Sacha poked me in the side. "Stay awake."

I didn't even bother covering my yawn as I eyed him sleepily, the television a steady hum in the background. The last time I'd looked at the clock, it showed that it was after three in the morning. Eli had woken me up early to explain that our flights had been cancelled and that we'd be leaving the following afternoon instead.

I wasn’t sure why he hadn’t just told me at a normal hour in the day instead of at the crack of dawn, but then again, I didn't know why my brother did half of the things that he did.

My gray-eyed, self-proclaimed best friend was lying on my bed, shoulders pressed against the headboard while I sat cross-legged next to him, nodding off. "I'm sleepy, but you can stay," I told him with a yawn again.

"Come here," he murmured, patting the empty space between our bodies.

What do you do when a man like Sacha Malykhin wants you to lie down next to him? You do it. Preferably naked, but I was too tired to even think anything more suggestive than that. So I settled for a tired smile and untangled my legs to scoot into the designated spot. I stretched out next to him while he moved to lie flat against the bed, extending his right arm out for me to lie on top of. He curled his arm as soon as I settled in, pulling me over so until I had my head on his chest.

I may have draped my arm over his stomach as nonchalantly as possible.

"You're warm," I mumbled against his black T-shirt. I yawned again and blinked, trying my best to stay awake and enjoy our closeness. “I never told you,” I yawned. “You look just like your mom.”

“You think so?”

I nodded into him. I hadn’t told him what his mom had said. I didn’t see the point. Then there was also the fact that I wasn’t sure what the hell she meant by ruining my life, so… I was going to let it go and blame it on her being a diva. “Girlish features and everything.”

His chest rumbled under my head. “You always know what to say to make me feel like a million bucks.”

“You can thank me for my friendship later.”

He laughed again. “I’ll remember to do that.” It was his turn to yawn. "Sit with me tomorrow?"

"As long as you—," I let out another long yawn, "let me sleep on your legs, and I'll let you nap on mine."

"Deal."

I pressed my forehead closer to his smooth jaw.

Sacha squeezed me to him with a sigh. "Go to sleep, Princess," he said in his quiet voice.

"Okay," I mumbled.

Sacha stroked my arm with his fingers, once, twice, three times. "Frère Jacques, frère Jacques, dormez-vous? Dormez-vous? Sonnez les matines, sonnez les matines, ding ding dong, ding ding dong," he sang softly.

I smiled against him, tilting my head up, up, up. "Goodnight, Sassy."

He stroked my arm once more before I felt him shift beneath me, my head tucking deeper into his chest. The moment was sleepy, and warm, and sweet, and it was perfect. He pressed his lips against mine gently just for a moment, and then he kissed my nose.

He’d kissed me.

Even in my nearly delirious state, I recognized that sinking feeling deep

in my chest. No eclipse could overshadow the fact that I was absolutely in love with this guy, and it was the easiest and simplest thing in the world.

---

"You look comfy," Sacha drawled with a smile. He was sitting on the bench in front of the one I was on, with his bright red hoodie sleeves pushed up to his elbows. God, he was so cute.

I glanced down at the two men sleeping on me. My brother had his head on my lap, drooling, while Mason had his head on my shoulder, also drooling. Despite the fact that it was two in the afternoon, the pair were apparently exhausted over whatever craziness they'd experienced the night before. All I understood from their rambling babblings was something about a strip club, New Zealand girls and a banana.

I didn't want to know anything more. I could live without becoming scarred for life.

So now they were passed out on top of me, soaking my hoodie and jeans with their saliva, but I didn't have the heart to push them off. The drive to the airport was a little less than an hour, and they were busy taking full advantage of it.

"I've been more comfortable," I smiled at him, thinking about when I'd woken up that morning.

Sacha had been wiggling under me, trying to ease me onto the bed as gently as possible. He'd pressed a kiss on my cheek, told me he had an interview and that he'd see me later, then he blew hot morning breath on my face and left. Only I would think that was charming.

