"I can't." His forehead touches mine gently, but he is grim with determination. "Come with me...hear me out. I'm not going anywhere until you do."
I glare up at him, pushed past my limit. "Why are you doing this to me?! You've had your laughs. Just—go! Leave me alone!"
He shakes his head, his expression implacable. "Three more seconds, and I'm carrying you out of here. One."
I try to wiggle away, but he has me pinned with his body. "Someone will call the cops," I threaten.
"I don't give a fuck. Two."
What choice do I have? More people are starting to peek out their doors, and it won't be long before someone complains. I don’t want to get Lauren in trouble.
"Fine," I say stiffly. "I need to tell Lauren."
Zane moves back so I can step away. As I approach her apartment, the door swings open. Lauren stand in the doorway, her expression confirming that she's been listening in—which is fine. The twins are crowding behind her, red heads bobbing eagerly—so not fine.
"You okay, V?" Lauren shoots a quick glance at Zane, then back to me.
I nod. "I'll call you later. If my mom calls you, can you tell her I'll be home very soon?"
"Sure. Call me if you need me."
She gives me a meaningful look. I just shrug. When she shuts the door, I turn to Zane.
"Let's go."
I silently follow him to his truck, refusing to look at him. I don't even want to breathe too deeply and inhale his soap and fresh laundry scent, because it always turns me on. I'm appalled I can still feel that way about him, but I guess I can't help those teenage hormones.
"Go to Taco Bill's," I blurt out as he starts the engine.
Zane stares down at the steering wheel, his jaw clenching. "That's hardly a private place to talk."
"I don't want to be alone with you," I say bluntly.
"What, I'm a psycho killer now?"
I narrow my eyes at him. "I don't trust you. Because you lied to me."
Zane doesn't respond. We drive to the restaurant in total silence. It's so surreal to me. I am in the car with Aiden Cross, my favorite singer. I had sex with him. How could I have not known? How could I have known? Who would guess that their boyfriend is actually a famous rock star? That doesn’t happen in real life. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that this would be his big secret.
Ha, if I thought me and Zane didn't stand a chance before...yeah, there goes that dream, right out the window.
I'm so stupid.
Zane pulls into a parking spot at Taco Bill's, but neither of us get out. Why did I pick Taco Bill's? Looking out the window, I spot Matt's car, and Kim's. Kim is, like, Aiden Cross' biggest fan. If she saw Zane up close, she might guess his secret identity.
I feel dumb for saying that. Like he's a superhero or something.
"You must've thought I was so stupid," I say, my hand on the door.
He looks up at me. "What?" he says warily.
I give a bitter little chuckle. "All those times I accused you of flirting with receptionists, waitresses, and cousins...when you were really screwing around with actresses like Alaina Skye, and—and—supermodels."
"Alaina and I are just friends."
"Right." I snort. "That's why there are pictures of the two of you with your hands all over each other."
"No, those were photo ops arranged by our agents for publicity," he growls through clenched teeth. "Like all the other pictures you probably saw. I don't even know most of those girls' names."
"Right," I say, rolling my eyes. “But then I guess you don’t have to know someone’s name to put your hands all over their ass.”
He leans across and takes my hand in his. "I haven't been with anyone since that first day we went to lunch together."
I snatch my hand away. "Why should I believe you? You lied to me about everything. You don't even work at Cronus, do you? Was it all research for your big movie role? The fake name, the appearance...us?"
Zane is shaking his head. "No! I turned that down a while ago. My agent was trying to change my mind--she snuck that script in my bag to get me to reconsider. That's not even why I came to Hidden Cove."
"Why did you come, then?"
"I don't know." He sighs and glances out the windshield. "I guess I wanted a break from being me. Don't get me wrong—I've got the best job in the world, doing what I love. But it doesn't afford much privacy. Hell, I get a haircut, and it's front page news."
"When I'm Aiden Cross, I'm always putting on a show, you know? I'm whoever my fans want me to be, and that's fine—I get that it's part of the job. I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't love it. They can have Aiden Cross—he's all theirs. He's not real. That's why I came here—I was starting to lose myself in all the hype. I needed to find the real me again. Then I found you."