Текст книги "Let Me Go"
Автор книги: Michelle Lynn
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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 19 страниц)
“Rob, he’s not worth it.” Paige moves to come forward, but I hold my hand up in the air. She stops and her shoulders fall.
The door slams shut when I follow and Carl’s footsteps move faster than mine did that time Carly’s dad found me in her bedroom. Crossing the lawn, I wait by my car until he backs out of the driveway. My arms crossed over my chest, making sure he knows exactly what will be waiting for him if he returns. Once he’s no longer visible, I climb into my Mustang and pull it up the driveway.
I stop outside the back door and stare up at the sky. Praying for that shooting star to cast a wish on. If I didn’t need anything else in my life, the girl inside just scared the crap out of me and I’m pretty sure she sensed how much her safety affected me. This incident only makes it harder to convince myself that keeping my distance is best for her.
I enter through the screen door and bypass the kitchen straight to the living room. Matty is wrapped up in Paige’s arms as she rocks him back and forth. Brady widens his eyes at me and rolls back on his heels behind them. “Do you guys want to stay at my house for the night?” he hesitantly asks, peering over the couch.
Paige lifts her head, one curl falling down over her eyes, silently asking me. “No, we’ll be fine, but thanks for everything, Brady.”
Paige turns her head to him. “Thank you so much, Brady. I really appreciate you coming over so fast,” she adds, and Brady gives a silent nod.
“If you change your mind, you still have a key, right Rob?” He makes his way to the door and I follow.
“Yeah. Thanks, man.”
He shoots me a look and knowing smile that it’s time to talk and tell Paige why exactly I’m so fucked up. Just as he slips through the doorway, he turns my way. “Call me if you need me.”
I nod and lock the door behind him. Turning around, I find Matty wrapped around Paige like a koala as she starts up the stairs. I hold my hands out and Matty gladly switches to me. We quietly go upstairs and I examine Paige’s room. Her drawers lie on the carpeted floor, pieces of clothing sporadically lying wherever they landed after being swung. When I turn to find her, she lowers her eyes and fixates on her feet. My stomach churns for what she went through and knowing I should have stayed is like a knife to my gut.
Recovering fast, I inch back from Matty so he can see me. “Guess what bud? You get to sleep in my bed.”
“Really?” His excitement brings a smile to my face. The only damn one in the last twenty minutes.
Backtracking to my bedroom, we step in and Paige peers around at the dirty clothes overfilling my hamper and the pile of dust on my dresser. She swipes her finger across my nightstand and holds it up in the air. “Hey, do you see a bald head?” I point to my forehead. “I’m not Mr. Clean.” She leans against the door frame as I tuck in Matty.
“Are your sheets clean at least? I mean, Matty won’t need to be disinfected tomorrow morning?” Tucking the kid under my comforter that, to her astonishment, I did wash last week, I glance back at her.
“Nah, he’s all good.” I can’t make a snarky flirtatious comment back because the guilt weighs heavy on my chest from leaving her alone. Why bother with the front that I just want in her pants? If that was the case, I wouldn’t be allowing her brother to sleep in my bed right now.
Her sympathetic eyes dig into my soul as she crosses the room. Ignoring me, a waft of her perfume hits my nostrils in her passing to my bed. She bends down and squeezes the comforter under his body. “Snug as a bug.” Matty smiles up to her. “Night, little guy.” With a quick kiss on his forehead, she stands up and I’m envious of the love she gives so freely.
“Paige?” Matty calls out when she steps back.
“Yeah, sweetie?” She gives her attention back to him, sitting down on the bed.
“Can I live with you?” Oh shit. I slowly step out of the room, wanting to give them privacy.
“Oh, Matty. I wish you could. Someday, I promise.”
“Why not now? Mommy forgets everything. I wanted to play baseball and she said she’d sign me up, but Zach already started playing.”
“Did you have fun today?” Paige distracts him and he nods with a huge smile on his face.
“I did. Tara’s a little bossy, but I had fun.” He moves to sit up, but Paige places her hand on his chest to keep him down.
“We’ll plan another day with them soon. I promise.” She’s trying to appease him and I agree with the kid, he’s better off somewhere else.
“Tomorrow?” Paige laughs and kisses his forehead again.
“You have school, but soon. Now, go to bed.” Another sweet brush of her lips on his cheek and she steps away from the bed. Anyone standing by can see how close their relationship resembles mother and son instead of sibling.
“Good night, Paige. Good night, Rob.” He rolls over on his side, probably about to fall asleep.
