Page 39 of Always Love You More

She lets out a short laugh. “No.”

“What about sing?”

She takes another drag. “Absolutely not.”

“Well, you can be a groupie then.”

I quickly shoot him a glare. The last thing I want is all of those guys drooling over her.

Billy smirks. “Jameson’s a groupie, too.”

“I’m not a fucking groupie.”

“Do you come watch us practice?”

I stay silent.

“Did you come to our first show?”

I scowl at him.

“Are you gonna come to our show in a couple weeks?” He throws out his hand. “I don’t know what to tell you, man, but you’re definitely a groupie.”

“I’m not a groupie. I’m your cousin.”

Sam laughs.

“I’m just hanging out.”

“You can be in denial all you want,” Billy teases.

Sam turns toward him. “What kind of music do you guys play?”

“Rock.”

She shifts the bag on her shoulder. “All right, cool.”

“Do you want me to carry that for you?” I ask.

“What?”

“Your bag,” I say. “Do you want me to carry it for you? You keep fidgeting with it.”

“Oh, um, you don’t have to do that.”

I hold out my hand. “It’s no problem.”

I can’t tell because those ridiculous sunglasses cover so much of her face, but I think she blushes.

The bag slides down her shoulder, and then she passes it to me. “Thanks,” she murmurs.

“Jesus. What do you have in here?”

“You really don’t have to carry it,” she says.

I switch the bag to my other hand. “There’s no way I’m having you carry this now that I know how heavy it is.”

She rubs at her neck. “I like to have a lot of stuff with me. You never know where you’re gonna end up.”