More Than Once Read Online Free Page A

help me get my shit together. Ugh, talk about admitting defeat. And you could be damn sure my parents wouldn’t let me forget it either.
    I spent a few minutes watching the crowd, admiring the geeky costumes. The party had a villain theme, of course, and I guessed most of the people were also attending San Diego Comic-Con at the convention center a few blocks away. Not me. When I’d heard my former band was playing a show as part of their tour for
The Sound
, I’d decided to come and make amends. I’d sneaked backstage the other night, and after we’d settled our differences, they’d invited me to this party. Now here I was, with my non-alcoholic drink, sitting alone at a bar.
    If I stayed any longer, I was going to order a real drink and that would be a bad move. I wasn’t an alcoholic, but I tended to lose control when I drank and usually made some pretty terrible decisions. Like sleeping with Jared. Or quitting the band.
    New plan: I’d finish my Coke, say hi to the band quickly, and then take off. I’d made an appearance at their party, so that should be enough. I’d probably never see any of them again after I moved to Dallas anyway.
    Besides, I could really go for a cigarette right now. I was supposed to be quitting, but maybe I could have one outside the club to help ease me off. One and done. Not a big deal.
    Just as I was about to stand up, Hector appeared at my side with another guy in tow. “Hey, Becca. Glad you could make it.” He pushed the guy forward a little. “This is Andy. Andy, Becca used to be the bassist in my band.”
    I looked Andy up and down and smiled.
Hello, handsome
. Sure, he was a bit more preppy than the guys I usually went for, with slicked-back blond hair and no trace of stubble, wearing a black button-up shirt and dark blue jeans. But he had a face like an old-school movie star, all chiseled jaw and perfect cheekbones, and I decided preppy was perfect for tonight.
    Okay, maybe I could stay a
little
while longer.
    “Nice to meet you,” Andy said, shaking my hand. “I like your shirt.” His eyes flicked to my chest, which was the point of this tiny little tank top that read, “This
is
my slutty costume.” Good to know it was working.
    “Thanks. I don’t do the whole costume thing,” I said.
    “No, me neither.” He perched on the barstool next to me, while Hector ordered us another round of drinks before slipping back into the crowd. “So Hector said you’re moving to Dallas?”
    “I am, yeah. In a few days.”
    “Me too.”
    “Is that so?” That must be why Hector had introduced us. Well, it couldn’t hurt to have a new friend in Dallas. Most of my high school friends had moved or gotten married and popped out a baby or two (not necessarily in that order). None of us kept in touch much anymore.
    “Yep,” he said, running his fingers through his hair, messing it up a little. I decided he looked more like one of those sexy soccer players I’d drooled over during the World Cup than a movie star. Either way, it was hard to take my eyes off him. “I live in Boston now, but I’m starting a new job there in a few weeks. What about you?”
    “I’m from there originally,” I said.
    “Ah, a local. You’ll have to direct me to all the good restaurants.”
    “Sure, although everything has probably changed since I lived there. I spent the last couple years in LA, trying to be a rock star. That obviously didn’t work out, so now I’m heading home with my tail between my legs.”
    “Hector said you used to play bass for Villain Complex?”
    “I did, but it wasn’t a good fit,” I said, blowing off the question as best I could. But then I looked at Andy’s face and wanted to tell him the truth. There was something about him—a sadness to his smile, a hint of vulnerability in his eyes, a tension in his shoulders—that made me think he might understand somehow. “Okay, that’s an excuse. What really happened was that I fucked everything up by getting drunk and