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I heard Garrett’s fingers speed across his keyboard as he tapped out a reply and let my forehead rest against the passenger window, the glass refreshingly cool against my skin. There was a click and Garrett locked his phone again, turning back to me.

“Shit Brandy, you don’t look too flash.”

I mumbled something sarcastic in reply and I felt Garrett’s hand on my shoulder, his thumb rubbing at the material of my t-shirt.

“You want help getting inside?”

I shook my head, and with tremendous effort managed to unlock the car door and swing my legs out. Garrett watched me from the driver’s seat, looking concerned.

“At least let me walk you to the door.”

I raised my eyebrows at him in my best effort to appear perfectly fine. “Gare, I’m just tired.”

He narrowed his eyes at me, like he didn’t believe me, but nodded anyway and flipped the engine back on. It kind of hurt. Usually he’d help me inside, make me some coffee and then head home, but today I could tell Rhiannon’s text was playing on his mind. And sure enough—

“I’ve gotta go see Rhiannon.” He frowned and rapped his knuckles on the steering wheel sharply, sighing. “I think she’s pretty pissed I didn’t make it home last night. You’ll be okay?”

I grimaced, knowing that it was my fault and that Garrett was really only trying to keep my company last night. “Yeah, just go home Garrett.”

He looked at me one last time and then shrugged, kicking the car into reverse and beginning to back out. He called out a goodbye through the car window and I waved half-heartedly in reply, before standing to watch the number plate grow blurry against the Arizona dust as the car drove away.

I was in trouble. Big trouble.

No biggie? Right, that was why we were both acting weird already.

Xxx

I barely made it up the stairs before Tayla popped her head out of her bedroom to laugh at me. She’d evidently just got out of the shower, pink towel wrapped around her middle and her long blonde hair dripping down her back. She still looked like a super model though. Maybe because she actually was one. Life is unfair when you share a house with a six foot beauty goddess and consistently look like you’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards yourself.

I could smell the body gel she’d used rolling off her tan skin it was so strong, and it made me wrinkle my nose. Apparently my stomach didn’t like the idea of strawberries so soon.

“The prodigal daughter returns!” she laughed. “And how was the party?”

“Good,” I answered quickly. “Absolutely great.”

“And you look so wasted because--?”

“Because I am. Wasted that is, or I was last night. I had to stay at Kennedy’s the night because Garrett and I both drank.”

Tayla rolled her eyes and began squeezing out the water in her hair. “And there was me thinking you’d got lucky. Well, there’s always next time.”

I snorted. “Oh yeah? With who?”

She grinned at me and threw her hands up in the air. “I don’t know, some tall dark and handsome man who could whisk you away into the Arizona desert and make sweet—“

I shook my head at her, although I was smiling myself, and attempted to walk into my bedroom, but Tayla followed me down the hall and propped herself against my doorframe.

“So that didn’t happen?” she asked, looking sad.

“No, it did not. Besides I know everyone at the boys’ parties. They’re all either spoken for or hopeless cases. The gene pool is pretty small, Tay.”

Tayla pouted. “You need to get out more, Brands.”

“Wow, thank you so much.”

“I’m being serious! Maybe you should come to some of my work parties! There’s loads of cute guys there! Maybe you’ll hit it off!”

I smiled at her accommodatingly. “Yeah maybe some other time.” I caught sight of myself in the mirror above my dresser and I flinched. My mascara had migrated to below my eyes, making them black and smudgy, and my hair looked ratty. At least my eyes weren’t bloodshot, but I was definitely not male model girlfriend material. Yikes.

Tayla sighed and pushed herself away from the wall. “You’re not going to come are you?”

I chuckled. “Nope, but thanks anyway Tay.”

She nodded and left, came back a couple of seconds later to throw me some make-up wipes and then told me she had to work.

“On a Sunday?” I asked, already curled up in bed, covers over my knees and my laptop booting up. It was time for some good old Netflix to ease the pain.

“No rest for the wicked. Or those with rent to pay, either.”

I sent her a sympathetic look and told her to have fun and a couple of minutes later the house fell silent as the click of her heels left the wooden flooring downstairs.

It was just me and that 90210 marathon now, I mused. Tayla’s conversation made me cringe. She was so desperate to see me happy with someone, which made absolutely zero sense because Tayla was a big advocate for sexual freedom and what not, which don’t get me wrong I’m all for too, but it meant that she never had a steady boyfriend herself. So why did she want me to so badly?

Well I kind of knew, but it didn’t really help take my mind off the night before either. But she was right, the idea of having someone seemed great. Stupid ice-cream dates and sharing a bed, even talking about taxes together (oh my god) – I wasn’t going to deny that I wanted that, someone to share your life with –but whenever I tried to make the mystery guy’s face melt into someone that I actually knew, it all went terribly wrong.

I tried to pretend that it didn’t, but it so did. Because the guy either didn’t live up to the amount of fun I’d have with Garrett, or worse yet, the mystery guy started to develop facial hair and a wicked sense of humour (and actually was Garrett.)

I rolled over and pressed my face into my pillow to muffle a scream. I was a goner, I was so so so dead. How could I have almost let it slip last night?

