How We Deal With Gravity (21 page)

“I love you, Avery Abbot,” he says, and my stomach leaps up
into my chest, my ribs constricting with every second that passes since he said
it. I can’t help the tear that forms in my left eye, and I don’t dare stop it
from sliding from my cheek onto his arm. It’s the happiest tear I’ve ever shed,
and I’ll never forget it, or this moment.

“I loved you first,” I say, my lips actually shaking with my
nerves as I speak.

Mason chuckles lightly at me, smoothing my hair from my face
and turning completely on his side so we’re both lying under the stars staring
at one another—alone among a dozen strangers. “Okay, but I get to love
you more,” he says, cupping my face in both of his hands and pulling my lips to
his, his eyes intent on our barely touching lips before flicking back up to
look into mine. Then he closes them completely, and kisses me for the rest of
the night.

Mason

“Ben, you can drink until you vomit after the show. But for
now, for the love of god, man…can you just stick with beer?” I plead. I’m
tuning my guitar on the side of the stage, playing through a few riffs on some
of the songs we’re going to do.

“Come on, loosen up, princess. It’s just one shot,” he says,
carrying a tray over to me and the guys. I know Ben; one shot turns into twelve
out of nowhere. But it’s our first gig together since we all split and headed
different directions a couple of months ago, and I’m actually excited about
some of the songs we’re playing tonight. We’re even playing the one I’ve been
working on. It’s going to be a little rough, but I don’t care.

I give in to Ben’s pressure and tip my glass back fast, the
tequila burning on its way down. “Wooooooo!” Ben yells, smacking his hand hard
on the table. “Okay, just one more…”

I look at him instantly, and he slaps my back. “Just
kidding!” he laughs, his breath foul as fuck in my face.

Avery is next to me seconds later, and I can’t help but
smile at the sneer she gives Ben. “You want some, Birdie?” he says, breathing
out in her face.

“Knock that shit off,” I say, shoving him away from her. I
don’t care if it ruins our show for the night; I’m not letting Ben treat her
like that.

“Damn, lighten up, Mace. I was just messin’ with her,” Ben
says, his balance a little wobbly when he walks over to the stage steps. He’s
had more than just one shot, and if I had my guess, he tipped a bottle of Vodka
right before we downed that tequila.

“It’s okay. I’m used to Ben. He’s an asshole,” Avery says,
her breath against my neck, lulling me back to a happier place.

“It’s not okay, and I’m sorry you’re used to it. He won’t do
that again, I promise,” I say, kissing her lightly, and squeezing her hand.

“I’m covering the back, so I can sit with Max for a while.
My dad’s going to hang back there with him, too. But I’ll come up front
sometimes so I can get a good look at that sexy lead singer,” she winks and
actually reaches around to grab my ass.

“That’s all I am to you, just some piece of meat, huh?” I
tease. Honestly, I don’t care what Avery wants me for, as long as she wants me.

She smiles while she backs away, and when she spins on her
heels to go back to Cole and turn in her orders, I watch every step her long,
sexy legs take. “I gotta hand it to you, man. If I knew Birdie was going to
grow up and turn into
that
, I would
have made a play for that piece a long time ago,” Ben says over my shoulder,
the words coming out a little rough.

“Yes, I’m sure she would have found you completely
irresistible,” I poke back at him. He’s trying to get under my skin; it’s his
new thing. But tonight is about starting over, so I’m not going to let Ben push
my buttons.

“You ready, kid?” Ray asks, his hand flat on my back. For
some reason, every nerve in my body is firing, and for a brief moment, I fear
my fingers are so jittery that I won’t be able to pick out a note on my guitar.
I shut my eyes, take a deep breath, and look at Ray.

“Ready,” I say, turning around to get with the guys while
Ray announces us to the crowd. Dusty’s is full beyond capacity tonight. It’s
not just me, but the whole band. And as much as I’ve felt like a failure the
last few years, it seems that the people around here think just the opposite.
There are people waiting out in the parking lot, just hoping to be able to hear
enough or find a way in.

“Okay, guys. Look, I’m not gonna lie. The last few times
we’ve played, we sucked. We hit bottom, and we fucking wallowed in it. We’re
better than that. Let’s find it again, right now. You ready?” I say, looking
into their eager faces, Ben probably more eager than he should be.

