Page 19 of Heartbeat Highway

“Don’t be like what? Don’t be aware? Don’t be a human being who doesn’t appreciate being lied to when I twisted myself into knots for two years to try to be the person you wanted?” The heat rises inside me now, stoked from the singing and the sex and Bo, and I have no interest in tamping it down any more. Moving to LA, dating K, and the first two years of law school may have dulled my independence, but it’s still there inside me. The old Lily, the one I was when I first met Bo at the club, is still here.

And she’s fucking pissed.

“K, I don’t love you,” I say definitively. His mask crumples for a moment, and he glances behind him at his bandmates, who are watching the entire scene. Maxim has a pulled pork slider in one hand and an avocado egg roll in the other. Dan has his arms crossed over his chest, frowning. And Bo? Bo’s looking at me like I am a miracle. “I don’t want you anywhere near me. Not now, not ever again. It may have taken me a while to wake up, but I did. You can go fuck right off.”

Dan applauds soundlessly behind us, as K splutters. “Lily, don’t do this. Don’t—”

“Stop talking. If I want to hear you speak, I’ll—never mind. I’ll never want to hear you speak again.”

His demeanor changes, his posture looming, more threatening. “What are you going to do, baby girl? You’re stranded in the middle of nowhere, Tennessee, and I’m a goddamn rock star.”

“This isn’t nowhere, Tennessee. It’s Saddleback,” I correct him. After all the hospitality this town has shown us, it’s the least we can do to remember its name. “If you’re a rock star, then maybe I just became a classical music fan. Dvorák anyone?”

Bo laughs, and the sound draws our gazes together. “I have options,” I say to K, not looking away from Bo. “And you are no longer one of them.”

“One option,” Dan says from the door and uncrossing his arms, “is to have Lily come with us. She can stay on the bus and we’ll take her to Chattanooga.”

“The bus is full. Where is she going to stay?” K blusters angrily, his face redder than a maraschino cherry.

“Your bunk,” Dan replies simply. “You are no longer invited.”

“What?” K forgets about me and now wheels on Dan. “You can’t just ditch me.”

“Sure we can.” Maxim uses a napkin to wash the sauce residue from his fingers. “Dan and I held a meeting. Bo didn’t vote, but we were pretty sure which way he swings. Were we right, Bo?”

“Hell yes,” Bo says.

“See?” Dan turns back to K, a bland and professional mask in place. “You’re out. She’s in. Easy peasy.”

“That’s not how this works.” K stamps his foot like the child he is. “I’m the draw. I’m the name—”

“You’re a fucking letter.” Dan examines his studiously clean fingernails. “Your mistake was thinking you’re irreplaceable. We aren’t going to tolerate people who act like shit to others in this band. Will we lose a few ticket holders? Sure. But the majority of people who come to this tour come for the beer, being outside, and listening to music while feeling one another up. They don’t give a shit about you, either.”

“Plus, we think you’ve been holding us back.” Maxim goes to the door and signals the waitress for a menu. “You’re always turning down my songs, and they’re good. Why should we play covers when we could do original songs and pull the songwriter card? Besides, you can make bank in royalties that way.”

“This is ridiculous. I’m calling my agent.” K pulls his phone out of his pocket and stalks across the front side of the room, which may still smell like sex. I can’t find it in myself to care.

“Go ahead,” Dan says. “But we’re not waiting for you. We have a tight schedule. As it is, we’ll barely make sound check. Lily, are you coming?”

Through all of this, I’ve watched Bo. Watched his body language, his posture, the way every time he looks at me, he smiles.

It’s not that we just had sex. We’ve always been like this, good together, matched in a way that I didn’t want to admit was real.

I’m in love with him. I’ve always been in love with him, and now I can finally admit it.

I have an internship starting in LA on Monday. I have to finish school. I have to take all of K’s stuff out of my apartment and light it on fire. Not literally. LA has very strict fire regulations.

But for tonight? Tonight, all I want is to spend more time with Bo. To watch him onstage, the way the music pours through him and into the heartbeats of his drum.

“Yes,” I say softly. “I’m coming.”

CHAPTER 12

Bo

Too much happensat once for me to have time to think. We settle up our bill at the karaoke bar, and leaving behind a spluttering K. We pause by the garage to pick up Lily’s suitcase and exchange information for Leroy and the car’s owner so they can communicate directly.

Through it all, Lily holds my hand.

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