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“But what if they disqualifyyou?”
He narrows his gaze. “Let themtry.”
My chest expands with emotions I can’t name. “You want to change your audition with three days left torehearse.”
“Yeah. Ido.”
I study him, trying to figure out where Tyler went and who this reckless man in his placeis.
But all I see is the same guy I’ve always known, with a flash of rebelliousness in his dark gaze that has a shimmer of hope starting low in mystomach.
I throw my arms around his neck, inhaling his familiar scent and trying not to be distracted by the heat and hardness of his body. My eyes burn. “Thankyou.”
His arms wrap around me, too, and my heart feels lighter than it has in twodays.
“We can rehearse all day tomorrow. We can use the apartment. Beck willunderstand.”
“I promise I’ll do youproud.”
“I know youwill.”
Over his shoulder, I notice a pool table at the other end of the bar. “But since we’re not rehearsing until tomorrow... look what Ifound.”
He turns to look, and his chuckle warms me. “You wanna play pool,Six?”
“With you? Always. I’m gonna kick yourass.”
“We’ll see aboutthat.”
“I can’t believe you got that email today and didn’t tell me,” he chides, following me to thetable.
“I didn’t want to bring you down or distract you from your own rehearsing. I actually found out yesterday when I went to Finn’sshow.”
He takes two cues off the wall and passes me one. But when he responds, he’s guarded. “What part of that’s in thecurriculum?”
My jaw goes slack with incredulity as I twist the chalk over the end of my cue. “Come on, Tyler. It was a trip. Have you ever heard him? There’s a reason Finn Harvey has a goldalbum.”
I brush past him to rack up the balls. I’m bent over, lining up my break when his hand settles between my shoulder blades. “We needstakes.”
I shiver, turning to feel his lips brush my ear. “You sound like you’ve got something inmind.”
“I win, you kiss me like you meanit.”
I twist so his arms are around me. Tyler tucks a piece of hair behind my ear, sending a jolt of electricity humming through me while his gaze roams myface.
The man who offered to share the spotlight with me.Forme. No questionsasked.
I make a decision there’s no going backfrom.
“Fine. But if I win… you kiss me like you would’ve if you hadn’t walked away that day outside the library inDallas.”
His hand stills, heat flaring behind hiseyes.
He gets what this means, that it’s an admission I want him, that I want to play out whatever’s between us—that I’m every bit as frustrated from the tension that’s been building all week, allyear.
“Deal.”
At a glance, it could seem as if the stakes have vanished, but they’re higher thanever.
