Ty’s low chuckle made Baz smile, too. “Not judging. Just surprised. So when are you going to call Nik?”
“I’m not sure.’
“Bullshit.” Ty took a sip of his coffee. “You’re gonna call him as soon as we’re done here.”
“So now you’re my mother?”
“No. I’m a friend who thinks you came to me because you knew I’d kick you in the ass and tell you what you need to hear.”
Baz might’ve taken offense to that except it was basically true.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re so fucking brilliant. Blah, blah.” He would’ve given Ty the finger but a group of little old ladies sat only a couple of tables away and he wasn’t that crass. “It’s just . . . we haven’t talked since we tried to kill each other. I don’t know how it’s gonna go.”
“Well, you won’t know until you’re in the same room.”
“Now you really sound like my mother.”
Ty laughed. “Fair enough. But I’m right.”
Yeah, he was. And when Baz left Ty a half hour later, he had a plan. He just had to put it in motion.
He nixed going back to his room. He’d find way too many things there to distract him from making this phone call. Same went for the music room. Too many memories that might actually make his head explode.
He stopped and looked to his right.
The atrium. Perfect.
At this time of the morning, he didn’t see anyone hanging out there so he headed for a corner far from the lobby windows.
His mom loved gardening and he’d spent enough time weeding and digging holes as a kid to know that Tyler had his shit together out here. The atrium changed with the seasons and the major holidays. Right now it was decked out for spring. Flowering bulbs and trees everywhere. The place looked like a goddamn Monet painting; it was that fucking gorgeous.
He knew he really should call his parents soon, too. Although they’d be at work and wouldn’t be able to talk now, he’d call them tonight. His parents called like clockwork every Sunday at one in the afternoon. They’d probably think he’d overdosed again if he called just for the hell of it.
With a sigh, he shut off that train of thought and sat on a wooden bench. Digging his phone out of his pocket, he didn’t give himself any time to think as he pulled up the phone list and stabbed at Nik’s face with his finger.
When the phone started to ring, he actually felt his stomach roll.
Once, twice, three times. Damn it, he wasn’t going to pick up again. Four. Five—
“Hey.”
Baz drew in a sharp breath at the wary tone of Nik’s voice but got out a “Hey” in response.
Then they fell silent.
Off to a great start.
“How’s it going?” he asked because he literally couldn’t think of anything else to say at that moment.
Nik laughed, though there wasn’t much humor in the sound. “Ya know, things are going. You?”
Might as well just rip the bandage off. “I’ve got some new music I want you to hear.”
The silence was deafening and Baz’s heart started to pound out a faster beat.
Had Nik finally moved on and found someone else to write with? Was their relationship shattered to the point of no return? Was Nik still pissed at him because of their last fight?
He’d answered the phone. He knew who’d been on the other end. Nik must’ve wanted to talk to him, too.
“Nik?”
“Yeah, I’m still here.”
“So?”
“So, what?”
Okay, it was gonna go like this. Well, fuck him. Goddamn it, if Nik was gonna be a prick about this—
No. Just no.
Deep breath.
“So I want you to listen to it.”
More silence.
“Shit, Nik.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Baz. Of course I’m gonna listen to it. I’m just not sure I’ll be able to write anything for it.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I might be too fucking pissed off at you still.”
Baz felt like he’d taken a hit to the gut. He sucked in air, trying to ease the tightness in his chest. “Fair enough. But let me send it to you anyway.”
Through the phone, he heard Nik sigh. “Yeah, sure. Fine. Send it.”
And now what? Jesus, should he apologize again? Had he ever apologized the first time?
He couldn’t honestly remember. When Nik had shown up at Haven earlier this year, they’d both still been so angry they hadn’t been seeing straight.
“Look,” Baz paused. “Maybe we can catch a meal next week. Would you be up for that? Where are you anyway? Are you at home?”
Home for them meant a little town named Dallas outside of Wilkes-Barre that no one had ever heard of.
“No.”
Damn him. “Are you close to Philly?”
Nik sighed. “Close enough, yeah. I’m staying with Phil in Downingtown right now.”
“So you wanna come down to the city or do you want me to come up?”
“Honestly . . . I don’t know. Send me the music and I’ll get back to you.”
Damn, Baz wasn’t sure he could answer without sounding like he was gonna keel over. Fuck. After a deep breath, he nodded, even though he knew Nik couldn’t see him. “Sure. Let me know that you got the file. Talk to you later.”
“Yeah. Later.”
The line went dead and Baz sat there for several more minutes before he could get up the energy to leave.
* * *
“You look flushed. You’re not coming down with something, are you?”
“Good morning to you, too.” Tru gave Greg one of her mom’s tried-and-true looks, guaranteed to make most people flinch and slink away with their tail between their legs.
Greg just raised his eyebrows and continued to stare at her.
Fine. They’d hit a standoff. She didn’t need to talk to him this morning anyway.
“I’ve got work to do, so unless you need me for something pressing, I need to run along.”
Greg crossed his arms over his chest. “Heard you and Baz had more alone time last night.”
Damn her fair skin. She felt the heat flushing her cheeks but refused to act like she had anything to be ashamed of. She was a grown-ass adult. She had a job and an apartment and everything.
So how could Greg make her feel like a teenager out past her curfew?
“He had new music he needed to get out of his head. I had my tablet. Match made in heaven.”
At least, the sex had been heavenly. And, oh my god, she went wet just thinking about it.
Turning her back on Greg, she headed for her office. But Greg took two steps and caught up to her, pacing her down the hall.
“So, what’s going on between you two?”
“Who says there’s anything going on?”
“Ah. Answering a question with a question. Good tactic. And my response would be: I’ve got two eyes and I’m damn good at reading people.”
“What you are is damn good at sticking your nose into other people’s business. Stop it or you’re gonna get that nose broken.”
He laughed and stopped in the doorway to her office as she made her way to her desk. “It’ll heal. Has before. So Baz is working on new music. Glad to hear it.”
She set her tablet on her desk and booted up her computer. “What I heard sounds great. I mean, I’m not exactly a metal expert but I liked what I heard.”
And how he made me feel when I was naked and fucking him on the piano bench.
Her whole body went hot and she wanted to fan her cheeks. Or dunk her head in ice water.
Greg leaned against the doorjamb, a deceptively nonthreatening gaze lasered her way.
“So you two are getting along better than you were.”
“We seem to have worked out our differences.”
“Uh-huh.” Those two little sounds held a challenge she refused to rise to. “And how’d you two manage that? You were at each other’s throats more often than not. What changed?”
She so wanted to stick her tongue out at him but that would just make him even more suspicious.
“Nothing. We just don’t care enough about each other to want to fight anymore, I guess.”