Kissing the Shy Guy - Stephanie Street Page 0,13

wanted to disappoint her. However, I wanted her support, her love, and acceptance. It couldn’t be easy for her with two children who traveled down unconventional paths. Diana and I were never going to go to college and have regular careers, picket fences, and big families. Maybe we’d have that someday, but first, we wanted careers as performers.

Reaching out, I placed my hands on her shoulders. I’d been taller than her since I turned twelve. She had to tilt her head back to look into my eyes.

“Mom, I’ve made my decision. We’re touring with Carly this summer, and if all goes according to plan, we’ll have a recording agreement next fall.”

Her eyes searched mine, probably looking for any small chink in my armor. There weren’t any. Maybe I wasn’t the most vocal of the Smith/Sheridan children, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t be the most stubborn.

Mom cupped my cheek in her hand. “You look just like your father. Handsome and mulish.”

I laughed at that. I’d never known my father. He died before I was old enough to form any lasting memories of him. I’d seen pictures, though, and had to agree—I looked just like him.

Leaning forward, I smacked her cheek with a loud kiss. “Good. Then you won’t try to talk me out of it.”

Mom snorted. “As if it would do me any good.” She turned away from me then, back to whatever she’d been doing before I walked in the door.

I went to pick up my guitar.

“It’s not that I’m not proud of you, you know,” her words stopped me as I put my foot on the bottom step leading up to the bedrooms.

“I know. Thanks, Mom.” And that was as close as I would get to acceptance from her until I proved myself safe and whole at the end of the tour.

We’d see what happened from there.

In my room, I texted Jarom.

What the hell?

He didn’t respond right away, but when he did, I knew he knew exactly what I was talking about.

Dude, I know. And several seconds later: She was going to find out.

My parents. My terms.

Jarom sent a series of inappropriate emojis designed to make me laugh, and I did. However, I still wanted to put him in a chokehold and see how long he lasted before passing out.

Don’t be a diva.

My jaw clenched, reading the words. Jarom was my best friend. He knew exactly what to say to make me angry. Comfortable as I might be in my skin, I lived in a house overrun with women. Jarom never missed an opportunity to tease me about it.

After replying with an equally inappropriate text, I tossed my phone onto my bed. And found myself once again thinking about Jenna.

She had a dream, too. I knew how much that scholarship, whatever they called it, could change her life. When we’d first started out, I never dreamed Breakout would go on tour with one of the country’s biggest stars. But that hadn’t kept me from dreaming we’d be more than a garage band playing small gigs for pennies. Then Asher came along and brought us to the next level. His talent and his connections were the difference between the possibilities and reality.

Now that Josh had deserted her, who would be there for Jenna?

5

Jenna

The next day, I still couldn't believe Josh had dumped me. It hadn't been easy separating my feelings about the breakup from my worries about the DIVA competition, but I'd been working on it.

It didn't take long for me to realize that Josh was right about one thing. We had grown apart over the last few months. It was apparent to me now that we'd only been staying together out of habit and shared goals. I could honestly admit I wasn't at all heartbroken about the breakup. On that score, I actually felt relief. Well, except when I thought about him cheating on me with someone else. I'd never forget his betrayal. And once I found out who he was seeing…well, I'd cross that bridge when I came to it.

As for the DIVA competition? I was stumped. What was I going to do? I didn't know, and I didn't have much time to figure it out. I didn't think I'd ever forgive Josh for leaving me in this position. I would never have done something like that to him. I never would have imagined him capable of hurting me like this, not just as a person, but as a fellow performer. He knew how important this opportunity