In your PJs?
Mia
Are you embarrassed?
Austin
Never. Meet you outside in three.
I slipon a pair of sweatpants and pull a t-shirt over my head as I hurry down the stairs. Paul isn’t around—he promised to give me the bus to myself tonight, which is why I asked Mia to hang out.
Mia’s already waiting when I get out there. For some reason, I’d been expecting an oversized onesie, but she’s wearing loosesweats and a fitted t-shirt. How does she look every bit as amazing in that as she does in that silver sequin dress?
She smiles as we start walking without a specific destination in mind. She’s got that after-concert glow I don’t know what to do with. I’m not in the habit of letting myself fall for girls like I have for Mia, and I’m definitely not in the habit of letting myself fall for someone who hasn’t already made it clear they’d welcome that with me.
First world problems, I know.
“How are you feeling after tonight?” I ask.
“Amazing,” she says, grinning as we turn onto the bridge over the Sâone River. “I think I get it now.”
“Get what?”
“How you can get so hyped from a crowd that you rip your shirt off.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Wow. Was that something you were tempted to do?”
She shoves me, but I grab her arm, so we both stumble for a second.
“I mean that feeling… It’s powerful.” She stops in the middle of the bridge and rests her elbows on the iron rail.
“It is.” I search her profile, wondering how powerful it was for her and how it’s affected her. “I assume you plan to repeat it in Paris?”
“Um, yes.” She looks over at me. “If that’s okay with you?”
“Yeah… I mean, it would’ve been nice to know beforehand.”
Her eyes widen. “Did Noah not tell you?”
“Oh, he did.” I look out over the lamp-lit city. “In the dressing room.”
She clenches her teeth. “I’m sorry, Austin. I told him I needed to clear it with you and Paul, and he said he’d do it. He must’ve forgotten.”
I snort. “Yeah. Something like that.”
She searched my profile for a few seconds. “You’re not a big fan of his, are you?”
“No.”
She turns and faces the other way so she’s leaning on the iron rail but looking at me. “Whyisthat?”
I shrug. “I don’t like the guy.” I could say a lot more, but I’m in dangerous territory here. It’s not a good look to talk crap about a person everyone else likes.
She frowns. “He’s been really nice to me.”
I give a soft chuckle.
“What?”
