Page 77 of Wild Stars

Hailee nods as she looks around me.“Your, uh...brother around?”she asks nonchalantly, but I can see the glimmer of interest in her eyes.

Something is definitely going on between them.Maybe that’s why my brother has been up my ass the last few days, because he’s avoiding his own shit.That would be classic Richie.

Maybe I’m not the only one wishing on a Starr.

“I, uh, think I saw him in the break room a little bit ago,” I reply with a polite grin.

Hailee nods.“I’m kinda hungry anyway, so, uh...I will catch up with you two later?”She says the words softly, almost as if she is afraid they will break.

Matty nods.“Of course.”

I watch as she walks off, her ombre curls bouncing behind her.

This is it.

This is quite possibly the biggest moment of my life.

I shift my stance as I slide my sweaty palms in my black jeans pockets, glancing up at the tall glass of fucking water in front of me.

God, he is so fucking fine.

“So, I was...uh...thinking,” I say, clearing my throat.

Matty crosses his arms, raising an eyebrow.“Should I alert the press?Or should I stand by with a fire extinguisher?”he bites out, but there’s an edge of something less bitter than usual.

Almost as if he isteasingme.

Which only fuels my fire.

“Well, that depends on your answer, Matty,” I quip, flashing him with a smile.

“I told you not to call me that,” he growls, shifting his stance in the shadowed alcove, which only puts him closer to me.

My heart feels like it’s in my throat, and I am acutely aware of the space between us.The sliver of space that is slowly closing.

“I, uh, want to ask you something,” I say, his gaze making me feel warm.

“Is that so?”His voice is calm and cool.

“Uh huh,” I reply, fighting the urge to lean in and kiss him, to push him up against this wall and?—

Focus, Dare!

“English, Dare,” he taunts me.

I take a deep breath, steeling what little resolve I have, because being in this man’s proximity melts my fucking brain.

I have no goblins working the gears when Matty is around.

I am all instinct, all impulse.

“So, I was thinking...”I say, reaching a hand behind my head, playing with my hair, if only to quell my nerves.“That maybe we could like...hang out after the show tonight?Grab something to eat or?—”

“I can ask Haileee if?—”

“No, I, uh...I mean just you.And me,” I say, nibbling on my bottom lip.

My heart beats so loud I think it’s actually echoing in the space, but a quick glance shows it’s just the damn sound engineers messing around.

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