Chapter Eleven

Tripp

"Did you call Lil J?" Jean asks while she grabs the rag that I was using to wipe the counter, so I will focus all my attention on her.

Lil J is Axel's friend who gave me his card after hearing me perform on Saturday.

"No," I reply, as I lean on the counter ready for an earful.

"Why the hell not? Axel said you really impressed Lil J and would like you to come over to this studio." Jean sounds more excited about all this is than me.

"His studio is out of town, I can't leave work and I haven't talked to Audrey about-"

She interrupts, "What's there to talk about? This could be it for you."

I sigh. "There were a lot of things I thought could be it for me but look, I am still here."

I don't have the same excitement that I usually have. Too many disappointments can take a toll on someone. But then when I think about it, I am in too deep to quit now.

"Don't be like that. I really think you should call Lil J, You have to go to the studio, and I'll cover for you here. And I'm sure Audrey would be as excited for you."

Audrey, I don't know how she feels about my music. I know she has tried and I am grateful but then I want my number one fan back.

I miss us.

I miss our long drives out of town just for me to sing in a crappy bar. I miss hearing her cheer me on with the biggest smile on her perfect face. I miss locating her in the crowd. I miss her wanting to listen to me sing.

Now I feel like I am walking on eggshells around her, can't even talk about my music. I fear I will piss her off and she will leave. I can already feel this strain and she doesn't want to talk about it.

I'll die if she leaves me.

"Yeah, I don't know," I mutter.

I can't tell Audrey about this new opportunity because what if it's a dead end? I can't raise her hopes again. She tries not to show it but it's in her eyes, the disappointment. It breaks my heart every time.

"Ughh," Jean groans before grabbing my phone from the counter.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I ask, stretching to get my phone back.

Jean races towards the chairs, holding my phone above her head. I am too lazy to climb over the counter and chase her, so I let her do what she wants to do.

"Let me help you out since you are being a sad loser." She says, looking down at my phone, probably searching through my contacts.

"How do you know my password?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Oh shut up," She dismisses my question.

I fold my arms watching her in amusement, "I haven't even saved his number."

Jean looks up from the phone. "Asshole," She cusses as she walks back to the counter.

"Can I get my phone back?" I ask stretching my hand.

"Only if you promise to call," She urges stretching the phone above her head like I couldn't easily get it if I really wanted to.

"I will," I say.

"Good," She says dropping the phone.

I swipe the phone from the counter. "What?" I call out feeling her eyes on me.

"Call him now." She says drumming on the counter in anticipation.

"You are insufferable," I say in defeat as I bring out the card from my back pocket.

"Oh big word, use it on Lil J when you call." She mocks.

I roll my eyes. "You're a moron," I say shaking my head as I input the numbers.

~~~

"Excuse me, Excuse me" I hear a familiar voice over the ruckus of drunk basketball watchers.  My eyes go to the woman squeezing herself through the crowd of people trying to get to me.  I can't hide my surprise to see her. This is usually not Audrey's scene. She says the place smells of dried sweat and booze, and that combination makes Audrey's stomach churn.

I can see her discomfort which she ignores and continues to snake her way through the crowd.

Just seeing her makes me happy.

Finally, she gets to the counter where Jean and I are pouring drinks and attending to the customers talking over each other to get a drink.

"Hey," She greets Jean first and Jean returns it with a smile. "Hey, mister," She says in that low sexy voice.

"Hey babe, what are you doing here?" I ask amused, swiping the cash off the counter and putting it in the cash register.

"Thought I would surprise you," She smiles.

She came to surprise me and here I was freaking out earlier about our relationship because of one fight.

I am so stupid.

"It's pretty packed tonight." She states. Her statement is directed at Jean, not me.

"Yeah, football season just began," Jean mutters taking a glass and filling it halfway with gin, barely looking at her.

"I guess I will just sit over there," She gestures to the empty sit at the corner of the bar. "Don't want to get in your way."

"Are you sure?" I ask.

She nods, freeing the counter space for a customer.

~~~

"You guys can go ahead, I'll handle these guys." Jean gestures to the group of guys still arguing about the basketball game. They are the only ones still lingering around.

Audrey has moved back to sitting at the bar.

"You sure?" I ask dropping the napkin on the counter in relief.

I just want to spend the rest of the night with this amazing woman who took the time to surprise me.

"Sure, we are about to lock up anyway." She shrugs.

"Thanks, Jean." Audrey smiles,

"Gonna go see Big Jeff, then get my bag and I will be right back," I say, rushing off to Big Jeff's office.  Big Jeff had called me earlier to get my pay cheque. My woman comes to visit, I get my paycheque.

Today is the best.

Within a minute, I rush back to the bar. My eyes go to the bar stool where Audrey was seated earlier which is now empty.

"Where is she?" I ask adjusting my backpack on my back.

"I don't know. I must have said something and I think she is pissed." Jean says with confusion on her face.

Did she mention the kiss?

I feel my heart leap in fear. My entire body goes cold. My fear must be evident on my face since Jean is quick to dismiss my worries.

