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“You want one of the guys to bring you some?”
“That would be ah-mazing. But, I can’t have dairy the night before a concert.”
“Hmm. I’m learning so much about the life of a singer.” The fear fades away the more we talk. “Oh, funny story you’ll get a kick out of.” I sit taller, surprised that Max is sharing. “The other day we had a paintball game at my house. I took out the last man standing.”
His ego can’t get any larger.
“Oh, of course,” I laugh.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t account for any of the women left. I figured they would’ve been out long before the end.”
Women. A pang of jealousy welling up inside of me catches me off guard. “So, Addison shot you?” I say, trying to mask the emotion.
“Nope, she wasn’t there.”
My gaze darts around the room as I push off the couch and pace. Why is this affecting me so much? What did I expect? I’d tell Max no, and he’d stay single for the rest of his life? Is this why he doesn’t seem interested? He’s already dating someone?
“Oh,” I muster, eyes closed.
“Oh?”
I clear my throat. “I’m surprised you’re sharing your demise with me.”
His laugh is heady and I’m fairly certain I heard it through the wall. “That’s a bit overstated there, Tink. It was only a game.”
I let out an awkward laugh, hating myself for being insecure. For no reason.
“It was Kase’s girlfriend,” he finally adds. “You’d like her.”
Max wouldn’t be telling me all this if he had a girl there. The one thing Max wouldn’t do is hurt me even though he has every reason to. My mind stops wreaking havoc on my emotions and I blow out a calming breath.
“I like her already. I mean, any woman who can knock your ego down a couple notches is a friend in my book.”
“I was just off my game.”
“Really? That’s a lame excuse. I have a hard time thinking anything could throw you off.”
“There’s definitely something,” he mumbles, his voice trailing off.
The words get caught in my throat. I want to ask, but I can’t. My heart wants to hear that it’s me. That he still thinks of me. But my head is screaming at me not to open that door. Again.
Chapter Nineteen
Sydney
“Stone!” I run into his arms, surprised to see him standing on the side of the stage instead of Max.
“Hey, short stuff.” He wraps his arms around my sweaty body in a tight hug. “You rocked it on stage.”
Out of Max’s guys, Stone is my favorite. He’s definitely the most personable out of the group. The rest are broody and intense and when they stare at me; I feel like I’ve done something wrong.
“Thanks. It’s crazy, huh?” I turn back to the stage and watch as it's transformed for Preston. Stone throws his arm around my shoulder and watches with me.
“It’s fucking cool. Someday when Max fires me, it’d be dope to run the boards for a show like this.” I stare up his tall body, shaking my head. He smirks and shrugs cause he knows as well as I do, Max would never fire him. “I can have pipe dreams.”
“Speaking of Max, where is he?” I glance over my shoulder, expecting him to be behind us.
“He’s checking some things out.”
