How to Be a Rock Star's Ex-Girlfriend (3 page)

Of the three of us, I was the only one currently single. Cara had her man of the moment, and Sophie had been with her boyfriend, Mark, for two years.

Two months ago, Mark bought a house in town and asked Sophie to move in. He was a real estate agent and thought that it would be a wise investment. I cannot tell you how hard Cara and I laughed over that statement. We still felt that we were too young to think about investments and real estate. We were worried about what to wear this weekend, who we were going to go out with next, if we should splurge and eat out instead of cooking something at home.

This weekend he was attending a seminar in the Twin Cities, so he wouldn’t be joining us for the evening. He had asked Sophie to come with him, but she didn’t want to miss the festivities. We were looking forward to it, since we didn’t spend as much time together anymore. Even when the two of them had first started going out, since we all lived together, we hang out a lot. There were late night conversations and grocery shopping excurtions. Cara and I missed having her close, we had all really enjoyed living together, and there weren’t too many silly squabbles between us.

But they were one of those couples that made you ill with their perfection. She was so excited when he asked her to move in, that nothing would have stopped her. They looked like Barbie and Ken,

with the perfect house, the perfect life. If she wasn’t my friend, I might hate her for her smug contentment.

But back to my single status. Being the unattached member of our group meant that I was fixed up a lot. Mark had friends, didn’t I want to meet them, double date, and fall in love? I think not. Kevin had friends, too, so did Cara’s other boyfriends. Didn’t I want to have hot sex with sexy guys, double date, and ditch them when someone better came along? That was a little more tempting, but still no. I would like to think that I can find my own guys, if I wanted one.

What’s hard for them to understand is that I love being single. I find it liberating. I can hang out with the girls or stay in wearing old pajama pants and a tank top, if I feel like it. No one gets possessive of my time, my feelings, or my body. I planned to keep it that way for awhile. I’ve had my fair share of boyfriends and it seems like each one comes with his own set of baggage. Who wants to deal with that?

“He’s pretty good looking, I guess,” I kept my voice level; I didn’t want to give away my desire to get to know Braden better. If the girls knew that I had almost humiliated myself in front of him earlier, I would never hear the end of it. They knew that I always wanted to have the upper hand when it came to men. “if you like the naughty, tattooed type.”

“Which is exactly your type!” Sophie laughed and continued to apply her makeup. “Who are you trying to kid? You’re already interested in this guy! I can always tell when you like someone.”

She was right, of course. Who was I trying to kid? These were my two closest friends, they knew everything! I don’t know why it bothered me to talk about Braden. I just wanted to keep him all to myself!

“Well, I did think he was cute,” I was willing to admit that, but they didn’t need to know that I almost fell over when he smiled! “but he’s friends with Dylan. I’m sure he’s just as arrogant. I mean, you guys have heard how he talks to me. I could never date anyone like that. I would go crazy and hang myself or him within a week. Could you even imagine? I just know that this Braden guy would be exactly the same way. I would have to listen to him go on and on about how sexy he was and how fantastic he was in bed. Not my idea of a good time.”

From the look that passed between Cara and Sophie, I knew that I was talking too much, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. So, I made myself walk away from the bathroom, hoping that would end the conversation. Unfortunately, Sophie simply followed me into the kitchen.

“Make sure you dance with him tonight. And get his number!”

I just nodded and quickly changed the subject. “Thanks for the advice. We’ll see. Now, what can I make you? The usual, vodka and cranberry? Cara made a stop at the liquor store on her way home. Do you want to get crazy and try it with grapefruit juice instead?”

“I’ll take cranberry, please. I don’t know how you drink that sour stuff.” Sophie got a pinched look on her face, like I had actually forced her to drink the grapefruit juice.

“Does Cara want one, too? Go ask her.” Thinking I might get a moment’s peace if she went to get Cara, I started mixing up a drink for myself and for Sophie, adding ice and straws. “Does she want orange juice?” I yelled over the music.

“I’m coming!” Cara jogged into the kitchen decked out in Sophie’s black and chartreuse floral tank top and heeled sandals. Striking a quick pose, she gave me a sexy look. “How do I look? How do you like this skirt? Is it too short?

