The club is lit in shades of neon purple. The first floor is already packed. Most of the crowd is casual—jeans, t-shirts, sneakers. A handful of women are dressed to impress.

Kara and I fit into the latter group. Somehow, I don't care that I'm treading the line between classy and trashy. Between the tight, low cut top and the short skirt, I know I'm going to make Miles want me as badly as I want him.

Kara squeezes my hand and drags me up the stairs. She pushes past another set of musician guys all the way to Drew. She finds him like he has a homing beacon.

He does a double take when he sees her outfit. Mission accomplished.

"Who lets you out of the house dressed like that?" He raises a brow.

She shrugs like she wears this everywhere. They hug hello. I step aside to give them room. I'm not sure where Kara gets her insecurity. Drew is absolutely looking at her like he wants to fuck her. He's not as obvious about it as Miles is, but he's obvious enough.

He catches me watching him and redirects his stare towards the opposite wall.

I scan the room for Miles. There. He's leaning against the wall talking to a busty woman with long blond hair. Well then.

His eyes find mine, and he immediately excuses himself. Hell, he practically throws the buxom blond out of his way. I nod, but I stay put.

Today, he's coming to me.

A dozen steps and he's next to me. He slides his arm around my waist and leans in to whisper in my ear.

"Let's go out back. Won't be able to think until I'm inside you." He drags his fingertips over the waist of my skirt. "You look fucking amazing."

"I know."

"Damn, I like when you're confident." He nods to the stairs.

"Is there time?" It's eight-thirty. He's due on stage in half an hour.

Miles nods. His eyes are heavy. It's like he wants me so badly he can't articulate a single word.

"Hey, Megan." A familiar voice interrupts.

It's the blond drummer. Tom.

"It's Meg," I say.

Miles throws his friend an incredulous look. "Can't this wait?"

"No, it can't." Tom offers me an apologetic smile then he's back to Miles. "Now."

Miles frowns. He's upset. As upset as he was on the beach. More even.

He shakes off his expression, but it's still there in his eyes and his posture. He's unsure of something.

I want to know what it is.

I watch Tom pull Miles aside. There's not a lot of room up here. They're almost within earshot. I take a seat on the couch and scoot closer. Until they are within earshot.

"You're fucking her?" Tom asks.

"You take issue with casual sex all of a sudden?"

"Does she know?"

"No."

"Fuck, Miles. You trying to give me a headache?" Tom shakes his head. "Are you going to tell her?"

"How the fuck is that your business?" Miles asks.

"If you don't tell her, I will," Tom says.

Miles's voice is low, angry. "Fuck off."

There's a weight shifting on the couch. Someone sits next to me. It's an older man in a bright orange suit. He's balding but he still keeps his hair in a ponytail.

"Meg, right?" He offers his hand. "I'm Aiden. I'm the Sinful Serenade manager."

Okay… I don't see what I could possibly have to say to this guy, but I can be polite. "Yeah, Meg. Nice to meet you."

He looks to Tom and Miles, still in a heated debate. "There's no polite way to say this, Meg, but I need you to go away."

"Excuse me?"

"Miles can't have a girlfriend. He's never written a love song. Girls like that. They like that he's broken, that he's unconquered territory. But now he's writing this song. It's not quite a love song. But it's too close." There's no self-awareness in Aiden's beady eyes. He delivers his suggestion like he's reciting the weather report. "He's going to be the next Adam Levine. Do you want to stand in his way?"

"We're…" Not friends but we're not together. "We're not boyfriend and girlfriend. But that's really none of your business."

"Everyone has a price, sweetheart. Don't make me work to find yours."

There's a hand around my arm. It pulls me off the couch and presses me against a hard body. Miles.

"You okay?" he whispers.

I nod.

Miles glares at Aiden. "Don't talk to my friends."

Tom and Miles share a look of understanding. Then Tom is the one on the couch, having harsh words with the manager.

Fame is fucked up.

Miles wraps his arms around me. His voice is soft, sweet. "Did he touch you?"

"No."

"Good… he has a reputation. It's a long story, but stay away from him."

I nod. Miles sounds worried. He's worried about me. He cares about me.

But what was Tom talking about? They have a secret. Miles wrote a new song, a love song? My mind is racing. I can't keep up.

"What did your friend want to talk about?" I ask.

"Band stuff."

"Sure it wasn't about me?"

"What did Aiden say to you?" Miles asks.

"He doesn't want you to have a girlfriend. For your image. Girls need to think you're a slut, I guess."

Miles laughs. "Yeah, he would say that. But you're not my girlfriend. So we're good."

"Yeah. Should I worry about being on a gossip page? My parents will flip over me dating a rock star."

"Want to bet?"

"Maybe."

His eyes find mine. "Your parents will love me."

"You're cocky." But it's possible he's right. He's a Stanford graduate. He's charming. He's handsome. Except for the tattoos, he looks like a perfectly nice boy.

Miles laughs. "You know they will."

"But how do you know?"

"Cause I know you." He runs his fingertips over my tank top. "And I know Orange County parents. Where do yours live?"

"Newport Beach."

"Spoiled rich girl." He shakes his head in mock outrage.

"Yeah, and your Malibu mansion is just a place to hang your hat?"

He nods. "When's the last time you saw them?"

"You're trying to make me forget you and Tom were whispering secrets."

"It was nothing. When's the last time you saw your parents?"

It wasn't nothing. There's tension in Miles's face. His brow is furrowed. His shoulders are tight.

He's upset. This is a big secret. Do I trust him enough to let it go?

I'm not sure.

I stare back into his gorgeous blue eyes. "Haven't seen them since the day I left for school."

