Categories > Celebrities > Fall Out Boy > Everybody Wants Somebody
“I dried my eyes, now I’ll crust them with sleep. I’ll crust them over. She begged me ‘Don’t hate me’; she spun me a story where winning looks like losing and I’m winning every time. So thread spools, sweetie, get ready until my silk is sold. Growing up, whoa. Growing up, whoa. Growing up. Yeah, I’ll find myself anew. Yeah, I’ll find myself anew.”
Six months had passed since Sarah’s first performance at The Metro. After witnessing both her solo debut and her duet with Bill, Pete immediately went backstage to sign her to Decaydance for a one album and tour contract, with the option to renew for future albums pending the outcome of her debut. She readily signed the contract, confident and eager for her future. Her new connections with Bill, Pete, and Patrick had her playing a show nearly every other weekend; she reluctantly quit her job at Reckless Records.
In looking at her previous work, Sarah felt it was immature, and so she scrapped everything she had, choosing to start on this new album from scratch. The project had taken a creative direction towards more collaboration and less solo work, since that’s where Pete and Sarah agreed that she thrived musically. Patrick, even though he had been in LA since Sarah’s concert, concurred with Pete and Sarah’s opinion, and offered his help when he could. Sarah couldn’t help but notice that they hadn’t talked much since he had gone back west, and not just in regards to her musical mentoring. They had basically stopped speaking entirely on the phone, emails were few and far between, and he was non-responsive to texts. She told herself it was because he led a busy life in LA and tried not to blame his girlfriend; how bad could the woman be if Patrick chose her?
As the time had gone on, Sarah found herself thinking of Patrick less and less. Out of sight, out of mind, she figured one day. Not to mention she and Bill had been dating regularly since their first date after the concert; they had felt so elated after the show that they grabbed a late night snack at a diner. After the first month, they decided to date exclusively but keep the relationship fairly casual. Bill had confided in Sarah that he had separated from his wife Christine about a year prior and that they were newly in talks of divorce, so he had been tentative to start dating again, which was why he had been so awkward when he had first met Sarah. He also shared that he had a daughter but that he hoped Sarah would honor that he wanted to keep them from meeting until he knew that the relationship was more serious. She understood completely.
---------------------------------------------------------
Out of the eleven planned tracks for her debut album, Sarah had written eight and recorded six, all with a collaboration of some kind. Pete asked Joe Trohman to record a lead guitar solo on one, Hayley Williams and Ryan Ross provided some vocals on two, Bill volunteered vocals for another, Bebe Rexha co-wrote and offered vocals on one, and Brendon Urie recorded an instrumental duet on the piano while Sarah took to the acoustic guitar. All of them adored Sarah after they met her, and they kept in fairly regular contact as friends and fellow musicians. Impressed with the work but forever a high-functioning introvert, Sarah decided the other two songs for which she’d written the lyrics would be just her, though she’d yet to get around to thinking about the music and recording them.
For the remaining songs on the album, Sarah had hit what she assumed was a minor bit of writer’s block from having tapped so deeply and so consistently into her creativity. Retreating to her apartment, she took a break and binged movie after movie. She received a call from Patrick after two weeks with no updates.
“He lives!” She laughed to him as she answered the phone. She didn’t want to admit to herself how good it felt to hear his voice.
“I know,” he groaned. “It’s super crazy out here. Between trying to get my solo album off the ground--”
“You’re busy, it’s okay.” He sighed.
“Thanks.” She swore she could hear him smile in relief. “So, no new updates? Still got that writer’s block?” Her turn to groan.
“God, don’t remind me. It’s fucking embarrassing. Like, I’m here, in the most amazing city and meeting amazing people and getting to basically live my fucking dream, and when I’m about to finally accomplish something, BAM! A block.” She went into her room and lied down on her bed. She mindlessly twirled the memento necklace Patrick gave her between her fingers.
“Hey, it happens to the best of us. Hold on.” He muted his mic for a minute. “Sorry, I had to check something with Elisa.” Sarah rolled her eyes.
“It’s fine.”