“Good night, bud.” I leave the room, moving down the hall to Paige’s.
I hear my bedroom door close and then Paige is in the doorway. She watches me start to set the drawers back in her dresser, placing clothes back in. “You don’t have to help.” Her arms cross over her chest as she leans against the wooden frame. It’s a knife to the heart finding her eyes devoid of the usual bliss. Instead, they’re dull as rocks.
“I don’t mind. Maybe I can see your unmentionables.” I lighten the mood, hopeful to yank her away from her crappy family life.
“Rob, you’re being too polite.” She breaks the threshold of her room and begins piling items in her arms.
“I can be a gentleman.” I purposely bypass her underwear drawer to one filled with a dozen composition books.
“Surprise to me.” The coy uplift of her lips as she peers over to me and my stomach flips. “But those.” She points to the books in my arms. “Are personal.” She snatches them from my hands.
“Your diaries?”
“Yeah . . . journals.” She places them in a bin and shoves them under her bed. “I’ll be changing that spot after you leave.”
“Am I in one?” I lean over her shoulder and she glares over to me.
“Nope.”
“Come on, I have to be in one.” My fingers tickle her ribcage and she squirms. “Not even a mention of how hot I am, or my eyes?” She turns in my arms and I flutter my eyes a few times. “People do say they’re my best quality.”
She shoves me off and I stumble back. “You’re so conceited.” In turn, her butt lands on her bed.
“It’s my best personality trait.”
“So you think.” Standing up, she makes her way to another drawer.
“You’re telling me you aren’t the least bit turned on by how confident I am?” I sit on her bed and watch her pick up some of her stuff as I straighten her nightstand.
“I think . . . no . . . I know it’s an act.” Her eyes never glance up; instead she focuses on the task of folding clothes. Not even a tremble of her voice. She’s the confident one and she knows a fake when she spots one. I’m the leopard with the big spots in the corner.
“Part maybe, but I do think I’m fucking hot and you’d be lucky to nail me.”
“Do you, now?” She turns around, props herself up against the wall and hugs her knees into her chest.
“Yep.” I let the ‘p’ pop out of my mouth and when my eyes move back up, hers are fixated at something on the floor. A lone picture catches my eye, and she reaches for it. As soon as it rests in her hand, her lips turn down. “Paige?” I break the distance, sitting next to her on the floor.
“It’s funny. How you go through life, never knowing the truth about your parents. You think you do, but once you get older, the things you assumed were good weren’t.” She’s losing me, but I’m certain she’s about to tell me something she doesn’t share with many. “Matty wants to live with me. Of course he does.” She shrugs her shoulder, sniffling although no tears have fallen.
“I can’t say I blame him. Your mom doesn’t—” How do tell someone, their mom doesn’t give a shit about him or her. I’m not one to dig into other people’s drama, because I have enough of my own.
“She wasn’t always like that. There was a time when I believed she was the perfect mom.” She flips the picture over and shows me. It’s a young girl in a big, frilly pink princess dress and from the amount of unruly curly brown hair, it’s obviously Paige. The woman next to her, a much younger version of Linda, with her arms tight around her as they smile at the camera.
“You were adorable. What were you, six?” I inspect the picture closely, spotting her one freckle that sits under her right eye.
She focuses on pieces of lint on the carpeting. “She took me on a trip to Disneyworld. Bought me that dress. We stayed a whole week and my dad met us there for the final night. I remember hearing my parents talking and being so excited because they were getting along. My dad held my mom’s hand as we strolled through the park and it was like my own fairytale come true. They were my live version of Cinderella and her prince.” Her voice shakes. “Then my dad came to say good-bye to me the next morning.” A tear falls from her eye and I inch closer, but she holds her hand up in the air and I halt. “For two days we stayed up in that hotel room. My mom would order me food from room service, but she never ate it herself. She just slept in bed, depressed for not having my dad while I watched television. Around twelve I realized what really happened during those times when I thought we’d be a happy family.”
At the age of twenty-four, it isn’t hard to figure out now. “Your dad used your mom.”
She huffs and crosses her legs. “They used each other. I blamed my dad for years, refusing to see him on his time. Blatantly yelling at him, telling him how horrible of a person he was. After I started downright refusing to see him, he never let my mom seduce him no matter how much she tried. And believe me, she tried.”
Here I figured she had a screwed up mom, but a decent dad who bought his princess everything. Picking up her head, her raw and tearful eyes, guilt me for being the man whore I’ve been. “She couldn’t let go of the fact he didn’t want her. She couldn’t accept the fact that she was a hot one-night stand turned nightmare clingy baby mama.”
