Page 28 of Dirty Like Seth
I glanced at Elle, who stood back, watching me. She crossed her arms but said nothing. I noticed that Flynn and Joanie had vanished into the woodwork. Flynn had briefly scoped out the house before disappearing. I didn’t even think Joanie had set footinside.
There were four small but cozy-looking guest huts in the side yard, and all of us, except Elle, were sleeping in them. It was around four a.m., but I didn’t feel much likesleeping.
“Thank you,” I told Bella. “I can find itmyself.”
After a quick chat with Elle at the front door, Bella headed home. She’d waited up for us to arrive, and had insisted on giving me a tour of Woo’s house when we did. In what would’ve been a den off the dining room, there was a full recording studio. The living room had a grand piano and high glass walls that looked out on the back yard, where there was a sprawling patio with a fire pit. The five bedrooms upstairs overlooked the tree-lined yard, rocky cliffs and the dark expanse of the oceanbeyond.
The house was tucked away from the road, among the trees. Private and about as secluded as you could get aroundhere.
All in all, I could see why Elle chose to comehere.
She drifted back into the kitchen, where I was leaning on the island, looking out into the dark. I’d already poured myself acoffee.
“You want one?” I asked her, lifting mymug.
Her eyes met mine. She had her arms wrapped securely around herself, but she said, “Sure.” She settled onto one of the cushioned window seats overlooking the back yard. I felt her eyes on me as I fixed her acoffee.
“You like cream?Sugar?”
“Just cream,” shesaid.
I brought her mug to her. It had a little hula girl on it and saidI Got Lei’d inWaikiki.
“Thanks.” Her lips quirked a bit at the mug, but she didn’t exactly smile. She took it and sipped. She was still looking at me, on and off, and since she hadn’t told me to fuck off yet, I figured I’d just stick around until shedid.
I took a seat in one of the cushioned chairs opposite her, facing out the window. She had her back to the dark now, facing me, with her legs pulled up on the window seat, her long, soft gray dress wrapped around them. She’d changed since we arrived. The dress had thin straps; one of them was almost falling off, her tanned shoulders bare and set squarely against me as she hugged her knees to herchest.
“So,” she said. “Are you okay?” She looked and sounded guarded, but at least she was talking tome.
And I thought about what she might want to hear. About how loaded that question, and the various answers to it, mightbe.
“Most days,” Isaid.
It was true enough. Ever since I got clean, my life had been a pretty steady stream ofokay.
She nodded once, like she was squaring that away inside herself. Checking off a box somewhere in her head. Then she sipped her coffee and looked at her toes. Her nails were painted in gold glitter and she wiggled them, picking at the toe ring on her middletoe.
“How about you?” I askedher.
She looked up at me, her slim eyebrows squeezing together. “I’mfine.”
“Yeah? How’s life in the eye of thestorm?”
She shrugged. “It’s what it lookslike.”
“It looksexhausting.”
“Yeah.” She looked exhausted when she said, “It’sthat.”
“Do you enjoy it? Everyone wanting a piece of you?” I held her steel gaze and added, “Loving you… Loving to hate you… Just waiting for you to fuck up.” I knew, personally, that was my least favorite part of fame. But you couldn’t take all the perks of success as a rock star without the rest ofit.
She nodded, slowly. “You could say it’s a real love-hatesituation.”
“Lonely?”
“What?”
“Is it lonely?” I askedher.
