Page 26 of Before We’re More Than Friends (When We Faced the Music #1)

I gasped. “I do not have the hots for Raina Vermont!”

A few people whipped their heads toward me.

I’m going to die. I’m going to die on my seventeenth birthday and Valentine’s Day .

I swallowed. “There’s a fine line between platonic and romantic.” And my mind had long crossed it. But I’d get back on the side I was supposed to be on. Hopefully.

If she stopped freaking grinning at me like that.

If she stopped being so freaking adorable.

If she stopped freaking existing.

“Dallas, you’re a terrible liar,” Hayden said, shaking his head.

“As terrible as you are a party planner?”

“Would you get over that already? Plus, how was the party terrible when you got to touch Raina’s leg?”

I gasped again. Was I ever really alone with Raina? “You?—”

Raina and Arielle strolled over to us before I could finish my sentence. Gosh, please tell me they didn’t hear what we were talking about. Please, please, please.

“Hey, ladies,” Hayden crooned with that stupid smirk. “Dallas didn’t expect to see you here.”

Every curse word I knew was at the tip of my tongue. “I didn’t know you guys hung out here, too,” I said, focusing my gaze on Arielle and not Raina. Focus on the twin you’re not secretly in love with.

“We started going to this place last fall and fell in love,” Arielle said, nodding to their booth. Sienna was there, sitting next to one of her cousins. A brunette with bangs sat beside the other one. Was that Gracelynn? I didn’t know who else hung out with them.

Sienna turned to the stage to look at the band, becoming a breathing star-eyed emoji. When Ivan looked at her and smiled, she smiled back before looking away, her cheeks flushing.

Arielle giggled. “Sienna is especially in love.”

“This is basically her second home,” Raina said with a laugh. Her eyes locked with mine again, less ice in the blue than usual. “I’m surprised it took Hayden this long to introduce you to this place.”

I shrugged. “We’ve only known each other for a week.” Just like we have . If I reminded myself that I’d just met Raina and didn’t really know her, it’d make this situation a little easier. Not much, but just a little. “But yeah, it’s pretty cool here.”

“Well, we just wanted to say hi,” Arielle said, brushing her waves back. Her gaze dropped to our brainstorms. “Were you guys songwriting?”

“Oh.” Hayden shut his notebook, his cheeks flushing. “We were doing exercises.”

“Cool.” Arielle gave him a sheepish smile. “Well, have fun.” She waved at us before scurrying back to her booth.

“See you,” Raina said, though it sounded like she was only saying it to me. She gave us another smile before following her sister.

“I have the hots for Raina, huh?” I asked Hayden with a smirk. “What about you and Arielle?”

“It’s not what it looks like,” Hayden said, his tone even and his cheeks no longer pink. Man, he was a better actor than I was. “I just don’t want her to see our notes.”

“You only covered yours.”

“You’re just trying to distract me from you and Raina, Mr. Red Cheeks.”

My stupid cheeks flushed in rebellion. “It’s stuffy in here.”

“Sure it is.” Hayden shook his head. “Back to the songwriting. Didn’t the atmosphere here help? You know, besides the ‘stuffiness’?”

I ignored his remark. “It honestly distracted me.” Both because of the music and because of Raina’s presence, but he didn’t need to know the latter.

“Yeah, maybe it was a bad idea to do serious soul-searching while a live band plays catchy songs.” Hayden sang along to the chorus of the song Somewhere in the Sky was playing now, not missing a word.

I took my brainstorming pages and wrote more as he sang, trying to come up with a melody in my head. When I was done, I handed Hayden my page of lyrics. “How about this?”

His eyes traveled across the page before a smile spread on his face. “And I thought that you were a terrible songwriter.”

I laughed. “You don’t have to lie to me. I won’t be discovered as the next Ed Sheeran as soon as I post a video of myself singing these lyrics.”

“I mean, I’m not even that good. I’m already in a band with Oliver, Caleb, and Sienna. But we haven’t really become serious until recently.” He nodded to a poster that was on the half-wall next to us.

Battle of the Bands: Show us what you’ve got! Hosted here at What Do You Bean by our beloved Somewhere in the Sky. Winning band performs three gigs here with dates of their choice. You could be the next band to play here regularly! Join us Saturday, March 27, 6-10 p.m.

“You see,” Hayden said, folding his hands on the table as if he were a school principal asking me to do something, “we don’t have a lead singer.”

I blinked so hard that my eyes almost watered. “You can’t be serious,” I said, anxiety rising in my chest. “You’ve heard me sing one lyric, Hayden.” Maybe he’d heard me singing to the animals at the shelter, but even that wasn’t the best representation of my voice.

“Sheesh, not everything is about you.” Hayden rolled his eyes.

“Oh.” My cheeks grew hot. “Sorry.”

He bit his lip as he collected my pages.

I sighed. “You were going to ask me to do it, anyway, weren’t you?”

He dropped his hands on the table. “But you’re so good!”

“You’ve never even heard me sing a full song.” I shook my head. “I know you’re desperate, but this isn’t how you ask someone on a date.”

“Maybe I should take a few tips from Oliver,” he muttered. “But seriously?—”

“Hayden.” I reached for my milkshake, though the idea of singing made me sick to my stomach. “It’s not happening. There are other people so much better for that role.”

He sighed. “Well, it was worth a try.”

“Thank you.” I had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last of this, but there was no way I could start singing again.

I used to love playing the guitar, but I got so nervous doing it in front of other people.

The last time I’d tried was for a talent show in seventh grade, which resulted in me dropping my guitar and bolting off the stage, seconds away from pissing myself .

That type of stage fright happened to second graders, not seventh graders.

“Still think about it, though,” Hayden said as he ate his croissants.

I grunted. “You really can’t take rejection.”

He let out a soft chuckle. “Too bad there’s a spark between us.”