“Shit,” I mumble. She could have given me a little warning before throwing that bomb out there.
“Carl is the same thing, except he hangs around because of the money.” Her breathing picks up and her arms wrap around her stomach. She’s keeping something under the vest. “My dad has a lot of money. After I turned eighteen, she lost the child support. So, my dad issues me the money. He pays for my car, my school and my expenses. Without him knowing, he pays for her rent and things.”
“How?”
“My dad overpays me, but I also go without. He thinks I want to live with roommates because I want the full experience of college. Because the rent’s cheaper, he deposits extra money into my bank account.” She blows out a huge breath and it must feel good to be so truthful with someone else. “It’s the only reason I haven’t taken Matty from her. I know she seems God awful and I hate that you had to witness what happened tonight, but Matty makes her better. If I don’t hear from her, I stop by and if she’s having a hard time, I usually take him.”
“You gave her such a hard time yesterday.”
Her teeth nail down on her lip and wetness fills her beautiful hazel eyes. “Yeah. Well, sometimes I get overwhelmed. She’s been on me for more money. I just gave her money for Matty’s baseball to find out she never signed him up.” She throws the picture to the ground and I inch forward, taking her hand in mine. “It’s so ridiculous, Rob. She’s his mother; why can’t she just act like it?” Her head falls to my chest and my hand begins smoothing down her hair.
“I’m sorry.” I can’t think of anything else to say. She got dealt a shitty hand in life and has tried to make the best of it. Which is odd, because I got a royal flush and still managed to fuck it up.
“I just wish she’d straighten her life up. Because pretty soon I’m going to end up being a twenty-two year old college student raising my brother.” Her arms wrap tight around my waist and she draws even closer to me with sobs escaping her throat. All I can think about is what the hell I should be doing to make her happy.
“PAIGE,” MATTY WHISPERS while tapping his finger to my arm. I wrestle a little, picking up my head. Panic strikes when I spot a drop of drool on Rob’s shirt from using him as a pillow. His whole Linkin Park shirt is dampened from my saliva.
“Oh God,” I softly say, slowly inching away to sit up so he doesn’t wake up. Somewhere between my tears and complaining I must have fallen asleep and he felt an obligation to console me. Damn, I didn’t want him to see this, my fucked-up family side.
“Is he your boyfriend?” Matty leans in, whispering in my face. I love this kid.
I don’t answer but shake my head and point to the door for us to leave. He tip-toes with his finger to his mouth, peering back at me with each step and I follow him, doing the same. The second I shut the door, Matty busts out laughing. “Shh . . .” I tell him and he sucks in his lips.
“Sorry,” he says in regular tone and I shake my head from his inability to be quiet. If he wasn’t so adorable, I’d be angry. If Rob wakes up and I have to experience the morning after, I’m fairly certain my face will resemble a tomato. Not like it’s the normal morning after; we didn’t have sex. I glance down—yep, I’m still dressed.
“Let’s go make some breakfast,” I lightly swat him on his butt and he runs down the hall, holding his butt. He slides to a stop at the top. “Can we have pancakes?” His eyes light up and I laugh.
My hand ruffles his hair. “Sure you can, buddy.” Rob’s deep voice echoes through the quiet hallway and my last breath catches in my throat. My eyes dart to him leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed. God, all my snot and tears are still embedded in that shirt and I become embarrassed to how I lost myself last night. Then he eyes me while stepping out from the doorway. “I happen to make the best . . . out of everyone that lives here.” He chuckles at his own joke and when his lips turn up into a smirk, I can’t help but laugh.
My heart beats faster with every step he takes closer. “I’m starving,” Matty screams and scampers down the stairs while I remained fixed on those ocean-blue eyes.
“Hi.” Such a simple greeting after what happened last night. His hands don’t veer out of his pockets, but the intensity in his eyes sends goose bumps along my skin.
“Rob,” I begin but he shakes his head.
“Are you feeling better this morning?” he asks and now it’s warmth filling my heart.
“I am, I’m s—”
“Don’t. We’re friends, remember.”
I smile and the tingling in my nose signals tears will start soon if I don’t squash this moment.
“Friends.” I turn away from him to descend down the stairs, but then I flip back around, leaving me inches from his face. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m not due to work until one; if you want I can watch the little guy while you go to class.” He doesn’t appear fazed by the inconvenience Matty would bring to his day. It’s a nice change of pace.
