Nobody Falls for the Opening Act (Break the Rules Book 2)

Chapter 22

Itry not to grin as Jordan paces the carpet in front of me. She’ll glare at me sitting on the edge of her bed every few steps before looking back down, her eyes sharp behind her glasses. I fight the urge to break the silence first. It’s not a difficult battle, though. I’ve certainly got plenty to fix my thoughts on at the moment.

Harvey Moon kissed me.

I kissed Harvey Moon.

And it was?—

“Wrong,”Jordan blurts out, coming to a stop in front of me. “This is so wrong.”

“I know,” I say.

“We have rules for a reason. Rules that you helped me write!”

“I know.”

“Then why are you making out with Harvey Moon in the hallway?!”

“It…” I hesitate, sighing hard. “It felt like the thing to do in the moment.”

Jordan puts her hands on her hips. “You told me nothing was going on between you guys.”

“I said that, yeah,” I say, wincing.

“So…?” She turns up a hand. “What’s going on between you and Harvey?”

“Are you asking as my friend or as my manager?” I ask.

It’s a fair question. I’ve known Jordan since we were thirteen, and she’s been my boss since we were eighteen.

She bites her cheek. “Both, eventually,” she answers. “At the moment, let’s go with manager.”

I nod once. “Okay, well…” Where do I even start? “Harvey and I have been hanging out together lately, and then tonight, he told me he loved me, and he kissed me.” I shrug. “That’s when you opened your door, and now we’re here.”

“Hanging out together when?” she asks curiously. “I barely even have time to bathe, and you two are going on dates?”

“Not dates,” I say firmly. “We’re not dating. But…” I let words swirl through my head before picking the right ones. “I had some insomnia back in Denver. He did, too. So, we kept each other company.”

“You spent the night together?”

“No. We went to bars. Played pool. Had some drinks. That kind of thing.”

Jordan exhales hard, her thoughts churning, too. “And tonight?”

“Tonight was… a moment of weakness,” I say.

“I’ll say,” she says. “Of all of us, the last one I expect this from is you.”

“Even Katrina?” I ask in surprise.

“Katrina’s a hopeless romantic. That makes her vulnerable in ways you’re not. Or so I thought.”

“Look, Jordan, I’ll admit I screwed up this time, but… shit, dude, hasn’t a guy ever confessed his love to you before?”

“No.”

I sit back. “Oh.”

Jordan plops down on to the bed next to me. Her shoulders slump and she releases another heavy sigh. “He told you he loved you?” she asks, officially dropping the manager tone for the soft, eager voice of my friend.

“Yeah,” I say, remembering it all in the blink of an eye.

You know I’m in love with you, right?

The memory hits me like a sucker punch to the gut all over again, and I drop my head to her shoulder.

“Wow,” Jordan says.

“Yeah. Wow.”

“Do you love him, too?”

“No,” I answer quickly, but… “I’m not sure how I feel about him. Not yet, anyway.”

“But… you kissed him?” she asks, confused.

“Well, he kissed me. I just didn’t stop it.”

“I thought you didn’t date other musicians.”

“We’re not dating. And I don’t.” I chuckle. “Doesn’t mean I won’t bang one.”

Jordan exhales hard through her nose.

I clear my throat. “Theoretically, I mean.”

“Damn.”

“Hm?”

“Was the kiss good, at least?” she asks. “Before I interrupted you, I mean.”

I raise my head. “Uh… yeah,” I answer, watching her eyes shimmer vicariously. “It was a good kiss.”

“I knew it.” Jordan cracks a smile. “Frat boys always know what they’re doing.”

I chuckle.

“Well…” She takes a breath and her shoulders stiffen once again. “What do you plan to do about this?” she asks.

“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully.

“Don’t bang a bandmate,” she says. “That’s one of our rules.”

“Well…”I tilt my head. “Is he technically a bandmate, though?”

“He’s on our tour, Addison,” she answers gently. “I’ll say yes, he counts.”

I exhale. “Yeah. I know he does.”

“But…”

I look at her as she goes quiet. “But what?”

“I can’t be too strict here,” she says, deflating. “I wasn’t exactly tough on Knox and Harmony before.”

