I glared at him. “So, the rumors are true. The groupiesdoinspire you.”
He blinked at me. “Wait, is that an actual rumor about me?”
I laughed, unable to keep a straight face when he looked so concerned. “No, I just made that up.”
“Oh.” He let out a relieved laugh. “I’m sorry. It’s hard to keep track at this point.”
“I’m a bit worried what rumors are out there about you.”
“Well, let’s see. Some people think I’m secretly a K-pop idol,” he said.
“I heard it was your cousin who was the idol.”
“Must’ve changed since I last checked,” Grey said. “Also, apparently, my family is a bunch of billionaires. I’ve had plastic surgery. And my dad is in the Korean mafia.”
“Is there even a Korean mafia?” I pondered.
“I don’t know!” Grey laughed. “The rumors are crazy, and they’ve gotten worse this year.”
He frowned down at his lap, and it was all I could do to not reach out to comfort him.
“Why this year?” I asked.
Grey shrugged. “Dreamscape is really catching on at school—which is great. But most of the fans are only interested in and obsessed with me.”
“Well, if you weren’t so gosh darn pretty,” I said, only half teasing.
“You’re too sweet.” He flirtatiously batted his eyelashes at me. “But it’s affecting my ability to go to school here like any other student. Professor Young isn’t the only teacher I’ve had to ask for permission to sneak in late.”
“You’d think people would get bored eventually,” I said.
“Have you?” he asked.
The sudden twist in the conversation sucked the air right out of my lungs. Blood rushed to my face and chest. The room suddenly felt hot, and Grey was entirely too close for comfort.
“I don’t think you’re boring, Grey.” I didn’t think such a thing was possible for me.
“I only ask because you disappeared for those few weeks there. And you even unfollowed me on Instagram.”
“Well, yeah…”That’s not from boredom. It’s because you’re taken, you stupid idiot.
“It’s a shame.” Grey looked at me through his eyelashes.
I didn’t think he even realized he was doing it, but it was becoming one of his signature moves that only seemed to stress me out.
“I was beginning to look forward to seeing you at my shows.”
My mind was blank, useless as I tried to conjure up a response. But even as I did, the memory of Grey kissing Carina in front of me flooded my mind and filled my mouth with a sour taste.
“After that last one with Carina kissing you…” I had to look away from him. “I couldn’t do that to myself.”
The honesty flooded out of me before I could so much as think about stopping it. I cringed internally at revealing how I’d felt about the situation—at admitting that it was a stupidkissbetween two near strangers dating each other that made me want to run for the hills.
The right corner of Grey’s mouth tilted downward. “Can I ask you a question?”
Sensing danger, I tried to play it cool. “You already did, sir.”
“Ha ha,” Grey said sarcastically, looking deep into my eyes.