I looked at Cara’s little black skirt. It was so short that I was sure that it was barely legal in all fifty states, but somehow she managed to pull it off. “You are beautiful, as usual! Very summery! I wouldn’t move too quickly if I were you, but the skirt is fantastic. What do you want to drink? Orange? Or something else?” I held out an ice filled glass. “I should get ready. Can you finish this?”

“Go, go! I can make my own drink. What are you going to wear? It better be really hot, if you hope to hook up with Braden!” Cara

teased as she poured juice into her glass. Yeah, so much for peace and quiet. You would think that it had been years since I had been out on a date and that I was withering away, sad and alone.

I left the room without answering, shaking my head as I went. For all I knew this guy was a total player and I would hate him after we had a conversation. Why should I dress to impress him? I would, of course, look as hot as possible. After all, that was the motto of the single girl, at least this single girl.

I sifted through my closet, looking for the perfect summer outfit. At this time of year, my sweaters were beginning to take over and I had to dig deep into the back to find what I wanted. There was a cute, shiny blue tank-top that might work, a super fun short ruffled skirt in a bright green, or even maybe my favorite pair of cutoffs from last summer. And then I saw it. Just what I wanted.

I stripped down to panties and a strapless bra and stepped into my Hawaiian print pink dress. It was short and fitted with halter straps, and very flattering! Now I needed the perfect shoes to complete the look. Once again in the back of my closest, I found my favorite camel colored strappy sandals. I pulled two pink silk flowers from an arrangement on my vanity and secured them to the shoes with twist ties. A glance into the mirror let me know that I had achieved the warm weather ensemble I had been striving for. Now it was time for the makeup.

Like I mentioned before, under normal circumstances, I wear very little makeup, foundation and mascara are all I need. I didn’t do the whole sexy, made up look when all I was doing was going to work. I didn’t want to give the wrong impression. When I go out, though, it’s a whole other story. I added black eye liner, shadow, and even lipstick. I finished my makeup with a dusting of glittery face powder along my cheek bones, shoulder blades, and cleavage. I checked out the finished product in my full length mirror. Not bad, if I did say so myself.

I made my way back to the living room carrying my drink and a long coat to wear over my dress.

“Wow! You look fantastic! Never mind about Braden, every guy in the place will be after you.” Sophie stood up to get her own jacket off the kitchen table. She was wearing her pink and cream top with cream capri pants and Cara’s pink heels, classy with just a hint of sex appeal.

“Only if they’re not too busy looking at you!” I returned Sophie’s compliment with one of my own. One great thing about having friends like mine, was hearing how great you look, how smart you are, or how stupid that ex of yours was for letting you go. We always had each other’s back.

“I think we all look pretty terrific! Are we ready to go?” Cara moved to the entryway, grabbing her bag on the way. “I’m ready to dance!”

CHAPTER 3
 

Shaken was already bursting with people when our taxi pulled up. The trouble with wanting to make a grand entrance was that you run the risk of the club being packed. We knew we could get in, no matter how many people were there, we just didn’t have the patience to wait in line!

Sophie paid the driver, and we made our way to the entrance, and luckily, the line wasn’t as long as we first assumed. Many of the people milling around outside were there to catch a few breaths of fresh air before heading back in to the dance floor. Shaken isn’t a large club and as it fills up, it heats up. The three of us had been part of that group getting air many times!

Within minutes we were through the door and making our way to the bar. There didn’t seem to be any open tables, there were groups crowding eight people into booths that normally held four. Even more people were leaning against walls, sharing bar stools, and just standing around checking each other out. I volunteered to look for familiar faces, hoping to find someone who had a table we could crash at. At the very least, we needed a place to keep our drinks while we danced.

“Can you get me a drink while I locate a table?” Knowing the question wasn’t necessary, I moved on without waiting for an answer.

I bumped and elbowed my way to the seating area. I passed a few people that I knew along the way and shouted hello over the music. The narrow walkways were packed with scantily dressed girls and guys. I didn’t know when I had seen so many half-naked people in my life! And let me tell you, this was not always a good thing. This party was always a great excuse to throw out the heavy sweaters and boots normally associated with winter in Minnesota. I was seeing a lot of pale skin uncovered for the first time since September. And in some cases, too much bare skin! I silently thanked myself for investing in a tanning package. My tan was still golden and the glitter I had dusted over it added a nice glow.

