“And that’s why she’s so lucky to have you.”
From across the bar, where Amelia is chatting with her boyfriend’s bandmates, she looks concerned for Levi.
“She’s a kid right now, fearless and wild. If she wants to pursue this dream when she’s older, then I think a safety conversation is needed. But right now, all she’s going to be in are little go-karts,” I say.
His laughter is full of anxiety, and his eyes shine with moisture. “You’re right; she probably won’t even go above five miles per hour.”
“I’m due for another drink. Do you want me to get you anything?” Nodding to the bar, I stand.
He waves me off. “No, thank you. I actually don’t drink.”
Oh?I always saw him in tabloids and gossip magazines, drunk out of his mind.
“Alcohol was ruining my life, so I started living a sober one.” He clears up the confusion he must have seen on my face.
Oh my God! How could I be so dense and ignorant?
“I am so sorry for even asking. I feel so horrible.” I cup my cheeks, mortified. The feeling of wanting to cry almost makes me buckle to the ground.
Rising from his seat, he pulls me into his side with a chuckle. “Hey, hey. Please don’t cry. How would you know I’m a recovering alcoholic? In your defense, it was a valid question.”
“That is not making me feel any better,” I mutter behind my fingers, letting him pull me along to the bar.
“It should because it’s not like I havealcoholictattooed on my forehead.” He laughs, squeezing my shoulder. “Go get your drink and stop being dramatic.”
“I’m sorry!” I yell at his back once more, earning me a wave, like it’s no big deal.
“Got into trouble in just under one hour of us being here. What did you do?” Elijah asks behind his own glass of what looks to be rum and Coke.
I take the empty barstool next to him, and like the world is on my shoulders, I deflate under his comforting gaze. “I just asked a recovering alcoholic if he wanted a drink.”
The sound of his drink coming back up his throat makes me wince. Wheezing with wide eyes, he shakes my shoulder. “You did what?”
“How was I supposed to know? Isn’t that something you should have told me?”
“Was I supposed to randomly blurt that out?”
“Yes!” I whisper-yell, glancing over my shoulder and finding Amelia cuddled up in her boyfriend’s arms. “It would have saved me from asking a completely inappropriate question!”
I love how he always seems to angle his body toward me when I’m near. It’s like an invisible force is pulling us toward one another, but everything that has happened and things that have been left unsaid are forcing us apart, like two opposite magnets.
“Let me reassure you, there are absolutely no other surprises you should know of,” he offers gently, tracing the top of his glass with his finger. “Actually, I do have something I should warn you about.”
“What?”
His cologne sends shivers up my spine when he leans in closer and speaks in my ear. “Axel has a tendency of hooking up with fans in public. If you don’t want to witness that—which I advise you not to—don’t look to your right.”
Whenever someone tells you to not look at something, it’s like your body has a mind of its own. Turning, I try to find Axel in the dark lounge, but then I wish I’d listened to Elijah because when I spot a girl bouncing on his lap, I feel barf rising in my throat.
“Oh my God!” Slapping both hands on my eyes, I turn in my seat so fast that I almost fall off. When the coast is clear, I drop my hands to glare at him. “What in the world, Elijah?”
“Don’t look at me like that.” He grimaces, pointing to himself. “I’m innocently sitting here.”
“Is that a kink of his?” I’m afraid to even ask.
I can’t even begin to comprehend how he feels comfortable with having sex in the middle of a room with all his friends around him.
“I don’t know, and I don’t want to.” He gags, looking extremely uncomfortable. Shivering, he spins around until his back is to the room. “Levi has almost knocked him out a coupleof times, especially when they’re sharing a hotel suite and he’s outside, high out of his mind and fucking on the couch.”
