Page 89 of Final Serenade

Anxiety rushed to my gut. With everything going on, I’d forgotten about the most important detail.Rewiredhad sent in a request to cover the Forum shows and I would be the one to write the reviews. I would also be the one to escort Ashton backstage. Brooklyn had already arranged our passes, per Frank’s request. Explaining to Levi why I couldn’t review any Hall Affinity shows promised to be a real clusterfuck.

Sooner or later, I was going to get caught in a lie.

The lump in my throat grew bigger. “I actually wanted to talk to you about that.” My heart raced. “I bought VIP tickets to the first night.”

Levi blinked at me rapidly, his brow furrowed.

“I’m taking Ashton.”

“Okay.” Hands on his hips, he nodded.

“I think we should ask someone else to review it.”

Confusion creased his face. “Why? You’re going to be there anyway.”

Because I’m sleeping with the singer. Because my review will be an ode to his hot body and his beautiful soul, and the entire world will realize I’ve fallen for him.

But I couldn’t tell Levi that. Just like I couldn’t be impartial in my review. I had to distance myself from my work for the duration of the show, and letting someone else cover the event was only fair.

I was in too deep.

“I’m sorry, Levi.” A heavy sigh dashed out of me.

He stood in front of my closet, startled, while I paced the room. My body shook. I didn’t have a better explanation. Ashton was still belching Korn lyrics, his singing traveling through the apartment. I heard the rustling of the carton and plastic followed by the slam of the door. Hell must have finally frozen over, because this was my brother taking out the trash.

“Since when are you a Dodgers fan?” Levi finally asked, voice brittle.

I turned around and saw him pick up Frank’s baseball hat from the shelf. It had been sitting there since the night of our very first late-night dinner at Tommy’s. Honestly, I’d forgotten about it.

Something shifted inside my room. Something shifted between us.

I stopped pacing.

“This is going to sound really crazy.” Levi moved closer and slid the hat over my head. “But I’m going to take a wild guess here.” His eyes raked over my body, inspecting me. “That mysterious chick Frankie Blade got caught with a couple of times looks a lot like you.”

I snorted out a laugh, or at least I tried to. What came out sounded more like a pathetic squeal.

“I’m actually pretty sure it’s you,” Levi added.

The visor hid the top half of his face and I tilted my chin up to see him better. A combination of emotions lined his features. Shock. Disappointment. Disbelief. Frustration.

Deny everything, I told myself, but I was too wound up after the trip. Yesterday, I’d watched a man I cared about bury his birth mother. The words danced on the tip of my tongue, threatening to come out.

I sank my teeth into my bottom lip to keep them from spilling.

“I’ve never seen you in two-thousand-dollar jewelry before either.” Levi motioned at my neck and I realized I was still wearing Frank’s present. My breath hitched. I wasn’t sure whether it was because of the price or because my partner had figured us out.

We stared at each other for a good minute. I pulled the hat off and said, “You can’t tell anyone.”

“Fuck.” Groaning, Levi threw his arms in the air and locked both hands behind his neck. “Fuck, Cass.”

“Promise me?” I pressed.

He squeezed his eyes shut for a second as if he needed to reset his brain. “You’re sleeping with Frankie Blade. Well, fuck me.” I heard him mutter.

The statement was crass. We weren’t just sleeping together. We did it all together—slept, ate, laughed, talked. There was more to us than mindless sex. Levi’s words seemed to demean what Frank and I had, and part of me wanted to ask my partner to take his last statement back.

Instead, I insisted he promise me to keep it between us.

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