I had to close my eyes at that. Jesus Christ. This was why I would never measure up to Denny. He was just…a thousand times a better person than I would ever be. I didn’t even know what to say to that. Denny seemed to sense that I was speechless. His next text effectively ended the conversation. ‘I hope the rest of your tour is good. See ya around, mate.’

‘Thanks. See ya.’

Shoving the phone into my pocket, I shook my head in disbelief. Why the fuck was he so good to me? I stewed on that the entire car ride to the hotel, and when I got there, I still had no idea. Denny was just…a remarkable person.

My friends were hanging out in the hotel bar when I walked inside; I could hear them from the lobby. Justin and the rest of Avoiding Redemption were with them. Evan noticed me first and raised a hand in greeting. I nodded at him as I approached their boisterous section. Everyone turned to look at me then, saying hello in one way or another. Except for Griffin. He had his head on the table, and he looked a little green. He was staring up at me, but he wasn’t saying anything, and he wasn’t moving; if it weren’t for the occasional eye movement as he scanned me, I might have thought he was dead. I could only assume he went out last night and had thoroughly overdone it.

Because I was in a really good mood, because I couldn’t resist fucking with him, and because Griffin deserved a few consequences, I smacked the table in front of him, hard. “How’s it going, Griffin?” I said, loudly, brightly.

He cringed and groaned. “Fuck…off,” he murmured. The guys around me snickered as Griffin weakly lifted his head. “I hate New Orleans,” he pouted.

Matt clapped his back. “That’s not what you said last night. I’m pretty sure you said you were moving here.”

Evan nodded. “Yep. You said you were grabbing Anna, and the two of you were gonna live together here, right above a bar.” I raised an eyebrow at hearing that, and Evan gave me a small nod that clearly said: I know, right?

Griffin snorted, then grimaced. “There’s no fucking way I would say that. I’m not living anywhere with a chick.”

I opened my mouth, desperate to tell him what I knew, then I silently pressed my lips together. It wasn’t for me to say. And it might not change anything anyway. Matt grinned at him. “It’s not that you won’t live with a chick, Griffin, it’s that a chick won’t live with you. And as your roommate, I totally understand why.”