Page 94 of Broken Bridges

My heart lurched.

I already knew the answer.

Chapter 29

LEWIS

Lying on my bed, propped up on my hands, I kissed Tia’s lips, her cheeks, her eyelashes. My dick still throbbed with a delectable pulse after having hot morning sex. I wasn’t completely awake—not at 5:45a.m. But sex had been worth it.

For the past four days since I’d met with my brother, being with Tia had consumed my every thought, and we’d stolen some crazy moments. I’d processed my feelings, put my past behind me, ignored Emilio’s follow-up texts, and let her into my heart. I’d fallen fast, and I didn’t want to hide anymore. I wanted to face any consequences with the band sooner rather than later. I was sure they wouldn’t care that we were together. But if they did, they weren’t the guys I’d thought I’d formed friendships with.

I nuzzled and licked the fine column of her throat. The taste of her sweet skin was pure heaven. “We need to tell everyone we’re together.”

“Lewis, no.” She giggled and clutched onto my hair, drawing my head back. “Not yet.”

“Why not?” I caught her hand and pinned it beside her head. “I don’t want to sneak around anymore.”

“But sneaking around is fun.” She pursed her lips and wriggled beneath me.

Hmm...she liked to cause trouble. But no...“Tee, be serious.”

She sighed, but something deep in her eyes caught me off-guard.

“Tee?” I flopped down onto the pillow beside her and faced her.

Worry darkened her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m not ready. I’ve been so focused on researching new careers and options for school; I haven’t had enough time to process us.”

Deciding to go back to college had only taken her a few days and had been a no-brainer for her. Pity she couldn’t do the same about us. Being together was a big decision, a huge change for both of us, but I was in.

“Well, I have.” I stole a kiss from her lips. “I want to be with you.”

She smiled and cupped my face. “That’s awesome. I’m getting there. I just need a little more time.”

“What can I do to erase your doubts?” I softened my voice, entwined our fingers, and held her hand against my chest. “Is my call with Em still bothering you? You know that’s over, right? I’ve gotten closure.” He’d messed with my head and had lingered in my thoughts for a couple of days, but Tia had overruled everything.

A cold silence slammed into me. Her eyes glassed over, and she lowered her chin. Shit. That was it.

“Tee, it’s over with Em. I swear.”

Her voice came out as a pained whisper. “That’s what Rhett used to say. You’ve been in a weird mood since you called him. Do you want to get back with Emilio?”

“No.” There was no hesitation. “Em’s call upset me, but it reaffirmed that we are over. I’ve spent the past few days questioning my feelings for you, wanting to make sure this is right. And it is.”

She fidgeted with my signet rings. “Yes. But it’s not just Emilio. We’ve really only been together since Friday, just under a week.”

Take out the night of the launch, our hot night in Seattle, and our texts and phone calls during my month of travel, she was right. “True. But this is good. We’ve fought our feelings for so long—let’s see were this goes. Like my brother said, we just need to give ourselves the chance to be happy. We need to be honest with everyone.”

She kissed my knuckles. “Yes. But now isn’t the right time. I want to tell everyone I’m quitting my show. You leave at the end of next week to promote the release of your album. You need the spotlight on the second single and the tour announcement, not our relationship. The minute we step out the door together or go public, we’ll be in the headlines again.”

“We don’t have to go public, but the guys need to know. I don’t want to keep lying to them. It’s not who I am.”

“Please wait just a touch longer. You need to pass the next milestone to make sure you go on the tour. You need to get through this next promo.”

I caressed the side of her head and stroked her hair. “No milestone is going to make a difference. They could kick me out at any time. Lying and being dishonest is just cause.” That bore more weight than me dating Tia.

“I know I’m asking for a lot, but I just want to be more certain.” She placed her hand on my chest. “Once I tell the others about school, I can focus on us. I want us to work. I honestly do. This is crazy and new and super-hot, but I need to see past that.” She leaned forward and planted tiny kisses on my cheek, then my nose, then my lips. “I want to have some fun falling for you more, steal some crazy moments, go on a couple dates, spend hours talking, and make sure that this is right. Okay?”

“How long?” I kept my voice calm, but my insides were on the brink of snapping. “We can’t keep doing this. I need a deadline. We’re either on or off.” My heart shuddered; this could go either way. I didn’t want to pressure her, but we had to face reality.

---