Page 161 of Next to Everything We Wanted

“What happened does suck,” Arielle said, her voice soft. “We don’t have to talk about it, though. We don’t want you to feel worse.”

“Even though I have no idea what happened,” Gracelynn said as she opened the door. “Still, you don’t need to tell me—breakups are the worst.”

“You and I would know,” Arielle told her.

Gracelynn shrugged. “At least I haven’t been cheated on.”

“Hey!”

“That wasn’t a dig at you.”

“Then why did you mention it?”

“Okay, guys, enough,” I said before they could go down a drain talking about their exes. “We can dance to a few songs. None by men.” Raina still had Charm Street on her playlists, not knowing Ivan was from the band, and that was the last thing I needed.

“You got it.” Raina connected her phone to my Bluetooth speakers and turned on her “heartbreak dance party” playlist.

“Just Dance” by Lady Gaga played through the speakers, and I got out of my bed to start dancing, belting the lyrics along with the rest of my friends. I imagined myself on the dancefloor, wearing my best outfit as the lights shone on me.

Then my mind transported me back to Moonlight Lounge and the way I danced as Gavin’s lulling voice filled the air. A wave of emotion crashed through me, but I tried to distract myself with the song and my friends’ voices.

By the third song, I’d almost forgotten about how my relationship with the only boy I’d loved had fallen apart.

CHAPTER 39

Gavin

Aloud pounding on the window woke me up.

My eyes shot open, the sun making them burn, and I tried to focus on the person who stood in front of it. My back ached, and I sat up to stretch before hitting the roof of my car.

Wait, my car? Had I actually fallen asleep here?

Asher pounded on the window again. “Gavin!”

I rolled down the window, my brain foggy. “What happened?”

“You’re the one sleeping in your car at seven in the morning.”

“Seven?” I looked at the time on my dashboard.7:10 AM. Had I seriously fallen asleep when I pulled into the driveway at four-something?

“How long have you been here?” Asher asked. He still wore his superhero pajamas, his hair ruffled from tossing and turning. I wasn’t sure what parent we’d gotten our restless sleeping habits from, but at least we had that in common. “And what are you wearing?”

“Huh?” I looked down, realizing I was still wearing my button-down and leather jacket from performing at MoonlightLounge. When I popped down the sun visor’s mirror, my red face, puffy eyes, and messy hair greeted me.

I looked like I’d driven here from a walk of shame. Drunk.

Groaning as humiliation washed over me, I put the visor up and leaned back in my seat. “I had the worst night of my life.”

Asher scoffed. “You think?”

“Asher, what are you doing out here?” Mom appeared from behind Asher, her red hair a tangled mess. Well, that answered my sleeping habits question. Mom squinted at me, examining my disheveled appearance. “Gavin? What are you doing here?” She rubbed her eyes. “Were you sleeping in the car?”

“It’s a long story,” I muttered.

“Are you sober?”

I shot a glare at her. “Mom.”