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Cannon, covered in tattoos and the epitome of bad boy, happens to be the most levelheaded of the guys—the mother hen, if you will. Looking at him you’d assume he’d be the worst of the bunch, but it’s proof of how you should never judge a book by its cover. He’s a genuinely nice guy from what I’ve seen. It’s hard to get to know him when he barely ever speaks.
The two of us head to the back and he hands out the coffee while I pass around the subs. I purposely hand Fox his and Hollis’s so I don’t have to risk eye contact or even the chance of our fingers brushing.
Hollis glares at me. I can feel his eyes searing into the side of my face, and I know it didn’t escape his notice as to what I did.
The air simmers between us, like some visible mighty thing, so I quickly duck out of the room with an excuse of needing a soda.
Grabbing a Mountain Dew from the refrigerator in the common area I crack it open and take a sip, trying to calm my racing heart.
Pissing off Hollis was never my intention, but it was kind of inevitable.
He can be mad all he wants—but I’m standing my ground on this.
When I feel calm enough, I return to the room and take a seat to eat my food. No one’s in the booth right now, instead we all eat. The guys discuss with my dad the progress of the day, things they want to tweak, and what they want to record next.
Hollis steadfastly ignores my presence now.
It’s what I wanted, but suddenly I feel chilled and it’s not from the temperature of the room.
After we eat, I clean up the trash while they get back to work.
Once I have the trash disposed of my dad has me pull up a stool beside him and allows me to be a part of the recording. I love this part, bringing life to a song, breathing magic into it. I can’t help the smile permanently glued to my lips as I work beside him.
When I glance up, in the reflection of the glass I find Hollis watching me closely. His legs are crossed, his thumb and forefinger resting over his full bottom lip as if he’s deep in thought. I look away quickly, hoping he didn’t notice me looking back at him.
I hear a small chuckle and I curse myself because he totally caught me.
Hours pass and it’s nearing midnight before my dad calls it a day. My body feels heavy and tired. I have no idea how I’m going to drive the hour home. I’m tempted to see if I can crash at Kira’s but since I hadn’t planned for this, I don’t have any of my stuff. Not that it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve slept in my clothes on her couch.
As everyone else leaves I stay behind to tidy up yet again and make sure everything is in order. It doesn’t take long before I’m locking the front door behind me and heading for my car.
I don’t feel too comfortable being downtown by myself this late so I shuffle to the back lot as quickly as I can.
The headlights on my car flash, illuminating a humanoid shadow.
Before I can scream the shadow turns and Hollis stands in front of me.
I shove him. “Don’t scare me like that,” I seethe as my heart threatens to break free from my chest.
He glowers down at me. “It’s the only way I can get you to talk to me,” he spits out. He’s angry, rightfully so.
“I don’t know what you want from me,” I finally say.
He pushes his long fingers roughly through his curly hair. “Fuck, I don’t know, but I expect more than the silent treatment.”
“I’m trying to protect us,” I explain, sidestepping him but he immediately blocks my path. “Hollis,” I complain, pleading with my eyes for him to drop this and let me pass.
He pushes closer to me, spreading his arms and closing in around me so my back is pressed against the brick of the studio. He angles his head, looking at me as he thinks through what he wants to say.
I square my shoulders, refusing to be intimidated. He works his bottom lip into his mouth and dammit if it isn’t the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
“You don’t want anything to do with me then?” he asks softly, a challenge sparkling in his eyes.
“I … it’s too dangerous to even be friends.”
He presses one hand to the column of my neck, angling my head up.
“You mean to tell me, if I leave here right now, find a willing chick, take her back to the hotel, and fuck her until her pussy is raw you’ll be okay with it?”
