by Nicole Dykes
“What about the bus?”
She waves that off. “It was fate. I’m fairly tired of the bus anyway.”
I turn to Rhys. “How could you agree to this shit?”
“I owe Logan.” It’s a simple as that with Rhys. Code. If your family needs you, you’re there.
“Fine. Then Adele is coming.”
He grabs my arm and pulls me to the corner of the room, keeping his voice low. “We don’t know her.”
I shrug. “And we know Melody and Blair?”
Something flashes in his eyes that I don’t recognize. Usually I can read his mind, but I have no idea what’s going on in there these days. “What if she’s a serial killer?”
“Then hopefully she gets to Blair first.”
He growls, and I know he’s not amused, but too fucking bad. I’m not happy about this situation either. Plus I think Adele is right, she can be a buffer.
Because there’s no way in hell I want to be alone with Melody.
Rhys leaves, and I sit down at the desk, my body and mind on full alert, knowing this trip is going to be hell.
I turn to look at Adele, who’s still pleased with herself.
“Why are you smiling right now?” I shake my head and search through photos on my camera for a distraction. “You have no idea what you’re in for.”
“I guarantee I’ve been through much worse.” Her smile has faded slightly, and I believe her words. “So, who’s Melody?”
Damn it. “No one.”
Her pretty eyes roll as she takes a seat in one of the wooden chairs at the table. “Sure, no one. I totally believe you.” The sarcasm is thick, and I try to ignore her as I sift through the plastic, fake smiles on my camera. “Except for the fact that you called out her name last night in bed.”
Fuck. Me. She has my attention now as my eyes lift, looking at her in horror. “I did?”
She nods but doesn’t look upset. “You did. I didn’t think too much of it until I heard her name today.”
“Were we—”
She laughs, interrupting my incomplete question. “No, you were fast asleep.” She’s still laughing when she says, “If we were in the middle of fucking, I would have throat-punched you.”
“Fair enough.”
“So, who is she?”
This chick does not let things go. “You know, we just met. You show up and start prying into my life. Inviting yourself along to things . . .”
She props her right elbow up on the table, placing her chin in her hand, leaning in. “And?” Her smile is infectious.
“And I should hate it.”
“But you don’t, do you?”
I laugh at that. “I have no idea why I don’t.”
“I told you . . . soulmates. I have no idea why, but I feel like I’ve known you for forever. Fast friends and all that. Now tell me about this girl. I’m dying to know.”
“She hates me, and it’s justified. That’s really all you need to know.”
“Oh, please. There is so much more to it.”
I place my camera on the table and stand up, walking to the blown-up picture in the middle of the studio.
The bridge.
I took it before my night with Melody. It’s just the bridge at sunset, almost a prelude of what was to come.
And I couldn’t fucking delete it.
Instead, I blew it up and feature it in the middle of my studio.
“I slept with her when we were young. Too young. Teenagers in high school.”
She nods, sitting up straight in the chair, tugging her dress down over her thighs. “And you ditched her?”
I nod. “It was just supposed to be one night, nothing else.”
“But it wasn’t?”
I stare at the wooden bridge in the photo with unruly grass growing up around the entrance and the yellow sun rising in the purplish pink and blue sky above it. “I left her and didn’t think I’d see her again.”
“So, what happened?”
I turn to face Adele. “She came crashing back into my life when my friend Logan did. And I was cruel.”
“Why?”
I shrug, cringing at the memory of Blair and her showing up at the drive-in with Logan. She looked so bright and hopeful when she approached me, as if she had been searching for me since that day. And I was cold, distant, and so fucking mean.
I shattered her all over again.
I told her I didn’t remember her, but how could I forget her? I’d been thinking about her since the day I left her lying in the park pavilion, fast asleep. Thinking she’d met the love of her life, dreaming of a prince she didn’t really need to rescue her, only to wake up and realize he was actually a villain who imprisoned her.
“I don’t know.”
“Liar.”
She calls me out but doesn’t push me. “What about you? Your trip can’t just be about going to your grandma’s. I suspect there’s a hell of a lot more to it than that.”
For the first time since we met, Adele shuts down. She becomes quiet and loses the smile.
“You aren’t going to tell me?”
Her voice is hoarse, and I recognize the misery in her eyes. “I can’t.”
I walk back to where she’s sitting and stand before her. “Normally, I’m not one to listen to other people’s problems.”
“And now?” Her grin shows how quickly she bounces back.
“I feel like you’re going to tell me eventually.”
She stands up, looking over at my picture of the bridge. “Not today.”
“Okay.” I pull my cellphone out to look at the time, seeing it’s approaching evening. “Where are you staying tonight?”
“I have my hotel until tomorrow.”
“Well, since you’re leaving with us tomorrow all bright and early.” My eyes meet hers. “Rhys does not fuck around with time.” She laughs, clearly having picked up that Rhys doesn’t mess around with anything. The dude is always serious. “Maybe you should just stay at my place.”
Her eyes are full of questions as her left foot covers her right in adorable apprehension. “Um . . . I know we slept together last night and all.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “No, I mean in my spare room. It probably still smells like Rhys, but I did put brand-new sheets on the comfortable bed when he moved out.”
