Page 25 of Hard Rock Love

8

Seth and I jumped apart, his hand falling to his side, as Everly’s voice intruded through my fogged up brain.

I smoothed down my dress with sweaty palms as she approached.

“I was just about to come find you,” I told her, hoping she didn’t notice my shaky hands.

Everly was eyeing Seth suspiciously.

“I thought you were starting up a drinking game?” she said.

“Yeah, I’m heading off to round up some people right now,” Seth said quickly. “I’ll see you later.”

As he scurried away, he threw me one last look, a smile, and a wink.

“You and Seth having a good time?” Everly asked archly.

“He’s a cool guy,” I said, trying not to look guilty. “Just as nice as I remembered.”

Everly snorted. “Yeah, Seth isniceall right.”

I frowned. “Are you saying he’s not?”

“He’s a good guy, don’t get me wrong, butnice? That’s the last word I’d use to describe that guy.”

“Well, I think he’s nice,” I said stubbornly.

My sister looked at me skeptically, but didn’t say anything else.

“I was coming to find you to ask you about something,” she said. “I ran into Cerise and she said there’s a blog interested in doing a piece on, and I quote,kick-ass female rock stars.She said they’d love to have me there, too.”

“That’s awesome!” I exclaimed. “You’re the most kick ass person I know.”

“I was wondering if you wanted to come to the interview, too?” she asked. “You’ve been cooped up studying all week and I thought you might like to get out and do something fun. Besides, this online music magazine blog thing is apparently looking for new writers. You love reading and writing, maybe you can talk to them about it?”

“Maybe,” I said doubtfully. I did like reading, and I was good at writing essays, but I wasn't sure how I felt about writing for a blog. I knew Everly was trying to get me doing something other than schoolwork.

“Please come?” Everly asked. “At the very least you can keep me company.”

“Okay,” I said. “If I don’t have any other work due, I’ll come.”

“Thank you!” She threw her arms around me and squeezed. “It’ll be fun, I promise.”

I just hoped it didn’t conflict with my next study date with Seth. I tried to discretely scan the room, looking for him.

I caught a glimpse of his tousled hair near the kitchen.

My heart sank.

Seth was chatting with two women, laughing as he threw his arm around one of their shoulders. I could see they both had the same face. Twins. One of them smiled at him and touched his shoulder. The other whispered something in his ear. He flashed her a wicked grin.

My chest tightened, my lungs constricting painfully.

Twins. Of course it had to be a pair of hot twins. Girls like that no doubt threw themselves at him all the time.

How in the world could I have thought I’d be able to compete with the kind of woman Seth could attract?

My face threatened to crumple. I quickly looked away, not wanting my sister to know I was upset.