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“But I was in middle school,” I remind him. “Like, the seventh grade.”
Fine, it was more like the eighth grade when my friends and I all loved them.
Tate Ramsey and the rest of Five Car Pileup were huge—five years ago. One of those boy bands put together with an audition call, they even had a one-season reality show that I vaguely remember watching. They also had quite a few hits in a startlingly short amount of time. Catchy pop songs with Tate mostly on lead vocals and the rest of them harmonizing along with him. They became famous fast, always photographed on the gossip sites. Everyone wondering who they were dating, what they were doing, what they were wearing.
And then they ran into a little trouble.
Trashing hotel rooms while on tour. One of them had a sex scandal with an underage groupie that eventually got swept under the rug. They partied constantly, much to the horror of all the parents of young teenage girls. Social media started calling them bad influences, and their reputations were tarnishing bit by bit.
Tate was the only one in a committed relationship when they were a band. He’d been steadily dating his longtime girlfriend from high school, and they were portrayed as madly in love. Fans hated her for “stealing” the cutest, most popular one—and then we hated her even more when she was caught cheating on Tate.
With another Five Car Pileup band member.
Oh, that situation became ugly fast. Tate went on a drunken, drug-fueled bender and made a complete joke of himself. Their label dropped them. The band broke up. The gossip sites crucified him specifically.
No one wanted to be near Tate Ramsey.
Does anyone still want to be around him?
“And you loved him back then. You played their music over and over, especially that one song. I remember you even had his posters on your wall.” Dad pats my hand again, then lets go of me completely. “Now go on! Spend time with your friends! Enjoy your party!”
Mom gives me a brief hug before she pulls away, smiling at me. “Try to act like you’re excited about the performance for your father’s sake, yes? He was so excited when he found Tate Ramsey.”
“How did he even find him?” I never see his name mentioned anywhere anymore.
I pretty much forgot he even existed.
“Oh, he was selling personalized greetings on one of those websites.” Mom waves a dismissive hand. “You know what I mean.”
“Like the Cameo site?” Oh God, that’s kind of humiliating.
“Yes, something like that. You pay fifty dollars, and he wishes you a personalized happy birthday. Your father sent him a private message and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.” Mom shakes her head, her delicate brows drawn together.
“How much did he offer him?” I brace myself for the answer.
“One million dollars.”
CHAPTER2
SCARLETT
“Scarlett, hey.” A hand suddenly grabs at mine as I walk past, and I turn with a gasp to find Ian standing there, smiling down at me. He gives my hand a squeeze before releasing it, taking a step back, his gaze roaming over me from head to toe. “Look at you.”
I duck my head for a moment, my cheeks growing warm. Pleased that he’s actually checking me out for once. “Hi, Ian.”
“That dress...” His voice drifts, and I wait breathlessly for him to tell me I look beautiful. Gorgeous even. “It’s so big.”
Disappointment hits. That wasn’t necessarily the reaction I was hoping for.
I glance down at myself, grabbing the tulle and giving the skirt a little shake. “I wanted to make a statement on my birthday.”
“You certainly did.”
And that’s all he says about that.
Huh.
That’s my problem with Ian sometimes. It’s not that he gives off mixed signals. More like he gives off... no signals, and that worries me. Does he like me? I don’t know. I mean, I’m positive he likes me as a friend. We’ve known each other a long time, since we were awkward teenagers. I’ve nursed a crush on him for what feels like forever. I moved on from Tate Ramsey to Ian, and I’ve never really liked anyone else since.
