Rocking His Fake World (Love You Forever #3) - Alexis Winter Page 0,56
better than an autograph from me.”
“That reminds me,” Van says, stealing our attention away from each other, “there’s this guy the label hired to lug our shit around on tour. I want to introduce you to him. I think you’ll like him.”
I look at him, confused. What’s he trying to do? It’s not okay for me to date Daniel, but it’s okay to date this random roadie? Or is all this just some kind of game to try to make Daniel jealous? With Van, there’s no telling.
“I’m not looking to date anyone, Van. You know that.”
He shrugs. “I just figured with your little pre-show warm-up, having someone on tour could help with that, but whatever.” He turns his attention to the guys, leaving Daniel looking at me, confused.
I mouth the words I’ll explain later and he nods. The guys don’t seem to be going anywhere and I’m officially done eating. The potatoes are gone, the funnel cake has been finished off, and I’m out of my lemon shake-up. Still, they’re not leaving and I can’t exactly get up and leave with Daniel without raising suspicions. So instead, I look around for another reason to leave.
“Mmm, that ice cream looks good.”
Daniel turns his head to see the stand that’s further down the path. “That doesn’t sound too bad. Want to go get some?” he asks.
Van stands up. “Hey, that does sound good. Let’s go.” He climbs out of the picnic table and takes off toward the stand, leaving Daniel and me staring at each other. Begrudgingly, we stand and follow after him. We can’t just run in the opposite direction. He would know something was up for sure.
Even though my stomach is full and can’t handle anything else, I force myself to choke down the ice cream while Van watches me with a knowing smile. It’s like he knows what’s going on and he’s just trying to see how far he can push it.
While we’re eating our ice cream, he looks up at Daniel. “Hey, man, the guys and I are getting ready to hit up a strip club. Wanna join?” He takes a sip of his beer and I catch a whiff of his breath. It smells like straight alcohol. Van doesn’t drink all that often, and when he does, he never overdoes it. I wonder what’s gotten into him to make him drink like this tonight.
I nearly choke on my ice cream but manage to hold it back.
Daniel smiles. “Thanks, but that’s not really my scene.”
“What?” Van questions. “A good-looking guy like you can’t stay single for too long. Or are you still with that sexy model you brought to the party?”
I’m already grinding my teeth together to hold back the anger that night brought on.
“No, Dee Dee and I called it quits. We’re better as friends.”
“So you’re single?” Van verifies.
Daniel looks at me quickly, then back to Van. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
“I’ve got a couple of girls I could hook you up with if you’re interested.”
“Thanks, but I’m good. I don’t have a problem meeting women. My problem’s getting them to leave when I’m tired of them.”
Van laughs. “Heard that. Guess that’s a club you need to join, Luna.”
I jab my elbow into his ribs. “It’s not like that, Van. Daniel and I are just friends and we’re both cool with that.”
He nods. “Riiiight. We all know that you would jump back on it if he’d let you, Luna.” He raises his beer to his lips and takes a long drink, finishing it off.
“Fuck you, Van,” I say, getting up and walking away.
It doesn’t take long before Daniel’s behind me. “Hey, slow down,” he says, running up to my side. “Are you okay? You know Van was just drunk and being an asshole. No reason to let it bother you.”
I stop and turn to face him. “I know. I’m concerned with why he was drinking like that to begin with, but I’m too angry to care at the moment. It just pisses me off that he says that shit. I mean, does he know we’re together? Is he trying to call me out on keeping us a secret? Or is he really just that big of an ass?”
He wraps me up in his arms, his hands rubbing up and down my back in smooth motions. “Come on. Let’s get you home. It’s been a long day.” He leads me out to his car in the parking lot, where I climb into the passenger seat. The car is