chapter 36
Sebastian
REMI AND I WERE SUPPOSED to drive to Dex and Nora’s place together, but after the show, when I was finally able to pull my cell out, she’d texted me to let me know she was catching a ride back with Jordan. And seeing that text immediately made me smile.
There’s a twinge of nervousness inside me as I push through the big gate that encircles the property, then walk to the front door, which is unlocked. But as soon as I step into the house, I realize my nervousness is totally unnecessary.
Because Remi is standing in the kitchen, laughing at something Michael just said, while Jordan shakes her head, arranging hunks of pita bread on a big platter. Dex and Nora are out on the patio playing with the dogs, and Lucas is . . .
I glance around but don’t immediately see him. And from the looks of it, Alisha isn’t here either. Again.
Fuck.
Remi looks over and notices me, and the look that crosses her face could probably carry me to the afterlife, and I wouldn’t have one single regret.
Her blue eyes crinkle in the corners, her lips pulling up into a smile.
Immediately, she eases past Michael, and I feel my friends’ eyes on us as she crosses the kitchen, rises onto her toes, and presses a kiss to my mouth.
She tastes like beer and sunlight, and my hands find her waist without me thinking about it, like they naturally belong there.
And I’m so fucking glad she’s here right now.
When she pulls away, she says, “You were amazing tonight.”
I still have my hands on her waist, thumbs circling her hip bones. “You think so?”
“Hell yes I think so,” she says with conviction. “That was incredible.”
Her words make my chest warm. It’s one thing to have fans support our music, but it’s something totally different to have someone I care about support what I’m doing.
“Thanks, Rem,” I say, voice low.
She smiles, a soft smile that looks like it’s just for me, then turns as River and Nala come barreling into the house, Dex and Nora trailing after them.
I give Nora a hug, picking her up and twirling her around, like I’ve done since I first met her, and she laughs as I set her back down.
“You met Remi?” I ask, glancing back. Remi’s at the kitchen island now, plucking grape tomatoes out of a bowl and saying something to Dex that makes him let out a sharp laugh.
“Yeah,” she says. Her hand finds my forearm, and she gives it a gentle squeeze. Quietly, she says, “I really like her.”
My eyebrows lift. Nora is notoriously hard to get to know, and she keeps her friend group super small, so hearing that she likes Remi makes me immediately feel like everything is going to be okay.
“Me too,” I say.
At that moment, Lucas starts down the stairs, and Nora and I both glance up as he descends the staircase into the living room.
His lips are pulled into a frown, and he’s shoving his cell into the back pocket of his jeans.
He was moody before and after the show, and seeing as Alisha isn’t here, I assume it has something to do with her.
But getting Lucas to open up is like trying to wring water out of a fucking cactus.
He immediately goes to the fridge and pulls out a beer, and half of it is down his throat in one swig.
“Not good,” Nora whispers next to me.
I shake my head. “Nope. Definitely not.”
“Okay, everyone!” Jordan calls out, clapping her hands to get our focus. “Dinner’s ready. Let’s eat!”
An hour later, we’re seated around the firepit on Dex and Nora’s patio, empty plates strewn about us.
Remi is next to me on the couch, and my arm is draped across her shoulders.
This reminds me of the night when we were all sitting here and Alisha snapped a photo to send to Remi. But now, Remi is here and Alisha isn’t.
I glance at Lucas.
He’s been a sulky bastard all night, and I know I need to talk to him. Right now, though, Remi is pressed against my side, one hand on my thigh, and there’s no way I’m leaving this situation to try to go coax something emotional out of Lucas.
“So, Remi,” Jordan says from where she’s seated across from us, Michael beside her, “how did you get into dancing?”
My stomach tightens up. Is that rude to ask a stripper? I glance down at Remi, but she just smiles like it’s a question she gets asked all the time.
“I took a pole class in Vegas and just got hooked on it. And stripping is lucrative, so it felt like a natural progression for me.”
In his chair by himself, Lucas grumbles, “So, you just like taking your clothes off?”
At first, I get the desire to face push him, but Remi just leans forward to look around me, tipping her head at Lucas as she says, “If women would pay you money to take your clothes off, would you do it?”
The fire crackles in the pause that follows. Then a small smirk pulls on the corner of Lucas’s lips—one of the first nonsulky expressions I’ve seen on his face all night—and he says, “Fuck yeah.”
Remi smiles and settles back into her spot against me. “Exactly.”
“It looks tough,” Nora says. She’s cuddled up against Dex, and River is lying sprawled across their laps, eyes closed as Dex strokes her head.
“It’s brutal,” I say.
Everyone looks at me like I just said something confusing.
I clarify, “Remi gave me a lesson. I think I almost tore my rotator cuff.”
“I would pay to see this,” Dex says, his lip ring catching the firelight. “Film him next time, Remi.”
She glances up at me, a conspiratorial smile pulling on her mouth. “Maybe I already did.”
I arch a brow at her. “Secretly filming me?” Leaning down, I catch her lips with mine, taste the beer on her mouth, then pull back and add, “That’s sexy.”
The hand she’s got on my thigh tightens, and it makes heat dance through my stomach. I’m thinking it might be about time I take her home.
My gaze goes to Lucas again. He’s staring into the flames, one thumb worrying at the rings he wears on his fingers, a half-empty beer bottle in one hand.
I want to talk to him, want to ask him about Alisha, but maybe right now isn’t the moment.
If I ask him to go talk, he’ll probably refuse and a sling a sharp insult at me, knowing exactly what I’m up to.
Once Remi heads back to Vegas, I’ll try to talk to him about Alisha.
Tonight, I want to wrap Remi in my arms and lose myself in her.
“You ready to go?” I ask her, and she nods.
We tell everyone good night, and I try not to smile too big while watching everyone hug Remi goodbye. Dex fist-bumps me before I can step out of the house, saying quietly, “She’s cool, man.”
I grin. “A lot cooler than you.”
“Ha, you wish.” Then he closes the door in my face, leaving me standing in the porch light, shaking my head.
When I step through the exterior gate, I find Remi leaning back against the Raptor, her face tipped up to the sky. As I approach, she says, “You can see more stars here.” She breathes a deep sigh. “You can’t see any stars in Vegas.”
Vegas is a city of never-ending light. It chases all the stars from the sky; I noticed that when we went skating together on that rooftop, the way the city glowed for miles all around.
“You can see more stars from my place,” I say.
Remi draws her eyes away from the sky and meets my gaze. “Let’s go, then.”
We climb into the Raptor, but before I can start the engine, Remi leans over the center console and takes my face in both her hands, crushing our mouths together in a deep kiss. My fingers snake around the back of her head, pushing into her wind-blown hair.
When she pulls away, I laugh and say, “What was that for?”
She shrugs lightly, reaching for her seat belt. “For showing me your world.”
Her answer makes my stomach flip and my heart rate pick up. And I whisper, “I . . . want you to be a part of it, Rem.”
She smiles at me in the dark. “I think I already am.”