He keeps talking, but my mind halts at his words money and fake, and suddenly I’m so guilty I can barely breathe. That’s why I started this, wasn’t it? For the money he was giving me? I have a hundred thousand dollars in the bank, courtesy of Oakley Ford, and thinking about it makes me want to throw up. It’s that same gut-churning sensation I got when Paisley showed me the last check she deposited.
It doesn’t feel right accepting money to date Oakley when I want to be dating him. It’s not fair to him. I want him to know that I’m here in this car, holding his hand, because it’s something I desperately want to do and not because I’m getting paid to do it.
Suddenly dried egg is the least problematic thing in my life. Oak has gone silent. His troubled green eyes peer out the window, and I wonder if he’s thinking the same thoughts that I am, that his girlfriend is just another person who “wants” something from him.
I can’t do this anymore. I can’t take money for fake-dating Oak, because there’s nothing fake about it. It’s real. But as long as I keep cashing those checks, there will always be that shred of doubt in Oak’s mind about us. A part of him will always wonder if I’m with him because I want to be, or because I have to be. I almost regret having sex with him, at least before I told him I loved him. I hope he doesn’t feel like I did it because I had to. That would be terrible. Worse than terrible. It would be devastating.
I’m a basket case by the time we reach my house. Ty stops the car. Oak and I get out, but it’s not until I’m halfway up the front path that I realize he’s not following me.
“Vaughn,” he calls softly.
I walk back to him. “What is it?”
“I...” He meets my eyes. “I don’t think you should come on the tour.”
My heart stops. “Wh-what?”
He wrings his hands together before sliding them into his pockets. “That girl back there, the one who threw the egg...” He shakes his head. “That’s the kind of shit you’re gonna be dealing with on a daily basis if you tour with me. My fans will eat you alive.”
I can’t help but frown. “You didn’t seem worried about that when you asked me to go with you.”
“Because I wasn’t thinking,” he mutters back. “I let myself forget about...about my life. My fucking life, Vaughn, the one where I can’t even have a fucking birthday party without it turning into a media storm. The one where my own father cares about his image more than his son. The one where my girlfriend is called a bitch and is attacked by some stranger because how dare I go out with someone who isn’t her.”
“Her?” I echo.
“Her, them, the world,” he snaps. “They think I belong to them.”
You don’t. You belong to me.
But I don’t say the words out loud. His expression is too bleak, his voice ravaged.
“It’ll be better if you stay behind,” he says roughly. “You shouldn’t have to deal with my shit show of a life. You don’t deserve the backlash you’ll get if you come with me.”
I want to argue, but the look in his eyes tells me now is not the time. He needs to calm down first. He doesn’t leave for New York until tomorrow morning. Hopefully by then he’ll have forgotten about this disastrous night, had a chance to regroup and will realize that he still wants me to go with him.
Oak thinks I can’t handle his life, but he’s wrong. I don’t care if a hundred eggs are thrown at me. I can deal. Because he needs me. He shouldn’t have to go through this stuff alone, and as long as we’re together, he won’t have to.
“Let’s talk about it tomorrow,” I finally say. “Okay?”
He nods. “Okay. But...I don’t think I’m going to change my mind.”
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow,” I repeat, firmer this time.
A ghost of a smile tugs on his mouth. Then he leans closer and bends his head, but the kiss he gives me lacks its usual warmth.
“Night, Vaughn,” he whispers.
“Good night, Oak.”
With a knot of misery in my stomach, I watch him walk away.
35
HER
1doodlebug1 @OakleyFord_stanNo1 She cheated on Oakley?
OakleyFord_stanNo1 @1doodlebug1 She’s trash. Like he should literally throw her in the garbage
OakleyFord_stanNo1 @1doodlebug1 I feel sooooo bad for him. He tries dating a normal and she ends up cheating on him with one of his band members.
1doodlebug1 @OakleyFord_stanNo1 I heard that Luke isn’t even on the tour. This is why. So it must be true.
OakleyFord_stanNo1 @1doodlebug1 She’s a disgrace to our gender. Hey @VeryVaughn u suck ur terrible go away
1doodlebug1 @OakleyFord_stanNo1 He deserves so much better. He’s never going to date another fan again. @VeryVaughn’s ruined it for fans everywhere.
The phone rings at six in the morning. Groaning, I roll over to check the display. Then I groan again, because the caller is Claudia. I can’t believe I have to suffer through a lecture about the disastrous end to the birthday party before I have any food or caffeine in me. I decide that Claudia can yell at me later, but as soon as the voice mail kicks in, the phone starts ringing again.
With a huff, I throw off the covers and answer the phone. “It’s six in the morning, Claudia, and no one in California but surfers and fishermen get up this early.”
“And publicists who are forced to clean up client messes left over from the night before,” she replies. Her voice is decidedly cool.
I grab my laptop. Did something happen last night with Oakley? He’d been upset, but I figured he just needed time to cool off. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“You tell me,” Claudia snaps. “If you were tired of dating Oakley, why didn’t you simply come to me or Jim? We would’ve found a way to wind this down without dragging Oakley through the mud.”
“What are you talking about?” My stupid computer won’t boot up fast enough.
“I’m talking about the fact that you decided to publicly cheat on my client. Not only have you destroyed our narrative, you took advantage of Oakley.”
“What? I never...” Oh, hell, there was that one kiss the night W broke up with me. Is that what she’s talking about? “Is this about Luke? Because I told Oak—”
“We’re not interested in your excuses. A courier will be delivering your severance check today. Feel free to change your passwords to your social media accounts. They’re all yours.”
“But Claudia—”
“You’re done,” she says and then hangs up.
My mouth is still open as I do a search for Oakley Ford. The first couple of headlines tell me everything I need to know.
The Ford’s Been Breached.
Out with the Ford, In With the New.
Sick to my stomach, I click on the first link.
Oakley Ford’s latest fling has found love—in the arms of his best friend. Luke Sellin has been Oakley’s bassist for five years, but Luke isn’t satisfied with playing backup. He wants to be the front man. Last night at the Sweetheart Lounge, Luke admitted to hooking up with Oakley’s new gal pal, Vaughn Bennett. Oakley had no comment when we reached out to him, but Vaughn’s old boyfriend did. You’ll remember that Vaughn was dating a USC student when she tried to upgrade to Oakley.
William Wilkerson told our cameras that once a cheater, always a cheater.