Page 45 of Revel

And then true to form, he leaves me standing there wondering what the heck just happened. I know one thing. I think I just bit the apple. Metaphorically speaking.

WHAT DID I AGREE TO?

REVEL

I should have kissed her.

No, I shouldn’t have.

I shouldn’t have taken her out the other night.

Yes, I should have.

I should have fucked her when she was drunk.

What are you, some kind of asshole? No. You shouldn’t have.

I didn’t. Believe it or not, I have fucking morals. You never take advantage of someone when they’re drunk or high.

Regardless of what I should or shouldn’t have done, I question whether or not doing a song together is going to work for us. We’re in her dressing room. It’s been cleared of everyone but the two of us prior to the show tonight. Revved is set to go on after her this time and I swear to God, if they boo her tonight, I’ll refuse to go on stage. I don’t know why I care so much, just that I do for some stupid fucking reason. Do I wish I didn’t?

Fuck yes, but like I said before, I can switch manic on like you wouldn’t believe, and I will if they do that bullshit again. They haven’t seen crazy.

Sitting at the vanity, Red looks over her shoulder at me lounged across her couch like I own the place. “Can you please take off that coat? I can’t take you seriously with it on.”

“Too bad. I like it. It’s part of the show tonight.” What Red doesn’t realize is I won’t be wearing anything underneath it. Oh, don’t freak out. No way they’d let me get away with that. I can literally light Deacon on fire with pyro gel we rubbed on his legs, yet they won’t let me be naked. Some people freak out about me being naked on stage wearing just a tube sock around my junk. The unfortunate part came when I twisted too quickly and it got snagged on a mic stand. You’re welcome Las Vegas. . . . After that, clothes were required. I actually prefer being naked on stage, or the fewer clothes, the better. Do you have any idea how hot it gets on stage when you’re running around for two hours? Sorry, I got off track there, but I plan on wearing a jock strap and this goddamn fur coat.

“You look like Zsa Zsa Gabor,” she tells me, toying with makeup. I can tell by her voice she’s nervous about tonight.

“Please.” I whip the coat open and reveal what’s underneath. “She wishes she looked as good as me in fur.”

Red twists in her seat, her eyes dragging over my body. The urge to kiss her returns, but the need to have her is far more intense. It’s fucking intoxicating being near her like this. She’s going to ruin me.

“Revel, we have to focus.” My name on her lips sounds so good, but still, I don’t move from my place on the couch. I know if I get closer, I can’t be trusted. “What about the song you sang on stage the other night?”

“No,” I snap immediately, hating that I even knew the lyrics to that one.

She looks crushed. “Why?”

“Because it’s abouthim.”

She knows damn well who I’m talking about. “Well, I could say the same about all your songs then.”

“I’ve never written a song about that piece of shit.” I crack a smile, hiding it behind my hand. “Honestly, I don’t know what you see in Breckin.”

“Saw.Sawin him.”

Relief washes over me. “Thought you said you have a boyfriend.”

She shrugs, playfully winking at me. “I lied. But again, I could say the same thing about Hensley. I don’t know what you saw in her.”

She could, but then I’d wonder how much she knows about Hensley and Jory. I don’t want to be the one that tells, even though she deserves to know the truth about that lying sack of shit, it’s not my place to tell her.

Leaning forward, I retrieve my cigarettes and then my lighter. “Here’s the thing.” I pause, lighting one and letting it dangle from my lips as I say, “I’m not going to agree to any of your songs, and I can’t see you pulling off any of mine, so how about we write something new?”

Her eyes light up, and they’re kind and beautiful and full of things like true love and happiness, emotions I didn’t think existed in the world any longer. At least not organically. “That’d be so much fun!”

“Jesus Christ,” I say with a laugh, blowing out smoke. “Control yourself. It’s just one fucking song.”

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