“Yeah. Partly, anyhow. I didn’t know what to say.”
I suddenly feel scared that I’ll somehow lose her again. I reach over and take her chin between my thumb and forefinger. “You can tell me anything, Daisy. You know that, right?”
She nods.
“I mean it.” I bend a little closer, my eyes on her lips. “Even if it’s just to say that you don’t know what to say, you can still call me.”
“I know,” she whispers.
“Can I tell you something?”
She swallows heavily and nods.
“I really want to kiss you.”
“You do?” Her voice comes out all high pitched and squeaky, and I’m pretty sure it’s the cutest thing ever.
“I do.”
She takes a huge breath and blows it out. “Then I think you should.”
My stomach drops again, and I can hear a rushing in my ears. I lean forward, watching her wide eyes the entire time. Just before my lips touch hers, her eyelashes flutter downward.
“Hey, Daisy!” Paige yells.
Daisy jumps back so fast she practically knocks over the tequila bottle.
“Come dance with us!” Paige has appeared at our table, grinning and disheveled. She appears to have no idea of what she’s just interrupted.
Daisy presses a hand to her heart, apparently just as affected by the interruption as I am. “No, Paige,” she says in a shaky voice. “Thanks, but I’m fine up here.”
“Maybe you’re right.” Paige places a hand on the table as if to steady herself. “I’m actually a little woozy myself.”
“Are you okay?” Daisy asks.
“Yeah.” Paige sinks into the booth across from us. “I think I just need to slow down. I didn’t eat much tonight.”
Daisy looks at me, clearly worried, then slides around the booth so that she’s sitting next to her friend.
I raise a hand to get the waitress’s attention. “You should eat,” I tell Paige. “I’ll order some food.”
Daisy shoots me a grateful look, and I try to take solace in that. So I didn’t get to kiss her. At least she thinks I’m a good guy for taking care of her friend.
The waitress comes over, and I order plates of fries for everyone plus a few Cokes. As she heads off to put in our order, I glance back at Daisy. She’s rubbing Paige’s back, still looking concerned. My gaze drops to her lips, and I curse silently.
Her thinking I’m a good guy is great and everything, but I’m fooling myself if I think it’s anything close to being as good as kissing her would have been.
Chapter Eighteen
Daltrey
We drive into New York City at night. I’m happy for the timing, since Daisy has never been here before. It’s exactly the way I would have chosen for her to see the city for the first time, all lit up before us as we travel across the Queensboro Bridge.
“Wow,” she whispers, her face pressed against the glass. “This is pretty incredible.”
“Right? Just wait until you get outside. It’s unreal, the way it just stretches up and around you, no end in sight.”
“Pretty far cry from Jonesboro, huh?”
I snort. “You could say that.”
Because we’ll be here for such a long stretch and driving and parking in the city is such a hassle, we leave the bus at a lot in Queens, opting to use a few vans for transport around New York. Sitting in the van with Daisy feels a lot like it did back in the old days when we rented a van to get to our gigs. This one, luckily, doesn’t act as though it’s about to break down any minute. And the seats are covered in leather, instead of ripped, stained upholstery.
Our hotel is in the middle of Midtown. Daisy is mostly quiet as we make our way through the city, craning her neck to check out the buildings, but every once in a while, she’ll turn to me, a huge smile on her face, to point out something.
“Karen and Paige are probably going nuts,” she says. “They’re obsessed with Sex and the City.”
“I think there’s a tour they can do if they want. I can have Levi look into it.”
She laughs. “Poor Levi. Ever since we showed up, he’s had to play babysitter to college girls. Probably not his idea of a great time.”
“Yeah, because twenty-year-old guys hate having to hang out with college sophomores.”
“Does he have a girlfriend?” Daisy asks. “I don’t really remember him dating much after he broke up with that girl… what was her name? Kelly? Katie?”
“Kaitlin. The horrible bitch beast broke his heart and ruined him for all women, ever.”
“Poor Levi.” Her eyebrows go down, a sure sign she’s thinking of something. “I wonder if he might like Paige? I could see them together.”