Thoughtful (Thoughtless, #1.5)(76)

“Hey, Griff,” I casually said.

Griffin immediately frowned. “I already told Matt I’d help bring shit in, so no need to get on my case about it.”

I shook my head. “I wasn’t going to. I was just thinking…Matt’s a little high-strung lately, right?”

Griffin turned to me. “Abso-f*cking-lutely. Son of a bitch has been pissing me off left and right. He’s got a stick shoved up his ass so far, his eyes are turning brown.”

I blinked at Griffin’s turn of phrase, then smiled and suggested, “Maybe he needs a distraction?”

Griffin gave me a blank stare. “Huh?” I was about to respond when the lights clicked on and he added, “Oh, you mean a chick? Fuck yeah, let’s get him laid.” A slow smile spread over his face and he patted my shoulder. Before I could agree or disagree, he told me, “Don’t worry. I got this.”

I was frowning as he walked away. Putting Griffin in charge of anything was usually a bad idea. Seeing my expression, Evan walked over. “What’s up?”

I jerked my thumb at where Griffin was disappearing around the side of the building. So much for helping us bring shit in. “I think I just made a tactical error. I thought maybe Matt could use some company of the female persuasion, and now Griffin is on a mission to find him a girl.”

Evan looked over at where Griffin had disappeared. He was silent a moment, then said, “You know that’s going to end badly, don’t you?”

I gave him a half smile in answer. Yep. I did. Matt was going to kill me.

Matt was fine throughout the set, no different than he usually was, so I thought maybe Griffin had failed. I should have known better. Matt was gone when Evan and I began tearing down the instruments; Griffin was whistling. That right there should have clued me in to an upcoming problem. I was clueless though, and didn’t think anything of it until Evan and I were wrestling his drum set into the van.

Completely red in the face, Matt came storming out the back door. Evan and I paused as we watched him. It had started to drizzle, and I swear the raindrops around Matt were evaporating in his anger. “Who the hell did that?” he shouted into the alley.

Evan and I exchanged a glance while Griffin sniggered. Great. What the hell did Griffin do now? Setting the drum down on the concrete, I took a tentative step forward. “Did what? What’s wrong?”

Matt clenched his fists, furious. “Hired a hooker for me,” he seethed.

My jaw dropped, and I flashed a look at Griffin. He was full-on laughing now. Pointing a finger at me, he said, “Kell told me to.”

I immediately held my palms up in supplication. “No, I didn’t.”

Matt ignored Griffin and glared at me. “What the hell?”

I shook my head, wondering how I was going to get out of this one. Fucking Griffin. I knew I should have been supervising him better. “All I said was maybe you could use some company…” I shut my mouth. That didn’t sound any better than hiring him a prostitute.

Matt started vibrating. “A whore? That’s what you thought I needed?”

I shook my head again. “No! Griffin took it the wrong way. I just—”

Matt cut me off with a wave of his hand. “I’m done with you f*ckers. I’m taking a cab back.”

I gave Matt a look of disbelief. Taking a cab this distance would cost him more than we made tonight. It was stupid. “Look, if you don’t want to ride with Griffin and the instruments, I understand, but you can at least ride back with me.” There really wasn’t enough room for everyone and all our stuff, so I almost always drove my car to gigs.

Matt raised a pale eyebrow. “I said I’m taking a cab.” With that, he turned and headed back into the bar.

“Matt! You’re being ridiculous. It’s not like you slept with her!” I yelled. Pausing, I reconsidered. “Did you sleep with her?” He was gone a long time.

Griffin was practically rolling on the ground in laughter now. I started to go after Matt, but Evan grabbed my arm. “I think I better handle this one,” he told me. Shaking his head at Griffin, he headed into the bar after Matt.

I looked back at Griffin with my brows bunched. “You’re an idiot.”

Griffin wiped tears from his eyes. “Do you think he nailed her?” He started laughing again and I sighed. This was going to be a very long night.

It took Evan two hours to convince Matt to get into my car. Even though I apologized more than a half dozen times, he didn’t say a word to me on the drive home. I’d have to make it up to him somehow. I dropped him off at Evan’s, since he didn’t want to be alone with Griffin, then I made my way home. I was exhausted as I trudged up the stairs, but I paused at Kiera’s door with a stupid smile on my face. I couldn’t wait to see her. And since it was so incredibly late, I’d only have to wait a few hours. One small benefit of staying out almost all night.

My body had other plans though. I woke up much later than I usually did. Guess I was more tired than I thought. That happened on occasion. My body rebelled against my schedule and I’d sleep for twelve hours straight. Fortunately, it wasn’t that bad this time.

Once my mind cleared to alertness, I sat up and started doing some push-ups. That woke me up even better than coffee. I heard the water running while I worked out, and figured Denny was getting ready for work. That probably meant Kiera was downstairs, waiting for me. I paused in a plank position, then sprang to my feet. I wanted to see her more than I wanted to keep my muscles trim.