His features changed, stubble appeared on his jaw, blue eyes turned cinnamon, his chest broadened, and the t-shirt he wore morphed into a smart shirt with two buttons undone at the top.
“I’ve got you.” Thomas wrapped me in his arms. “I won’t let go.”
I clenched his shirt, pulling myself in, inhaling his scent. He drew mw closer, the proximity of his body all I needed to calm down.
He laced his hand through my hair, kissing the side of my head over and over in a comforting manner. I kept my face hidden in his chest, my shoulders shrugging pathetically.
I needed more of him to calm down and feel safe. I pushed away from him and looked into his eyes, silently pleading, desperate to be with him as close as possible so I could forget. I fastened my lips on his, pulling on his shirt to take it off so I could feel his heartbeat against my skin, but he moved away.
“Don’t do this,” I whispered. “You said…”
“This isn’t me rejecting you.” He stroked my cheek with his thumb. “If you want this, I need to hear you say it.”
“Come on,” Ty said, snapping me out of the memory.
He draped his arm over my shoulders while two bouncers were on Adrian, pulling him away from one of Jax’s friends. Jax laid unconscious on the ground. Cigarette butts and ash were scattered around, covered with specks of crimson blood.
My feet moved in sync with Ty’s. It wasn’t until we were out of the building that Adrian caught up with us, after he was thrown out of the club. He jogged to us, his face sullen.
Ty stood with me by the curb, holding me close while we waited for a taxi. He helped me take a cigarette out of the packet and lit it for me, pulling me in even closer when Adrian approached.
“Are you okay, puppet? Did he…”
“Shut up!” Ty boomed. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!”
Adrian lifted his weight from one foot to another, oblivious to the effect his outrage had on me. For a moment he just stared at Ty until he realised his mistake. He pulled on his hair, swearing under his breath.
“Baby,” he took a step closer, but he stopped when I moved back, unable to see past the panic blooming in my mind. “Fuck,” he spat out. “Puppet, look at me, please.”
“Back off,” Ty warned, holding his hand out when a taxi came to view. “Back the fuck away from her, Adrian, or I swear to God…”
Adrian obeyed, even though it was evident that not being able to explain was killing him. Ty helped me into the cab and closed the door, leaving Adrian alone. He held me flush against his side the whole journey back to his apartment, and then he stayed with me until I fell asleep, hugging Thomas’s t-shirt to my chest.
CHAPTER 6
THOMAS
High-five
Day after day, week after week.
I fell back into a routine: work, eat and sleep. The routine used to includefuck pretty blondes, but since Nadia came along, I lost interest in meaningless quickies.
Nothing changed when she left. Two months passed, but I hadn’t touched a single girl. I worked fourteen hours a day, flying back and forth between London and Madrid where the record label was ready to kick off.
Most of the time I was too tired in the evening to think about either Nadia or thewhat ifs, and whenever I wasn’t, Nick’s doors were always open. The tables had turned. He used to be the one who entered my office with a bothered look on his face. It was my turn to sulk, my turn to get shit off my chest, and his turn to play the shrink and pour the vodka.
For the first time, it seemed that he was truly on my side.
“I want to go to Madrid with you next week,” Nick said. Along with Scorpio and Ethan, we sat in his kitchen on a Thursday evening, playing poker. “When are you flying out?”
“Tuesday. I was going to ask you to come anyway. Everything is ready now. We should start looking for artists.”
“Speaking of,” Ethan cut in, and reached to fish out a CD from the inside pocket of his puffer jacket. “I think you should listen to that. I’ve met this girl a few weeks back…”
Nick chuckled, patting Ethan on the back. “You want us to sign this girl so you can get laid?”
“Very funny. No, it has nothing to do with her, besides that she took me to this bar last week, and they had an open mic night. Those guys…” He waved his hand dismissively, passing the CD to Nick. “Just play it and tell me I’m wrong.”