Page 69 of Hard To Leave

“Concert?” he asked, looking at me for clarification.

I stayed silent, unsure how to act or what to say. I didn’t want to sound too excited, and I didn’t want him to know how much I really didn’t want to go. Either case would bring questions, and I didn’t want to make things worse by lying.

“Yep, a country concert,” she replied with a sugar-sweet smile on her face.

Jack’s eyebrows rose in confusion. “But she hates country music.”

“She used to love it.”

What the hell was she doing?

“Do you want to go?” He glanced at me while I silently cursed my best friend under my breath.

Did I want to? No. Did I have to? Yes.

My heart and my brain were all over the place. Mix that up with the guilt I felt, and I was one hot mess.

“As long as you’re okay with me going?”

“Chloe, you don’t need my permission, and you deserve a night out with your friend. If it makes you happy, of course, I want you to go. Spending time with Tanner is no hardship, trust me.”

There was a small corner of my heart that was slowly breaking, and the guilt in my chest wasn’t helping. How could I have let things get so far out of hand?

This was going to be so hard for everyone.

“Who are you guys going to see?” Jack asked, causing my chest to crack open even wider.

“Brogan Hayes,” Carly answered. “Have you ever heard of him?”

I was two seconds away from having a breakdown. It felt like the life I had built for myself was slowly slipping away, and the shit show hadn’t even started yet.

I watched as Jack worked that name around in his head. “I’ve heard of him.”

“You have?” I asked, stunned. I didn’t want Jack to know who Brogan was. Not that it would make much of a difference in the long run. If he was a fan of his music, I would die. Please, God, don’t let him be a fan. That would make things ten times worse.

He cocked his head to the side. “Emily loves country music. She’s infatuated with him.”

I brought my sweaty palm to my chest. “Oh.” I tried to sound casual. That made sense. “Do you listen to his music?”

Please say no. Please say no.

He shrugged. “I’m not sure if I’ve listened to his music or not, but I’ve heard the name before. I’m just not big on country. I’m more of a classic rock guy.”

Carly cut her eyes to mine, knowing I was a second away from having a panic attack. “Why don’t we get going? I’m sure Tanner’s starving.”

Jack placed his hand on my forearm. “Are you okay?”

Was I okay? I wasn’t sure.

I kept my eyes facing the ground. I was afraid if he looked close enough he would be able to tell that I was lying. “I’m fine. Just a little nervous about meeting your mom for the first time, that’s all.”

That wasn’t a total lie. My head spun, and I wished this day had never happened. I didn’t know if I could continue to pretend that everything as okay.

Everything was unraveling before my eyes, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop it.

He brought his lips to mine and whispered, “You have nothing to be nervous about. I promise.”

If he only knew…

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