Free Ambrosia by Erin Noelle

if she fucks with me again. I don’t care how important she thinks she is to you; you better tell her I come first and she best not forget it.”
    Wow. Before then, I had never seen the possessive and protective side of Scarlett, and I liked it. It turned me on like crazy knowing that she wanted to fight for me. I needed to be insider her; I needed to remind her why we were so good together and how much she meant to me. I leaned forward and captured her lips in mine in a forceful kiss. She responded with the same vigor and I knew that she wanted the same thing I did.
    “So you’ll stay?” I mumbled, not moving my mouth from hers.
    “For as long as you’ll have me,” she whispered in response. Her words were sweet music to my ears. I just had to figure out how to get her to move to Austin with me. I still had hope that we could make this work.

CHAPTER EIGHT ~
Fate
Begin Again ~ Taylor Swift
Gravity ~ Sara Bareilles
Broken ~ Lifehouse

    SCARLETT
    Over the next several weeks Mason and I settled into a comfortable routine. He and Jobu’s Rum continued their exhausting rehearsal schedule when they weren’t playing at the bar. I had classes in the mornings and spent the afternoons reading and studying. Mason helped me get a part-time job in the evenings at a local music supply store where a friend of his was the manager. I absolutely loved it because the people I worked with all loved music as much as I did and when we weren’t busy, I got to play both guitar and keyboard. Between school and spending time with Mason, I had very little time for my music, so the job was perfect~ I got paid to do something I loved!
    Mina and I talked to each other daily and we met at least once a week for lunch. The wedding was approaching quickly and she was dealing with all of the final decision-making while trying to keep up in her studies; she often just needed an ear to vent to and I was happy to oblige. She cracked me up ~ I loved her ability to make fun of herself and the crazy world we lived in on a daily basis. Her favorite saying was, “sane is boring.”
    Max and I continued our Thursday evening gluttonous get-togethers at The Chocolate Bar. He was thrilled that Mason and I had worked things out and were giving it a go. He was in his first year of graduate school at University of Houston for social work, and I loved hearing him talk about how he wanted to travel the world to help the underprivileged. The passion he had for wanting to make a difference and to leave a positive imprint on the world was awe-inspiring and reinforced what I already knew about him ~ he was truly one of the good guys.
    After filling up on sweets and re-energizing on coffee with Max, I would head over to Mason’s place and we would go to Empty’s together. Thursday through Sunday nights I stayed at his apartment; Jobu’s Rum played on Thursdays and Saturdays but we would usually end up at the bar on Friday nights as well. Friday’s were still open mic nights so occasionally I would perform something that I had been practicing at work that week. Mase loved when I played and sang for him. He would always get the goofiest grin on his face when I was on stage. When I asked him about it, he told me that he was just proud of me and that he didn’t deserve me. I argued that it was the other way around, but nonetheless, my heart filled with happiness and joy.
    Jess, Meg and their crew had been at the bar a few times and when they came in, I would spend a while hanging out and catching up. Much like when I first saw Max, it was hard to not think about Evie when I was with them, but it got easier each time. The only awkwardness that remained between us was the issue of their missing roommate. I wasn’t sure if it was out of respect or hatred for me, but Ash never came with them. Everyone was always very careful not to mention his name, and I greatly appreciated their regard for my feelings. Thoughts of him ran through my head often enough, I didn’t need to