“No you’re not,”he argued. “You’re pushin’ your potato salad around with your fork.”
I forced asmile. “I was just thinking about the key change in ‘Flowers,’” I lied. “I was thinkingmaybe we take it up another step.”
He wiped hismouth with a napkin, then settled his elbows on the table and studied me. “Yourun the risk of blowing out your voice if you do that.”
“You don’t thinkI can do it?”
“Not what Isaid.” He frowned. “Why are you pickin’ a fight with me?”
“I’m not.”
“Bullshit.”
I dropped myeyes to my food.
“Melody, whatjust happened?” Train asked.
“Can we justeat?” I huffed out.
“Baby, look atme.”
“No.”
He sighed,sliding out of his side of the booth.
“What are youdoing?” I squeaked as he shoved his giant body onto the bench beside me.
“You’re shuttingdown on me.”
“I’m eating,” Iargued.
“We’ve alreadyestablished you’re not eating, Wart, so how about you tell me what’s going onin that head of yours?”
“You don’t wantto know,” I grumbled.
“Okay, well, letme try to speak Melody Morgan and clarify my point.”
I rolled myeyes. “Good luck.”
“I would lovenothing more than to go with you to your sister’s place. I would love nothingmore than to fuck you six hundred ways ’til Sunday for as long as you want meto, but we live in different worlds, not just different places in the country.I have obligations with my club I can’t blow off, which doesn’t mean I can’tmake arrangements, but it also means we’ll need to renegotiate our agreement.”
I met his eyes.“Renegotiate?”
“Yeah.” Hecupped my face.
“How?”
“Make this athing.”
“You want tomake this a thing?”
“Yeah. But Itotally understand if you don’t,” he said. “I mean, the sex is phenomenal, andsinging with you is like connecting on some other psychic level, but it’s allthe worrying and general anxiety you bring to the table that really turns meon, and quite honestly, I don’t think I could live without that in my life.”
I bit my cheekto keep from laughing because he was kind of being rude. “Shut up.”
“I like you afuck of a lot, Melody. You’re kind of amazing and I like us together. I’d liketo see where it goes. Build something maybe a little more long term.”
“You would?”
