“Haveyoumetanyoftheartistsparticipatingthisyear?”
“Yes,actually.”Aflickerofexcitementbreaks through his composed façade. “I went to school with Hale Aka.”
“Well, isn’t that nice?” The interviewer’s tone turns faintly condescending. “A little reunion in the big city.”
“Yeah,” Aksel replies easily. “Vegas is a long way from West Texas, but I’m liking it so far. I might even set up shophereandneverleave.Whoknowswhatthefuture holds?”
He winks at the camera, chuckling when the cyclops interviewing him visibly swoons.
Chapter Three
Hale
Ispend the next morning in full avoidance mode.
I stay locked in my hotel room, sketching and watching Court TV. Judge Judy is that bitch. And I am absolutelynotavoiding the asshat in the room across the hall.
Around three in the afternoon, there’s a knock on my door that sounds exactly likeWe Will Rock You, and I know Eric has finally snapped after hours of unanswered texts. He keeps it up fora full minute, belting out the lyrics in the hallway without a shred of shame or concern for innocent bystanders.
I’ve had enough. I yank the door open and scowl. “Can you shut up and come inside before Aks-hole opens his door to investigate who’s torturing a cat?”
Eric sashays past me, utterly unbothered. “Get ready.
We’ve got a lot to do tonight.”
“Like what?” I ask, eyeing him suspiciously.
“It’s a surprise, grumpy pants.” He flashes a coy grin. “Now hurry up and change out of those dirty clothes and into something appropriately grungy so we’re not late.”
“I wasn’t planning on leaving my room,” I mutter, but I still pull my AC/DC shirt over my head and swap it for a plain dark gray one.
Eric lifts a clean pair of jeans, gives them a polite sniff, then tosses them at me. “Oh, I know. Your schedule today is packed with avoidance.” He rolls his eyes. “We’re in Vegas. You need to let loose and get laid. That’s not happening if you keep hiding in here.”
Unfortunately, he has a point.
I jam my feet into my boots and sigh. “Fine. But I really don’t want to seeyou know whotonight.”
“Voldemort’s not even here,” Eric says breezily. “I saw him leave around lunch while I was flirting with the front desk clerk.”
I pause, running a hand through the disaster on my head. “Are you sure?”
“Oh my Gods,” he groans. Then, before I can stop him, he flings my door open, marches across the hall, and knocks loudly on Aksel’s door, shaking his ass to the rhythm he’s invented.
“See?” he says triumphantly, grabbing my hand. The door opens.
Aksel stands there, rumpled and sleepy, like he just rolled out of bed.
“Can I help you with something?” he asks. Damn it.
“Oh fuck,” Eric says.
He immediately turns puppy-dog eyes at me, mouthingsorrybefore pivoting back to Aksel. “I thought you were out. Honest mistake. Sorry for disturbing you. I was just trying my best to convince this homebody over here to come out with me.” He punctuates the words with a jut of his thick hip and a dramatic thumb jab in my direction.
If my eyes rolled any harder, they’d detach and skitter down the hallway. “I thought you said he was out.”
“I said Isawhim leave,” Eric corrects. “I never said I waited around to see if he came back. The front desk clerk really wanted to show me their filing system. Who am I to turn down such impressive organizational skills?” He doesn’t look even remotely sorry for getting me into this situation because he wanted to get laid.
Aksel snorts, an unflattering, surprised sound, and Eric beams like he’s won an award. Sometimes I truly don’t know what to do with him. I love him, but also? I might kill him.
