String Beans (The Girls of Beachmont #2) (25 page)

“I don’t think that’s entirely true.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Tell me why you and Connor ended things.”

Jolie stood up and walked to the couch and turned
on the TV. There was more to the story, and she was about to enact her go-to…distraction.
She was starting to channel surf when I took the remote from her and turned it
off.

“You know I’m going to get it out of you,” I said.
She was staring at the blank screen and I sat down next to her and waited for
her to look at me.

“He was too perfect, Vi. I mean, way too good to
be true.”

“So you went looking for the flaw?”

“But there wasn’t anything. I mean, he slurps when
he eats his food, but it didn’t bother me. He recited movie lines at the most
random moments, but it only makes me laugh. And don’t get me started on the way
he says certain things.”

“So basically, the things that usually irritate
you when it comes to guys, Connor does all of them and you still like him.”

“See, you get it,” she huffed. “So I dumped him. I
ended it while I still liked him because I didn’t want to grow to resent him.”

“You realize how stupid that is, right? What made
you change your mind about him?”

“When we broke up, he was really sweet about it.
He said that he knew we’d end up together and didn’t mind waiting.”

“That’s really nice.”

“Yeah, except we didn’t stay friends. We’d do
something friends did, and then it ended up being more couple-y than anything.
So when you asked me to visit, it seemed like the best way to get over him.”

“Hold up.” I leaned forward and tried not to
strangle my friend. “You moved out here to get away from a guy that is
seemingly perfect for you? Did he know you were trying to get away from him?”

“No. I…I told him that they wanted to transfer me
out here and that we needed a clean break.”

“And all the dates you’ve been on?”

“Just trying to get over him.”

“And he ended up out here how?”

The tension and regret disappeared from her face
and she looked over at me with a smile. Jolie…my friend who was always the
partier, the wild one who never showed emotion…had tears in her eyes.

“For me. He said that he needed me in his life and
he’d wait for me to come around and see it for myself. But in order for that to
happen, he wanted to be near me. The texts and phone calls weren’t enough anymore.”

“So he’s moving out here?”

She nodded and smiled. “He got his company to
transfer him. He’s got a place he’s looking at today.”

“Does this mean you’re moving out?” I asked
selfishly. I liked having my friend with me, and the thought of her gone caused
a small ache in my chest.

“No. We’re taking it slow.”

I grabbed her hand that donned the ring and
laughed. “Obviously.”

“This…” She looked at the ring and stared at it
adoringly. “When we were talking last night, he said that before I broke up
with him, he’d gotten this for me.”

“Are you or are you not engaged?”

“Not yet. Let’s just say that we may be engaged to
be engaged.”

“That’s the craziest thing I’ve heard.”

“You mean as crazy as running off to the courthouse
to get married when you were twenty?”

“I suppose you’re right.”

We sat in silence for a while as I replayed all of
her words in my head. On the one hand, I was mad that my best friend had failed
to share vital life information, but I was more than happy that
she
was happy.

“Do you think Connor is the one?” I asked.

She shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t even
know what that is anymore. But I sure as hell hope he is.”

It was almost one when Kirk finally stopped by. He
walked in wearing his cargo shorts and a white T-shirt, and his hair looked
like he hadn’t run a brush through it in weeks. All part of the show.

“Hey Jo,” he said flirtatiously as he hugged her.

The two had had a fling back in college, but it
was nothing serious. Like I said, Jolie was never one for settling down…which
was why she and Connor seemed like an odd pairing to me.

“Sorry we couldn’t stay and talk last night,” she
said when they parted.

Kirk was exactly the sort of guy I’d always
pictured Jolie dating—especially since he was in a band and never in one
place for a long time. I had wanted more for her and I was happy when she and
Kirk decided to leave things alone.

“How’ve you been?” he asked her.

“Not bad. Though I have a bone to pick with you.”

“And that would be?”

She turned a finger on both of us and narrowed her
eyes. “I can’t believe you two didn’t tell me that you helped write that song.”

“I guess you’re not the only one with secrets.” I
winked.

“And on that note…” She walked over and picked up
her purse.

“Secrets?” he asked. “What secrets? Someone wanna
fill me in on the joke here?”

Jolie kissed his cheek and waved. “I’m sure Vi
will fill you in. I gotta go see a man about…me.”

