Free Stubborn Love by Natalie Ward

mind,
you’re always welcome.”

 
    We head out around seven,
stopping to grab some dinner, before walking to the club where Damien and his
band are playing. Along the way I tell Mia about the record store Damien runs,
which is also where I work, sometimes helping out when he teaches guitar at the
local Y.
    “What kind of music does
his band play?” Mia asks me as we walk side by side down the sidewalk.
    I glance down at her.
“It’s pretty hard rock, maybe not quite what you’re into?” I suggest.
    Mia shrugs as though she
doesn’t mind either way. “How come you don’t play in a band,” she suddenly
asks. “You play guitar right?”
    I smile at her, before
turning away. “I do play the guitar, yes, and I actually used to be in a band.”
    “What happened?” she asks
me, her hand brushing against mine and sending a jolt up my arm.
    I swallow as I try not to
act like a complete dick at the way her unintentional and barely-there touch, has just made me feel. I want to reach out and take her hand in mine,
hold it as we walk to the club together.
    “Jared?”
    I shake my head; force the
thought from my brain. “Ah, I guess you could say we had creative differences.”
    Mia laughs now. “Creative
differences? What does that mean exactly?”
    I smile down at her. “It
means the other guys were fucking hopeless about practicing and only ever
wanted to do covers. I wanted to write our own stuff and actually take the
whole thing seriously.”
    Mia frowns at me as though
she’s upset it didn’t work out for some reason. I laugh a little as I reach out
and smooth the frown line that’s formed between her eyebrows, watching as they
lift in surprise now. I drop my hand and slide it into the pocket of my jeans
even though I’d rather wrap it round her shoulders and pull her closer.
    “So why don’t you start
another band?” she eventually asks me. “You know Luke is learning to play the
guitar, right?”
    I laugh. “Yeah I do know
that, who do you think’s teaching him?”
    Mia loops her arm through
mine now and I swear I nearly pass out. I glance down at her quickly, but she’s
staring straight ahead, so I don’t say anything, just keep walking along as
though this is all perfectly normal.
    “Did Luke tell you about
what happened when he was a kid?” she asks, her voice quieter. “About the
guitar Dad was supposed to get him.”
    I unhook my arm from hers
and wrap it around her shoulder now, without even thinking about it anymore.
Fuck whether this is a good idea or not. “He did, yeah.”
    I pull her closer,
squeezing her shoulder as Mia’s arm now wraps itself around my waist. God this
feels so fucking perfect and right, us walking along like this. I wish we could
walk forever and never reach the club.
    “Such a fucking asshole,”
she says, almost to herself.
    I want to agree with her,
but I say nothing. It’s one thing for her to bad mouth him, he’s her dad, she’s
allowed to, but it’s an entirely different thing for me to do it, no matter how
much I might want to. The guy is a fucking dick, in the biggest sense of the
word. And I have no doubt, if I ever saw him again, I’d punch him in the face this time.
    “So why don’t you and Luke
start up your own band?” Mia suddenly asks, her father now forgotten.
    I glance down at her just
as she turns to look up at me, almost making me trip over my own feet. “Maybe,”
I say quietly, distracted by how close we are, practically kissing distance.
    “You should Jared,” she
says smiling. “I’d come and watch you guys play.”
    My heart stops beating in
my chest. “Promise?” I immediately ask, half serious and half hopeful that she
means it.
    “Yep,” she says, nodding
her head as if to confirm it.
    And right then I decide,
fuck it, maybe we should do it. I’m sure I can talk Luke into it; he’s gotten a
lot better. Ben will be a certainty, so that just leaves someone on bass. And
if nothing else, at least it means I’ll get to