Avery #2
“Come on. I want to know. I just said that because the guys are always giving me shit.” He bumped his knee against mine. “If it’s you, I want to know everything.”
I froze, my breath catching in my throat. I drew my legs up to my chest, resting my chin on my knees. It had been two years since Vegas, and we’d rarely been alone since we kissed that night. Still, each time he touched me, I felt like I was about to catch fire.
But he was the most important person in my life, and I couldn’t risk losing him. We constantly had eyes on us, voices whispering in our ears about public images. I didn’t want anyone to dissect our relationship, tearing it apart for their own pleasure.
“Now that I’m officially with a label, I thought it would get easier.
And now I’m working with more people than just Lydia…
and I think my publicist hates me. He says even with media training, I’m hopeless.
For a while, my stylist tried to get me to tone down my hair.
They want me to work with songwriters who could take me mainstream but would make me sound like a completely different person.
I just never thought it would be so exhausting.
” Months of frustrations flew out of me.
Lydia had been great, but I guess it was naive to think that once I got a deal, I could just write music instead of playing the game.
He laid his head on my shoulder, brown sun-streaked hair tickling my neck. “It looked so much easier from the outside. But I’m happy you’re the same. I’ve always admired you for staying true to yourself. I wonder what things would be like if I’d told Martin not to turn us into a boyband.”
“Wes…I didn’t mean—”
“I know you didn’t. It’s not like I can change it, and we’re here now.”
We laid there looking up as stars shone overhead. In the distance, there were other boats lit up for parties, but they felt so far away, leaving us in our own little world.
I didn’t realize I’d fallen asleep until a burst of giggling jerked me awake. It was still dark, but I had no idea what time it was. Wes was awake too, but he didn’t appear nearly as startled.
Soft music started, floating up to where we were laying on the upper deck. I stayed on my stomach and crawled forward so I could peer over the edge.
Below, Jared and Alyssa were dancing, the silk fabric of her shift dress rippling like water. It was free and light, nothing with any distinct choreography. He spun her around and around until he pulled her to his chest and they just swayed.
Wes and I stayed silent until they stopped the music and left for their room.
“It must be nice to be somebody like that to someone,” I said, breaking the silence. They were people with big plans, brimming with joy, and I wanted them to have it. But that didn’t stop me from also craving it for myself.
“You’re my somebody,” Wes said without hesitating.
I couldn’t look him in the eyes. “You’re with Maddie,” I reminded us both.
“You know that’s different. She’s not you.”
I kept my gaze fixed on the water. I was scared of what I’d see, and even more frightened of what I wouldn’t.
The night haunted me for the rest of our trip. Between moments of sipping crisp white wine and screaming as we leaped off the boat into the crystal blue water, I’d meet his eyes and his words would echo through me.
You know that’s different. She’s not you.
His feelings were a mystery that tangled around me, yet one I was afraid to unravel because I was certain I already knew the answer. I was the one who kept him at arm’s length. Maybe all it would take was telling him I wanted more?
The final morning, Maddie was waiting for us when we docked. She had a silk scarf tied around her soft blonde curls, and the fabric of her white linen dress caught in the warm breeze. The rest of us looked like a bunch of college students coming off of a spring break vacation.
My gaze found Wes the moment he noticed her. His easy smile slipped for a moment into shock and then morphed into something I could only describe as plastic.
“I thought we’d agreed to meet at the airport,” he said, walking up to her and looping an arm around her waist.
“I have friends in the area, and it’s been too long since I visited them. We actually went out on the lake the other day. My reception was just fine. Are you sure you didn’t get my texts?” Maddie frowned, turning her painted lips into a perfect pout. “Maybe we should get it checked.”
“My phone didn’t work either,” Garrett offered. His arms were crossed over his chest, his eyes locked unyieldingly on Maddie. Something cold rushed between them.
“Must be the provider,” Maddie said and turned away. “But now I get you all to myself.”
“Can’t wait,” Wes said, but he still was stiff.
He gave us one last wave before they walked to a waiting car.
“Fucking harpy,” Luca muttered.
That surprised me—I’d never heard Luca say a bad word about anyone. “What’s with you guys?”
Luca flushed. “It’s not that we hate her.”
“Don’t really know her.” Jared shrugged. “But she makes it fucking hard to rehearse or do much of anything like we used to. She’s either in the room with us or making a fuss about scheduling conflicts. This is the longest we’ve seen him in ages.”
“Who knows, maybe this weekend was the wakeup call he needed,” Garrett said. “Our car is here. We better get going.”