Three Chords & the Truth (LPD Records #2)

By Elle Bennett

Andrew is able to go one year before he finds himself in bed with April again. He never did fall out of love with her, and for a moment, he thinks she might still feel the same way. But she'd rather stay bandmates than get back together. That is, if they can even remain bandmates, considering that his band is falling apart.
Andrew has to figure out a way to keep the band together and get his ex-girlfriend back for good, or he'll have to live with the fact that he may just be better off alone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elle Bennett
• Release date: Feb 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005696375

Elle Bennett

Elle Bennett is an author living in Knoxville, TN with her husband and their two cats.You can usually find her with a cup of tea and a good book.

Book preview

1

I woke up with a massive hangover, trying to remember everything that happened last night.

I remembered finishing our second album, and going with my bandmates to get matching tattoos of our band’s symbol, a cartoon pigeon wearing headphones.

I vaguely recalled going to a bar afterward and celebrating with way too much booze. Everything else was in bits and pieces. Except for one thing that was crystal clear in my memory - making out with April in the dark corner of the bar. My ex-girlfriend and current bandmate. The woman I was apparently destined to never get over. Definitely not someone I should have made out with. And definitely not someone I should have said, Hey, let’s go back to my place to.

I was drunk off my ass, though. And so was she. Maybe that was why I did it.

We’re not doing this again, April said to me as I laid in bed, trying to piece together the rest of the details from last night.

Her hands gripping my hair as I ate her out. The way she felt riding me. My hands on her breasts. Her mouth on my cock. Her head on my chest as we fell asleep. Fuck, I’d missed sleeping next to her.

Okay, I said.

It wasn’t okay, and I’d been waiting to be with her again since the moment she broke up with me over a year ago. Sure, there was a short time when I was simply pissed off at her for ending things, and for letting her insecurities end us. And yeah, I was pissed off enough that I bad-mouthed her a little to some important people. But we’d gotten past that. We’d created a new album together with our band. Thin Ice was going to be fucking incredible. I knew I’d written some of the best lyrics in my life, and April’s contributions were fantastic.

I mean, April said as she threw her clothes back on, much to my dismay. She looked so good naked, all that pale, freckled skin on display. This is the first time I’m officially a part of the band for a record release. It’s really important to me that people don’t think we’re together. So we can’t do it again, even if we have too much to drink. Last night was a mistake.

Best fucking mistake of my life.

Well, if you ever change your mind, my dick will always be here for you.

Thanks, Andrew. I appreciate that, she said dryly.

I got out of bed and winced at the sunlight coming through the blinds. My head was killing me. I hadn’t had a hangover like this in a very long time. At least a few months. I grabbed my boxers from the floor and pulled them up my thighs, which were sore for some reason. I figured it must have been from a position from the night before. I wished I could remember that part of the night. April put her sandals on and winced.

I told you so, I said.

When she’d chosen her foot as the place for her tattoo, I’d warned her that it was going to hurt like a bitch. I’d never had a foot tattoo (or any tattoo before last night, for that matter), but I knew enough about them from Ken that I knew it was going to be painful.

Well, I told myself that I was never going to hook up with you again, so it seems like I don’t listen to myself or to you, she said. She walked to the door and put her hand on the knob, then turned back to me. You’re not going to tell the guys about last night, right?

I think they already know, I said. Everything else after that first shot is pretty fuzzy from last night, but I do remember us making out at the bar. I think there was dry humping involved too.

Her face went bright red. I assumed that meant she didn’t remember that part.

Shit. Do you think anyone else saw? she asked.

The bar was packed, but I don’t remember much else from last night, I said. Just bits and pieces. Pretty much everything I remember is about you being naked.

She let out a groan and hit her head against my bedroom door, then let out another groan at her mistake. I was sure that her hangover matched mine.

Do you want to go eat some greasy breakfast foods with me? That should help with the hangover.

She shook her head.

I need to take a shower and Pigeon needs to go for a walk, she said.

I have a shower you can use.

April sighed.

At my own place. And I need to take Pigeon out before anything else. Poor boy might have already taken a dump in the house at this point. I shouldn’t have stayed here last night.

Okay. Give him a scratch on his belly for me, I said.

She motioned to leave, then turned around to look at me again and paused. I saw her glance at my lips and my naked torso, then she turned back around and left. I heard the front door open and listened as she let out a groan when the sunlight hit her eyes. I picked up my phone from the dresser and looked through my missed messages. There were two texts from Ken.