“So, since like, I’m your mentor and everything, how about I come to Chicago for a bit and help you out? Plus we could do dinner, like a double date or something.” She paused. While Sarah was all for having Patrick visit and offer his expertise, she wasn’t totally thrilled with the idea of having to sit through a dinner with his girlfriend. Oh come on, it couldn’t be that bad.
“Sounds good! Let me know when you’re coming and I’ll make sure Bill is free.” She smiled at her mention of her boyfriend’s name. Bill, my boyfriend. The thought made her arms tingle.
“Okay great, I’ll forward my flight info once I book it.” He paused a second. “Hey, I miss you. We ought to talk more often.”
“Yeah, me too.” She smiled again as they hung up.
---------------------------------------------------
A week later, Sarah and Bill were having a working lunch date; just because she wasn’t feeling motivated enough to write her own music didn’t mean she couldn’t help him with his. Sarah got up from the loveseat in Bill’s studio to grab them each another slice of pizza and then plopped back down next to him.
“So,” he started, chomping gratefully into his slice, “looking forward to tonight?” Sarah was pensive as she chewed her own. Patrick and Elisa had flown in the previous day, and the two couples were due for dinner that evening. No question, she was excited about seeing Patrick again, but the idea of meeting Elisa made her nervous. The only thing that could bring her out of her anxiety was reminding herself that Bill would be there.
“I mean, I guess. He’s only coming out here because I’m all blocked up. I feel like I’m in time-out or have to go see the principal because I’ve been bad.” Bill chuckled.
“Oh come on, it’s not that bad.” He shoved the crust in his mouth. “I, for one, am pretty pumped. It’s been forever since Trick and I hung out or collabed or anything. I miss it, ya know?” Yeah, me too.
“Yeah, I get it.” Finishing her pizza, she wiped her hands off on her jeans and picked up her acoustic. “So about that bridge? What do you think of something like this?” She played a little lead-esque diddy; Bill cocked his head.
“Uh, yeah, maybe. Let’s do it in context.” He grabbed his guitar. “Ready? One, two, three, four.”
“She's a dangerous kind,
And I like it that way.
On the night we met, I sent an S.O.S.
Turned me upside down with the look on her face.
She's a perfect mess,
A real one of a kind.
When the curtains closed, we were gettin' close,
And the clothes in the corner laid there all night.
Oh, she never skipped a single beat;
Left me there while I was still asleep.
Girl, you shoulda been a drummer.
You break me down like no other.
You beat my heart black and bruised;
No one does it like you do.
No doubt, you've got perfect rhythm.
Crash and burn and then it ended.
You played me so hard so fast,
Just like heavy metal thunder.
Girl, you shoulda been a drummer.
When the morning came along,
She didn't say goodbye but I didn't mind
Because a scratch is what you're gonna get
When you open the door and let a lion inside.
Oh, she didn't skip a single beat;
Left me there while I was still asleep.
Girl, you shoulda been a drummer.
You break me down like no other.
You beat my heart black and bruised;
No one does it like you do.
No doubt, you've got perfect rhythm.
Crash and burn and then it ended.
You played me so hard so fast
Just like heavy metal thunder
Girl, you shoulda been a drummer.”
And then Sarah played her riff while Bill kept the rhythm. She felt him staring at her as she played. She bit her lower lip as she concentrated on the melody of the bridge, smiling when she got the harmonics right. What she hadn’t noticed was when he stopped playing, still staring at her with a grin plastered on his face. She blushed.
“What?”
“I love you,” he confessed breathily. Sarah was stunned and blushed harder, and he definitely took notice. “I know we’ve been trying to keep things on the more casual side so I totally get that this is coming out of the blue, but there you were, playing and being perfect and beautiful, and there I was, falling for you, and I couldn’t stand you not knowing any more.”
“I—God, William, I—,” she stammered, smiling.
“It’s okay if you don’t know if you can say it back, or if you even want to. We’ve been taking this slowly. I just—I needed you to know where I am. And I’m in. I’m all in.” He leaned over their guitars and kissed her, laying her back on the loveseat. Placing her guitar gently on the floor, Sarah wrapped her arms and legs around his neck and torso, bringing him in closer. She wasn’t quite sure what she felt for Bill yet, but she knew she really liked him and that she really, really liked this.
