“You better not. Just remember, I’m your brother. I have a lot of things I can hold over you.”
Chapter Eighteen
Micah
The crowd already gathered in the club was huge: our biggest so far. I stood nervously near the bar waiting for eight p.m. to approach. Time was dragging. We still had over an hour until our performance. Why had Sax wanted me here so early? I hadn’t seen him or the other guys yet.
Finally, I saw Sax wading through the crowd toward me. My heart began to pound at the sight of him. He was hot, and it was obvious I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Every female in the room was eyeing him. I felt a surge of excitement. He was mine. He could’ve had any chick in the world, and he wanted me.
“Hey,” he murmured when he reached me. He sat down on the stool next to me and glanced around. “Nice crowd.”
“It is,” I agreed, swallowing hard. Would the nerves before a show ever go away?
Out of nowhere, a petite blonde threw her arms around Sax’s neck and kissed his cheek.
He laughed and turned around. “Are you drunk?” he asked her, shaking his head.
I stood against the counter of the bar with my eyebrows raised. I had no idea who this girl was, but he obviously knew her. A knot formed in my stomach as annoyance began to consume me. Then she turned to me and flashed me a big smile. I felt my anger melt away.
“Micah, this is my little sister, Stace.”
Relief flooded through me. His sister. Not some random bimbo who was trying to stake a claim on him. He smiled proudly at her and I could see how much he loved her. He looked at her the same way Pete used to look at me. Stop. Don’t think about it. If you do, you’ll start to cry. I forced my emotions aside and focused on the two of them.
“Little sister? What am I, twelve?” she grumbled, narrowing her eyes at him.
“You might as well be. Twelve. Eig
hteen…is there really much of a difference? You’re still a lifetime younger than me,” he retorted.
My heart pounded. Oh God, she was older than me? What the hell was I doing? This wasn’t a game. I was fucking lying to him, and when he found out he was going to freak.
I listened to them argue as I tried to pull myself together.
What was with me tonight? Everything was getting to me. This whole thing with Sax was freaking me out. He avoided relationships because he was terrified of hurting people. That was exactly what I was going to do to him.
“I’m not feeling great,” I mumbled, forcing a smile. “I’m gonna go sit out back until the show. I’ll be fine, I just need a moment.”
“Of course,” Sax said, his face creased with concern. “I’ll come with you.”
“No, stay here with Stace. I’m fine, I promise.”
He reached for my hand and pulled me closer to him. “Call me if you need me, okay?” His lips brushed past mine tenderly.
I blushed as I saw Stace grinning at her brother and smiled in spite of myself. He was going to get some shit for that.
“I will. I’ll see you after the show, and Stace, it was lovely meeting you.”
“Likewise. It’s nice to see my brother happy for a change.”
***
I sank into the first chair I found backstage. Well, backstage was really part of the storage area, but I wasn’t complaining.
Think about what you’re doing, Micah.
There is no way this can end well. The longer it goes on, the worse it becomes. At some point, he is going to find out. Things always have a way of coming back to bite you in the ass.
I closed my eyes. I couldn’t think about this now. It was making me sick. Things were so much easier when I only had myself to worry about. There was no right way to handle this. If I told him, I’d lose him. If I didn’t tell him and he found out on his own I’d lose him.