His head swings toward the window as if he needs to hide his expression from me, and his voice is brutal and harsh when he answers. “No. You did it for yourself. You weren’t thinking of me. You were thinking about how you’d like your parents back, but my parents aren’t like yours, Vaughn. My dad’s a self-righteous prick. And my mom might be okay half the time, but I was raised by nannies.”
“Your mom thought—”
“Oh, my mom? Of course she did. She probably wants to get screwed by Ol’ Dusty again. She’s feeling her age because I’m getting older so she needs to be reminded she’s still young and beautiful.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper again. “When your mom called to invite him, he agreed to come right away. He seemed excited about it, so I thought…” I bite my lip. It doesn’t matter what I thought, because I thought wrong.
Dustin Ford clearly doesn’t give a crap about his son. He burst into the party like a thundercloud, darkened the room, poured rain all over the celebration and then left.
“My dad came because he had an agenda,” Oakley says flatly. “He always has one. Everyone in my life does.” Bitterness washes over his handsome face. “He doesn’t give a damn about me. He couldn’t take it when my first album went platinum. When I made my first million. When I won a Grammy. And then the label offered me the kind of deal every musician dreams of, and the old man ordered me not to sign it. He kept saying it didn’t make sense business-wise and how I would be indebted to the label forever. But Jim went over that contract with a fine-tooth comb. If anything, I was coming out ahead. The deal was that good. And Dad didn’t want me to sign. Not because he was looking out for me, but because he was jealous.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. Gosh, that’s so sad. I don’t even know how to respond to it.
I swallow hard, remembering the hesitation on Katrina’s face when I mentioned inviting Dusty. But I’d ignored the warning signs. The distance between Oak and his mother had been the result of a stupid misunderstanding, and I was hoping it was the same for him and his father.
“I didn’t know it was that bad between you two,” I say weakly.
“I told you I don’t get along with him. Did you think it was for no reason? Just me being a spoiled, stubborn brat?”
I stare at my hands. I don’t like being on the receiving end of that thunderous expression.
“God.” Oak runs both hands through his hair. “I’m so sick of everyone’s agendas. And I’m so tired of everyone wanting a piece of me. You know, if I was stranded in the middle of the desert about to take my dying breath, and a bunch of fans came up and found me? I honestly don’t think they’d save me. They’d just be scrambling to get scraps of my clothing, locks of my hair, something to show their friends later—look, I got Oakley Ford’s shirt right before he died!”
My worried gaze meets Ty’s in the rearview mirror. The deep furrow in his forehead tells me he’s concerned, too, but he doesn’t say a word. Neither do I. I simply reach for Oak’s hand and squeeze it.
“It’s all about what I can give people,” he’s mumbling. “A shot at getting a record deal, a chance in the spotlight, money. Everyone here is fake. It’s a plastic, made-up world full of people who only want one thing…”
He keeps talking, but my mind halts at his words money and fake, and suddenly I’m so guilty I can barely breathe. That’s why I started this, wasn’t it? For the money he was giving me? I have a hundred thousand dollars in the bank, courtesy of Oakley Ford, and thinking about it makes me want to throw up. It’s that same gut-churning sensation I got when Paisley showed me the last check she deposited.
It doesn’t feel right accepting money to date Oakley when I want to be dating him. It’s not fair to him. I want him to know that I’m here in this car, holding his hand, because it’s something I desperately want to do and not because I’m getting paid to do it.
Suddenly dried egg is the least problematic thing in my life. Oak has gone silent. His troubled green eyes peer out the window, and I wonder if he’s thinking the same thoughts that I am, that his girlfriend is just another person who “wants” something from him.
I can’t do this anymore. I can’t take money for fake-dating Oak, because there’s nothing fake about it. It’s real. But as long as I keep cashing those checks, there will always be that shred of doubt in Oak’s mind about us. A part of him will always wonder if I’m with him because I want to be, or because I have to be. I almost regret having sex with him, at least before I told him I loved him. I hope he doesn’t feel like I did it because I had to. That would be terrible. Worse than terrible. It would be devastating.
I’m a basket case by the time we reach my house. Ty stops the car. Oak and I get out, but it’s not until I’m halfway up the front path that I realize he’s not following me.
“Vaughn,” he calls softly.
I walk back to him. “What is it?”
“I…” He meets my eyes. “I don’t think you should come on the tour.”
My heart stops. “Wh-what?”
He wrings his hands together before sliding them into his pockets. “That girl back there, the one who threw the egg…” He shakes his head. “That’s the kind of shit you’re gonna be dealing with on a daily basis if you tour with me. My fans will eat you alive.”
I can’t help but frown. “You didn’t seem worried about that when you asked me to go with you.”
“Because I wasn’t thinking,” he mutters back. “I let myself forget about…about my life. My fucking life, Vaughn, the one where I can’t even have a fucking birthday party without it turning into a media storm. The one where my own father cares about his image more than his son. The one where my girlfriend is called a bitch and is attacked by some stranger because how dare I go out with someone who isn’t her.”
“Her?” I echo.
“Her, them, the world,” he snaps. “They think I belong to them.”
You don’t. You belong to me.
But I don’t say the words out loud. His expression is too bleak, his voice ravaged.
“It’ll be better if you stay behind,” he says roughly. “You shouldn’t have to deal with my shit show of a life. You don’t deserve the backlash you’ll get if you come with me.”
I want to argue, but the look in his eyes tells me now is not the time. He needs to calm down first. He doesn’t leave for New York until tomorrow morning. Hopefully by then he’ll have forgotten about this disastrous night, had a chance to regroup and will realize that he still wants me to go with him.
Oak thinks I can’t handle his life, but he’s wrong. I don’t care if a hundred eggs are thrown at me. I can deal. Because he needs me. He shouldn’t have to go through this stuff alone, and as long as we’re together, he won’t have to.
“Let’s talk about it tomorrow,” I finally say. “Okay?”
He nods. “Okay. But…I don’t think I’m going to change my mind.”
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow,” I repeat, firmer this time.
A ghost of a smile tugs on his mouth. Then he leans closer and bends his head, but the kiss he gives me lacks its usual warmth.
“Night, Vaughn,” he whispers.
“Good night, Oak.”
With a knot of misery in my stomach, I watch him walk away.
35
HER
1doodlebug1 @OakleyFord_stanNo1 She cheated on Oakley?
OakleyFord_stanNo1 @1doodlebug1 She’s trash. Like he should literally throw her in the garbage
OakleyFord_stanNo1 @1doodlebug1 I feel sooooo bad for him. He tries dating a normal and she ends up cheating on him with one of his band members.
1doodlebug1 @OakleyFord_stanNo1 I heard that Luke isn’t even on the tour. This is why. So it must be true.
OakleyFord_stanNo1 @1doodlebug1 She’s a disgrace to our gender. Hey @VeryVaughn u suck ur terrible go away
1doodlebug1 @OakleyFord_stanNo1 He deserves so much better. He’s never going to date another fan again. @Very-Vaughn’s ruined it for fans everywhere.