Ken Ramirez:

Dude, did you fuck April last night? I think I remember you telling me you were going to fuck her last night before you left the bar. If you break up the band because of this shit, I will kill you.

Ken Ramirez:

Kristy is pissed at me because I stumbled in drunk at two in the morning. Apparently I woke Nick up. I might have to sleep at your place tonight.

Me:

I’ll never break up this band. Not even for the chance to fuck April.

Me:

And about Kristy, you know my couch is always here for you and your dumb ass. Unless you want to share my bed. In which case, you can go to Chad’s. And hey, bright side - at least she didn’t find out about you flirting with that bartender.

Ken Ramirez:

I did? Shit.

Me:

It’s blurry, but yeah. You definitely were flirting with her.

Ken Ramirez:

You know how I get when I drink. Every woman is fair game. And it’s not like I’m used to this whole monogamy thing yet.

Me:

Yeah, Nick’s five months old now, so that means you’ve been monogamous for a whole… What, a year? I think it’s actually been a year now.

Ken Ramirez:

Fuck off.

Ken Ramirez:

Wait, did you fuck April or not?

Me:

A gentleman never fucks and tells.

Ken Ramirez:

HA. Like you’re a gentleman. Did you or didn’t you?

Me:

None of your business.

Ken Ramirez:

So that’s a yes.

A new message beeped in.

Doug Belford:

Do you remember me telling you last night that I couldn’t drink too much with the medication I’m on? I woke up with the worst hangover.

Me:

Not my fault that you kept on screaming one more shot! after every fucking shot.

Doug Belford:

Ugh.

Doug Belford:

Did I call Calvin last night? I see that I had a call to him in my phone log, but I don’t remember it. And he’s not answering my texts this morning. I have no idea what I could have said to him.

Me:

Believe it or not, that’s one of the few things I remember from last night. You called him to tell him that you loved him so fucking much then you hung up.

Doug Belford:

Please tell me you’re joking.

Me:

Nope.

Doug Belford:

Fuck.

Nothing else came through for a while, and I didn’t have any missed texts from Chad, which made sense. He rarely ever sent texts. He wasn’t much for communication. He was probably sleeping off whatever it was that he put into his body the night before.

No texts from April, but that made sense since she’d spent the night with me. The last text I’d received before Doug’s and Ken’s was from my sister, Joan, which was her reply to me telling her that we’d finished the album. She’d said Congrats! with about ten happy emojis.

As I debated getting out of bed or enjoying the smell of April that still lingered on the pillow next to mine, my phone beeped with another text.

Vic Hanzel:

I heard you guys finished the album last night. I can’t wait to hear the finished project.

Me:

Yeah, man. It sounds great. Our best work to date.

Vic Hanzel:

Sweet. I’ll let you know what I think when production finishes up. I’m thinking the November release date should still hold.

Last night, I’d been stoked about the album and every single moment of it seemed like it was magical. In the morning light, with a hangover and an imprint in my bed where April had been, I was worried. Second albums could make or break a band. What if our fans hated it? What if they hated that April now shared the vocals with me, hated the addition of the piano to our sound? It was definitely going to be different than our first album, The Stone Pigeon. We were still pop punk, for sure, but April was officially a part of us now. It changed everything. What if everyone hated it and we didn’t have a chance to make a third, a fourth, or even a fifth album? I thought we were much better with April as a part of us, but I didn’t know how people would respond to the change until it was out in the world.

I could only hope they loved it as much as I did. Loved my band as much as I did.

I’d loved my band since the day we got together. I loved my friends, and I loved the music we made together. Even in the beginning when we got radio play and gigs, we were missing something. I didn’t realize it until the day I met April and she sang Dancing Queen with me inside of that Konfusion back before we got signed to Little Plaid Dress Records. The day she played the piano with us for Spackling, my universe expanded. It burst into a thousand more stars and planets, showing me everything we’d been missing out on before. Peristerophobia needed April. She was our missing puzzle piece. I loved her, not just as a person, but as a musician. And it killed me that she didn’t see that. It killed me that she let it end us. But at least she agreed to be a part of the band. There was no way that Thin Ice would sound as good as it did without her.

Despite that, I still hated that she broke up with me, that she didn’t seem to agree with me that we were each other’s endgame. I loved her, and I didn’t want to be with anyone but her.

