“Um . . .”

“I mean, Cory seems like a really nice guy and I should give him a fair shot, right? And if all I do is think about hot sex with Sebastian, I’m not really giving Cory a decent chance.”

“Well . . .

“But sex with Sebastian is . . . Oh my god, it was so good. Our chemistry is off the charts, so why should I give that up? I mean, it’s not like I’m getting married anytime soon. Hell, I don’t even know if I want to get married. Like, ever.”

“Okay . . .”

“Jeez, Rina, come on. I need some guidance here.”

Sabrina laughed. “It sounds like you just need someone to vent to.”

“Ugh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wig out on you.”

“Hey, I get it. You’ve got a lot on your mind. But I think you’re missing a huge point.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

“How much you like Sebastian. And don’t bother to tell me you don’t know him well enough to know how you feel about him. I know you, Tru. You’ve probably already made a list of all the pros and cons of dating Sebastian.”

Tru grimaced. She hadn’t actually put it on paper but she had been thinking about it.

“Listen,” Sabrina continued, “just have fun tonight. And don’t make any decisions until after your date with Baz.”

“I won’t. Oh my god, I’ve gotta run.”

“Let’s meet for lunch tomorrow. I work until seven tomorrow morning but I’ll stay awake if you promise to meet me around eleven, ’kay?”

“Absolutely. But let’s go somewhere out of the hotel. I don’t want to run into Sebastian by accident. Oh, I know. Why don’t you just come to my place? I’ll make coffee and you can bring donuts. Bring lots of donuts.”

Sabrina laughed. “Sounds like a date. Just don’t add me into your life-plan calculations.”

“Ha-ha. Greg wouldn’t share you anyway.”

Sabrina gave a choked laugh. “You have no idea. Alright, I better let you go. I’ll see you tomorrow. And Tru . . . try to have a good time.”

Sighing, she hung up. She hoped she would have a good time.

And also kind of hoped she wouldn’t.

Chapter Nine

“Hey, Baz, what are you doing tonight?”

“Not a goddamn thing. Why?”

Greg sat on the stool near the piano, watching Sebastian as he noodled around the keys. He had a melody in his head but was having trouble hearing it the right way on the piano. Guess he’d have to move to the acoustic guitar next.

“We need new blood for cards. I nominated you.”

Sebastian huffed out a laugh. “Guess I don’t get a say in the matter.”

“Not really, no. Besides, I figure you can use the distraction.”

Baz gave Greg the finger and the bastard just smiled at him.

“Who are you? My father?”

“I’m not that old, dickwad.” He stood, grabbing Baz by the shirt and pulling him to his feet. “Let’s go. We’ll get some dinner first.”

“Don’t you have a girlfriend you need to get home to?”

“She’s working tonight. I figure I’ve got time to babysit you.”

“Yeah, yeah, fuck you, too.”

But since he really didn’t have anything to do other than sit around and torture himself with thoughts of what the hell Tru was doing, he followed Greg back to the hotel like a good little puppy.

And tried not to wonder if Tru was going to have sex with her date tonight.

Just the thought made him homicidal. His hands clenched and unclenched as he and Greg walked along the sidewalk. The air still held the warmth of the day and he didn’t need a jacket, which made several of the business types hurrying along do a double take of his tattoos. A few of the younger women smiled, but the older ones glanced away like they were afraid he’d drag them into a dark corner. A couple of the guys shook their heads and instantly dismissed him.

Was Tru going out with one of those? Some clean-cut suit with a five-hundred-dollar haircut and a corner office who drove a new Lexus and listened to Ed Sheeran and thought Nicki Minaj was cutting edge?

Fuck. He’d told himself he wasn’t going to think about it. Was going to push it out of his head. He’d planned to lock himself in the studio tonight with the piano and the guitar and a bottle of Jack and concentrate on the music.

Greg’s plan was probably better. At least he wouldn’t be alone when his brain couldn’t shut down and he’d think about doing something really stupid.

Greg kept up a steady conversation that didn’t require Baz to do more than nod or grunt every few minutes. Greg obviously realized Baz’s head wasn’t in the right zone for conversation.

Honestly, he thought as they got in the elevator at Haven, headed for their separate rooms, Baz wasn’t sure he wanted to do anything with anyone tonight. Maybe—

“Meet me at my apartment in fifteen minutes.” Greg turned before he left the elevator at the fourth floor. “Don’t piss me off and not show.”

Baz grimaced, his sigh heavy and long. “Yes, Dad. I’ll be there.”

“If I was your dad, I’d be kicking your ass right now. Don’t make me have to hunt you down.” Greg left him with a reluctant smile on his face, shaking his head.

“I’ll be there. Don’t worry.”

Greg’s expression went totally serious in a split second. “Too late for that, kid. See you soon.”

The door closed and Baz shook his head, trying not to feel like a sap. He knew Greg cared about him. He just hadn’t realized how much. Or how much it meant to Baz that he did.

He and Nik and the rest of the band had never had a problem sharing their feelings. They’d been a united front against the jocks who’d dominated their high school and tormented any guy they considered a pussy. Which basically meant anyone who wasn’t one of them. Any guy who touched another guy, unless they were wearing shoulder pads and a helmet or punching the shit out of them, was gay.

God forbid another guy put his arm around your shoulders. That could get you a beat down in the locker room before gym or in the parking lot after school.

Baz and Nik and their bandmates had sported a hell of a lot of bruises because Baz had been raised by parents who showed him actual affection, and Nik craved it because his mom had been so fucked up and the revolving door of men in his life had either paid him no attention or given him the wrong kind. Together with Trev, Jase, and Zach, who had their own varying degrees of screwed up, they’d been a force.

As he took a quick shower and changed, he kept coming back to that. Even when they’d been getting the shit beaten out of them, they’d stuck together. When they’d started playing gigs and five people had shown up, they’d gone out and done it again the next night because they had one another.

And eventually, they’d made it out. Away from Wilkes-Barre and the fucking middle-of-nowhere Pennsylvania, where there was a church on every corner and the hypocrites went every Sunday.

Fuck. Shaking his head, he headed out of his apartment and down to Greg’s, checking his phone to see if Nik had called him back, even though Baz knew he hadn’t.

He must’ve had a pissy look on his face because when Sabrina opened the door, her eyes widened and she reached for his arm to pull him into the apartment.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

And shit. “I thought you had to work?”

She gave him a look. “Hello to you, too. What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Nothing’s wrong. Jesus, can’t I just have a bad day? Does it always have to be Armageddon?”

He realized now that she was dressed for work. She’d probably been on her way out the door when he’d arrived. And now she was going to give him the third degree and he really wasn’t in the mood.