“I believe she will fight you.” Courtney said. Then she turned to Ashley. “The way you tossed yourself on the ground for her. Color me impressed.”
“Are these decisions I make without Tanner?” Sam asked, thinking it through, out loud.
“I don’t know how to say this without coming across like an ass, so I’m just gonna say it.” Courtney pinched her face all up. “Tanner wouldn’t ask you about his career moves. I don’t think you should have to ask him, either.”
“Girl’s got a point,” Becca said.
“But if we’re building something—which we want to be—then we should start talking about things, right? Like you and Bax? I bet he talks to you before he plans a tour or anything?” Sam confirmed.
“She’s also got a point there,” Irina said.
“I’m on the planning committee for the tours, so it’s a little different,” Courtney said. “But I see where you are coming from.”
“Can I say something?” Becca asked, her tone as soothing as always.
Sam nodded.
“Relationships are give and take. They require communication. It’s important that you also make decisions that are for you. You alone. Just like it’s important that Tanner does that, too. It doesn’t mean you’re doing things without each other. It means you ensure you don’t disregard the things you need as well.”
That was a lot to digest in one small soundbite.
“I don’t have to decide right now, do I?” Sam asked, fiddling with the Loopy case on her phone.
“No, of course not,” Courtney assured. “This is a huge decision. But it’s something that I can work with. Something Hans can work with. We make this go away by leaning into it. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.” Courtney’s phone pinged. She checked the screen. “The guys are coming back here. Hans cancelled the meet and greet.” She frowned. “I gotta send something out on that cancellation so it doesn’t look like it’s connected to you.”
“It is connected to me, though, right?” Sam asked. Tanner hadn’t mentioned that they ever cancelled the VIP stuff.
“Well, yeah.” Courtney furiously typed on her cell. “But we can’t tell the press that.”
“Oh damn,” Irina said. “Oh hell. This could be bad. Or good. Or very, very bad. Or very, very good.”
“What now?” Courtney asked.
Sam would bet ten dollars the woman would either win the publicist of the year after this or get a raging migraine.
“Mach announced a competition.” Irina said this as though she didn’t want to say it.
“What kind of competition?” Sam asked.
“He is doing a dating competition.” Ashley’s eyes went big. “Did he think this through?”
The boys all clomped their way onto the bus, each of them heading for their respective partner, smooching it up, and then settling in. Tanner went straight to her, and Ashley made funny faces at Hans, who stayed by the door with Mach.
“Mach.” Courtney marched over to him, put her hands on his shoulders. “I want to shake you right now. But I also want to kiss you.”
“Shake him. Don’t kiss him,” Bax suggested. “Otherwise, I’ll have to beat the shit out of him.”
“I am helping.” Mach grinned. “Tanner needed someone to distract shit? I handled it.”
“Fuck me.” Hans stared at his phone. Then he put his face in his hands.
“No thanks,” Mach said. “But I reopened my account on Nocturnal Cupid, then I posted to my socials.”
Hans looked at Courtney. “Who gave him access to his social media?”
“It was not me.” Courtney was gritting her teeth.
Honestly, Sam appreciated the focus wasn’t on her right then. A nice reprieve from the rest of the day.
