Brooklyn & Beale (22 page)

“See?” she whispered. “You haven’t lost your words at all.”

A hush fell over the room. Chloe and Reid sat motionless, almost as if they feared the slightest disturbance would ruin the intensity of the moment. “What about you?” he asked. “If you were to write a song about me, what would you say?”

Chloe blinked back tears and dropped her gaze to the notebook in her lap. She smoothed her hand over the paper, and when she met his gaze again, her smile was small and sad. “You’ve already read it.”

“Chloe,” he choked, his body vibrating with nervous energy. He’d never felt this way; the anticipation, the longing, the undeniable desire. He inched closer, his heart slamming inside his chest. Chloe’s lips parted and her eyes widened. When he felt the warmth of her breath fan over his face, goose bumps broke across his skin. Their eyes remained locked, the sweet smell of lavender invading his senses and making him dizzy. His hands shook as he lifted them to cradle her jaw and his eyes fell shut when he felt the soft, plump touch of her lips. In that moment, he’d never wanted anything more than to press his lips against hers; so he did.

His fingers curled around her neck and into her hair. He pulled her closer, wanting more, needing more. When she wrapped her hands around his wrists and squeezed, holding him in place instead of pushing him away, he lost all control. With a soft sweep of his tongue, her lips parted and he slipped inside her. It was like nothing he’d ever experienced, but he knew he didn’t want to go a single second of the rest of his life without feeling it. Her tongue moved in perfect sync—every move, every moan, every soft suck a confirmation that this was supposed to happen. They were meant to happen.

“Chloe,” he groaned, pulling her lower lip between his teeth.

“Reid,” she exhaled, gripping him tighter.

He slid his hands to her shoulders, fingering the exposed strap of her tank, when the sound of a cell phone ringing broke the spell and snatched them back into the present. A sinking feeling spread through Reid as he ripped away from Chloe. With wide, panicked eyes, he pulled his phone from his pocket and stared at the screen. Jess’s name flashed across it mockingly.

Jess.

What the hell was he thinking? He looked from Chloe to his phone, torn between guilt and regret. “Shit, Chloe. I’m so sorry. I never should have done that.” Jumping to his feet, he backed toward the door. “I’m so sorry. I had no right. That was a mistake. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m so sorry. It was a mistake. A mistake.” He slipped out of the room and into the hallway, unable to bear looking at the anguish marring Chloe’s beautiful face.

Crashing into his room, he paced in front of the bed. Through the thin walls, he could hear Chloe’s soft cries from her room. It tore at him in violent ways. He touched his lips and closed his eyes. He could still taste and smell her all over him. And God help him, as much as he knew he should wash it away, wash her away, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

When morning arrived, it came with gray skies and rumbling thunder. The sun was nowhere to be seen. Chloe envied its ability to hide from the world. She wanted nothing more than to disappear. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. Kicking back the sheets, Chloe sat up. With her elbows propped on her knees, she dropped her head in her hands and sighed. Even though she knew it shouldn’t have been possible, her lips still tingled from his kiss. It had been everything she’d dreamed. It was perfect in ways she never imagined.

Until it wasn’t.

She rubbed the tips of her fingers over her swollen eyes and stood. After showering and eating breakfast, she packed her things, doing whatever she could to keep her thoughts from wandering to the night before. But no matter how hard she tried, one word echoed in her mind and pierced her heart over and over again.

Mistake.

When she knew she couldn’t hide in her room any longer, she grabbed her violin and bag for the show. Each step toward the lobby caused her anxiety to spike. By the time she stepped off the elevator, her heart was nearly at a full gallop.

“There you are,” Greer said, walking in her direction. “I thought we were going to have to send a search party.” When he moved in front of her, he paused. His brows pulled together and he frowned as he studied her. “Are you okay?”

Chloe shifted her weight and gave him a weak smile. “I’ve got a bit of a headache, to be honest. I might have had a few too many beers last night.”

“You know, all you had to do was ask, and I would have happily come over and helped you out. You might give people the wrong impression drinking alone,” Greer laughed, causing Chloe to roll her eyes, a smile threatening to break across her face.

“Greer, how are you going to get through the next couple of weeks without having Chloe around to harass?” Inky asked, joining the pair.

Greer smirked. “I have her number. Among other things.”

Chloe’s face blanched. “What did you do?”

Greer patted her cheek and laughed. “You’ll see. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to the festival to catch a few bands. If you decide to come, text me.”

Chloe stood frozen as Greer joined the rest of the group and headed out of the hotel. “I’m scared,” she whispered, only half joking.

