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“She is. I might not be going out because you all are running me fucking ragged. And by the way, don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing by keeping me so busy. But the guys and I still have a drink in my room most nights, and she’s always there.”
“We’re not doing anything.” He lies through his teeth, doing his best to keep looking as innocent as possible. “Dad asked me to give you more responsibility, and that’s what I’m doing.”
“Yeah, he wants you to pile it on because he thinks it’s helping keep me out of trouble.”
“It’s working, isn’t it? You haven’t smelled like a distillery in over two weeks, but let’s not get sidetracked. This is about you bringing up this person to Olivia when you hang out with her again. You aren’t being mean to her, are you?”
“Clearly, I’m not being mean enough.” I shake my head, squeezing my eyes shut before opening them again and glaring at him. “She’s everywhere, man. I’m not kidding. She sits next to me on the plane, she stayed in the room next to mine in London and Manchester, and now that we’re here in Glasgow, she’s next door again. I’m starting to wonder if you guys don’t want to be my neighbors anymore. Did you ask to be put in a different room?”
He laughs. “No. Why would we? It just hasn’t worked out that way. Maybe Livvy asked because she’s enjoying feeling like she’s part of things for once.”
“The only thing she’s part of is driving me fucking insane.” Seriously, the girl has been haunting me. I had a sex dream about her after we went dancing that night in London, and she’s been plaguing my thoughts ever since.
It doesn’t help that she’s been everywhere—except my bed—in the weeks following. She’s back to dressing like a prude, but it’s like, now that I’ve noticed her, I can’t stop noticing her regardless of what she’s wearing.
I still think I just need to get laid, but it doesn’t fucking help that I haven’t been able to hit the town again to pick someone up. And if there’s one thing I refuse to do, it’s pay for it.
On the band’s orders, Maxim has been keeping me crazy busy with building up the hype for the international leg of the tour, and combined with all my new responsibilities with traditional marketing and ticket sales, it feels like all I’ve had time for is work. By the time I’m done for the day, I’m too exhausted to even think about going anywhere, but when I do manage to go to bed, Olivia has been keeping me up—in more ways than one.
Since I’m not stupid, I know what the parents are up to with all this extra work, but now I’m also wondering if it’s got anything to do with what Maxim said about it killing them if they have to start playing to half-empty stadiums.
Which makes things worse for me because now I actually feel a little guilty that I didn’t think about any of that stuff before. Plus, now Maxim’s talking about starting a company and really becoming all grown up and shit, and with even fucking Olivia focused on her future and taking over her dad’s agency—which is pretty much the only thing she can talk about whenever she ends up coming over to my room with the rest of them—I’m starting to feel like an idiot for being so hung up on the fact that I haven’t been able to get out there.
Since I’m practically burning up with that itch, though, especially right now, I’m going out tonight. Even if it is already after ten by the time Maxim finally checks his watch and gets up.
“If she’s driving you that fucking insane, do something about it,” he says, shrugging his jacket back on as he heads for the door. “I’m turning in for the night, but I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning. And, Vince?”
“Yeah?”
“Talk to her about those messages. Something about them doesn’t feel right to me. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“Keep your panties on,” I growl as frustration cascades over me in waves. “I’ll talk to her if there’s something to talk to her about, but they’re just messages on social media. It’s nothing to get excited about.”
Hand already on the door handle, those amber eyes that he apparently inherited from our Mom’s side of the family bore into mine. “It might be on social media, but there’s a real person on the other side of the computer that those messages are coming from, and it’s better to have Mike look into it before that real person starts causing trouble for you in real life.”
With that last warning, he opens the door and slams it shut behind him.
A heavy breath rattles through me.Why does everyone always think they know what’s best for me?
I’m grateful to have so many people in my life who care about me, but there are always just so many opinions flying around. Shoving my chair back, I grab my jacket and head for the door myself. After briefly considering sending a text to the others to see who might be interested in coming with me, I scrap the idea. It’d take too long, and I really just need to go.
The universe must hate me because when I open my door, Olivia’s opens too.
She sticks her head out, giving me a puzzled frown when she sees me holding my jacket. “Where are you going?”
“Out,” I say, glancing toward the elevator instead of looking at her. She’s in her pajamas, and the ratty T-shirt she apparently wears to bed is so washed out that I’m pretty sure I can see the outline of her nipples underneath the thin fabric.
Of course, it could also just be my undersexed self imagining things because I’ve been cooped up too long. “I’ll see you aro—”
“Wait,” she cries out suddenly, making me stop and spin back toward her. Her light-blue eyes are wide, almost frantic. “I’ll come with you. Just give me a minute to get changed.”
“Why?” I ask, exasperation dripping from my tone. “You’re ready for bed, so just go to sleep already. I’m not really in the mood for company.”
“Maybe I just want a little adventure in my life,” she says quietly. “I promise I won’t bug you, but I am coming with you.”
The statement gives me pause, not because she’s being so assertive about coming when I’ve made it clear that I don’t want her to but because, for the first time since she started hanging out with us, it makes a little bit more sense that she’d want to.
“A little more adventure, huh?” I sigh, dragging my free hand through my hair and gripping the nape of my neck as I head back to her door. “Yeah. Okay. You can come, but the rules are the same. You leave me alone, you don’t disappear on me, and you let me know if anyone is bugging you, but I don’t even want to know you’re there otherwise.”
