The sound of my sister’s loud, screeching voice pulls me out of my deep sleep. Confused, I scramble into a seated position on the couch and swing my legs down to the floor. I rub at my eyes and find the clock in the room. I had somehow managed to sleep for nearly four hours.

Daphni is continuing to scream into her phone, and I can only assume that it’s Drizzle on the other end of the line. Stretching my arms over my head, I notice the black sweatshirt pooled at my feet. Lifting it off the ground, I inspect it further. The musky, citrus scene instantly confirms its owner and I tug it onto my lap, before anyone can see. Liam? Had he found me sleeping and covered me with his sweatshirt? Why?

Daphni slams her phone on the vanity with a loud, frustrated yelp. Three of her staff instantly dive in and surround her, each trying to pull at her hair and remove her makeup from the show.

“How’s it going, Daphni?” I ask cautiously.

“Never get a boyfriend, Gabby. Seriously all men are terrible. Thank God lesbians are in right now,” she huffs out.

“Right,” I respond, drawing out the word, unsure how else to respond to that comment.

Melissa enters the room and finding me, offers a wide smile before joining me on the couch. She picks up the remote and turns up the volume on the large screen mounted on the wall offering a front-row view of the stage, where Jordan has just started his set.

At the sound of his music, Daphni turns in her seat, glaring at Melissa. Choosing to ignore it, Melissa and I both watch as Jordan jumps into the refrain of his song and a trio of beautiful dancers in fishnet bodysuits gyrate around him.

“I heard you made his acquaintance, Gabby,” Melissa says with a mischievous tone as she gently pokes her elbow into my side.

I roll my eyes in response. “Seriously, this tour is worse than high school. And yes, I did meet him this morning.”

“And?”

“And nothing. He was a nice guy,” I reply, shrugging.

I see Daphni spin her seat, sending the poor girl who was pulling out her bright-blue hair extensions stumbling backward.

“Nice, Gabby?” she yelps. “Jordan James is not nice. He’s evil and a whore.”

“Actually, Daphni, he was pretty nice,” I push back.

“Trust me, Gabby. He’s a sleaze. He’s slept with like every Victoria’s Secret model. I’m suspicious of why he was even talking to you.”

“Gee, thanks Daphni, for reminding me what an ogre I am,” I sarcastically respond.

Daphni rolls her eyes at me before turning back in her seat. “Gabby, you know you’re hot. You’re just not Victoria’s-Secret-model hot.”

“Again, Daphni, thanks for the confidence boost.”

Melissa places a comforting hand on mine and I sit back, watching the screen where Jordan is continuing to perform while Daphni picks up her phone again and furiously types out a text, likely to Drizzle.

I continue to watch the TV screen while I fiddle with the string of Liam’s hoodie on my lap. I want to find him, to throw his stupid sweatshirt at him and tell him to leave me alone. But an even bigger part of me wants to ask him why the hell he cared enough to cover me with his sweatshirt. Why make such a thoughtful gesture today when just last week he practically threw me off him? Obviously kissing me had been “so fucked up.” God, what did that even mean?

I shake my head, knowing exactly what it meant: it meant that Liam saw me as his employer’s little sister, another burden to take care of, nothing more.

A curt knock on the door thankfully distracts me from my obsessive thoughts. Daphni doesn’t even look up from her phone, while Melissa jumps up from the couch to pull open the door. I can sense him even before I see him and I instantly freeze, a feeling of guilt overcoming me as I realize my hands have wormed their way through his sweatshirt. I avoid looking over at him as I pull my hands out of his shirt and fold them on my lap. Even though I force myself to watch the TV screen, I swear I can feel his eyes on me.

“We’ll be ready to leave in five,” I hear Melissa say.

“Aye,” he responds, and though I want to mock his stupid Scottish accent, it undeniably sends a sliver of heat down my body.

I hear the door close and only then do I exhale the long breath I hadn’t even realized I had been holding. Melissa slides down to sit on the arm of the couch, her phone in hand as she taps. Needing to keep my hands busy, I fold up Liam’s sweatshirt into a tight bundle and slide it into my messenger bag alongside my books.

I continue to watch Jordan’s set, impressed by his stamina as he jumps around with a wide smile as thousands of adoring fans scream his name. Meanwhile, Daphni’s team works quickly to peel all the layers of makeup, eyelash glue, and glitter from her face. A short thirty minutes later, she is barefaced, and the adorable sprinkling of freckles on her cheeks is visible again. She always hated them, but I had been so jealous of them growing up. They gave her an innocent appearance that matched well with her other cherubic features. Only when she opened her mouth did you realize she was such a spitfire.

Thankfully it looks like Daphni is in a much better mood and she has a bright smile on her face as she pounces out of her chair. Shoving her phone in her purse, she pulls a baseball cap over her head and slides on a pair of oversized sunglasses. She zips up her oversized sweatshirt and gives herself a quick look in the mirror, checking over her disguise before taking a long sip out of her water bottle. Though I have seen her complete this ritual dozens of times before, for some reason this time it gives me a pang of sadness. For so long, Daphni has been forced to hide and to disguise herself to protect what little shred of privacy she had. What had she lost by doing all this?

Daphni catches me watching her and playfully darts out her tongue. I force my sad thoughts away and stick my tongue out in response. I choose to keep this image of Daphni—a playful smile on her face and a spark of excitement in her dazzling green eyes.

I don’t have much longer to think before Daphni opens the door of the dressing room and steps out. Throwing my bag over my shoulder, I follow Melissa and we head out the door.