“I am hungry, now that you mention it,” Autumn says.
“Great. I can make burgers at the house. Shouldn’t take long,” Trevor says.
During the short drive over, with Autumn in Garrett’s car following us, I ask Trevor and Adrian, “What’s up with all of you?”
“What do you mean?” Trevor asks.
“What’s the situation between you and Autumn? All of you,” I add, nodding toward Adrian in the back.
Trevor shrugs. “I don’t know. I guess we’re just having fun.”
“Is that all she is to you?”
“We just met her,” he says. “She seems like a cool girl. I told you how I met her … we’re just helping her get some experience, I guess.” When I frown at him, confused, he says, “Her horrible roommate hired me to take her virginity. I told you about that.”
“That was Autumn? Shit! I didn’t realize. Glad we got her out of there.”
“For sure,” Adrian says from the backseat.
“Autumn was a virgin?” I say, as that part of the story hits me.
“Sheisa virgin,” Trevor says, “and I feel shitty for telling you something private about her like that, but I didn’t think you’d be meeting her, much less inviting her to live at your house.”
“We needed to get her away from her roommate,” I mutter.
“So you swooping in to play the hero today is purely out of the goodness of your heart?” Trevor asks, a shit-eating grin spread across his face.
My hand grips the steering wheel more tightly as I turn the corner onto our street. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t think I missed you hitting on her at the club,” he says. “Seems like you’re interested in her too.”
“I wouldn’t kick her out of my bed,” I say begrudgingly, as I picture her shapely figure and those beautiful brown eyes.
“Ha! I knew it,” Trevor says in the annoying way he has. He twists around to face Adrian. “Looks like Duke finally found someone to entice him out of his celibacy.”
“I’m not fucking celibate, you asshole.”
“Close enough!” Trevor says.
My two young housemates are still laughing as we pull into the drive and pile out of the truck.
27
Autumn
I guess Duke wasn’t kidding about the benefits of being older and having a decent savings account. His house is even larger than Lindsey’s, and it’s on a nice, quiet street that backs up to the waterway that separates Four Points Island from the mainland. As we pull into the driveway, I catch sight of a pontoon boat moored at the dock out back.
Though I’m relieved to be away from Lindsey, and grateful for a safe place to stay, I feel completely unsettled. My entire life is now packed in boxes, trash bags, and my one suitcase, and my future is uncertain.
I don’t think I can afford to live on my own, unless I find an extremely tiny, inexpensive rental, so I probably need to find new roommates. But I can’t even think about that now, because I need to pull myself together enough to be able to perform tomorrow night. I have no idea what box or bag my set notes are in, and I need to figure out what to wear now that Lindsey ruined my new outfit.
All of this is swirling through my head as Duke leads me up the stairs to a bedroom that faces out to the street. My first impression of the house is that it’s very tidy, with clean surfaces and neutral colors, and virtually nothing inside it that doesn’t serve a useful function. It’s a big contrast to living with two other women, all of us fond of decorative wall hangings, pictures, tchotchkes, and bright colors.
“Trevor and Adrian’s rooms are down the hall,” Duke says, gesturing toward the back of the house. “Mine is downstairs. I’ll give you a proper tour once you get settled.” He sets down the two bulging bags he was carrying and takes my guitar case from me, setting it down beside the bags. “I made the bed fresh today, and there’s plenty of space in the closet. Make yourself at home.”
The kind words coming from this rough-looking man hit me in a spot that was apparently raw, and tears prickle at the backs of my eyes. It’s been such a long day — from waking up next to Adrian, feeling happy and hopeful, to discovering my precious guitar in pieces, and my life suddenly in shambles.
So much fear, confusion, uncertainty, worry, stress — all of it comes rushing over me like a tidal wave, and it’s probably mostly that I’m just incredibly exhausted, but suddenly, tears are streaming down my face, and I can’t stop them.