The next day, I was sitting on my bed playing my guitar when I heard JD shrieking my name as loud as he could from the living room.

"Upstairs," I yelled back.

I heard JD clomp up the stairs like he was running. I wonder what got him all worked up today.

He was out of breath when he stood in the doorway.

"Pack your shit up." He said between gasps.

Wait. What? Was he throwing me out? I didn't even do anything. I know I thought about Riley and stared at her a bit, but I didn't touch her even though I really wanted to. Was he really going to throw me out for just thinking about her? Aiden probably told him I was talking about her. That fucking little weasel was going to get his ass beat today.

"Ezra, get your gear together. Levi just called me. The band at Bannon's backed out tonight. We have a gig." JD clarified.

"That's last minute," I said, pretending like I knew nothing about it. There was no way I was ever going to be as excited about it as JD. The last show we played there wasn't great and it pissed me off for a full week before I was able to let it go. The only reason I even agreed to do this was for the money.

"We take what we can get." JD shrugged. "Get your stuff and get it loaded up. Mark and Aiden will meet us at Bannon's later. They are still at work. I have to run to my mom's house to pick up a check that was sent there instead of here and I will head over to meet you there."

JD left the room before I could stop him and say anything else. He was in a hurry and I didn't blame him. We would be pushing getting there and set up in time. The guys liked to let loose and drink a bit before going on stage. I never got nervous for a show, but JD and Aiden always lost their minds. It always took a shot or two to calm them down.

It took me a few extra seconds to pull my head out of my ass and register that JD said he was going to his mom's house. There might be a chance that Riley was going to be there. I knew it was stupid to assume she would be, but if there was any chance I could see her, I would take it.

"JD, hold up. I'll drive." I threw my twelve-string acoustic on the bed and hopped up to follow him.

A few minutes later, I was pulling up to a nice classic house tucked away in the back of a cul-de-sac. I didn't know what kind it was because I wasn't into that shit, but I knew It was nothing like the house I grew up in. The outside looked fresh, new, and inviting. I knew JD grew up in perfection in the suburbs, but I never realized how different it was from my upbringing.

JD and I walked up to the door and he opened it to let us in.

"Mom, where's my mail?" JD yelled as soon as he walked in the door.

"In the kitchen." She called back.

He went straight to the kitchen, where I heard shuffling around.

JD led me through the house. I looked around a bit, trying to find any evidence that Riley was home. I didn't see anything that looked like a girl's bag or shoes in the hallway. To be honest, this didn't look like the type of house where things would just be lying around.

The house was immaculate and spotless. It barely looked like anyone lived in it.

We walked past a little table in the hallway and on it was a picture of the tiniest little girl with the biggest, beautiful green eyes. She was barely old enough to walk, but there she was, standing up proudly. Behind her was a chubby boy hugging her. JD was a big kid and looked like a giant next to her. Both of them had huge smiles on their faces.

"We used to like each other," JD interjected. "Then my mom insisted on teaching her to talk."

Riley had the most amazing smile. I didn't get to see it much the night she was at the house or when she came up to the store. She was always so serious or being an absolute defiant brat when she was around me. I could have stood there and stared at that picture all day.

"Mom, this is Ezra. He is the new guitarist I have been telling you about." JD said.

When I looked up from the picture, JD's mom was standing in the doorway watching me. She was smiling, but I could see her sizing me up.

"Come on in and sit down, you two." She smiled as her eyes lingered too long on the piercings in my eyebrow. She looked like the type of woman who judged others a little too much without knowing them.

The stares were something I was used to by now, but it irritated me after I first got them. My eyebrow rings always turned heads when I walked into a room. There were a few times when some of the guys around my hometown would be bold enough to make a comment about them to my face. I started offering to pull out my dick so they could see the ring I was fucking their girlfriends with too.

Mrs. Davis began blabbering on and on. She turned out to be not as bad as I initially thought, even though she kept giving me side-eyes. She tried to ask me about myself and I responded giving her as little information as I could. My whole goal of leaving Indiana was to put my past behind me, but it never helped that everyone was always curious why I chose to move to this town. All I really gave her was that I grew up in Indiana and decided to move to Ohio to find a job.

