After the boyspaid for our meals, we waddled out to the parking lot to head to the show. The sun sat just on the edge of the horizon, ready to dip down any second.
It would be dark soon and this far away from city lights, it would get really dark. I was anxious to get to the show.
During our waffles we’d avoided any more talk of Battle of the Bands. It was beyond awkward now that Troy’s feelings were out in the open and I was headed to see a different guy.
We’d still had fun though. Troy had spent the entire night confusing me. I knew I wanted Jake. I could only remember ever wanting Jake.
Jake was also… I didn’t even know how to say it. Jake was like this idea… this thing I held onto when everything else was going wrong. Jake Turner was the thing that filled up my daydreams and gave me something to wish for.
But had I ever considered him a real possibility? Or even a real person? Beyond the fantasy?
I’d learned more about Troy Cameron in one day than I knew about Jake Turner after living next door to him for almost my entire life.
That wasn’t right.
On the other hand, Jake had invited me backstage tonight. That was huge! This was my chance to put reality behind the myth of Jake Turner and discover the man I knew he was.
The man I knew was right for me.
At least for tonight.
Troy opened my door for me and stayed close while I approached the car. “You good, Carmichael? I didn’t freak you out or anything did I?”
I looked up at him, unable to keep from teasing him. “I always suspected that you were mental. But now I have proof. I like being right.”
His smile made my stomach do that flippy thing again. “You look good tonight, Cass. Can’t say that I’m sorry about any of it.”
I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth and struggled to find the right thing to say. In the end, I settled on, “Thank you. For the compliment and for driving us tonight. Even if you did have to bully an innocent geek.”
He leaned in, brushing his nose along mine. “Worth it,” he whispered.
I sucked in a breath, expecting him to kiss me, but he pulled back instead and jogged around to the driver’s side.
Ignoring the pang of disappointment slicing through me, I plopped down on the seat and slammed the door shut.
“Battle of the Bands!” Mikey hollered out the window as Troy pulled back onto the main road.
The boys rolled down the windows and the cool air whipped through the car, making my hair crazy and my skin pebble with goosebumps. But I didn’t care. This had been the perfect night so far. Maybe it was nothing like I expected, but it had been everything I needed.
Rolling down my own window, I let my hand dangle in the rush of air. I held it flat and let it dance in the wind, waving up and down as the breeze took it.
My hair tangled in front of my face, so I grabbed it with my other hand and pulled it back out of my eyes.
In my peripheral, I caught Troy staring, so I turned to him. The expression on his face made my heart thump heavily and I had to whisper my question. “What?”
His voice was deep and sincere when he said, “You’re fricking beautiful, Cass. Do you know that?”
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t swallow. I had been told I was pretty before. In high school, when I played by the rules and dressed like everyone else. Guys had told me I was pretty and gorgeous and hot and whatever. But nobody had ever sounded like Troy.
Nobody had ever been this sincere… this struck by me.
And how he thought that when I looked like this was beyond me. I dressed like this on purpose—to keep people at bay. I had enough shit in my life right now, I just wanted the rest of the world to leave me alone.
Except Troy wasn’t capable of that.
He invaded my life and my space and my head, whether I wanted him to or not. He saw past the black clothes and the heavy makeup and somehow saw me.
Knew me.
