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“Are we ever going to talk about Texas?” Memphis cuts in, and my smile immediately disappears. I shake my head and wave my hand.
“Nothing to talk about Memp. I’m in Nashville now and pursuing my dreams.” I give him a smile and he pulls me closer to him, pressing a kiss to my head.
“I know, shortcake. I just worry is all. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I whisper, avoiding the daggers being thrown into the side of my face.
My phone vibrates on the seat and I glance down at it. Connor’s face pops up and I tremble. He doesn’t deserve me ghosting him, but I know he’s around Xavier, and I just can’t handle that. I decline the call and put my phone in my bag. According to Sassy, Connor has moved into our dorm and Xavier is hanging out with Ella. I don’t know what the hell is going on, and honestly I have so much on my plate right now, I don’t need the added stress.
We pull up to the venue and the driver opens my door, offering me his hand. I gently take it and give him a smile in thanks. Memphis follows me out then offers Dolly his hand. I step aside and they walk side by side down the red carpet. I’m not performing tonight, but I’m here as a guest and Gem had mentioned they are announcing me tonight to the press. I wish I could just stay under the radar, but with how popular Whiskey Kiss is, I know that’s not possible.
I follow behind them at a slower pace, ignoring the paparazzi screaming questions at me of who I am, and how do I know ‘Dollis’gag me, they have a couple name? Ijust give some polite smiles and keep on my way. Dolly glances back my way and smiles evilly.Now what?
She says something to a reporter and they all glance at me. “Is it true you're stepping in for Alex? Did you only get this job because of your affiliation with Memphis? Can you even sing? She probably can’t even sing.” I’m frozen and probably represent a gaping blowfish. Thankfully Memphis leaves Dolly with the press and takes my hand pulling me inside.
“Sorry about that. One of the things I hate about all this fame. Paps are vultures. Here, I’ll take you to someone that won’t rip you apart.” I give him a grateful smile and follow him over to a pretty reporter. She’s waiting patiently and not screaming out for Memphis. I instantly like her.
“Candy, this is Carson Star. She's my best friend and is going to replace Alex for a short time.” She gives me her hand for a shake and I appreciate the firm grip.
“Hi Carson, love the name by the way. It’s great to meet you. I have a feeling we are going to be great friends,” she says with a genuine smile and my shoulders start to relax. Memphis pats my arm and leaves me with Candy while he goes to talk to some other press members. I give Candy my full attention and she giggles.
“Girl, you look like you are about to hurl. I promise I’m nothing like the others here. I just have a small blog and work for Seventeen magazine. Memphis calls them the teeny-boppers, but they adore him and can ya blame them?”
I give her a smile and laugh. “Memphis has always been good with getting the girls to fall for him. Not only is he talented and caring, he has one of the most genuine souls I’ve ever seen.”
She nods in agreement and we chat for a few minutes, before Gem comes running over to me.
“Hey Candy, I have to steal Cara here before the show.” We say goodbye and I hold onto Gem’s hand as she pulls me through multiple crowds trying to get her attention. We slide through a VIP door, and I take a deep breath in.
“That was insane. How do you ever get used to all that attention?” I ask her and she snorts.
“Babes, they only want me to get closer to Memphis. I ignore them.”
I nod and give her a smile. “I know all about that. When he was the town sweetheart I always had girls ‘pretending’ to be my bestie, just to get closer to him. It gets tiring, but you really learn who your real friends are.”
She pulls me into a tight hug and I squeeze her back. “I knew you and I were going to get along. I’m so excited to have you here Cara. Memphis has told me so much about you. He talks as if you are this deity. You’re not only friends right?” she shoots me a wink and my face heats.
“Unfortunately, yeah we are. We may have been something, but now he’s my step-brother so that’s, I think, a little too taboo for him.”
She glances behind me at something, before leaning closer and whispering, “Trust me girl, he doesn’t look at you like you’re off the table.” She stands up and shoves open another door, holding it for me to enter before her. She claps loudly and I can't help my laugh when she shouts, “Okay you shit stains, this is Carson. No she’s not available, no she doesn’t want a quickie and you best be nice to her or you won’t just have Memphis to deal with.“ She gives me a gentle shove further into the room and Mikey jumps up, he rushes towards me and picks me up off the floor in a spin.
“I’ve been so excited to meet you in person.” He sets me down, and I have to hold his arm for balance and I pray I don’t hurl.
“It’s great to meet you too, Mikey.” I say with a shy smile. Out of all the guys in the band, Mikey and I instantly clicked. Travis comes closer, but doesn’t pick me up. He holds out his knuckles into a fist bump and I laugh, bumping his fist.
Memphis comes into the room and the guys eyes go wide. I glance over my shoulder and pause. Damn he looks like a cobra about to strike. I wonder what happened.
Twenty
Memphis
I storm into the dressing room and halt when I notice everyone’s eyes on me. I take some deep breaths and try to calm down. Dolly has been driving me up the wall and her backhanded comments to Cara are not helping things. I know she's the one that just spread the rumors that Cara can’t sing, and she’s just here because of nepotism. Ha, as if she can talk. She’s only here because her uncle runs the label. Which is another thing pissing me off. They're still hounding me to become part owner. Like what the fuck is up with that?
The other night when we were in bed, Dolly said that Ron was needing someone that he trusted because he wanted to back down from the day to day stuff, but that contradicts everything Ron is telling me. Something doesn’t add up, and I’m glad I mentioned it to Harry and my mom. He said he would call his financial lawyer. So for now I’ll just wait and try to keep my cool.
Cara separates from the group and walks over to me, wrapping me in a hug. I squeeze her back and breathe in her strawberry scent. My muscles relax. She pulls back and gives me a smile, her blue eyes sparkling from the black mascara she’s wearing. I pull my eyes away from hers before it becomes awkward, but I could get lost in them for hours.
Having her here with me, I feel as if the person I used to be is returning. The craving for the drugs has gone away and I told Dolly that I was done and I couldn’t be around her if she continued. She agreed but I don’t believe it for a moment. Just another thing she's lying to me about. I thought things were getting better.
