Page 5 of Cougar

“Crying doesn’t make you weak. It makes you human,” he says when I’m finished, using his thumb to wipe a tear from my cheek. “Your brother sounds like an asshole.”

I snort a laugh. Max was kind of an asshole back then, but that all changed when he met and married his wife, Jessica, and became a dad. I’ve seen him shed a few tears over the past several years: on his wedding day, the day his son, Dylan, was born, and there may have been tears in his eyes this morning when he hugged me goodbye.

“I think he took his big brother role seriously.” I smile. “Tough love and all that.” I shrug a shoulder.

For the rest of the flight, I do most of the talking, but I learn a few things about Marcus. His name is Marcus Alexander King, he’s twenty-three, he lives in Malibu and he’s the front man for the rock band Royal Mayhem. I’ve actually heard of them. Last night, as a matter of fact, because Max and Jessica had gone to their concert while I babysat Dylan.

The plane touches down at LAX and Marcus walks with me to baggage claim.

“Don’t you have any luggage?” I ask, knowing he’d been on tour. Suddenly it dawns on me and my brows pinch in confusion. “Where’s the rest of your band?”

Shoving his hands into his front pockets, he rocks back on his heels and averts his eyes. “On the bus.” He sounds sheepish.

They left without him? Why—oh.

I feel the blush creep across my cheeks. I only just met the man five hours ago, so the fact that I’m jealous is utterly ridiculous.Get over yourself, Emerson.

“So, what are your plans?” he asks.

“For what?”

“For the day? For lunch? For dinner? For the rest of your life?” He shoots me a wink and I smile.

My heart flutters in my chest.

“My cousin Lilly is waiting for me.” Lilly was so excited when I’d called and asked if I could spend the summer with her. She’s twenty-one, has her own apartment and is a junior at UCLA earning her degree in public relations. It’s because of Lilly’s influence that I’m also attending UCLA in the fall.

“Emerson!”Speak of the devil.I turn just as Lilly slams into me. “I’m so excited that you’re here!” She pulls back but keeps a grip on my upper arms. “Girl, we are gonna have so much fun. By the end of summer you’ll be saying, ‘Chris who?’”

When I talked to Lilly the other day, I told her about Chris cheating on me, but I didn’t tell her about my fight with Liz. I’m not ready to talk about that yet.

A throat clears and I look over my shoulder to see Marcus watching us with interest and a smirk on his face.

“Lilly, this is Marcus.” I gesture to him. “Marcus, this is my cousin Lilly.”

“I know you.” She points at him. “You’re the lead singer in that band.” She snaps her fingers. “Royal Mayhem, right? You played at UCLA last month.”

Marcus’s eyes shift from left to right before he gives a stiff nod. “It’s good to meet you.”

Lilly’s brows dip in confusion. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be on tour?”

Marcus chuckles. “Tour’s over. I took the shortcut home.” He gestures to me. “I was hoping to convince Emerson to hang out with me today.”

“Um….” Lilly’s mouth pops open but nothing comes out as she turns her curious expression on me. As much as I’d love to spend the day with Marcus, I’m not sure it’s a good idea, and I can’t ditch Lilly.

“I should probably get settled in,” I say. Marcus’s shoulders drop slightly. “But how about dinner?”

“Dinner it is.” He pulls a cell phone from his pocket. “Can I get your number?”

Oh yeah. I’d forgotten about the cell phone my parents gave me. Fishing through my purse, I pull out the phone and power it on. “I don’t know my number. Give me yours and I’ll call you.”

After exchanging numbers with this semi-famous rock star, something prompts me to ask, “Would you like a ride home?”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll grab a cab.”

“It’s no trouble, really,” Lilly insists.

“If you’re sure,” he hedges. His eyes flick to me and I nod.

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