Page 100 of Cadence
The studio continues around me like I’m not even here, my body on sensory overload. The air conditioning feels too cold on my bare arms, the producers clicking on his laptop too loud, and Maddox’s restless energy that used to pull me toward him, now only grates.
“…and what’s it like, Paige?” Mitch says suddenly, snapping me back into the interview. “Being the only girl on a bus full of guys? That’s gotta be…interesting.”
I blink and refocus, his question making my heart ache as I think about the day he bought all those tampons, his embarrassed smile and pink cheeks when he watched me leave them on my bunk.
Maddox shifts again, ready to swoop in and defend my honor like some goddamn knight.
I beat him to it, pushing his mic away so it’s out of reach, leaning into my own, my voice syrupy-smooth. “It’s a job, like anything else. I hit things for a living, and I’m pretty fucking good at it.”
“Fair enough.” Mitch laughs awkwardly. “And sorry for the F-bomb there, ladies and gents—”
The moment the segment cuts to commercial, I stand, shove my chair back without a word, and walk out, feeling Maddox following me. As soon as we’re in the hallway, I spin, jabbing my finger at him.
“What the hell were you doing?”
Maddox frowns. “What are you talking about?”
“Coming to my defense like I needed saving? Like I can’t answer for myself?”
He glances around, smiling at a woman who walks past before taking a tentative step toward me and lowering his voice. “That’s not what I was doing.”
I step back, needing space from him, from the scent of cedar and everything I let myself want.
“Really? So, you weren’t doing it out of some sense of guilt? Trying to play noble protector after what you did? You don’t get to leave me like a goddamn secret, and then try to look like the hero in public.”
He flinches, if only briefly, but I know his cues, his signs, and I see it before his face hardens. “I was trying to shut down a prick who thought you were a novelty.”
“I’m not a novelty,” I snap. “And I sure as hell don’t need you speaking for me.”
“Paige, I—”
He tries to reach for me, but I jerk away. My throat thickens with the disgusting feeling of fighting back tears. I can’t be near him right now. Not like this. Because seeing the sincerity in his eyes is even more painful and confusing than anything he could say.
“I can’t do this.” The words taste like acid as they crawl up my throat, throwing them back in his face the way he so easily left them on paper.
He winces, his hand falling back to his side.
“I need to go,” I whisper, brushing past him.
“Wait, there’s a car—”
“I’ll get an Uber,” I say, rushing for the front door before he can stop me. If I stay a second longer, I might scream, or worse…cry. And I will not let him see either.
Chapter Forty-Three
Maddox
Musicpoundsthroughthespeakers behind me, all bass and hard techno, the dim lights and ambiance mirroring how I feel. Moody as hell. Reign’s crew secured a roped-off VIP area for tonight, with expensive bottles on ice waiting for us. The kind of thing where all this is comped because of his name.
Reign laughs with someone from his backing band, a drink in one hand, his boot propped on the edge of the glass table, still pumping with adrenaline from tonight’s show. Beau sits next to me, half-watching the room, half-scrolling on his phone.
And I’m…not really here.
My eyes keep finding Paige, and it’s been this way the entire journey from Vegas to Phoenix, and during our set tonight. Ten seconds, that’s all I last once I’ve dragged my gaze away before itlands back on her again. It’s pathetic, the way I’m watching her, knowing I hurt her.
I told myself I was doing the right thing, protecting the band, the dream. But the way she’s purposefully ignoring me feels like a punishment, and I deserve every second of it.
I’m the reason her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes as she stands at the bar with Eli and some guy I don’t recognize. He’s tall and standing too close, leaning in when he talks. Eli says something, and the guy laughs, Paige joining in a beat too late, like she has to remind herself to react.
