Chapter 30
My thighs tremble as I make my way toward the breakfast parlor at the far side of the lobby. Inside, there’s a buffet set up with all the breakfast one can imagine, the aforementioned pancakes included.
Spotting the others at a table across the room, I give them a wave before grabbing a plate and I take my time gathering my meal because holy shit fuck, I spent the night with Harvey Moon and now I have to function like a normal human being.
“It’s fine,” I whisper to myself above a slab of scrambled eggs. “Everything is fine.”
Just a normal day on tour. Just a normal day in the life of a beloved rockstar. Lock it all away in a box and get to work. I do it all the time. Not Harvey, I mean. I don’t do Harvey all the time, but I’ve definitely done guys like Harvey before and I could still strum a guitar afterward.
But have any of them been like Harvey Moon?
Have any of them spirited me away in the night and shown me the stars?
Uh… no.
Hard no.
Harvey is…
Fuck, Harvey is…
I stop, realizing I’ve scooped far too many eggs onto my pancakes, and move down the buffet.
This is stupid.
I haven’t even fucked the guy yet and I’m already acting like a moron.
I roll my eyes at myself before taking a deep breath.
Lock it up, Addy.
Shove it in a box.
Get back to work.
I’ll deal with all these weird… what’s the word?
Emotions!
I’ll deal with them later.
I pull out the last empty chair at the table. “Sorry I’m late, guys,” I say amid their murmurs. “Slept in.”
They go quiet as I sit down. Glancing around, I make eye contact with every one of them. Jordan and her arched brows. Harmony and Katrina’s cutesy smiles. Jonah and Bronson’s amused eyes.
And Knox’s ridiculous smirk.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“You, apparently,” Knox quips.
Jonah chuckles as Knox takes a kick to the shin from someone beneath the table. Katrina, probably.
“I said I overslept,” I say. “I won’t do it a?—”
“Three-thousand feet up, to be precise,” Knox adds before I finish talking.
I sit back in my chair. “What?”
Jordan tilts her head. “You haven’t checked your feed yet this morning?”
“No. Why? What’s on it?”
Bronson helpfully slides his phone at me on the table. I reach for it, taking the few precious seconds to prepare myself for what I’m about to see.
It’s a Gossipa article, posted bright and early this morning.
OVER THE MOON?
CR’s OPENING ACT HAS
ADDISON ABBEY SEEING STARS!
And just below the headline is a photo of me and Harvey Moon kissing in the hot air balloon.
It could only have been taken by one other person — and a quick skim of the opening paragraph confirms it. Looks like Ms. Lacey Johnson snapped a few mementos and rushed home to show her Criminal Records-loving kids, who promptly posted the photos online.
Instantly viral.
“Fuck,” I say.
Well, so much for keeping this between us for now.
I glance up at the others, each of them showing wide eyes and long smiles. “It’s not what it looks like,” I say.
They snort.
“Okay, fine.” I give Bronson his phone back and nonchalantly reach for my fork. “It’s a little like what it looks like, but it’s not a big deal.”
“Uh… no.” Knox raises a hand. “No, no, no.”
“What?”
He waves his arm as if arguing evidence to a jury. “Not a big deal, she says.”
“Yeah.” I stab a bunch of scrambled eggs. “That’s what I said.”
“So, when I break our rules, I’m an asshole. But when you break our rules, it’s not a big deal?”
I shrug. “Jordan said it was fine.”
All heads snap toward Jordan.
“I did not!” Jordan says, leaning back.
“Yes, you did. Back in Phoenix, you said you’d let us do whatever we’re going to do as long as it doesn’t affect the tour,” I say.
Jordan stutters a bit as they all keep staring. “Okay, yeah,” she finally says. “I might have implied that. But I also said Gossipa would get a hold of it eventually, and they did!”
“So it would seem,” I say with a sigh.
“I’d call that affecting the tour,” Knox says.
“Knox, you missed a whole ass rehearsal after you broke the rules. I have cold eggs. We are not the same.”
He opens his mouth to argue, but comes up with nothing.
“Also, don’t people love this tour romance crap?” I ask as I chop a piece off my pancake. “Isn’t this exactly the kind of press Midnite Music and Paul Monroe want for us right now?”
Katrina squeals.
I glance at her. “What?”
“You said the R-word!” she whispers excitedly.
I go back to my pancakes. “No, I didn’t.”
“Are you guys together?” she asks, swooning. “Are you dating? Are you in love?”
“No.”
Knox leans in. “You are, though, right?”
“No!God, can’t a girl let off some steam after hours without everyone making a big deal out of it?”
They go quiet.
Good.
I shove a piece of pancake into my mouth.
Harmony breaks the silence. “Is that all it is to you?” she asks.
“Yes,” I answer. “Touring is hard. It downright sucks most of the time. Gotta de-stress somehow.”
They silently look amongst each other, their excited eyes suddenly dimmer.
“What did I do now?” I ask.
“Addy,” Katrina says, “you know how Harvey feels about you.”
“So?”
“Damn.” Knox whistles as he leans back in his chair. “Even I’m not that cold.”
“I’m not cold,” I argue. “It’s not like that.”
“Then, what is it?” Jonah asks. “Because it sounds like you’re using him.”
“Well, I’m not. And even if I were, who the hell are you to judge me? None of you are exactly known for your chastity on tour. Except Katrina.”
Katrina blushes.
“No one is judging anybody,” Bronson says, breaking his silence.
“Bronson’s right,” Jordan says. “No one is judging you, Addison.”
“I am,” Knox chirps.
“No oneis judging you,” Jordan repeats in a harsher tone. “We’re all friends here.”
“Right,” Knox says. “We’re all friends here. We’re all friends with Harvey, too. And I think it’s pretty shitty to lead a guy on like that.”
“I’m not leading him on!” I say.
“What would you call it, then, Addison?”
“I’d call it none of your damn business, Knox!”
“Addison,” Katrina says.
“What?”
She gestures over my shoulder with her big eyes. The others do the same.
Shit.
I turn to look behind me, already sensing him standing there.
With all eyes on him, Harvey awkwardly clears his throat.
“So, what’d I miss?” he asks.