Page 52 of Sky Full of Stars

“It gets stranger…in a good way. Remember the day after in the diner, I got those texts?”

She sits up dropping her feet. “I do, you said it wasn’t Lance, oh my God it was him?” When I nod, she narrows her eyes at me. “You sly dog.”

“Therein started our weird relationship. He travels a lot so we basically just text each other, he was kind of hot and cold at first, he’s busy a lot but every now and then we’d have a text chat, then on the book tour we started texting more. I spoke to him on the phone too.”

“And all this time you hadn’t seen him again, in person?”

“Nope, it was all over the phone.”

“How fucking romantic,” she leans an elbow on the table. “Is it about to get dirty?”

“A little,” I laugh. “We had phone sex.” Her mouth drops open. “This has been going on for a few months,” I remind her. “It kind of just progressed from there. We talked a lot before, well text and shared some stuff. He kept making suggestive comments and he didn’t want me going out with Kevin.”

“Who the hell is Kevin?” she looks annoyed again.

“Elle’s researcher.”

“Oh got it,” she takes a sip of her milkshake and the straw makes a screeching sound, I told her about Kevin kissing me and how I’d blew him off. “Continue. How was the sex?”

“Phone sex.”

“That’s what I meant. Was he good at it?” I blush. “Oh my God, you totally got off on the phone to some random guy. Girl, I’m proud of you! Do you have a picture of him?”

“He isn’t a random guy, Brooke. We have this, connection. I can’t really explain it,” I tell her, sitting back in the chair and looking out of the window to the city beyond. “He came to New York a couple of days ago to see me. We had a bit of a disagreement when I was in LA but he came to make things up with me. He took me for breakfast and explained everything.”

I’m leaving a massive part out of the story so far but I don’t want her freaking out, I know she will. “Then we spent the day together yesterday. He’s going back to LA in two days so I wanted to take him somewhere tonight, somewhere I love to go. I figured I could bring him to McAllister’s to meet you guys.”

She claps her hands together. “I can be there, no doubt. I’m dying to see this hunk who has my best friend all gooey.”

“I am not gooey.”

“Then you haven’t looked in the mirror lately. You look lovesick my friend.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Brooke.” I get up and go to the window. “I haven’t even told you the biggest part of this yet.” I turn to look at her. “We need to go to McAllister’s after closing time. I need to ask Lou if he’ll have a lock in, just the people we trust.”

“Why?” she looks suspicious.

“So he told me his name was Adam when we met. It is his real name,” I cut her off before she can ask anything. “But everyone knows him by a different name. You know me, if I’m not in work, my nose is in a book or at the gym.”

Brooke gets up and comes closer, we stand together looking out of the window before she turns to me, knowing I have to tell this in my own way. I’ve never been one to blurt something out then have to go back and explain. I tell things like a story. Sometimes it pisses her off and I can see she is getting impatient.

“He’s kind of famous.”

“Define ‘kind of’,” she folds her arms over her chest.

“I didn’t recognise him, that’s why we got on so well. He could trust me, I wasn’t out to snag him for anything more than himself.”

“You better tell me who he is before I strangle you and end up representing myself for murder by reasons of the victims insanity.”

I laugh. “Okay. His stage name is Aidan Gass.”

She stares at me and sucks in her lower lip. She’s thinking, I see the exact moment she realises who he is. “The fucking rock star?” she screeches. I nod. “Shut the fuck up! Are you messing with me, Montanari?”

“Nope. I really had no clue who he was.”

“You are such a spaz when it comes to popular culture. He’s…Jesus Jenna, he’s a fucking God. Do you know how gorgeous he is? Oh my Christ, have you kissed him?”

“Numerous times,” I laugh. She grips my arms and shakes me, she is practically hopping. “But you can’t tell anyone.” She stops jumping and frowns. “Brooke, he’s super famous and if anyone knows about us, I’ll be all over the news. I don’t want that. He doesn’t want that either. He’s been going around in disguise when we’re together.”

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