Sam seriously did not have the energy to deal with that right now.
“I’ll visit,” she finally agreed. “How about that?”
This was Los Angeles, there were loads bigger celebrity sightings to worry about than one with Sami Jo. What good was Sami Jo when there was Lady Gaga and Jimmy Fallon?
“She vill visit.” Babushka tossed her hands up in the air as though this was all her doing. Which was fair, given that it mostly was.
“We got a concession.” Bax clapped like Sam had given a performance, and honestly? She didn’t dislike it.
Actually… that felt good. She liked it. She enjoyed being the center of attention when they were all being awesome. Not calling her names or threatening to kill her parents.
Why did she like it? It’s not like she’d done anything other than agree to something totally ridiculous like visiting Tanner in Los Angeles.
“This is going to be fun,” she said. “I get to meet Irina.”
And see Tanner. Not waiting until he caught a moment and could come back to Denver.
It’s not like she was going to go out there and announce who she was. She’d just let the bright lights of Dimefront stay on Dimefront. That could be her strategy. Keep the attention off of herself and onto the boys who had earned it.
Maybe it could work?
Chapter Seventeen
SAMANTHA
A week and a half later
Sam curledup on the bed at Tanner’s place in one of his Dimefront tees and a pair of ratty shorts she’d never wear in public. This was her first night spending time at Tanner’s apartment. She needed a break from the Babushka crew after the latest incident on TikTok involving a blow torch challenge.
The apartment held onto Tanner’s scent and was officially her new favorite place because of it. She needed to see him again to remind her she was changing how she did things. Remind her why she might want to stay in Denver permanently.
Her phone buzzed beside her. She reached for it. Smiled.
Tanner: What are you doing?
Sam: Thinking about you.
Tanner: Miss you.
Sam: Miss you too.
Sam: Waiting for food delivery.
Tanner: Did you go to the clubhouse?
Sam: Yes.
They texted all the freaking time. She hadn’t expected it to be this hard, being a thousand miles away from each other.
Sam: See you in a few days?
Tanner: Miss you more. Can’t wait.
Tanner: What’d you order for dinner?
Sam: Greek
Sam: Kebab night!
