“All hell is going to break loose. You know that. She’ll freak out, thinking you could be dead in a ditch somewhere. You need to tell her, and then head back on the next train.”
I pouted. He could be more pleased to see me.
“Can I at least have a shower? I’m all stinky. And you know, since I’m already here, it wouldn’t hurt to go to the festival. It’s not like I’d get back in time to rehearse, anyway.”
He scratched his head. “I’m not sure. Ring Polly and see what she says. I don’t want any trouble.”
I grinned. There wasn’t much Polly could do while I was this far away, and I’d get to be naked in Crow’s room. That would put plenty of temptation in his way.
We went up to his room. When I had some privacy, I called Polly.
She sighed when she answered the phone. At least she wasn’t yelling. “I guess I know where you are,” she said.
“You’d guess right.” I didn’t want to sound too happy in case it got her mad.
“Fay, you are the biggest idiot. I have no idea how you got there, but if you do anything like that again, I’ll throttle you. You could’ve died.”
“Well, I didn’t. I’m fine.”
“Let me talk to Crow,” she said.
I didn’t want to, but I had no choice. I handed him the phone. He turned his back to me so I couldn’t see his face. All I heard was a few mumbles from him.
When he turned back, I peeled my t-shirt off.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Having a shower, like we agreed.”
He grabbed his bag out of the wardrobe and slung it over his shoulder.
“Wait... What? Where are you going?” I asked him. He wasn’t just going out for food, because he had all his stuff.
“Damo’s room. You can stay for the festival, but you’ll be staying here alone.”
Before I could protest, he walked out of the room. This was not part of my plan. What had happened to those passionate kisses? The way he stared at me until my body burned? I didn’t like this new iciness.
Still, I could stay the night. He might be all business now, but later tonight, he’d feel differently. I just had to bide my time. I jumped in the shower, then dressed and redid my makeup. I was more than ready for this festival.
I waited near the elevator for the others so we could get the bus to the festival.
“Whoa, Firecracker,” Elijah said when he saw me. “You’re turning into a bundle of trouble.”
He ruffled my hair, which really annoyed me.
I wasn’t trying to be trouble. I just knew what I wanted, and I went for it. Was that a bad thing? If Crow really didn’t want me, I’d have backed off, but I had no reason to think that.
“It worked for you,” I said to him, and nodded at Rose.
“You’re right about that. Want to be flower girl at our wedding?”
He really did think I was a little kid.
“Flower girl? I’m not a little kid. Tell me you’re joking, or I’ll kill you before you get to the altar. Hey, wedding?”
“Yep, no more screwing around for me. The ball and chain is firmly on.”
I laughed at him. He could say that, but anyone could see from the way he glowed that he loved it, and he loved Rose.
“You’re going to have hell to pay when you see Polly again,” he said. “I would not want to be in your shoes. She’s one scary lady when she’s angry.”
“Well, so am I,” I told him.
My heart wasn’t in that, though. Crow’s reaction had taken the wind out of my sails. Maybe I’d made a huge mistake coming here. When I left Brussels, I’d wanted to prove a point to Polly, but with some time to think about it, I realized I had been stupid. She really did have reason to be angry with me.
“Ease off a bit,” Elijah said quietly. “Guys like to be the hunter.”
I scoffed. “In what century?”
“In all centuries. You don’t have to be all meek and mild, just back off a bit. Don’t scare the guy.”
I folded my arms and leaned against the wall. Screw Elijah and his advice. I didn’t scare Crow. He was a whole different person from Elijah. The whole time we’d been in Amsterdam, I’d been laid back and friendly, and that hadn’t worked at all. We’d hung out and had fun, but if we’d stayed like that, we’d have been at the friend’s level for the rest of our lives. I didn’t want to be friends with Crow. I wanted the full experience.