I swiped the screen to open the message, but it was standard fangirl squealing. I could ignore it.
There was a commotion near the front of the bus, and I sat up straight. Who would be the first one on?
Jayce’s head popped up as he clambered up the stairs. He paused when he saw me, an almost pleased look lighting up his face. Then his gaze dropped to the phones in my hand. He pressed his lips together and flopped onto the closest sofa, as far away from me as he could get without leaving the bus.
“Good morning!” I smiled brightly.
“So this is what Deena meant when she said you’d be following us around.” Jayce tilted his head back to look up at the ceiling, looking vaguely uncomfortable.
For all that he was in the public eye, for all those heated stares he’d thrown my way, it sure did seem like Jayce dreaded working with me. I supposed I wouldn’t be too happy with a stranger following me around to share my every move with the world either. I wondered how he was going to handle having a film crew tailing him. Maybe I could convince him I wouldn’t be an imposition.
“I didn’t know I’d be sharing the bus with you until this morning. Just tell me if I get in the way.”
“Sure,” he murmured.
Draping his arms over the back of the sofa, Jayce slouched down, spreading his legs. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. I couldn’t see them clearly from that distance, but I knew they were a warm brown. I’d seen them shine with every expression under the sun. Joy, passion, fury, sorrow. On stage, Jayce held nothing back. He gave everything he had to his audience and they worshipped him for it.
I had seen flashes of something similar yesterday, but this morning he was more subdued than I’d expected. He acted different now that he knew we were colleagues than when he’d thought I was a fan.
It shouldn’t have surprised me to learn he was different off stage. Every celebrity assumed some sort of public persona, some type of alter ego. No one acted the exact same way in private as they did in public.
Was Jayce worried I would expose too much of his inner self to the world?
I felt bad thinking about it. Jayce had to perform; he had to be “on” every minute of the day, acting the part of the cocky rock star, and here I was invading the precious few moments when he could just be himself.
“Thanks.”
I was brought back to myself with Jayce’s rough voice.
“For what?” I asked, hesitant.
“For what you said yesterday. How you won’t just post things without our permission.”
Relief unfurled in my chest. He wasn’t upset with me.
“I’m not here to do some sort of exposé. I’m here to make you look good for your fans. I’m here to make you famous.”
“Are you saying I’m not famous?”
I was going to backtrack and protest when I noticed the wicked smile playing on his lips.
“More famous,” I corrected myself. “You don’t have to worry, I’ve signed an NDA. I’m not allowed to talk about anything with anyone.”
“Even to your hundred thousand followers?”
“They don’t know what I’m doing this summer.” I was surprised at his question. “People seem to like my music reviews. I don’t think they’re expecting to see anything else from me.”
He tilted his head, smirking. “You ever review Feral Silence?”
I tried to hide a smile. Sometimes it felt like Feral Silence was a good one-third of the content I posted.
“Yeah, I’ve reviewed you a few times.”
“Should I be worried?”
It wouldn’t do either of us any good for him to know I was one of his gushing fangirls. Not that he probably didn’t already suspect. “I try to be as unbiased in my reviews as possible.”
“Ouch. That bad, huh?” He tossed me a grin that almost caused my heart to burst in my chest. I found myself grinning back.