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After a quickie and reaching a stopping point with the song, Bill got ready for dinner in a casual dark grey ensemble and drove Sarah to her apartment so that she could do the same, quickly throwing on a navy blue shift dress and a pair of short, low-heel boots. They left together from there to go to Lou Malnati’s; Patrick had insisted that Sarah finally try Chicago deep-dish and that it had to be from Lou’s. When the anxiety over meeting Elisa started to bubble up again, she focused on holding Bill’s hand as they walked into the restaurant, where they found that Patrick and Elisa had already been seated. The hostess took them back to their table.
Patrick stood to greet them.
“Bill! Sarah!” He shook Bill’s hand and pulled him into a bro-hug, then hugged Sarah briefly. The woman Sarah assumed to be Elisa stood beside Patrick. “Bill, you and Elisa have already met.” They nodded at each other and smiled cordially. “Sarah, this is my girlfriend, Elisa. Elisa, this is Sarah.”
“A pleasure,” Elisa said curtly and daintily offered her hand for Sarah to shake. A petite woman and a little shorter than Sarah, her surprisingly fierce eyes and sharp cheekbones were striking. Her dark, curly hair was amassed at the top of her head in a messy yet intricate and delicate bun, and a coral dress clung to her frame. Minimal make up enhanced her natural beauty and flawless skin. Sarah, immediately, was intimidated. Careful not to let it show, she firmly shook Elisa’s hand.
“Likewise.” Sarah tried to smile at her, but she didn’t return the favor. Instead, she simply looked at Patrick, who pulled out her chair, and sat at the table, signaling to everyone else to join her with her eyes.
“Patrick has told me so much about you!” She remarked with a somewhat fake smile. “I was sorry to hear about your parents! I love their clothes.” Sarah wanted to roll her eyes but didn’t. She was determined to be civil, despite Patrick seemingly not taking notice of Elisa’s behavior. Bill, however, definitely noticed; he placed a comforting hand on Sarah’s knee under the table.
“Yeah, it was uh, it was pretty upsetting,” she answered dismissively, picking up her menu and reading it over.
The rest of dinner went much better. Patrick and Bill shot jabs and shared private jokes, Patrick and Sarah discussed a little more about her project’s direction, and the pizza was absolutely delicious. Elisa stayed fairly quiet, speaking when spoken to and laughing mechanically when situation required, though Sarah felt Elisa eyeing her whenever she looked at or talked to Patrick. It must have been the way she looked at Patrick; even with Bill at her side, even though they were the ones in the relationship, Patrick and Sarah clearly shared some chemistry.
Following dinner, Bill and Patrick excused themselves to grab a drink at the bar, leaving the two women at the table to wait for the check. Sarah was working at the remnants of her dessert, trying to appear busy and very engrossed in cleaning the dish.
“I know something happened with you and Patrick,” Elisa said, words sharp. Sarah suddenly looked up.
“What are you talking about?” She asked innocently. She and Patrick had agreed to put that night behind them and not discuss it, and it had happened before he got back with Elisa.
“Oh come on, I’m not an idiot. I see how you look at each other. He may not have confessed anything to me, and we only just got back together, but I know. I fucking know.” Sarah tried to go back to her dessert but wouldn’t answer the question. “Does William know?”
“You leave him out of this!” Sarah snapped, careful not to raise her voice. The waiter delivered the check, and Elisa pulled out a card from Patrick’s wallet.
“So he doesn’t know?” She cocked an eyebrow.
“No,” Sarah huffed.
“Shame. You two seemed so close. He clearly cares for you. I wonder what would happen if he found out, say next week? If a little birdy told him something happened while you and Patrick were in the studio?” She smirked.
“You wouldn’t fucking dare. That would be a lie. And it would hurt Patrick to lose a friend.”
“Collateral damage,” she said nonchalantly. “Listen, Sarah,” she hissed. “Don’t hate me because I get what I want. I wanted Patrick back, and I got him. I even slept with someone else, and all I had to do was feign a sincere apology and snap my fingers to have him. You’re just a little girl playing grown-up.” Sarah felt her face flush in anger, but she realized all lashing out would do would hurt her and Bill and Patrick. She settled for clenching a fist under the table, her nails digging into her palm.
