Page 55 of I Knew You Were Trouble

Miller sucks on his vape, saying nothing.

‘J to the B, you gonna volunteer, or what?’

J.B. looks up from his guitar, sheepish, wiping a flat palm over his closely-shaved scalp. ‘Not all of us want an interview.’

‘Excusez-moi, mate,’ Cal snaps. ‘If I have to fucking spill my guts, then so can you.’

J.B. looks annoyed. I feel guilty. I shift in Aidan’s lap and I think I hear him inhale sharply. His thick ridge presses up into my core, right where it counts, and delicious sensations pulse through me. He feels so good.

Cal shakes his head. ‘Fuck, I’m not even gonna bother with you, Aid.’

Aidan offers him a middle finger. Underneath me, I feel him move again. ‘Excuse me,’ he mutters and I get to my feet. He’s quick to get up, and I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who notices the obvious ridge in his jeans. He walks around the back of the sofa with his back to everyone, heading for the bathroom.

When I sit back down in the warm seat that Aidan has just vacated, I offer Taylor a shy smile, yet she’s quick to look the other way.

Chapter Sixteen

I wake to a hammering on my door.

‘You gotta get up, we gotta go now,’ Meredith blurts. ‘There’s a car waiting for us downstairs.’

‘What’s going on?’ I squint, realising I’ve got a wine headache. I stayed an hour longer, Aidan positioning himself elsewhere and not looking me in the eye after our little incident. ‘What time is it?’

‘Just gone seven. The boys are squeezing in a stopover before their day of interviews. The girl – you know the one from yesterday, who fainted in Bronte? They’re going to visit her at her house. Ziggy says we can go along and film. He’s set up a photographer from a news network who’s gonna be there too.’

Adrenaline pulses through my body. ‘When are they leaving?’

‘Literally in ten minutes. You don’t even have time to shower.’

‘Go and knock on Duncan’s door. I’ll get dressed.’

In the back of the car, a dishevelled-looking, unshaven Duncan traces three letters into my bent knee through my jeans with his fingertip: H, B and D.

I look down and smile, glancing out of the window as I blush.

‘Aye, you thought I’d forgotten, didn’t you?’ he grins.

‘What did you not forget?’ Meredith asks from the front seat.

He looks to me, as though asking permission to tell, and I roll my eyes in response.

‘Today is Lexi’s least favourite day of the year,’ Duncan says. ‘It’s her birthday.’

In the front seat, Meredith squeals. ‘It’s your birthday today? How old?’

‘Thirty,’ I confirm. ‘Yesterday was officially the last day of my twenties.’

‘Oh my god, happy birthday,’ Meredith squeals. ‘We gotta celebrate!’

‘Oh no, you can’t tell anyone,’ Duncan laughs. ‘She doesn’t like fuss.’

‘Why not?’ Meredith queries.

Duncan looks at me with a raised brow.

‘Change the subject,’ I grunt, feeling grimy from the lack of a shower as well as groggy from lack of caffeine. ‘The girl from yesterday, remind me of her name.’

‘Jessie Fletcher,’ Meredith says in disappointment as her excitement evaporates. ‘She’s sixteen. Lives with her parents and younger brother in Bondi. Went to the concert with a group of friends. They stayed up all night to be first in line. Doctors at the hospital said she was dehydrated and that’s likely why she passed out.’

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