“That’s a hell of a confession, Landry. What would happen if I told you that I wasn’t safe? That I think you’re gorgeous and I’ve spent my fair share of moments fantasizing about what you’d feel like underneath me?”
My jaw drops. Adam Rees has had fantasies about me? That can’t be right. I haven’t sensed any sort of interest on his part. He’s glared at me. He’s been kind. We had this nice moment before I went and ruined it, but not once did I feel lust on his part. Well, maybe I felt a bit of lust the first night at the bar, but it faded fast after he found out I was Davis’s sister.
“Are you saying that to make me feel better?” I demand.
He sighs again and sits down next to me, covering my small hands with one of his big ones. “Yeah, I’m saying it to make you feel better. Crush away, baby. You’re safe with me.”
His tone is resigned, as if he can’t believe he has to deal with me, but he’s going to because I’m sharing a bus with him for the next two months.
“I promise to never speak of this again,” I say helpfully.
Adam takes another drag, then releases a cloud of smoke into the dark night. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Chapter Fourteen
Adam
Tour Stop: Tallahassee
She trusts me.
If there was one thing she could’ve said to put the brakes on my behavior, that was it. I can’t violate her trust by making moves on her now. But knowing the girl you want would crawl into your bed at the snap of a finger is like your mom dangling your favorite dessert she just made in front of you and telling you it’s for company only.
“Are your pancakes not cooked in the middle or something?”
I flick my eyes up to meet Landry’s. They’re green, like I first imagined, but light with flecks of gold. Right now, the early morning sun makes them glow.
It’s not like I’ve lived a life of restraint. I’ve had money, girls, things for the taking. Now I’m supposed to sit on my hands and do nothing. Actually, worse than nothing. I’m supposed to sit across from her and return her seductive smiles with bland ones.
“No, my pancakes are just fine.”
“Fine” is becoming the only word in my vocabulary. It stands for this sucks, let’s toss everything in the garbage and go fuck until the world burns down. But Landry’s not fluent in my language.
“I love dives where I know everything is full of fat and calories but it’s all too delicious to resist.”
Like you.
“Will we be at a place like this tonight?” she asks.
I struggle to pull myself together and answer her innocent question instead of hauling her across the table and kissing those cherry lips until every part of her is hot and flushed. “Not in Tallahassee. It’s a smaller place, but has a long history of supporting new and undiscovered bands. Hollister’s done a good job of picking places that aren’t so large that it looks like we’re a failure and that have enough capacity to make sure all the guys put a little money in their pocket.” I allow a hint of a smile to surf
ace. “Rudd really does do marketing for us. He’s in charge of our electronic press kit. He runs the Facebook, Instagram, Twitter accounts. We give him hell, but he takes care of a lot of shit the rest of us can’t stand.”
She forks a little of her omelet between her lips, a flash of white teeth peeking out. Even her teeth are sexy—small and white and straight. Holy shit, I’m losing it. I’m getting hard watching her eat. That’s a first. But then, everything Landry does turns me on.
When she smiles, when she flicks her hair out of the way, when she sticks the stupid fork between her lips. This is ridiculous. I force my attention away.
“I don’t like interacting with people, either,” she says. “When we sold our app, May handled everything. Her and a lawyer my dad hired. I like my basement setup.” The last bit is said with a tinge of longing. “I couldn’t do what you and Davis do. Maybe Ian. I could hide behind a few drums.”
“Would we need to pile up a few more cymbals so no one could see your face?”
“Yes, that would be perfect. I prefer the booths in the corner. No one is running into me, and I get to see it all. My favorite bit is when you do the song ‘Dark Riots’ because everyone starts jumping up on their feet and screaming.”
I could make you scream.
“That’s one of my favorite parts, too.”
“What’s it like? Standing up there?”