Page 13 of Of Heartbreak and Harmony
Just the idea of Torren King makes me nervous. Knowing he’ll be breathing the same air as me in a matter of days makes my stomach tighten in a way that approaches uncomfortable.
Jesus, I’m such a fucking fangirl. Obsessing over a man I’ve only seen in magazines and social media posts. I need to get my shit toge?—
The door to the bus swings open and Sav Loveless storms out, wearing short shorts that might actually be underwear and a large tank top, with her silver hair falling messily around her shoulders.
And behind her, hot on her heels, is Torren King.
He grabs her bicep and swings her around, slamming her into his chest. I can’t see her face, but everything about her body language says she’s pissed. They engage in some sort of angry, whispered argument. I can only make out a few words—mostly expletives—and then she shoves at his chest. He doesn’t let go, so she shoves again, harder this time, causing his torso to jerk backward. I glance at the security guard, expecting him to interfere, but then a loud crack sounds through the air, and I look back just in time to see Sav stomping off and disappearing behind the bus.
Torren stands with his arms at his sides, his head still tilted downward from the slap she dealt him. Even from twenty feet away, I can see the bright red handprint blooming on his cheek.
Three deep breaths and he’s reaching into his back pocket to pull out a small silver case. He places what resembles a cigarette between his plush lips, but when he lights it, a pungent smell wafts my way.
Weed.
He takes a long drag and tilts his head to the sky with his eyes closed, holding the smoke in his lungs before blowing it out slowly.
He exudes something I’ve never felt before. Something like sadness or sickness, but not quite. Different. Elevated. Pained, yet sexy in a way that makes no sense. I want to fix him. I want to worship him back to health.
I’m intruding on a personal moment. I know this. I feel ashamed, but I can’t seem to tear my eyes away from him. The muscles in his neck strain, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows. The harsh sun seems to soften around him, blanketing his body in an otherworldly warmth. He glows, all golden skin and sculpted angles. The only shadows around him in this moment are the ones cast in the hollows of his faceby his sharp cheekbones and messy black hair. He’shaloed. A fallen angel being beckoned back to heaven.
Torren King is probably the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen, and I hate Sav Loveless a little more in this moment. Jealousy flares in my gut and mixes with a possessiveness that almost knocks me over. I want to reach out and touch him.
And then his head turns, his eyes landing right on me.
He doesn’t smile. He doesn’t speak. He just stares.
Ifeelhis gaze. A tingling that makes my ears buzz. My heart pounds loudly in my head, my lungs burning from lack of oxygen. I don’t think I even blink. I don’t think he does either.
He drops his eyes down my body as he brings the pre-roll back to his lips, taking another long drag. When he meets my gaze once more, he blows the thick smoke out his nose, then turns and climbs back into the bus.
As soon as the door closes behind him, I gasp and suck in air. I didn’t dare breathe for fear of disturbing the moment, and I nearly passed out because of it.
Now I understand swooning. I understand why fans collapse unconscious when they meet their idols. Because their essential organs cease to work due to shock—a near-death experience of the most exhilarating kind.
“Fuck, Cal.” Rock’s voice makes me jump, and I whirl around to find the boys staring at me. “I thought he was going to eat you.”
“No shit. Was that an eye fuck or an eye murder?” Ezra adds.
I chuckle nervously, and then I look toward Becket. His jaw is tight, and his hands are clenched into fists. I smile sheepishly, and his nostrils flare.
“He was definitely pissed that we saw that,” I say, trying to lighten his mood. “Such drama, right? Lethal amounts of toxicity.”
I push through Rocky and Ezra and wrap my arm around Becket’s waist, pulling him back in the direction we came. “Let’s find drinks.”
“You think I’d have a chance with Sav Loveless now?” Ezra says from behind me.
I laugh and roll my eyes as Rocky chimes in with a snarky remark.
“Dude, fuck no. If Torren King almost turned cannibal on Callie, youdon’t want to know what he’d do to you if you so much as breathe in Sav’s direction.”
Rocky grunts, and I don’t have to turn around to know Ezra socked him in the gut. Before they can start brawling like siblings, I point out a food truck to distract them.
“Tacos.”
“Tequila.” Becket whispers the words suggestively into my hair. I guess his jealous anger is gone, replaced quickly with the promise of what’s supposed to happen tonight.
But my stomach doesn’t flip like it would have two hours ago.