Sure, I’d fucked other girls in the time we’d been broken up. But it wasn’t the same. I only ever did it to get off, not to fall in love. I would only ever love April, and that was that. After last night, I wanted her to know it more than ever before. I wanted her in my arms again. I wanted to have her as more than just my bandmate. I wanted her to be my partner in all things, and I never wanted to fuck another girl but her again.

I knew that in order to win her back for good, to get her to agree to be my girlfriend again, I’d have to put in extra work with her. I knew how she ticked. I knew how to get her off and to use that to my advantage. It would just take a little effort. And I needed to let the guys know, because they knew every fucking thing about me. It made no sense to keep it to myself. So I opened a group message with them, leaving April out of the recipients.

Me:

I’m still in love with April.

Doug Belford:

Shit.

Ken Ramirez:

Shit.

Chad Linden:

No shit.

2

I took a quick shower, tossed on a t-shirt and jeans, then headed over to April’s place. I stopped at a diner on the way there to order us breakfast to go. When I knocked on her door, she answered with her red hair in a single wet braid dripping water down her t-shirt that clung to her still-damp skin. She smelled like her shampoo and soap and looked absolutely fantastic. I wanted to kiss her, hold her tight to my body, take her to bed again.

Instead, I smiled and said hello.

What’s up? she asked, eyeing the containers in my hand.

I brought you pancakes, I said, holding them up.

Oh, thank fucking God. I’m starving. I haven’t been able to eat yet. Pigeon was about to shit himself when I got home, so I had to run him out. I felt so bad for leaving him alone all night, so I took him for a longer walk than normal. Then when I got back inside, I realized that I still smelled like last night and I had to get that stench off of me. I just got out of the shower.

I’d noticed, I said. I walked into the apartment and then I realized she’d just referred to a stench from last night. Wait, are you saying I stink?

Not anymore, but you did last night, she said. We both smelled like the bar. Like smoke, tequila shots, and mistakes. Thanks for showering too, by the way. My nostrils appreciate it.

No problem, I said.

I put the food down on her counter and she grabbed a fork from the drawer and immediately opened the container. She dug in, not even pouring on the syrup first. She shoved a bite of pancake into her mouth and let out a moan that went straight to my already half-hard dick. I had to sit down and adjust myself.

Thanks for the food, she said through a mouthful of pancake.

I know your hangover favorites, I said. Ex perks.

She gave me a quick look that clearly told me to fuck off, then poured some of the syrup onto her pancakes. She wasn’t in the mood for my shit today, I could tell. And I knew I shouldn’t push it. Especially if it caused a riff in the band. But I needed to make sure she knew how I felt. That was the whole reason I’d even stopped at her place.

Well, that and I wanted to make sure she was okay after last night. Hangovers were the worst.

Pigeon sneaked up to us and sat directly under her leg, begging for some of her food.

You don’t get any of this, Pige. It’s human food, she said. Go eat the food I just poured for you. He let out a disappointed whine.

I opened my own container, filled with eggs, sausage, bacon, and toast. I gave Pigeon a piece of bacon. He was so thrilled, I don’t think he even chewed it. April gave me a look and I shrugged. She took another bite of her pancakes and got up to grab a couple of mugs and her full coffee carafe. She poured us both cups of coffee and sighed after she took a sip. I gulped down half of the cup in one go. April made fantastic coffee, a skill I was sure had to do with her past as a waitress and barista.

We need to talk about last night, don’t we? she asked. That’s why you’re here, right? The pancakes were just to get in the door?

I shrugged. She knew me too well.

Yeah, I said. I took another bite of sausage and swallowed. Here’s the thing, April -

It’s best if we don’t repeat last night, she said before I could finish. I stared at her, trying not to interrupt her and tell her she was wrong. I meant what I said this morning. Last night was a mistake.

Was it, though? I asked. What if it was just us, going back to what we should be? I took a deep breath and just went for it. If this fucked up the band, I was going to be so pissed at myself. I never fell out of love with you, April. I don’t think I can. It’s not possible.

She looked down at her pancakes and cleared her throat. She took another sip of coffee. I wasn’t sure if what I’d just said was a mistake or not. I wanted to keep things the way they were with Peristerophobia, but last night proved to me that I needed April as more than a bandmate. I needed her to be a bedmate as well. My heart couldn’t take another rejection from her, but I could feel one coming.

I know, she said. You’ve made that pretty clear with your lyrics. But I don’t love you anymore, Andrew. And I don’t have any interest in dating anyone right now.

