Page 23 of Follow the Rhythm
I exhaled a shaky laugh. “No, it’s fine. Ellis and I went to high school together. We were…” How did I explain what Ellis had meant to me, what I thought I’d meant to him? “We were close friends. Then he graduated and left for London, and I didn’t. Nothing that juicy.”
Grace gaped at me. “What are you talking about? That’ssojuicy. You were friends with Ellis Fox in high school? And you don’t lead with that in every conversation? Seriously though, was he always an entitled prick? Cause I gotta tell you, he’s driving me fucking crazy.”
I rolled my eyes. “He was a little… arrogant. But not in a bad way. And he was always nice to me for some reason.”
“Did you guys like, date?”
“No,” I said emphatically.
She nodded slowly. “And him not recognizing you is what made you run out of the greenroom the other night?”
“Yeah, pathetic, I know. I had a crush on him, he didn’t return the feeling, and we fell out of touch. It was all so long ago, too. It’s just embarrassing. But now, this is almost worse. Like I’m some kind of crazy stalker showing up at the show, and now I’m inserting myself into the tour. I’m going to quit.”
“What? No! You can’t!”
“I can’t do a good job if I’m a fucking mess all the time,” I snapped. “Ursula was wary of hiring an Omega, and now I’m just proving her right.”
“Okay, hold on. First, you’re not a mess. And honestly, I think you handled that pretty well. If I was working for my famous high school crush, I would also be freaking out, so I don’t think you can blame that on being an Omega. And isn’t this a greatopportunity? Ellis is an idiot; just ignore him. That’s what I do,” she said.
I rolled my eyes. “Unfortunately, I find him very difficult to ignore. Hence the obsessive fandom of his band.”
Grace grimaced sympathetically. “Yeah. I was obsessed with this girl, Mallory, in high school. It was brutal.”
“Imagine having to see her now,” I said.
“Oh, I saw her like two years ago when I went home for a funeral. We hooked up. She’s still pretty hot,” Grace said.
“This is not helpful.”
“Yes, it is! It got the crush out of my system. Maybe you just need to fuck Ellis,” Grace said, like it was a revelation. Then she wrinkled her nose. “Sorry, yuck, he’s just the worst.”
I sighed. At least I’d gotten out of there withsomedignity intact. I could wait a few minutes and then sneak back to tell Ursula she’d have to find a new designer.
My hands were still shaking slightly. I needed to calm down a bit more before I went back upstairs. “Tell me more about this Mallory girl. Was she your first girlfriend or something?”
“Nah, she was pretending to be straight back then. I never had that luxury.” Grace sighed and leaned back on her hands. “It drove my parents crazy. They really wanted two perfect little daughters, but instead they got Austin and me. A disappointment to say the least,” she said with a bitter laugh.
“Austin never really talks about your parents. I’m guessing it’s because they’re bigoted assholes?”
Grace nodded sadly. “We haven’t seen them in years. But it’s cool. We have each other.”
“You’re lucky,” I said.
“How about your family? Are they as fucked up as ours?”
I considered just blowing off the question, but that felt ungrateful after she’d helped me calm down. “It’s just me. My mom died when I was pretty young, and then my aunt diedabout four years ago. But on the bright side, no one left to disappoint.”
Grace looked stricken. “Jesus, I’m so sorry.”
“Stop, it’s fine,” I said, forcing a laugh. This was why I didn’t tell people things.
“And your dad?”
I shrugged. “No clue who he is.”
That wasn’t exactly true. I knew he was part of a pack that kicked my mom out when they found their Omega, but I’d shared enough personal trauma for the moment.
“Goddamn it,” I said under my breath. I spotted Kieran across the courtyard, clearly looking for someone. Presumably for Grace or me. I considered hiding behind the plant, but that would be truly pathetic. He saw us and started walking over. His giant strides ate up the ground between us.
