Chapter 19

Austin

As I sat in a booth across from Harley, I struggled to focus on our conversation. I couldn’t get Piper out of my mind. She’d been invading my dreams for months, and now she was on my mind most waking hours. Before spending time with her, I hadn’t realized just how much I missed our friendship. I definitely wanted to be more than just her friend, but I would be happy even if that’s all she could give me.

“Are you even listening to me?” Harley asked as she tossed an onion ring at my head. I caught it and took a bite before responding.

“A man can only listen to a woman talk about her hair color for so long. Isn’t this why you have girlfriends?”

“But this is something that could affect the band,” Harley argued.

“How?” I had to ask. I didn’t care what color Harley’s hair was as long as it wasn’t black. She’d look horrible with black hair.

“The outfits the label helped me pick out for the next publicity photos are meant to go with my pink hair, but I’m tired of pink,” she explained.

“Why don’t you try one of those rainbow troll hair things?” As I made that suggestion, I wondered how the hell I’d gotten sucked into Harley’s hair color talk.

“Rainbow troll hair?” she asked with a laugh. “You want me to have rainbow hair that sticks straight up?”

“Chicks with mohawks are hot, but that’s not what I meant. What I was thinking about was that faded color thing women are doing. The kind that goes from one color into another.”

“Ombre color?” she asked with a laugh.

“Whatever you call it,” I said with a wave of my hand. “You know the look I’m talking about.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” she mused. “I could go from black and fade down into a hot pink. That would look great with the outfits the label picked out.”

“No black,” was my automatic reply. “You’ll look washed out.”

“You are such a girl,” she accused. “This is why I talk to you about my hair.”

“I am not a girl,” I argued.

“Aren’t you the one who insisted I change my haircare routine, claiming my shampoo was drugstore crap?” she asked.

“I have long hair, so I need to take care of it,” I reminded her. “That does not make me a girl. You should be thanking me. Your hair is much healthier now.”

“Yes, you do know your haircare products,” she began with a grin. “If this music thing doesn’t work out, you can always become a hairdresser.”

“Very funny,” I muttered.

“So, how is it going with Piper?” she asked.

“Didn’t you get all the details from Piper?” I asked.

She shook her head. “You’re a subject I don’t bring up with Piper.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Until recently, she wanted to castrate you with a dull knife,” she replied.

“Ouch,” I said with a cringe. “That isn’t something I want to think about. Piper doesn’t seem to want to cause me bodily injury now, unless she’s just being nice to lure me into a false sense of security before she strikes.” I waved off that possibility. “Nah, Piper’s too upfront for that sort of thing. She’ll tell me if she wants to hurt me.”

“This situation with her not wanting to injure you is new,” she remarked. “I’ve actually been too busy getting ready for the tour and closing on my condo to talk to Piper. We’ve exchanged a few texts, but that’s all. Buying this condo has been really stressful.”

“It’s over,” I reminded her. “You signed the papers this morning. When we get back, you can have the movers take all of your stuff over from your apartment.”

“Movers?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t need movers. I have a band.”

“Rock stars don’t move furniture,” I insisted.

“They do,” she argued. “I’m not sure spoiled rich boys move furniture, but we’ll find out.”

“This is why all the guys think you’re a dominatrix,” I pointed out. “You are a very bossy woman.”

“I am not bossy.” She waved an onion ring at me as she spoke. “Now, answer my question about what’s going on with Piper.”

I decided to not point out how bossy she sounded.

“I’m trying to be her friend,” I replied.

“You’re not pushing for more?” The doubt was obvious in her voice.

“I’m really not,” I assured her. “I still want more, but not for the same reasons I did in the beginning. Yesterday, I spent a lot of time around Piper. She’s grown up a lot.”

“Duh,” was her reply. “Did you expect her to stay sixteen?”

“Cut me some slack,” I began. “I’m a little slow when it comes to these things.”

“I know, but I still love you,” she assured me. “So, you like grown-up Piper.”

“She’s been making me think about a lot of stuff,” I confessed.

“You had better not say something perverted,” Harley warned.

I chuckled at her reaction. There were plenty of perverted thoughts running through my mind when it came to Piper, but I wasn’t about to share them with Harley. “Would I say something perverted to you?”

“Definitely,” she replied.

“This time, I’m not planning to say anything perverted,” I assured her. “I’ve been thinking that maybe I should call my dad.”

Harley rolled her eyes. “Let me guess. Being around Piper has reminded you of all the reasons you’re still pissed at your dad, so you’re going to ask him for money.”

“No,” I replied. “I can see why you’d expect that of me.”

“It is your usual MO,” she agreed.

“I really am a spoiled rich boy,” I muttered. “After I hung out with Piper, I started thinking a lot about my relationship with my dad. It’s always been about money with us. He would buy me anything I wanted when I was a kid. My mom used to call him on it, but he kept buying me shit I didn’t need.”

“Thus, the spoiled rich boy attitude,” Harley concluded.

“I always assumed he did it to shut me up,” I explained. “When I was talking to Piper, she made me see that he might not know any other way to express his feelings. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying he isn’t an asshole, just that he might not be as bad as I believed. That’s why I think I should talk to him.”

“You should,” Harley agreed. “Don’t screw up your chance to work this out. He won’t live forever.”

Silence hung between us. I wanted to say something, but Harley didn’t like talking about her sister. They’d been close until shortly after high school when her sister had done something Harley deemed unforgivable—at least, it had been unforgivable at the time. I didn’t know what that once unforgivable act was, but I’d been there the day Harley got the call that her sister had been killed. She regretted the time she’d lost.

“While we’re in the New England area, I’m going to see if he wants to meet for dinner or something,” I told her.

“That’s great, Austin,” she said with a smile. “I hope this works out for you.”

“Either way, I’ll know I tried,” I added. “I don’t want to regret not trying.”

Harley nodded solemnly. “You’re pretty awesome for a spoiled rich boy.”

“And you’re pretty awesome for a dominatrix,” I teased, because someone needed to lighten the mood.