Page 18 of Wild

She narrows her eyes. “Nice try.”

I crack a grin. “Goodnight, Mia.”

She rolls up her window without another word and pulls away. I head back out on the sidewalk, watching until her taillights disappear around the corner.

I can’t help but feel like I won something pretty important tonight.

* * *

“Where have you been?”Cannon asks from the back of the couch, chewing on a toothpick. He always gets antsy when he’s stuck inside and can’t smoke.

I shrug, my hands shoved deep into the pockets of my jeans. “I walked around for a bit. I wanted to clear my head,” I explain.

He stares at me, brow raised, like he’s assessing my truthfulness. After a moment he turns back to the flat screen TV. That’s his silent code that he’s calling bullshit but doesn’t feel like getting into it with me right now. I’m sure he’s already figured out I stayed behind to speak with Mia. Nothing gets by Cannon.

Rush watches me from the chair. His lips fighting a smile. I want to punch the smirk off his face.

Is that how Mia feels about me?

“If you were scouting for chicks, you could’ve told me,” he says.

“Like I said, I was only walking around.”

“Mhmm,” he hums, not believing me, but I’m actually telling the truth.

With a sigh I stalk past the two guys and into my room, closing the door behind me a little sharper than I intended. The clang of the door reverberates in the room.

I start stripping out of my clothes as I head into the bathroom. Turning on the shower I wait a moment before stepping under the steaming spray. I tilt my head back, letting it pour over my face.

All my mind should be on is music, and the magic we created in the studio today with Hayes—fuck, he was so pleased he wanted to start on asecondsong—but instead, all I can think about is Mia.

Hisdaughter.

It’s wrong of me, for more reasons than one, but mostly because I can’t put my—our—career in jeopardy. Being a part of a band is about working together toward the same common goal. If one person steps out of line it throws the entire balance off and it can be hard to recover. Bands break up all the time. Ones you’ve seen splashed across magazines and those still playing in garages. I can’t risk losing my guys because of a girl. One whom I met a few days ago, one I don’t even know. I’m not the boyfriend type and I know from looking at Mia she’s not a fling type of girl. One-night stands are all I know anymore. If I have no intention of being her boyfriend then I need to stay away, for my sake, hers, and the guys.

And yet, when I close my eyes all I see is her face.

Her eyes.

Her lips.

Fuck, I’m screwed.

And not in the way I want to be.

CHAPTER5

MIA

Exhaustion seeps into my bones, but I keep working. The Sub Club has had an almost non-stop line ever since I got to work. Kira works beside me, swiftly wrapping the subs I make. We’re a great team, and work together quickly. It’s the main reason why we’re always scheduled on the same shift. I think otherwise, because of our friendship, we wouldn’t share the same shifts most of the time.

Closing time is soon, and I can’t wait to sit down and have a sub of my own before I go home.

At least I’m caught up on homework. Once I’m out of here I can head home, shower, and dive into my bed. It sounds like heaven.

Kira checks the customer out and finally, blessedly, there is silence.

For a moment at least.

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