Page 19 of Endeavor

“You say a bunch. So, does that mean you know some?”

Now her blush intensifies, and I feel like I’m on to something. There’s more to her than meets the eye.

“I’ve met a few.”

“At school?” I ask.

She looks away and I’m confused. Why would she be embarrassed or shy about knowing actors?

“No. I have a friend who knows some celebrities.”

“Oh,” I reply, waiting for her to say more, but she doesn’t. And the mystery deepens. Damn, this woman has me going crazy and after only a few hours!

She leans back against the wall behind us and stares up at the fluorescent lights. “So, you’re a musician.”

I grin. “Yep.”

“How’s that working out for you?”

I laugh and make myself more comfortable. I lean back and stare up at the ceiling too. “I mean, our last album went platinum, so I guess pretty good.”

“I mean, do you like it?”

“I do. Plus, I get to spend time with two of my closest friends, so that’s cool too.”

“How long have you known Rhett and Max?”

“Since we were teenagers.”

“And you all get along well?”

“Are you interviewing me?” I ask her, turning my head to look at her. She turns her head too and we are mere inches apart. I see her eyes for the first time and it’s like seeing the galaxy. They are blue, but not just one blue, there are flecks of dark and light and aquamarine and gray. They are breathtaking and mesmerizing.

“Maybe I am.”

“You may not like what you learn,” I say to her. She stares at me with those amazing eyes and I swear this woman sees inside my soul. I’ve never felt an instant connection to anyone, ever, until this very moment.

“Or, maybe, you are scared that I will,” she replies quietly.

I take a deep breath and swallow. “Ask away, then.”

“You have a reputation. Is it true?”

I fight smirking because, for the first time in a long time, I don’t want to be a prick. “Which part?”

Her eyes narrow and I know she knows that I know what she means. “Really?” she says, her voice laced with sarcasm.

I sigh partly because I’m tired and partly because I don’t want to lie. “It’s mostly true.”

“Which parts are not?”

We’re still staring at each other and it’s becoming unnerving, so I look back up at the ceiling. “Being a rock star is…well, as soon as you make it, it’s like the world has these expectations of you. And the fact that I was this messed-up kid, who already had a reputation, well...it didn’t take a big stretch for me to make it true.”

“So, you ‘are’ a giant manwhore?”

I look back over at her and she’s grinning. Fuck. Me. “Wow. When you put it like that.”

“Come on, you have this massive reputation for being a total manslut and you know it.”

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