The Rocker's Muse

His eyes bore into mine. “But you stood there watching for at least a minute…”

Shit. Shit. Shit. I said nothing, because there was no denying it.

“How was your date with Kieran?” he asked.

“How did you know about that?”

“I know everything.” He tilted his head. “So how was it?”

“It was okay.”

“Just okay?”

“He’s…super nice.”

“He is. Kieran is just about the best there is. He’d be great for you.”

“He told you about the date?”

Tristan nodded. “He really likes you. I was the one who encouraged him to go for it.”

“Did you now…”

Why did that disappoint me so much? I was even more disappointed in myself for feeling this way. I knew nothing could happen with Tristan, but I’d loved his attention and the idea that maybe he liked me.

He kept prodding. “So you didn’t have a good time?”

“I did…but I think he and I are probably better off as friends.”

“Friends?” Tristan winced. “Ouch. That’s the kiss of death.” He chuckled. “I don’t have a single female friend. That should tell you something.”

“Well, I’m not gonna date someone on this tour regardless, even if I were into him in that way. I figured there was no harm in a simple dinner, but I’m not interested in anything more than that with him. I’ll feel bad if he expects something, because you’re right. He’s a good guy, and he doesn’t deserve someone wasting his time.”

“Well, I bet he’ll ask you out again. If that’s how you feel, though, let him down easy.”

“I wish I didn’t have to let anyone down.” I crossed my arms. “Anyway, you say ‘let him down easy’—is that what you do with all the women you hook up with? They never see you again. Something tells me you don’t send them all letters of explanation as to why you don’t contact them.”

He stepped back. “Okay, first off, groupies pretty much know the deal going into it. You don’t enter a man’s room while he’s on tour, throw yourself at him without so much as saying a word, and expect him to call the next day. That’s one of the only things that makes this lifestyle easy. Everyone is normally on the same page. No one expects anything from each other.”

“Yeah, well, that page is definitely frayed around the edges at this point…”

The corner of his mouth curved upward. “You don’t seem to think very highly of me.”

“I’m not down with the whole rockstar lifestyle,” I huffed.

“I can tell. Although…you seemed pretty interested in what you were seeing when you stopped at the doorway and watched a moment ago.”

I felt my skin crawl. “I wasn’t watching you like that.”

“How else do you watch someone? What does that even mean? I heard the paper bag crinkle. That’s how I knew you were there. I didn’t say anything because I wanted to see what you’d do. I expected you to leave, but you didn’t.” He cocked his head. “Why?”

Without a suitable answer, I improvised. “I didn’t know whether to leave the bag of medicine or knock and interrupt whatever you were doing. My indecision kept me there.” I breathed out. “Why did you order something to your room if you were with someone?”

“I didn’t know she was going to come by. Plus, nothing really happened. I wouldn’t have been ashamed if you’d walked in or even interrupted. We weren’t having sex. And I wasn’t planning to.”

I shook my head. “You’re so full of shit. Something would’ve happened if I hadn’t interrupted you.”

“Are you psychic now? How would you know what would’ve happened? I think I know better than you what my intentions were.”