“Why?”
“Carly gets in my head atrehearsal.”
Annie turns toward me as much as she can given my hold on her. Her gaze lingers on my chest—because it’s at eye level, not because she’s thinking about menaked.
“You’d never be in this position,” she goes on. “Not because Carly wouldn’t sabotage you, but because you’re too good to let it affectyou.”
Pleasure unfurls in my gut without permission. Most girls who see me play get dreamy-eyed, but it has nothing to do with myabilities.
At least not with aguitar.
I force myself to focus on my task and not her flushed face. “Why do you want it sobadly?”
Shit, this is impossible. I’m like Sisyphus if his boulder were instead a thousand strands of glorious tangledsilk.
“Because on that stage, you’reeverything.” Her voice is full and wistful, lifting the hairs on my arms. “A magician. A therapist. An artist. You have the privilege of an audience’s attention. They trust you to make them feel, make them believe. Name one place other than the stage where you become a god by falling on yourknees.”
The knot’s almost free, but my fingers stopmoving.
This. This is why I shouldn’t be a breath away from Annie Jamieson. Because no one moves through the world like her. She’s not afraid of its beauty and its darkness. She sees more,feelsmore, than anyone I’ve ever met. Spending time with her makes me believe I’ve witnessed somethingprecious.
Precious things aredangerous.
“But I can’t do that unless I can get over this bullshit withCarly.”
I finish untangling her hair and lay it across her shoulder, the ends brushing the top of her towel. “Then be so good they can’t lookaway.”
“Thanks for the advice… and the hairstyling.” Her chuckle has me drawing a rough breath before she pins me in place with those amber eyes, the softness of her lips. The scratch on her cheek is fading, and I want to trace it but rein in theimpulse.
I turn away, crossing to the dresser for a T-shirt because I’ve just realized there are way too few clothed body parts in thisroom.
“Kellan’s face was turning the color of rotten bananas in rehearsal,” she says as I’m pulling the shirt over myhead.
Ifreeze.
Shit.
“I don’tknow—“
“You’re sobusted.”
I tug the hem down as I turn back to her. “I’m suspended until the weekend. Sat through a mind-numbing lecture fromheadmaster.”
She folds her arms over her chest, which makes my gaze drop to the little indentation between her breasts too close to where the towel’s knotted. “But you didn’t tell my dadwhy.”
I shake myhead.
Annie crosses to me with deliberate steps, and I’m too surprised to stop her before she reaches for myhand.
Unlike Jax, she doesn’t make it worse, just inspects the reddened knuckles before sighing. “So, when Kellan hurts me, it deserves punishment, but when you hurt me, it’sfine.”
Her words lift the hairs on my neck and our gazes lock. Adrenaline surges throughme.
She wants to do thisnow.
Fucking good. I’ve been waiting for it for fourmonths.
I step closer until her towel brushes my chest. “If this is about me not answering your messages after you moved to Dallas, I had a ton of shit goingon.”