“So then what do you want, Elisa?”
“When this week is over, I want you out of my life. You and Patrick will not be friends. He’ll barely be your mentor.” The waiter returned, and Elisa signed the check. They both stood to grab their coats and waved when their men came back into the room. Elisa stood next to Sarah and whispered in her ear, “If I hear otherwise, you’ll regret it.” Sarah went pale and witnessed Elisa shift into someone more cordial as Patrick and Bill approached. She smiled as she kissed his cheek; it seemed almost sweet. Bill wrapped his arm around Sarah’s waist and kissed the top of her head, bringing her mind back. She leaned into his warmth, grateful to have him in her life. Patrick and Sarah set a time to meet in the studio, and the couples waved goodbye for the night.
On the drive home, Sarah couldn’t shake her encounter with Elisa. She’d have to be careful; she didn’t want to risk losing Bill to a lie.
“Hey love, you alright?” He asked her, concerned.
“Hm? Yeah, yeah, I’m alright, just tired.” She smiled softly.
“Alright, just checking.” He drove her home, kissed her goodnight, and left.
Sarah felt the pressing need for a bubble bath, and she hastily stripped down as the water filled her tub. She added lavender and chamomile bubbles and a French Lavender bath bomb for good measure. Bringing in her phone to play an audiobook, Sarah had just settled into the comfort of her bath when her phone buzzed with a text. Her notification preview told her it was from Patrick.
Patrick: Really glad to see you tonight. You were a vision. Bill’s definitely one lucky guy ;)
A day ago, a text like that would have made her heart flutter; now all it did was twist her stomach in knots. She had to put him behind her, for the best. She hesitated but ultimately decided to delete it before letting her audiobook continue to play. Before she could unpause, another text came in.
Bill: hey, just got home. thought i’d check in w/ you, see how you’re doing. still worried about how you were in the car. cause, you know, i love you :)
She grinned to herself, blushing. Seeing the words, knowing he loved her made her feel like she was floating, like a warm breeze gently carried her along. And then she knew. Quick so as not to lose her nerve, she typed her response and hit send.
Sarah: I know ;) I love you too.
“One night and one more time: thanks for the memories even though they weren't so great. He tastes like you, only sweeter…”
Six months had passed since Sarah’s first performance at The Metro. After witnessing both her solo debut and her duet with Bill, Pete immediately went backstage to sign her to Decaydance for a one album and tour contract, with the option to renew for future albums pending the outcome of her debut. She readily signed the contract, confident and eager for her future. Her new connections with Bill, Pete, and Patrick had her playing a show nearly every other weekend; she reluctantly quit her job at Reckless Records.
In looking at her previous work, Sarah felt it was immature, and so she scrapped everything she had, choosing to start on this new album from scratch. The project had taken a creative direction towards more collaboration and less solo work, since that’s where Pete and Sarah agreed that she thrived musically. Patrick, even though he had been in LA since Sarah’s concert, concurred with Pete and Sarah’s opinion, and offered his help when he could. Sarah couldn’t help but notice that they hadn’t talked much since he had gone back west, and not just in regards to her musical mentoring. They had basically stopped speaking entirely on the phone, emails were few and far between, and he was non-responsive to texts. She told herself it was because he led a busy life in LA and tried not to blame his girlfriend; how bad could the woman be if Patrick chose her?
As the time had gone on, Sarah found herself thinking of Patrick less and less. Out of sight, out of mind, she figured one day. Not to mention she and Bill had been dating regularly since their first date after the concert; they had felt so elated after the show that they grabbed a late night snack at a diner. After the first month, they decided to date exclusively but keep the relationship fairly casual. Bill had confided in Sarah that he had separated from his wife Christine about a year prior and that they were newly in talks of divorce, so he had been tentative to start dating again, which was why he had been so awkward when he had first met Sarah. He also shared that he had a daughter but that he hoped Sarah would honor that he wanted to keep them from meeting until he knew that the relationship was more serious. She understood completely.
