Page 103 of The Only Thing That's Real

Chapter Fifty-Two

Knox

Ryan

My first celebrity crush was...

Knox

I hate eggplant.

Knox

hello...you gonna finish that statement?

“Dude, when have we ever done you dirty?” Matt smirks over his shoulder as I follow my best friends down the corridor in the belly of the arena. The documentary crew is following in front and behind us.

“We go on in forty-five minutes. I don’t have time tolist all the ways you’ve done me dirty over the years. Just tell me what the fuck is going on, assholes.”

I’m in a piss-poor mood. I haven’t seen Ryan in six days.

Six damn days.

That’s all it took for the asshole that had been napping beneath the surface to stretch himself awake and make his presence known. Texts and phone calls aren’t enough. Not when I know she’s smack dab in the middle of choosing fight or flight.

“Lose the attitude, princess,” Jay says, reaching for the doorknob of my dressing room. “You’ll be kissing our feet in about three seconds.” He throws open the door, stepping aside.

“I highly doubt?—”

Standing in the middle of the room with Marie and Kristen is my favorite person.

My favorite song.

Everyone else fades into the background as she turns toward me. Her eyes meet mine and her smile… God, her smile is a masterpiece. She wiggles her fingers in hello.

Without a care for the girls standing on either side of her, or for the guys entering the room with me, I storm across the room, take her face in my hands and kiss the hell out of her.

Marie and Kristen step away, but my asshole friends aren’t as considerate. They hoot and holler behind us.

Reluctantly pulling my lips from hers but keeping a hold of her face so she doesn’t disappear, I rest my forehead against hers.

“You done thinking?”

“I am.”

“And?”

“You’re worth all the bullshit.”

Choked with emotion, I can’t pull back because if I look in her eyes, I might not keep myself in check. For the moment, I simply breathe her in.

“You sure?”

“You. Are. Worth. It.” Her words are a whisper dancing across my face.

“Everyone out. Right. Fucking. Now!” I bark.

“Thank God.”

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