Inky grinned and pulled Chloe’s bag from her shoulder. “So, what do you say? Wanna head to the festival and listen to music with the others?”

“What about rehearsals?” Chloe asked, noticing for the first time that Reid was nowhere to be seen.

“No rehearsals today,” Inky answered, leading Chloe out of the hotel. “Reid figured since this was the last show and you guys already played here once, it should be fine.” Her steps slowed as she turned toward Chloe, a knowing glint in her eyes.

“What?” Chloe asked, fidgeting.

“I just think it’s funny.”

“What’s funny?”

“That when Reid came downstairs, looking just like you do, he gave Tom the exact same excuse. I didn’t believe him any more than I believe you.”

Chloe dropped her eyes and cleared her throat. “I’m not lying. I did have too many beers last night. Although, right now, one sounds about perfect.”

“Chloe.” Inky reached out and placed her hand on Chloe’s arm. “What happened?”

Chloe’s eyes filled with tears. She swiped her thumb across her cheeks, her head still down. “Nothing.”

“Listen,” Inky said, pulling Chloe away from anyone within earshot, her voice compassionate, yet firm. “I’m no saint. As a matter of fact, I’m quite proud of some of the idiotic things I’ve done. I also learned a long time ago not to judge other people. I mean, I do judge them. I judge people all the time. Because there are some really stupid fucking people in this world. But I understand that things are not always black and white. Any idiot can see there’s something special between you and Reid. A spark. But he’s with Jess, and I don’t think he’ll ever leave her again. I’m not telling you this to be cruel, but you’re my friend and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Chloe sighed and finally lifted her gaze to Inky’s. “I don’t want him to leave her. This has nothing to do with that. I promise.”

Inky raised her brow and pursed her lips. “You know I don’t believe a word you’re saying, right?”

Chloe let out a soft laugh and smiled. It was small and tired, but genuine. “I know, but I promise I’m okay. I just need a little time to myself to get my head right. You know how it is on the road,” she said with a shrug. “Bones get confused sometimes. And dogs can be quite charming when they want to be.”

Inky nodded, a sly smile curving her lips. “True as that may be, they still lick their own ass.”

Chloe choked as her laugh stuck in her throat. “Oh my God, Inky,” she gasped. “You’re the best.”

“Only on days that end in ‘y.’ Now, come on. Let’s go listen to some jams and forget about this bullshit. You’ll be back in New York in a couple of days, and all of this will be forgotten. And if it isn’t, go out, find a fuckhot guy, and be his bone.”

“You realize I’m going to buy you one of those stupid dogs playing poker pictures for your birthday, right? As a matter of fact, don’t be surprised if every gift I ever send you from this point forward is a dog or a bone or a combination of the two.”

Inky laughed. “As long as the dog and bone aren’t joined, we’re cool. Actually, now that I think about it . . .”

“Inky!” Chloe screeched, her face red with laughter.

Inky waved her hand dismissively. “Fine, fine. Keep the porn to yourself.”

For the rest of the day, Chloe immersed herself in the excitement of the people around her. She danced, sang along with the crowd, and pushed aside all thoughts of the night before. It worked too, for a while. However, once dusk turned to darkness and the group made their way to the artist area to get ready for their set, Chloe could think of nothing else.

“All right, listen up, guys,” Tom said, holding up several sheets of paper. “This is the set list for tonight. Everything will be the same as last week except we’re adding two songs. Reid wants to open with ‘I Don’t Mind’ and ‘Last Time.’ We played these when the tour started, so there shouldn’t be any issues. Chloe, you’ll come in on the third song, and we’ll finish out as usual. Any questions?”

Chloe looked away. She hated how much it stung that he’d changed up the set list. It wasn’t that the songs were special to her in any way. It was the fact this would be the first show in months she hadn’t played from beginning to end.

“Why the switch?” Greer asked, moving next to Chloe.

Tom shrugged. “The fans. Apparently there was some hashtag thing on Twitter last night where fans were commenting on what songs they hoped to hear tonight. Those were the only two not currently in the set, so I convinced him to add them in at the beginning.”

Drew shrugged. “Makes sense. Those were his first two hits.”

Tom handed out copies of the set list and grinned. “Let’s rock this last show and get the hell back to LA. You guys ready?”

“Hell yes,” Greer answered, his brows drawing together as he looked around. “Where the fuck is Reid?”

Tom cleared his throat and averted his eyes. “He’ll be here soon. Now, everyone get ready. See you in an hour.” Without another word, Tom turned and left.

“Something’s going on,” Drew whispered, moving behind Chloe and Greer.