She chuckles at that. “Thank goodness. I can stay with you, then.”
“What, you didn’t have a good time last night?”
She laughs again, maybe a little too hard for my ego. “I did.” She’s still laughing and covers her mouth with her hand when my eyes darken. She pulls herself together and places a hand on my shoulder. “Last night was great.”
“You really don’t have to humor me.” I stand as tall as a guy can when being called out about his sexual performance. “I can take criticism.”
She shakes her head as if I’m a cute stuffed animal or some shit. “No criticism here, mate. You were good. It’s just . . .”
“What?” She’s laughing again. What the fuck?
“I’m sorry.” She places a hand over her stomach and takes a breath. “It’s just a fucked-up thought.”
“Okay, just tell me.”
“After spending all day with you, now I see you as another brother. Which is messed-up, considering . . .”
“I’ve fucked you.”
She points at me, smiling entirely too big. “Exactly.”
“That is fucked.”
She laughs again and nods her head. “Yeah, it is. But it’s true, right?”
I can’t fight the laugh that comes out. “Yeah.” I cringe. “Shit, it really is. I like you, but there’s not really a sexual attraction there anymore.”
She releases a big breath and giggles again. “None.”
“Alright.”
“But you were really good.”
I hold up my right hand to silence her. “Please don’t humor me. I am really fucking good.”
She nods once in an exaggerated manner. “
Right. I believe you.”
“Christ, is it too late to put your ass on a bus?”
She laughs confidently. “Yes.”
“So, you’re staying with me tonight?”
“I am.”
“Good.”
I’m dreading this trip.
There’s no way in hell it’s going to go well. But for whatever reason, I’m grateful Adele will be there.
I stand in my driveway with my best friend, Blair, my luggage at my feet, staring at the sunrise, trying to figure out how I got here.
All I wanted was a road trip to see my friend Quinn play her first headlining show. That’s all. I thought a road trip with my best friend would be fun. It’s warm, now that spring is finally here. Just us, our music, snacks. Fun. I’ve seen it in the movies. It looks like a great time. Blair and I are both on spring break from our senior year of college. It would have been perfect.
But no. All of a sudden, I’m told by that brute Rhys that not only is he joining us but so is Sean.
The man I knew as Lyric.
The asshole who ripped my heart out. The liar. The vengeful bastard himself.
I was only part of some twisted game. Why he wants to hurt people the way he does, I have no idea. He promised me the world, told me he’d never felt that way before. And I believed him. After knowing him for a few hours, I believed him. Every word. I was a fool.
But I’m no longer that little girl. It took me a while to figure out that was his game, that to have a skill like that took practice. I wasn’t the first, and I certainly wasn’t the last.
“Will you please relax?”
I turn to look at Blair in all her perfect, goddess glory. She’s tall with blond hair down to her shoulders. She’s dressed in a simple, white, sleeveless shirt in a wrap-style that shows her midriff with a pair of her black, Gucci skinny jeans, a black purse slung over her chest, with a pair of gold Prada sunglasses tucked into the front of her shirt. The outfit is expensive, yet it looks simple and elegant.
Her makeup is flawless as she stands tall and confident. Her face screams “don’t mess with me.” And God help anyone who does.
“I’m relaxed.”
She’s not buying it. She stands beside me, arms crossed. “Your foot is tapping, and I mean tapping nonstop. You need to chill.”
I breathe deep and turn to face Blair. Confrontation is not my thing, it’s more Blair’s, but I’m not happy with this situation. “How could you just fold like that? How could you do exactly what Rhys told you? That’s so unlike you.”
Her right shoulder lifts in indifference. “He wasn’t wrong.”
“We would have been fine on our own.”
“Please, Mel. The last trip we took was to Paris. We flew first-class. We stayed in a fucking suite with room service and had a car with a guide and a bodyguard who took us everywhere.”
Although she’s not wrong, I’m not still not happy. “It’s Chicago, not a foreign country.”
“It may as well be. We’ve never been there.”
“So, are we paying them to be our bodyguards?”
A smile tugs at her lips, and she looks almost proud. “Look at you, all snippy.”
I roll my eyes and take another deep breath. “I guess he brings it out in me. And last time you saw him, it sure seemed like you wanted to rip his throat out.”
“I believe my aim was a bit lower.”
I fight the smile. She did mention tearing his balls from his body. “Exactly. So, what the hell changed? Why are we going on a trip with him?”
“It won’t be that bad, Mel. And I’ll keep him away from you.”
I stare at her, trying to figure out how she thinks that’s possible. “We’ll be in a car with him for eight and a half hours.”
“Look, you’re the one that wanted this little road-trip experience.” Her hand is resting on her hip, probably tired of my whining. “I would have preferred the hour and half flight in first-class, sipping mimosas as opposed to being stuck in a fucking cramped car, sipping whatever the hell you get at a gas station.”
Damn. I guess she’s right. This whole road-trip thing was 100 percent my idea. Quinn is an amazing person. She was in foster care most of her life. She worked her ass off and was able to attend music school. She’s an inspiration.
