I take a step forward. “Don’t.” I’m a head taller and havethirty pounds on him. AndIwon’t even consider leaving this club without Vee.
She’s scowling at me, but her eyes seem playful. “I’m just having fun,Cameron.” She says my name slowly, like my name is a swear word.
“Really? Because it looks like you’re just getting dragged out of here by some creep.” I glare at the stranger’s hands still resting on Vee’s hips. “Hands off, man.”
“You’re the boyfriend?”
Vee looks up at him and shakes her head like he’s crazy. “Oh, no, this isn’t my boyfriend. My boyfriend is theleadsinger.”
“We’re both lead singers.” I don’t know why I’m even arguing, and I grab for her hand.
“I want to see the Ferris wheel,Cameron.” She nods to the window where the massive SkyView is blinking, the covered gondola seats moving across the window and out of sight.
“We can go tomorrow, Vee.” I reach for her hand once more and she jerks it away.
“You… ve noright.” Her words are all blurring together. “I don’t wanna go anywhere with you,Cameron!” She’s getting loud and attracting some attention, and her new friend is looking annoyed. He raises his hands in the air and takes a step back. Vee stumbles as she loses his support, and I grab her arms and pull her toward me. Instead of thanking me for keeping her off a MISSING poster, Vee uses her tiny fists-of-fury to nail me in the shoulder. Over and over. All the while telling me how much she hates me. How she wishes I weren’t here. The tour would be perfect if I weren’t on it, and why did I have to make her life miserable?Making her miserable is my life’s work, apparently.
“You have anger management issues,” I say. “You know that, right?” This girl will be the death of me—I throw my arm behind her knee, knocking her off her feet as I scoop her up into myarms. As much as I wanted her to finally explode and just let me have it—I’m just annoyed. And this is nowhere near private.
She lets out a squeak of panic. “You coulda cracked my head open.”
“Not likely.” I smile at her in my arms, just to push her. “Too hard.”
Her mouth is scrunched up like she’s sucking on a lemon. I could tell her how cute she is when she’s mad, and really piss her off, but I don’t feel like dealing with her fists again. We’re making enough of a scene. As I push through a cluster of people gathered in front of the exit, Vee kicks her legs, clipping people with her flailing limbs, squealing apologies of “Ohmigosh. Sosorry. Isallhisfault. I’msodrunk.”
“No shit,” I mutter.
“No one asked you to do this.” Her voice is acerbic, hateful.
“You never have to ask me to do this.” I look down at her body in my arms. “I’m not just standing around while you get dragged half unconscious into the alley by some drunk asshole.”
“He was nice,” she says matter-of-factly.
I roll my eyes. “He was an asshole.”
“How’s Sienna?”
I don’t answer, I just push the bar on the metal door and step out into the hot Georgia night. We’re in the small roadway that runs along The Tabernacle. The huge Ferris wheel spins over us, and we’re so close to the bottom of it, I feel like we’re miniatures. Vee is staring up at the lights, and I think maybe this is over.
Vee’s eyes go back to my face. “How about that girl you kissed backstage, then? How’s she?” I hadn’t even known she was backstage. Of course that’s my luck.Thank you, Universe.
“That was a stupid game, and you know it,” I say. “I would have made out withyou,if you weren’t busy acting like I was some kind of monster. So that wasn’t an option, was it?”
She says nothing, and I can feel the irritation growing inside me, burning alongside the drinks.Why does she get to ignore me for days at a time, spend the night making me jealous, and then treat me like an asshole when I save her from some guy who actuallyisan asshole?
“No snarky comment about how horrible I am?” I ask. “That’s an interesting change.”
She just stares up at me silently, and I keep my eyes focused on the road ahead of me.
When the bus is in view, Vee starts twisting, trying to stand up on her own. I let her legs go, letting them drop to the ground, my other arm still wrapped around her waist, holding her up. Her chest is pressed up against me, her face so close our noses are almost touching, and there’s a feeling between us I don’t quite recognize. The sweetness we had before is gone. There are no “I love you”s, no forehead kisses or gentle touches. She takes a deep breath, and I can feel it against me; the air trapped between us.
I turn us toward the building and walk her backward, my eyes locked on hers, until the brick wall of The Tabernacle stops us. Until all I can feel is her body. I feel the weight of her against me as her back hits the wall. My hand goes to her hip, roughly pulling her closer. I’m going to remind her how good we were. I run my hand down her leg, feel her slick dress turn to bare skin, and she gasps. I brace myself for her to tell me I’ve gone too far. We’re not us anymore. “Vee—” My voice is hoarse and tense, as I dare her to look me in the eyes when she tells me she doesn’t feel the same way I do. But her wide eyes aren’t on me. They’re on the blinking red light at the end of the alley, pointed right at us.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
THEN
CAM
