Page 88 of Anything But Lonely

“I think Daddy took something that didn’t belong to him,” I answer Crew, but he’s back invested in whatever video he’s watching, taking advantage of the thirty minutes of screen time I allow in the mornings.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mateo says, grabbing a napkin to clean up the coffee he spilled. His gaze levels with mine. “And now is not the time to be talking about this,” he grits through his teeth, his voice low and directed to me and me only.

“I’m not the one playing with something that doesn’t belong to me.” I sit back in my seat, crossing my arms over my chest.

“I wasn’t playing with—” he pinches the bridge of his nose, crumpling the napkin in his hand as his fists clench. “I don’t believe this.”

“Well, believe me, rockstar, it is very real.” I lean across the table, whispering so Crew can’t hear me. “And that is my favorite black thong.”

Mateo leans in too, and I’m surprised by the smirk on his face. I thought for sure he’d be struggling to even look me in the eyes right now. “Yeah?” he whispers, “well, it’s mine now.”

CHAPTER 31

MATEO

Something’s not right.

It’s been a week since I basically outed myself about not only stealing Emerson’s underwear but using them.

I lean my head back against the wall of the green room of our New York City show, completely in my own head when I should be getting in the right mindset to be on stage in an hour.

The muffled roar of the crowd seeps through the walls as Sugarcoated Lies starts their set. Theo and Silas are camped out by the snack table, tearing through bags of chips and candy like they haven’t eaten all day while Eddie watches them with a borderline-scared expression, a drumstick twirling between his fingers.

“Crew and Emerson aren’t coming tonight?” Eddie asks.

I shake my head, offering a curt “no,” rather than explaining that Talia was able to work out some time off with her job so she could fly out to spend some time with Crew for a few days.

He’s spending the weekend with her and then meeting us in New Jersey with him before she flies back to Paris.

“What’s up your ass?” Theo asks. He and Silas are staring at me now, and I’m surprised they looked away from the basket long enough to notice me.

“None of your business, jackass,” I reply, standing straight up and walking over to them.

“Come on, sweetheart,” Theo teases, “after this many years, you should know that your business is ours.”

“Just tell us before you brood too long and your face ends up staying that way,” Silas adds before tipping a near-empty bag of pretzels into his mouth.

I press my palms to my face, groaning into them as heat creeps up my neck.

They’ll never let me live this down.

But I need to get it off my chest.

“Emerson caught me—” I raise my brows, trying to communicate the words without saying them out loud.

“Caught you what?” Eddie asks, snatching the bag from Silas to stop him from obnoxiously trying to get all the remaining crumbs. He crumples it up, tossing it into the trash can—all while ignoring Silas’ complaints

Understanding dawns on him when I gesture down to my dick before fisting my hands and sticking them in the back pockets of my cargo pants.

Eddie’s eyes go wide as Theo bursts out into laughter.

“Wait, caught him what?” Silas asks, looking back and forth between them before looking back at me. He must read my expression because he presses his lips together, but the laugh escapes anyway.

I roll my eyes. “Okay, it’s not that funny.”

“It’s fucking hysterical,” Theo barks, followed by more laughter.

I turn to Eddie, his shoulders shaking as he laughs into his fist—doing a shit job of hiding it.