Xxx

I woke up about five hours later, the duvet nearly half-way off my bed and my laptop dangerously close to falling on the floor. I lunged for it before it could. Apparently those episodes weren’t as riveting as I thought they might be. Outside the day had worn on, and it was now late afternoon, the Arizona sun burning orange in the sky.

I felt gross, but the sleep had done me some good – I didn’t feel like throwing up and my headache was gone. I just felt unclean, so I dragged myself to the shower and spent half an hour scrubbing the grime off my body and hair. When I was done I threw on a different pair of shorts and my Something Corporate top (which I remembered too late matched Garrett’s which was really just like the universe laughing at me) and dug out my flip-flops from under my bed where I’d kicked them a couple of days before.

I padded into the kitchen and flicked the radio on. The soft sounds of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Sara’ started to drift into the room and I sung along. Garrett was right, I did have a decent voice, and had even done some backing vocals for the band before, but being drunk definitely affected my abilities to pitch properly.

An inspection of the cupboard told me we were ridiculously low on food and the coffee pot was dangerously empty too, so I realised a trip to the store was needed. I went to grab my keys off the kitchen counter and then paused when my fingers caught nothing but air. What had I done with my car keys?

I swore out loud as an image of watching a car drive down the road poked at my thoughts. Garrett had taken my car to drive home? And I hadn’t stopped him? Just how out of it was I that morning?

Instead I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and hit the speed-dial, number three after Tayla and my Mom. Garrett answered after a couple of rings.

“Hey Soldier! How you feeling?”

“Fresh as a daisy,” I told him sarcastically. “Do you still have my car?”

Garrett paused guiltily. “I’m sorry I was gonna drop it back round when Rhiannon and I went to breakfast, but uhhh…that never happened. We got…distracted.”

I squeezed my eyes shut against the mental images he was hinting at. Yes I’m sure Rhiannon was plenty good at distracting you, Garrett.

“Well I need to go shopping and I have no way of getting to the shops!”

“You could walk?”

“Garrett!”

“Sorry, sorry. I just expected you to be out for a while, and I was gonna drop it round I swear.”

“Whatever,” I sighed. “Can you just bring it back before Tayla gets home? I promised I’d cook dinner tonight and I don’t at the moment have any ingredients.”

“Sure, will do girly. What time is she home?”

“Around six I think?”

It was getting on to three at the moment, but Garrett promised he’d pop round before four and I let him go, only threatening him mildly before he laughed and hung up. Since I had no way of getting out of the house I admitted defeat and sprawled myself across the sofa and flicked through a few music magazines I’d bought earlier.

About an hour later the doorbell sounded and when I opened it Garrett tossed me the car keys.

“Think fast.”

I caught them in the crook of my elbow, thankfully. “You’re an idiot.” I told him flatly.

He winked. “Reporting for duty. You said you wanted to go shopping? Can I come?”

I looked at him incredulously. “Grocery shopping, Gare. It’s not exactly exciting.”

“Don’t care,” he replied, shrugging. “I haven’t got plans this evening. And besides, I am now in need of a lift home. Earlier I was gonna get Rhiannon to drive so I could drop the car off and still get home, but she’s gone out to her yoga class so…I drove your car to the studio this morning, and then I drove it here, and now it appears I am stranded. Take pity on me,” he said, giving me the biggest set of puppy eyes I’d ever seen.

I punched him in the arm playfully and his eyes crinkled again in the corners as he smiled. “Come on you goober, let’s go shopping and then I’ll drop you home.”

“Road trip!” he exclaimed as he climbed in shotgun.

“Oh yeah? Then driver picks the music,” I replied slyly.

“Damn.”

I stuck in an old Kings Of Leon cd, which actually suited both of us just fine. Garrett chatted about the band as we drove, telling me about the new songs they’re working on, and a bass riff that he was trying to pin down. He tried to tap it out on the dashboard, which just made me giggle because he looked so serious. He flicked me in the shoulder and just carried on.

“You should come into the studio some time. I think we wanted some female vocals on one track.”

“Oh yeah?” I laughed.

“Sure! Well I already told Tim that you’d do it, so…”

“You did, huh? Maybe I don’t want to. You didn’t exactly forewarn me,” I pretended, keeping my eyes on the road. I didn’t mind in the slightest, recording was heaps of fun, especially with the guys, but it was hilarious to make Garrett sweat.

“Come on, Brandy! Please? The guys will kick my ass if you don’t now that I promised you would.” His voice was so pathetically pleading that I gave up pretty quickly.

“What’s the song called?”

“Room With No Windows.”

“Cryptic,” I commented.

“That’s John for you. Don’t even get me started on the lyrics. Man, they’re odd. He’s definitely got that tortured musician thing down.”

I laughed. “Yep, well, that’s John for you. And it’s okay, I’ll do it.”

Garrett grinned and leant back in the chair, putting his hands behind his head, looking utterly relaxed. The open window next to him let the breeze ruffle his longish hair. I’ll admit it, it was cute.

“Thanks Bey, you’re the best. Like for real.”

I snorted. “Yeah, yeah. Kiss my ass some other time Nickelsen.” I swung into the parking lot. “Right now you’ve gotta help me grocery shop.”

He cracked an eye open to look at me and just groaned.