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“I, um… yeah, I guess.”
“Then it’s settled.” She pats my chest. “Mark will be my escort for the trip.”
I growl. “Poor choice of words, Apple.”
She rolls her eyes. “Mark will come to LA, like thebest friendthat he is, and make sure Kyle stays in line.”
“That’s a little better,” I mutter.
“Can we get back to our celebration?” she asks, untying the belt on her robe.
“Just… promise me something,” I say.
Apple shrugs out of the robe, and it pools at her feet. “What?”
“That you won’t get blindsided by the glitz and glam of the city.” I reach for her hand and tug her close. “Promise that you’ll come back… to me.”
“I promise.” Apple rises to her tiptoes and presses a kiss to my lips. “Now help me celebrate.”
That night, we do exactly that. We celebrate on the bed, on the floor, in the shower, and against the wall. And we do it again the next night. We take from each other, use each other’s bodies as if we’ll never be together again.
When Tuesday rolls around, I drive Apple to the airport, where we meet Mark. He and I are still trying to find our footing in our relationship, but I know he’ll do whatever he can to keep Apple safe. Not that I’m expecting problems, but you just never know.
“Call me when you land, okay?”
Apple grins at me. “I will.”
“And promise me again,” I say.
“Would you two hurry up?” Mark says, exasperated in his tone. “We can’t miss our plane.”
“Shut it,” I snap.
He rolls his eyes and walks several feet away, where he stands to stare at us while he waits.
“Promise me again, Apple,” I repeat.
She rests her palm on my cheek. “I promise I’m coming back.”
I nod before locking my lips with hers. The kiss deepens, but when Mark clears his throat, we separate.
“I promise,” she says again, but then she shrugs, and a grin blooms on her face. “I mean, Stella’s gonna be at the clubhouse. There’s no way in hell I’d leaveherforever.”
“Canwe try one more time from the chorus?”
Ross’s voice seeps from the speakers in the sound booth. The audio engineer has been rotating me, Kyle, Mara, and Sydney through the studio, giving us different types of songs to sing. We alternate between original songs and songs that are popular on the charts.
I roll my shoulders and crack my neck, waiting for the music playback. The chorus ofMalicious Intentionspicks back up, and my voice floats through the studio.
Ross gives me a thumbs-up. “Perfect, Apple. Come on out.”
A grin slowly spreads across my face as I hang up the headphones and head out of the studio. After stepping over the threshold, I’m bombarded with congratulations and hugs. Tim and Ross are huddled together, listening to the last take of the song.
“What’d ya think?” Mara asks.
“It’s surreal,” I answer as I sit across from her and Kyle. “And absolutely amazing.”
I still can’t believe I’m sitting in a studio. My heart rate hasn’t slowed down since I walked through the doors of TL Records earlier today. The whole experience has been a whirlwind of emotion.
