Page 41 of For Eva

I cleared my throat, forcing the corners of my mouth down as I tried not to let my ego get the better of me.

Eric snickered. “Yeah, his girlfriend’s a blond, actually.”

She opened her mouth and started to smile until Eric’s words clicked, causing her to let out a nervous giggle. “Oh, well, she doesn’t care if you have a girlfriend.”

I shook my head, hoping to blur the image my brain conjured up. “Yeah, I really gotta talk to Eric.”

“So talk,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I’m not having this conversation here.”

He drew in a breath and rolled his eyes, letting his arms fall to his sides. “Fine. Look, Stacey—”

“Stephanie.” The girl’s brows sloped downward, a tiny pout forming on her frosty pink lips.

“Right,” he continued, unfazed. “How about you go find your friend and come back in fifteen?”

“But what if—”

“If I’m not here, I’ll catch you next time we’re in…wherever we are,” he said over his shoulder as we headed for the elevators.

“Dallas,” she called from behind us.

We stared straight ahead the entire ride to our floor, not speaking until Eric opened the door to his room, grabbed his Jack, and guzzled what seemed like half the bottle.

“So go ahead,” he said, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth. “Tell me why you’re pissed that I stopped Jesse Trainor from fucking Eva in the middle of the goddamn party.”

My jaw instantly tightened, and I shoved my finger in his face. “Shut the fuck up, Eric. Shut your fucking mouth right now. Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Any idea at all?”

He slapped my hand away as he pushed past me, sat on the bed, and lit a cigarette. “Fuck off, dude.”

“You’re fucking crazy, you know that?” I said. “There are ways to fucking talk to people that don’t get you thrown off tours!”

“He’s not throwing us off the tour. We have a fucking top ten album right now. People are coming to the shows to seeus.” He leaned against the headboard and stretched his legs along the mattress. “What’s really important here is that I saved Eva from getting fucking molested by him. So, you know…you’re welcome.”

I shook my head. “You don’t even fucking get it.”

“What do I not get? Thatisimportant…isn’t it?” He tilted his chin up and blew a stream of smoke from his lips.

“Of course, it’s important. But you could’ve come and told me, and I would’ve handled it.”

He snorted. “Really? What would you have done, Danny? Asked if he’d mind taking his hand off her ass—pretty please and thank you?”

I tightened my fists and pressed them against my forehead to keep from hitting him. “This isyourgoddamn fault, Eric. Not only because you lost your shit, but because it would’ve never even happened if you hadn’t had the stupid fucking idea for Eva to come with us in the first place.”

“You need to get the fuck over that, man. I’d think that if anyone could recognize everything she does for us, it’d be you.” He threw his legs over the side of the bed and twisted his cigarette into the ashtray on the nightstand.

“I don’t need to get the fuck over anything. What I need to do is talk to Jesse and tell him you’re sorry. Tell him I’msorry—we’reallsorry. And then, if he doesn’t tell me to fucking beat it, we’re gonna finish out this tour, and you’re gonna smile at that motherfucker every time you see him.”

“No, I’m not. But do what you want. Go grovel at his feet and tell him it’s fine to hit on your girlfriend.” He paused andretrieved a small amber vial from his shirt pocket, tapping a small line of coke on the side of his fist and snorting it. “I’m going downstairs to see if what’s-her-name decided to stick around, because I’m assuming Eva’s pissed the fuck off at you, and I think at least one of us should be getting laid tonight.”

“Fuck you, Eric.” I kicked the wooden dresser beside me so hard my foot throbbed inside my boot as I turned and threw open the door, letting it slam behind me.

I stalked through the hall and leaned against the wall just outside our room, my back sliding down it until I was sitting on the floor. I lit a cigarette, and my eyes snaked along one of the gold scrolls in the carpet like it was the fucking yellow brick road. I took a long drag and squinted through the smoke, wondering if I followed it long enough, there’d be another world at the end.

One where Eric wasn’t so goddamn irrational.

One where Eva wasn’t so goddamninvolved.

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