Misguided Truths: Part One Read Online Free PDF Page B

seat beside me.
    “We’re still buzzing from last night,” Ryan answers her with a wink. “There was a major gig on over in Seattle. It was fucking huge!”
    “Who played?” she asks. She’s into her music , too, so him telling her this seems to have peeked her interest. They begin talking away about the different acts that performed on the main stage. Movement from underneath the table catches my attention, and I see Brandon’s leg jiggling almost uncontrollably.
    The same conversation continues for at least another fifteen minutes , and not once have I been able to speak to Brandon about last night, or even managed to exchange one word with him.
    “What about you guys? It must have been a pretty special date if big guy over here decided to bail on us!”
    Thank fully the waitress arrives with the guys food order and interrupts Ryan’s inquisition.
    I risk a quick glance at Brandon. He’s staring at the table and entwining his hands in his lap, “You were supposed to be going to the gig?” I lean over to him and ask quietly.
    “Forget about it,” his voice is a soft whisper and he continues to stare right ahead of him. “It’s not a big deal.” His smile is tight when he finally faces me, sorrowful even.
    He ditched a huge gig so he could take me out on a date? Now I feel really bad, “Listen—“
    “I’m gonna head out. I’ve gotta meet Corey and the guys over at my place for practice in a little while,” he says as he stands, tapping Ryan and Neil on the shoulder a couple of times as they say their goodbyes. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
    As he leaves they shrug their shoulders at each other, and Neil throws me a questioning glance. When Brandon reaches the door, he looks over his shoulder and directly at me, though that’s all he does. He pauses for a brief moment and lets out a deep breath before making his way out onto the sidewalk.
    “How was the meal?” Ryan asks, leaning forward and grabbing a knife and fork from the cutlery stand.
    I lift my head as I question him, “The meal?”
    “Yeah, with Brandon.” Does he mean the hotdog stand? “When we stopped by yesterday he told us that he’d made reservations at Rafael’s.” He’s speaking slowly as though he thinks I’ve gone insane or something.
    “Oh, right …” Naomi and I exchange glances. At least I’m not the only one who’s confused right now. “It was … nice, yeah.” I tuck the loose strand of hair behind my ear and hope they don’t notice that I have no idea what they’re talking about.
    “Holly, you alright?” Neil asks this time. “You look completely lost in thought over there.” I nod a yes as my answer , and silently thank Naomi for changing the subject back onto the headlining acts at the gig.
    He took me to the funfair, so why would he tell his friends that he was taking me to Rafael’s for dinner?
     

Brandon
     
    Through pure fucking frustration, I throw the notepad down on the garage floor, followed closely by the pen I’d been using to write down some lyrics.
    “Chill out, man. We’ll get there,” Corey takes a seat on one of the fold out chairs and leans his guitar up against the workshop table beside him. “It was always gonna take us a little time to get used to playing together.”
    He’s right, but this isn’t what’s causing me to be in such a shit mood. I’m exhausted. Last night was the first Saturday that I’ve made it home before midnight in a long time, yet I actually feel a whole lot worse for arriving home early. I think I finally managed to catch some sleep at around four, maybe even five.
    Yeah, you guessed it. Holly. Holly was playing on my mind when I got home and it made it impossible for me to switch off. I thought the date went well. But, I guess I was wrong. She kissed me back. It wasn’t as though I made her do it. I could tell she wanted to kiss me as much as I wanted to kiss her. I thought she would agree to go out with me again. And, not only that. I