Read Online Behind the Strings by Courtney Giardina - Free Book Online
Authors: Courtney Giardina
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Grilled Octopus
Chicken-fried rabbit
My stomach began to churn at the thought of it. Never again would I lie about the type of food I liked to eat. Although I would never knowingly eat octopus and rabbit ever again, from that day I did start to venture a little more into bolder food choices. It was sort of an empowering moment for me. My ultimate reason for leaving Hamden was to find my way into a bigger world that had been shut away by a man who didn’t deserve that kind of power over me. Letting go of my rigid, inflexible taste of food choices was the first step of releasing the hold that he had on me.
“I’m very impressed,” Logan said, scooping another handful of French fries into his ketchup.
“That you should be. I even dip my French fries in my milkshakes sometimes.”
“Uh-uh, no way,” he said.
“Yup, not kidding. I’ll show you once we order dessert. The spiked milkshakes here are the best.”
I couldn’t believe in all his years Logan had never been here before. It felt kinda nice to introduce him to something new. Especially the spiked milkshakes. No matter how full you were at Burger Mayhem, you never left without ordering dessert. Logan and I got ours to go.
“Oh my god, this is so good,” he said, taking a sip. “Have you ever tried this one?”
I shook my head. When it came to the milkshakes, I never cheated on my chocolate Kahlua. I even felt guilty then as Logan tipped his straw toward me, but he was right. Salted caramel and bourbon was a heavenly match.
“Man, Jesse would love this. He’s a bourbon freak,” Logan said.
“Your musician friend, Jesse?” I asked. Logan nodded. “What’s his story?”
“The same as most of us, I imagine. He’s a pretty quiet dude, doesn’t say too much. Moved here from Austin, I know that.”
“He seems nice,” I said.
“He’s a really great guy. I haven’t known him long, but he’s definitely one of the most talented musicians I’ve ever met. Passionate about the music, not about the fame. Why, you interested?”
I shook my head, but that might have been a lie. I was curious, at least. That night at Shotguns, Jesse definitely intrigued me. It might have been the way he hugged me, or maybe the way I caught him glancing my way, but the second Logan brought up his name I felt a twinge of excitement inside of me.
I watched as Logan took an indulgent sip of his shake and quickly change the subject.
“See, what would you do without me?” I asked. “You’d be missing out on something as amazing at that.”
He took another sip from his straw and switched hands to wrap his arm around me.
“I would surely be missing out on something amazing, all right.”
I felt his lips press against the top of my head. He pulled me in tighter as we walked. I wrapped my arm behind his back to steady myself as I leaned into him.
“You’re my best friend, you know that?” I asked.
He laughed, “You know, Celia, I’m actually quite aware. I promise, you don’t have to keep reminding me.”
I gave him a gentle slap across his stomach. With every step we took, I wondered where it was that we were going. Two kids from the middle of nowhere, Tennessee, torn apart by the one thing we loved and brought back together because of it. Music was our life and now we were in the city that held the heart of it all. He was mine again in the way I had been longing for so long and I was his. My hope was that it would be enough for both of us.
16
With a towel still wrapped around my head, I pulled out the last frozen dinner I had and plopped myself onto the barstool that sat under the island in my kitchen. I had never really gotten the hang of the whole cooking thing upon my move to Nashville. I tried for a while, but always found myself with more leftovers than I could manage, so I gave up. Frozen everything, cereal, and granola bars were staples in this house. It seemed like a classy choice for the night ahead of me.
It was finally Friday
Grilled Octopus
Chicken-fried rabbit
My stomach began to churn at the thought of it. Never again would I lie about the type of food I liked to eat. Although I would never knowingly eat octopus and rabbit ever again, from that day I did start to venture a little more into bolder food choices. It was sort of an empowering moment for me. My ultimate reason for leaving Hamden was to find my way into a bigger world that had been shut away by a man who didn’t deserve that kind of power over me. Letting go of my rigid, inflexible taste of food choices was the first step of releasing the hold that he had on me.
“I’m very impressed,” Logan said, scooping another handful of French fries into his ketchup.
“That you should be. I even dip my French fries in my milkshakes sometimes.”
“Uh-uh, no way,” he said.
“Yup, not kidding. I’ll show you once we order dessert. The spiked milkshakes here are the best.”
I couldn’t believe in all his years Logan had never been here before. It felt kinda nice to introduce him to something new. Especially the spiked milkshakes. No matter how full you were at Burger Mayhem, you never left without ordering dessert. Logan and I got ours to go.
“Oh my god, this is so good,” he said, taking a sip. “Have you ever tried this one?”
I shook my head. When it came to the milkshakes, I never cheated on my chocolate Kahlua. I even felt guilty then as Logan tipped his straw toward me, but he was right. Salted caramel and bourbon was a heavenly match.
“Man, Jesse would love this. He’s a bourbon freak,” Logan said.
“Your musician friend, Jesse?” I asked. Logan nodded. “What’s his story?”
“The same as most of us, I imagine. He’s a pretty quiet dude, doesn’t say too much. Moved here from Austin, I know that.”
“He seems nice,” I said.
“He’s a really great guy. I haven’t known him long, but he’s definitely one of the most talented musicians I’ve ever met. Passionate about the music, not about the fame. Why, you interested?”
I shook my head, but that might have been a lie. I was curious, at least. That night at Shotguns, Jesse definitely intrigued me. It might have been the way he hugged me, or maybe the way I caught him glancing my way, but the second Logan brought up his name I felt a twinge of excitement inside of me.
I watched as Logan took an indulgent sip of his shake and quickly change the subject.
“See, what would you do without me?” I asked. “You’d be missing out on something as amazing at that.”
He took another sip from his straw and switched hands to wrap his arm around me.
“I would surely be missing out on something amazing, all right.”
I felt his lips press against the top of my head. He pulled me in tighter as we walked. I wrapped my arm behind his back to steady myself as I leaned into him.
“You’re my best friend, you know that?” I asked.
He laughed, “You know, Celia, I’m actually quite aware. I promise, you don’t have to keep reminding me.”
I gave him a gentle slap across his stomach. With every step we took, I wondered where it was that we were going. Two kids from the middle of nowhere, Tennessee, torn apart by the one thing we loved and brought back together because of it. Music was our life and now we were in the city that held the heart of it all. He was mine again in the way I had been longing for so long and I was his. My hope was that it would be enough for both of us.
16
With a towel still wrapped around my head, I pulled out the last frozen dinner I had and plopped myself onto the barstool that sat under the island in my kitchen. I had never really gotten the hang of the whole cooking thing upon my move to Nashville. I tried for a while, but always found myself with more leftovers than I could manage, so I gave up. Frozen everything, cereal, and granola bars were staples in this house. It seemed like a classy choice for the night ahead of me.
It was finally Friday
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