Page 60 of Selling Out
“Can they?” I drop my chin. “Because it feels like that’s about all they do these days.”
“I know. But they did agree to this tour, which both of us felt was a long shot.”
“Barely agreed. And with hardly any team.” I clench my teeth and shake my head. Paul’s right, though. I can fight this, but it means they’ll feel more justified fightingmegoing forward. “Fine. But I want you to ask them about me playing one of my songs. Noah and I can sing it together, for all I care. Just let me sing somethingIwrote. For once.”
Frowning, he nods. “I’ll ask.” He studies me for a second. “You know I’m on your team, right?”
“Of course I do. And I know it’s not your fault. I just need a minute to be mad about it.”
He grimaces as I kick off my shoes and lie on the couch, staring at the ceiling.
After a minute of silence, Paul wishes me goodnight and heads to the back of the bus.
20
MIA
“I don’t know, Gem,”I hiss into the phone from my hiding place between the front of my bus and the back of Austin’s. “It was a kiss. What sort of adjectives are you expecting?”
“Literallyanyadjective,” Gemma says. “Quick. Gross. Passionate. Whimsical. Playful. Download a thesaurus app on your phone or something.”
“It was…” I struggle for words. “Short.”
There’s a pause. “Thekisswas short, or itfelttoo short? Because those are two very different things.”
“Both.” I peek around the side of the bus to make sure I’m alone. We’ve got fifteen minutes until we head on the road to France, so I’m on a tight schedule with this obligatory fill-the-sister-in-on-things call.
“What?” Gemma says. “You’re making zero sense, Mia.”
Even though I made sure all the windows on both buses were rolled up and the curtains drawn, I sweep my gaze across Austin’s bus. The last thing I need is him overhearing this conversation.
“The initial kiss was short,” I explain, “but then we kissed again right after, and itfelttoo short.”
“Whoa. So, you kissed twice.”
“Kind of.”
“So what now?” Gemma asks.
I shrug. “What do you mean? Nothing. It was a weird moment. We both agreed it was done out of necessity.” Me pulling him in for more was definitelynota necessity. At least, not the way I’m using the word to Gemma. It sure felt like a necessity at the time, though.
“But you’d do it again?”
Why does she ask me the exact questions I don’t want to answer? It must be a sister thing. It’s super annoying.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” she says after a few seconds of silence.
“What? No! I was thinking.”
“Need to phone a friend? Have me eliminate one of the options? It’s a yes or no question, Mia.”
“It’s really not. It requires context and certain conditions being met and?—”
“Is this a contract or a kiss we’re talking about?”
“A ki?—”
“Boo!” Austin’s head appears around the end of the bus, and I almost drop my phone.
