Page 54 of If the World Was Ending
“Trending? You’re so fucking lame! It’s in the top ten most-streamed songs!” A female voice piped in. “Number four, baby!”
Hunter’s heart felt like it had run into a brick wall. Colby’s big, shining blue-gray eyes darted to the left, and his smile deepened. Hunter’s burrito started to solidify uncomfortably in his gut. “Hunter, meet Hannah.”
Colby shifted his screen, and Hannah Wolfe’s pale face came into view. She waved a tiny hand. Hunter knew what she looked like. He’d heard her music and seen her on social media. She was talented, and her alabaster skin and huge, expressive brown eyes and glossy brown hair looked even better on this stupid FaceTime than they did online. He waved back. “Hey.”
“I hear you’re about to be a big movie star.”
“Who knows?” Hunter shrugged. “Nice to meet you.”
Please go away, Hunter thought to himself while still smiling. Colby’s face came back into frame, but Hannah was there too now. They must be touching to both be in frame together. Like right on top of each other. Hunter balled his free hand, resting on his thigh. “You at the pool?” Colby asked, noticing Hunter’s background. “AC broke again?”
“No.” Hunter spits out. “Just bored and needed a change of scenery.”
“How cool is it that by the time this tour ends you’ll have enough cash to get a decent apartment, Colb,’ Hannah injected. She squeezed Colby like in a side-hug. “Your boy is crushing it, Hunter. Seriously.”
“Of course he is. I always knew he would,” Hunter replied, still smiling on the outside but definitely not on the inside. Internally, it felt like someone just bitch-slapped him.
“Anything going on with you? When do you leave to do the rom com?” Colby wanted to know. Hannah was still there beside him, smiling and looking like his girlfriend. Was she? Wouldn’t Colby have said something to him?
“Next week. Wednesday.” Hunter muttered.
“So, you have free time?” Colby asked.
Hunter only nodded instead of tossing out the sarcastic response he wanted to yell out, which is ‘Well, my days are pretty full missing you and jerking off to the memories of you blowing me.’
“I… I was wondering…” He swallowed and bit his lip, and suddenly, the way he was looking at Hunter made him forget Hannah existed, let alone that she was right there, still staring at him. “I have extra cash and our next gig, day after tomorrow, is in Boston. Flights from LAX to Logan are stupid cheap right now. You could come here for the gigs tomorrow and Friday and then fly back Saturday when we go on to Maine.”
“You want me to come to Boston?”
Colby’s smile got soft, vulnerable. He averted his pretty eyes. “I mean, yeah. Why the fuck not? If you wanna.”
“Yeah, man. Let’s do it.” Hunter said, trying to sound casual because Hannah was still right there and he had no idea what she knew. Fuck, he doesn’t even know what there is to know. Colby and Hunter probably had to have a long overdue conversation. “I can buy my own ticket, though.”
“No. I want to.” Colby insisted. “I’ll do it now and send you the details.”
“Babe, we have sound check,” Hannah said. She smiled at Hunter again. “Bye, Colby’s boy. See you in person soon.”
What the fuck did ‘Colby’s boy’ mean?
“Shit. I gotta run.” Colby’s eyes shifted as Hannah disappeared from the screen.
“Okay. Talk soon.”
“See you soon.” Colby corrected, and then his eyes darted back to Hunter’s. “I can’t wait, Hunter.”
“Me too.”
Hunter spent the rest of the day packing and repacking and smiling. His gut had become a butterfly sanctuary too. Until Margo called.
“We have a problem. Not a big one but a problem.”
“What? The movie? Staycation?” They’ve changed their mind. They’ve cast someone else. The studio went under. The?—
“They need you in Atlanta earlier than expected. There was some scheduling malfunction, and they’ve bumped your flight. You leave tomorrow.” She said, and she didn’t sound at all worried. Like this wouldn’t possibly be an issue.
“But I can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t?” Margo said flatly. “Of course, you can and you will. The end. I’m not asking you. I’m telling you.”
