Page 67 of Talk Nerdy To Me
“Any chance we can talk somewhere more private?” I ask Britt, even as one side of my lips tug in a reluctant smile.
How can I not somewhat laugh at this? You don’t picture the Sterlings being this way.
You expect pompous, arrogant, pretentious, snobby rich people.
I almost wish I had come over all those times Tag invited me now. Maybe then I could understand half of what they’re saying.
She walks off to the side with me, and I lean up against the privacy fence as she stops very close, unknowingly showing them all how comfortable she is with me. Dane starts toward us and stops at least three times, but I barely notice him from my peripheral.
“I’m sorry about last night. Things got out of hand, and I tried to play it off—and came off like a bit of a dick without realizing it. But I’d already lost control by the time we hit the bed,” I tell her, giving her back some of that honesty she shares so freely.
She just stares at me for a minute. “Why’d you come today?”
“I honestly don’t know,” I tell her on a long breath, hesitating. “In a few months, I have to go on tour. We’ll be on the road for eight months to a year, depending on if we get to open at the larger events near the end. Sometimes you lose your spot at the really big ones because of someone else’s pull.”
“I know you’re leaving. Ash told me tonight,” she states, frowning. “Why are both of you telling me in the same night?”
This is one of those times where I wish I didn’t have to be direct. I’d like to skate around the topic, so it doesn’t sound as dickish as it really is.
In other words, Britt, I can be all yours for exactly three months before I go back to my one true love—music. I’ll also be seeing you in between other musical interruptions. But you can totally be a mistress until I leave, as long as you can work around my schedule.
“So, what about Tommy leaving?” I ask in deflection. “You want to know how they got rid of him?”
She grins. “None of the girls know how. They thought it was threats, but it has to be more.”
“I’ll tell you all about it when they’re not glaring at me from across the yard, deciding if they can get away with just a little bodily harm or not,” I deadpan.
She looks over at them and back to me.
“They’re having a difficult time distinguishing what a date is tonight. I feel I should warn you that I think they intend to sabotage you.”
My grin grows again, and this time I get some awwwwws. Which means…
My eyes lift to see at least five of the women have moved in closer, even though they’re still pretending not to listen.
Unbelievable.
They’re nosier than Sticks and Taylor.
“You really have some weird timing on the awws,” I state flatly.
“So it’s not just weird to me?” Britt muses, looking around.
Rain stifles a grin, and Harley does as well.
Apparently we’re both on the outside of this inside joke.
“Britt!” Dane finally calls.
She looks over, and he gestures for her to join him.
“This is the part where they separate me from you and then you mysteriously go missing,” she tells me. “Remember that I’m not supposed to know,” she adds with a small grin, as though I’m now in on the conspiracy.
“At some point, you should probably get them back.”
“I do. They just don’t know it,” she states with a larger smile.
“What do you do?”
