Page 80 of Once Upon a Boyband
My gut tightens at the thought of her leaving. But it’s not like I can stop her. “I, uh…yeah. If you feel like you need to go.”
“Not to get away from you,” she says. “I just…I need to talk to my family and figure out how to handle this. What to tell people.”
“You tell people the truth, Laney. You don’t have to lie for me.”
“It’s not that easy. I can’t go telling people we aren’t engaged days before the concert news drops. It’ll just create drama, and that’s not what Midnight Rush needs.”
“What about what you need?”
“I’m doing what I need by going to see my mom. I don’t have any regrets here, Adam. Not about you. Not about theengagement. I just need a little bit of solitude to regroup. I know you know what that feels like.”
She settles back against my chest, and I resist the urge to hold her tighter, like it might make her stay. If I’d had any forethought, I would have seen this as a possibility. I never would have invited her to come.
I close my eyes, and an image of Laney waking up this morning fills my mind. The early morning sun was streaming in through the window, casting shadows across her face and her bare shoulder. When she opened her eyes and saw me watching her, she yawned and smiled, and something clicked in my heart. She’s locked in now. Whatever happens between us, whether it ends or it doesn’t, there’s no going back as far as my feelings are concerned.
And now I’ve complicated everything.
And for what?
“Hey,” Laney says. She wraps her hands around my forearm, then runs her fingers over what’s left of the deepest cut from when I fell in the ravine. “I can literally feel the tension growing in your body right now. Are you okay?”
I force a deep breath and will myself to relax. “Sorry. Just…sitting here worrying about you.”
She holds my gaze. Light from the fire reflects in her hazel eyes, bringing out the ring of honey gold that circles her irises. “It’s going to be okay,” she says. “You just think about the music. We’ll figure out the rest together.”
I want Laney to be right, but I can’t forget what I’ve already lost to this business. I can’t lose sight of that, because I can’t lose her, too.
She leans down, her lips falling on mine, and for one blissful moment, I fall into her and let myself forget to be scared.
Maybe she’s right and we really will be okay.
“Hey. Knock it off or take it upstairs,” Freddie yells from across the firepit.
Laney pulls back and smiles a slight smile. The sight does worlds of good for my heart, and I will myself to relax as the conversation starts up around us.
“Hey,” Leo says from beside Freddie. “Does anyone remember where we started our US tour? Like, what city?”
“Our first concert?” Freddie asks. “Wasn’t it in Nashville?”
“Nah, we did three or four shows before we played Nashville,” Leo says. “I feel like it was something random. Like Cleveland or Des Moines.”
“It was Indianapolis,” Laney says.
Leo sits up a little taller and snaps his fingers. “That’s it! Man, I completely forgot. That was a great venue.”
Itwasa great venue. Smaller, great acoustics. “We only played it the one time, right?” I ask.
“We got too big after that,” Freddie says. “Moved into arenas.”
I give Laney’s waist a small squeeze. “How did you even remember that?”
She huffs out a laugh. “Oh, you’d die if you knew everything I remember. Probably more than you guys do.”
I chuckle. “Like what?”
“I’m not going to answer just so you can accuse me of being a Midnighter,” I ask.
“You already showed us your dance moves,” Leo says. “Weknowyou’re a Midnighter just from that.”
