Page 73 of Forever and Ever

“He’s not here yet?”

Eloise shakes her head. “He went out last night after you guys left. I don’t know if he even got home yet. He’s not answering my texts. You may want to talk Adrian off a cliff before he hunts Rome down and strangles him.”

“Wonderful.” Noah pulls out his phone and steps aside, presumably to try calling Rome himself.

Eloise shakes her head, and I follow her inside to give Noah some space to make his phone call.

Adrian’s house is smaller than the rest of the band’s houses, but mostly wide-open spaces with lots of windows, so it feels like there’s more room to breathe. He built it on the edge of a hill, with the entire back wall made of glass, giving it a tree house effect as you look out to forest stretching for miles.

“You’re recording right after us today?” Eloise asks as we head through the house.

“Yeah, late night for me.” I nod. “And Adrian, I guess. How does he never burn out?”

“Guy’s a machine.” Eloise looks over her shoulder and rolls her eyes, even though I’m not sure why she’s annoyed by it. “But it shouldn’t take us too long unless my brother decides to keep being difficult.”

Enemy Muse has a track to lay down today, and Noah’s told me earlier it’s the one Eloise and Sebastian keep fighting about. From the look on Eloise’s face, I’m not sure how well this is going to go.

Noah gave me the option to wait back at his house until they were done to avoid what might be an all-out sibling battle, but I can only sit within the same four walls for so long. So even if I do have to listen to a little fighting, at least at Adrian’s house I won’t be itching to crawl out of my skin.

Eloise stops at the door to the basement and reaches for the handle.

“Noah and I fucked,” I blurt out before she has a chance to open the door.

It’s not that Eloise and I are close, we really aren’t. But Cassie left to head back to Seattle early this morning, and those words have been bubbling inside me since driving over here.

Eloise pauses with her hand on the door and turns with a smile. “I figured.”

“I know. But I just had to say it, because… well… it’s Noah. And…” I start running my fingers through my hair and realize my heart is racing. “I think I might be freaking out a little bit.”

Eloise looks over my shoulder and my eyes follow. It’s still clear. Noah either got a hold of Rome and is hung up on the call or he’s trying other numbers to try to reach him.

“Do you regret it?” Her eyes slide back to me, and her face is a little sullen with the question.

There’s a protective edge to her tone, and it occurs to me she’s worried I’m going to hurt Noah. His feelings have been pretty obvious to everyone, so I’m sure she’s concerned about my intentions.

“No.”

It’s the truth. I don’t regret it, but it doesn’t make the weight of it any less scary. There are still things Noah and I need to talk about. Big things he might not respond well to, and I don’t know how to anticipate his reaction.

This is why I don’t normally do relationships, especially those with men who are all in.

“Noah’s a good guy,” Eloise says with a sympathetic look.

“I know.” If only that made things easier.

“And you guys are good together.”

“Like sunshine and rain clouds?” I hitch an eyebrow.

“Normally, yeah, I would think that.” She laughs. “But in your case, you guys balance each other out.”

There’s truth to her statement. When I’m around Noah things don’t seem as bleak. Possibility starts creeping through. And I don’t know if that’s a good thing or really dangerous thinking.

But I don’t tell her any of those thoughts, settling on a simple, “thank you,” instead.

“Anytime.” Eloise nudges my arm. “Try not to think too much about it. Just let it be whatever it is.”

“You realize we’re talking about Noah, right?” I finally smile. “Thinking about it is all he does. I’m pretty sure I have lots of conversations aboutall the feelingsin my future.”

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