“Thank you, but he has school, so I’ll drop him off on my way to class.”
Disappointment fills his eyes. “Okay.”
I remain on the landing like a moron for an uncomfortable amount of time before I venture down the stairs. Rob follows and by the time we’re in the kitchen, Matty’s searching the cabinets for food.
“Pancakes coming right up.” Rob takes out a pan and I pour a cup of Dex’s orange juice for Matty and he sits down.
“What can I do to help?” I come alongside of him as he cracks an egg and tosses it in the sink. No one would ever think Rob could cook by his outward appearance. I pegged him as more of a burrito in the microwave kind of guy.
“Nothing. Go take a shower, I got this.” He smiles over to me while whisking the ingredients and I purse my lips from smiling. “What are you trying not to laugh at?” he stops mid-whisk and furrows his brows.
“Just . . . you . . . so Betty Crocker.” My mouth widens into a smile and he pretends to narrow his eyes at me.
“If you want to continue to reap the rewards of my cooking, I suggest you strut up those stairs and take a shower.” Saying nothing further, I begin to go upstairs and he swats my butt with a dishtowel.
Matty’s in full laughter, bending over and all when I grab my ass and turn back around to him. The bowl is in his hands again and he’s staring up at the ceiling while whistling as though he did nothing. Slowly sauntering over, I inch up on my toes to reach his ear. “Don’t start things you can’t finish.” I watch his body stiffen before he turns his head to the side.
“I always finish, Paige . . . always.” A zillion little bursts of fireworks shoot off in my stomach. I should have known better than to bait him; I never win our teasing matches.
I back up, “going.” I announce, still hearing Matty laughing. When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I overhear him asking Rob to teach him how to do that.
When I enter my bedroom, I’m surprised to find almost everything in place. My shoulders fall, trying to recall if we had finished by the time I had my meltdown. I’m fairly certain there were still drawers hanging and clothes strewn. A warmth fills my whole body when I think about Rob fixing everything and coming back to hold me again. No . . . I shake my head, but there’s no other explanation.
I grab my robe and scurry into the bathroom, shedding my clothes into a pile on the floor. When I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror on my way to the shower, I do a double take. Holy Mother, I look like shit. My eyes are red, puffy and is that drool dried up down my chin? Thanks to this, my cheeks match my eyes now. I cup my mouth, blowing into my palm to smell my breath. Crap, I’m surprised he didn’t pass out from my horrendous morning breath. Way to seduce him, Paige, with your knotted hair and smeared makeup, I’m sure that will do the trick.
Finally, the steam from the shower clouds the mirror and I don’t have to stare at the disgusting reflection any longer. The hot water soothes my back from the hardwood floor I used as a bed last night. As I scrub the shampoo into my hair, Sad by Maroon 5 begins playing in my head. Mindlessly, going through my cleaning ritual, the words leave my mouth and I think about my mother. What will it take for her to claim responsibility of Matty, and herself for that matter? If my dad knew the money I dished out to her, he’d be furious. So, it’s better he doesn’t. The pressure of it all must be building inside of me worse than I thought because of the way I sobbed in Rob’s arms last night.
Shutting off the water, I step out of the shower, and slide my arm across the mirror; I stare at a better version of myself. Since I embarrassed myself last night and then this morning, I need to use every stitch of makeup to let Rob know I’m not disgusting like he witnessed this morning.
A knock on the door startles me and I jump back. Opening the door a sliver, I peek out. “You can sing?” Rob’s there with no shirt and his towel swung over his shoulder.
“What?” I shake my head to his question.
“You were singing.” He points inside the bathroom. “You’re good, Paige. Like, really, really good.” His excitement brings a smile to my face.
“Oh. I had some lessons when I was younger.” Lessons being a loose term for the singing coach who would teach me a few things when my dad took me on summer tours. The nanny that was hired didn’t exactly fill my time, so my dad asked Will, the lead singer, to perfect my interest. The summer it happened, I swore I was destined to be a singer and meant to be on stage with the band. That ended when I witnessed Will, the lead singer, taken out on a stretcher after overdosing on cocaine. It didn’t seem so glamorous after that.
“Sing with us tonight?” He rushes the question out and I jolt back, losing grip of the door.
Rob takes this as an invitation to intrude and I tighten the towel around my body. He stops cold, his eyes roaming up and down, stopping right above my breasts. “Privacy please.” I comment, stepping further into the bathroom, mentally figuring out how I’ll grab my robe without the towel coming undone.
