Page 10 of Fame & Rhythm

He glances down at me, then at my lips, before looking away again. “Nothing. Just thought it might’ve been nice to have dinner with you. And pizza? You know I hate fast food.”

I laugh and roll my eyes. “Oh, whatever, Mr. Health Freak. One slice of pizza isn’t going to give you a beer belly.”

He lifts his shirt, showing off his toned stomach for someone so young. “Why would I risk ruining this?”

I smack him lightly across the abs and shake my head. “One slice won’t ruin anything. Besides, it’s not even that impressive. Caleb’s got a better six-pack than you.”

He frowns. “That’s weird. He’s your cousin. You shouldn’t be checking out his abs.”

“I’m not checking him out, idiot. He practically shoves them in everyone’s face every rehearsal when he takes his shirt off. And there is no way I’d look at him like that. He’s my cousin.”

He grins. “You love Caleb.”

“Ugh, stop. That’s revolting. That’d be like me saying you have a crush on Anna.”

His face twists. “What the hell, Lennox? She’s my mum.”

“Exactly. Family is family. So now you know how gross that sounds. Caleb’s my cousin, but he’s more like a brother. Same as you.”

The second the words leave my mouth, his expression changes.

Not a lot.

Just enough.

His smile drops, and something guarded moves into his eyes.

“So, you see me like a brother?” he asks.

I frown at him. “Not literally. You know what I mean. You’re my best friend. Haven’t you always seen me like that?”

He swallows. “Best friend, yeah. Definitely not a brother.”

There’s something in the way he says it that makes me pause, but not for long.

“Well, best friends we are, Aston Soulding, and we always will be. It’s you and me against the world, right?” I take his hand and tug him with me out of the music room.

“Yeah… right,” he says, quieter this time.

He sounds off, but everyone else is already heading into the living room, and I let it go as I follow them in for pizza and a movie.

Chapter Three

Annie

Eventually, everyone leaves, and it’s just me, Ella, Mum, and Dad at home. The living room is covered in empty pizza boxes and soft drink bottles. I can’t be bothered dealing with any of it, so I get up from the couch, stretch, and yawn.

It has to be late. We watched three movies after our concert, so it’s probably around one or two in the morning.

“Okay, I’m off to bed,” I say, hoping I can slip away without getting roped into helping clean up.

“Yeah, me too. We can all deal with this tomorrow,” Dad says.

I inwardly groan. I may have escaped tonight, but tomorrow I’ll still have to help, and I have far better things to do than clean, like sleep or write songs.

“Night, everyone,” Ella says, walking upstairs with me while the dogs race around our feet.

“Night, girls. Sleep well. We’re so proud of you both,” Mum calls.