Page 40 of Finding Emotion

Damon glanced down at her, then set everything he’d grabbed down and hurried over. “You went pale. Do you need some water or something?”

Mandy eyed her, quickly rising. “I’ve got a cooler. You haven’t eaten much today, Skylar.”

“Is that all it is?” His fingers brushed into the hair above her ear, and her chest seemed to swirl with the first little massage.

Skylar leaned forward and kissed him. His fingers froze in her hair, and then he kissed her back, his lips soft where they brushed over hers.

She pulled away. “I just got a little worked up, is all. I thought I’d win easy, but you’re good.” She couldn’t quite manage a smile, but her breath felt a little less shaky. “Worth it, though. I enjoyed playing with you.” She tried out a smirk, even though there was no innuendo in the words.

“Hey, Dame, we should go,” Jimmy called.

“Hold on.” Damon’s eyes searched hers. “It was fun. Maybe we can do it again.” He glanced up as Mandy approached, reaching for the can she passed to him.

The red can surprised Skylar. “Something with sugar?” She cracked it open, her eyes shutting as the taste hit her.

“Hmmm,” Damon murmured, tucking her hair behind her ear as he leaned closer to whisper in it. “So sugar brings on that expression too.”

Skylar pressed a hand to his chest as she almost choked on her drink. She swallowed, rolling her eyes. “You’re gonna be late.”

“Worth it,” he said.

She got a little zing from him using her own words, then watched him ease back, still studying her.

“You’re good?” Damon asked with a frown.

She pushed against him before removing her hand from his chest. “Go on.”

His eyes lingered on her the whole time he collected his things, and she made a show of pretending to drink. No way she could drink down that much sugar, though.

Damon paused in the doorway, making Jimmy antsy. “Want to meet up later?” he asked. “Have you been to The Last Shot yet?”

“Muscles’s bar?” Skylar considered it. “Oh, it’s Saturday, isn’t it? Jami’ll be working.”

Damon lifted an eyebrow. “So that’s a yes to going?”

Skylar shrugged. “If I feel like it later, sure.”

He laughed, waving a goodbye as he jogged after Jimmy.

She sighed when he was finally out of sight.

Mandy reached for the can, and Skylar passed it over. Mandy continued to stare down at her.

“I’m fine,” Skylar told her, stretching out for the notebook she’d discarded earlier and drawing it close. Her fingers still had a tremor, but her breathing had grown even again.

Mandy said nothing, really loudly.

Skylar glared back. “What?”

Her manager’s steady eyes behind her glasses brought a bit more calm to Skylar, which Skylar had never understood.

“Nothing,” Mandy murmured, returning to her chair.

She was an excellent manager, Skylar reminded herself. Way better than that Jimmy character, and hella awesome compared to the ones the label had tried to foist off on her before. Mandy just understood her way too well, which gave Skylar an uncomfortable feeling she wasn’t used to.

Skylar dragged her guitar closer, starting to play the song she’d written the other night or morning or whatever time it had been. The song shifted, and she realized she’d ended up playing Damon’s song instead.

“For fuck’s sake,” she muttered, her hand clenching over the strings.

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