When I heard everyone leave, I went back inside the empty apartment. I felt exhausted before I spoke to Trev, but now I was wide awake. Buzzed. He had a knack for getting me all worked up like that.

I walked around, ducking my head in each room, searching for a distraction. When I came up empty I went into the room I shared with Leanne and pulled my keyboard from its case. I messed around with a song I was working on, trying out lyrics to see which ones fit the melody.

I lost track of time as I ran through song after song, figuring out a set list for Wednesday night. I was excited. This would be my first time playing a gig outside of the U.K. I wondered about the people who might come to see me play. What would they think of my songs? Would my lyrics touch them somehow? Mean something?

I wasn’t sure why, but it always felt so important to get people to emote. I wanted to know they felt how I felt. I wanted to reach them in a real and powerful way. Sometimes I wished for my words to reach thousands, even hundreds of thousands, but the only way to do that was to become famous, and my introverted nature wholly rejected the idea. Not that fame would be so easy to achieve anyway. I was content playing my obscure little shows every week, so long as I had enough money to put food on the table.

After a while I curled up in bed and scribbled down lyrics until I fell asleep with my face flat on the paper. I woke to the sound of voices and a heavy bladder. Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes and went to use the bathroom.

I tried doing my business and sneaking back to bed unnoticed but it wasn’t to be. Before I reached my door, Paul came down the hallway, a friendly smile in place.

“Reya, we missed you at dinner. We’re having drinks in the living room if you want to come join us?”

I tugged my cardigan tighter over my shoulders and glanced by him down the hallway. I could hear female voices. They must’ve gone to a club like Callum wanted and invited some girls back. That definitely wasn’t something I wanted any part in, especially not if Trev was ‘romancing’ one of them. And especially not in my uber-sexy leggings, T-shirt and cardigan ensemble.

“I don’t think—”

Before I could finish my sentence, Paul grabbed my hand and tugged me towards the action. My heart hammered as he slid his fingers through mine and gave a squeeze. I glanced at him and there was something in his eyes that made me suspect he knew how I felt and empathised. But if that were true, then why was he pulling me into the lion’s den?

Paul led me over to sit on one of the couches next to James. Callum was on the other couch, an attractive brunette on one side of him and Leanne and Neil on the other. Leanne was deep in conversation with Neil, but I wondered if she was simply trying to ignore Callum and the girl he was with.

There was a small love seat where two other girls sat, both attractive and wearing skimpy outfits. And both of them were eyeing Trev like a prized cut of beef, or you know, a prized hook-up. He stood by the door leading out to the balcony, talking on the phone. His eyes met mine for a brief second, his attention going to Paul’s hand on mine. On instinct I let go, drawing my hand into my lap. A deep frown marred his features.

“Reya, you should’ve come out with us. You missed a great night,” Callum said jovially as the brunette ran a seductive hand across his chest.

“Looks like the night isn’t over yet,” I remarked.

He grinned, tipping a glass of whiskey to his lips and murmuring lasciviously, “With a bit of luck.”

Leanne appeared to stiffen, like she was listening to Callum’s every word while continuing to chat with Neil.

“How was the restaurant?” I asked, changing the subject. I didn’t want to indulge whatever game Callum was playing this time. In truth, his behaviour galled me, especially considering the conversation I overheard between him and Leanne earlier. There was obviously something between them and he was flaunting a potential one-night stand in her face. It was a dirty tactic, cruel, and I didn’t like people who sunk to such low levels.

“Fantastic,” James answered. “Best meal I’ve had in ages.”

When I caught Trev’s eye a second time he seemed fixated on how close Paul and I were sitting. I watched as he ended his call, shoved his phone in his pocket, and came toward us. He didn’t say a word but Paul moved and let him slide in between us nonetheless. It was interesting how he could silently communicate possession like that. He had no say over me, not anymore, but I could still tell he didn’t like the idea of Paul and me becoming close.

His arm rested along the back of the couch, just an inch or two away from my shoulders, and I could feel his heat. When he bent to ask, “You want a drink?” I felt the words sizzle their way to the pit of my stomach.

“No, thank you.”

“Did we wake you?” he went on, his voice low and intimate.

“Yeah, but don’t worry about it.”

“You want me to tell them to turn the music down?”

“No, that’s fine.”

“I love this song!” one of the nameless girls exclaimed in a Belgian accent, jumping up from her seat and shimmying her hips. I imagined it was an attempt to garner attention from the men. I convinced myself I wasn’t bothered. I wasn’t here to compete for anyone’s attention. Not even Trev’s.

Leanne arched a brow and our eyes connected for a moment. We were both less than thrilled about the situation. I was about to ask her if she felt like heading to bed, since we were sharing a room, but then Callum spoke.

“How about a game of strip poker? Winner gets two grand.”

“And who’s putting up the two grand?” James asked casually.

“We can all throw in a few hundred,” Callum answered, like it was obvious, then levelled his eyes on Trev. “You in?”

Trev shook his head. “You know I don’t have a few hundred. At least, I don’t have access to it.”

“Oh, come on. I’m sure you can cobble it together.”

“Sorry, bud. You can’t take the trousers off a bare backside. I’m skint, technically speaking.”