---------------------------------------------------------
Out of the eleven planned tracks for her debut album, Sarah had written eight and recorded six, all with a collaboration of some kind. Pete asked Joe Trohman to record a lead guitar solo on one, Hayley Williams and Ryan Ross provided some vocals on two, Bill volunteered vocals for another, Bebe Rexha co-wrote and offered vocals on one, and Brendon Urie recorded an instrumental duet on the piano while Sarah took to the acoustic guitar. All of them adored Sarah after they met her, and they kept in fairly regular contact as friends and fellow musicians. Impressed with the work but forever a high-functioning introvert, Sarah decided the other two songs for which she’d written the lyrics would be just her, though she’d yet to get around to thinking about the music and recording them.
For the remaining songs on the album, Sarah had hit what she assumed was a minor bit of writer’s block from having tapped so deeply and so consistently into her creativity. Retreating to her apartment, she took a break and binged movie after movie. She received a call from Patrick after two weeks with no updates.
“He lives!” She laughed to him as she answered the phone. She didn’t want to admit to herself how good it felt to hear his voice.
“I know,” he groaned. “It’s super crazy out here. Between trying to get my solo album off the ground--”
“You’re busy, it’s okay.” He sighed.
“Thanks.” She swore she could hear him smile in relief. “So, no new updates? Still got that writer’s block?” Her turn to groan.
“God, don’t remind me. It’s fucking embarrassing. Like, I’m here, in the most amazing city and meeting amazing people and getting to basically live my fucking dream, and when I’m about to finally accomplish something, BAM! A block.” She went into her room and lied down on her bed. She mindlessly twirled the memento necklace Patrick gave her between her fingers.
“Hey, it happens to the best of us. Hold on.” He muted his mic for a minute. “Sorry, I had to check something with Elisa.” Sarah rolled her eyes.
“It’s fine.”
“So, since like, I’m your mentor and everything, how about I come to Chicago for a bit and help you out? Plus we could do dinner, like a double date or something.” She paused. While Sarah was all for having Patrick visit and offer his expertise, she wasn’t totally thrilled with the idea of having to sit through a dinner with his girlfriend. Oh come on, it couldn’t be that bad.
“Sounds good! Let me know when you’re coming and I’ll make sure Bill is free.” She smiled at her mention of her boyfriend’s name. Bill, my boyfriend. The thought made her arms tingle.
“Okay great, I’ll forward my flight info once I book it.” He paused a second. “Hey, I miss you. We ought to talk more often.”
“Yeah, me too.” She smiled again as they hung up.
---------------------------------------------------
A week later, Sarah and Bill were having a working lunch date; just because she wasn’t feeling motivated enough to write her own music didn’t mean she couldn’t help him with his. Sarah got up from the loveseat in Bill’s studio to grab them each another slice of pizza and then plopped back down next to him.
“So,” he started, chomping gratefully into his slice, “looking forward to tonight?” Sarah was pensive as she chewed her own. Patrick and Elisa had flown in the previous day, and the two couples were due for dinner that evening. No question, she was excited about seeing Patrick again, but the idea of meeting Elisa made her nervous. The only thing that could bring her out of her anxiety was reminding herself that Bill would be there.
“I mean, I guess. He’s only coming out here because I’m all blocked up. I feel like I’m in time-out or have to go see the principal because I’ve been bad.” Bill chuckled.
“Oh come on, it’s not that bad.” He shoved the crust in his mouth. “I, for one, am pretty pumped. It’s been forever since Trick and I hung out or collabed or anything. I miss it, ya know?” Yeah, me too.
“Yeah, I get it.” Finishing her pizza, she wiped her hands off on her jeans and picked up her acoustic. “So about that bridge? What do you think of something like this?” She played a little lead-esque diddy; Bill cocked his head.
“Uh, yeah, maybe. Let’s do it in context.” He grabbed his guitar. “Ready? One, two, three, four.”
“She's a dangerous kind,
And I like it that way.
On the night we met, I sent an S.O.S.
Turned me upside down with the look on her face.
She's a perfect mess,
A real one of a kind.
When the curtains closed, we were gettin' close,
And the clothes in the corner laid there all night.
Oh, she never skipped a single beat;
Left me there while I was still asleep.
