Page 114 of From You to Me

“I know the perfect place.” Katy’s nose scrunched up in concentration as she fiddled with her phone. The dark circles under her eyes struck harshly against the bright phone light.

“Katy, I’ve been meaning to ask. Have you found the person who tried to leak the news while we were on tour?”

“What?” Her eyes dashed to mine as she sighed heavily. “No. We couldn’t trace it back. Whoever did it was pretty good.” A softlook shined in her eyes. “I’m sorry I accused you like that. This has been going on for a while now, and it was pretty obvious it wasn’t you, I had no idea what the fuck was I thinking. It’s just.” She hesitated, inhaling visibly. “I’ve been so stressed lately. There’s a lot going on in my life. I know it’s no excuse, but I’m really sorry.”

My heart tightened. Something told me that she was deeply affected by something we didn’t know about. Not sure what it was. I knew Katy, although a social butterfly, was very tight-lipped when she wanted to be. “It’s okay. You don’t need to apologize.”

She nodded gratefully before refocusing her gaze back on the phone.

A loud thud sounded through the apartment, going straight to my heart. Who the fuck was it at this time?

The thud repeated in a uniform motion.

Gabe immediately sprang to his fee. “I’ll go get it,” he announced, trotting off to the door. Katy peered back, frowning while Lily didn’t even look up from her pad. Her hair was a complete mess at this point based on the number of times she’d run her fingers through it in the past minutes.

I didn’t realize an internship was this tuff on her. But then, I knew she would ace it.

My focus slid back to Gabe as he held the door open, and I watched wide-eyed as Mikey, Matt, and Jay sauntered in like they owned the place.

My heart leaped in my chest when I met his eyes, but I quickly darted my gaze away.

“We brought food. A lot of it and a little bit of everything,” Mikey declared, grinning as he gestured to the dozen bags that the boys were holding.

“Exactly what I was looking for,” Katy muttered while she grabbed one from Matt’s hand, dug her hand inside, and slid outa fry. She moaned when the salt hit her and immediately went in for another one or a few. Poor Katy, she must be so stressed with everything that’d been going on. I knew she binged whenever she was feeling low. But Katy loved food either way, so I was glad she was eating at least.

Lily finally dragged her eyes from her sketches, following Mikey’s every move. It was still a cold war between them. The sudden shift in their friendship was all because of him. I knew at this point Lily was tired of searching for an answer or holding on to the hope for her unrequited love.

I swore I was going to throw a party when these two finally got together. I couldn’t wait for them to be a couple.

Katy snatched another bag from Matt’s hand, who, at this stage, dropped them all to her while he eased in on the chair, jutting out his chin to me. “E.”

“Hey, Matt.” I gave him a small smile.

Mikey squeezed between me and the armrest, pushing me toward Lily while he settled on my left.

I groaned, swatting him on his shoulder as I adjusted my position between them both. There was so much space in the middle, though I knew very well why he didn’t want the center seat.

I could feel Lily glare at him but quickly turned back to her work, scratching her head in frustration one more time.

Jay graciously sank his body down on the floor between Katy and Gabe, his back turned to the TV, but his eyes right across mine.

Fuck me.

What kind of punishment was this?

The traitorous one in my lap instantly hopped off me and went to his side. A wide grin took over his face while he gave her some love.

I couldn’t believe her.

“Can I post on my social media page that I’m having dinner with rock stars?” Gabe clapped, a gleam covering his eyes.

“No,” I said.

At the same time, Jay said, “Yes.”

My eyes dashed to him again, and I spared him a glance before I pointed an accusatory finger at Gabe, who was already in the process of taking pictures. “It’s my apartment, my rules. I want none of this out. You better put that phone away or I’m knocking your new teeth off.”

“Evy,” Gabe moaned. “You’re Debbie Downer.”

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