Page 47 of Music City Diaries

“My ears are ready to listen,” I said, hoping she’d take it as an invitation. Her eyes held shadows like mine, and I recognized the heartbreak in them. This girl and I were kindred spirits.

“You sure you want to hear this?” she asked, looking up.

I nodded, smiling softly at her. “Yep. You and me, I can tell we’re gonna be friends. Might as well use this time to get to know all the baggage.”

She laughed, smiling. “Okay, you asked for it.”

Over the next hour as she tattooed me, she told me the story of Simon and Slade, and how she’d ended up in Nashville.

“That settles it,” I said. “You’re coming out with me dancing. It’s the best cure for heartbreak.”

“Hmm, I don’t know.”

“Come on, bestie. I promise you will enjoy it. I just so happen to know the perfect place.”

“Fine,” she rolled her eyes but smiled. “And you’re done.”

I looked down in awe at the rose she’d drawn. “I love it. Thank you.”

“Of course. Still wanting that piercing?”

“Yes, but I think I'll hold off on it for today. That way, I have another excuse to come and visit you, LJ.”

“It’s Lennox, actually. I just use LJ here, but I prefer Lennox.”

“You got it. It suits you better. So, where do you live?” I asked.

“Here.”

“Ha, ha. Don’t we all live at work? But really.” I lifted an eyebrow, telling her to spill.

“No, really. I live upstairs. I’ll have Ethan finish your care, and I’ll go change. Thankfully, you’re my last client, so I’m free. Just come up the back stairs if I’m not done.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

She walked out, giving instructions to the guy who’d ignored me earlier. He was all red as he put ointment on me and wrapped it. I didn’t care; I was more excited about making a friend on my own.

Lennox came down a few minutes later, and we headed over to the Wild Horse Saloon. When we walked in, I saw Damon was at the bar, and I rolled my eyes. We’d gotten into it the other day over me being a manager. It was my job to make the schedule now, and he didn’t like one of the days I’d given him, stating it was an agreement with the last manager he had that day off. He refused to tell me why, so I said he’d have to work it.

He called in sick, pissing me off even more. We were now in a brutal battle for dominance. He pushed my buttons, and I refused to give in. It was only a matter of time now before one of us folded. I was holding out that it would be him.

“Who’s that?” Lennox asked, noticing the hate-filled eye war we had going on.

“Damon. The bane of my existence.”

“Hmm, sounds like there’s more to this story.”

“Nope. Come on, we can go to a different bartender.” I pulled her along, ignoring the hot guy at the other end. Tonight was about new friendships, and I was here to dance. Bad boys and their attitudes could stay far away.

“Okay,this has been a blast. We must do it again,” Lennox said as she downed a bottle of water a few hours later.

“Yay! I feel like we’re going to be best friends. Give me your number, and we can hang out more.”

“Sure.” She handed me her phone, and I put in my number, texting myself.

“Come on, I’ll walk you home. You’re on my way. We actually live pretty close to one another.”

“Really? That’s awesome. Thanks for talking me into this. I didn’t realize how much I needed to get out of my comfort zone. Oh, hey, look, there’s Thane. Come and say hello.”

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