Page 36 of Ordinary Secrets

“Tell me what you read, and I’ll tell you if it’s true.”

“You can play over twenty-five instruments?” I’ve already seen him play three. Twenty-five blows my mind. I can’t even play one.

He pauses with a thinking face on. “True, probably. I haven’t really counted.”

“You produce all of your band’s work?”

“Half true. I do most of it, but it’s not all me.”

“I read something about how you broke someone’s car window while filming one of your music videos.”

“Hey.” He lifts his pointer finger, laughing. “It was an accident, and they weren’t supposed to be parked there.”

I tap my chin. “Seems like my research has been accurate so far. What about the Liz rumors?”

Trey groans as his hands slide down the steering wheel. “Which ones?”

“The ones about how you two date on and off, and you’re always leaving her for other women.”

He laughs, and it eases the pang of jealousy in my belly. “Liz told me about that one. Those people twisted my interview into something it wasn’t. They asked me about my relationship with her, since our fans are always pinning us together. I told them that Liz means a great deal to me but I’d never make her my girlfriend. They reworded it, saying that I was sleeping with her but refused to commit.” He sighs deeply. “Media these days.”

Why does it thrill me so much to hear that he doesn’t have a thing with Liz? I mean, he’s already said it before, but hearing it again feels more validating.This is not a date, I remind myself. This is not a date.

“Anything else you read about me?” he asks.

I read that his parents were killed in a house fire. It made me feel bad for asking if he saw his family often. I can’t believe he didn’t mention that his parents were gone when I told him about mine. Anyone else would have. Not many people lose bothparents to tragic accidents as young kids. Why didn’t he want to tell me that we have that in common? Maybe it’s still hard for him to talk about it. Either way, I’ll try not to mention that I already know, since he obviously didn’t want to tell me, but maybe he needs a little push.

“I read a little about your foundation and how it supports school-aged kids with deceased parents. Tell me more about that.”

Trey goes back to gripping the steering wheel at the top. “Not much to tell. We just offer free mentors, tutors, and funding for therapy and after-school activities. Whatever keeps the kids busy.”

“That’s wonderful of you.” I gave him the perfect opening to tell me about his parents, and he didn’t take it.

“Eh. Don’t give me too much credit. It wasn’t my idea. It was my friend Sharon’s. I agreed to finance it with the expectation that I wouldn’t have to get too involved. The extent of my duties is transferring a chunk of my bank account over each month and signing a few papers here and there.”

“Oh, I’m sure you do more than that.”

“I really don’t. I used to mentor one of the kids. I stopped once...” His face falls.

“Once what?”

He rakes a hand through his dark locks, keeping his eyes glued to the road. “Uh, about five months ago, my mentee kid—he, um, he... passed away.”

The car goes silent as Trey swallows his pain, and it makes my heart ache for him. “That must have been really hard.”

“Yeah, well, I never wanted to be a mentor. I got guilt-tripped into it. Once Elliott was gone, I decided getting close to the kids wasn’t for me, so I quit.” He clears his throat. “Anyway, do you like pasta?”

I take the hint. “Ilovepasta.”

“Good. We’re going to my favorite pasta place in Long Beach.”

“Long Beach?” I didn’t realize how long we’d been driving for and in what direction. I assumed Trey was taking me somewhere in LA.

He must see the discomfort on my face. “Is that okay?”

“Isn’t it too late to change plans now?”

“I can turn around and we can go somewhere else, if that’s what you want.”

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