She closed the door and left me alone with a
curious Kirk.

“She was dating some guy, didn’t tell me about it
because I was all mopey and shit. They broke up and now he’s moved out here to
be near her.”

“I like the way you tell a story, Vi. Quick and to
the point…leave out the fluff.”

“Can I get you something to drink?”

“I’m good.”

We walked to the couch and sat down. When Josh and
Kirk left the band, it was disappointing to not see them as much, but I was
proud of their success. Having Kirk in my apartment felt familiar, but also
like a lifetime had passed.

“Have you talked to him?” Kirk asked. I knew the
him
he was referring to and I didn’t
pretend different.

“I called when I first moved out here.”

“He misses you, ya know.”

“Misses me so much that the times I have called,
there have been other women there.”

“What did you expect, Vi? You left him.”

“Whoa,” I scoffed and stood up, trying to calm
myself. “First off, I don’t care that there are other women. That’s his
business. And second, I left him because he cheated.”

Kirk’s eyes were like saucers when he looked at me,
and I found myself waiting for him to cave. But the longer he sat still and
staring, I knew he’d been fed a different version of the story.

“What did he tell you?”

“I don’t want to get involved,” he said, holding
his hands up defensively.

“Too bad, you are involved. The moment you decided
to chastise me for leaving, you got involved, Kirk.”

“It’s none of my business. I’m sorry.”

“We’re friends, right?”

“Of course.”

“And you’re friends with Will.”

“Yeah.”

“All this time, have you assumed I screwed the
marriage up?”

He was quiet for longer than necessary and I began
to pace the small room. Every time I felt like I was getting somewhere, that I
was moving on, something seemed to remind me how bad things were. I was ready
to sprint to the court to get the papers finalized. Will managed to constantly
surprise me, and not in a good way.

“He said that you left him because you were
jealous.”

I stood momentarily stunned…and then I laughed. I
laughed hard and angry. When I left Will, I left with only what I had brought
into the marriage. At twenty-four it wasn’t much, but between that and my word,
it was
all
I had.

“Kirk, you’ve known me for a long time. You’ve
seen me at shows, at the bar, at the club…you know me. When have I
ever
been
that
girl?”

“You’re right,” he said with a sigh. “You’ve
always been the coolest. But c’mon, even the most confident chick has her
limits.”

“You’re right,” I laughed. “And mine was walking
into our apartment and finding him in our bed fucking someone else.”

Kirk was watching me as if I were about to snap,
and considering the way my voice sounded in my own head, I could see why he
thought that. But I sat down on the couch again next to him and leaned my back
against his side. He’d always been someone I felt comfortable with…it was
probably the reason I co-wrote a song with him.

He wrapped his arm around my neck affectionately
and kissed the top of my head. “I’m sorry Vi. I had no idea.”

I exhaled and closed my eyes. “That’s probably how
he’s getting so many women,” I scoffed.

“What do you mean?”

I cleared my throat and made my voice deeper in an
effort to do my best Will Banks impression.
“Yeah,
I can’t believe my wife left me. She was my muse, how am I supposed to make
music without her? I just want to find someone to inspire me…someone I can
settle down with.”

“Can you write that down?” Kirk said, sitting up
quickly. He handed me a piece of paper and pencil from the table. “That shit
might work for me. I’d have to reword a little, but I think I can use this.”

I rolled my eyes and slapped at his arm. “Some
friend you are.”

“Me? What about you? Don’t you think that as my
friend, you should help me come up with some kick-ass lines to use out there?”

“Oh jeez, Kirk. Lines? Sorry, you’re on your own.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He tossed the paper and
pencil back on the coffee table and sat back. “I won’t need lines with your
friend Callie.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“I’m kidding,” he conceded. “But really, I’m
sorry. I didn’t realize all the shit he did.”

“It sucked at first, but I’m better.”

“You seem good. Really good,” he answered.
“Something you wanna share?”

“I guess I’m sort of seeing someone.”

Truthfully, I didn’t know what Wyatt and I were.
We weren’t exclusive because we’d only spent the night before talking. But I
didn’t feel like I was on the market either. And until the divorce was final, I
didn’t want to put a label on whatever it was we were or weren’t.

“It looks good on you. You’re happy?”