His phone started ringing for the fourth time since we'd gotten into the van, and he sighed. Again. It wasn't my business to ask whom he was avoiding but… the curiosity was fucking killing me. Isaiah, who was sitting next to him, grunted in frustration.

"Answer the phone, man. I'm sick of hearing it ring," he complained softly.

I could see Sacha roll his eyes before pulling out his phone and shifting his position to face forward. I immediately got a little wary of his action. There'd been a handful of times that his parents or his sisters had called while we were together, and he'd answered their calls without a second thought. He didn't care if I heard what was said but his hesitation at answering that call right then, told me there was something he was trying to avoid.

I trusted him. A lot. He hadn't given me a reason to doubt that he cared for me or that he was honest. On the other hand, we had only known each other a little over two months. It had taken Brandon three years to fuck up.

"Flabby," Eliza groaned as his hand started patting around my knee before landing on his face. He wiped at his lips and then touched the spot of drool he'd left on my pants. "Ahh fuck."

As much as I wanted to eavesdrop on the conversation that Sassy was having in front of me, my brother had decided to start yapping right then. What a useless ass.

"Is that drool?" he mumbled.

"No, it's Kool-Aid, dumbass," I snickered, brushing my hand over the short ends of his hair that had just barely began to curl after more than a month.

Eli smiled against my leg, making a noise that sounded like a low, sleepy chuckle. "Drink it later, then." He blinked twice before closing his eyes and going back to sleep.

Gross.

The faint conversation from the seat in front of ours made me stop breathing so I could listen better. What's funny was that everyone else awake in the van had lowered their voices when Sacha started talking. It had only taken me a few weeks to learn that these guys were worse at gossiping than teenage girls. Even though they tried to play off their interest, they ate up anything that caught their attention.

Like the time Isaiah got propositioned by a fan, who offered him five hundred dollars to sleep with her.

Or the time that a fan had asked my brother, Gordo and Miles if he could lick their shoes.

Then there was the time that Mason—

There were a lot of things that had happened that the guys had been all too excited to talk about.

Obviously, there was something about this conversation that caught their attention.

"I already told you… Lizzy, I'm not changing my mind…" Sacha spoke into the receiver. Lizzy? The fuck? Before I could ponder it much longer, he kept going. “No, there's no one else. I don't want to get back together because it's my choice. Just like you decided you didn't want to be together, I don't want to pick up where we left off…" I felt like I was being stabbed as he talked. "I care about you. You know that. You mean a lot to me, but that doesn't mean I want to be with you. I'm done explaining this to you over and over again."

I could see his reflection in the glass. His eyes were closed and his forehead was pressed against the cool window. My heart was beating frantically even though I know it shouldn't be. Nothing that Sacha was saying was technically wrong. Technically. It was his choice that he didn't want to get back together with his ex. He did care about her. I mean, they'd been together for a while.

I felt sick. Sacha cared about me too. I knew he did. Every vessel in my blood knew it. But maybe that's why he hadn't put more of a move on me? Because he didn't want to be tied down to anyone? A simple kiss wasn’t a promise ring or anything. It didn’t have to mean anything romantic. And… there was a difference between loving someone and being in love with someone. I knew that.

My realization and acceptance from the night before was strangling. I was in love with a man who maybe loved me according to others, but maybe didn't love me the way that I wanted. Maybe he didn’t want a relationship. I had men in my life that loved me in a platonic way. What was one more? And why did I feel betrayed that he still cared about Ariel Number Two? Sacha was a nice guy. Hell, he was the nicest guy I had ever met. It was probably just in his system to care for people, but…

I reached over Eli's big body to grab the backpack he had on his lap, and fished out his expensive studio earphones, plugging them into my phone as quickly as I could as I zoned out the man on the phone. Flicking through the albums I had saved in my library, I chose the one at the top of the list and raised the volume as loud as tolerable.

Closing my eyes, I let my head drop back to the seat and put a hand on each of the guys beside me.