Page 63 of Heart Break Her

Sebastian’s eyes meet mine over the rim of his glass and he downs the last inch of whiskey in one swallow.

“What’s going on?” I ask, leaning my hip against his chair and pretending not to notice the silent tension that overwhelmed the room the moment the band caught sight of me. Everyone except for Adrian has eyes darting between Sebastian and me, trying to read the situation.

“Tomorrow night’s Neon Festival,” Adrian says, sounding annoyed at having to answer my question.

Merry sinks down on the arm of Noah’s chair and slaps his hand when he tries to play with the hem of her dress.

“It’s the biggest showcase of the year for Neon Records,” Merry says. “Everyone brings their best, usually something unique. One year, Four Clovers hired leprechauns and Madison rode onto the stage on a horse. Big. Fucking. Deal.” She rolls her eyes.

“What about water?” Eloise chimes in. “We could make it rain on stage. The girls would love that.” Her glare cuts to the three guys.

“No one wants to see you in a wet T-shirt contest.” Sebastian tosses a napkin at her.

That’s when an idea hits me. “What about paint?”

All eyes turn to me, and I realize I should not be providing input on this very personal discussion with the band.

“I mean… Ignore me.” I lift off of Sebastian’s seat and take a step back. “I think I’ll go get a drink.”

“Paint?” Eloise repeats with a crinkle between her eyebrows. “How would that work?”

I take a deep breath, feeling like I’m about to dive into the deep end of the ocean, but she asked.

“I was thinking about the neon paint they use in clubs sometimes. It’s bright, it glows. If you time it right with the songs you could coat the stage, probably even the first couple rows. But it’s messy, so I’m not sure what the rules are with the venue.”

“It’s perfect,” Sebastian says, surprising me. “The venue can figure it out.”

“It’s fucking awesome.” Rome smiles, and Noah nods his head in agreement.

Eloise has a cautious expression as she thinks it over, and then her face breaks into a big smile. “I like it.”

“Glad you all finally decided to agree on something, but it’s also tomorrow night,” Adrian says. “How are we supposed to coordinate that in less than twenty-four hours?”

Noah stands up and wraps an arm over Adrian’s shoulders before rubbing the palm of his hand over Adrian’s head.

“Sounds like you’ve got some work to do,” Noah laughs. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Noah walks past Merry, before grabbing the first girl standing outside the band’s bubble and planting his mouth over hers. Merry rolls her eyes and darts the opposite direction.

“On that note,” I say, turning.

But I don’t make it far before a hand grabs my wrist and stops me.

“Hey.” Sebastian pulls me against him. In a room full of people, it isn’t easy to back up and get some space. “Where are you going?”

“To find Merry.” I look over to where she disappeared, and she’s already sitting on some random guy’s lap. “Or getting a drink, I guess. I don’t understand her and Noah.”

“No one does.” Sebastian smiles, and it’s like looking into the sun. “That was a killer idea back there.”

“Sorry if I was overstepping,” I say to him, and it makes him tighten his grip.

Sebastian’s hand finds the back of my neck, and he pulls me closer. “What did I say to you about apologizing?”

“What did I say to you about us being just friends?” I throw back at him.

His fingers flex in my hair. “Like I said earlier, don’t want to be your friend.”

“You also said,too bad that’s all we can be,” I remind him, and it’s enough to make him pull away.

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