Page 87 of A Duet of Darkness and Dreams

“Yeah, it was. It is,” I insist at James’s glare. “Here’s the thing. She’s hot. She thinks I’m hot. And we’ve been on the verge of it for a while, but that’s it. It was just to clear our heads so we can go on tour and not be constantly thinking about the other person naked.”

“And you expect her to be fine with that?” Joel asks.

“She is!” I say. “It was just. One. Night. We didn’t mean for anyone to find out. Nothing’s going to change.”

“James,” Key says, dismissing me with a limp hand. “You’re awfully quiet about all this.”

He frowns and shrugs. “Dave already knows my thoughts on this.”

“You knew?” Joel counters. “You knew they were dying to rip each other’s clothes off and said nothing?”

“I knew before they even met,” James says. “I told you to stay away from her, Noblar.”

Joel turns to James. “Why would you tell him that?”

“Because Dave isn’t interested in relationships and she’s Becks’s only friend!” James shouts. “I wasn’t about to have him screw that up by ditching Isabella after a quick fuck. And . . . oh my god, have you been fucking her this whole time?”

“What?”

“You haven’t brought a girl home in weeks—months. Have you been secretly hooking up with her behind my back?” James asks.

Key and Joel stare at me.

“No! Of course not. Last night was the first time—”

“Holy shit, James, you’re right,” Key says. “How did I not notice? Is this why you acted like a jerk to her in Vegas?”

James looks between us. “What happened in Vegas?”

“You said it was just because you thought she was hot,” Key says. “But youdolike her. Why else would you not be hooking up with other girls?”

“Youlikeher?” James asks.

I close my eyes. “Can I fucking speak, please?”

Joel’s not ready to drop it though. “Wait, isthatwhy you took off in such a mood last night after I jokingly offered to share my bed with her?”

“What?” James asks, rounding on Joel.

“I offered her my bed instead of the couch,” Joel says, rolling his eyes. “I joked we could share, which Iwouldn’thave done if I knew Davey boy had heart eyes for her.”

I groan. “I don’t have ‘heart eyes’ for her.”

“Oh please.” Key laughs. “It suddenly makes so much sense.”

“What makes sense?” I ask, forgetting about the cigarette as it burns down to my fingers.

“The two of you at the release party—” adds Key.

“What happened at the release party?” James interjects.

“Nothing happened—”

“The way you trailed after her in Vegas—” Joel throws in.

“I wasn’t—”

“You can’t deny, you did go practically feral when she started dancing with that guy,” Key chimes in.

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