Page 36 of Paint Our Song

“You wouldn’t last a minute against me.” Chase winks at Calvin.

“Let’s go right now.”

Chase makes a move to get up until Gil knocks a fist against his head, and he pouts and backs off. He mumbles something about only wanting to poke fun at Calvin, and Calvin raises his eyebrows at him with a smirk.

Calvin smirking was a sight Miles could’ve gone the whole night without seeing. He’s done for now.

“I’ll go get another round,” he says, even if they’ve already established that the staff can bring it to them.

He makes his way to the drinks booth and orders beer for the table.

Miles brushes hair away from his eyes. His half ponytail is loose, and he’s just about to fix it when a waitress shoves a tray in his hands.

On his way back to the rest of the group, he runs into Calvin, who says he forgot his car keys in the tour bus. They both try to get out of each other’s way, but step in the same direction—then they try to correct themselves and step to the same side again.

“Okay, wait.” Calvin holds Miles by the elbow to steady him, and Miles’s brain short-circuits. There’s a tingling in his elbow when Calvin lets go. “I wanted to talk, actually.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry for that… whatever that was.”

“Not your fault,” he says.

“Are you going back to your inn tomorrow?” Calvin asks, much to Miles’ surprise. “Any chance I can get a ride with you? I was going to take my car, but my sister wants to borrow it.”

“I’m going back on Monday. My exhibit’s running the entire weekend.”

“Can I ride back with you?” Calvin asks. He looks as if he wants to say something more, but then catches himself and stays silent instead.

Miles wonders if he was going to ask if he could go to the exhibit, but that would be wishful thinking. Truthfully, if he didn’t feel like someone from the outside looking in right now, he’d invite him.

“Ah, yeah.” The tray of beer’s heavy, and his arms are starting to ache, but he’s too proud to admit it to Calvin. “Yeah… yeah, okay.”

Calvin frowns. “If you don’t want me to, just say so. I thought you wanted to start on your campaigns.”

“I do!” he blurts out, jerking and almost dropping the tray. Hair falls over his eyes again, and he blows it away. “Sorry, I’m in my head.”

“Why’s that?”

Miles shrugs. “I feel like I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t have made you invite us.”

“You didn’t make me do anything.” He sounds baffled.

When Calvin spells out the obvious like that, Miles feels like an idiot. Too bad he can’t seem to stop putting his foot in his mouth, anyway. “You were being polite. I asked, and you arranged it.”

Calvin smirks. “I’m not that polite.”

That calms Miles down, somehow. If Calvin isn’t bothered by it,then he shouldn’t feel so stupid. He shouldn’t have been there for… all that. Chase made it seem he was the reason it all went down like that. Him, specifically.

“I’m a weird ass fan who ruined your night,” Miles says, and the moment the words escape him, he winces at how stupid he sounds.

“You didn’t.” Calvin narrows his eyes. “Text me your apartment address. I’ll be there Monday morning.”

“I… Alright.”

There’s a hand on his elbow again. “Hey.”

“Yeah?”