Page 304 of Rock Me All Night
He shakes his head. "No. I respect you too much to rebound-fuck you."
"Is that a compliment or an insult?"
"A compliment."
I unwrap the sandwich and take a bite. It's good. Fresh, thick tomatoes, crisp basil, soft mozzarella. "I guess it's not good for the band if Drew is in jail."
"Fuck Drew." He shrugs. "You probably want to fuck Drew. He must be pretty good for you to put up with so much shit."
My cheeks flush. "He is. But that's not why I like him."
"Why do you like him? He's an asshole."
"Not as much as you are."
He pulls onto the freeway. "About as much."
"He makes me laugh. He's sweet. Pushy but sweet. I can be myself with him. Or I could... I thought I could trust him with anything. I thought a lot of things."
"Don't talk like that. He’s mad for you. Not that he deserves you. Or anyone with such great tits."
"Uh... thanks?"
"He's happy when he's around you."
"How is the black eye doing? The one Drew gave you because he was sohappyaround me."
"Good." He takes off the sunglasses and turns to me. "Makes me look tough."
It does. I turn my attention back to the sandwich. I haven't eaten any real food since last night.
"He's in love with you, Kara. It's obvious to everyone but him. And maybe you."
I examine Tom's expression. He can't believe that. If Drew was in love with me, he wouldn't run away.
Tom makes eye contact. "Drew's a fucking idiot. But that move we pulled, I pulled, that wasn't gonna help shit. Drew hates attention. And after everything with Vivian—"
"Was it really that bad?"
"Worse. You should have seen the shit Pete gave him after that. Fucker is such a romantic. Couldn't deal with Drew pinning the whole thing on relationships sucking ass. They got into these stupid fights. And everybody on that tour—not just me—everybody kept one eye on Drew. It drove him batshit."
"He drives himself batshit."
"I'm not making excuses for him. If you don't think he deserves a chance to apologize, then fuck him. I'll find you a nice boy toy to help you get over it."
"No thanks."
"But there's no doubt in my mind that he loves you."
"What the fuck do you know about love?"
"Everybody can see it. The way he looks at you. He's fucking crazy about you. And you love him too, right?"
I finish my sandwich.
"Okay. Not my business." Tom's voice softens. "I know you asked me to stop helping, but I lined up a show in San Francisco. It's Wednesday night. We have a stand-in for Miles—"
"Don't you have a manager to do this stuff for you?"
