Page 26 of For Eva

He took a long pull of the whiskey. “So tell me.”

“I mean, I dunno. I came to LA to make it, and I was afraid she’d get in the way of that. She was pretty fragile back then and would’ve been out here with no one else to lean on but me while I was trying to focus on music.”

“And you think that’s different now because…”

I threw my hands up. “Because that was nearly six years ago, dude. We’re not kids anymore. Now her best friend is here, she’s got a job, she’s got her own shit going on.”

Eric dropped his cigarette into a beer can and set the Jack beside it. “I’m just sayin’ you need to think real fuckin’ hard about getting into a relationship when we’re on the verge, man. Making an album, touring…that’s serious shit. I don’t wanna be in fucking Tokyo or something and have you bail on everything we’ve worked for because you’ve got some chick on the phone crying about how much she misses you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, come on, man. Do you seriously think I’d bail on this band? After everything I’ve put into it? Don’t forget I was here before you showed up.”

He scoffed. “Like I haven’t paid my dues? I was fucking hustling just as much as you were.”

I couldn’t argue with that. Eric may have been an asshole ninety-five percent of the time, but he was a hardworking one. “Whatever, man. Just back off the Eva thing. It’s a nonissue.”

“Fine,” he conceded, slumping back against the couch. “Who knows how long she’ll be around, anyway.”

My hand clasped the bottle I’d just reached for, and I whipped my head around to him. “What the fuck did you say?”

“Let’s be honest, Danny. You always find something wrong with every girl you meet, date, fuck…whatever. I was worried things might be different with her, but probably not.”

I wanted to punch him. Knock that smug look right off his fucking face. But I didn’t. Because he could think that all he wanted if it would get him to drop the whole goddamn thing. Evawasdifferent, but she wasn’t gonna get in the way. She supported me and the band, and eventually Eric would see he was wrong about who she was. Having her around wasn’t going to change my commitment to what Eric, Matt, Will and I had created. It wasn’t going to change one goddamn thing.

“Holy fucking shit!”

The door to my apartment swung open, bouncing off the wall just as Eva flew past it. She stopped in the middle of the room, face flushed and chest heaving underneath her tank top.

Eric startled and muttered “Jesus Christ” as a shot of adrenaline sent me to the edge of the couch. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

She nodded, a wide grin spreading across her face.

I exhaled, my body relaxing into the cushion. “Okay, so did something, like, monumental happen, or did you just have a really good day at work?”

“Monu-fucking-mental, babe.” Eva hopped onto the recliner, pulling her legs up in the seat. “Well, itcouldbe monumental. It’s definitely a huge opportunity. Like,huge.” She held her hands up, palms facing us, for emphasis.

Eric flopped against the back of the couch. “Oh man, did Angela convince you to start stripping? Because you’ve probably got a good enough body and all, and the money is great, but that whole scene would chew you up and spit you out.”

“What? No.” Eva scrunched up her nose and sucked in a deep breath before continuing. “I actually met someone from Perfect Circle Records today. She’s in A&R. And I mentioned you guys and she said she loves you and you’re gonna be huge and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get her boss to sign you and oh my God, I’m freakingout.” She steepled her hands over her nose and squealed.

Eric and I exchanged a quick glance before he shifted his gaze back to Eva. “What does that mean? Like, she’s gonna suck his dick or something and poof, we’re signed?”

Eva huffed. “Eric, can you please imagine for one second that women have skills beyond sucking dick?”

“Did I say sucking dick was a bad thing? I mean, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta—”

I sat up, slapping my arm across Eric’s chest. “Who cares what the fuck she has to do. What’s the deal, how did you meet her, and what dowehave to do?”

Eva recounted the entire story while Eric and I listened, stopping her occasionally to ask for specifics. What exactly did the girl say? Did she sound sincere or was she just making conversation? Did it seem like she knew what she was talking about or was she full of shit? Our hopes got higher with every answer Eva gave us. And though we knew better than to let them gettoohigh, we had to take this seriously becausewhat fucking if? Perfect Circle was the real fucking deal. So, when she stood and dug a piece of paper out of her jeans with the girl’s number on it, I hopped up and threw my arms around her so tight she had to tell me to stop, that she couldn’t breathe. I laughed and kissed her pink cheeks and lips and thanked her a million times before I stumbled over myself to get to the phone to call Gina. My stomach twisted and my hand shook as I held the receiver, partially from excitement and partially because Eric and Eva were exchanging words which I couldn’t quite filter out from thering of the phone and the sound of my heartbeat in my ears. It didn’t appear heated, but God only knew what he was saying to her. It was always a crapshoot with Eric.

“I left a message for Gina to call me ASAP,” I said, returning to my seat on the couch and lighting a smoke to calm my nerves. “But what’s with you two? Are you actually being civil and shit?”

I flashed Eric a sideways grin. I’d told him Eva cared about the band, and she’d just handed him the fucking proof. He pretended to ignore me and flicked his eyes away.

Eva smiled and crossed her arms over her chest, scuffing the toe of her high-top against the floor. “I, uh,confessedto Eric that I think he’s talented. Way talented. And he deserves all of this if it, you know, works out.”

I blinked in disbelief, then glanced over at Eric, whose eyes were fixed on the wall across the room. There was a subtle concentration in them, as if he was trying to make sense of what Eva had told him. Finally, he cleared his throat and shook his head.

“Yeah, uh, okay,” he muttered, picking up his notebook and flipping through the pages. “We should call Will and Matt and work on the new song. See if we can get it ready by Friday. ’Cause that motherfucker has to be our first single.”

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