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“Anytime, babe!” Marina hangs up on her end, the sound of silence suddenly ringing in my ear.
“Okay, so, I’ve got good news and bad news,” Van starts, as he walks up to me with a frustrated expression on his face.
“What’s the good news?”
“The good news is that we’ll definitely be attending the symposium; the registration people have our information and they’re ‘excited to welcome such successful artists’ for the weekend,” he replies. “And…the bad news is that the hotel accidentally overbooked, meaning that the suite I got for you is no longer on the table.”
“So, what? I have to find a hotel room somewhere else?”
“Yeah, that’s not really going to be possible.” Van frowns. “This is the biggest songwriting symposium in the nation and the biggest one for the year. The concierge said all the nearby hotels are booked solid, too.”
“Are you saying that I don’t have anywhere to stay tonight, Van?” My eyes go wide. “Because I’d rather get on a plane back to L.A. than spend the night sleeping on the lobby floor—”
“You can stay in my room for the weekend, Alyssa,” he interrupts. “It’s a suite, too. I mean, there’s only one bed, but there’s also a pretty comfortable couch.”
“…Are you going to make me sleep on the couch?” I ask, already frowning. “Is that why you’re trying to sell me on how comfortable it is before you pitch the idea?”
Van chuckles in response. “God, Alyssa. How little do you think of me? No, I’m not going to make you sleep on the couch. You can have the bed.”
“Okay. Phew. Thanks.” I let out a sigh of relief as I grab the handle of my roller suitcase. “Then let’s get this show on the road.”
Chapter 9
Rhys
“Fuck!” I curse underneath my breath while standing on the other side of the hotel lobby. I then tuck myself behind a nearby wall, trying my best not to be spotted by either Alyssa or Van.
It’s not like I was actuallyinvitedto the songwriter’s symposium, so if either of them sees that I’m here, they’ll probably have a million questions for me. And unfortunately, I’m not going to have a lot of answers, since it feels like my last-minute trip to San Francisco was driven by a lethal combination of jealousy, spite, and unresolved FOMO.
Cameron is here with me too, after I forced him along for the trip. He’d initially resisted, but I’d reminded him of his favorite story, the one where I ran off with Matilda. He relented and decided to come along with me, even if he’s mostly performing as a pseudo-bodyguard, and according to him, “protecting me from myself.”
“What the hell? Why is Van following behind Alyssa like they’re going to the same room—” I start again.
“Maybe because they are?” Cameron murmurs from his place right next to me. “Or did you think that paying off that front desk lady to cancel the reservation was going to be enough to make them turn around for the weekend?”
“I wasn’t expecting them to turn around for the weekend,” I remind him. “I was expecting for Alyssa to start calling around, trying to figure out somewhere to stay, so I could casually let it slip that I have a room in the hotel—”
“You don’t feel weird? Doing all this?” Cameron asks. “Are you sure you can’t just talk to her about how you feel instead?”
“That is part of the plan too, Cam,” I remind him, slightly annoyed at his forgetting it. “Have you even been listening to me this whole time? Or did you just hop on a plane to San Francisco for the views out the window?”
“Honestly, I mostly just wanted to make sure that you weren’t planning on doing anything too stupid,” he answers. “But…it’s starting to look like we’ve already crossed that bridge.”
“They haven’t slept together, Cam,” I reply. “I can tell. And as long as they haven’t started shagging, there’s this sweet spot of time where I can still try to get her back—”
“Since when does Van have a magical dick?” Cameron chuckles. “And since when are you even threatened by him? And most importantly, what the hell makes you think he’s even interested in her? She’s not exactly Van’s type.”
“That’s what makes it so much worse,” I grumble. “If she’s not even his type and he’s going after her, that must mean hereallywants her for who she is. Which makes everything all sorts of fucked up.”
“Fucked up for you, maybe.” Cam grins.
“Hey, are you with me on this or not?” I press, turning to look over at him. “If you’re so concerned about keeping the band together, doesn’t that mean thatno oneshould be hooking up with each other?”
“But don’t you still want to hook up with Alyssa—”
“Do you want us to go full Fleetwood Mac, Cameron?”
“You mean, end up being one of the best-selling bands of all-time?” Cameron says. “I don’t know. Now I’m kind of thinking it’s way better if Van and Alyssa spend the night together—”
