Chapter 16 #2
“I know I’m grounded,” I replied in a rush, “but I’d just be going there and back. I promise I won’t stop anywhere else.”
“Kiddo, it’s not that…”
“Oh.” I paused, taken aback. “Then what is it?”
“Your sister isn’t very happy with you,” he said, giving me a confused look. “After talking with her this morning, I think it’s going to take more than one conversation to fix things between you two, and since today is her birthday, I don’t want her—”
Dad kept talking, but his words didn’t register. My mind was stuck on repeat: Today is her birthday, her birthday, her birthday. I tried to swallow, but my throat was thick and tight. How had I forgotten? If I hadn’t already felt like the world’s shittiest sister, I certainly did now.
“Indie?” Dad was staring at me as if I’d just announced my plans to join the circus. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said, shaking my head to clear the remaining fog. “Look, I don’t want to ruin Violet’s birthday. I just want to apologize. If she doesn’t want to talk to me, I’ll leave her alone, I swear.”
Dad steepled his fingers, pressing them against his lips as he considered.
“You’re the one who asked me to make things right with her, remember?” I added.
“Fine,” he said, releasing a sigh. “But you should text her first. If she doesn’t want to talk with you, then there’s no point in driving all the way out to Hollywood.”
“Yes, of course,” I said, shooting to my feet with a grin. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
* * *
Violet still hadn’t responded to my text by the time I reached New Edge.
When I didn’t hear back from her after a quick shower, I’d decided that no response wasn’t the same thing as a flat-out refusal to speak to me and hopped in my car, fingers crossed her phone died or she was too busy working on the song to answer me.
But as I pulled into the parking lot, Alec stepped outside.
He looked like he was leaving—there was a messenger bag slung over one of his shoulders and car keys in his hand.
I swung my car into the nearest spot, not caring if I was parked between the lines, and jumped out.
“Alec, hold up a sec!” I called, rushing across the blacktop.
He paused at the edge of the sidewalk to wait for me.
“Is my sister still here?” I asked when I reached him.
Alec ran a hand over his perfectly styled bangs. “Sorry, Indie. She left as soon as we wrapped everything up. That was about fifteen minutes ago.”
The uncomfortable look on his face was enough to tell me he knew exactly what was going on between me and Violet. And that she must have received my text and chosen to ignore it. After everything, I couldn’t blame her.
“Okay, thanks,” I said, my shoulders slumping. “I take it you guys finished the song?”
He shook his head. “Almost. There’s something missing I can’t put my finger on, but it will have to wait until we get back.”
“Back from what?”
“The next leg of our tour. We leave for Dubai Sunday night,” he explained. “I wish we could get more studio time in tomorrow, but I made brunch plans with Felicity, and Violet’s busy all afternoon with her party.”
“Oh, right,” I said, even though I had no knowledge of said party. Was she hosting it at our house? Even if she was, I bet I wasn’t invited. “I take it Xander’s left as well?”
Another shake of the head. “No, he’s still here. Should be right behind me. I think he had to run to the bathroom.”
Frowning, I glanced around the parking lot but didn’t spot his SUV. Besides mine, the only other car was a black Cadillac.
As if he knew what I was thinking, Alec added, “We drove together.”
“Gotcha,” I said. “Is there any chance you wouldn’t mind waiting around for a bit? I need to talk to Xander about something, and while I have no problem offering him a ride, I don’t know if he’ll accept one from me right now.”
Alec waved me off, already pulling a pair of earbuds from his pocket. “No worries. Tell him I’ll be in my car. Good luck.”
“Thanks,” I said, turning toward the front entrance and squaring my shoulders. “I’m definitely going to need it.”
Inside, the studio was dark and cool. A ten-foot aquarium ran the length of the reception area, casting the room in a blue glow.
Tropical fish flickered through the water like a moving rainbow, and I smiled when I noticed the pineapple house ornament positioned at the bottom of the tank.
The building was larger than it looked from the outside, and before I could figure out which way to go, Xander rounded a corner to my left.
The sight of him made me suck in a breath. He was wearing a green Triforce T-shirt, dark-wash jeans, and a pair of worn sneakers—nerdy, but in a hot, boy-next-door sort of way—and his golden-red hair was a tousled mess. When his eyes locked on mine, he stopped short.
“Indie.” There was no trace of his usual smile as he adjusted his glasses. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you. I was hoping we could talk.”
Xander shoved both hands in his pockets, his gaze darting toward the exit before flickering back to me. “I don’t know. Alec is supposed to give me a ride, and I don’t want to keep him waiting.”
My chest twinged at his response, but I wasn’t surprised. Not after I’d ignored him for several days straight. “I ran into Alec on his way out. He said he’d wait for you.”
“Oh.” Xander glanced around as if searching for a way out of his current situation, then sighed in resignation. “All right then.”
“Cool,” I said, even though I felt anything but. “Should we sit down?”
His responding nod was stiff. “Sure.”
We both turned toward the small sitting area composed of a love seat, two armchairs, and a coffee table with a colorful box placed at its center.
At first, I thought it was a board game, but upon closer inspection, I realized the box was a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle that, when completed, depicted a teeming coral reef.
I sat down first, leaving plenty of room for Xander on the opposite side of the small couch.
My heart shrank slightly when he chose to perch on the armrest of one of the chairs instead.
After settling himself, he crossed his arms and fixed his spring-green eyes on me. They were blank and unreadable.
Unable to meet his stare, I dropped my gaze to my feet. “So,” I said, focusing on the scuff mark marring the shiny toe of my boot. “There’s a lot I want to say to you, but I’m not sure where to start.”
“You’re nervous.” The surprise in his voice made me look up.
“I—well, yeah. Is it that obvious?”
