The Rockstar Who Loves Me

Song 11 ♫ Virtue and Honor

That was how I found myself agreeing to crash someone else's date a week later.

"How can I be sure you aren't just some jerk playing girls?" I boldly asked him on the phone on the day of the event, if we could call it that way.

I was in my bedroom curling my hair into beachy waves. On my bed, I'd laid out a knockout dress that enhanced all my assets, along with the most complementary jewelry. I'd already done my full face of makeup, which meant I was already pretty committed to the cause at a glance, but I could just as easily pull out and call up the girls for an impromptu bingo night.

"It's a fair question," Tae Yang's voice came from my phone's loud speaker. He too was at home getting ready for his big date. "Why don't you observe us from a nearby table? If you determine I'm just being a player, you can walk right out and leave me to suffer."

"And if I do that, no hard feelings?" I asked.

"None," he assured me.

The truth was I had nothing better to do on this Saturday afternoon. Leyna and her boyfriend were on a weekend trip to Miami. Tonight also wasn't our regular bingo night, so Quinta and Dawn probably had other plans. Meanwhile, Mom was binge watching Jane the Virgin for the fourth time.

Sighing, I said, "Fine, I'll see you later then."

So far, I hadn't seen anything indicating Tae Yang was cut from the same cloth as Bryce or any of my other exes, who were absolute turds on legs. But then again, I'd once been blind to their faults. It was why I had to make sure this was the right thing, before contributing to ruin some girl's night.

Hours later and like some 007 wannabe, I sneaked into the Winter Park restaurant earlier than my planned entrance and steered the waiter to a table near where Tae Yang's and his date.

He looked good in a simple white button shirt. The sleeves were rolled up, showing a lot of arm muscle as he lifted a glass of water to his lips. He'd styled his hair and for once didn't wear a cap. The array of ear piercings in his ear glinted under the lamp above the table.

Damn him, he looked edible.

Meanwhile, the person across from him was a pretty, half Korean girl. She wore a tight, lilac dress that, while the color didn't suit her complexion, did good things for her figure. She flipped her long hair a lot and when she wasn't doing that, she would constantly reach for his hand. It turned out, that was why he kept drinking water—to keep them out of reach.

"What would you like to order?" the waiter asked as he appeared between me and my observation subjects.

"Oh, um." I looked at the menu and could've laughed. It was upside down. "I need a few minutes."

"No problem, I'll be back!"

As he left, I shifted to the opposite seat. This way I sat with my back to Tae Yang and the girl, but closer enough I could catch some of their conversation.

"I would love to introduce you to my dog tonight," she was saying, which was a pretty straightforward code for inviting him home. "I'm sure you'd make such a great dad for her."

Whoa.

Somewhat hiding behind the menu, I turned around to see Tae Yang's face. It was pinched in a way that clearly showed distaste.

"Er, like I said, we can't continue meeting because I have a girlfriend."

"You're lying." She tossed her hair again. "I haven't seen any of that in the news."

The what? Did she say the news? Why would that even—

Alright, it was clear to me now that this girl didn't quite have all her screws in place. As she leaned forward over the table and put her hands around Tae Yang's horrified face, I figured he really needed rescue.