The Rocker's Muse

“And how are you gonna take care of a rabbit while you’re on tour?”

“I’ll hire someone to do it.”

“I forgot you can just do that. But it shouldn’t be necessary.” I kissed between her ears. “We should be fine, huh, Bertha?” The rabbit tried to wriggle out of my arms. “But you’d better grab the other stuff so I can take her inside. She’s getting a little rambunctious.”

“On it,” he said, running back to his Range Rover.

After a moment, Tristan carried in a three-foot exercise pen, along with a bunch of food, alfalfa hay, and other supplies. He’d apparently spent the afternoon researching what I’d need.

After we arranged everything in a corner of my bedroom, he asked, “Where’s your mom?”

“She’s sleeping.”

“I’m surprised we didn’t wake her up.”

“She’s a pretty sound sleeper. She uses a white noise machine.”

He poured some pellets into a bowl. “Did you ever tell your mom the truth about us?”

I nodded. “Yeah. She knows everything.”

“Shit,” he muttered.

“She doesn’t care.”

“She must hate me for messing with you.”

“She doesn’t.”

“Well, then I got really lucky.”

“Where does Nazarene think you are right now?” I asked.

“I told her the truth.”

My eyes widened. “You told her you were bringing me a rabbit for my birthday?”

“She was with me earlier when I went to pick everything up.”

“She doesn’t think it’s weird that you bought your son’s ex-girlfriend a rabbit?”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure she’s wondering about a lot of things right now. Especially after the way I reacted at the restaurant earlier. She’s not very happy in general. I’m having a hard time with this, and it’s showing.”

“With what in particular?”

He stared into my eyes, taking a few steps closer. “What am I having a hard time with? Pretending you’re just some friend of my son’s and nothing more to me. Pretending it doesn’t hurt to see you with another guy. Pretending I’m a better person than I am. Pretending I don’t practically taste you on my tongue whenever I’m close enough to smell you.” He shook his head. “Pretending I can make all of this go away if I just act responsibly.”

The space closed between us, and my hand had a mind of its own as I ran my fingers through his silky hair. It felt like forever since I’d touched it.

He closed his eyes and groaned before pulling away. “I should go.”

“Yeah…” The air suddenly felt cold. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“You’re good. It’s nothing you did, beautiful. I just don’t want to leave, and that’s exactly why I should.”

“Okay. I understand.” I walked him to the door.

“Happy birthday, Emily.”