I sigh. “Sure. You have a pen?”

She bites her pouty, bottom lip. “I was hoping maybe you’d sign me in a more intimate place.”

Typically I’d be all over this shit. She’s practically begging for it and I know she’d do anything I want. Maybe even anal if I wanted.

I shake my head. “Not tonight. I’ve got other plans.”

She studies me for a long moment. “Too bad. Can I go back to your bus anyhow? Maybe one of the other guys—”

I don’t give her time to finish her sentence because I’m not in the fucking mood. Trip and Tyke are perfectly capable of finding their own ass for the night. They don’t need my help for that.

After grabbing some food and hanging out with the twins for a bit I head off to find some peace and quiet. I make it to the sanctuary of the bus. I gather some clean clothes and head into the shower. While I’m in there, the distinct sound of Lanie and Noel going at each other pours through the thin walls.

All the noises make me think of Kitten. I wonder what she’s doing right now or who she’s with. I haven’t talk to her since we left Dallas. I’ve been tempted to message her, but stop myself every time. I don’t want to seem like a weepy sap and beg her to be with me another night. She made it very clear I’m no good for her and that we should stay friends.

The only problem is we can never be friends. People don’t keep daydreaming about fucking their friends.

I towel off and get dressed before making my way to the kitchen. Tyke and Trip are playing the Xbox, battling over gamer supremacy as I grab my Oreos and milk. The guys go at it as I enjoy my most relaxing snack. Watching the cookie dip into the milk reminds me of Hailey every time I do it.

God, I miss her. What I wouldn’t give to have her back.

Before I get too swept up in my thoughts, Mike climbs inside the bus. “Where’s Noel? I’ve been waiting nearly a half hour.”

I grin. This is the perfect time to piss him off. “Let me go get him.”

I bang on the bedroom door when I get to the end of the hall. I wait a couple seconds and when I don’t hear any movement I fling open the door and barrel through.

My eyes widen as they land directly on Lanie’s naked breasts. She screeches at the top of her lungs as she attempts to cover up her shirtless chest.

Noel protectively wraps his arms around her. "What the fuck, dude? I didn’t say come in."

"Sorry, bro. Didn't know you were..." My eyes slide down her body and a slow grin spreads across my face. Busted. "...busy."

Noel's eyes narrow. "Well, now you know. So get the fuck out."

I glance over at Lanie’s horrified face and then turn my attention back to Noel. "Just thought you would want to know your ride to the airport has been waiting for almost twenty-five minutes, but I can see you’re busy. I'll tell them to piss off."

A heavy sigh leaves Noel's mouth. "Thanks, man. Tell them I'll be out in a second."

I raise my eyebrows and make a show of trying to be the non-asshole out of the two of us. "You sure? If I were you, I think I’d make them wait."

Noel’s fingers roll into fists. "Yeah. Now get the fuck out."

I close the door behind me after shrugging and mumbling, “You’re the boss,” under my breath.

Noel has absolutely no plans of telling Lanie about Sophie. He’s going to ride this ocean of lies as long as he can. Well, I’ve got news for him, this shark is about to ruin his perfect wave.

AUBREY

I check my cell for the tenth time in the last hour. Isaac has me working overtime with him on Noel’s charity since I came back from Texas. Markers and storyboards clutter his normal tidy office. I’ve never seen it in such disarray.

Isaac himself appears more casual. His suit jacket hangs on the back of his high-back chair and his white button up shirt has the top two buttons undone while his tie hangs loose. The sleeves are shoved to nearly his elbows, exposing his defined forearms.

He shoves his hand into his thick blonde hair and lets out a loud sigh. “I’m stumped. I think I need a change of scenery to get the brain firing again.”

I collect my notepad from the chair beside me. “I think calling it a night is a good idea. I’m beat.”

Isaac shoves his glasses up his nose. “I was thinking more like we should go get a drink somewhere.”

I raise my eyebrows and alarms go off in my head, but I figure what the hell. “Sure.”

“Great.” He smiles. “Let’s go.”

We catch a cab over to the Flatiron Lounge. Isaac and some other big wigs at the firm like to frequent this place after work. I’ve heard some big deals have gone down in this place. The area is tight, like most spaces in New York, but the atmosphere is nice. The lights are turned down, but it’s still bright enough to see everything clearly. Patrons sit closely at the bar and at small tables, talking amongst themselves.

The evening crowd is mostly dressed in clothes to go out. Women wear trendy cocktail dresses while the men still have dress shirts and slacks on. Isaac fits in perfectly, but me on the other hand could’ve used a shower and fresh clothes. My pencil skirt is wrinkled from hours of assisting my boss on the charity project that’s supposed to belong to my best friend.

I frown. I need to talk to her about this soon. Things are spinning out of control quickly, and if I don’t get some input from her now, this won’t be her project at all.