“I’m getting there.” I smiled. “What about you?”

“I’ll be a lot happier when I see this music
you’ve been working on.”

“You were serious about that?”

“We both know I don’t screw around when it comes
to music. I’d really like to hear what you have…if you’re cool with that.”

I set about grabbing my guitar and my journal. I
hadn’t shown anyone the words I’d written lately, but I had spent hours alone
reading them, scratching them out, rewriting them, and crying over them. Sometimes
I was tempted to tear every page out and set fire to them. Other times, they
helped remind me what I’d been through and where I was finally going. They were
a piece of my heart that was hard to share.

All of my feelings aside, the words would need
massive help before they saw the light of day. However, Kirk and I had magic
once, and I hoped that maybe we’d have that again.

“Don’t be too harsh,” I said when I sat down next
to him.

He took the guitar from my hands and started
strumming. It was an action to keep him busy, because his eyes were glued to
the words on the page. He’d read a little, make a noise, and then turn the
page. Kirk repeated the action over and over again, and I began to feel
exposed…or maybe I felt like an imposter.

Finally, he stopped on a single page longer than
he’d been on any other, and tapped it with his finger.

“What?” I asked.

“This one. This is it.”

“Are you…” I looked down at the words I’d
scribbled and flinched. “Not this one,” I said as I reached for the journal,
but he pulled it away before I could get my hands on it.

“This. One.”

Before I could protest any more, there was a knock
at the door and I looked from Kirk and back to the door.

“Ah, the dilemma,” he teased. “Answer the door or
fight for your words.”

“This isn’t over.” I pointed at him as I walked to
answer it.

There on the other side was Wyatt, with his warm
smile that made me want to melt. He stepped forward and went to hug me, but
paused when he looked over my shoulder.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt. I can come back.”

“Come in, I want you to meet Kirk.”

I ushered Wyatt toward the couch, where Kirk was
making notes on my journal. He barely looked up to acknowledge Wyatt, and I
cleared my throat, trying to get his attention.

“This is my old friend, Kirk,” I said when he
finally looked up.

“You the guy?” Kirk asked.

“He’s being a shit,” I laughed nervously. “Kirk is
in the band we went to see last night.”

“I heard it was great, sorry I missed it,” Wyatt
said.

“She was amazing,” Kirk beamed proudly.

“She was? You were? What happened?” Wyatt asked,
clearly confused by what Kirk said.

“It was nothing,” I said flippantly, cringing
about the detail I hadn’t meant to leave out.

“Nothing? She got up on stage with us and sang a
song that we co-wrote.”

Wyatt’s mouth curved into a half smile and he
raised his brows. “I didn’t realize that you were ready to get back out there
and perform. That’s great, Vi.”

“I wasn’t exactly ready,” I told him. “I was
tricked into it.”

Kirk held up my journal and looked at me. “I’m
gonna give you two a minute. It was nice meeting you, man.” He peeked down the
hall and looked at the three doors. “Which room is yours? I want to look at
these lyrics.”

“The one on the end.”

When Kirk disappeared, the door shut behind him
and I was alone with Wyatt standing behind the couch. We didn’t know each other
inside and out, but I knew him enough to know that he was uncomfortable. I
reached for his hand and he followed me to sit on the couch.

“What brings you by?”

He leaned over and kissed me once, and when he sat
back, his familiar smile was back in place.

“Are you busy tonight?” He looked toward my room
briefly before returning his attention to me.

“No plans,” I said.

“If you’re free, then I’d like to take you out
tonight. A real date.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“I think that sounds great. What should I wear?”

He stood up and walked to the door, leaving me to
watch him go. He looked over his shoulder and winked as he started to leave. “I’ll
text you when I figure out where we’re going.”

“Okay,” I called after him as he shut the door.

As I sat on the couch, my cheeks felt sore from
smiling so big. Wyatt helped that smile return and he had a way of making me
feel like the most important person in the room. My smile began to fade because
once upon a time, in the early stages of dating Will, I had felt that same
thing. But I soon realized I was only being sucked into his world, where he was
the center and I was just happy to get some of the fallout.

I looked up to see Kirk leaning against the
hallway watching me.

“What?”

“Seems like a nice guy,” he said. “Don’t get me
wrong, he’s no Will.”

“That’s what I’m hoping.”