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I was s foolishly as Tricky ca For one, I was known as The Dahich e had talked about e my man God, it was stupid how incredible such an offhand comment could make me feel

“You can let go now,” Sage said, and he reached for Tricky’s shoulder, pulling hietic smile “Sorry, this is er, you’d never get him off”

Tricky grinned at o after chicks like a dog in heat”

“Whether they like it or not,” Sage pointed out

“Oh, they always like it,” Tricky said He looked back to et the chicks who Sage doesn’t want, but hey, Tricky ain’t a bad substitute” He wiggled his brows “You should try me sometime”

I was too focused on what he said about “chicks who Sage doesn’t want” to realize he was hitting on h— inside Tricky’s wordsto shit in two seconds flat I really needed to get a fucking grip on today

Sage cleared his throat again, and I could tell he was nervous about our interacting “The players in the lobby?” he asked Tricky

“Yup,” he said, nodding sharply “Only one Frenchman and the rest are Brits Seem like they’ll be okay One of them has more badass tattoos than you do”

I had ale’s tattoos They were covered up right now, but I could see the sugar skulls on his arms and shoulder as clear as day intheir outlines as we lay in a sun-drenched California bed

I blinked quickly and here ere, standing under a grey Paris sky, looking at each other like strangers

How tied us

Despite the background noise of rolling suitcases, car horns, and flapping pigeons, I could feel the silence between us and pulledat me intently His shades were pulled up on top of his head and his eyes were burning into ly clear I wondered if he knehat I had been thinking I wondered what he’d think about all of that

“Do you guys need a minute?” Tricky asked us “Because I don’t think we have another e man”

As if to prove his point, Jacob suddenly appeared, striding toward us out of the foyer

“Sage, get your arse inside,” he barked “We’re all waiting and we have dinner reservations” He then looked atyou’d need to cover Feel free to order rooh”

He put his hands behind Tricky and Sage’s shoulders and pushed thelanced at

“Uh, my room?” I yelled after Jacob

“Oh, right-o,” he said, annoyed, and fished an ornate-looking key out of his jacket pocket “Room 616 We’re all on the same floor” He pressed it hard into ly jacket waving behind hier et on his bad side

I sighed and watched as Sage shook the hands of three other uitarist, and keyboardist—and then I made my way up the narrow staircase with a red velvet runner to the sixth floor Just like with Hybrid, sometimes you felt you were part of the band, and sometimes it was very clear you weren’t I was certain even s, felt that way on occasion

I walked down the hallway, searching the doors forand winding, with a loood ceiling that would graze anyone taller than Sage or Max The carpet in the hall was an ornate brown tapestry, and when I looked closer at the roo heads that framed the plaques they ritten on I shuddered a bit at their pinprick eyes and kept walking

Eventually I found e’s Half of ht next door, and the other half feared the proxi tothat I noould be totally stupid

Or I’d find hi totally stupid

I opened the door with a feists from the cranky keyhole and stepped in It was dark so I flicked on the light It stuttered,for a second before it evened out My suitcase was already on one of the luggage holders at the foot of the bed, and it took rasp how nice the room was The bed was a four-poster one, queen-sized, and I had a chaise and coffee table by the hich were large and looked out on the city

I let out a giddy squeal, quickly closed the door, and prancedEiffel Tower fro, but I was living it Once again it hit me Paris I was here I craned lass and took in more of the view We were on the left bank, close to the river, and I could see all of Paris spreading out before rey roofs, the domes and spires of the various churches and cathedrals sprinkled here and there

I stood like that for quite a bit, pushing up the botto,me jump Despite the peaceful vieas still a little jittery

I snapped it up It was Max

“Hey, little lamb,” he said

“Hi, giant red potato”

He snorted “Red potato? That’s a new one”

I sat on the bed and smiled into the phone “Oh, I have plentyone”