Page 249 of Silver Sweet

Mostly of me toward him.

“It’s set to ‘I Only Have Eyes for You’ by The Flamingos,” he says.

“That’s cute,” I say dryly.

“You are obsessed with him. Maybe don’t look at him like you want to fuck him after each performance if you’re trying to hide your feelings.”

I shake my head to myself. “I don’t think I ever really could, Bird,” I say quietly.

“Yeah, you are a lost cause.”

I give him a sharper look. “Thanks for the useful tips. I wonder why I never ask you for them.”

“Sure, sure, that’s the reason.” He shuts off his phone. “Mom and Dad are coming to the New York show, by the way.”

They haven’t attended a concert yet—unlike Tom’s parents who’ve been to four shows. It’s not for a lack of desire. They don’t have the money to fly out, and they turned down Tom when he offered to have his family’s jet pick them up.

Sometimes I wonder if they would’ve accepted had they known my boyfriend was offering and not just my rich bandmate.

“Why New York and not Boston?” I ask Bird.

“They said they didn’t want to wait until the final show in Boston to see us. That bodes well.” He tips his head toward the door Tom walked out of. “You tell them about him yet?”

“No, no.” I frown. “Tom wanted to a while back, mostly to assure them he’d never axe me, but I told him not to. That it wouldn’t matter.”

“You really don’t think it would?”

“I don’t know…but it’s been nice not hearing,Your band is only going to last as long as your relationship.”

“Yeah, I bet,” he says quietly. “They are happy about The Carraways charting. Mom has already asked about ten timeswhen your late-night segment is supposed to air. Dad was funny and said your merch could be more colorful. Too depressing.” We both start laughing, and Birdie has tears in his eyes chuckling, “Remember when he bought you rainbow boxers? God, how old were you?”

“Sixteen,” I laugh. “He tried so hard.” My smile softens in love for him.

“He did not want you to be this angsty little punk.” Birdie’s laughter fades. His frown deepens.

I look him over. My ribs constricting.

“I guess he got two of them, huh?” he tells me.

I can’t reply. Birdie doesn’t really let me. He leaves for the food spread, and I return to my stretches with the resistance band. An hour before Nothing Personal goes onstage, we’re all warming up for the show—only to be interrupted by Jeremy Shaw.

Our manager appears with a soda and a proud grin. He gathers both bands in a semi-circle. Waiting for Scally to untangle himself from Steffi’s guitar, I hang my bicep over Tom’s shoulder while Tom wraps his arm around my waist.

Jeremy slips me a warm, subtle smile of knowing. This time, I’m not shaking my head. I nod back, and his smile grows bigger.

“Now, I know there’s a month left,” Jeremy says. “But as I’ve been told via the CEO himself, this has been one of the mostsuccessfultours in Riot’s history for debut artists.”

All the members of Nothing Personal begin to applaud me and Tom, and I’m so not shocked when Tom claps for us too. I laugh into a humongous smile, and I touch the back of his head. When I join in, Tom can’t contain a winning grin.

“Which is why,” Jeremy continues, “they’re sending you on a four-month World Tour. You’ll have August off, and then through December, you’ll be in Europe, Oceania, and SouthAmerica—and Nothing Personal, you’ll be on your own. Starting in the U.S., Canada, then Europe.”

My face drops. “Wait, we’re not touring together?”

“No,” Jeremy says, and my brother and I share a short, disappointed look. “They wanted separate dates, different schedules. You’re both popular enough to sell tickets, and it’ll be double the profits if the shows are split.”

“Can we request to tour together?” Tom asks this first, surprisingly.

“I already did,” Jeremy says. “It was a firm,firmno, Tom. Respectfully, I would not push on this. They’re fully funding both tours, which is huge.”