Then I popped a piece in my mouth, and as I sucked the sweetness off my finger, she got the exact same look on her face before she turned away from me. See. I’m not the only dirty one at this table, Kiera. I softly laughed at her…then hoped there were leftovers. There were dozens of fun things I could do with them.

Kiera’s dad interrupted my steamy thoughts. “Kellan…is it true what they say about rock stars?”

My stomach instantly clenched as I felt tension enter the room. I finished eating the roll in my mouth, then cautiously looked around the table. Anna and her mom both looked annoyed, Kiera looked worried. What was he really asking me? Confused and wary, I asked him for clarification. “What do you mean?”

He casually took a bite of his bacon. “You know, about the women that follow the bands around, trying to…get to know them.”

I felt my stomach drop to the floor. Get to know them…he meant fuck them. Goddamn it. There was no good way for me to answer that question, which was probably why he’d asked it. If I lie, he’ll see right through me. If I tell him the truth…I’ll hurt Kiera. I heard Anna loudly drop her fork. I heard Kiera’s mom ask if anyone wanted more eggs. Kiera wasn’t speaking, and I couldn’t look at her. I felt her discomfort though. It matched my own.

Eyes locked on her dad, I told him the truth. “Some women are like that, yes, but it’s a lot less than you would probably think—"

He didn’t let me finish. Waving his bacon at me, he said, “But it is true, though. You do have women trying to seduce you? To lead you away from my daughter?”

Kiera finally snapped at her dad, but I couldn’t look at her. I couldn’t pull my eyes from her father. He was calling me out, right now. Daring me to lie, daring me to tell the truth. Because he knew, either way, I was fucked. He’d backed me into a corner. Why? All I wanted was for him to like me. But he wasn’t even going to give me a chance, because when he looked at me, he saw…what? A lowlife douche who was going to inevitably destroy his daughter. If I were him, and it were my daughter and her rock star boyfriend…would I see the same thing? Maybe.

It was that moment of empathy that made me answer him with the simple truth. “Yes,” I whispered.