Page 77 of Heart Break Her

What I didn’t expect was to be split down the middle with her body beneath mine. I let myself believe for a moment that the man she sees is who I can be. Someone more than his fame, more than his decisions—more than the pain I’ve caused as a result of them.

Her vision of me and my reality are blurring, leaving only one thing that’s certain—I belong to this girl.

I lead Cassie to the buses in the parking lot. Even though I have a hotel room nearby, I’m not ready to leave the quiet bubble she and I are existing in quite yet. So I grab a couple of blankets and guide her to the roof of our bus.

She lies at my side, staring up at the stars, and I remember for a second what it’s like to be lost looking at them. The same way I get lost in her eyes.

Cassie’s wearing another Enemy Muse T-shirt, and it’s one of my favorite things to see her in. This one is a little too baggy so she has it knotted on one side, showing off the slightest sliver of stomach where it doesn’t quite meet her cut-off jean shorts.

Her hair is freshly washed and fuzzy, sticking out in all directions from her messy bun. I reach over and pick a teal flake from her scalp.

“More paint.” I hold it up between us on the tip of my finger.

She narrows her eyes at me. “I blame you.”

Flicking the paint off to the side, I pull her closer and plant a kiss on the top of her head. “Credit I’ll gladly take.”

Cassie rolls onto her side and rests her head in the crook of my arm. Her hand rests on my chest, and I swear my heart beats like it’s begging her for mercy. She stays there quietly for a moment, and I wonder if she can hear the thunder rolling inside me the same way I do.

I crossed a line tonight. Lit a fuse and stood back to watch the explosion. I betrayed my best friend, doing everything he never wanted me to do with his sister. Deep inside, I knew I was standing at a fork in the road and went the wrong direction. But with Cassie in my arms, the only thing eating away at me is the thought of letting her go.

“Why Enemy Muse?” Cassie asks, staring at the stars. Her face is glowing from the light of a nearby streetlamp. “It’s kind of conflicting, isn’t it? What aims to destroy you verses what inspires you.”

Her finger plays with the hem of my shirt, tracing small circles up and over my stomach.

“That was the idea,” I say. “Eloise came up with it—kind of. You’ve never heard the story?”

“Where would I have heard it?” Her eyes flick to mine, and a grin stretches her face. “Oh, I see what you’re saying. You assume that just because I had a little crush on you before we met, it means I must have cyber stalked you as well?”

“Little crush?” I grin.

She holds her thumb and index finger a pinch apart. “Small, minor, insignificant.”

“All things men like hearing about themselves.”

Cassie laughs, and she props herself up on her elbow next to me. “You’re none of those things, Sebastian. But come on, I’m not talking about that. It’s embarrassing enough that I was just another girl with stars in my eyes when we met.”

I wrap my hand through her hair and hold the back of her head. “Cassie, do me a favor and don’t ever repeat what you just said. Because you’re anything butjust another girl.”

She lets out a tentative smile and leans down to plant a soft kiss on my lips before resting her head once more on my chest.

“Before we met, yes, I was in love with your music… and maybe a fan of all this.” She waves her hand up and down at me but refuses to make eye contact, and it makes me laugh that she still feels even the least bit embarrassed after what we’ve done. “But no, I haven’t heard the story. Never looked it up. I’d rather hear it from the horse’s mouth.”

“Me being the horse?”

She does a little shrug with her shoulder. “Maybe.”

This girl does something unrecognizable inside my chest. Planting seeds that feel like they grow things a lot like what I stopped hoping for a long time ago.

I’m not sure the last time I’ve lain still with a woman in my arms, but I hug Cassie tighter.

“We didn’t have a name for a while,” I say. “Eloise wanted to wait until we had a full band. So once Rome and Noah joined, we finally started thinking about it again. But we couldn’t agree, so we went through a few names before we signed with a label. Then, at one of our jam sessions, everyone was in a real shit mood. I was having writers block with a new song, Rome was being his dick self, and Noah had just been dumped by his girlfriend—”

“Wait.” Cassie turns and looks up at me. “Noah in a relationship?”

“Dude used to be a fucking romantic,” I laugh. “Believe it or not, before Kali—his ex—left him, he swore up and down he’d be married by twenty-five.”

Cassie lifts an eyebrow at me. “Okay, now I’ve heard it all. This is the same guy who has been officially nicknamed The Orgy King by the roadies?”

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