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“I’m saying that for once in your life, you can do something real. I’m saying that, from what I can tell, we’re stuck here for at least another couple of days. We can spend that time doing something creative, or we can hang out in bed.” I winked. “I’m open to both if that works.”
Now she was really pissed, and I kinda liked it.
“You’re still such an asshole. You know what me and my
sisters called you when our parents first hooked up?”
I closed the distance between us, but she didn’t back away. In fact, she thumped me in the chest again.
“Fucking hot?”
She made a sound that sounded primal. “Mister Dick.”
“That’s not very nice.” I grinned.
“Bodhi was the nice one.”
“Bodhi was a kid.” My brother was still a kid to me, even though he was in his last year of college.
“We’re not having sex,” she said flatly. “If you were the last man on the—”
“Yeah, I figured that was a long shot. So now that sex is off the table, let’s write some songs.”
She still didn’t get it. “Why?”
“Why not?” I shrugged. “What are you afraid of, Echo? There’s no one here but me and you and a whole lotta time on our hands. We don’t like each other all that much, but that doesn’t mean we can’t write some amazing stuff. When’s the last time you did something that wasn’t staged or planned or meant to be provocative? Let’s be provocative, but from the well of creation. Not some plastic photo aimed to snag a million likes.”
“Twenty million,” she shot back.
“What?”
“The most likes I’ve ever gotten from a photo.” Her eyes flashed. “And just so you know, I was holding a puppy and promoting animal adoption.”
“In a bikini, no doubt.”
“Actually, I was naked.”
“Of course you were.”
She ignored that one and stared up at me for a good five seconds before cocking her head. “I’ll spend tomorrow with you working on music if…” She narrowed her eyes. “If you tell me why you broke things off the way you did. That summer at the plantation.”
I dropped my eyes and hid a groan. Shit. She wanted to go there?
“What good would that do?” I asked. “It’s history.”
She didn’t answer, but she didn’t move away either. I knew her well enough to know she wasn’t going to let this go. I also knew that maybe it was time to clear the air. I wouldn’t get into her dad’s threats, but I could give up my brother no problem. “Bodhi found out about us and threatened to tell Brit.”
“Who’s Brit?”
Here’s the part where I really looked like an asshole. I cleared my throat and shrugged. “My girlfriend.”
Her mouth dropped open, and I knew hell was about to rain down on me.
“Your girlfriend?” she spat, thumping me again. “You had a girlfriend the whole time you were fucking me? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You never asked.” She opened her mouth—to yell, no doubt—but I plowed forward. “Look, I was two weeks shy of eighteen and pissed off, and you were in my face twenty-four seven. I didn’t want to be on some plantation out in the middle of nowhere because my mom decided to marry Axel. I had a life in Los Angeles. Friends. And yeah, Brit was part of that. I know it was a dick move not to say anything, but if we’re being really honest here, you were the one after me. Christ, you were relentless.”
“I was not.” But she knew the truth. I saw it in her face.
