“Reid,” Chloe croaked as the platform started to move. “Reid, look at me.” Almost as if coming out of a trance, Reid lifted his eyes to Chloe. Her face was clear, but he could see the swarm of emotions fighting to break free. “Please.”
Reid blinked and nodded, letting her know he understood. She wanted him to snap back from whatever place he’d gone. Forcing an over-the-top laugh, he smiled and faced the audience. He threw his arm over Chloe’s shoulder and waved as the platform lowered, acting as though what just happened was all part of the show. The moment they disappeared from view, Chloe backed away from him.
“What the hell was that?” she whispered. Reid shrugged, feeling ashamed for acting so impulsively. Before he could answer, one of the producers walked over to them.
“That was hot as fuck,” the producer said, handing them each a bottle of water. “That’s what that was. Congrats, you two, you just won tonight’s top spot for best performance.” Pausing, he looked from Chloe to Reid. “We sure hope we’ll see more of you two.” With that, he left the way he came.
Chloe cleared her throat. “Looks like your improv was a hit.”
“I don’t care about that. Do you know what this means?” Reid asked, moving in front of her.
Chloe shook her head.
“It means that your name will be on the lips of everyone who matters in this industry. It means that you’ll never have to worry about working again.”
“You did that for me?” Chloe whispered.
Reid averted his eyes. He was afraid she would see that he wasn’t being completely honest. That she would be able to tell there was more to it than just helping her out. “Remember what I said about never giving up on music? While that still holds true, it doesn’t hurt to have a little help from time to time either.”
Faster than he could prepare for, Chloe stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you,” he murmured before returning her embrace.
“Oh my God,” Chloe groaned, covering her face. “Stop watching that.”
Inky peered over the top of her phone and raised her brow. “Would you rather I go back on Twitter? Because I’d be happy to.”
Chloe kicked Inky under the table and pursed her lips. “I thought you wanted to meet for breakfast to catch up, not mock me.”
Inky took a sip of her water and smiled. “Fine. I’ll stop watching the slow-motion gifs all over the internet of you and Reid eye-fucking each other.”
Chloe swore under her breath and looked around the diner. “I was not eye-fucking Reid.”
“But you admit the same can’t be said for him?”
Chloe rolled her eyes and grabbed her water. The truth was, that was exactly what he was doing. She would know; she’d watched the clip, along with their performance later in the show, nearly a dozen times. Even though it was her on the screen and she knew none of it was real, it still felt like watching an intimate moment between lovers.
“Can we talk about something else?” she asked, annoyed and embarrassed. Until the night of the VMAs, Chloe had done well keeping her distance except for rehearsals. The problem was, with each passing day, it became harder to keep him at arm’s length. He made her smile and laugh. Like riding a bike, she slowly slipped back into their familiar camaraderie. The night of the awards show, the buzz of excitement was infectious. She was a ball of energy. When she saw Reid on stage smiling like a child while playing next to one of his musical idols, she couldn’t help but beam at him with happiness. She just hadn’t expected the result to look so . . . indecent. Five days had passed since that night. She still couldn’t get it out of her mind.
“Sure,” Inky chuckled. “Let’s talk about the HBO Emmys after-party show.”
Chloe sighed and fell back against the booth. “That was nothing like the VMAs.”
“True. Although, it was cute of you to try to act like the night before was intentional by doing something similar. Did people actually buy that?”
“Some did.” Chloe shrugged. “The truth is, to an extent, it was planned. Reid knew what he was doing. He just failed to share that information with me ahead of time.”
Inky laughed. Loudly. “I’d bet my next tatt Reid didn’t fake a single thing about that night. I’m not saying it wasn’t intentional. I’m saying he took advantage of an opportunity. I’ve seen Reid on stage more times than I can count. He’s a good performer, but he’s not that good.”
“He has a girlfriend, Inky. There’s no way Reid would act that way unintentionally. I’m sure Jess knew all about what he was going to do.” Chloe looked at her hands to avoid Inky’s disbelieving stare. Chloe knew her argument was laughable.
“So I guess Jess flying out to LA yesterday has nothing to do with his little stunt. You know, because she knew all about it.”
Chloe’s eyes snapped to Inky. “She’s here?”