Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 121916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
“He’s exactly your type, Ruby.”
“No, he’s not. He’s an idiot.”
“When you get to know him, yes. But why would I doubt his story when all your boyfriends have been exactly like him, and you looked at Kai like you were extremely interested the first time you met him.”
“I did not.”
“You did, Ruby.”
“Oh my fucking god. Kai hit on me and lied to you about it for years, but I’m supposed to defend myself for the way I supposedly looked at him, back when I was a sixteen-year-old virgin who’d never been kissed?”
“What?”
“What what?”
“What about Dexter Brenner? You kissed him, didn’t you?”
“Dexter Brenner is gay, Kendrick.”
“Oh. I thought . . .”
“Jesus, your gaydar is the fucking worst. Now, focus.” I grab his chin. His eyes are half-mast from all the booze we drank downstairs. “Tell me what you said to Kai, right after he’d told you all those horrendous lies about me.”
“I think I was pretty much speechless.”
“Don’t you dare lie to me.”
“I’m not. I swear.”
“When did Kai tell you this bullshit story? And why?”
“It happened right after I dropped out of school and came back home. After I rejoined the band. I could tell something was off between you two at practices, so I asked Kai what happened while I was gone. He denied anything was weird, but I kept insisting it was, until finally—"
“Why didn’t you just ask me?”
Kendrick pauses. “I don’t know. I wanted to hear it from Kai, I guess. And once I did, asking you about it was out of the question, since he made me promise not to talk to you about it. Why would I want to, anyway? I didn’t want to embarrass you, Ruby. That was the last thing I wanted.”
I shake my head. “I can’t believe, for all these years, you’ve been thinking I threw myself at your fuckboy brother after declaring myself ‘desperately in love’ with him.”
Kendrick shrugs. “I mean, women have always chased Kai. I know you think he’s an idiot because you know him well, but women who don’t know him think he’s irresistible. I’ve seen it my whole life. Kai’s a chick magnet. Not as much as Savage, but who is?”
Hearing Savage’s name makes me realize something. “You’ve told Savage this bullshit story, I presume?”
“Of course not. I told you, I promised Kai not to say a word to anyone.”
“But you did, anyway, didn’t you? Don’t lie to me, KC.” I squeeze Kendrick’s face between my fingers and thumb and stare him down. “Kendrick Alan Cook. Tell me the truth.”
“Fuck.” He sighs. “Fine. Yes. I told Savage. But I didn’t tell anybody else, I swear.”
I grunt in frustration and release him. “Why the hell did you do that?”
“Because I tell Savage everything. You know that. He’s my boo.”
“I’m your boo!”
“But he’s my first boo. And he didn’t tell anyone, and neither did I, except for him, so it’s fine.”
I can’t help chuckling, despite my anger. “Sweetheart, your math ain’t mathing. You telling Savage means two-fifths of our band has believed Kai’s bullshit story for five long years. That’s forty percent of the band.”
“Oh.”
“And if you take Kai out of the equation, and me, too, then that’s a full sixty-six percent of our band believing Kai’s horrible slander about me.”
“I didn’t think of it like that.”
I swat his shoulder. “I’m so mad at you for believing Kai all this time.”
“I couldn’t fathom he’d lie to me about something like this.”
“Babe, I know you never would, but the world is filled with men, like Kai, who’d lie to save face without a second thought.”
Kendrick exhales. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry’s not going to fix it. Come on.” I pat his thigh. “It’s time for an emergency band meeting.”
“Now?” He looks at his watch. “It’s almost four.”
“I don’t care. If I wake anyone up, they can sleep on the plane.”
“But what about testing your theory about my insomnia?”
I pull a face. “Seriously?”
He shrugs. “I mean, it seems like an intriguing idea. I’m definitely curious if it’ll work.”
“Jesus Christ, KC. Get your priorities straight, dude. Your brother has slandered me!” I grab his hand and yank on him. “And I’m not willing to wait another second to clear my goddamned name!”
5
RUBY
After a bit of a crankiness and confusion at his door, our groggy-eyed front man, Savage, his dark hair askew, steps back from the doorframe and lets all four of his sleepy-eyed bandmates into his massive suite. With Savage’s popstar wife, Laila, traveling with him—not as our opener this time, but simply for pleasure—and thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Savage having more money than God, due to their multi-year judging contract on Sing Your Heart Out, Savage has been booking insanely expensive suites for him and the missus throughout our entire tour, while the rest of us peons settle for the standard rooms supplied by our label.