Page 77 of Driving Beats

“If I remember, you bought a watch in Spain?”

“Milan, Italy,” he corrects me. “Rolex. Is that what you got, too?”

My head shakes. “No. I went with—” I read the name on my wrist—“an Omega. It’s pretty cool. I’m able to run several alarms at once, and it shows the date as well as the time.”

He chuckles. “I bet it can do all that in addition to descending sixty feet underwater and skydiving with you.”

“Yeah, well, no worries on either count from me. So long as it keeps track of my meditation times, I’m happy.”

Río’s name appears on my call waiting.

“Hey, Tris, our drummer’s calling. It was great catching up—see you in a week.” I hit the red button to disconnect and Río’s call comes up. “I was just talking with Tris.”

“Nice. How’s Chicago treating him?”

“He sounds good.”

“Great. Well, I’m heading to Complete Gym within the hour. Join me.”

I dip my foot into the pool again, but it’s not singing to me. Perhaps a good workout will shake this funk. “Why not? Meet you there.”

In my bedroom, I pull out the workout clothes Nese picked out for me—like every piece in my closet. My stomach drops. Man up, Coop. I lace my new sneakers, pull up the gym’s address on my GPS, and leave my Nese-riddled house behind.

I enter the gym and sign in. Bypassing the rock wall, I meet Río in the weight room where he’s about to start bicep curls. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he returns my greeting. “Bennett’s in town so I invited him to join us too.”

No sooner does he tell me our lead singer’s working out with us then a buzz runs through the gym. “Guess he’s here,” I comment.

Río nods. “Here he comes.”

We each give Bennett chin bumps. He chooses a treadmill, while Río continues with weights and I hit up the leg machine. No one talks, we simply do our workouts. I push myself harder than usual, trying to purge a certain stylist from my existence.

When I’m getting a much-needed drink of water, a familiar woman crosses the front lobby. I blink and place her—Emilie Dubois. Cole Manchester’s ex who married the guy who owns this gym. Damn if I didn’t catch Nese watching one of her shows. Or ten. For no reason, I grab my phone and snap a photo. Right. No reason at all.

A couple of hours later, we enter the sauna to sweat out the toxins. Wearing towels wrapped around our waists, we sit on wooden benches and let the dry heat do its thing.

Bennett asks, “Are you guys ready for the next part of our tour?”

“Hell yes,” my best friend replies for both of us. “Hayden hasn’t ever been to Australia, and we’ve promised her sister we’d send her tons of photos.”

“Jenna’s a bit down because her mother always wanted to visit there. I’ve been trying to figure out what we can do to bring her with us.”

I consider Bennett’s predicament. “How about you go to the ocean down there and toss white roses into the water? Sort of as a way to let her spirit roam with UC on tour.”

Bennett considers my suggestion, then reaches over and hits me on the knee. “Damn. This is a great idea. But I don’t want to take credit for it. How about you both, and Hayden, meet us for dinner tonight? That way you can suggest this yourself to Jenna.”

Crap. I’m cornered. I love these guys, but all I feel like doing is sitting in my house and… do what? Pine for someone who’s no longer there? “Sounds good to me.”

“Great. I’ll text you the address of the house we rented. I wanted to get Jenna away from her PT facilities in Long Island. Is it weird I consider Aroostook to be my home now?”

Río adjusts his towel. “If I had Asteroids Deluxe in my basement, I’d deem that town to be my home, too.” We share a smile.

All too soon, I’ve been home, showered, changed into another one of Nese’s outfits, and am at Bennett and Jenna’s rental. Río and Hayden are here as well. Nothing like being the fifth wheel.

Right before dessert, Bennett prompts me. “Tell Jenna your idea for Australia.”

I offer his wife a sad smile. The reason she needs to honor her mother still weighs heavy. “Well, we were talking and Bennett mentioned your mother hoped to visit Australia.”