I strain my ears to catch their murmured words. “I want to move in with you,” Connor whispers under his breath.
My first thought: If he lives at the Princeton house, he’s going to discover that I’m fucking Lily a lot more. Not: Thank God I won’t be the only guy under that roof.
The addicted side of me trumps every moral part.
I’m a fucking terrible friend.
“You can’t,” Rose replies. “Your commute to Penn is too far…and Lily and Lo…”
“The commute is manageable, and Lo and Lily love me.” He pauses. “Do you?”
“Don’t manipulate me,” she whispers.
“I’m not trying to. I just want to be with you more than I am now. I’ll wait a few months if that’s what it takes.”
She nods. “Okay.”
Poppy clears her throat. “I hate to interrupt, but Sam just texted me and said the crowds are starting to gather around the bathroom.” Her eyes meet mine. “They’re waiting for you and Lily.”
Great.
Rose disentangles from her boyfriend and goes back into commander mode. “Lily, go with Connor,” she orders like she’s preparing for war.
I just hope there’s no friendly fire.
*
“For Christ’s sake, give her space,” I say, trying not to touch Rose. She’s having a hard time shielding her face from cellphone cameras. She uses the blonde wig to hide, which helps some.
We just need to reach the elevator. Connor already texted me and said they’re waiting in line for the panel with Poppy and Sam.
No one noticed Lily dressed as Catwoman.
“Are you in love with Loren or Ryke?” people keep asking. Through my visor, everyone and everything is tinted red.
Rose surprisingly keeps quiet. She must be literally biting her tongue to stop from lashing out.
“Are you in a fight?” someone asks. “Why aren’t you holding Lily?”
“Yeah. You always hold Lily!”
Shit.
Rose glares at me out of the corner of her eye. This is a girl who I’ve never even hugged before. Fuck, besides Connor, I’ve only ever seen her hug someone maybe three times in my entire life.
“She’s sick,” I say sharply, my voice like fucking knives right now. “So you should all back up in case you catch it.”
The crowds start rocketing backwards like I said she had the bubonic plague. Jesus Christ.
“Does she have herpes?” someone asks.
Anger twists my face, my jaw clenching. “No,” I sneer, trying to find the source of that voice. My heart beats rapidly.
“You sound awfully defensive.”
I stop dead in my tracks, the cameras clicking, and now the real press shows up, pushing through glass double doors, padding along the ugly hotel carpet. About to bombard us.
“Come on, Loren,” Rose says under her breath. She grips my forearm tightly and literally pulls me into the elevator. Before the doors shut, two people sprint towards us, a girl cradled in a guy’s arms. I repeatedly push the button to close the metal doors. But I stop the moment they slip inside, when I recognize the girl with the bright orange wig and the guy with the green leather jacket.
“Finally we fucking found you,” Ryke says, his arm underneath Daisy’s legs and against her back. At first I think they’re playing around, but Daisy wears a faint, pained expression.
I frown. “What happened?”
Ryke very carefully places her feet on the ground, and she leans her weight against him. “She popped her knee out of the socket doing a fucking backflip,” he explains.
“I was in character,” she adds, bending down to massage her knee.
“Hey, stop, Dais.” He moves her hand away. “Wait for some ice first.” He looks up at me and then completely freezes when he sees Rose.
“Stop looking at me like that,” she snaps.
“You’re wearing Lily’s costume,” is all he can fucking say. He’s staring at Rose like he wants to bang her.
I smack the back of his head.
He blinks a few times, as though it just now registers in his brain who she is, along with her boyfriend’s identity. “I’m just fucking surprised. Give me a minute to process this.”
Rose fixes the wig on her head. “Process it and then move on.” She looks to a confused Daisy. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you in the room.” She asks, “Where’d you run off to anyway?”
“Outside,” she tells her. “I just needed some fresh air.” The elevator abruptly stops on our floor, and Daisy almost topples over, teetering on one leg. Without asking, Ryke swiftly lifts Daisy back in his arms. A smile spreads across her face.