The Same Old Love Song

Alex sat at the bar on a padded, leather-clad stool. He was on his second Heineken, picking at the paper label and repeatedly checking his phone. She was supposed to meet him here at eight, but it was now almost nine and he didn't know if he should continue waiting or walk shamefully out the door.

"Want another?" The bartender asked as Alex downed the last of the beer in the green bottle.

He gave a slight nod and looked at the door. Again. He should've known she would do this to him. But when he thought about it, it wasn't as if he didn't deserve it. He constantly kept her waiting, forgot birthdays, anniversaries, and sometimes wouldn't even tell her when he was having a show in town. She'd find out second-hand from friends and fans who would awkwardly ask questions in the grocery store.

No, he deserved this.

"Here ya go, buddy," The bartender slid another beer toward him, already uncapped.

Alex felt resentment toward his sympathetic smile, but bit his tongue. Only a few seconds later he finally heard the door open, and his eyes met Rowan's as she peered tentatively into the dark bar. She tugged at her long, wavy hair. This week it was dyed a dark brown that made her tan skin seem even darker. He hopped off the barstool and walked toward her. He saw quick recognition pass her face, but her smile was tight and forced.

"Hey, Alex," She said softly.

"Hey," He smiled, stepping forward and hugging her.

It was a brief moment, then they both stepped away from each other and made their way to the bar.

"Why're you all dressed up?" He asked, checking out her outfit.

She had a white button-down tucked loosely into a black, waist-high bodycon skirt. Rowan always knew how to dress for her body, but Alex couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from her toned legs.

"If I didn't understand the dress code of this establishment, that comment might have offended me," She smirked, ordering a Corona and adjusting her skirt.

"I see you haven't lost your sense of humor," He laughed softly, taking a sip of his beer.

She smiled, "I see you still haven't cut your damn hair."

"I like it like this," He shrugged, self-consciously running his hand over his messy hair.

"I know," She nodded, thanking the bartender when he brought her the cold beer, "But I was actually at a job interview."

"Oh, I guess there's a lot that I need to catch up on."

"Looking for a job is usually the protocol after college graduation," She sighed, glancing over at him.

He felt his grip tighten on the glass bottle, "I honestly don't even have an excuse for missing it."

Rowan's eyes wore disappointment, "I sent you a graduation announcement in the mail and to your email. I thought if you didn't get one you'd get the other."

"I know, Rowan," He let out a breath, "I know."

"I just don't get what I did wrong, Alex," She looked him in the eyes, "I've always been around, and yet you're always putting other people before me."

"It's not intentional, Ro," He shook his head.

"Oh yeah, then what is it? Accidental? I'd really rather you intentionally ditch out than to just forget me," She had tears in her eyes.

They had a past. A long, bumpy, sordid past. Both of them remembered the night they met junior year of high school at a party. In a twist of fate, Rowan was the one who ended up puking on Alex's shoes, which was usually not how things had happened for him in high school. His infamous party-boy status was somehow trumped by the 5'5 girl who no one could tie down.

"I could say tour's gotten crazy lately, but it's always been crazy," Alex reached out to touch her leg, but she stopped his hand and he retracted it, "I could say that stuff has been going on with the family, but honestly you know my family will never be unpredictable."

She rolled her blue eyes, "I would love it if you just told me the truth: you didn't want to come."

He sighed, slightly frustrated, "But that's not even the truth."

"You've been confusing the shit out of me since we first met," She let out a cynical laugh.

"I honestly don't even know how to go about any of this," He admitted.

"I would love to say, 'let's just be friends.' But I don't think you're even capable of being friends with your communication abilities!" She took a frustrated sip of her beer.

They had dated. Well, that was probably an understatement. Their relationship was filled with tumultuous breakups and euphoric highs. After high school graduation, Rowan's smarts got her into a good college, and Alex's compulsion took him on the road. His traveling and her studies only made everything worse, because they were both too stubborn to stop loving each other even when they didn't have the time.

He turned to her, "What if I said I'd try harder?"

She smirked, "I'd say I've heard that before."

"Then what are we going to do? I mean, we're both a little incapable of moving on..."

"We haven't really given it a try, have we?" She raised her eyebrows.

Alex shook his head, "No, not really. Even when we were on 'breaks' we didn't really break up."

She finished off her beer, "So maybe it's time to actually try. No calling each other, no texting, no anything."

"And you're sure that's what you really want to do?" He looked at her from the corner of his eye.

She shrugged and set the bottle down, "I guess so."

Rowan hopped off the barstool and put her purse over her shoulder, pulling her skirt down to a more appropriate length and fixing the collar of her shirt. She flipped her hair over her shoulder before finally looking at him.

"It's been a blast," She smirked, leaning down a kissing him lightly on the forehead.

Alex watched her walk away, then turned back to his half-empty beer, "Just know the best time of my life has been loving you."