“You think he fell off the wagon?” Greer asked, his brow arched quizzically.

Chloe’s stomach dropped. Her heart hammered inside her chest. Surely he hadn’t felt so guilty about kissing her that he’d do something so stupid. Her eyes darted around the room, looking for some sort of proof that Greer’s question was completely off base.

“Nah, man,” Drew said, his eyes flicking on Chloe. “I’m sure he’s just in one of his super emo moods. I wouldn’t worry about it. Let’s get our shit ready.” Greer opened his mouth to speak but snapped it shut when Drew gave him a pointed stare.

“You guys realize I can see everything you’re not saying, right?” Chloe asked, finding her voice.

Drew rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, Chloe. I’m just not sure how much Reid would appreciate certain aspects of his life being discussed in the open.”

Chloe nodded, not bothering to let them know just how much she knew. Like Drew said, Reid probably wouldn’t appreciate his life being discussed in the open. “No problem. I’m going to get changed. I’ll see you guys in a bit.”

Chloe took off toward their bus, freezing when a hand wrapped around her bicep. “Are you okay?” Greer whispered, looking over his shoulder. Chloe turned, her brows drawn.

“Yeah. I’m just tired. And I’m a little bummed about this part of the tour being over.” Chloe shrugged and gave him a small smile. “I guess I’m having my own super emo moment today.”

Greer stared at her, his eyes clouded with suspicion. “If you say so. You know you can talk to me if you need to, right? No matter what,” he added, his meaning clear.

“You’ll be sorry you said that when I call you at two in the morning crying over something ridiculously girlie.” Chloe giggled when Greer’s face twisted with disgust.

“If you call me at two in the morning, it better be for one of two things: you’re dying . . . or a booty call.”

Chloe laughed and smacked his shoulder. “You’re terrible! What if I was in jail?”

Greer rubbed his chin. “Depends.”

“On what?”

“On if there’s a booty call happening once I bail you out.”

Chloe rolled her eyes and pushed on his shoulder again before turning away. “Keep dreaming,” she called over her shoulder with a laugh.

“While it’s nice to have your permission, I would have done so anyway,” Greer yelled, walking backward.

Chloe could only cover her face and laugh as she stumbled to the bus. Taking a deep breath, she climbed the stairs and peeked around the corner. Her heart sank when she realized it was empty. Reid was really going to avoid her until the last second possible. For the first time since he’d left her room, Chloe felt a bubble of anger being to swell. Anger at Reid and anger at herself. Above all else, he was her friend, and at the moment, she felt like she’d lost him. What if he decided to use Valerie for the second leg of the tour? The option had been left open in her contract. What would that mean for the contacts he’d made for her in LA? Frustrated and confused, Chloe walked to her bunk and pulled down her things. She took extra time doing her makeup and hair. She wanted to look pretty, confident, like a girl who wasn’t feeling more and more heartbroken by the second.

Chloe tightened her grip on her violin and walked the narrow path to the side of the stage. Drew and Greer were already on stage, Reid was the only one missing. Chloe froze and her breath stilled when she suddenly heard his voice.

“I can’t wait to see you, too. I’ve missed you so much,” he said, his voice low, sad.

Chloe’s eyes stung and her chin trembled as she moved into the shadows. She didn’t want to eavesdrop, but other than walking past him, she had little choice. Every couple of seconds he would pace into view, his phone pressed to his ear.

“Sometimes I wonder how different things would have been if I’d never left. If I would have stayed in Memphis.”

Chloe sank her teeth into her lip until the metal of her lip ring cut into her skin. How could he even think something like that? He loved being a musician. He would have been miserable had he stayed in Memphis. At least, that was what he led her to believe. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe Chloe didn’t know Reid as well as she thought.

“I know. I know. Okay, I need to go. I’ll see you in a couple of days. I love you.”

The tears Chloe had fought to hold at bay finally broke free. They rolled over her cheeks and dripped from her chin. She had no idea that hearing him say those words would hurt so much. And until that moment, she had no idea just how much she wished it had been her he’d said them to.

She didn’t see him walk onto the stage, but from the roar of the crowd, she knew he had. With heavy feet, she turned to watch the bright lights flash across the darkened stage. The speakers pulsed as the hypnotic melody of a heavy guitar riff rolled over the crowd like fog. Bodies moved in fluid motion, their sweat-slicked skin covered in goose bumps as the music wrapped around them and sank into their bones. At the center of the stage, Reid stood with his eyes closed, his body motionless except for the tiny flick of his wrist as he dragged his pick over guitar strings.