"Of course, I didn't say that. Probably something about your paycheck, I don't know."

Standing here with Jean trying to figure out what she said won't help. I need to catch up with Audrey.

"Goodnight," I say as I begin to leave.

"I am really sorry."

~~~~

Audrey is pacing around outside the bar breathless in anger. I am too scared to close the door of the bar because when I do, I will have to have this conversation, whatever it is.

I breathe in, reminding myself to stay calm no matter where the fight leads. I let go of the doorknob and it closes itself, so loudly it catches her attention.

"Hey babe," I say, nervously walking up to her. I try to put a kiss on her lips but she tilts her face to the side, which leads to a weird kiss on the cheek.

Well, that didn't work.

"What's wrong?" I ask choosing my words carefully.

"Nothing," Audrey folds her arms. "I came to see you, now I have seen you. I am going home."

Well, if she says nothing... I really don't want to fight anyways.

"Okayy-" I drag slowly. "Let's go home then?"

Audrey raises her eyebrows, irritation clearly written on her face. "Seriously?!" She yells, which comes as a shock to me.

"What? I asked what was wrong?"

"And you quickly accepted when I said nothing. You know you know you do this all the time."

"Do what?" I ask, anger slowly creeping in.

"Disregard my feelings, when you know I have a lot to say."

"Then say it, you are not a fucking five-year-old. Do you have something to say? Say it!" My voice comes out louder than I intend.

I don't even know why we are fighting, this is insanity.

"Oh really?"  Audrey says in disbelief.

I run my fingers through my hair in frustration, pushing back the strand of hair covering my face. "What happened?" I ask in a calmer tone.

"Why didn't you tell me you didn't receive your paycheck?"

I feel my entire body relax, thought this was something big. I resist the urge to say, "Is that it?" since I don't want any further argument.

I sigh before speaking, "Because, I didn't want you to freak out and get worked up like you always do."

She scoffs, "Oh I am sorry, but someone has to get worked up. We are barely surviving Tripp, someone has to worry and we both know it's not going to be you."

"I didn't want to add anything to your plate." I stretch my hand and try to hold her hand but she doesn't give it. "You already do enough for us."

Just when she is calming down, a question seems to pop into her head. "Where did you get the money to pay for our utilities?"

I breathe out in frustration. "I borrowed it from Jean," I say throwing his hands up. "And now that I have gotten my pay cheque, I am going to pay her back."

"You know how I feel about debt."

"It's not your debt, it's mine."

"That's where you are wrong," She points at me then at herself. "It's ours. And I don't like it."

"Oh, I forgot to put your ego in considera-"

"My ego? You are the one with the ego but it's not for important things!" Audrey yells. "You don't seem to get that we cannot live in debt. We just got out of one with Tim, remember?" She pauses as if she is giving me time to think.

Of course, I remember our debt to Tim. He helped us out in LA and also when things were hard here.

"What happens when we don't have money to pay back?"

"I borrowed money from Jean not the fucking Mafia, so don't get all dramatic."

"I am being dramatic." Audrey laughs bitterly.

"Yeah, you are blowing this out of proportion. Did something at work that got you mad? Because I feel like you are intentionally trying to pick a fight and I am not going to stand for it." I walk out.

In an attempt to give a dramatic storm off, without thinking I walk in the direction of the parking lot instead of the bar where the drinks are at.

~~~

I hear Audrey making her way to the car. This makes me sit up on the hood of our old car that I was lying on. I remove the cigarette I was smoking from my lips and I throw it on the ground.

Audrey doesn't like the smell of smoke.

Before I get down to put it out, she steps on it.  She stands in front of me. "Hey," She whispers.

"Hey," I say, spreading my legs.

She steps to the middle, looking up at me. With the way she's looking at me and how beautiful she looks under the night sky, I can say anything to stop this fight.

And I do. "I am sorry for yelling and not telling you about my paycheck."

"I am sorry for being a bitch and yelling too." She says with a small smile playing on her lips.

"Come here" I drag her closer, putting my hands around her tiny waist.

God, she is so mesmerizing.  I don't think I can ever get tired of her. I don't ever want to.

"I didn't want you to have to worry when it's something I can handle," I say, kissing the top of her head.

"I know," She mutters, putting her arms around me.

We both stay in that position in silence for a while, before Audrey snakes her way out of my grasp. She looks up to face me with a wicked smile, that sinful smile that already has my dick hard.

God damn, I love that smile.

She puts her hands around my neck and pulls me in for a kiss. A simple kiss then turns into aggressive holding each other's hair, tongues dancing together with the faint taste of cigarette, mint, and beer, and faces plastered against one another. Her tongue has always felt good in mine and always will. We both stop to catch our breath.

"Is the back of the car tidy?" She asks out of breath, looking up at me with her hungry eyes.

I can feel the big smile on my face, as it lights up. "Are you insinuating what I am thinking?"

Audrey bites down on her lips, her eyes on mine. "What are you thinking?" She whispers.

"Damn it, I love you." -

~~~