Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(71)

Interesting, how life had a way of coming full circle.

Jenny beside me sighed in a melancholy way that matched my own.

Suddenly straightening, she turned and dashed out of the front doors.

We all watched her leave, curious over her sudden departure. When she came back a few minutes later, holding a large poster frame under her arm, she was beaming.

I smiled as she walked up to me. “I nearly forgot I brought this.” Twisting the poster around so we could all see it, she displayed the finished artwork that she’d been doing in class—the drawing of the band. I nearly had tears in my eyes as I gazed at her perfect recreation of Kellan.

Nodding at the stage, she smiled. “It’s wrong to leave that stage without a piece of them up there, right?”

I eagerly nodded and helped her rearrange some of the decorative guitars hanging on the wall so we could hang it. After centering it, we took a step back and admired her handiwork. She’d turned her pencil 198



drawing into a stunning black and white sketch. It was incredible. She really did have a knack for it.

Nearly wanting to place a kiss on the lifelike vision of my boyfriend, I slung my arm around Jenny’s shoulders. “It’s perfect, Jenny.” Laughing a little, I added, “I think the boys may not be the only famous people to come out of this bar.”

She flushed and laughed, looking down. “It’s alright, I guess.” Staring at it in awe, Anna and Rachel both assured her that it was better than alright.

Before leaving for a few hours, since Jenny and I both had to work tonight, we said goodbye to the staff we didn’t spend too much time with—Sal, the part owner of the bar, Hun and Sweetie, the longtime waitresses, and lastly, Troy. He seemed brighter with the addition of Jenny’s portrait on the back wall, and I smiled that at least we’d made him feel a little better.

Getting back into our respective cars, we headed out to Evan’s. Mechanic girl was walking across the lot when I pulled up in Kellan’s car. Her eyes instantly swung to the Chevelle. She looked highly disappointed when I stepped out of the vehicle, and not her former…whatever. She waved at me, then stepped into the shop. Maybe she was going to go write her book: Groupie lovin’ 101.

Sighing, I rolled my eyes. After grabbing instruments from Griffin’s van, I followed Jenny and Rachel up to the loft, Anna trailing behind us.

I knew I was being too hard on mechanic girl, especially since I wasn’t even really sure if she had been with Kellan or not. And even if she had, it was in his past and it shouldn’t really matter anymore. I was being jealous without good reason…and I needed to stop doing that if Kellan and I were going to work as a couple.

Evan’s place was oddly bare when we stepped into it. Having taken their travelling instruments on the road, only Evan’s drum set remained.

All of the various groups on the tour had decided to share some drums, instead of each band bringing their own, so Evan had left both of his sets here in Seattle. Being used to playing other people’s equipment, Evan 199



had seemed fine with it. I smiled, thinking of Kellan lugging his guitar onto the bus. He’d never settle for playing on just anybody’s.

As I was setting down Griffin’s bass, I saw a small note taped on the back. Now, normally, I wouldn’t touch anything of Griffin’s, even handling his instrument was questionable, but the note had my name on it.

Curiosity getting the better of me, I tore off the securely held piece of paper. Unfolding it, I cringed, waiting for some horrific comment from the crude bassist. I was pleasantly surprised at what I discovered, though.

I know you hate touching anything of Griffin’s, so I thought I’d make it a little more bearable for you. Thank you for doing this. I love you, Kellan.

Grinning like an idiot, I tucked the note into my pocket. Warmth flooded through me, both from the fact that he knew me so well, in regards to Griffin, and also from the fact that he’d been thinking about me far enough in advance to plan leaving that message behind. He must have put it there prior to the show. Biting my lip, I wondered if this was also a part of his plan. I wondered what else I might find, tucked here and there, just waiting for me to discover them.

We got all the instruments and equipment brought in with only a couple of trips to the van. After Jenny arranged Evan’s second drum set next to his first one, she sighed and came over to rest her head on my shoulder. Placing my hand over the normally perky blonde’s head, I offered what comfort I could. As much as Kellan and the boys missed us, being left behind was so much harder than leaving. I knew we’d all be sifting through our emotional baggage for a while, finding a new mood every ten minutes. Jenny confirmed that for me by brightly popping her head up.

“Oh, we have to remember to pay the neighbors.” I stared at her blankly, not having a clue what she meant. Rent or something? Noticing my puzzled expression, she shook her head. “You know, Matt and Griffin’s neighbors.” Still confused, I shook mine. Jenny tilted her head. “Kellan didn’t tell you what he did?” Narrowing my brows, I wondered just what he’d done. “No…” 200



Laughing a little at my sullen tone, she pointed out the window, to the direction of Matt and Griffin’s suburban utopia. “He paid all the neighbors to not call the cops if the party got a little…noisy.” My mouth lowered. “He paid all the…what?”