"They miss you? Beg you to visit?"

"All the time."

"Offer to come up for lunch or dinner?"

"They come up all the time. I make excuses."

"Tell me next time. I'll come with you. As your boyfriend."

"You want to meet my parents?"

He traces the neckline of my top. "I'll keep them off your back."

His voice is heavy with need, but I'm not sure if he's desperate for me or for the end of this conversation.

I need to think.

I press my lips to his. Damn, his lips are soft. I can feel the kiss all the way to my toes. It isn't helping me think.

"Excuse me." I take a step backwards. "Bathroom."

He nods.

There's something in his eyes, something I can't place. I turn and make my way down the stairs.

* * *

Everything in this room is red and shiny, and the lights above our heads are a particularly fluorescent purple.

And Kara is here. She's standing at the sink touching up her lipstick. She makes eye contact through the mirror. "You okay?"

I nod.

"You look upset."

"It's nothing." I think it's nothing. I go to the mirror and check my makeup. It's fine but I need some excuse for why I'm here.

More lipstick can't hurt. It can't help either. Miles already wants to fuck me. What I need is something to convince him I'm worth his trust.

Do they make a shade called girl you tell your secrets to? Mine is some play on cherry red.

"Whatever is happening with Miles, it shouldn't leave you with that expression on your face." She plays with her tube of lipstick. "Like you just got hit by a truck."

I clear my throat. "It's nothing. I'm just not in the mood to be at a party anymore."

"Want to talk about it?"

I shake my head. "No. I… I'm just glad I can trust you. You're the only person in my life I can really trust."

"I'm not so sure we have the same definition of the word trust," she says. "Look at me and swear on your love of, um, what's that character called again? The hard-drinking robot?"

"Bender."

"Swear on your love of Bender that you're okay."

Do I really look that miserable? I do feel unsettled. Why is Miles suddenly pulling back? We're supposed to have terms. No lies. No secrets.

I can't do this if he's going to whisper secrets with his bandmate.

Maybe he'll tell me. I'll ask again, give him another chance to tell me.

Kara slides onto the counter.

"I don't love Bender that much." I slide onto the counter next to her. "Something up with Drew?"

"You're not going to distract me unless you swear."

"I swear that I'll be okay." Eventually. "You know, Miles told me that Drew hasn't slept with anyone in a while."

"Really. That's interesting." She clears her throat, fighting her blush. "He invited me to dinner after the set. But I got the feeling everyone's invited."

"I doubt anyone is going to jump on that train. Including me. I'll say no and hang out here."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Well, I might take a cab. But I'll be fine."

"You know, Miles wrote a song about you. Heard through the grapevine that he's playing it tonight."

"Oh."

Kara is my best friend, and I trust her with almost anything. Just not how I feel about Miles. I can't even say it out loud. It would be admitting to giving in to the temptation that destroyed my sister.

I clear my throat. "So we're both totally inept with men."

"That appears to be the case, yes."

Kara fixes her makeup and mine and drags me back to the upstairs VIP section. The band is no longer here. The manager, Aiden, assures us that Sinful Serenade is getting ready to go on stage.

I get comfortable on one of the black cubes posing as a normal seat. Kara sits next to me. It's too loud for meaningful conversation, so we trade gossip about Professor Rivers, our poetry professor.

The stage lights go dark. Almost show time. The crowd starts screaming. This is a small space. After all, the band is working on their new material. Miles is singing a song about me. They can't show that off to a large audience. Not when it isn't finished.

How can he be writing a song about me?

The lights go on. The song starts.

It's In Pieces.

I can't bring myself to look at the stage. Certainly not to look at Miles. I press my eyelids together.

His voice seeps into my veins.

Three weeks now.

Can't sleep.

Two weeks now.

Gaping hole in my chest shows no signs of recovery.

That word, a joke, you laugh.

"Running away again, kid?"

A minute here

and then you're gone.

His pain swirls around me, mixing with mine. It's a roller coaster. The only thing I can do is hold on and try to survive the ride.

I pry my eyelids apart. I can't place the expression on his face. But I know what the song means. I know it means he hurts. And I hurt. But together, we hurt a little less.

Or do I have that all wrong?

His voice cuts clear across the room. "Would you like to hear something off the new album?"

The crowd cheers. Every girl in this club is screaming with glee, including Kara, who's at an ear-bursting volume. I'm sure twenty pairs of panties drop, but who am I to judge?

"It's called No Way in Hell. About someone very special." His eyes are on me.

Drew strums his guitar. The song starts. It's something fast and hard, and there's a desperation to the music.

Miles's voice fills the room.

Three a.m. and I can't sleep.

A common refrain, I know.

As a sentiment, it's cheap.

Someone to call, to hold,

to love. No way that word—

She smiles and I drift away—

Oh hell no.

This can't be.

No way I, no way she.

Anyone else, maybe,

but not me.

I don't do this kind of thing.

There's no doubt about it. He's singing about me. It's not like before. This song is about me. And he's singing it to me. I close my eyes, willing my ears to shut, willing my lungs to breathe, willing my heart to steady.

Morning now and I can't think

of anything but her laugh, her cries

the sound she makes when I sink

my teeth. Oh wow, those details

are mine to keep, but she's not

And suddenly I want-

Oh hell no.

This can't be.

No way I, no way she.

Anyone else, maybe,

but not me.

I don't do this kind of thing.

My body refuses to behave. It refuses to do anything but soak in Miles’s song. All the emotion in his voice is crashing all over me. He hurts. Somewhere deep inside him, he hurts, and God help me, I want to be the one to take that pain away.