Risky Rockstar: A Hero Club Novel, стр. 75

Now, however, I know that although Kade is leaning back in his seat like he is sitting at a bar with a friend, he’s wound tighter than a slingshot ready to hit its target.

Marissa takes a sip of her water, then sets the glass back on the coaster, her fingers tapping silently on the glass, raspberry nails short and perfectly manicured. I try not to look down at mine; not only do I want to avoid the confirmation that my week-old manicure is chipped and in desperate need of a redo, but I don’t want to see Kade’s hands linked with mine. I didn’t say I always make the right choices. I snap out of my reverie as Marissa leans back in her seat and asks her next question.

“Now that we have the business questions out of the way…I have a few fun questions to ask.” She looks at her screen, then grins at Kade. “Kade, this one’s for you.” His finger twitches against my skin. “When did you first feel the chemistry between you and Hayley?”

Kade stretches forward and picks up his glass of water. He looks at the liquid for a beat before taking a long drink and holding the glass on his knee. A droplet of water trails down the glass, and I watch him gather it up with his finger. Everything feels like it’s running in slow motion when I know it’s only been seconds. He looks at me, and my heart feels like its sitting underneath my chin.

“From the very first moment I worked with her.”

The girls seated on the couch in the corner behind us let out a collective “Awwww,” and Marissa looks over at them. “Right, girls? God, you two are perfect,” she declares. “Just perfect! So while we’re on the topic of chemistry, I think I speak for every red-blooded woman out there when I say you two are on fire onstage. Whose idea was it to have you strip down every night, Kade? Was that planned or spontaneous?”

Kade swipes the thumb of his other hand over his bottom lip, and I swear I hear one of the girl’s panties slip to the floor. “Definitely not planned. That was all Hayley. I had no idea she was going to do that. She’s full of surprises, these days.” He raises an eyebrow and lifts his glass in salute.

Heat creeps up my body, and I’m grateful I’m wearing a turtleneck to hide the red blotches. Is he talking about the birthday surprise or my agreeing to do the interview? Either way, I have to remind myself that no one else in the room knows Kade just had a dig at me. I blink back the tears. God, I need to keep it together. I force a smile to spread across my lips and reach for my own water, but I don’t take a drink. I just need to feel the cool glass in my sweaty palm.

Marissa is smiling at me now. Oh shit, it’s my turn. She swipes a loose strand of blonde hair from her face. “Hayley, I have to ask, what is it really like being with Kade? I mean, every girl out there wants to know if Kade is as amazing behind closed doors as he is onstage. Feel free to elaborate on the saucy stuff.” She shoots me a wink.

My stomach knots.

“You know I’m sitting right here, right?” Kade’s easy chuckle is so at odds with the way his hand squeezes mine that it takes all my willpower not to wince.

“Hush, you, you’ve had your turn.” Marissa waves him off with a smile and leans in closer.

I hesitate and I know the audience is hearing this like I’m too shy to spill our secrets, but the pain in my chest has rendered me speechless. The girls titter despite being given strict instructions by the producer to remain quiet. I see him giving them the side-eye, and they fall silent but still bounce in their seats.

Marissa misreads my hesitation. “C’mon. It’s just you, me and approximately seven million listeners,” she chuckles.

I use all my core skills and take in a deep breath without letting on to anyone in the room, and remove my hand from Kade’s now painful grip. I run my fingers over the leather straps around his wrist—epic mistake as my eyes fall on the muscles of his forearm, bulging from strain.

Everyone else seems to be oblivious to how tense Kade has become, or they’re putting it down to nerves at me outing our relationship’s behind-the-scenes to the world. I try not to remember how it looked to have those muscles working as he caressed me, how his fingers played my body, but I still failed him. I clear the lump in my throat, and everyone around me thinks I’m nervous. Kade looks six seconds away from jumping out of his seat and storming off. I have to make this believable and hate myself. I reach over and rub Kade’s earlobe between my thumb and forefinger, then trail my nails lightly down his neck. Only I can see the slight tick in his jaw, and guilt slams me like a battering ram to the gut.

Because I don’t want to see another flash of pain in Kade’s eyes, I turn back to Marissa and give her a wistful smile. Kevin would be so proud of my acting skills.

I take a deep breath. “Being with Kade is like being in a snow globe in a hurricane. When your world is shaken and everything is upside-down, as long as he’s got you, you’re safe. It doesn’t matter that all the fragments fall around you like hot ash. They touch but never sear.”

That is until he isn’t in the globe with you anymore, and the ash is molten lava that burns. 

I can’t help the tear that slips down my cheek. Kade looks away, the fans all breathe a collective sigh as they melt, and Marissa’s fingers clasp her mic. “You guys, I