Read Cross Me Off Your List for Free Online

comfort
level.
    “What? Is the dress too short?” I ask,
re-examining my outfit.
    “No, no, no,” he says, walking toward me.
“I’m just never the guy with the hot date.”
    “So you normally go for the hot mess kind of
girls then?” I ask.
    He shakes his head and scrunches his nose. “I
haven’t had a date since I got in this band,” he says. “It’s always
Saturn, all the time. And really, I could have a girlfriend if I
wanted one, but with this job, you never know who is here for you
and who is here for the perks.”
    I link my arm around his and lead him to the
door. “Just so you know,” I say, pulling 322’s door shut, “I’m here
for the perks.”
    Noah laughs and mutters a “yeah right” as we
walk down the hallway. Big Tony stands near the elevator, steadily
glancing around like a creeper. He doesn’t seem very thrilled to be
here. Maybe it’s part of the job description – look angry and
bored, simultaneously, while constantly scoping out the
scenery.
    As the elevator drops from the third floor to
the lobby, I find myself a bit nervous. Night life and the city
thing are nothing new to me. I’ve had my fair share of dates and
wild nights, but this is on a whole new level. I’m actually not
sure how to behave.
    The elevator door dings, and Big Tony steps
out first. He then signals us to follow. Noah wraps an arm around
my waist and pulls me closer to him. That’s when I get my first
taste of Saturn – someone gasps in the lobby. It’s one of those
excited, breath-stopping sort of gasps. It’s the kind of gasp that
says you’ve just spotted your favorite celebrity.
    I cut my eyes across the lobby where I see
two teenage girls, a bit younger than me, pointing our way. One is
wide-eyed, jaw-dropped, and unsure if she wants to smile or scream
or possibly cry. The other stares through me like daggers will spit
from her eyes any moment. So this is what it’s like to be
insta-hated by association.
    I immediately look away and stare at Big Tony
as he leads us to a sleek black limo. He motions us inside and
turns his back to shield us. I try to lean around and see who he’s
hiding us from, but Noah tells me to get in first, so I see
nothing. Tank, Benji, and Nat are already inside. Benji is wedged
between the two of them, and it takes everything in me not to crack
up because I know Nat went after him even after Noah told him not
to. Benji will never have a girlfriend, even if management allows
it, because Nat Winters won’t. If I were a Benji fan, I think I’d
rather fight management for him than go up against Nat.
    Even without introductions, I recognize
everyone else in the vehicle. Aralie sits on the other side of Nat,
dressed in black pants and a black and purple corset top. Her
rebellious persona fits her well. Jules sits next to her,
completely engaged in a private conversation with his girlfriend.
Noah introduces me to them, as well as Jules’s bodyguard Cannon,
and then turns to the window to see what’s happening outside of the
tinted glass.
    “Chloe and Milo not coming?” he asks to no
one in particular.
    “They’re fighting,” Nat answers. Aralie
shoots him a death glare, but he instantly defends his statement.
“What? They were. Milo got all jealous boyfriend because Chloe was
on the phone with…you know…and then Chloe got all ‘it’s a business
call’ and Tank made us leave the room.”
    Aralie stares at Nat the way the girl in the
lobby stared at me. “First, it was Derrick on the phone,”
she says, crossing her arms and angling toward Nat. “Second, it was a business call. He was sending over pictures of the
finalized album. And third, it’s really none of your damn
business.”
    Nat shrugs. “Just calling it like I see it,
doll,” he says.
    “Then stop calling it,” Benji snaps. He
squirms around, trying to find some wiggle room, and
not-so-accidentally rams Nat with his elbow.
    Yep. This is definitely not the kind of
experience I was expecting. I bet that