Falling for You by Jen Trinh

Author:Jen Trinh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: climbing, musician, new york, cambodian, graduate school, PhD, chemistry
Publisher: Jen Trinh
Published: 2020-06-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Asher

I texted Lin and Nico to ask if they wanted to meet up and work on the new songs that I’d arranged. Nico agreed right away, thrilled that I had some new material. But Lin declined, saying that she didn’t have any time that week.

But then an hour later, she texted us both and asked if we could meet after all, on Thursday afternoon. Luckily, I found a free last-minute slot at the studio.

The appointed time rolled around, then passed, both of them late. As I began to text to ask them where they were, Lin finally walked through the door.

“Hey, Lin. Do you know where Nico is?”

She shook her head, unsmiling. “Asher. I need to talk to you.”

My fingers froze on the keyboard. When I looked more closely, her face was oddly drawn, her posture closed. “Is this about the money?”

“What?”

“With your dad. The IRS scam?”

“Oh, no. My dad got a loan from my mom’s cousin. We’re fine.”

“Wait, I thought you hated your mom’s side of the family.” When her lips thinned, I continued, “You should’ve just let me—”

“I can’t just subsist on handouts from you, Asher! I need...I need more than that.”

“Oh.” My spine stiffened at her bitter tone. “Sorry. I was just trying to help.”

She exhaled slowly, bleeding off some of the tension from her shoulders. “Sorry, Ash. I really appreciate you offering to give us a loan. That means a lot to me.”

“Of course. Like I said, you’re basically family.” I gave her a reassuring smile, an olive branch, but she only looked away.

“By the way, I’m sorry that I couldn’t make it to your house party the other day. I haven’t seen Adisa in months. I miss that guy.”

She gave me a tight little smile. “It’s almost like you like him better than you like me.”

“Well, he is pretty cool. I still need to commission some custom art from him.”

“Yeah. He is cool.” She crossed her arms and met my gaze. “I wish you’d gone to the party. We actually made a big announcement there.”

“Oh shit, what is it? Are you guys...?”

“No, no, nothing like that.” She drew closer, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Ethan and I started a band.”

“Ethan? Your friend from Eastman?”

She nodded. “And we’re going on tour.”

“Oh—”

“And we’ve both decided to focus on this band. Exclusively.”

Exclusively. “So...”

“I’m sorry, Ash, but...I can’t play with you anymore.”

I frowned. “Like, at all? Not even after you get back from the tour?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” I chuckled mirthlessly. “I see.”

And I did. I’d invited Lin and Nico to officially join Spice Dust before, but both had declined. Both had preferred to have the flexibility to play with other bands.

But really, Spice Dust had just been a placeholder until she’d found a forever band.

Story of my fucking life.

Whatever. She’d been flaky and acting weird those days, anyway. I was sure I could find someone to replace her.

So much for being family.

Why the fuck were my hands shaking? I crossed my arms and pinned them down.

“Well, congrats, I guess. Let me know when you guys play and I’ll be there.

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