“Not sure what you mean,” he told her.
She chuckled, not deterred at all. “I know you don’t like to give many explanations for your tattoos. But I’ve got to say, it seems pretty obvious the meaning behind anSon your hand. Is it for your girlfriend?”
“You said it was obvious, right?” he quipped, choosing his next words carefully. “I’d agree that it’s obviously for the person I love.”
He could almost hear the air being sucked out of the room in the few seconds that followed. And he’d probably be getting shit from Maggie later for that unspecific answer, but it was totally worth it for the way Skyler’s entire face lit up.
“You must be very committed to your girlfriend to do something like that for her,” the woman pushed.
And in case he wasn’t in enough trouble already, Trevor glanced purposely at Skyler before he answered, “Yeah. I’m committed.”
“I’ve heard you and your girlfriend—that’s college student Sierra Makenzie, for any fans who don’t already know—recently celebrated your one-year anniversary together, so I imagine that might have had something to do with getting the new ink.”
With that, Skyler’s face rearranged into a scowl.
Beside him, Oli put a hand on Skyler’s leg. It looked super casual, but the contact seemed to be enough to relax him. Or at least make him remember where he was, because he stopped scowling.
“It’s honestly refreshing,” the interviewer continued, either oblivious to the tension in the room or uncaring of it, “to see that sort of commitment from a young star like yourself who could easily have a different girl for every night of the week if he wanted to.” She leaned forward so she could tap Skyler’s knee, awkwardly knocking Oli’s hand away. “And Skyler, the ladies’ man, knows all aboutthat, huh?”
Skyler’s nose crinkled, either because of the unwanted touch or the assumption, but most likely both. Trevor gripped the arm of the couch so hard his fingertips throbbed.
Jermaine laughed—Trevor could tell it was fake, but the viewers probably wouldn’t be able to—and ruffled Skyer’s hair to distract from the fact that Skyler wasn’t giving a response.
The woman turned her attention to Noah and said, “Noah, I understand you have a serious girlfriend as well.”
“I do,” Noah said proudly.
Trevor didn’t miss Noah’s slight frown when she turned away from him without asking anything further. It was ironic how Noah always got asked less about his real relationship than Trevor did about his fake one. Or he supposed that wasn’t irony. It was Maggie.
The woman eyed Skyler again and said, “So we know no commitments from Skyler,”—she pointed at Oli and Jermaine—“but what about you two? Any interest in finding love?”
Skyler’s nose crinkled again and Trevor’s grip on the couch grew painful. He wanted to say something to defend him. Wanted to say that Skyler was the most committed and loving man he’d ever met. But he couldn’t tell the truth about the two of them, and if he opened his mouth to say anything at all, he was afraid all that would come out would be an aggressive scream.
Jermaine, also noticing Skyler was upset again, jumped in, taking the focus on himself. “It would be nice to have someone,” he said. “But it’s difficult when you’re traveling all the time. These two are lucky they’ve found people who love them for who they are, and don’t care about the fame and everything that comes with it. They’re lucky their partners understand.”
He was making it sound like he was talking about Noah and Trevor being lucky with their girlfriends, but his eyes flitted subtly between Trevor and Skyler. It may have been the most Jermaine had ever spoken in an interview, and Trevor was so grateful for him right now.
From the tiny smile creeping onto Skyler’s face, he could tell Skyler was too.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Before
SKYLER
It was going tobe a long bus ride to the band’s next tour stop, and Skyler currently wasn’t speaking to Trevor. Their fight had been over something trivial, which was becoming a pattern with them. Lately they were quick to snipe at each other. Even the other guys had started to notice, which Skyler hated.
He’d accused Trevor of using the last of his shampoo and not replacing it. And okay, that was dumb, because Trevor didn’t even like to use his fruity shampoo. He’d once said he loved smelling Skyler’s hair but didn’t need his own hair to smell like apples or peaches. So logically, Skyler knew it was his own fault he’d let his shampoo run out and hadn’t thought to grab more. Hell, he didn’t even need to grab it himself—he could simply ask a PA to run to the drugstore for him at any of their stops. But whatever.
Maybe he just wanted Trevor’s attention.
After some bickering, Trevor had gotten mad and told him to stop being a baby and learn to be responsible for his own shit. Which, fair. But it stung because Trevor had always called himbabylike it was something precious. This was the first time he’d made it sound like an insult.
Trevor had already apologized, and it wasn’t that Skyler hadn’t forgiven him, since Skyler was the one who’d started the nonsense in the first place. But he couldn’t simply snap back into their lovey dovey roles. Not yet. So he was slumped in a seat up front by himself while everyone else—including Sierra, who was with them for the next few cities—hung out in the bus’s lounge area.
Because he was sick of this. He was sick of the careless jabs Trevor took at him when he got frustrated. And he was possibly even more sick of himself for provoking pointless arguments. He didn’t want to be this person.
“Hey.”