“Fuck yeah, man!” Ben shouts. I just laugh and shake my
head, shouting along with him. Matt and Josh grab their guitars and climb the
steps to take their spots; Ben gets comfortable behind the drums, tapping out a
few rhythms that make the crowd go absolutely nuts. As soon as Ray is done
introducing us, I take the mic, and I look out at hundreds of faces, a few of
them familiar.

“So I brought my band this time,” I smile, and the girls eat
it up. I’ll never get used to this reaction, and it makes me blush. I rub my
hand over my mouth and chin, hiding my red face until I finally spot Avery in
the back. I wink at her, and the group of college girls hanging at the front of
the stage goes crazy, screaming my name and telling me exactly what they want
to do to me. A month ago, that would have had me ready to fly through the show
just to get them up to a hotel room or the trailer after. But I’m so far from
interested now, and I actually find them comical.

“We thought we’d play some oldies, cuz…y’all know Ray,
right?” I say, drawing everyone’s attention to Avery’s dad, sitting in his
usual spot at the edge of the stage. He stands up and gives a cursory wave; he
hates it when I do this.

“Well, Ray…he’s
reeeeeallllly
old,” I joke, and Ray’s wave turns into him giving me the finger in a flash
of a second, which only makes me laugh even harder. “But I love this man. He
gave me my break, taught me everything I know. So tonight, Ray? This is for
you.”

We launch into three Johnny Cash songs with a little bit of
a modern rock twist, and everyone in Dusty’s is on their feet, moving and
yelling for more. I look at Ben and nod during the last Cash song, “Folsom
Prison.” He nods and smiles back. These songs were his idea, and he was dead
right—we’ve never sounded better.

We play five more covers straight, ending with my version of
“Wild Horses,”
this time the band
coming in to join me for the last half, and people are actually dancing in the
middle of Dusty’s, finding space in the crowd. Avery makes her way up front for
this one, and I sing the entire thing to her, my eyes not leaving her face
once.

I know I’ll lose her back to the crowd soon, so I lean over
and whisper to Matt that I want to play my tune next, a little out of order. He
steps back and tells Ben, who just shrugs and mouths “Whatever.” Once we’re all
on the same page, I take the mic again and get Avery’s attention before she can
step away.

“So, we’ve been working on some new stuff. If you guys are
up for it, we’d like to play a few for you tonight. What do ya say?” I ask,
holding the mic up over the crowd in front of us, amplifying the screams.
Tonight is good for our ego, I just hope it doesn’t go to Ben’s head.

“All right, well…this first one… I’ve been working on it
for, fuck man…oh, shit, sorry Ray,” I wince, and everyone laughs. I always give
Ray a hard time about his beef with my swearing. It’s funny to watch him get
angry, at least it is when he’s not
really
angry. “Anyhow, I’ve been working on this one for months. I couldn’t seem
to quite get it right. Then this girl…well, she sort of helped me see where all
the pieces fit. It’s called “Perfect,” and it’s about her.”

The hush in the audience is palpable, and every girl up
front is turning her head, looking around, trying to figure out exactly who
she
is—every girl but the one I’m
staring at. Avery crosses her legs nervously, perched atop one of the stools at
the end of the bar. I see Claire come over behind her and poke her arm, teasing
her a little, and I see a few of the girls up front notice and cover their
mouths to giggle.

The song starts with the melody I played for Max—just
me playing soft and slow, and I close my eyes to really take it in, make sure I
get every note right. When I look back at Avery, she’s chewing on her
fingernails again, but her smile spreads the entire span of her face. God that
smile—I’d do anything for it. I lean forward so my lips brush the mic,
and I start to sing.

Maybe I’ve been too
daft to notice. Maybe I was just too young.

Whatever it was that
kept us from us. Whatever that was, it’s done.

I hate that I missed…

Every moment…

That you needed
someone by your side…

But I won’t falter
now.

The band kicks in on the break, and the crowd starts
literally swaying with us—like those crazy things you see when
Springsteen sings one of his classics.
Un-fucking-real
!

I look back at Avery, and she has both hands over her lips,
her eyes soft and watering. I love that everyone is getting to hear this song,
and I can’t believe how people are reacting to it, but truly—this girl is
the one that matters. And seeing her face look like that has my heart pounding
out of my chest.

What if I could go
back? What if you changed your mind?

