The Girl in the Love Song (Lost Boys 1)

Just like I do.

Miller was quiet for a few seconds, then sniffed a laugh. “God, I’m a fucking mess.” He looked up at me, a faint smile touching his lips for the first time. “Come here,” he said as he pulled me in close again and held me tight. “I knew if I told you, it wouldn’t seem so fucking crazy.”

“It is crazy,” I said, laughter bursting out of me. “It’s out-of-this-world-level crazy, but I’m so happy for you. And you can be happy, too. Okay?”

He heaved a steadying breath. “I guess. It’s just…a lot. I’m freaking exhausted.”

“You look it,” I said, brushing the hair out of his eyes. “You want to sleep with me?”

Miller smirked. “That’s a loaded question.”

I grinned and tugged him to the bed with both hands. “I meant to just sleep. Although I’m flexible on that point.”

He laughed tiredly as he kicked off his boots. We lay down face to face, our hands entwined, our gazes roaming and tracing and memorizing.

“Who else knows about this?” I asked. “Did you tell your mom?”

He nodded. “She didn’t believe it either. Not really.” His eyes darkened. “Chet—that asshole—is hurting her.”

“Oh shit,” I breathed. “Oh no. God…what can we do?”

“He’s gone until tomorrow, but I’m going to have to stay home most nights from now on.”

“To protect her.”

He nodded.

“God, Miller, please be careful.”

“I will. If he tries anything, I’ll have his ass arrested since Mom won’t. But I’ll be in LA for two days and she’ll be alone.”

“You’ll come back with a record contract and kick his ass out for good.”

“That’s the plan, impossible as it seems.” Miller’s eyes widened. “Oh, shit. June 4th is your birthday.”

“Last I checked,” I said, grinning. “And it’s Prom too, as a matter of fact. Which reminds me, I know I promised River, but that doesn’t mean we can’t all go in a group…”

Miller was shaking his head against the pillow. “That’s the weekend of that meeting. Damn, I don’t want to miss your birthday.”

“Neither do I, for multiple reasons,” I said with what I hoped was a seductive smile. “But you have an excuse. The best excuse. Overkill, really. Most guys would’ve come up with something less outlandish than a record deal with Gold Line Records.”

“I don’t have a deal. Not yet. I don’t know what’s going to come of this, if anything, but I’m going to take care of Mom. And you.”

“You don’t need to—”

He silenced me with a soft kiss and then rested his head heavily on the pillow. “I will. Don’t argue with me, Vi,” he mumbled with a smile, his eyes falling shut. “Too tired.”

“Sleep, then.” I stroked his cheek, tracing the outline of his full lips, down to his chin and along his jaw.

Beautiful. My beautiful, kind, brave Miller.

I kissed him softly, and my eyes started to drift shut too, while a small twinge of unease hatched in my stomach. A little seed of uncertainty. Everything I’d said to Miller about his future was true. This was his big break; I could feel it.

But that meant our paths were about to diverge drastically, and I wondered where they would take us.

Someone had set off a car alarm. Or maybe I’d changed my phone’s alarm from birdsong to a high, tinny beep…

Then through the haze of sleep, I recognized the sound. I bolted up to sitting, brushing the hair out of my eyes. Miller’s watch was flashing the number 195 in red.