Page 57 of Forbidden Lyrics

“Well…why hide it? Your relationship with him? In your room, you made him sound like…”

“Like he’s a shitty father who’s a dime a dozen?” he finishes for me. “That’s ‘cause he is. The bastard knocked up my mom and left her to become a superstar. And even then, he only made it big because he ended up doing drugs with the right guy at the right time. So, yeah. He’s a dime a dozen. I don’t need him, and I don’t want to be anything like him, either. He might be a rock god, but the rest of his life is a mess. The idea of turning into anything like him is…” He grits his teeth and squeezes his hands into tight fists but doesn’t finish his sentence. I’m not sure that he can.

I set my hand on top of his, rubbing my thumb back and forth along his white knuckles, wishing I could ease a bit of the heartache and the chip on his shoulder that he obviously carries around.

“I don’t know your dad,” I start. “But I think you’ve turned out to be a pretty good guy so far. Both musically and personally.”

“Thanks, Dove.” His attention drops to my mouth before jumping back up to my curious eyes as the tension builds around us like a damn thunderstorm. It’s heavy and thick, and it could break at any second. Like how I’m close to breaking if he keeps looking at me like that.

“You’re a good friend,” he murmurs.

My phone vibrates against the counter, popping the tension like a needle against a balloon while making me jump as quickly.

Maddie’s name flashes on the screen. And I look up to find Gibson staring at it as if he’s seen a ghost.

“Let me just––”

“It’s fine.” He clears his throat and moves his hand out from under mine. “Let me know what you decide about the tour.”

I sigh. “Okay.”

Chapter Fifteen

Gibson

“Have you seen Jake?” Milo asks as I grab a protein shake from the fridge.

I twist off the cap before answering, “I haven’t seen Jake since the shit with Reese and Riv went down. He’s probably at the library catching up on his thesis.”

Milo shakes his head and squeezes the back of his neck but stays quiet.

“Something going on?” I ask.

“Did you know he was in love with Reese?”

Tilting my head to one side, I consider his question for a few seconds. “I had my hunches. But it was obvious Reese had a thing for one roommate, and it wasn’t him.”

He scrubs his hand over his face, but again, doesn’t comment.

“What’s going on with Jake?” I ask before taking a swig of my chocolate-flavored protein.

Jake and Milo have been inseparable since they were kids, even though they’re opposites in almost every sense of the word. But if Milo’s worried about him, something is definitely up.

The barstool scrapes against the ground before Milo collapses into it.

“He’s acting…weird,” he mutters for lack of a better word.

“What kind of weird?”

“Erratic. Like he doesn’t give a shit about anything. You haven’t noticed him acting weird?”

“I’ve noticed more women sneaking in and out of his room than usual, but that’s about it.”

“That’s not like him, though,” Milo mumbles, rubbing his tattooed hand over his face.

The man’s got a point. Jake has never been one for partying or late nights. The guy’s sole focus has been college, his thesis, and a big internship opportunity when he graduates. Yeah, he might slip in the occasional one-night stand into his repertoire, but even that was few and far between before his fallout with Reese.

With a frown, I admit, “I figured he was working Reese out of his system.”

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