Cross Me Off Your List (17 page)

Then Aralie spins around on her three-inch
heels. “Does everyone understand that?”

We do.

The drama isn’t lacking on the fourth floor.
As soon as I step into the hallway after the great date switch up,
I notice Nat and Benji at the end of the hallway in another
confrontation. I freeze in my tracks on the way to grab my bag from
Noah’s room.

Benji pauses when he sees me, but Nat doesn’t
care who is listening. He steps over and waves his hand in front of
Benji’s face. SAS’s pretty boy turns back to Nat.

“Are you seriously doing this?” Nat asks.
“You’re really going to let them use you as a prop for some slutty
bitch?”

Benji shakes his head in frustration. “I
don’t have a choice. Can you just back off?”

Nat puts his hands on his hips and cocks his
head to the side. “You have a choice,” he says, matter-of-factly.
“You just let them take advantage of you. You’re their fucking
puppet.”

“I’m no one’s puppet!” Benji shouts. “I get
paid for this. It’s a public appearance. That’s it.”

“Public appearance? Are you fucking kidding
me?” Nat counters.

He glances in my direction but doesn’t say
anything to me. This is so awkward. I’m not sure what’s worse –
staying and listening or continuing to room 413 like nothing’s
happening. I decide to walk toward the room.

“Do you hear yourself, Baccarini?” Nat asks.
“Public appearance? That’s how you justify this? They’re dressing
you up, sticking some slut model on your arm, and using you for
photo ops to launch her.”

I swipe Noah’s room key and quickly shut the
door of room 413 behind me. But my curiosity gets the better of me.
I grab my bag and rush back to the door, pressing my ear to it in
hopes of hearing more.

“You’re a coward,” Nat snaps. “You’re never
going to be happy because you’re going to let them control you as
long as you’re in this band.”

A door clicks, and then there is silence. I
wonder who left first. Nat probably stomped away in a diva fit. I
bet he wanted to slam the door, but these hotel room doors don’t
really allow for it.

I count to ten before entering the hallway
again. Benji stands near the far window, leaning against the wall
but not looking out at the world below – the world that’s waiting
for him to put on his heart-throb face and be their favorite
guy.

He looks up when the door clicks behind me.
He smirks, sort of, but then his face falls solemn.

“You gonna tell me I’m a sell out too?” he
calls out.

I look behind me to see who he’s talking to,
but the empty hallway brings to realization that his question is
aimed at me.

“I wasn’t going to say anything, actually,” I
tell him. I walk toward him, but he doesn’t budge from his window
spot.

He’s silent until I’m right next to him,
overlooking the giant seashell-shaped pool in the hotel’s
courtyard. Palm trees and lounge chairs mingle around it.

“He’s so damn dramatic,” Benji says, shaking
his head. His eyes never leave the pool. “I don’t know what the
hell he wants from me.”

I clear my throat, hoping that’s all that’s
necessary. It’s obvious what Nat wants from Benji, but I have no
idea what Benji wants from anyone or anything.

“Aside from gay sex,” Benji clarifies. “Nat
doesn’t do much to hide that. I mean, he’s pretty much said if I
ever want him, I can have him.”

“Subtlety isn’t really his strongpoint,” I
add, even though Benji knows this.

He runs his hand through his hair and leans
his head back against the wall. Then he sighs heavily, like he
won’t have to move from this spot if he exhales long enough.

“He just thinks it’s stupid,” Benji finally
says. “I know Nat has a different interest in me than he does with
Milo or his brother, but he gets mad that I won’t stand my ground
against management. He doesn’t get it. It’s my job. I can’t just
tell them ‘no’ when they want me to do something.”

I can’t imagine being the one person out of
five guys who has to bend differently for his boss. As much as I
agree with Nat, though, I also see Benji’s standpoint. If he wants
to keep this Saturn thing going as long as possible, he has to play
the game. He has to be willing to make some sacrifices that others
might not have to make.

So I say the only thing I can. “Next time Nat
complains about management forcing you to escort models to events,
remind him how much money you make from it and that you have to do
it to afford shopping trips with him.”

Benji rolls his eyes, but I take that as a
good sign. When Aralie steps out of the room down the hall, Benji
quickly excuses himself to go meet up with their management team
and his date for the evening.