I guess I got caught up in it all after hearing some of her stories.
She worked at several bars. She and Logan love to travel when they can find the time. They don’t do room service and first-class. They just hop in the car and see where their spirits take them.
My entire life has been sheltered. Hearing Quinn’s stories made me realize how little of the real world I’ve experienced, and I’m almost finished with college.
So, when she told me she had a show booked in Chicago during spring break, I jumped at the opportunity. But maybe I didn’t think it through all the way.
I sigh. “I’m sorry. You’re right.” She nods as if she already knew that, although I have to add, “But I do think we could have survived.”
She wraps her arm around my shoulder and hugs me to her. “Maybe. Or maybe we wouldn’t have even made it an hour away before calling our fathers to rescue us. And God knows, I didn’t want to do that.”
Blair hates her father. I’m surprised she’d even say that was an option. “You didn’t even fight him, Blair.”
She knows I’m talking about Rhys. He barged in and told us this is what was happening, and she barely blinked. A black SUV I don’t recognize approaches. It parks directly in front of the house, and I know who it is.
Blair turns to me. “It’ll be okay.”
Rhys climbs out of the passenger side. Then my breathing increases rapidly when the driver’s door opens and Sean appears.
Why? Why does he have to be so good-looking?
It’s not fair. He’s not smiling and, in fact, looks grim, matching Rhys’s personality.
Maybe this is the real him, not the bright, charming boy I first met.
His high cheekbones and model good looks are irritating, along with his long, muscular body. He approaches, wearing jeans and a long-sleeved Henley that clings to the muscles of his biceps, stretched tight to perfection. His mocha skin is flawless, and those damn bright green eyes . . .
Those eyes haunt my fantasies and nightmares.
He is absolute perfection on the outside.
“Boys,” Blair address the men as they stand before us, but our attention is drawn back to the car when the back passenger door opens to reveal a beautiful woman I’ve never seen before.
Rhys, who doesn’t look at the stranger, looks directly at Blair. “This is Adele. I have no fucking clue what she’s doing here, but she’s joining us until Iowa.”
The woman stands next to Sean with a bright, beaming smile aimed right at Rhys. She seems completely unaffected by his annoyance. “That’s right. Don’t pretend you aren’t excited about that, mister.”
Only it sounds more like “mis-ta.” She has a very distinct Australian accent.
Rhys rolls his eyes, and I notice Blair staring her down questioningly. But again, this Adele person doesn’t seem concerned.
No one moves. We all stand in complete silence until Adele steps in between us. “Okay, so I’m Adele. Which one of you is Blair and which is the famous, Melody?”
My name sounds like a song coming from her lips, and my eyes dart to Sean, who looks uncomfortable. Did he tell this person about me?
“I’m Blair.” I hear the hostility in my best friend’s voice, but no one seems bothered.
“It’s nice to meet you. You’re a beauty, now, aren’t you?” She looks over at Rhys, whose face does not change, and then Adele’s face lights up when her eyes meet mine. “So, that makes you Melody?”
I give a quick nod. Who is this girl? Is she with Sean? Or with Rhys?
Both?
Rhys seems to be irritated by her, so I’m assuming she’s with Sean which makes my blood inexplicably boil.
She smile
s and turns back to Sean. “I definitely get it, mate.” She winks at him, and instead of getting irritated like Rhys, that bastard actually smiles.
This is going to be a long trip.
Great start.
Blair looks like she might try to kill Adele, and honestly, she probably can. That bitch is ruthless.
Adele is completely unbothered as she sits between the girls in the back seat. We borrowed a roomy SUV from Phillip, Logan’s father, for the trip, but there are only five seats in the vehicle with all of our luggage in the far back.
Rhys and I have one bag each. But good lord, these fucking women.
I’m not sure where they think they’re going, but the back looks like we’re on a cross-country move, not a three-day trip.
“So, what the fuck is in Iowa?”
Rhys doesn’t blink at Blair’s invasive question, just continues to drive on the crowded interstate. Adele has no problem answering her. “My mum’s childhood home.”
“Does she still live there?”
“No. Unfortunately she passed.”
I can see Blair in the rearview mirror, and she actually softens for a quick minute. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I still have my brother, sister-in-law, their adorable little children, and their goat.”
“Did you just say ‘goat’?”
Did she?
Adele laughs. “It’s a long story, but yes, a goat. They love that thing.”
“Your brother and sister-in-law have an actual goat as a pet?” Blair is about to spit fire, and I’m getting annoyed with her tone even if I also find it weird. “And they live in Iowa too? I suppose there isn’t a lot to do there. So sure, own a fucking goat.”
“Blair . . .” I hear the warning in Melody’s sweet voice, but I force myself not to look at her.
“What?” Blair is on edge today, but that’s not unusual. Blair lives teetering on the edge between human and fire-breathing demon.
Still, Adele either doesn’t notice or she just doesn’t respond to Blair’s rudeness, which is something I really like about her. “Actually, we all live in California. But yes, they love that goat.”