Girl, you shoulda been a drummer.
You break me down like no other.
You beat my heart black and bruised;
No one does it like you do.
No doubt, you've got perfect rhythm.
Crash and burn and then it ended.
You played me so hard so fast,
Just like heavy metal thunder.
Girl, you shoulda been a drummer.
When the morning came along,
She didn't say goodbye but I didn't mind
Because a scratch is what you're gonna get
When you open the door and let a lion inside.
Oh, she didn't skip a single beat;
Left me there while I was still asleep.
Girl, you shoulda been a drummer.
You break me down like no other.
You beat my heart black and bruised;
No one does it like you do.
No doubt, you've got perfect rhythm.
Crash and burn and then it ended.
You played me so hard so fast
Just like heavy metal thunder
Girl, you shoulda been a drummer.”
And then Sarah played her riff while Bill kept the rhythm. She felt him staring at her as she played. She bit her lower lip as she concentrated on the melody of the bridge, smiling when she got the harmonics right. What she hadn’t noticed was when he stopped playing, still staring at her with a grin plastered on his face. She blushed.
“What?”
“I love you,” he confessed breathily. Sarah was stunned and blushed harder, and he definitely took notice. “I know we’ve been trying to keep things on the more casual side so I totally get that this is coming out of the blue, but there you were, playing and being perfect and beautiful, and there I was, falling for you, and I couldn’t stand you not knowing any more.”
“I—God, William, I—,” she stammered, smiling.
“It’s okay if you don’t know if you can say it back, or if you even want to. We’ve been taking this slowly. I just—I needed you to know where I am. And I’m in. I’m all in.” He leaned over their guitars and kissed her, laying her back on the loveseat. Placing her guitar gently on the floor, Sarah wrapped her arms and legs around his neck and torso, bringing him in closer. She wasn’t quite sure what she felt for Bill yet, but she knew she really liked him and that she really, really liked this.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
After a quickie and reaching a stopping point with the song, Bill got ready for dinner in a casual dark grey ensemble and drove Sarah to her apartment so that she could do the same, quickly throwing on a navy blue shift dress and a pair of short, low-heel boots. They left together from there to go to Lou Malnati’s; Patrick had insisted that Sarah finally try Chicago deep-dish and that it had to be from Lou’s. When the anxiety over meeting Elisa started to bubble up again, she focused on holding Bill’s hand as they walked into the restaurant, where they found that Patrick and Elisa had already been seated. The hostess took them back to their table.
Patrick stood to greet them.
“Bill! Sarah!” He shook Bill’s hand and pulled him into a bro-hug, then hugged Sarah briefly. The woman Sarah assumed to be Elisa stood beside Patrick. “Bill, you and Elisa have already met.” They nodded at each other and smiled cordially. “Sarah, this is my girlfriend, Elisa. Elisa, this is Sarah.”
“A pleasure,” Elisa said curtly and daintily offered her hand for Sarah to shake. A petite woman and a little shorter than Sarah, her surprisingly fierce eyes and sharp cheekbones were striking. Her dark, curly hair was amassed at the top of her head in a messy yet intricate and delicate bun, and a coral dress clung to her frame. Minimal make up enhanced her natural beauty and flawless skin. Sarah, immediately, was intimidated. Careful not to let it show, she firmly shook Elisa’s hand.
“Likewise.” Sarah tried to smile at her, but she didn’t return the favor. Instead, she simply looked at Patrick, who pulled out her chair, and sat at the table, signaling to everyone else to join her with her eyes.
“Patrick has told me so much about you!” She remarked with a somewhat fake smile. “I was sorry to hear about your parents! I love their clothes.” Sarah wanted to roll her eyes but didn’t. She was determined to be civil, despite Patrick seemingly not taking notice of Elisa’s behavior. Bill, however, definitely noticed; he placed a comforting hand on Sarah’s knee under the table.
“Yeah, it was uh, it was pretty upsetting,” she answered dismissively, picking up her menu and reading it over.
