Page 15 of Obsession on Repeat (Vinyl Hearts #1)

Shutting myself in the bathroom, I dialed Sullivan’s number. It rang several times before a clicking sound informed me it had been picked up. I opened my mouth to speak when I was interrupted, an unfamiliar feminine voice greeting me.

"Sully’s phone!"

I frowned. "Who is this?"

"This is his secretary. Who is this?"

"Sullivan doesn’t have a secretary, and he definitely wouldn’t pay her to giggle if he did," I snapped. "Who the hell is this?"

"Um, hold on."

There was a brief silence.

"Rory?"

"Who was that?" I paced around in the bathroom .

"That, my love and sometimes frustration of my life, was Tate Evers, my co-star. I told her that you wouldn’t find it funny to answer, but she’s got a mind of her own, like someone else I know."

I ignored the obvious jab. "Where are you?"

He sighed, the background a garbled mess. "We’re at dinner right now. Your call is a welcome diversion, though I’m surprised to hear from you."

I paused. "Why wouldn’t you hear from me? I haven’t heard from you since you left. You haven’t texted me."

"Rory…" It sounded as if he covered the phone. His voice came out lower than usual through the line. "I love you, but I can’t fight with you every time I turn around. If things are bothering you, we can fix them, but…"

"I’m not fighting with you, what are you talking about?"

He sighed again. "Look, I have to go, but I’ll be home in a couple days."

"Sullivan…"

"Lorelai, I cannot do this right now."

I forced myself from pushing the subject more. "Okay."

"I’ll be home soon. I love you."

I cut the connection as quickly as possible. Crying, I slid against the wall to sit on the floor. Shoulders shaking, I tried my best to cover up my sobs. A knock on the door startled me. I frantically wiped my wet cheeks.

"Rory, are you in there?"

"No! "

Asher laughed from the other side of the door, and despite it being unlocked, he didn’t enter. "There’s another person who sounds like Rory that works here, too? That’s amazing."

"Please go away."

"I can’t."

"Why not?" I sighed in frustration. "There are other bathrooms!"

"I have a strict policy about not deserting crying women."

Rolling my eyes, I forced myself to my feet and made my way to the door. I jerked the door open. He didn’t back away, his eyebrow cocked as he leaned forward with his arms propped against the door frame. "I wasn’t crying."

Asher stepped forward, not stopping as I took a step back. He shut the door and locked it with a flick of his wrist before he concentrated on my features. "Alright, you weren’t crying. You’re leaking water from your eyes. What were you doing in here?" He glanced around. "Mopping the floor?"

"Don’t be ridiculous," I stuttered. "And unlock the door! The last thing I want is someone-"

"I think you’re worrying too much about everyone else and not one inch about yourself."

"Wow, an actor and a shrink, that’s quite the combination." I ran my hands through my hair and lowered the toilet seat in order to sit down. I buried my face in my hands, my elbows on my knees. "Every so often, I’m reminded why I don’t date."

He leaned against the bathroom wall. "Did something happen?"

"You could say that."

"Considering I don’t have a clue as to why you’re crying…" He chuckled at the look I shot at him. He squatted down on his haunches, his gaze sincere. "Tell me what happened. If not to me, then to Gina or Vanessa, but you need to talk about it."

I stared down at my feet. "I’m afraid of becoming too comfortable and losing track of what matters."

"And what’s that?"

"Not being discovered."

"That’s going to be difficult considering how talented you are. It can’t stay hidden no matter what you do."

"I can become a hermit or a nun."

He laughed at my look of seriousness. "Neither of those are the first thing that comes to mind, but you’re correct. The life of a hermit would become monotonous, and we both know you’re not cut out to be a nun."

"There’s an insult hidden there somewhere," I sighed. "You don’t know the first thing about me."

"I know you love your job. I know the look you get on your face when you’re dancing and think no one’s looking." He ran his hands through his hair before clasping his hands together. "I know how I feel when I’m near you. "

"Please, don't—"

"I need you to hear it from my own mouth." He held up a hand to stop me from speaking and stood up. "You have a boyfriend, I respect that, and I realize you’re having problems that don’t involve me, so I’m staying out of it the best I can.

I’m here to be your friend, not force myself on you, and that’s how it’s going to be until you figure things out.

If that time comes and I have no chance…

Well, I’d rather have you as a friend than not at all. "

Dumbfounded, I stared at him. I was startled when someone suddenly pounded on the door.

"Asher, are you in there?"

He chuckled. "Yes, go away."

"Are you alone?"