Would you still want
me so bad, if I wasn’t so damned blind.

I hate that I wasted…

So many kisses…

Before my lips knew
yours…

Perfect. All you are
is perfect.

Time won’t let us go
back to the place we used to know,

but I won’t stop till
you let me love you completely.

My heart, breaking in
two, that’s what you’d do, if you didn’t let me…

Oh girl just let me,
love you…completely.

I can’t help myself when the band breaks into their solo,
and I walk to the side of the stage, down the steps and right to where Avery is
sitting. I push my hand into the hair that falls down the side of her face, and
pull her to me for the deepest kiss of my life. When I back away and smile, her
eyes are drenched in tears, but I know they’re the good kind, and I mouth “I
love you,” and head back up to the stage to finish the song out with the guys.

The crowd absolutely loses it after that, and we make it
through six more songs before wrapping it up for the night. All anyone wants to
talk about is the kiss, and my song. I hear Ben working his angle with some
girl, telling her how everything we do is collaboration. I don’t really care,
whatever helps him with his game. All I want to do is get to Avery.

My mom finds me before anyone else, and she squeezes me in
her arms like I’m still a little boy. “Mason, you were so good. I’m so proud of
you,” she gushes. My mom always gushed when I played, so I sort of take her
compliments at half value.

“Thanks, mom. Hey, you see Avery?” I ask, trying to lift my
head up high enough to find her in the crowd.

“I think she had to get Max home, hon. She was here for most
of the show, though. I think she maybe missed the last song,” she says, and for
some reason, I’m filled with worry that she left. I pull my phone from my
pocket and dial, but she doesn’t answer. I try again, but still no answer.

“That…was the shit!” Josh says, his arm draped over my
shoulders while he downs what’s left of his beer. “Dude, if you can write more
crap like that, we’re totally going to get picked up again.”

“Thanks, man. Seriously, you guys killed it,” I say,
pounding knuckles with Matt and nodding to Ben. “Even you, you drunken
asshole.”

“You love me,” Ben slurs, his hand already on the ass of the
girl he’s marked for tonight. The sight of it actually makes me laugh, because
not so long ago, my hand would have been on some stranger’s ass too. But all I
want now is Avery…
Avery
!

I text her quickly, taking a minute before the next barrage
of people come up to us to talk.

Are you okay? My mom
said you had to get Max home. Is he okay?

I keep my phone in my hand so I can feel it buzz with her
return, and I continue talking with people who all want to tell us how much
they liked the show. The more people collapse on me, the more overwhelmed I am
with the need to climb right through their asses and race to Ray’s to make sure
Avery and Max are okay. I finally see Ray standing behind a group of girls all
waiting to get my attention, and I start to move through them. One actually
grabs the front of my jeans when I walk by—
holy shit!

I smile at her politely because, well face it, I’m still
human, but I keep my focus on Ray and let her fingers slip over my body while I
move forward.

“That was some gig, kid,” Ray’s smiles. He’s
relaxed—this is good.

“Is Avery all right?” I half interrupt before he can say
anything else. His reaction to my worry isn’t quite what I’d expect. He just
folds his arms over his chest and furrows his brow.

“She’s…fine Mason. Max was having a hard time with the
crowd, so she took him home,” he says, watching me basically freak out in front
of him.

I breathe deeply when he tells me everything is
fine—for some reason Ray’s confirmation holding a lot more stock than my
mother’s, and he starts to smirk at me.

“Sorry,” I say, blowing out a big breath and cracking my
knuckles behind my neck, when I look back at Ray, I see he’s still chuckling.
“What, joke’s on me?”

“No. Nothing like that,” he says, patting me on my back.
“You worried about Avery. I like that.”

Hell, if I knew that would be all it took, I would have told
him about how that’s all I’ve done since the day she smacked me hard across my
face.

“Hey, pansy. You comin’ out to celebrate with us or what?
We’re hitting Spanks,” Ben says, now somehow holding hands with an entirely
different girl. That man’s charisma never ceases to amaze me. Ben’s a heavier
guy, decent looking I guess, but a big guy. But he always bagged the best
looking chicks. Of course, second best now.

“I uh…” I look down at my phone just in time to see Avery’s
text.

Sorry. I was going to
text as soon as I got Max to bed. I’m good. Too many people. Started to upset
him. I’ll wait up! XXOO