“You weren’t?”

She shakes her head. “But I’ll say the same thing to you as I said to him,” she says, looking me in the eye. “I’ll let you do whatever it is you and Harvey are gonna do?—”

“You will?”

She raises a hand, silencing me. “Honestly, I’m curious about how this plays out.”

I smile. Seems Katrina isn’t the only hopeless romantic on the bus.

“But…”she continues, “if it starts affecting the tour?—”

“I’ll end it,” I say.

Jordan nods once, her eyes still fixed on me. “Not sure how it won’t,” she says. “The second Gossipa catches wind of this — and you know they will.”

I shrug. “Maybe they won’t care,” I say. “I’m not exactly the front man, and Harvey’s just the opening act.”

“He’s a rising star and you’re in Criminal Records, Addy,” she says. “And let’s not pretend you’re both not hot as shit and if there’s one thing people love more than hot as shit rockstars, it’s when they’re boning each other.”

“True,” I say with a sigh.

Jordan sighs, too, her eyes full of stress. “What is it with this tour?” she grumbles. “It’s like calling it the Break the Rules Tour was the beginnings of some horrible prophecy.”

“Didn’t you suggest that name?”

“Shut up.”

I chuckle. “I’m sorry. We do always seem to make your job harder, don’t we?”

“Yeah. You do.”

I give her a hug. “You love it, though,” I whisper.

She scoffs, but doesn’t refute it.

I walk outof Jordan’s room, saying goodnight to her as I go. As soon as the door latches behind me, Harvey’s door across the hall opens.

“Hey,” he says, poking his head out.

I smirk. “You were glued to the peephole the whole time, weren’t you?”

“No.” He smiles. “Yes.”

Harvey steps toward me and my chest quivers with a new rush; one that makes me wonder if that’s just how my body will react to him from now on. His handsome eyes always brought me a little pause, but now that I’ve tasted his lips, too…

I’m so fucked.

“Are you in trouble?” he asks.

“Nah,” I say. “Not yet, anyway.”

“Good.” He clears his throat. “So, does that mean you can come inside? My room, I mean. We can talk about this some more.”

And with the way his smile twitched with the word talk, I’m not sure we’ll do much talking if I do.

“Actually, Harvey,” I say, keeping my boots planted on the floor. “I think I’m going to go back downstairs. Hang with the band.”

“Okay. Sure.” He nods. “That’s okay. I’ll be up here when you come back.”

“I won’t be back.” I bite my lip, not wanting to hurt him. I never did. “Harvey, I… I didn’t know this was going to happen tonight.”

“I didn’t, either.”

“I have a lot that I need to think about before this goes any further.”

Harvey pauses, clearly disappointed, but he nods with acceptance. “Okay. Still… I’ll be up here when you want to talk,” he says again.

I arch a brow. “What makes you so sure I will?” I ask.

He smiles playfully before stepping back into his doorway. “I just know.”

“You’re just cocky.”

“If you do, I’ll be the happiest man alive,” he says. “If you don’t, I’ll be the happiest man alive.”

“Why?”

He steps toward me again, sending another delightful quiver through my chest. “I kissed Addison Abbey tonight,” he says, smirking. “It doesn’t get much better than that.”

I scoff. “The kiss wasn’t that great, dude.”

Harvey leans closer, stopping his mouth an inch away from mine. “Then why are you still blushing?” he whispers.

I press my lips together, but I can’t stop the rouge from spreading into my cheeks again. “I’m not,” I say, not convincing either of us. “I do not blush.”

“Oh, you do.” Harvey kisses my cheek, then stands back. “Goodnight, Addison,” he says.

“Goodnight, Harvey.”

He goes back into his room and closes the door.

Remembering the peephole, I move several feet down the hall before I break. I grin widely. I bite my lip and exhale all the air from my lungs. I shiver from head-to-toe, my chest surging with warm Harvey-vibes that lift the hairs on the back of my neck.

But it doesn’t last long before it settles, leaving nothing but my pounding heart.

What am I doing?

I go back downstairs and I rejoin my band at the hotel bar; the question looping endlessly in my thoughts.

What the fuck am I doing?