OUT OF THE RED ↝ dave grohl

thirty-eight.

JUNE, 1991, OLYMPIA, WA

WHILE SHE HAD never classified herself as a steadfast follower of the rules, Reagan was no stranger to minor violations against any standard set of decrees laid out before her. And usually, if they involved her job, she'd respect them. But on that day as she leaned over the work counter at Wilson's, she was absolutely dying to go against work code.

Tommy was inside the store with her, having just wrapped up his lunch break. He watched her with curiosity, noticing the way she frequently looked at the wall phone, as if waiting for it to spring out of place and perform a song and dance.

"Reagan, what are you doing?" he finally asked, breaking the seal of his wonderment.

"I'm not doing anything," Reagan said. In a way, it was true. It had been a slow day at Wilson's and so far that afternoon, Reagan was itching with boredom. For some reason, the customers had been sparse.

"Yes you are. You've been watching the phone like crazy. Are you waiting for someone to call?"

Reagan sighed. So she'd been caught, though that was no big surprise. She was used to Tommy picking up on her habits, even the out of the ordinary ones. He was fond of watching her, even though this did cause her to wonder why he thought it was okay. It wasn't exactly comforting to know someone's eyes were glued to her at all hours of the day.

"Yeah, I am," she confessed. "I'm waiting for a phone call from Dave."

"Oh," Tommy said, stiffening.

Rarely did Reagan ever venture into conversation about Dave with Tommy. It was too scarring of a subject matter for her old fling, even though he pretended like it wasn't. Mainly, it was easier for Reagan to keep the two of them apart, even in conversation. Tommy could remain her friend and Dave could be her boyfriend, but they never intersected. Or at least, she tried to keep it that way.

"He's in Los Angeles," Reagan explained. "He just finished recording his album with his band and they're doing a two week tour."

"Sounds fun," Tommy commented, though it sounded like the news was the farthest thing from fun in his honest opinion.

"I guess it is for him. He did a photoshoot for the album cover the other day."

"A photoshoot? What, is he a male model now too?"

Reagan rolled her eyes at Tommy's obvious jealousy. "No. Have you never seen an album before? The band obviously has to have pictures done for the record sleeve."

"I know. It's just funny, the way you called it a photoshoot. He looks like the kind of guy who thinks he's hot shit anyways."

"He definitely does not think that," Reagan snapped defensively. Tommy proved that he really knew nothing when it came to Dave. If he knew even a sliver of accurate information about her boyfriend, he'd know that Dave thought of himself as unattractive, a belief Reagan had tried to correct time and time again.

"Don't get mad," Tommy said, holding his palms up in surrender. "I'm kidding with you."

"You're terrible when it comes to kidding then."

It was Tommy's turn to sigh heavily. "Do you expect me to be okay listening to you talk about the guy you're with?"

"No. I just thought we were friends, let alone mature adults, that could have a normal discussion. Guess I was wrong," Reagan said angrily. "Are you going to yell at me for trying to use the phone at work too?"

"I wasn't going to do that," Tommy said, looking embarrassed. He hadn't quite lived down the brief stint of cruelty he'd shown Reagan after first seeing Dave in the Wilson's parking lot with her.