Page 45 of Just Wait

Ten and Parish laugh, indicating that I might be trying too hard.

Oh well, fuck them.

“They almost always have burgers, sandwiches, or salads ready to go,” I say, trying to tempt her with the foods that always work on me.

They also have this disgusting low-calorie chicken that makes me gag every time I smell it, but I don’t mention it because I will hurl if it comes onto this bus. The same thing happens with the seafood and tofu options they carry. I’ve basically banned anyone from eating them within fifty feet of me.

“Come sit down.” I grab her hand, leading her over to the couch.

She settles onto the end of the sofa where I was sitting earlier, so I take the middle cushion and toss my arm around the back.

“Are you hungry?” I ask, wondering why I can’t shut up. “Did you want breakfast or lunch?”

“I’m not hungry.” She nods to the table. “But I wouldn’t turn that down.”

Riser said Tangled Desires’ bus was covered in paraphernalia, so I’m not sure why I’m surprised.

Not in a bad way or anything.

I’m the last person who would blame someone for numbing their pain.

I guess I just feel protective over her, which is weird, but she was dating a rock star. She’s traveled on tour for over a month. She’s probably not as sheltered as I’ve made her out to be in my mind.

“Go for it,” Tennyson says, smiling lazily as he stretches back against his chair.

“Hold on.” I lean forward and grab one of the straws, pushing it out of the paper it comes in. “Let me cut you a fresh one.”

The scissors are somewhere… I pat around, finally locate them, and cut the straw down to size before handing it off.

They test us for everything under the sun before each tour. My results were all negative, but I have no idea about Ten and Parish. Either way, it’s safer if no one is sharing straws.

“Thanks,” she says, laughing. “I feel fancy now.”

I bark a laugh as my eyes meet Tennyson’s. She holds her hair back, bending closer to the coffee table, and Ten mouths, I like her.

I nod, smiling like an idiot.

Me too.

Now I just have to convince her to stick around long enough to get to know the real me.

Not the rock-star stage persona.

Somehow avoid being the fuckup everyone always accuses me of being.

Hell, I don’t even know if I remember who I was before we exploded onto the scene, but I’m going to try to show her.

I won’t be able to do that if she leaves as soon as we have a night off.

I need to find a way to make her want to stick around. That’s going to be an uphill battle when there’s the high likelihood that she’ll run into her ex on a daily basis.

I’ll just have to figure out how to make it worth her while.

I’m not a suspicious person.

I’m way more likely to go with the flow without questioning anything.

That’s why it’s so strange that I’m sure Lumen is hiding something. She took my cobbled-together intro and the few lines I had for the verse and spit out a chorus, bridge, and a hook in less than an hour.