Love's Back Pocket by Heather C. Myers Read Free Book Online Page B

platinum albums. We’ll see if the JoHoe’s or whatever they’re called can last as long as we do, or if they turn out to be another fad.” Having made his point, he shifted his attention back to Holly. “So? Are you coming?”
     
    “I’m not sure,” she replied. “I have a bunch of things I need to look at if I’m supposed to be your psychologist, and I want to make sure everything’s in order.”
     
    “You know what you need?” Tommy asked, interlocking his fingers before leaning forward. “You need to relax. Have fun. Be free. Whatever you want to call it. You know, people on their death beds don’t ever wish they spent more time working, studying, or anything boring and not fun.”
     
    “They really are good,” Tanya put in, giving her friend a sincere glance. “Remember what we talked about in your room?” Tommy watched as Holly turned red once again, and a wicked smirk littered his face. “Prove me wrong.”
     
    “Ooh,” Tommy teased, his green eyes darting between Holly and Tanya before resting on Holly once more. “What’d you guys talk about?”
     
    “Nothing,” Holly said a tad too quickly, causing Tommy’s smirk to become more defined. No, they did not talk about ‘nothing,’ as she had put it.
     
    “Girl talk,” Tanya elaborated.
     
    “Okay, girl talk, whatever,” Tommy said, rolling his eyes. “The point is, are you coming?”
     
    Holly opened her mouth but paused, looking at everyone’s face. Did it really make a difference if she showed up or not? When her eyes finally rested on Tommy, and she took in his eagerness, she knew she couldn’t say no. She sighed through her nose, her shoulders slumping in defeat. “All right,” she said in surrender. “I’ll go.”

Chapter 9
     
    They had reached San Diego three hours later. Traffic was absolutely ridiculous, but Holly fixated her attention on a book, quietly reading in her room, while Tanya amused herself with Mitch. Surprisingly, the bed she would be occupying for the next couple of months was quite comfortable, and she found herself dozing up until the point when somebody started to pound on her door. The young woman was so surprised she nearly toppled out of bed, but managed to catch herself just in time. She blinked once, suppressing a yawn as she opened the door. There stood Tanya with way too much energy, at least for Holly’s current tastes.
     
    “You’re not even ready?” Tanya asked, looking at Holly’s casual clothing before meeting her friend’s eyes, her brow furrowed. “I wish I could be surprised, sweetie, but …” She let her voice trail off with obvious disdain, and walked in without permission.
     
    “I was thinking of just going in this,” Holly said, shrugging. “I see no point in dressing up for a concert.”
     
    Tanya placed her hands on her hips, her eyes searching Holly’s for something that might give her secluded friend away. “Oh, all right,” she said finally. “Don’t dress up. But you absolutely have to promise you’re going to have fun, okay? I know you; I know your mind. Instead of nit-picking every word in every song, just … just lose yourself in the music, okay?”
     
    “I really don’t know how to do that,” Holly mumbled, glancing at the loose sleeves that currently engulfed the majority of her arms, including most of her fingers.
     
    “It’s not something you can be taught,” Tanya told her. “It’s just a feeling. Let it take you over; don’t try to analyze it.”
     
    “I’ll try,” she conceded, and nodded once.
     
    “Good,” Tanya said with a grin. “Now come on, let’s go. Tommy got us backstage passes.” Tanya handed her friend a badge clipped to a cloth necklace, and Holly immediately pulled it over her head. “The band is backstage, doing a mental run-through, their usual prayers—”
     
    “They pray?” Holly asked, not bothering to hide her astonishment. She wasn’t doubtful of the method, just surprised.
     
    “Of course