He jerked his chin at my chest. “You’re clutching your pendant as if your life depends on it.”
I glanced down and was surprised to find my fingers wrapped around the purple stone in a death grip. “Oh.” I let go and folded my hands in my lap. “I didn’t realize.”
His brows furrowed. “You’re never nervous.”
“Definitely not true,” I told him. Especially around you.
“Well, I guess you’re usually better at hiding it,” he said, lifting his shoulder in a half shrug. “What’s going on?”
Besides the fact that I missed my application deadline for Juilliard, was grounded for the next millennium, and had been a raging bitch to my sister for years? Nothing at all. “I shouldn’t have freaked out the way I did when you told me you’re working with Violet.”
“Wait.” He unfolded his arms and sat up straighter, an incredulous look spreading across his face. “You’re not pissed at me?”
I shook my head. “I was angry with Violet, not you.”
“But you’ve ignored me for the past three days.”
“I know,” I said, cringing slightly. “That was really shitty of me, and I’m sorry. I just…needed space to figure some stuff out.”
“Like what?”
“For starters, you were right.”
His eyes widened as if my answer was the opposite of what he’d been expecting. Three unbearably long seconds passed, and then the corner of his mouth twitched, the smallest hint of a smile. “I’m right about a lot of things. What are you talking about specifically?”
A kernel of hope bloomed in my chest at his playful response.
I latched on to that feeling and dove into my explanation, fingers crossed I could fix whatever damage I’d caused.
“Violet,” I replied. “She—she’s not the person I’ve accused her of being.
I think deep down I knew that, but it’s a lot easier to blame other people for our own problems, isn’t it?
” Xander didn’t respond, only cocked his head, so I quickly added, “I encouraged you to write a song, but when things didn’t go the way I envisioned them, I didn’t react well, and that wasn’t fair of me.
I’m so sorry, Xander. This whole thing was supposed to be about you, and I made it about me and Violet.
I understand if you want nothing to do with me after this conversation. ”
“Want nothing to do with you?” Xander repeated slowly, his voice barely more than a whisper. “How could you possibly think that?”
My leg was bouncing, channeling all the nervous energy inside me, and I had to cap a hand over my knee to make it stop. “Well, you didn’t exactly give me the warmest of welcomes.”
“Indie.” His throat bobbed. “I thought you were here to break up with me.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but then his words sank in, and I felt my eyebrows shoot up.
“I didn’t realize we were dating.” The thought had crossed my mind that night on the beach—what were we to each other?
But the Heartbreakers’ tour loomed over the possibility of a relationship, so I never voiced my question.
“Crap, that came out all wrong. I know we’re not dating dating.
What I meant was I thought you were going to put an end to whatever this is between us,” he said, his cheeks flushing a deep red, “because there is something between us, at least there is to me. We haven’t known each other very long, but you feel like home, Indie.
I don’t want to lose that feeling.” Taking a deep breath, he moved over to the couch, his knee knocking against mine as he sat down.
“I should have asked you this before I left for tour, but I’m hoping better late than never?
Indigo Josephine Mitchell-Jamiolkowski, would you be—”
“Wait a minute. Since when do you know my full name?” I said, startled to hear it come out of his mouth. I never so much as gave him my middle initial, let alone told him that Indie was short for Indigo.
“Really? That’s what you’re focused on right now?” he asked, his entire face scrunching up in an are-you-for-real look. “I’m trying to ask you to be my girlfriend here.”
“Yeah, I get that, but how do you have such top secret information about me?”
“Top secret?” He snorted. “How do you think I know?”
“Violet?” I guessed.
“Yes, Violet,” he replied, his response dripping with exasperation. “Now will you shut up and let me ask you out?”
Tapping a finger against my chin, I pretended to consider his question for a moment. “Hmm, I suppose that can be allowed.”
Xander let out a breath of relief. “Indie, from the moment I met you—”
“Whoa, hold on,” I said, cutting him off again, because pushing Xander’s buttons when he was flustered was too fun to resist. “This is starting to sound like a marriage proposal.”
“Oh my God,” he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. “You’re infuriating!”
A wicked grin curled on my lips. “Yes, but you still like me. You want me to be your girlfriend.”
“Yes, I do,” he said, catching my wrists and not letting go. “So will you?”
My smile softened. “On one condition.”
Eyes glittering, he heaved a theatrical sigh. “Indie, I’ve already told you—no alien role-playing, okay? I’m just not into that kinky stuff.”
I scoffed. “No, E.T. I want you to kiss me.”
Xander released my wrists and leaned over, taking my face in his hands. “Now that,” he said, his calloused fingers caressing my cheeks with gentle strokes, “is something I can do.”
As my eyes fluttered closed, our lips met in a desperate clash, and then we were kissing like never before.
There was an urgency to the way Xander’s mouth moved on mine, like he was trying to kiss away any lingering doubts I had about his feelings for me, but I had none, not after the speech he’d given me.
My hands slid up his chest, over the soft cotton of his shirt, until they reached his lean, lightly muscled shoulders.
I dragged him closer, wanting to feel his body against mine.
He responded hungrily, letting go of my face and bearing down on me until I was pinned between him and the backrest of the couch.
When his teeth grazed my bottom lip, I let out a shuddering gasp.
This was the kind of once-in-a-lifetime kiss that stories were written about—a kiss that could set your heart ablaze and devoured you whole. I never wanted it to end.
After another minute of kissing each other senseless, Xander broke away from me. “Are you sure?” he asked, gasping for breath.
“About kissing you?” Considering what we’d just been doing, I thought my answer was pretty obvious. “Obviously.”
“No, about being my girlfriend.”
Ohhh. “Well, now that you mention it, I have one more condition.”
“Mm-hmm?” he replied, nudging his nose against mine.
“I want to hear your song.”