Hard Freak

“I must stink,” he said. “I got all sweaty onstage.”

It was too late to worry about that now.

“A little bit, but it’s a comforting smell,” I told him. “It’s not gross.” I wasn’t lying, either. He didn’t smell sweaty, just manly. “It was a brilliant show tonight,” I said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Did it make you happy?” he asked.

“A little bit. And a little bit jealous. I wanted to be the one up there, with that crowd and that energy.”

He laughed, which made my head bounce a little on his chest. “You’ll do it.”

“I don’t have Damo’s talent.”

“Damo’s been doing this for years. You’ve been doing it, what, less than a month? Don’t rush yourself. You’re amazing. A natural.”

I liked that.

“I always wanted to be in a band. I used to stay with Polly every summer, and I’d practice and practice. I learned all their songs. Singing and bass. Of course I did, or I wouldn’t be playing with them now. Do you really think I’m good? Sometimes I wonder if I’m only here because I was the only option.”

That worry had lingered in the back of my mind since I’d joined the tour: that I was the booby prize. I didn’t feel like I’d earned my place.

“You don’t know Damo if you’re asking that,” he said. “He doesn’t praise much, but if you aren’t up to scratch, he’ll let you know. I’m pretty sure that Polly would in her own way, too. She cares about you a lot. You shouldn’t take that for granted.”

I swallowed. He was right, and I’d been a pain in the butt to her. Sometimes my impulses got the better of me, but she shouldn’t have to suffer for it. I’d really had some sense knocked into my pig head tonight.

“I’ll sort it out when I see her again,” I said. “I’ll have to go back to Brussels tomorrow and get it fixed up.”

He laughed. “Rather you than me.”

The movie finished, but we didn’t move. He still had his arm around me, and I still had my head on his chest. I could stay like this for a lot longer, but if I said anything, he might decide he had to go back to Damo’s room.

Instead of leaving, he pulled me closer to him, his lips brushing against my forehead so softly that I almost thought I imagined it.

Chapter 15

THE TICKLE OF HIS BEARD made me giggle a little, but his lips were so soft and gentle.

The kiss left me confused. Was it a friendly kiss, or did it mean more? I mean, the forehead? That’s a pretty neutral area for kissing.

I tilted my head to his, encouraging him take it further. He hesitated. That was damn awkward. There’s only so long you can have your face tilted towards a guy before it looks dorky and weird.

Then he looked at me, really looked.

“You’re such a damn temptation,” he said.

“Yep, that’s my intention,” I told him. “I want you to be so crazy for me, you can’t resist.”

The laughter track to some cheesy sitcom blared in the background. He kept his arm around me. I rested my hand on his knee. If I had known what to do to tip things in my favor, I would have done them, but I was too scared. Every time we started getting close, he pulled away from me. That pulling away messed with my head. If I hadn’t known him better, I would have thought he was playing games with me, but Crow was way too serious for that kind of thing.

He stroked my cheek. “You have so many possibilities. Why me?”

“Because you make me feel happy inside. When I’m with you, I get all squishy and warm.”

I grinned at him. He didn’t grin back.

“There are things about me that you wouldn’t like,” he said. “Things that would make you feel differently.”

I couldn’t imagine what they’d be. It wasn’t like he was the kind of guy who would kick puppies or beat up old ladies. Was that why he kept pulling away from me? I’d thought there was something the matter with me. I hadn’t thought that he might have his own worries.

“You have a good heart,” I told him. “No matter what happened in your past, that’s not who you are now.”