Page 88 of Worth the Trouble

His hand slides to the base of my throat, where my heartbeat races. His other one firmly holding my body against him. “Sweetheart, you’ve given me two weeks with you. If you’re leaving, I’m leaving. End of fucking story. Don’t bother arguing about it.”

Then he lets go, and I feel my breath rush back in. I look at Cassie who’s watching us with a knowing smile on her face. While I was focused on Rome, Sebastian, Eloise, and Adrian rejoined the group.

“You hungry?” Rome asks, and I think he’s talking to the group, but when I look up at him, he’s looking at me.

I shake my head, even if my stomach growls at the thought of food. I headed straight here after rehearsal, and it’s been hours since I’ve had anything.

“Did you eat dinner?”

When I don’t respond right away, he frowns. “Exactly.”

I’m about to argue that it’s already one in the morning, so dinner doesn’t matter at this point, but his hand laces with mine, and I’m distracted by our fingers tangling as he secures me to his side.

“We’re grabbing burgers. Anyone else hungry?”

“Fuck yeah, I’m starving,” Sebastian says, and the rest of them nod in agreement.

Burgers are off limits. Too much grease and too many calories. It’s been years since I’ve had one, and Mom would have a heart attack if she knew I was considering it. But as Rome leads me out of the bar, ignoring anyone who tries to stop him, nothing else matters—not even food.

He makes me absolutely insatiable.

I watch the faces as we pass, eyes looking from one band member to the next, and I’m reminded of what Cassie said to me earlier about falling into the sun. She’s right. Because being with Rome is sunshine in the vastness of a dark universe. Warming me in the pits of my soul, but sure to burn me.

29

Rome

Liliinalittleblack dress last night was something else. Hair in a ponytail like she was taunting me to pull it. Under any other circumstances, I’d have dragged her home to fuck her instead of taking her out for food. But that’s the thing about this girl… I want to do more than just get inside her.

I want to take care of her.

Seeing her buzzing from the alcohol, nervous from the scene, and looking so fucking small and breakable as she stood there, I needed to wrap myself around her and fix whatever’s broken. While she was fixated on the women surrounding me after the show, I was focused on her.

I hoped she saw they meant nothing. That this is my life, standing there while they take a piece. But I watched Lili as she drifted into her mind and out of reach with her thoughts.

Sometimes I feel like she’s a ghost—a figment of my imagination. I feel like if I stare too long and hard, she’ll vanish. Like she’s always had one foot out the door, and it leaves a portion of her heart transparent.

I want to carve open both our chests and see how much either of us has left. I want to find out if two broken halves can actually make a whole. The math when it comes to love is all fucked up. I’m fractions and she’s colors. No matter how hard I try, I can’t add the two.

Her fingers dig into my stomach as she wraps her arms tighter around me, and I wish she’d claw all the way through. Instead, she loosens the moment the bike makes the turn and we’re on a straight shot of road again.

Maybe if I keep driving, I can keep her.

I’ll take us both far from whatever worlds we think we can’t escape. Because I already sense her leaving. Even if we have ten days left, the sand is slipping through the hourglass. And like her, it goes straight through my fingers every time I try to catch it.

Finally, spotting the turnoff I’ve been looking for, I slow the bike, loving how it makes her body melt against my back. She feels so good holding on.

Not so much when she’s letting go.

Pulling off to the side of the road, I cut the engine and hold out my hand so she can climb off my bike. She peels the giant helmet from her head, and her black hair is messy and full of static as she tries to press it flat again.

I shouldn’t love making a mess of her as much as I do, but I can’t help it.

“Where are we?” Lili hands me the helmet.

“The forest.”

She narrows her eyes at my snide remark. “Thanks, Mr. Obvious. What are we doing way out here?”

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