Page 63 of Four on the Floor: A Menage Romance

Honestly, I don’t mind that much. It’s keeping my mind off of things. Or, off of one thing.

We’re leaving soon. Five days. We’re heading back to New York, where we live, and Larkin’s going back home to California.

We’ll be recording for a few months, mostly stuff that we worked out while we were here, and she’ll be back to her day job and the life she left behind.

It feels like a piece of my heart is slowly tearing itself out.

No one has talked about it. I don’t think there’s anything to talk about — after recording we’ll be on the road for a year, maybe two. Larkin obviously can’t come with us, and seeing her only once every few weeks, between shows?

It sounds like hell. I can’t ask her to live that way.Wecan’t ask her to live that way. But I don’t know how we can live without her, either.

* * *

“Pie me,”Gavin commands triumphantly.

“That’s not what you say,” Cash mutters, putting the plastic triangle into Gavin’s Trivial Pursuit wheel. “Saying ‘pie me’ isn’t athing, you wacko.”

“You’re only saying that because you’ve lost and have only gotten to saypie metwice,” Gavin says, his mood not at all bothered by Cash’s grumpiness.

Actually, everyone’s a little grumpy right now. Slate hasn’t said much during this game, either, I’ve been quiet, and Larkin’s been a little withdrawn.

Everyone except Gavin, who’s cheerfully handing us all our asses at Trivial Pursuit. I don’t know why we keep playing games with him, since he usually wins whatever we play. I blame my lack of strategical skills on being an artist and therefore the right-brained, space cadet type.

“All right then,” Gavin says, cheerily moving his piece toward the center of the board. “Last question, please?”

I pick one up and look at the history section on it. I’m in second place, and if Gavin had gotten sports right now, Imighthave a chance, since he doesn’t know much about anything but cricket.

It’s not sports. I sigh.

“During the reign of what famous female monarch did Shakespeare—”

“Queen Bess!” he says, before I’ve even asked the question. “That’s Elizabeth the First, I mean.”

I toss the card onto the table, then slouch back against the sofa behind me. We’re all sitting on the floor around a coffee table, because even though there are plenty of regular tables around, for some reason this just felt right.

“Thanks, guys,” he says. “Anything doing now?”

He raises one eyebrow and looks at Larkin, who smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

“I’m actually gonna go read in bed for a while,” she says. “I kind of have a headache, I’ll see you guys in the morning. Thanks for dinner, Slate.”

With that, she stands and heads for the stairs. For a second, I’m tempted to follow her, but I think better of it.

Instead, the four of us look at each other, confused.

I think it’s the first time any of our advances have been turned down. It’s never happened to me, at any rate.

“A headache?” Gavin says after she’s left, looking completely baffled.

He glances around at the rest of us.

“All right,” he orders. “What the bloody hell is wrong with everyone?”

“Seriously?” Slate says, leaning back against the couch, his arms draped over his knees.

“Of course, seriously,” Gavin echoes. “I know you’re not allthatsore at losing.”

“We’re leaving in five days. More like four, now,” Cash says.

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