Me: I won’t be half if I can’t work through this damn block.
Brennan: Maybe you should get out more. Cause some unnecessary drama in your life. Break up with Maggie for the sake of art. She’ll understand. Heartache helps with lyrical inspiration. Don’t you ever listen to country?
Me: Good idea. I’ll tell Maggie you suggested that.
Brennan: Nothing I say or do could ever make Maggie hate me. Give her a kiss for me, and get to writing. Our careers are resting squarely on your shoulders.
Me: Asshole.
Brennan: Ah! Is that anger I detect in your text? Use it. Go write an angry song about how much you hate your little brother, then send it to me. ;)
Me: Yeah. I’ll give it to you after you finally get your shit out of your old bedroom. Bridgette’s sister might move in next month.
Brennan: Have you ever met Brandi?
Me: No. Do I want to?
Brennan: Only if you want to live with two Bridgettes.
Me: Oh, shit.
Brennan: Exactly. TTYL.
I close out the text to Brennan and open up a text to Warren.
Me: We’re good to go on the roommate search. Brennan says hell no to Brandi. I’ll let you break the news to Bridgette, since you two get along so well.
Warren: Well, motherfucker.
I laugh and hop off the bed, then head to the patio with my guitar. It’s almost eight, and I know she’ll be on her balcony. I don’t know how weird my actions are about to seem to her, but all I can do is try. I’ve got nothing to lose.
2.
Sydney
I’m mindlessly tapping my feet and singing along to his music with my made-up lyrics when he stops playing mid-song. He never stops mid-song, so naturally, I glance in his direction. He’s leaning forward, staring right at me. He holds up his index finger, as if to say, Hold on, and he sets his guitar beside him and runs into his apartment.
What the hell is he doing?
And oh, my God, why does the fact that he’s acknowledging me make me so nervous?
He comes back outside with a paper and a marker in his hands.
He’s writing. What the hell is he writing?
He holds up two sheets of paper, and I squint to get a good look at what he’s written.
A phone number.
Shit. His phone number?
When I don’t move for several seconds, he shakes the papers and points at them, then points back to me.
He’s insane. I’m not calling him. I can’t call him. I can’t do that to Hunter.
The guy shakes his head, then grabs a fresh sheet of paper and writes something else on it, then holds it up.
Text me.
When I still don’t move, he flips the paper over and writes again.
I have a ?
A question. A text. Seems harmless enough. When he holds up the papers with his phone number again, I pull out my phone and enter his phone number. I stare at the screen for a few seconds, not really knowing what to say in the text, so I go with:
Me: What’s your question?
He looks down at his phone, and I can see him smile when he receives my text. He drops the paper and leans back in his chair, typing. When my phone vibrates, I hesitate a second before looking down at it.
Him: Do you sing in the shower?
I shake my head, confirming my initial suspicion. He’s a flirt. Of course he is, he’s a musician.
Me: I don’t know what kind of question that is, but if this is your attempt at flirting, I’ve got a boyfriend. Don’t waste your time.
I hit send and watch him read the text. He laughs, and this irritates me. Mostly because his smile is so . . . smiley. Is that even a word? I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s as if his whole face smiles right along with his mouth. I wonder what that smile looks like up close.
Him: Believe me, I know you have a boyfriend, and this is definitely not how I flirt. I just want to know if you sing in the shower. I happen to think highly of people who sing in the shower and need to know the answer to that question in order to decide if I want to ask you my next question.
I read the lengthy text, admiring his fast typing. Guys aren’t normally as skilled as girls when it comes to speed-texting, but his replies are almost instantaneous.
Me: Yes, I sing in the shower. Do you sing in the shower?
Him: No, I don’t.
Me: How can you think highly of people who sing in the shower if you don’t sing in the shower?
Him: Maybe the fact that I don’t sing in the shower is why I think highly of people who do sing in the shower.
This conversation isn’t going anywhere.
Me: Why did you need this vital piece of information from me?
He stretches his legs out and props his feet up on the edge of the patio, then stares at me for a few seconds before returning his attention to his phone.
Him: I want to know how you’re singing lyrics to my songs when I haven’t even added lyrics to them yet.