“Everything okay?” Aralie asks, approaching
me.

“Perfect,” I lie.

The sun drips across the sky in a muddled
shades of burnt orange and dark red. It’s ironic how colors that
clash so badly on clothing blend quite well on a giant canvas.

Noah warns me that reporters are going to
slaughter us with questions and camera flashes the moment we step
outside. After the public appearance at Miles’s surf event, the big
‘SAS is in the cove’ secret was no longer a secret.

“Just stick to Aralie’s story if they ask
anything about the wardrobe changes,” Noah advises me. “Tell them
as little as possible. You’ve been hanging out with us all week. We
met at the hotel. Pretend you like our music, but you’re not a
fangirl. Just be you – carefully.”

I inhale and exhale, hoping to absorb some of
the Saturn girlfriend confidence these other girls have. Even Darby
looks more ready for this than I do, and she doesn’t seem like the
type to handle the drama very well. Scratch that – she’s a
Saturnite Queen. Drama is her thing. She’s completely in her
element.

If Chloe Branson can handle tonight with her
rumored cheating scandal, an angry boyfriend, and wearing her
sister’s boyfriend on her arm, then I can definitely handle it too.
If nothing else, I’m dressed perfectly for camera shots. Go ahead,
paparazzi. I’m ready for you.

Noah keeps me close to him as we make our way
out of the hotel lobby and onto the sidewalk outside. For a moment,
I think we may actually make it to the limo without actually
stopping to speak to anyone.

But as always, Noah stops for the fans. I’m
left alone for maybe two seconds before a reporter jumps in my face
with a recorder in her hand asking how I met Noah and if we’re
dating.

I spit out the line about meeting Noah in the
hotel elevator and how he asked me to hang out with him. Then,
because we didn’t discuss our actual relationship status, I say
that we’re good friends and hope it doesn’t bite me later.

The mass of bright flashes quickly rush away
from Chloe and Milo when Benji steps out of the hotel. I know he’s
popular, but I think the crowd is more concerned with the beautiful
brunette on his arm.

She’s modelesque, no doubt. Long tan legs,
super high heels, pouty lips, and smoky eye makeup. That sparkly
gold dress makes her look like a Christmas ornament – a pretty
ornament, but an ornament nonetheless. And it’s fitting considering
she’s just an ornament attached to Benji’s side for the night.

As the media frenzy plays out around me, I
catch a glimpse of the life I think Benji would rather have. Miles
and Emily walk out of the music store next door where Jace works.
That’s the life. Miles can surf all day, doing what he loves, get
paid for it, have a few fans, and still be able to hang out with
his girlfriend in public without cameras and reporters.

Emily waves and then motions at all the
paparazzi. She laughs and pulls out her cell phone. I’m certain
she’s filming the madhouse around us. Miles is probably adding
commentary right about now regarding the insanity and how stupid
all of this is.

I step aside to flag her down for a moment of
reality, but the young girl from earlier is back in my face with
her recorder. I feel for her. This may be her first assignment, and
she’s dying for the scoop on something. I’m new to the Saturn
world. I’m probably easier to access than the guys or the
unreachable Branson sisters. So I cave.

“Just a quick question,” the girl says.
“What’s the status with Chloe and Milo? Is there trouble in Saturn
paradise?”

I hesitate for a moment before I realize that
hesitating only makes this look worse. Emily and Miles watch me
from behind the girl. Emily is all smiles, holding her phone up
like she’s part of the paparazzi. She’s far too humored by
this.

“They’re fine,” I say, forcing a smile. “All
couples go through things. The rumors in the tabloids are just that
– rumors. They know the truth about their relationship, and that’s
really all that matters.”

My shoulders relax, and I breathe normally.
I’ve got this. I can totally do this Saturn girlfriend thing. I
can’t believe this girl is wasting her breath asking about Chloe
and Milo. She knows we’re not going to throw them under the bus,
even if there was trouble in Saturn paradise.

“So you’re telling me there’s nothing going
on with Chloe Branson and Isaac Torrey?” she asks.

I glance back at Chloe and Jules. I commend
her for stepping out here without Milo in the midst of all the
cheating drama, but damn, she’s just digging her own grave.

