Page 110 of Ghost Note

“Hey, man. How’s it going?” Danny asked, sounding far too chipper.

“Good, thanks. Just… saying hey to Dais.”

“You want to join us for a drink?”

My eyes widened, and I slid out of Danny’s hold as carefully as I could without it, hopefully, giving my awkwardness away. Okay, so I didn’t want them to hate on each other, but the two men I’d slept with clinking beers and sharing bad dad jokes was not my idea of—

“Erm… sure.” Ben shrugged, not seeming fazed in the slightest.

Oh. Okay.

We were doing this then.

Great.

Men. What was it about them? How come everything was so damn black of white? Surely they saw the million shades of grey roaming above us here.

Before I could stop it from happening, Ben had beckoned his three cricket buddies over—who I’d met before—and the drinks were being passed around, while I stood there, feeling a little surreal about everything that had become my life in the last seven days.

A single week had the ability to change everything. My emotions had flipped one-eighty. The people had changed roles. My morals had become questionable, and I was no longer drifting around in a sad haze. A constant current ran through me now like my blood was rushing around from place to place, living faster, moving faster, excited that everything about me was now faster, faster, faster instead of sliding along at a slug-like pace.

I couldn’t take my eyes off Ben who was now slapping his thigh and throwing his head back as laughter tore through him at something that Saffron and Archer had said.

As much fun as we’d had, my absence hadn’t broken him like Danny’s had broken me, and that was nothing if not reassuring.

Danny’s hand slipped into my free one sometime later, and he pressed his arm to mine. He side-eyed me with that knowing half-smirk in place.

“Bet you thought I was going to beat him up or some shit, huh?”

“I may have had a moment of uncertainty.”

He looked over to Ben, his chest inflating and deflating slowing. “Can’t hate a guy who’s never done you wrong, can I?” His eyes fell to me. “No matter how much I want to.”

“You know, for a rock star, you’re more reasonable than I thought you’d be.”

“What can I say? I like seeing you look proud of me rather than disappointed. I have a lot to make up for.”

I nudged his shoulder with mine. If only he knew.

The night wore on, the alcohol flowed, and for a short while, I believed that two completely different worlds could come together to live in harmony. By the time it grew closer to eleven o’clock, though, I could see Halo and Theo twitching, as though they needed something Hope Cove couldn’t deliver. In terms of nightlife, this was it.

The bar manager had turned the music on as loud as it would go, and Halo was jamming along, his eyes closed and air guitar in full flow before he threw his hands in the air and shouted out to the rest of the guys, “Fuck it. What do you say we liven this place up?”

“Don’t do it, Halo…” Archer warned, but his smile was in place.

“Here he goes,” Saffron muttered.

“Awe, man, do we have to? I’m chilled over here,” Fletch grumbled from his slumped position on the chair closest to the window. “We don’t always have to beon, Halo.”

“The fuck we don’t. Wait right here. I’ll be back.”

We watched as he made his way through the crowd, who were now following his every move as he pushed his way to the bar, bouncing on his toes like there was a fire behind him, and he had to escape to survive. When he reached his destination, he gesticulated to the bar manager who was nodding along, staring up at Halo like he was a living money tree that had been planted slap bang in the middle of his place to pluck notes from. The two of them laughed at something, and Halo brought an imaginary microphone to his mouth and started dancing around on his feet.

“Oh, jeez,” Danny said beside me.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“You’ll see.”

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