I turned to study him. “You can’t access your money?”

Trev sliced his teeth across his lower lip, considering his answer a moment, then finally said, “Nope. Impulse-control issues.”

Well, that was vague.

“He bought a Ferrari and management lost their shit. Told him he needed to put a lock on his accounts,” Paul explained. “Oh, and didn’t you want to get a diamond necklace for Nicole’s birthday last year?”

I stiffened at the mention of his ex, my ears pricked to hear Trev’s answer.

“Actually, that was probably the only bad spending idea that wasn’t mine.”

“She asked for it?” Callum put in, laughing. “I always knew she was brazen.”

“Did you let her keep it after you broke up?” I asked. I had no idea how much diamonds cost, only that it was usually thousands, if not hundreds of thousands.

“I was hardly going to take it back. A gift’s a gift. Anyway, now if I want to access anything over my weekly allowance it takes five days to free up the cash. That way I can’t buy stuff in the heat of the moment. It’s worked well so far. After about a day I tend to realise I don’t really need a solid-gold statue of a South American jaguar to put in my living room,” he said with a hint of self-deprecation.

“It would be kind of gangsta though.” Paul chuckled just as there was a knock on the door.

“That’ll be the pizza,” said Neil, hurrying to answer it.

“Didn’t you all just eat dinner?” I asked, glancing around the group, still worrying over Trev’s spending issues. I’d never known him to be like that before, but then again, he was just as poor as me back then. You can’t spend money you don’t have.

“That was three hours ago,” said Leanne. “You’ll soon learn this lot never stop eating. It’s like a constant feeding frenzy.”

“Hey! We’re growing boys. Tiny people like you just don’t understand our appetites,” said Paul playfully.

“I have an appetite,” Leanne threw back. “I just don’t eat like a flippin’ elephant.”

I smelled the melted cheese as soon as Neil carried the boxes inside and set them down on the coffee table. My stomach grumbled. I hadn’t eaten since lunch.

“You didn’t eat anything, did you?” said Trev. He knew me well enough to know my hungry face when he saw it.

I shook my head and he smiled as he bent forward to grab one of the boxes. He threw it open and gestured at all the cheesy, tomato-y goodness. “Have at it.”

I picked up a slice and took a bite, resisting the urge to groan at how good it tasted. Flicking my gaze to the side I found Trev watching intently. I swallowed, both self-consciousness and the pizza, and tried to ignore the heat radiating from him.

Everyone dug in, even the nameless Belgian girls. One of them tried sliding onto the couch between Trev and me, but he held out a hand to stop her.

“No room, hon.”

She batted her lashes at him. “There’s room on your lap . . .”

“Nah, you’re all right.”

I stifled a laugh at his casually disinterested response. Back in the day, Trev would’ve welcomed her onto his lap with open arms, whether I was in the room or not. This change in him was disconcerting, but in a good way. Her lips flattened in annoyance just as Callum interjected, “You can come sit on mine, babe. The more the merrier.”

She flashed him a smile and sidled over to join the other woman already on his lap. Both Leanne and Neil got up from the couch, and Neil put his arm around Leanne’s shoulders as though to comfort her. I knew exactly how she felt, because just a few years ago I was in her exact position, only I didn’t have a Neil to comfort me.

Quick as a flash, Callum shoved the girls off his lap and went after them. “Where are you two going?”

“Leave her alone,” said Neil, turning to face him. Neil wasn’t a tall man, nor was he muscular like Callum, but he had a quiet strength about him that was an equal match for Callum’s overt masculinity.

“What makes you think you have a say?”

“Come on, man. She’s been through enough.”

“What she’s been through is none of your business,” Callum gritted his teeth.

I glanced at Trev and saw he was on the edge of his seat, ready to jump in at any moment. I was just glad the cameras weren’t being set up in the apartment until tomorrow, otherwise the TV producers would’ve been able to use this drama as fodder for the show. I’d barely spent a day with them, but oddly enough, I found myself caring about the group. Even Callum. He was basically Trev two years ago, so I knew there must’ve been underlying issues causing his behaviour.

“Neil’s right. You should leave me alone,” said Leanne, her voice a little wobbly. It was difficult reconciling this emotional girl with the stoic, badass chick I knew from the show. “I’m going to bed,” she went on and turned toward the bedrooms.

Callum went after her and Neil grabbed him by the shoulder to try and stop him. Trev jumped up from his seat and in a flash he was between the two men. “Let’s not start this series on a row, yeah?”

“I’m just trying to help Leanne,” said Neil, standing firm.

“And I just want to talk to her for a minute,” said Callum, turning and striding towards the bedrooms after Leanne. Both Neil and Trev went after him, but a second later I heard a door slam shut.

“Get out!” Leanne yelled. She and Callum started having an argument but the closed door muted what they were saying.

“Is it always like this?” I asked Paul.

He let out a quiet sigh. “Not always. It’s been worse the last few months.”

“Yeah well, that’s what happens when you sleep with your best friend,” said James, sounding tired. His words struck a chord with me.

Of course they did.

I knew exactly how sleeping with your best friend could ruin everything.