Chapter 8: Wrong Side of the Glass

On Friday night I let myself into Halo Row with my old key card.

I told myself I only wanted my notebooks.

I had kept four of them in the cabinet by the piano in the live room, because Devon liked having them close.

The building was quiet, with only the exit signs lit.

I walked down the dark corridor to Studio B and pushed the door open.

The live room was lit by one lamp.

Devon sat at the piano in a T-shirt, with his bare feet on the pedals and a half-empty bottle of water beside him.

He did not look up.

"I thought it might be you," he said.

"How?"

"The lock sounds different when you open it."

I stayed in the doorway.

"I'm only here for my books."

"They're on the piano."

They were, in a neat stack, with a note tucked under the top one.

It said, in his messy handwriting, "I'm sorry. I'm a coward."

I put the note back down.

"You were a coward yesterday," I said.

"I know."

"You looked right at me."

"I know." He turned on the bench. "Hank got to me first."

"He said if I spoke up for you, he'd take Lexi's tour and my next album to another label."

"He said I'd lose everything."

"And what did you say?"

"I said I'd think about it, and then I froze."

"Devon, you froze in front of the person who has stood behind you for three years."

"I know."

"Stop saying you know."

He stood up.

He crossed the room slowly and stopped in front of me.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to ask me what the song was about."

He stared.

Then, very quietly, he said, "What was the song about?"

"You," I said. "And your ridiculous hands, and a hotel in Tokyo you wouldn't call from."

He closed his eyes.

"God, Laurel."

"Don't."

"I can't help it."

He put his palm against my face.

This time I turned into it.

I do not know who moved first.

His mouth came down on mine, slower than the last time, and I tasted the water and the mint on his tongue.

Keep reading free with an account. Start Backstage Romance with the Popstar from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.