More of Us ( A Love You More Rock Star Romance #3) - Laura Pavlov Page 0,59

YOU have to deal with your shit.

Me ~ Not for much longer. I’m done with Exiled in June.

More Jade ~ No more Farah Clearwater. No more Dex. And even your dad won’t have anything to bother you about.

I laughed. She just got me, and I fucking loved it.

Me ~ See you in a few days.

More Jade ~ Yep. You’re graduating, rock star. Miss you.

Me ~ Miss you more.

“What’s the deal with you two? She forgiven you yet?” Gio asked. He and I had grown close, and he knew a little bit about why Jade and I weren’t together at the moment.

“She’s getting there.”

“Good. You impress me, man,” he said.

“Why’s that?”

“You deal with a lot of bullshit being the lead singer of Exiled. You have, quite possibly, the most fucked up father I’ve ever met, and you remain sober. And you’re a kickass fighter, who could turn that into a career if you wanted to,” he said, with a smirk.

“Not happening. And, thanks for saying that. Now, enough of the soft shit. How about you find me a sparring partner. I need to beat the shit out of someone who is willing.”

He laughed. “Let me see what I can come up with when we get there.”

“Sounds good.”

I googled Farah Clearwater’s name to see what I was up against. No one would believe her after she cried wolf last time, but I should at least be prepared for the shit storm that was most likely coming my way.

I read through a few articles that sounded like complete bullshit, even if I was an outsider who didn’t know we’d never met, I’d find this shit hard to believe. She’d basically said that we’d been on and off since last year, yet when asked, the only picture she could produce was a photo of Jade and I that had been taken by the press, and Farah had clearly photoshopped her face onto it. Even the press called out the photo and said that it looked an awful lot like the one of me and Jade that had gone viral. She had yet to come up with anything else. Red fucking flag. I found it fascinating that this chick could take this story this far when we hadn’t actually ever met. I mean, where was she getting her information?

Fucking Dex. The dude was an asshole. Always had been. Always would be.

So much for his sobriety. The guy wasn’t fixing shit. He was stirring the pot.

But I was done playing his games.

Chapter Fifteen

Jade

“Cruz Christian Winslow,” the dean of the art school called out over the speaker.

Our group was on their feet, screaming and cheering as he walked across the stage. I fought back the tears that threatened. For some reason I was overcome with the fact that he’d surprised everyone by graduating while being on tour with Exiled. The truth was, he’d surprised me. I’d always believed in Cruz, but after all we’d gone through last year, a part of me had lost hope that he would be able to survive all the pressure and all the temptation that came with being the lead singer of Exiled. He’d fought hard for his sobriety, balanced all the drama going on with his family, and he’d lost his anonymity—but he’d taken it all in stride. And he’d come out the other end stronger than ever. I was so freaking proud of him. And in six months he would walk away from Exiled. Maybe this really was our time. Maybe Cruz and I could have our happily ever after.

Dad squeezed my shoulder and smiled down at me. Sara stood on the other side of him, and I was thankful they’d come out to support him. Adam, Tory, Lennon, and Bailey were all sitting in our row. Cruz’s mother had flown out last night so she could be here to support her son. No sign of Steven Winslow, but no one was surprised. I know it bothered Cruz, even if he wouldn’t say so.

I hadn’t been alone with Cruz yet, as he got in late last night, and