Lightning flashed across the sky and dark clouds stretched as far as the eye could see. Strong gusts of wind rocked the bus as it sped down the empty highway. In the tiny bedroom at the back of the bus, Reid sat on the edge of the bed with a smile on his face. He flipped to the front page of the notebook he’d found on the table and read Chloe’s note again.
Things will only be as awkward as you make them. Don’t be awkward, be awesome, Padawan.
Never in a million years would he have believed that he’d be sitting on the bed grinning after the gauntlet of emotions that had barraged him since he crept out of Chloe’s room at dawn. Filled with apprehension and guilt, a million thoughts wreaked havoc on his mind. Sleep evaded him. Jess called nearly a dozen times before he found the courage to answer. At the sound of his voice, she yelled once before breaking down in a fit of tears. She was worried, scared, and completely in the dark. His guilt increased tenfold.
He reassured her the best he could, explained how he stayed up all night working on music with Chloe then crashed the moment he returned to his room. Her relief was obvious, but he didn’t miss her change in demeanor. The melancholy tone of her voice left no doubt that, as happy as she was he hadn’t made any stupid decisions, she hated that someone else had given him the support he needed. The thing was, Chloe had given him so much more than support. It was the reason his guilt swelled and crested throughout the day.
He was dishonest with Jess. He lied by omission. When she’d asked if Chloe knew about his addiction, he said yes and changed the subject. He didn’t tell her how he’d given Chloe a blow-by-blow of not only the night his life went to hell but also how he ended up there in the first place. In all the years he and Jess had been apart, never once had he expressed how angry he was that she couldn’t find it in her heart to forgive him. People only knew of his heartbreak. They heard it in every track he recorded. On top of all of that, he told Chloe about what he’d done the first night on the bus. He hadn’t breathed a word about that night to Jess, and he had no intention of doing so.
This, among other things, was the source of his apprehension. He felt vulnerable, exposed. More than a dozen times he questioned why he told Chloe such personal things, but in the end, the answer was always the same. He trusted her. She made him feel safe. A sudden dryness formed in his throat, forcing him to swallow several times to relieve the discomfort. Over the past twenty-four hours, Chloe had made him feel far less innocent things than safe. Shaking his head, he tried to focus on the notebook. Music notes covered the pages, an organized version of the chaotic mess he’d left in Chloe’s room that morning. She’d copied every note, every thought, creating a similar version of the notebook she carried everywhere.
A sudden burst of laughter from the living area broke his concentration. The sound made him smile. Closing the notebook, he cast a fleeting glance at his cell phone before turning to join the others. Moving down the short hall, Reid leaned against the wall and looked around the room. Chloe and Inky were stretched across the bench seating surrounding the kitchen table, while Greer and Drew kicked back on the sofa and chair. He hesitated, his gaze drifting to Chloe, before he walked to the sofa and knocked Greer’s feet to the floor.
“Hey!” Greer protested, scrunching his face in annoyance.
“Shut up,” Reid laughed as he fell heavily onto the furniture. He’d wrestled with how to approach the guys about the night before, but in the end, he knew it wasn’t his business. They were the same guys they’d always been, and as difficult as it was for him to accept, they’d done exactly what he asked. Kept it away from him. “So what are you guys up to?”
“Nothing,” Chloe answered, averting her eyes.
“Well, that wasn’t convincing at all.” Reid threw his arm across the back of the sofa and slouched farther into the soft leather upholstery, the new position straining the ripped and worn material covering his knees.
“How old are those jeans?” Chloe asked, deflecting.
Reid looked at his pants and scrunched his brows. “I have no idea. I think I found these in a drawer at my parents’ when I visited a few months ago.”
“Vintage. Nice.”
“Why are we talking about my jeans?”
“Yeah, Chloe.” Inky extended her leg and nudged Chloe with her foot. “Why are we talking about Reid’s jeans?”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “It was my pathetic attempt at avoiding my turn in this stupid game. Clearly, you guys aren’t interested in sparing me from embarrassment.”
Reid grinned. “I like this game already.”
“Not you too,” Chloe groaned.
“What are the rules?”
“Well, they’re pretty simple—”