Page 101 of Hard Rock Sin
But the instant we stepped backstage and I saw my brother's tall form and dark messy hair, those butterflies returned full force, threatening to spew out of my mouth.
Noah began to turn.
"Here we go," Cameron murmured, tightening his hold on me.
I ducked out from under Cameron's arm in a panic.
Cameron turned to me, disbelief on his face.
I avoided his eyes, playing with the hem of my shirt.
Noah approached us, already dressed in his rock star best, leather pants and eyeliner included.
"Lily, Cameron. You guys came together?" he asked.
"We shared a taxi," I rushed to say. My heart pounded in my chest. "I was planning on coming to watch you guys anyway, so it just made sense to come together."
Noah nodded. "I should have thought to get you a staff pass earlier, sorry." He handed me a lanyard with a yellow card inside a plastic sleeve. I put it around my neck.
"It's cool," I said, my voice wavering. I was still avoiding Cameron's eyes. "So what time are you guys going on?"
"We've got about another half hour before show time. Sound crew's doing their last checks."
"Are the others here? August and the twins? It'd be cool to hang out with them again for a bit. It still feels like I've barely seen them."
I continued to babble nervously. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Cameron standing stock still. His eyes were dark. His face was blank.
My heart sank. I hadn't meant to dart away like that. It had just been instinct. I was so worried about Noah finding out. I thought I was ready, but now I wasn't as sure.
"Cameron, the guitar tech guys told me they needed to speak with you when you got here," Noah said.
Cameron nodded shortly. "Right. I'm off, then."
He stalked away without another look.
The panic in my chest that I'd felt when seeing Noah turned into a completely different type of panic.
I'd really hurt Cameron. I hated myself for it. I shouldn't have been so thoughtless, especially after the way his parents had treated him.
But the anxiety had taken over and I'd acted without meaning to.
I had to make this right.
I had to tell Noah.
"I've got something to tell you," I blurted out.
Noah was scanning the room, looking distracted. "What is it?"
"It's about me. And Cameron."
He nodded distantly, as if he were listening with half an ear. "Yeah, I really should thank him for letting you stay with him all summer." Noah's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out. "August says he needs to see me about changing the set list. Fucking perfectionist."
"Cameron and I—"
"Shit, he's really insistent this time." Noah's attention was still on his phone. "I'll see you after the show, okay?"
"But…"