We sat in the kitchen, talking for a while. Like every other conversation he had, JD's always went back to talking about Anna. Mrs. Davis' face would screw up a little when he bragged about the things she was doing at work, how she made him dinner, and anything else he could heap praise on Anna for. She was obviously trying to hide a little distaste for hearing about all of Anna's wonderful accomplishments.

"Mom, I'm home!" Riley's voice interrupted the story JD was telling.

My heart was pounding in my chest when I heard her voice. I had given up on seeing her after about twenty minutes of being here. My hands were shaking with nervous energy. If I didn't know any better, it felt like I was excited to see her.

I didn't get excited, so that was not even possible.

"In the kitchen!" Mrs. Davis said eagerly to her daughter. She was probably relieved for the distraction since she wouldn't have to hear Anna's name again for the next thirty seconds.

I heard a noise behind me and turned to see Riley standing in the doorway with her mouth hanging open. Her keys were on the floor and she was holding her hand up in the air like she didn't know what just happened.

She bent down and picked the keys up off the floor.

"Sorry, you know me. I'm clumsy. Can't keep anything in my hands." She said and blushed. I smiled at her; I wanted to test that theory to see if it was true. She could hold me in her hand anytime she wanted to. "I didn't see your car JD, where'd you park?"

"Ezra drove. You're still coming tonight, right?" JD asked her.

I swallowed. He invited her tonight? I didn't know if I wanted her there or not. I had been thinking about her obsessively and couldn't even decide what I should do about it. I just knew I needed to be around her as often as possible until I did figure my head out.

Besides all of that, our band wasn't very good either. I didn't want the first time she ever saw me on a stage playing to be with a set full of unrefined songs.

"I have to get a shower and get ready, but I should make it in time." She walked around the counter to hug her mom.

"Peanut, you smell like onions." Mrs. Davis said and made a yuck face at her daughter. "You also have pizza sauce on your face."

Mrs. Davis licked her fingers to wipe the little splatter off. Riley danced away from her and ran around the kitchen as her mom chased her to clean her up. JD and I were laughing at them.

I was slightly jealous of what they had. This was what a family was supposed to be. I felt like an intruder as I watched them together.

"Mom, stop. I'll get it." Riley waved her hands in front of her body. Mrs. Davis should watch out, I had been punched in the chest by that little thing and I still had a red spot where she hit me.

"Fine." Mrs. Davis gave up and went back to the cupboard near the sink. She opened it and grabbed three glasses out." Anyone want something to drink?"

"I'll take some water, Mrs. Davis," I said softly. She went to the fridge, filled up the glass and handed it to me. I smiled as I took a sip. "Thank you."

"Please, call me Stacie. Mrs. Davis sounds like an old lady." She made a 'mom' face at me. My mom always made the same face when someone would call her ma'am. It made me miss home for the first time since I left. It reminded me that I should probably call my mom to check on her. It had been about a week since I talked to her last.

"Ok, Stacie." I sipped the glass once again and caught Riley watching me out of the corner of my eye. I wanted to turn my chair around and watch her too.

"Mom, we've got to get going. We still have to get packed up and run a soundcheck." JD said. He stood up and stretched.

"That sounds like so much fun. I miss those days when your Dad and I played." I couldn't imagine this woman in a band. She seemed too straight-laced to be the type. In a lot of ways, she reminded me of Riley. She probably had a little wild streak, just like her daughter, that was hidden underneath.

"You should come to see us play," I suggested. It couldn't hurt to get a few more people in the door. It would be more money towards the Camo tickets. I couldn't wait to see the look on Riley's face when I took her to that concert. I was hoping I would get her to smile like she did in that picture in the hallway.

"I'm too old to go to those things anymore. Just promise you will watch Riley and keep her out of trouble." Mrs. Davis requested.

"I won't let her out of my sight." I looked over at Riley. She was blushing so much that her little freckle on her neck was even tinged pink.

She stood there batting her eyelashes silently at me and sucked on her bottom lip.

JD had to smack me on the back to get me to move and gave me a confused look before pushing me out of the room away from her.

Fuck, I was a dead man.