CHAPTER 55
Lex
I didn’t talk to Amie. Not that night, not the next, and the secrecy continued well into the next week. I was starting to get nauseated every time I made an excuse to step away from our room. There were only so many trips to the gym I could make while praying she didn’t follow me. My best excuse was the one that tore me up the most.
“I’m going to step out to call Shane,” I told her that night as she was getting ready to shower.
The disappointment on her face crushed me. “But your calls with him are, like, five hours long. We’re going to Tao tonight. Remember? Reggie got us bottle service, and the whole crew is supposed to be there.” She wasn’t about to let up. “Can you just tell him you’ll talk tomorrow?”
The acid in my gut was about to eat its way through my body. Shit. I’d totally forgotten about our crew club night. We’d wanted to make it a monthly thing where we’d pitch in and grab bottle service at one of the fancier clubs on the strip. Tonight we were supposed to head to Tao at the Venetian.
I let the door handle slip out of my hands and walked over to the closet. “I can’t believe I forgot.” I tried to hide my burning face. I could sense that Amie wasn’t buying it. She crossed her arms in the doorway of the bathroom and narrowed her eyes at me.
“Lex, be straight with me. Were you really going to call Shane and talk for hours? I mean, I have a friend on tour with him right now, and that crew works almost every night.”
My entire body felt as if it were going up in flames. Why had I put off telling Amie? I could trust her. The time had just never seemed right. I faced her, my shoulder sagging, and I could feel the air deflate from my chest. “I wasn’t going to call Shane.” I bit my lip, trying desperately to form the right words in my head.
“Where were you going? Is it a guy?”
I nodded, relief slipping through my veins. Maybe if she guessed, it would be easier.
She narrowed her eyes. “Is it someone I know?”
Her mouth dropped at the half smile I gave her. The words were not coming off my tongue.
“Oh my God. It’s Reggie. You’re sleeping with Reggie?” Her voice practically squealed with shock at a volume that had me muffling my ears.
“Be quiet,” I hissed. When I finally felt safe enough to release my ears, I tried again. “You think I’m sleeping around with Reggie?”
Amie threw her hands up, a befuddled look on her face. “Who else could it be? He’s the only straight male on the crew. Except for Theo, but—” Her eyes locked on mine at the mention of Theo’s name. I felt my blush deep in my bones. Her jaw fell open. “Lex. Please tell me you are not sleeping with Theo fucking Noska.” When I cringed and didn’t respond, she threw her hand over her mouth before hissing, “Our choreographer?”
Maybe it was an awful idea to confide in Amie. She might have been my best friend on this crew, but I hadn’t known her very long. And I was breaking a rule. I wasn’t above the rules, and maybe she’d feel that the rest of the crew should know too. Suddenly I felt sick.
“I should have known.” Her gaze wandering around the room, she was probably thinking about all the instances that should have tipped her off. “All the extra sessions together. You were helping him. He wanted to hand you that solo. Oh my God, Theo has been … nicer than ever before.” Her eyes shot to mine. “You’re fucking Theo?”
I cringed again and took a deep breath. “We’re in love, Amie.”
She barked out a laugh, as though she thought I was kidding until she saw my face. “You’re serious.”
I nodded. “We spent a lot of time together back in LA. We got close without meaning to. I was honestly just helping him, but—I don’t know—it just happened.”
Her expression was still amazed. “Holy shit. You could get fired.”
I stepped forward and took her hands. I would have sunk to my knees and prayed too if I thought it would help. “You have to promise not to say anything. Theo and I were going to end it once we got to Vegas, but we couldn’t. It hurt too much to stay apart, so we’re still together, but no one can know. Especially not Reggie. I don’t really understand the beef he has with Theo, and I don’t want to give him any more ammo.”
Amie groaned and pulled her hands from mine. “Lex. Reggie is my friend. And he likes you. Do you realize how upset he’ll be if he finds out?”
“He won’t.” I stressed my words. “No one knows. No one but you and me and Theo.” I purposely omitted the fact that Winter knew too. “Please don’t breathe a word of this. When the concert is over in six months, we won’t care who knows.”
“This is insane. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at him the same again. Or both of you when you’re in the same room.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, are we talking about the same Theo? I thought you hated him.”
“I don’t.”
“Are you sure?”
How could I convince her without dragging her to Theo’s room and performing a makeout session in front of her? That wasn’t happening.
“I’m positive. Amie, you need to promise me you won’t breathe a word of this to anyone.”
She sighed. “Fine. I promise. Does this mean you’ll stop lying to me about where you’re sneaking off to? And will you spend tonight dancing with me instead of eye fucking your new boyfriend from across the room?”
I laughed and reached around her neck for a hug. “I promise. All of the above. I’m yours tonight.”
She groaned out a laugh. “All right, you dirty little whore. Let me shower. You find something to wear. One of those fancy dresses you bought with your winnings would be perfect.”
Amie shut the bathroom door behind her, and I grabbed my phone. As soon as the shower started, I called Theo. He answered on the second ring.
“On your way? I’m in bed. And I already did the hard part and took my clothes off. All you have to do is sit on me.”
I laughed. Despite my talk with Amie and the harsh reminder that what Theo and I were doing was wrong, his cocky comment reminded me why it was all worth it. “You’re not going to like me very much right now.”
“No,” he warned. “Don’t you dare bail on me.”
“I’m sorry, but I forgot that I’d already promised the crew I’d go to Tao tonight.”
“Fuck, Lex. I really didn’t want to do the whole social thing tonight. I just wanted you.”
My chest grew warm at his words. “I didn’t say you had to go. Maybe I can sneak into our room after Tao.”
He snorted through the phone. “If you’re going to Tao, so am I. Winter invited me earlier, but I didn’t know it was a crew thing. Now I feel like a jackass.”
“Well, don’t. But I should also let you know that Amie started asking questions, and she kinda-sorta guessed that we’ve been hanging out.”
“Hanging out?” Theo challenged. “I think we’ve been doing more than that, don’t you?”
I rolled my eyes and walked to the closet to start scanning my limited selection. “You know what I mean.”
“Did she say what tipped her off?”
I explained her questioning my calls to Shane and how she’d had a feeling something was off. I also assured him Amie promised to keep our secret. Theo didn’t seem worried about it.
We got off the phone just as I found the perfect outfit, a strapless red tube dress, fitted at the waist and chest but loose in the skirt. It had the perfect amount of excess material to twirl in without showing all my ass. I hoped.
I took a quick shower after Amie then put it on. “I won’t be bending over in this dress.”
She looked at me in the mirror where she was applying her makeup. She nodded. “It’s as perfect as the day I made you buy it. But yeah, definitely no twerking tonight.” She turned her eyes back to the highlighter she was applying. “Now finish getting ready. I told Reg we’d meet him at the bar downstairs for a drink first.” She quirked an eye. “That’s cool, right? You hanging out with Reggie? Theo and Reg don’t seem to get along very well.”
I shrugged and reached for my concealer. “I have no idea what the deal is between those two. I don’t know if I want to.”
Amie reached for her mascara and let it hover above her eyes while she looked at me. “Why do I get the feeling that by the end of this concert series, some major shit is going to go down?”
I let out an awkward laugh. “Let’s just take it one day at a time, shall we?”