Five o'clock rolled around and we put our instruments away for the day.

"I might stay a while longer to try and catch up," Liam said. "If that's cool with you guys."

The others looked impressed at his dedication. I was impressed, too, until I gathered my stuff and started to follow the others out the door. That's when Liam reached out and took my arm gently in his hand.

"Would you mind staying a bit longer to help me out?" he asked.

My suspicions immediately arose. This could have been just another one of his excuses to get me alone.

"I'm having a little trouble with the second chorus on that one song," he said.

I knew which one he meant, because I'd noticed him struggling a bit during rehearsal.

"Sure," I said. "I can stay a little while longer."

True to his word, we did work on the song for the next half hour or so.

I showed him the correct positioning I used on the strings with my fingers. He was a quick learner, just as he'd said. As soon as I showed him how I played the song, he imitated me and picked it up within minutes. Once we'd practiced a handful of times, he seemed satisfied with himself.

"That was the only one I really had trouble with," Liam said. "Thanks for staying."

"No problem," I told him. "If that's all…" I said as I got ready to leave.

"There’s just one more thing," Liam said. "Can we talk about what happened earlier?"

I didn’t bother playing dumb. "Thank you for helping calm me down."

The memory of that rumor about me sleeping my way to the top…

Just thinking about it made the fury rise in my chest.

"Trust me, I understand how shitty those rumors can be," he said.

"I doubt the things people said about you could be any worse than the things they say about me," I told Liam. "Do you know how hard it is to be a girl in the rock music industry? Do you know the awful things they say about me?"

"I can guess," he said. "I'm not trying to compare or one up you about who had it worse. I'm just saying I get it."

I had to wonder what exactly people had been saying about Liam's old band.

"Do you mind if I ask—" I began hesitantly. "They said shit about you, too?"

Liam shifted his gaze away. He stared out the window, avoiding my eyes.

"They said we'd stolen songs from another band. They said we were all fighting and secretly hated each other. They said we were a fake band put together by our label. They said my guitarist stole my fiancée."

I let out a sharp exhale. "Did he really… ?"

He gave me a crooked smile. "I never had a fiancée."

His voice was tight as he denied it. I had to wonder how close to the truth some of those rumors were.

I didn't want to pry. At least the media had yet to find out about my past or about Harper. That would have been another one for the rumor mill for sure.

Everyone always tried to read angst and pain into my lyrics. Writing songs was cathartic but I didn't need anyone knowing the sordid details behind them. I would have felt too exposed, as if people had access to my inner most secrets.

I was willing to write my feelings out through the music, but I wasn't about to let anyone get closer than that.

Especially Liam Knight.

"I'll try to ignore those rumors," I promised him.

The look in his eyes was soft. Understanding. He placed his hand on my shoulder. His thumb rubbed back and forth along the curve of my neck. My insides tumbled over on themselves.

"If you ever need a distraction…" Liam said with a smirk.

My stomach muscles tensed at that look. I knew exactly what kind of distraction Liam was hinting at. The heat of his palm burned into my skin, warming me from the outside in. A shivery feeling took hold of me.

His bright green eyes stared into mine, a question in his gaze. I parted my lips to speak, not quite sure what I was going to say yet, just knowing that I had to say something or else I would end up giving in to him.

Now that I wasn't so defensive, now that my guard was down, I could see that his song selection idea wasn't that bad of an idea. I shouldn't have shot him down so quickly. I had just been feeling vulnerable.

Too vulnerable.

Exactly like I was feeling right now.

"I don't think that's the kind of distraction I need." I quickly gathered my things and headed to the door, making a hasty exit. "I'll see you at practice tomorrow," I said. As I walked out the door, I turned my head just enough to see the amused look on Liam's face.

I was running again. He knew it. I knew it.

But I couldn't stop my feet from fleeing.