Page 82 of Rock Me All Night
"Fuck, Miles. You trying to give me a headache?" Tom shakes his head. "Are you going to tell her?"
"How the fuck is that your business?" Miles asks.
"If you don't tell her, I will," Tom says.
Miles's voice is low, angry. "Fuck off."
There's a weight shifting on the couch. Someone sits next to me. It's an older man in a bright orange suit. He's balding but he still keeps his hair in a ponytail.
"Meg, right?" He offers his hand. "I'm Aiden. I'm the Sinful Serenade manager."
Okay… I don't see what I could possibly have to say to this guy, but I can be polite. "Yeah, Meg. Nice to meet you."
He looks to Tom and Miles, still in a heated debate. "There's no polite way to say this, Meg, but I need you to go away."
"Excuse me?"
"Miles can't have a girlfriend. He's never written a love song. Girls like that. They like that he's broken, that he's unconquered territory. But now he's writing this song. It's not quite a love song. But it's too close." There's no self-awareness in Aiden's beady eyes. He delivers his suggestion like he's reciting the weather report. "He's going to be the next Adam Levine. Do you want to stand in his way?"
"We're…" Not friends but we're not together. "We're not boyfriend and girlfriend. But that's really none of your business."
"Everyone has a price, sweetheart. Don't make me work to find yours."
There's a hand around my arm. It pulls me off the couch and presses me against a hard body. Miles.
"You okay?" he whispers.
I nod.
Miles glares at Aiden. "Don't talk to my friends."
Tom and Miles share a look of understanding. Then Tom is the one on the couch, having harsh words with the manager.
Fame is fucked up.
Miles wraps his arms around me. His voice is soft, sweet. "Did he touch you?"
"No."
"Good… he has a reputation. It's a long story, but stay away from him."
I nod. Miles sounds worried. He's worried about me. He cares about me.
But what was Tom talking about? They have a secret. Miles wrote a new song, a love song? My mind is racing. I can't keep up.
"What did your friend want to talk about?" I ask.
"Band stuff."
"Sure it wasn't about me?"
"What did Aiden say to you?" Miles asks.
"He doesn't want you to have a girlfriend. For your image. Girls need to think you're a slut, I guess."
Miles laughs. "Yeah, he would say that. But you're not my girlfriend. So we're good."
"Yeah. Should I worry about being on a gossip page? My parents will flip over me dating a rock star."
