God, I hadn’t felt desire like this in so long –
This was electrifying. This was turning me on.
This was not going to end well.
THIRTEEN
Were you there? When the cut first went deep, when the agony swept in, running salt into scars – were you there?
–from ‘The First Cut’, by These Exiles
IT WAS A RELIEF to land, after the frantic dash to the airport and the overnight flight – though, to be honest, it was seeing Wes’s face that truly made me smile.
‘You dick,’ I said as I hugged him in the hotel lobby. ‘What have you brought me out here for?’
‘Blame Derek,’ Wes said lightly, clapping me on the back and grabbing my rucksack from my shoulder. ‘Good flight?’
‘Yeah, fine.’ We were used to it now, the constant travel, though I had to admit I’d liked being in one place for more than two minutes. ‘What am I here for, again? Derek said something about an opportunity –’
‘Aphotoopportunity,’ interrupted my bandmate as he rolled his eyes and jerked his head to the lift. ‘Come on, you’re crashing in my suite. He seriously didn’t tell you it was a magazine spread?’
I groaned. ‘Of course he didn’t.’
Derek had to know that I wouldn’t have obediently trotted on to the plane if I’d realized. He’d said something about Wesneeding me at the UN project, and so I’d done what I was told – chastened, as usual, by the reminder that it had been my face plastered all over the papers after Ben had crashed the car that night – and now, here I was, hundreds of miles from Jessy, about to be trotted out like a show dog.
Same old, same old.
‘By the way, I’ve been following your whirlwind romance,’ Wes teased as he tapped his key card to the door and it clicked open. ‘You and Jessy? Is it serious?’
‘It’s complicated,’ I said as conversationally as I could, stepping into the room after my friend.
It was … well, not exactly luxurious, but I supposed I couldn’t expect much else when we’re supposed to be at a UN event. The room had two double beds, an ensuite, a large TV and a kettle.
‘If “complicated” means “fake”, then you’re a bloody good actor and you’ve missed your calling, bud,’ Wes called over to me, dropping my rucksack on to the only made bed and lifting an eyebrow as he dropped on to his own – seriously messy – one. ‘The way you look at her, seriously –’
I groaned. ‘Please don’t tell me you’ve been stalking me online.’
His grin was all I needed to know. ‘Pretty difficult not to – you’re trending everywhere.’
Great. I mean, that was the point, wasn’t it? Bury the DUI story. Create hype for Butterflies. That was why Jessy and I were doing this. Even if we were starting to be something more.
‘You like her, don’t you?’
When I looked up from pulling my phone charger out of my rucksack, it was to see Wes looking at me with thatquiet, serious face that I’d known for years. The sort of face I couldn’t lie to, even if I wanted to.
‘We’re … having fun. She’s fun.’
And Wes … cackled. ‘Fun? What are you, fucking fourteen?’
‘Shut up,’ I muttered, throwing one of the pillows at him.
He caught it, still laughing.
‘Seriously, shut up!’ I said, trying not to grin as I plugged my phone in.
It immediately switched back on, and in flooded … oh shit.
‘You must be in trouble,’ Wes commented as my phone buzzed and lit up again and again, and again … with messages from Derek.
