are a thousand questions I want to fling at Jaxon, includingMessing with him how? Did Teddy say something to you?But my professionalism has already sorely lapsed this tour. I’m not going to grill one employee about another employee like a middle schooler looking for information about her secret crush.
I have no idea how else to respond, though. A simpleOkaysounds trite. Like I don’t even care to be concerned Teddy is upset, when the reality is, I care so much that I barely got any sleep last night.
Jaxon seems to understand. “Right. I’m going to go.”
I nod, waiting until I hear the door close to let out a long exhale. I sip more water, sigh, and then head out into the hallway. And the first person I encounter is…Teddy.
He’s walking in the opposite direction, away from where I’m headed. Which means we’re face-to-face as we approach one another. I keep my expression blank, same as his.
Internally, I’m spinning.Do I stop? What do I say?
I opt with an original, “Hi,” as the distance between us shrinks down to a few feet.
There’s no way he didn’t hear me, but his steps don’t falter. He’s considering walking right past me—I see it in his tense posture. Then, he halts with a small sigh.