“I love pho,” he replied.

Of course he did.

* * *

“He’s really cute, Gaby,” Laila stated as she helped me fold shirts behind the merch table a few hours later.

“Who? You were flirting with all of them except Gordo,” I snickered with a laugh. Eli, Mase and Gordo had tagged along to go eat at our favorite pho joint, too.

“It’s pointless to flirt with Gordo,” she said like I didn’t already know that. “And you know who I’m talking about.”

Of course I did. She’d been pinching me under the table every time he spoke. The bruises were going to be happening later.

“Does he have a girlfriend?” she asked when all I did was groan in response.

I bent over to grab another pile of shirts that I’d messed up during a rush of customers the night before. “I don’t know; I don’t think so.”

“Have you heard him talking to anyone for long periods of time?” Investigator Laila inquired.

“No.” I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. “It isn’t like I get to spend all day with him or anything, Lai. I’m in the venue most of the time; I don’t know what goes on when I’m in here and everyone else is out there.”

“I guess, but I think you’d know.” She paused, handing me the two shirts she’d finished refolding. “I’m just saying, he’s really cute and he seems like your type.”

That had me turning my entire body around to give her a look.

“Okay, okay. He’s just about everyone’s type, but you two were flirting.”

I choked. “We weren’t flirting, we just joke around.” A lot.

“That was flirting, you friggin’ liar.”

“Maybe a little bit—“

“He threw a balled-up straw cover at you and called you Princess twice,” Laila stated.

I coughed. “We’re always messing with each other—” I tried to explain before realizing that I was digging myself into a deeper hole. She just didn’t get it.

`

She sighed and touched my knee. “That’s not helping you win your case at all. I love you, and I want you to be happy, Gab. That’s all.”

“I am happy.”

“You know what I mean.”

I nodded at her, and nudged her hand back with mine. “I know, I know, and I swear I’m a lot better now than I was before I left.”

Laila raised an eyebrow that she quickly covered by shaking a shirt out in front of her face. “You don’t want to kill Brandon anymore then?”

“I’d settle for him getting a really bad case of hemorrhoids.”

Laila threw her head back and laughed. “Bleeding, inflamed hemorrhoids.”

There was a reason why our friendship had survived so many years. We high-fived each other.

When I pulled back, I had a big smile on my face. “If I never see him again, I’d be perfectly happy.”

* * *

Hours later, I knew something was going on when Eli texted me.

Do u want to take the nite off.

Mason, Gordo and him loved their fans, but selling merch was something that none of them were particularly fond of. They couldn't get anything done because people wanted to talk to them more than they wanted to actually buy anything.

When I sent both Mason and Gordo messages and didn't get a response, my gut feeling was confirmed. Those two bitches kept their phones on them like the end of the world would be set into motion if they missed a call or a text message. Laila was sitting behind the merch table with me and offered to keep an eye on it after I showed her the message. I tried my best to get through the crowd as quickly as possible without having to elbow too many people. I'd barely made it to the hallway behind the stage when I spotted Gordo pacing outside of the green room.