Page 7 of Songs for Libby

CHAPTER THREE

I dozed on and off as my Uber took me home. When I wasn’t dozing I was mulling over what had happened. Sean was belligerent, stubborn and, frankly, whiny when he was drunk, but tonight…he’d shoved me away so hard I could have been hurt, and then he’d hit on me.

Hitting on me was a new low for him. No matter what bad decisions he made, he’d always treated me like a person, never being insulting or downright nasty. Until tonight.

A deep sigh escaped me.

Sean’s hotel had been in the heart of the city. It was an hour-and-a-half drive back to Newburgh. This was what the record label did when he was in town for work. They put him in a hotel, the better to keep tabs on him and keep him focused. His house out in the country with the gate and the housekeeper was only thirty minutes from my apartment. He’d done that on purpose, to stay close to me. Sometimes I resented it. Most of the time I was grateful, even though he really wasn’t there much.

After an hour of driving and failing to come up with any answer about Sean, I remembered Jonas and pulled out my phone. Thankfully it had a little battery left.

Me: Hi Jonas. I can’t apologize enough for ditching you last night. I was enjoying myself and wouldn’t have left if it hadn’t been an emergency. Again, I’m sorry. I wish you all the best.

I didn’t expect a response.

We’d been matched on a dating app that Tara and Felicity had pretty much forced me to sign up for. I had given in because I knew they were right. I needed to get out there, to date, to have my life less wrapped up in Sean. Not that they knew about Sean. We’d become friends my last year of college, and by that time I’d become an expert at keeping my Sean life separate from the rest of my life. Still, they could see how unbalanced my social life was and they’d pushed me to try something new. I’d only gone out with two matches before tonight and both had been duds. Nice enough guys, but no spark. Last night was my first face-to-face meeting with Jonas. He’d been just as cute as his picture and just as funny as our messages back and forth had suggested. And unlike the others, there had been chemistry. Too bad I’d screwed that up.

My phone buzzed and I looked at it in surprise. Jonas was calling me. Not just texting back, but actually calling me.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hey. I just wanted to check on you. How’s your friend?”

My face was rumpled in confusion at his friendly words. “He’s fine.”

There was a pause. “He, huh? Should I be worried that you ditched me for a booty call?” he teased.

My laughter held no humor whatsoever. “I should probably make it clear that I don’t do booty calls, no matter who is calling.”

“I’ll remember that.” He suddenly sounded cheerier than before. “Seriously though, I wanted to call because your text kind of seemed like a goodbye. Or maybe a brush-off?” He sounded a little unsure of himself. It was sweet.

“If I was going to brush you off, I wouldn’t have answered my phone,” I said. “I’m actually surprised you responded at all. I didn’t exactly make the best first impression.”

“The first half of the impression was great. The second half…yeah, that was a little weird, but I’d like a do-over if you’re up for it.”

I smiled, latching on to the sudden ray of sunshine he was offering. “Yeah. I’d like that a lot.”

“Any chance you’re free tonight? Or maybe lunch? We could grab fast food for all I care.”

“Um.” It was eleven in the morning. I was in last night’s clothes and half an hour from home. “How about tonight? I don’t know if I could get my act together in time for lunch.”

“Yes, that’s great. I’ll text you details?”

“Yeah. And thanks, you know, for not writing me off as a total flake.” You wonderful, wonderful man.

“I have to respect someone who drops everything to go help a friend.”

My heart squeezed at those words, but not in a good way. It should have made me warm and fuzzy, him praising me like that. Instead I just felt trapped, and angry, and hurt.

“So, tonight then?” I asked, trying to shake Sean out of my thoughts.

“Yes. Tonight,” he affirmed. “See you then.”

The Uber pulled up in front of my building and I paid him with the card that Randy had given me more than a year ago. I wouldn’t let them hire me officially. I wouldn’t let Sean pay for my apartment or anything like that. But paying someone to drive me into NYC and back each time Sean hit the sauce too hard was out of my budget. I let Sean pay for that.

When I walked into my place, I should have gotten straight into the shower, but the past twenty-four hours required something stronger than water to purge my demons. I slipped my shoes off, letting them clatter to the floor as I crossed to my piano. It was an old upright‚ scratched and dented and well loved by me. It was one of the first pieces of furniture I’d bought when I moved into this apartment. Most people would think a couch would take precedence, but a piano had always been at the top of my list.

I slid onto the bench and leaned my head from side to side, trying to loosen my neck a little before resting my fingers on the keys.