Tyler: You could play me a song on my own guitar while you sit in my lap and I fuck you fromunderneath.
Holy. It takes every ounce of strength not to melt into a puddle in the middle of thehall.
Annie: Right. Ummm… tomorrowthen?
Tyler: Deal. And I’ve gotplans.
On impulse, I head to P69 and knock on the door. There’s no answer. I’m turning away when the door cracks and Beck looks out at me insurprise.
“Hey, Manatee. You get the good word about my roomie’sdeal?”
“He just told me.” I step inside and look over Beck’s shoulder at his computer. “Damn. Half a million followers now. Are you going to keep posting aboutTyler?”
He rubs a hand through his hair. “It’s what theywant.”
There’s a bit of sadness in his voice, and I fold my arms. “Well, I knew how good Tyler was, and I still followed your vlog foryou.”
His eyes crinkle at the corners. “Oh, I’m good with it. We sign up for the thousands of hours in places like this”—he gestures around the closet—“in the hopes that someday it’ll come together. That someone’ll see us and say, ‘He’s the one we’ve been looking for.’” His mouth curves. “I’m glad it’s happening toTyler.”
I reach out a hand and run my fingers through his dark hair. “I see you, Beck. Don’t giveup.”
“Back at you.” He checks his watch. “It’s still early in the day. My big break is waiting.” His wink has me grinning. “Yours could be,too.”
22
“You look good,”a familiar voice comments from the doorway as I step into my highheels.
I look up to see myroommate.
“Thanks, Rae.” I glance between her and the fish on my desk. “I appreciate you looking out for Heath while I was gone. You didn’t have to clean his bowl,too.”
“Ididn’t.”
I rise from the bed, smoothing down the silver dress that ends halfway down my thighs. I fold my arms across my chest. “Yeah, you did. But it’s cool. You don’t have to admitit.”
She rolls her eyes, and I continue. “DJ Payne’s playing in Brooklyn this weekend. I saw him on your playlist. Elle and I want to go, and we want you tocome.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Her mouth purses. “Where are you going in the ‘fuck me’dress?”
I grin. “Tyler’s taking meout.”
Rae arches a dark brow. “You guys have cool energy together. Don’t take it forgranted.”
“Trust me, I won’t ever take what we have forgranted.”
With one last look in the mirror, I head down for mydate.
The last twenty-four hours after returning from LA have been awhirlwind.
After meeting Talbot yesterday, I got to work on her revised assignment. I was up all night and sent it by email at four in the morning. She wrote me back at five with a response that had my jawdropping.
Now, it seems the surprises aren’tover.
The limo outside the front doors can’t be for me. But as Tyler emerges from the back seat, I know itis.
The driver gets out to hold the door, but Tyler waves himoff.
“Are you kidding me?” I laugh, but before he can respond, I pull up short, taking in his pants, shined shoes, and tailored winter jacket. “Damn. Thisisa date. I’m impressed you found a peacoat. What’s underit?”