Page 8 of Extended Bridge

Court wants me to go on tour with UC. So does Ma. Both for different reasons. Court thinks Bennett is good for me while Ma doesnot. What do I want?

I check my cell. It’s already six o’clock. UC must be gearing up to take the stage for their first major concert. How is Bennett feeling? How’s his pulled muscle? Will he be able to perform and cover up his injury?

What do I want?

The top ten cons I described to Court about touring flip over in my mind. What are the pros? Spending more time with Bennett, reconnecting with the rest of UC, seeing the world, being free from Aroostook responsibilities. I come to a stop.

What do I want?

The ocean pulses against the sand, highlighting today’s cold weather. I bet some of the tour stops are at warm places, so that’ll be another pro.

Even though I can’t get to ten, I know which one has more weight. The one with the gorgeous, injured man who’s brought me more pleasure than anyone ever has. I want to help him heal—not only in the PT sense—and I think he might be able to help me, too.

Darren’s face comes rushing to the fore.

Without a doubt, he loved me and I loved him. My time with him was idyllic, a fantasy. Even back then I suspected we had an expiration date. With Bennett, it feels like anything but.

The lead singer’s tortured soul calls out to me. I have an unquenched need to peel away his protective gear and help him correct everything wrong in his life. For a man who appears to have it all—looks, money, fame—he’s so broken. I get it.

How will the rest of UC take it if I join their tour? The newest member—Tristan—and I don’t have a past, so he should be fine. Well, except for the whole he-took-Darren’s-place-in-the-band thing. Correction. He’s their new keyboardist. No one can replace Darren, and based on the movie, it doesn’t look like that’s his ambition.

In truth, it’s Río, Coop, and Pierce—007—I worry about, with the last one raising the most red flags. He was Darren’s best friend, the first one to discover he had died, and knows I had nothing to do with his overdose. From the message he left me a week prior to that fateful day, which I haven’t been able to bring myself to delete, Pierce probably knew more than anyone about what was going on with Darren. He may be surprised, perhaps standoffish, but he’ll come around since he knows the truth that Darren was the only one at fault for his death.I hope.

I continue down the boardwalk, past the summer concession stand, now empty. A blonde woman walking her dog passes, and she reminds me of Lissa. Gosh, Bennett’s ex is a real winner! ClaimingUC’s songs were about her and he’s been pining for her is unbelievable. Does she not know he’s been a manwhore for a decade now?

Still, the fact remains I’m going to have to deal with the likes of Lissa for a long time. He was the most promiscuous of the band, for sure. Groupies and fans alike won’t sing my praises for joining the tour—if I do.

I kick a pebble across the wooden boards and turn toward my car. Can I go on another tour with UC, this time without Darren? My stomach churns harder than the ocean. The Bennett I’ve come to know, the man whom I have feelings for and who professes to love me, is so much more multi-faceted than my ex-boyfriend. Not to disparage Darren in any way, but Bennett’s just...well, Bennett.

I’m so lost in my thoughts I don’t hear someone approach until it’s too late. “Fancy meeting the Black Widow herself on the boards of Aroostook.”

Michelle.

Great. Today lacked only her.

I bundle my coat closer. My voice is dull when I ask, “What do you want, Michelle?”

She falls into step next to me. “How’s my tall, dark, and sexy man doing?”

“Bennett’s gone.” I rub my left arm over my right.

“What?” She cackles. “You couldn’t keep him for two full weeks? Must be a new record. You were with my high school boyfriend for a month before Thaine saw the light and came home to me.”

Three months. But who’s counting? “Your point?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she says brightly. “Your first boyfriend in high school dumped you, another boyfriend died, and this one bolted. Seems you’ve definitely earned your nickname. Black Widow.” She hisses.

As if spiders hiss.

I pick up my pace and don’t bother engaging her. Maybe she’ll take the hint.

Faster footfalls follow me. “I guess you don’t have anything to say to me because you know I’m right.”

“There she is!” A man wielding a massive camera yells at me. He’s followed by five others, each with cameras and their own questions. I can’t make out any of them, thankfully.

I calculate the distance between here and my car. Too far. A diner’s across the street, so I pick up my pace to a jog and beeline for the “Open” sign, uncaring of Michelle’s fate. Let her pose and spew her lies to anyone who’ll listen. Don’t count me as one of them.

Pushing against the door, I almost fall headfirst into the local eatery. The few heads inside turn toward me. A server, barely out of her teens, approaches me, waving her arm. “Sit anywhere you’d like.”

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