I had almost given up hope of finding seating for the three when I came across a half empty table in the back corner. I couldn’t quite see who was occupying the other half of the table, but I didn’t doubt my ability to convince them to share. There was a big chance that we knew them, anyway. I just hoped that it wasn’t one of Cara’s ex-boyfriends, or an ex-girlfriend of one of her ex-boyfriends! If that was the case, things could get a little ugly.

“Excuse me.” I side stepped past a few more people, and walked up to ask if anyone was using the second half of the table.

“Ava!” Before I could open my mouth, Dylan was calling my name. “We saved some seats for you guys! We ran into Kevin at the entrance and realized that by the time you made it here, there wouldn’t be tables free. Where are Cara and Sophie?”

“I wasn’t aware that you knew Kevin.” I stood on my tiptoes and waved to my girls as they made their way through the crowds. Once I had their attention and they were heading in the right direction, I sat down in one of the empty chairs. “How did you meet?” This was a happy coincidence. No exes to deal with, and hopefully a front row seat for checking out the new guy.

“Kevin and I played football together in high school. The three of us, Kevin, Braden, and I, hung out a lot then.” Dylan sat back down and picked up his drink. “Braden went to grab another

pitcher of beer and Kevin made a beeline for Cara when he saw her walk in. I’ve been getting dirty looks for hogging this table!”

We chatted a little bit longer. It was really more like, I listened to Dylan go on about the glory days of high school, where he and his buddies ruled all. I did like hearing about his cute friend, but how much can one guy talk about himself? I couldn’t even ask any questions about Braden directly without making Dylan suspicious of why. Talk about frustrating!

After what felt like an eternity, Cara and Sophie finally made it to our spot, with Kevin following behind. He had a tendency to do just that, follow Cara everywhere. And no one likes a shadow! He was clearly enthralled by her, and she went along with his attention, for now. I wondered how much longer it could last. Cara wasn’t very tolerant of sappy love sick boys under the best circumstances, and Kevin was approaching the end of her patience. It was the new relationship thrill that she was after. For some people it was drugs and alcohol, for others it was shopping, Cara’s rush was getting that new guy fixated on her. Once that ended, she grew bored quickly and moved on to her next conquest. I gave Kevin a week, two at most, before he was crying into his beer, missing her. I’d seen it happen many times. One guy had even come back for a second time, only to have her do the same thing to him again!

As they sat down, the conversation turned to the party decorations, Hawaiian theme, of course, how cold it was tonight, and who was doing what after we left Shaken that night. You know, typical small talk. I still hadn’t seen Braden and I could feel my stomach churning just thinking about him. What an awful feeling!

‘He’s just a guy, he’s just a guy.’ I repeated over and over in my head, trying to get myself under control. I had always considered myself level headed and rational about guys. I wasn’t like Cara, getting worked up about every guy that crossed my path. I wasn’t a believer in soul mates or that there was one perfect person out there for me. Some people aren’t meant to settle down and commit for life. God forbid being stuck with the same person day after day, year after year. Bring on the boredom!

Lost in my own anti-marital daydreams, I completely missed Braden’s return. I looked up from my drink hoping my lapse in the conversation went unnoticed, and there he was, across from me.

He looked even better without the dull MusicLand uniform on. He was dressed for the occasion in khaki shorts that fit low on his hips, brown leather sandals, and no shirt. A flower lei, probably swiped from a passing Shaken employee, dangled around his neck and he kept fiddling with it as he spoke to Dylan.

I could tell that he had also made a trip to the tanning salon, and I appreciate a man with nice color! He could also be one of those lucky people who vacationed in the south during the winter. Either way, he was tan and beautiful. I made a metal note to ask him about it. I needed all the help I could get when it came to keeping the conversation moving when I was around him. I didn’t want to be caught off guard like I had been that morning. The more I thought about my hasty retreat, the more like an idiot I felt. Getting tongue tied wasn’t the best way to make a first impression. I was sure that Braden thought I was a complete dork. By the end of the night he would probably be hitting on some other girl, while I sat, all alone, in the corner!