I bit my lip, considering. I didn’t want to lie to the others, but I had to be realistic, too. Staying away from Jared for the next few weeks would be impossible. We couldn’t ignore our attraction while spending almost every waking moment together. If we tried, eventually we’d combust from the sparks. Even now, with the threat of discovery so close, I wanted to touch him. But if anyone found out about us, it could ruin everything for the band.

“This is a really bad idea,” I said.

“I know.” He fixed me with an intense gaze that took my breath away. “But I can’t think of any other way.”

“Me either.” We were really going to do this, to carry on a secret relationship under the other guys’ noses and try to fool the entire world that we weren’t together. And meanwhile, Jared would continue flirting with other girls in front of me. But the only other choice was to end it now, and that wasn’t an option. “We should return to the hotel separately to avoid suspicion.”

“Do you want me to stop by your room later?”

God, yes. But I shook my head. I might have agreed to a secret relationship, but I wasn’t ready to go further with it tonight. And as much as I desired Jared, I didn’t want to be just another hook-up either. If we were going to do this, I’d want something real. Problem was, I didn’t know if Jared could give me that.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

People thought being in a rock band was glamorous and exciting, but in reality, it was often pretty tedious. We spent most of our time rehearsing or doing other business for the show, and finding a moment alone with Jared was near-impossible now that I badly wanted one. Hector and Kyle were always around, and when they weren’t, the cameras were.

Alexis showed up to a few rehearsals to take photos of us for the website and make out with Kyle between songs. It was torture watching them be so open with their love, not caring who saw them together. Meanwhile, Jared and I were forced to duck into closets, sneak into empty studios, and steal quick kisses when no one was looking. It was hard to keep the charade up, but I couldn’t invite him to my room yet. I knew where that would lead, and I wanted to take things slow for now. Something had shifted between us when we’d moved from friends to something else, and we were still figuring out the rules of this new situation.