17
Iwaited a few days until I could corner Jayce right after a concert. I almost felt bad trying to catch him off guard, but I needed to confront him when he was at his most vulnerable. I didn’t want him to just blow me off or try to change to subject. I needed him out of his depth if we were going to have the kind of conversation I needed to have with him.
We were in a different venue, but he’d managed to find a back entrance that led to a fire escape. I wondered if Jayce scouted out the best hiding spots at every concert venue they played.
I found him sitting on the edge of the metal stairway, arms hanging over the railing, legs dangling off the sides. The cool air seemed to do him some good. His skin didn’t look as dull, and the whites of his eyes were clear.
“Hey.”
He jerked his head around and then relaxed when he saw me. “Hey.”
“How you feeling?”
He shrugged. “Better than usual.”
“Did that meditation app help?”
“Yeah, a bit.”
“Good.” I hesitated for a moment. “Do you mind if we go inside and find somewhere private to talk?”
“What? Why?” He looked concerned. “What’s wrong?”
“I need to ask you something, and I don’t want it to be outside on a fire escape.”
“There’s an artist’s lounge that none of us have been using. It’s too small for the four of us.”
Jayce led me through the hallways, avoiding the staff and crew rushing around as always. I wondered how they always managed to be so busy. Surely there couldn’t be that much work, especially after the concert was over. Maybe they wanted to look like they were busy so no one noticed they were actually slacking off.
“Here it is.”
Jayce was right. The room was very small. Just a loveseat and a vanity stand with a stool and mirror.
“What was it you wanted to ask?”
I took in a deep breath. “Were you lying to me before?”
“No!” He looked offended, then confused. “Lying about what?”
“You said we can’t be together because of your fans.”
He looked even more confused. “Yes. Why?”
“That’s not the real reason, is it? You hate all that media attention. You hate that the public has this twisted image of you. And you think I’ll hate the spotlight, too. Is that why you think we shouldn’t be together?”
Jayce stayed silent.
“You think I won’t be able to handle dating someone famous?” I pressed on. “That I wouldn’t be able to handle being in the public eye, that I can’t handle what the media will say about me?”
“Come on, Ailey. I already know you can’t.” Jayce frowned, looking frustrated. “You never post personal details about yourself online. You never show your face. You use a pseudonym for god’s sake. Your name is Aimee Lee, not Ailey, but you don’t want your followers to know that. You’d rather stay anonymous. Private. That’s exactly the opposite of what you’ll get if people find out I’m dating you. They’ll pry and pry and you’ll never get a moment of peace. You’ll get sick of it, sick of all the attention.”
“You think I’d dump you because of that? You think I’ll get tired of it all and leave?”
Jayce didn’t say anything, just narrowed his eyes and looked away. My heart clenched. How much had fame messed him up? Would he even take a chance with me?
“If that’s what you think, fine.” I pulled out my phone and tapped rapidly, stabbing at the keys with both thumbs. Then I shoved my phone into Jayce’s face. He leaned back in surprise before I could smack him in the nose.
“What are you showing me?”
