Page 24 of Contrition

Woof.

I kept my eyes on Hale, refusing to give them the time of day. While eyeshadow was generally first in her order of operations, I was unbelievably grateful that I had begged her to go with a more basic look. We only had mascara and lipstick left, and then I could get the fuck away from them and continue my brooding in peace before the show.

Hale shuddered under their presence all the same. I almost pitied her. She was damn good at her job—she wouldn’t be here if that weren't the case, regardless of her connections—but she was young, and that rockstar power would throw anyone innocent and kind for a loop. “It’s…uh, nice to meet you…?”

I flinched as Zack’s hand came to my right, followed by Theo on my left.

How the fuck did I not notice they were that close to me?

“Zack Anderson,” Zack said, right as Theo introduced himself as well.

My eyes rolled.

Polite motherfuckers.

Hale blushed furiously as she somehow reached for both of their hands. “Uhm. Yeah. Hi! I’m Hale. Lead makeup designer for Neon Cherry. It’s nice to meet y’all!”

Zack laughed lightly. “It’s nice to meet you, too. How’d our girl talk you into doing her makeup?”

“Not your girl!” I interrupted.

Everyone ignored me as Hale responded. “Oh, she didn’t even ask! I met her a few days ago when she did a different set of photography for us. Her and Derek hit it off really well, and ya know, he’s the complete broody asshole of the group—so, I figured if she could crack him, we could definitely be friends too. She’s…really, really cool.”

Zack’s hand landed on my shoulder with a gentle squeeze. “Yeah. She is really cool. I like her a lot. Major crush and all.”

Fuck my stupid genetics and hormones for forcing me to blush furiously. Hale and I were about to be twinzies.

“What’re you guys doing here?” I ground out. I needed to try to gain control of my beating heart somehow, and being closed off was generally the way to do that. “I told you both I was working.”

Theo leant down to whisper in my ear, yet absolutely failed at making his whisper an actual private moment. “You really thought we’d let you leave the conversation how you did with no follow-up? We’re here to see you in action, princess. I wanna see you work.” Hale choked on a breath as she heard him speak, but smothered it with a cough as she continued digging in her makeup bag.

Zack leant down to whisper as well. “I don’t know when you’ll grasp this, but chasing you is my favorite activity, pretty girl. I’ve been doing it for a couple years now. Just doing what you asked for.”

Heat licked up my spine, and I genuinely couldn’t tell if it was anger or pleasure. “How supportive of you, darling,” came my sarcastic reply.

Moments passed as Hale finished up my makeup look, pairing the simplistic eyeshadow with multiple coats of mascara and an old mauve shade of lipstick that complimented my complexion beautifully. When she handed the mirror, I pouted at my own reflection and complimented her work.

She made me look stunning.

“Alright!” Hale said, snatching the mirror away from me with a giggle. “Show starts in twenty minutes. Go get us some sexy photos. But…please, not too sexy. I’m already thinking that this weekend is going to be one of the horniest of my life, and the testosterone around me is blinding enough as is.”

I laughed deeply, along with Zack and Theo, before nodding and going to collect my camera bag and wristbands for security access. To get the best shots in the industry, I practically had to hump the security men, and therefore needed even more clearance than just the general VIP wristbands.

I didn’t make it more than ten steps before Zack’s hand landed on my shoulder again. I turned to face him with an eyebrow raise. His voice was gravely as he spoke. “Uhm. Derek?”

I shook my head. “Don’t worry about anything more than what it was.”

He nodded with a smile. But then I couldn’t contain the jab, paired with another combative eyebrow raise. Humbling this man was refreshing after so many years. Even if it made me a little immature. “But, yeah. I didn’t know my husband actually liked me until twelve or so hours ago, or that either of you liked me until four hours ago. Can’t blame a girl for having needs, can you?”

He blinked before blushing furiously. It was almost…cute. Adorable, even. “Right. Yeah. No, you’re right. The past from this moment on is the past.”

And as I shrugged his hand off me to get my stuff, I could have sworn that I heard Theo say the words, “Yeah…I should’ve warned you about that.”

My eyes rolled again as I fought a growing smile.

Men.

eleven

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