“You know, I haven’t known Chloe that long,
and I can’t vouch for everything that happens in her life,” I tell
the girl. “But she’s not the kind of person who would do anything
to hurt anyone. The only thing going on with Chloe and Isaac is
collaboration on artwork for an album.”

Before she can dig Chloe’s grave any further,
Noah steps out of the crowd with Big Tony. Noah locks his arm
around me, and we’re quickly ushered to the limo. Security guards
and local police hold the crowds back while we make our grand
exit.

“You survived,” Noah says in the limo. “I
tried to get back over there, but that crazy girl in the yellow
shirt wouldn’t let go of my arm.”

He’s the only one laughing right now. Even
Tate, who’s known for always being happy, sits solemnly next to
Aralie. I figured he’d at least sit with Darby on the drive to the
release party, but it seems this date swap is legit for the entire
night.

Benji stares at his cell phone. I wonder who
he’s texting. Tank reads over Benji’s shoulder. To my surprise,
Benji doesn’t seem to care if Tank gets in his business. The
brunette model, Alessandra something or other, doesn’t smile on the
other side of Benji. I don’t know if she even wants to be here.
She’s either pissed because Benji isn’t interested in her or
annoyed that she’s having to pretend to be interested in him just
to get her name out there.

I scan the faces of everyone in the limo.
There’s anger, jealousy, boredom, annoyance, and then happiness
because no matter how everyone else’s night plays out, mine seems
to be the only one going according to plan.

And even if their planets are out of orbit
tonight, I’m thankful that my stars are perfectly aligned.

Noah reaches for my hand, even though
management warned him against close contact with me tonight. He’s
getting a taste of Benji’s life with this event. His team doesn’t
want him to look attached. No usage of the word ‘dating’ and
definitely no mention of ‘girlfriend.’ I’m just a friend. I’m just
a date for tonight. I’ve been put in the same category as
Alessandra, and that stings because she really isn’t Benji’s chosen
date. She’s a prop, and that’s exactly what Team Saturn wants me to
pretend to be.

“That’s awkward as hell,” Noah says, leaning
closer to me.

I follow his gaze to Chloe posing for a photo
with her date – her sister’s boyfriend. That’s definitely awkward.
My gut feeling says that Aralie’s plan to avoid date drama will
only create harsher headlines in the tabloids. It’s bad enough that
they’re coming down on Chloe and Isaac, but Chloe and Jules may
actually be more scandalous. Hell, that’s probably Aralie’s grand
plan to take the attention away from the cheating scandal.

After press photos are done, Milo and Darby
stake out a back table away from the crowds and even farther away
from Sebastian’s Shadow. I skim the room to scope out Milo’s
competition.

Isaac Torrey isn’t exactly how I imagined
him. Sure, I glanced at band photos online, but he has absolutely
no meat on his bones. He’s tall and skinny – so skinny that skinny
jeans really don’t have the punk rock effect on him. He’s just
lanky. He has a super sharp jaw line, though. It actually rivals
Tank’s perfect jaw. That military haircut isn’t very rock star, but
hey, what do I know? I’m here with a tatted up boybander.

And right in this very moment, Saturn’s
pretty boy wedges himself between the tatted up boybander and
me.

“I have an idea,” Benji announces. “How about
we get in on this big date swap? You know, for like fifteen
minutes?”

Noah raises an eyebrow, like he’s unsure of
Benji’s plan or maybe just uninterested.

Benji doesn’t stop there. “I was thinking,
you could go hang out with Alessandra for a few minutes, and I can
introduce Marisol to Sebastian’s Shadow. That way, I can have a few
minutes of sanity, and you don’t have to be the bad guy who
introduced her to Milo’s enemy,” he suggests.

I watch Noah debate this decision. He
probably doesn’t want to hang out with Alessandra any more than
Benji does. Her thick accent makes her a little hard to understand,
so I can’t imagine a night of forcing conversation. But Benji makes
a solid point. Milo is Noah’s best friend in the band, and
introducing me to Sebastian’s Shadow and playing nice with Isaac
probably isn’t what Milo wants right now.

“Alright. Fine,” Noah says. “Go play nice
with the band and I’ll occupy your date’s time for fifteen
minutes.”