You haven’t even dated anyone since me, I pointed out.

I’ve been with guys since you. I’m just staying single.

Shit. I should have guessed that. April was gorgeous, talented, the whole package. Of course she’d hooked up with other people in the time since we’d been broken up. But I didn’t like the idea of it at all.

If you don’t love me anymore, then why did you hook up with me last night? I asked.

Five shots of tequila and you were there, and I don’t really know why else. I guess it’s just that… I mean. Shit happens. It happened. I’ll admit it was a good time, and a fucking fun mistake to make. But it was a mistake.

Just know that if you change your mind -

Her eyes shot up to meet mine.

Are you about to sing ABBA again?

I laughed.

No, I said. But if you do change your mind, I’m here. I think that one day, you’re going to want to open that door again, too. And I’ll be waiting for you on the other side. Whenever you decide you’re ready, I’ll be ready too. I’m always ready for you, April. I’ll never stop being ready for you.

Don’t count on me opening that door, she said.

I’ll still be on the other side. No matter what.

I wiped my mouth with a napkin, tossed my empty container in the trash, then leaned down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek as she held her coffee mug to her lips. She froze, mug in mid-air as I walked away. I smiled at her as I went to the door. I paused to say one last thing before I left.

See you around, beautiful.

3

A few days later, I ended up at Kristy and Ken’s place for our weekly Sunday dinner with the rest of the band. They’d started up the tradition last year, after they’d moved in together, when Kristy was pregnant and Ken had decided to stop fooling around with the other girls he’d been with at the time. He’d kept his promise to her that he’d remain faithful as far as I could tell, even when we’d gone on a short tour last fall. He’d been surprisingly good at monogamy. (Aside from that one flirtation with the bartender. But I wasn’t sure if Kristy knew about that or not.)

When we first started the tradition, I joked that they were our weekly family dinners, but as we kept it up, it became less of a joke and more of the truth. My bandmates were definitely like family to me, almost even more than my actual family.

April and Doug were already there, but Chad wasn’t. That didn’t surprise me, since he always showed up at least twenty minutes late and usually high on something or at least buzzed. Honestly, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen him sober.

By seven thirty, Nick was in bed and we were all squished around the tiny dining room table. Ken had made a meal we’d all had before, a chicken and rice dish with his abuela’s mole sauce. I’d asked him once for the recipe and he told me that his abuela had told him to take it to his grave unless he had children, in which case he could share it with them. Since my name wasn’t Nick Ramirez-Richardson, I wasn’t going to get the recipe.

I took a massive helping of the food and sat next to April. She gave me an unsure smile and I gave her a sincere one in return. It didn’t have to be weird between us just because we’d hooked up and I told her I was still in love with her, right?

Have you seen Calvin since you drunk dialed him the other night? April asked Doug.

Last year, April had told me how Calvin had a thing for Chad, which was going to go nowhere, considering that Chad had no interest in hooking up with anyone unless they had drugs to share. But she had a feeling that Calvin and Doug would make a good couple, so any time that Calvin and Chad hung out together, she made sure to sneak Doug into the picture. Just a month ago, they’d finally caved and got together. They’d been inseparable ever since. But Doug had probably fucked it up by saying those three words that you should never say only a month into dating.

At that thought, I reminded myself how fast I’d fallen for April and how quickly I’d told her that I’d loved her. Hell, I’d written her a song that basically said the words before I said them out loud to her. And I wrote that song after the first time we’d ever really spoken. I hadn’t even gotten her name yet. I smiled to myself at the memory. I was such a dumbass then - not that much had changed.

He came over last night. He knows I drank too much that night, so he gets it. Plus, he’s a fan of the new tattoo. And… Well, he loves me too.

I’m still surprised you got a tattoo, I said. I thought it was going to be way harder to talk you into it.

I told you, I don’t have a fear of needles, Doug said. And it was a band solidarity tattoo. Of course I was going to get it.

Still surprising, I said. Doug had a fear of everything, I swear to God.

Didn’t Calvin want to join us tonight? Kristy asked. He’s always welcome. He’s a part of the family too, after all.

She smiled at that, and I was reminded just how she managed to get Ken to settle down with her. She was pretty, with curly blonde hair and a gap between her teeth that she was anything but self-conscious about. Her smile always lit up a room. I was pretty sure that Ken had fallen in love with her because of her smile.

"He had to work. He’s been pretty busy