Page 83 of Play Fake

“Here, have a beer!” She grabs me a can from the fridge and tosses it to me.

“Zie!” Billy’s voice calls to me as he walks out the bathroom. He’s one of those rare men who looks more attractive off stage than on it.

“Hey Billy,” I smile at him.

He crashes down on the couch next to me, throwing his arm over my shoulder.

“Tell Billy what’s wrong.” He says eyeing my tear-stained cheeks.

“I hate men.”

“Surely not all men. Me, for example?” He grins.

“No, not you. Just assholes who cheat on me. I’m tempted to give them all up for good.”

“Let’s not do anything rash. Maybe you just need a good rebound fuck. I volunteer as tribute,” he flashes me another smile.

“The fuck you will!” Ezra snarls from across the room.

“Hey friend, I think she gets a pass considering what you did to her. And who am I to say which one of us she gets to use it on?”

“Fucking try and see where it gets you.”

“Hey!” Ally shoots daggers at both of them.

“It’s fine,” I glance between the two of them. They have a long-standing rivalry over women because they tend to attract the exact same type. Billy was only too glad when Ezra finally settled down with me. Left the field wide open for him. “I couldn’t stand the heartbreak when you leave me in the morning anyway, Billy.”

“Who says I’ll leave? Maybe you’ll finally have that magic pussy that makes me fall in love. You certainly did a number on Ezra with it.” He gives a sly smile, knowingly fueling the fire just for shits and giggles. I roll my eyes at him.

“Billy, I am certain one day a woman is going to bring you to your knees in the most painful way imaginable, and I can’t wait to see it happen. But I’m also very sure it’s not me.”

He rolls his lower lip into a pout. “Would the tongue ring help sell it? I’ve gotten fantastic with it. Lots of hours spent practicing.”

I can’t help but laugh and slide closer to him for a hug for distracting me and making me feel less stressed.

“I miss you all so much,” I admit out loud.

“We miss you too, Zie,” Kane, the bassist who’s usually so quiet, says from the couch opposite me. I smile at him.

“Don’t let this asshole keep you away, all right? You’re welcome here anytime. Fuck, half the songs we perform now are about you, so I feel like you should be around more as our mascot anyway,” Billy offers helpfully.

“Billy, can you shut the fuck up?” Ezra looks as panicked as he is pissed at the moment.

“What? You didn’t tell her? Oh, fuck. Well, cat’s outta the bag now. Might as well tell her.” Billy’s hand goes under my chin and turns my face up to his. “Your ex-boy over here? All he can do is write sappy love songs now. Talking about how much he misses you and your magic pussy. They’re good though. The crowd eats that shit up when I sing it.”

“Well, I’m glad I can be of assistance.” I give a little fake smile, feeling uncomfortable.

“Twist the knife in a little deeper and we might actually get some hits out of it.” Billy grins fucking wide and lets me go again.

I glance over at Ezra, and he has a pained expression on his face as he knocks back another beer.

“I think you might already have it. You all were amazing tonight.”

“We can dream.” Ally smiles.

“If you want to come back to Ally’s after, you can hear some of the stuff we didn’t play,” Ezra offers quietly.

I don’t want to, not really. I want to go home and cry into my pillow. But the way he hugged me and comforted me tonight, like he cared. The way Billy keeps razzing him now. I feel like I owe it to him, to them really, for the support.