"Gina, go away!"

"Fine. Whenever you’re done with… whatever you’re doing in there and you see Rory, tell her that Vanessa is looking for her." The sounds of Gina’s departing footsteps echoed down the hall.

I shot to my feet. "Shit, I lost track of the time."

"You’ll be fine, trust me." He reached out to cup my shoulder with his hand. "Rory—"

"Please don’t say anything else. I need time to think and figure things out before…" I stepped away from him. "I like you, too, and that’s part of my problem. You throw me off balance. I can’t think when I’m around you. "

He unlocked the door, swinging it open. "Get back to the booth. I’ll find Vanessa and let her know everything’s okay."

I hesitated. "Thank you."

"Don’t mention it."

"Are you finally headed home?"

I looked up from where I was sitting on the couch, my legs crossed and stared at Gina leaning against the open booth door. I shrugged. "I’m not sure."

"I’m guessing Vanessa left that for you earlier."

"Yeah, she stopped by to talk… about stuff."

She approached the couch and plopped down next to me, spotting the Jack Daniels on the table.

"Are you okay? You seemed a bit distracted tonight, not that I could tell by the music.

You had this place rocking off the hinges.

Vanessa was pleased at the number of compliments and requests she received. "

"Requests?"

"You know, for private parties and events." She stretched out, propping her feet up on the coffee table. "What do you say we get drunk and talk about whatever comes to mind? It’d be a shame for that liquor to go to waste."

I smiled softly. "You want me to get drunk and say something embarrassing."

"If it’s about Asher, that’s fine by me."

"There’s nothing to say about him."

"Then what was going on in the hallway the other day and then later in the bathroom?"

My mouth dropped open at the smug look on the other woman’s face. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

She giggled, reaching for the liquor bottle and the shot glass beside it. "That’s how it always starts. A kiss or two then boom, you’re doing the mambo in the club bathrooms."

"I didn’t kiss him!"

She poured us both a shot and drank it, filling it again before shoving my shot glass toward me. I accepted it, holding it between my hands. "It’s okay to be tempted. This club is definitely the place for it. Euphoria is named for exactly that reason."

"I’m not going to cross that line." I swallowed the liquor and shuddered. "I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that taste."

She grabbed my shot glass to fill it again. "That means you haven’t had enough. Trust me, you’ll stop noticing after a couple rounds. Tell me more about Sullivan. "

"Can we not talk about him? Everyone keeps asking about him, and I don’t want to talk about him."

"Okay, fine. Let’s talk about your birthday. Do you have any big plans?" She paused at the look that crossed my face. "Bad topic?"

"I hate birthdays. It’s a long story about an ex I don’t want to ever share, ever."

Gina grabbed the entire liquor bottle, taking a long swig from it. "Kick ass. That means I don’t have to get you a gift."

I burst out laughing at the coyness on her face, the alcohol beginning to take effect and make me feel a hundred percent better.

"Good, I’ll repay you in kind the next time your birthday rolls around.

" I took the bottle from her and sipped, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

"I swear, does everyone know about my birthday in this place or what? "

"Not everyone. There’s me, Asher, Vanessa, a few other bartenders…" She laughed when I groaned. "Hey, if you don’t want news to spread, it won't spread."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Yeah, I’m totally lying."

I found myself laughing, the two of us passing the bottle back and forth until neither of us made any sense.

An hour later, Asher and Vanessa found us hysterically laughing. The empty bottle sat haphazardly on the edge of the table. He shot Vanessa a look of amusement, a similar expression on her face.

"You know, it’s impossible for the cleaning crew to get in here with you two drunkards refusing to leave."

"Wow," Gina giggled. "We should get out of here and hit up a bar."

Laughing, I leaned sideways to hit her on the arm. "We are in a bar!"

"You’re both totally wasted. How nice." He shook his head and stepped forward to stop the bottle from sliding off the table.

In a surprise move, I was faster. I grabbed it, slamming it to my chest. "I’m not done with it!"

"Darlin’, I think you are. It’s empty."

"Aw!" Gina sighed. "He called you darlin’ in that cute little accent of his!"

I wrapped my arms around the bottle, lightly kicking the side of her leg with my foot. "Shut up, you are so drunk!"

"Am not!"

"You’re both drunk," Vanessa interrupted. Despite my protests, she snatched the bottle easily from my hands. "Gina, you rode with me, and you’re leaving the same way. Rory, Asher’s going to take your keys, so you don’t get any bright ideas, and he’ll take you home.

I expect you to be here on time tomorrow. "