Page 10 of Exactly What I Needed
“Always comes? Wait, I thought you did the meet and greet because you’ve never met him or any of them before?” I asked, but that’s not what I really cared about. With what she was saying, the party was probably where he usually picks up the girl of the night. Right?
“I’ve never spoken to him or any of them before the meet and greet. Asher doesn’t really talk to others besides polite hellos and pictures at the parties. The others are a little more chatty, but none of them really overly engage,” she replied as I signaled and turned off the main road. I was confused. Were girls that easy for him to pick up that he didn’t really have to talk to them? Then again, he had merely handed me a keycard, and I’d fallen like a puppy into his lap.
“How long until you’re here?” Sydney continued.
“Oh, maybe five minutes,” I replied, and she sighed. Loudly.
“You’ll come with me to the next concert, right? And the concert after that?”
“Maybe.” I pulled into the driveway of the mansion the party had been at. Maybe I would go with her, even to another Void concert. It wasn’t like he’d pick me again. A new concert meant a new girl.
No, I’d been selfish enough already.
I wouldn’t go to another Void concert. I would only maybe go with her to a different band’s concert. A hip hop band, or pop band. Anything that wasn’t a metal band, because if music like that could lead me to decisions like the one I’d made, then that was a loss of control I couldn’t afford. Especially when my parents were set to visit in a couple weeks.
I had to be spot on in my game. No distractions.
No extremely attractive, dark-haired, tatted man drooling over my—
Stop it, Cosi. Just knock it off.
Let him remain as that wonderful memory, untainted by the fact that you would absolutely destroy your best friend if she knew.
When I’d agreed to everything, it had been a decision I’d made entirely for myself. Normally, I wasn’t that careless. I couldn’t afford to be that careless, and the one girl who had stuck with me for over fifteen years deserved better.
Chapter 5
My phone vibrated on the coffee table. Sydney scrolled through social media on the couch beside me while Katie and Tera giggled in the kitchen across from us. They may not live with Sydney and me, but they sure spent almost as much time here with us as if they did. Especially after returning from a concert.
“What are you two giggling about?” I asked as I pulled my phone from the table.
“Some of these pictures are absolute gold. Sydney’s eyes look like they’re about to bug out of her head in the shape of hearts,” Katie replied, and the two girls shuffled our way as I unlocked my phone. Sydney rolled her eyes behind her screen but continued mindlessly swiping.
“Let me see!” I said, and then furrowed my brows, confused by what was on my phone. An unknown number had sent me a text. Who would be texting me from a number I didn’t have saved?
Setting my cell back down, I felt Tera and Katie plop down on either side of me. Tera handed me her phone, and I began swiping through thepictures. Most of them were a little blurry, which was to be expected since she had been a bit tipsy. But others were actually high-quality shots.
I giggled at several of the pictures where Sydney looked absolutely in love. Her mouth hung open a little as she stared, googly-eyed toward Asher. But it was when the camera brought him into focus that my heart sank. He was swoon-worthy, I couldn’t deny that. And it almost looked like he’d been staring at Sydney.Almost. I was a mere blur in the background for most of the pictures, but it had been me he was staring at.
Singing too.
Watching with eyes that screamed desire. Me. He’d been watching me. And I was having a hard time not drooling over it. Or feeling guilty about it. My first one-night stand, and I couldn’t talk about it with my best friend, or any of my friends.
“Keep going to the videos!” Tera prompted, and I swiped onto the videos.
Confliction roared hot through my veins as I pressed play. The camera zoomed in on Asher, his gaze constantly shifting toward us. Toward me. I wanted it. Craved it. Was excited that I was that desirable to him.
But it should’ve been toward Sydney. And every one of my friends thought he was watching her. I didn’t correct them as his sultry voice serenaded us and they squealed. No, I tried to join in because at least I didn’t have to hide the fact that I enjoyed his music. Sliding my gaze toward my best friend, her cheeks were bright red and her smile wide as she proudly basked in the attention.
I was such a horrible person.
But at the same time, I couldn’t deny how incredible things had been last night.
Once the videos were done, I slid backward on the couch and leaned against the cushions, watching my three friends.
I hadn’t maliciously gone after him. It had been an honest mistake, only realizing what I’d done after the fact. Maybe I should talk to her about it regardless. She looked so excited and hopeful, but I worried that if I did, her dreams would be crushed. Was there really any harm in letting her think that he’d been looking at her?
My phone buzzed again. Glancing down at it, I found another text from the same unknown number. What was going on? I quickly slid my phone from the table again and unlocked it. My finger tapped on the notification only to slam my phone against my chest. My gaze quickly shot to my three friends, praying that no one noticed.