The rest of dinner went much better. Patrick and Bill shot jabs and shared private jokes, Patrick and Sarah discussed a little more about her project’s direction, and the pizza was absolutely delicious. Elisa stayed fairly quiet, speaking when spoken to and laughing mechanically when situation required, though Sarah felt Elisa eyeing her whenever she looked at or talked to Patrick. It must have been the way she looked at Patrick; even with Bill at her side, even though they were the ones in the relationship, Patrick and Sarah clearly shared some chemistry.
Following dinner, Bill and Patrick excused themselves to grab a drink at the bar, leaving the two women at the table to wait for the check. Sarah was working at the remnants of her dessert, trying to appear busy and very engrossed in cleaning the dish.
“I know something happened with you and Patrick,” Elisa said, words sharp. Sarah suddenly looked up.
“What are you talking about?” She asked innocently. She and Patrick had agreed to put that night behind them and not discuss it, and it had happened before he got back with Elisa.
“Oh come on, I’m not an idiot. I see how you look at each other. He may not have confessed anything to me, and we only just got back together, but I know. I fucking know.” Sarah tried to go back to her dessert but wouldn’t answer the question. “Does William know?”
“You leave him out of this!” Sarah snapped, careful not to raise her voice. The waiter delivered the check, and Elisa pulled out a card from Patrick’s wallet.
“So he doesn’t know?” She cocked an eyebrow.
“No,” Sarah huffed.
“Shame. You two seemed so close. He clearly cares for you. I wonder what would happen if he found out, say next week? If a little birdy told him something happened while you and Patrick were in the studio?” She smirked.
“You wouldn’t fucking dare. That would be a lie. And it would hurt Patrick to lose a friend.”
“Collateral damage,” she said nonchalantly. “Listen, Sarah,” she hissed. “Don’t hate me because I get what I want. I wanted Patrick back, and I got him. I even slept with someone else, and all I had to do was feign a sincere apology and snap my fingers to have him. You’re just a little girl playing grown-up.” Sarah felt her face flush in anger, but she realized all lashing out would do would hurt her and Bill and Patrick. She settled for clenching a fist under the table, her nails digging into her palm.
“So then what do you want, Elisa?”
“When this week is over, I want you out of my life. You and Patrick will not be friends. He’ll barely be your mentor.” The waiter returned, and Elisa signed the check. They both stood to grab their coats and waved when their men came back into the room. Elisa stood next to Sarah and whispered in her ear, “If I hear otherwise, you’ll regret it.” Sarah went pale and witnessed Elisa shift into someone more cordial as Patrick and Bill approached. She smiled as she kissed his cheek; it seemed almost sweet. Bill wrapped his arm around Sarah’s waist and kissed the top of her head, bringing her mind back. She leaned into his warmth, grateful to have him in her life. Patrick and Sarah set a time to meet in the studio, and the couples waved goodbye for the night.
On the drive home, Sarah couldn’t shake her encounter with Elisa. She’d have to be careful; she didn’t want to risk losing Bill to a lie.
“Hey love, you alright?” He asked her, concerned.
“Hm? Yeah, yeah, I’m alright, just tired.” She smiled softly.
“Alright, just checking.” He drove her home, kissed her goodnight, and left.
Sarah felt the pressing need for a bubble bath, and she hastily stripped down as the water filled her tub. She added lavender and chamomile bubbles and a French Lavender bath bomb for good measure. Bringing in her phone to play an audiobook, Sarah had just settled into the comfort of her bath when her phone buzzed with a text. Her notification preview told her it was from Patrick.
Patrick: Really glad to see you tonight. You were a vision. Bill’s definitely one lucky guy ;)
A day ago, a text like that would have made her heart flutter; now all it did was twist her stomach in knots. She had to put him behind her, for the best. She hesitated but ultimately decided to delete it before letting her audiobook continue to play. Before she could unpause, another text came in.
Bill: hey, just got home. thought i’d check in w/ you, see how you’re doing. still worried about how you were in the car. cause, you know, i love you :)
She grinned to herself, blushing. Seeing the words, knowing he loved her made her feel like she was floating, like a warm breeze gently carried her along. And then she knew. Quick so as not to lose her nerve, she typed her response and hit send.
Sarah: I know ;) I love you too.
“One night and one more time: thanks for the memories even though they weren't so great. He tastes like you, only sweeter…”
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