Page 54 of Show biz

My lips part open in surprise, doing as he asks. Shifting uncomfortably, I tell my body to take a chill pill. There’s no reason for his words to sound so sexual. Chewing my granola, I can feel my body starting to relax as it gets much needed nourishment, while my core tightens in need.

Draven is not hitting on you right now. Down girl.

The man in question hovers over me, his scowl melting away as he stares at me.

“Can I have another bite?” I tease him, opening my mouth. The only way I can convince myself that he’s not flirting with me is to push him a bit. He’ll inevitably get annoyed and walk out of the room.

“You can have whatever you want,” he says instead, feeding me another bite. “Do you usually get like this? Is it sugar? Are you a diabetic or something?”

My mouth is full, so I shake my head as I chew. “No,” I tell him, covering my mouth with my hand.

Draven smirks as he grabs a water bottle I was drinking from on the table. “Here,” he says, handing it to me to take a sip. It’s my fault I took too big of a bite. I really am starving. He’s lucky I didn’t bite down on his finger.

As I swallow, Draven reaches out and brushes away a crumb with his thumb.

“Why are you so damn pretty?” he mutters. I definitely didn’t hallucinate what he just said.

Eyes widening, I try to deflect. Tyler is right on the other side of the door, and I don’t understand what the hell is happening.

“I’m not diabetic,” I tell him instead. “I’m just not used to practicing for hours without food. Sometimes, my sugar will crash if I’m running all day on just carbs during the morning.”

“I guess I need to pay better attention to that,” Draven says, his thumb lingering on my lips.

My breath has to be tickling his skin, and I swallow thickly, my eyes searching his in confusion.

“Layla…” His voice sounds uncertain as he pulls away his hand. I can feel the imprint of heat on my skin, and I miss it. “I want to apologize for being an asshole before. I don’t understand what your history is with Atlas and Mav…”

Feeling better, I stand, needing space. “That all happened a long time ago, and I was dumb back then. I’m not that girl anymore,” I tell him, folding my arms under my breasts. My water bottle is long forgotten, dropped on the floor by my feet.

“I have a feeling you weren’t dumb back then, either. You’re a very smart girl, Lovely,” Draven says, following me slowly. “I’m not choosing sides only because it’s up to the lot of you to figure out. I’m not participating in their bullshit anymore, though.”

“This is a joke, right?” I laugh, but it’s not a normal one. It’s more strangled as I take another step away. “You’re fucking with me right now? God, I just thought you were being a decent human, but you’re not. I can’t handle whatever this is right now.”

My arms uncross to wave my hands in front of me. Draven moves so close, I accidentally hit him, and I gasp. While I have zero problems with violence, I’d rather do it intentionally.

“Layla, why would this be a joke?” Draven asks, stilling. His almost colorless blue eyes watch me as if trying to figure out how to fix me, but he has to know that I’m broken.

“You’re acting as if you like me, and you can’t. Atlas and Mav would lose their minds. Anyway, you know I’m with Tyler,” I tell him, blowing out a breath. Tyler has said that if I ever find someone my heart calls out to, to be open with him. I think he knows that I’m still not over Atlas and Mav.

It doesn’t matter because they don’t want me.

Fuck.

Closing my eyes, I can feel hot, hateful tears starting to overflow. Pressing the heels of my palms against my eyes, I struggle to get a hold of my emotions. It was just a touch. Why am I being so weird about this?

“Little flower, you okay?” Tyler opens the door, and I can hear him padding over to me. “Overwhelmed by his attention, huh? He’s not very good at going slow.”

“You knew about this?” I ask, dropping my hands. Tyler wouldn’t pull a trick on me like this, I know he wouldn’t. “This isn’t some kind of way to fuck with me? Because I can’t…”

“I didn’t think you’d think that,” he murmurs, brushing away a tear. “No, I would never let anyone hurt you. This isn’t a joke. Don’t you see how perfect you are?”

Shaking my head, I deny it. I don’t see it. It’s why I’m always working harder, preparing to be better, because I don’t believe it. Tyler leans forward, his soft, warm lips touching mine.

“Open up for me, Baby. I love you. Let Draven hear all the reasons why,” he says, his arms pulling me tightly to him.

“Will you make her sing for me?” Draven says softly, his fingers tentatively brushing my hair off my neck to press a kiss to it. “You’re stunning when you’re giving people what for, beautiful when you cry, and breathtaking when you come. I betyour noises when you explode would remind me of a different form of singing.”

His words make me smirk against Tyler’s lips. This entire conversation is so ridiculous. Leaning my neck to the side because it feels good, and my boyfriend is giving me strength, I decide to play along.

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