Page 92 of Malice and Surrender
“Couple pounds of spicy dill pickle and garlic wings with loaded fries and a banana milkshake.”
“I swear to fuck you’re pregnant, ‘cause that is disgusting.” Jace made a gagging face, and I laughed. It was pretty gross, but I’d seen Avro eat worse.
“If I am, it’s yours, so we’re fucked,” Avro called back, making us laugh harder.
“Where are the keys?”
“Jacket pocket, and don’t have too much fun without me,” he called out as he disappeared into the bedroom.
“We’re going to have all the fun without him, but don’t tell him,” Jace said, looking down at me.
“I fucking heard that,” Avro yelled, making us both laugh as he jogged down the stairs.
When had I ever felt so free or at ease? Hell, I didn’t even think feeling anything like this was possible. It was all fantasy and made up by those who wanted to convince little girls that there were perfect happily ever after stories out there. It was all bullshit, or at least I thought. Watching how Avro and Jace maneuvered through their conversations, the push and pull that was so natural, had my jaw dropping regularly. Score for communication. I’d never seen anything even close to the trust they shared, and it gave me so much hope.
Stopping at the door, Jace grabbed a baseball hat and pulled on a hoodie. “Don’t you ever get sick of it?”
“What?”
“This.” I held my hands out to what he was doing. “The constant hiding of your face and being unable to do normal things like go to a store in a mall or eat at a restaurant without a million pictures taken or people screaming and running up to you?”
Jace shrugged and put a pair of sunglasses on, even though it was dark outside. “It’s part of the gig. If you don’t want the success, don’t fucking put yourself out there and act like you do.”
“That’s a pretty harsh way to look at it,” I said.
“Not really. It’s just the truth that no one wants to say out loud. We all grow up seeing what it is like to be in the spotlight. It’s not like it’s a shock that you’re invited to fancy events and your moves are scrutinized, or your manager does shit to get your face in the news. It’s all part of the game. Now if I’d been a kid, that’s different, but I was twenty when my first video went viral, and two years later, I was offered a record deal and a five-year contract to travel.”
We opened the back door, and Jace stepped out and looked up and down the street like we were getting ready to break into it, never mind leave the house. Convinced the way was clear, we walked to Avro’s car and hopped in.
“The thing is, Peaches,” Jace said as he removed the glasses and tossed the expensive rims in the cup holder like they were from a dollar store and didn’t cost a fortune. “I never intended for the song to go viral. I was just having some fun and posted the videos on the right platform, at the right time. It was mostly luck.” He started the car and backed out of the driveway. “And as much as I love to sing and, of course, the money, I prefer to be here with Avro writing songs. So that’s my goal and dream once my contract is up.”
We pulled out onto the main road, and I let what he said sink in. It was true. You didn’t know what was going on inside someone. Because Jace Everly, the frontman for Grimhead Crew, wanting a simple life—I never would’ve guessed it.
Jace
Raine was growing on me. Fucking Avro. He knew she was exactly my type. Sweet and sexy, with a vixen hiding under her big blue eyes and a whole lot damaged, just like we were. I glanced at her, perched in the seat next to me, and took a deep breath to calm my mind.
If I didn’t fucking love Avro so much, I would’ve walked out the door the moment he broke our promise. I thought about it, but the pain was too much, and now…Raine was crawling under my skin. I wanted to scream and fuck them both at the same time.
My hand tightened on the steering wheel as I created new colorful sentences with the word fuck. The other thing that had been weighing on me was that my writing was stale, and the only time I felt like myself and creative was when I was home with Avro. It hadn’t felt like that during the first couple of years traveling. It had been invigorating to see the world and sing on stages with fans screaming our songs, but this past year had been tough. The fact that Avro felt the same way shouldn’t have been a surprise. We were always on the same wavelength.
Since I got back, I’d managed to write three brand new kick-ass songs, which was the only reason Allen wasn’t riding my ass to leave town. We needed new material, and nothing from other producers or writers felt like the band or me. Of course, the new stuff was killer, and the guys were keen to sing and get in the studio. I sent Allen two completed songs with melodies this morning, and my phone had been blowing up with how much everyone loved them. He was tempted to cancel the next few concerts so I could finish a whole album. Maybe I would tell him I wanted to go country just to watch him faint.
Raine’s hands were in her lap as she played with the cuffs of her hoodie, and I wondered if it was a nervous habit. I filed the information away.
I was going to ease her into the questions, but it wasn’t my style. I tended to go for the jugular. So why stop now?
“Do you love Avro?” I asked. Raine’s head snapped in my direction, eyes wide and mouth open. “You heard me. Do you love him?”
“I…I…I….”
I lifted my brows. “It’s a simple yes or no question. No need to make it complicated,” I said, and she fixed me with a glare that had my blood warming.
“I don’t know,” she said, and crossed her arms over her chest. She definitely didn’t like talking about herself or her emotions, but that was going to fucking stop. There was a lot of shit that I wasn’t good at, but my communication was A-1.
“Hiding behind indifference doesn’t make emotions magically disappear,” I drawled, knowing how much it would annoy her. “I mean, you’ve managed to get away with it for years, but that’s why you were a fucking disaster when I met you.”
“Wow, way to just toss that shit out there, Jace. I thought you said you were going to make this trip fun?”