“Please, I’ve seen girls before.” He waves off his imposition. “Seriously, Paige. Brady was up all night throwing up, he can’t perform tonight.”
“First of all, you haven’t seen this girl before.” I point to myself. “Second, I can guarantee you, it doesn’t compare to the other girls you’ve manipulated.” I poke his chest and he stumbles back with wide eyes until he reaches the hall. “Third, cancel the show then.” I shut the door and flick the lock.
Once I’m back to myself without his eyes pinned to me, I inhale a deep breath and let it out slowly to regain control of my body. I shrug my robe on and open the door. Rob’s leaning with one leg up resting against the wall. When he sees me, he pushes off the wall and begins to follow me to my bedroom. “Please, Paige. I sing back-up so I can help you. I’ll get you up to speed.” He rambles and I do feel I owe him for watching Matty yesterday.
“I’ve never sang in front of anyone, Rob. Not even karaoke.” His face lights up, acknowledgment that I’m wavering.
“You sounded amazing just now and you didn’t have instruments as back-up. The only problem is catching you up on our songs.” I stand in my doorway and he politely gives me space.
“I don’t know. You have work, I have class. What time is the show?” Am I actually going to do this? Sing in front of a group of girls that are partly there for the eye candy up on stage.
“I’ll leave early.” He cringes, probably thinking about how much work he’s missed lately. I can count on two hands the days he’s said he called in. “I’ll figure something out. Please.” He clasps his hands together and falls to his knees. His tattooed chest is alive with color and I want to inch closer to figure out what each one means.
“Ugh . . .” I turn around and roll my eyes at my own stupidity for agreeing. “Fine,” I exasperate and my shoulders slump, twisting around to Rob.
He crawls on his knees over to me, hugging me around my legs and I almost topple over. “Thank you, Paige.”
I tap my hand on his head like a dog and he rises to his feet. “Thank you.” His eyes are so appreciative and grateful; he’d manipulate me to do anything in this moment.
“You’re welcome. So can you please get out so I can get ready?” I shoo him from the room and he laughs.
Right as he reaches the door, he flips around. “Like the Brazilian thing going on.” He points at me and my heart stops beating for a second.
“Get out, Rob, before I change my mind.” I seethe through my teeth. His head rears back in laughter and he shuts the door.
My head flips down and then back up.
He’s assuming, right? No way that he had seen under the towel.
Heat travels up my neck, seeping into my cheeks and I’m sure I’m as red as a stop sign right now.
I SPOT THE vacant booth and sigh. None of the girls could make it tonight, all with legit reasons, but standing on this stage, trying to memorize the songs Rob and I have been working on for five straight hours while they move the instruments in, frazzles my nerves. As it is, a friend of Rob’s is now substituting Dex’s position as the bass player.
“You holding up?” Rob asks, chuckling to himself while he carries a drum to the stage.
“Why didn’t you cancel? It’s like The Invisibles with their misfits.” I place the sheet of paper down and throw my head in my hands. I’ll be lucky if I correctly sing the lyrics to one of these songs tonight.
“We were going to.” He plops down on the edge of the stage with me. His eyes light up with delight. “Until I heard you sing.” He raises his eyebrows up and down a few times.
“You mean eavesdropped?” I clarify and he leans back on his hands, a smile in place.
“Potato . . . potatoes. Same outcome.” He shrugs his shoulders and peers out to the empty booth. “Sorry about the girls,” he comments, never turning toward me.
When Roni, the usual waitress, casts a glance to him, he motions her over.
“Usual, Rob?” she asks, not taking out her notepad or pen.
“Please, Roni. Make it two.” He tosses his head my way and she peers over to me and then leers back to him before her sight returns to me.
“Is that what you want?” she questions me, and I laugh at her straightforwardness, disregarding Rob.
My eyes veer to Rob and then back to her. “It’s fine.” I tilt my head in an affectionate manner and she nods sidling up to her next customer.
“She’s always busting my balls. I’ll be right back.” His hand squeezes my shoulder as he lifts himself up and I take a deep breath from the contact. I’ve got to grab a hold of my emotions. Especially since we have the love ballad Brady wrote for Sadie to sing tonight. When Rob brought it up, I fought that we shouldn’t sing it, saying no one else should, but Brady added that it’s the most popular song right now and it’s a must on the list. Sadie seemed indifferent, so here I am preparing to sing side by side in some duet with Rob. That should help us stay in the friend zone—not.
