Page 45 of Dirty Little Mistake

"I can't tomorrow." My fingers traced patterns in the condensation on my beer bottle. "I have a late dance practice at school, and then I have training at the gym."

"How about next weekend?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, since Jax and Kaia will be out of town for Trystan's concert, we could..."

My hand shot out, gripping Owen's forearm. "Wait." The muscles in my jaw tightened. "Did you say they were going to Trystan's concert?"

Owen's easy smile faltered. He shifted his weight, suddenly finding the beer bottle in his hands fascinating. "Yeah, I guess Trystan sent them all tickets to see him perform."

The bass from the speakers seemed to fade away, replaced by the thundering of my pulse in my ears. Trystan didn't invite me. The coward couldn't even break up with me to my face.

I pushed back from the bar, my stool scraping against the floor. "Owen, I need to find Kaia. I'll text you later, okay?"

Owen reached for me, then let his hand drop. "Yeah."

My gaze swept over the bar until I spotted Kaia behind the bar. Stopping on the opposite side of her, I glared as my handsflattened on the dark wood. "Did Trystan not invite me to his concert?"

Her eyes widened, and I knew I was right. "Cam..."

"Why?" The word scraped raw in my throat. My palm slapped against the sticky bar top. "Why wouldn't he invite me?"

Kaia's face softened, and that look - that goddamn look of pity - made my stomach turn. I leaned forward, the edge of the bar digging into my ribs. "He asked me to be his girlfriend and never called me again. I've always been invited like I was part of the family." The tears came hot and fast; I blinked them back, tasting salt. My voice cracked. "What did I do?"

Kaia's hands stilled on the glass she was wiping. "I'm sorry, Cam." Her shoulders slumped as she set the glass down. "I don't know why. I just found out from Jax, and I don't think he knows why either."

My fingernails dug crescents into my palms. "Can you take me home, please?"

Kaia glanced at the clock, then shot a look toward her manager. "Yeah." She tossed her bar towel under the counter. "Give me a minute, and I'll meet you at your car."

Strolling silently out into the cool air, I pulled out my phone as anger and pain ripped through me. I clicked on Trystan's name, pulling up our messages.

Camryn: Fuck you. You are a coward!

I added a middle-finger emoji for effects and hit send with zero regrets.

Chapter 22

Trystan

Bass still thrummed through my bones, an echo of the stadium's roar that had shaken the stage just hours ago. My ears rang with phantom applause, the lingering aftermath of the biggest show of my career. But now, with sweat still cooling on my skin and adrenaline giving way to exhaustion, all I craved was silence. The beach house pulsed with music and laughter, neon-bright party lights bleeding onto the sand – definitely not the quiet I was looking for.

I'd invited Jax, Kaia, Syn and Harlow to see me perform for the first time on a real tour and after we all moved the party to my parent's beach house instead of a hotel like normal. The house was filled with not just my family but also my band, groupies, the crew and the bands traveling with us, and it was way too loud.

The heavy glass door swooshed shut behind me, transforming the party's thunder into a muffled heartbeat. The contrast hit like a curtain dropping after the final encore – thatsame sudden shift from chaos to clarity that always left me dizzy with relief.

The salt-heavy breeze hit my lungs, washing away the stale taste of stage smoke and borrowed air. Moonlight carved a silver path across the water, breaking into thousands of scattered diamonds where waves slammed against the shore. The rhythm of the surf – crash, hiss, retreat – felt more natural than any bassline I'd ever played.

My eyes drifted down just past where the lights from the house stopped and froze on a pretty little blonde. It was Kaia sitting alone on the beach. She was angry with me, which was the hardest part about Cam and me—everyone being in the middle of the relationship whether they wanted to be or not.

I strolled down through the pool patio and down the wooden walkway that led to the beach, preparing what I was going to say.

My bare feet sunk into the cool, wet sand as I approached. "How did I know I'd find you out here by yourself?"

Kaia's shoulders tensed, but she kept her gaze fixed on the horizon.

I settled onto the sand beside her, close enough to show I cared, far enough to give her space. "On a scale of one to ten, how mad are you at me?"

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