AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My stomach does a somersault as we get in the car. “I don’t think you really want to. It’s not that exciting.”
“You invited me over,” Tyler says as he slides into the back seat beside me. “Now, there’s no turning back. You want us to get our chemistry back? You’re stuck with me for the rest of the night.”
Paige’s eyebrows shoot up her forehead as she looks at me in the mirror. I shake my head, my entire body burning hot. She says nothing, her lips pressing together as she turns up the music and drives back to our townhouse.
The drive is silent. Tyler stares out the window while drumming his fingers on his leg. I close my eyes and try to figure out how to tell him that I’ve accomplished nothing in my life. Nothing that I want to show him at least.
Since the day I was kicked out of the band, my life has been stagnant. I moved out of the house we all shared and found a place with Paige shortly after. Guitar lessons came as soon as I ran through the savings I had set aside.
There have been no great adventures or excitement. It’s not the life that I ever would have pictured for myself, but it works.
Still, there’s something about showing Tyler that I’ve accomplished nothing that makes me feel sick. My stomach turns as Paige pulls into the driveway. Tyler gets out and holds his hand out.
My heart crashes against my ribs as I put my hand in his. Sparks fly through my body, sending heat rushing to my core. His calloused fingers press against my skin as I get out of the car.
Tyler looks down at me, his gaze unreadable. His thumb drifts over the back of my hand before he pulls away.
Going inside with him is a very bad idea. I should tell him to go home. Call him a car and send him back to his apartment before I make a terrible decision.
It’s a decision I’ve made before and one that I still can’t bring myself to fully regret.
Paige leaves, the car disappearing around the corner as we make our way to the front door. Blood rushes in my ears with every step. My heels click against the pavement and my core clenches with the heat of Tyler’s body behind mine.
“Nice house,” he says as we step inside. He takes off his shoes and looks around, taking in the off-white walls and the colorful furniture. “I never thought that you would be a blue couch kind of person.”
I shrug and take off my boots, tucking them into the front closet. “I left all my furniture at the house when I moved out. We went to the furniture store and Paige fell in love with the thing. I didn’t have the heart to tell her how horrible it was.”
Tyler laughs and wanders over to the kitchen, leaning against the counter. His gaze is locked onto me as I open the fridge and pull out a handful of grapes. I pop one into my mouth and lean on the counter opposite him.
As I cross one leg over the other, his gaze drags down my body and back up. The room crackles with electricity as heat floods his gaze. I squeeze my thighs a little tighter together as I eat another grape.
Tyler takes one from me and sighs. “We have to talk about it eventually.”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
He tosses the grape in the air before catching it in his mouth. “I fucked up.”
Those are the words that I never thought I would hear him say. My mouth goes dry as I wait for him to continue. Butterflies beat their wings against my stomach. I eat another grape, waiting for him to elaborate.
“When it comes to you, Cassie, all I can seem to do is fuck up. Kicking you out of the band was never about you.”
“I know.” I cross my arms as I look at the vase of white roses on the counter. “I had a lot of time to think over what happened, Tyler. I analyzed that entire situation from every angle I could and the only conclusion I came to was that you never gave a shit about me.”
He exhales slowly, looking at me like I’ve stabbed him. “It wasn’t that either. I needed the money that came from touring, Cassie. I needed that money to make sure that I never went back to the life I had before the band took off.”
“Would it have really been so bad to keep me and make less money? You could have fought to keep me. Tony would have listened to you, even if he didn’t want to listen to the others. He looks at you like you’re his son.”
Tyler runs a hand through his hair, some of the color draining from his face. “I should have fought for you. I know that I could have, but I had to keep up my image. If being the hard-partying bad boy was the look that sold, then it was the one I was going to maintain. You didn’t fit into that image.”
The edges of my vision blur as I nod. I know that I wouldn’t have fit into that image back them. I might like to have fun, but I wouldn’t be caught dead doing half of the things that Tyler did.
White Hot wanted the band to put out the image of proper rockstars. I would have ruined that for them.
I’ve thought about it over and over again, but each time I come up with the same answer. I wasn’t willing to snort drugs off a table in a club. For the label, that meant that I wasn’t good enough for the band.
“The execs wanted a band that would scream sex and bad decisions. Something that would drum up a lot of publicity. They wanted us to all appear single and having a woman in the band would have brought a lot of speculation.”
Hearing my worst thoughts confirmed brings a sense of relief I didn’t anticipate. I nod and roll my bottom lip into my mouth before sighing.