“I’m Roni by the way.” The cute blonde comes over. She’s probably in her thirties and I notice her diamond ring sparkling under the lights.
“Paige.” She places the drinks on the stage and then smiles over to me.
“I think he likes you.” She eyes Rob helping Trey set up the drums and then back to me.
I’m mute because how am I supposed to respond to that? I hope he does, but I’m not completely sure. Even if he is, I’m afraid it’s only my body he wants. “I’m not into the whole one-night thing,” I admit and her hand lands on my knee with her tray tucked under arm.
“Rob’s been coming in here for years and believe me, it’s more than that.” She winks and drifts over to the next table.
I stare down at the shot glasses filled with what I assume is Yeager alongside a bottle of Heineken. As though he heard the glasses hit the wood, he sits down next to me and picks up a shot glass. “This is for the nerves.” He clicks his glass with mine and I follow him in downing it. I cringe when the burn of the alcohol coats my throat. Before I have a chance to place my shot glass back down, he thrusts a beer in my face. “This is to keep the nerves numb.” He tips his beer back, eyeing me over the green bottle for me to do the same.
I’m not a beer person, but no way am I turning down Rob’s kind gesture. “I don’t know if I can do this.” I speak truthfully, although Rob’s been inundated with my insecure worries for the past five hours.
“Yes you can.” He doesn’t go overboard on the compliments at all.
“What if I forget a line?” I cross my legs and swivel to face him.
He leans back on one arm, turning his chest to me. The stretch of his muscles arouses me and I wonder what those arms would feel like around me. His blue eyes swim with mine and they give me a belief in myself that I can do this. “I’ll be your savior.” His sly grin comes back into place.
I place my hand over my heart, “Oh my, will you ride in on your white horse, too?” I impersonate my best Southern accent and he rolls his eyes.
“If you’d prefer, I’ll let you sink.” He moves to get up, but I quickly lean forward and yank him down.
“I’m kidding. It’s a defense mechanism.” I divulge before he leaves me. His presence soothes me and I need that until the final second.
He drops back down with a thud and then lifts his ass to rub it. “Shit, you’re stronger than you look.”
“Sorry.” I raise my shoulders, sinking my head in between them.
“Yeah, right.” He takes a long draw from his beer and then Trey and the new bass player, Calen, join us. We move over to the booth and Roni delivers another round of drinks.
Before she leaves after the second time, I gently grab her elbow. “Can I have a water?” I ask and she nods.
“Water?” Rob asks, peering over to me. Trey has his phone out texting like crazy and Calen is eyeing all the girls purposely strutting past our table to see The Invisibles play.
“Yeah, you do want them to understand me, right?” I speak slowly for dramatic effect and he inches closer.
“I was just trying to get you drunk so I could take advantage of you.” His arm moves around my shoulders, resting on the back of the booth. There was something different in his banter tonight until now. He wasn’t cocky or arrogant, just simply a friend. The change I see in him only intrigues me more.
I swallow deep and my eyes ping across the bar, but never to Rob. His finger lazily moves on my bare shoulder and I try to not reveal the blaze that’s running through my veins or the increased beat of my heart. I can sense his vision focused right at the side of my head, but I refuse to turn around because I’m fairly certain if I do, my lips will connect with his. My willpower has been draining all day, but this move might be my complete undoing. I’ll cave if I gaze into those crystal-blue eyes. The only thing that keeps me denying him is the nightmare so many women wake up to after a night with my dad—a bed to themselves.
Trey claps his hands and I’m thankful for the reprieve of Rob’s hand on my skin. “Time!” he yells and flies out of the booth, jumping on stage.
Calen does the same, winking at a few girls in the front row. We step out of the booth, my stomach full of butterflies from the excitement and the fear. I rub my sweaty palms along my black leather pants just as Roni hands me my water.
The chill of the bottle cools down the heat in my body that Rob provoked. Roni places her hand on my arm and I shock back, alarmed from the contact. “You’ll do great. You’re smokin’ hot. These guys will eat you up whether you can sing or not.” One side of her lip turns up and then she weaves through the crowd.
When I flip around, I close my eyes and my free hand covers my stomach trying to calm the flutter down. Mustering up the confidence to perform tonight, I open my eyes and Rob’s perched on the stage with his hand out, waiting to help me up. My heart warms with his act of kindness. I break our distance, grab hold of his hand and step up on the stage. “Thanks,” I murmur and he winks a blue eye at me.
“Knock ’em dead.” With his easy smile, self-assurance arises inside of me. Maybe I can manage to do this.
