Page 11 of Finding Grey
I lolled my head sideways to look at her. “This is the room that happens in, Gabi.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Packing up maybe?” She was reaching, looking for excuses as to why we’d still be sitting here, only there weren’t any.
Another twenty minutes passed.
Still, no Dante.
A sound from the hallway made me jump up from the couch, right before Roger Sinclair strode back into the room. He did a double-take when he saw us. “You’re still here?”
I tried not to be testy when I responded. “Where else would we be?” Yeah, I failed there. That was totally testy.
“I did assume, after your visit with my son, you would go home.” He seemed to be looking for something at one of the tables. Then, he scooped up a glasses case and slipped it into his jacket pocket.
“We haven’t seen him yet.”
Roger frowned as he slid his hands into his pockets. “Well, it’s too late now, he’s gone. He left more than half an hour ago,” he told us. “I did tell him you were here. I figured he met with you before he headed off. But then,” he shrugged, as if he didn’t really care one way or the other, “he was somewhat distracted when I told him.”
Anger simmered in my belly as I stood there with my arms crossed. “Distracted how?”
“Dante’s girlfriend flew in from Melbourne to surprise him.” His smug expression told me it was time I remembered my place. I was Dante’s fanboy, not his friend, and certainly not anything more. “I suppose in the excitement of her arrival he must have, well…”
“Forgotten me,” I finished for him. My hands fisted as humiliation rushed through me. I hadn’t even known he had a girlfriend right now. “I’m only here because he asked me to come.”
“My dear boy.” He shook his head, voice thick with condescension. “He threw something up on Twitter three days ago when he’d had too much to drink and felt nostalgic. Don’t mistake it for more.” He moved to the door, motioning for us to follow. “Perhaps it’s time for you kids to go on home and put this whole embarrassing mess behind you.”
I’d heard enough. “Let’s go,” I said to Gabi, unable to look her in the eye.
Less than a minute later, we burst back out through the stage door. A lone security guard, in the now deserted area, watched silently as we left.
“I’m so sorry, Sean.” Gabi struggled to keep up with my longer stride, but I didn’t have it in me to slow down. “This is not how I expected this night to go at all.”
“Tell me about it.” I couldn’t believe I’d stood in line for that arsehole. Looking like a fool. Acting like a fool. All for the chance to get close to someone who couldn’t bother taking the time to remember I’d come when he called. This was the one thing I’d promised myself I would never do. I would not give up my dignity for him. Unless he asked me to, apparently.
“Dante Sinclair is a wanker for standing you up like that. He’s a mega-wanker.” Gabi could be a little spitfire when she got angry, but she’d never really mastered the art of insults. Her lame attempts helped calm me and I slowed down, so she wouldn’t have to walk so fast. “You should go straight to Paul’s place and screw the crap out of him. It will make you feel so much better.”
“I broke up with Paul.”
Gabi’s head snapped towards me, her mouth open in surprise. I kept walking, refusing to meet her gaze. “When did this happen?”
“Last night, when we met up after the exam.” It had been a dick move on my part, impulsive and unplanned. Karma must have agreed, considering the bitch slap she’d delivered in return.
“What happened?” Gabi asked. “I thought you liked Paul.”
“I did,” I insisted. “Or at least, I thought I did.” We’d only been dating a couple of months, but we’d spent a lot of time together and had grown closer. There had been the possibility of real feelings developing between us. Right up until Dante Sinclair reached out from cyberspace to tap me on the shoulder. After that, any interest I’d had in my boyfriend went kapoof! Which had become readily apparent when he tried to kiss me, and I pulled away. Confusion had followed, and then questions. When Paul asked if there was someone else, I hadn’t known how to answer him. The lack of response had been answer enough. Within minutes, our fledgling relationship had ended, and I walked away with anticipation bubbling in all the places that should have been filled with regret.
“The thing about Dante,” I said, trying to explain it to Gabi, “is that being in the same room with him, all by itself, is electrifying. I knew, if I saw him again…” I would want him, because I’d never stopped wanting him. “How is anyone else supposed to compete with someone like him?”
“I have no idea.” Gabi chuckled, shaking her head. “I get it though. If a gorgeous rock star came on to me, I wouldn’t want to have to feel guilty about having a boyfriend either.”
“That’s the weirdest part.” And I couldn’t believe I was saying this. “If I’d been with Paul last night, knowing I was coming here, it would have felt like I was cheating… on Dante. I didn’t want to go to him with someone else’s kiss still on my lips.” A sad laugh blew out of me. “Pretty stupid, huh?”
“Not at all.” Gabi reached up to stroke my cheek and I flinched at her cold fingers. “I think it’s sweet.”
“It was a fantasy,” I replied. “Nothing more.”
The car was a welcome sight in the middle of the otherwise empty car park. A cold wind blew unimpeded across the wide expanse of bitumen and I put my arm around Gabi’s shoulders as we walked. She snuggled into my side with a grateful murmur.
“Don’t feel too bad about Paul,” she added as we got in the car. “He’s a nice enough guy, but hardly happily ever after material. You can do better.”
I snorted at the timing of her remark. “Apparently, I can’t.”
While I appreciated Gabi’s support, I couldn’t avoid the truth. I’d thrown away a promising relationship based on the vaguest possibility of seeing Dante again. The thought of his lips touching mine had been all it took to seduce me. I’d essentially handed myself over to a virtual stranger and said,If you want me, I’m yours for the taking.
He didn’t want me.
As Gabi drove out of the car park, I rested my head against the back of the seat and closed my eyes. I was done with this part of my life. It was time to put the fantasy away and move on. No more birthday presents, no more reminiscing, no more daydreaming about what it would be like to see Dante again. I was an adult now and I had to start living in the real world. In that world, Dante was nothing more than a spoiled rock star who only cared about himself.