problem child

Chapter 10

**
The whole entire drive to Texas, I stayed awake texting Devin. He had press to do in Tennessee, so I didn't get to actually talk to him. However, today was Thursday, so he was coming to Texas today. Everyone was at the theatre doing an interview for the tour, and it just so happens that Kimberly's husband was with us now, and Philip's wife was visiting because she was taking Penelopi with her to LA after the concert, so they took the kids out to a little rodeo tonight. I got invited, but I declined. I stayed in the hotel.

Around 4PM, I got a text from Devin asking to meet me in the lobby. I happily did. When I saw him, he wrapped me up in a hug. He had never hugged me before, but it felt right this time. We had been texting for five days straight non stop. I was glad I got to talk to him in person rather than through a screen. I hate to say this, but.... I might have been developing a crush.

"I missed you" He says squeezing me.

"I missed you too" I say.

"There's a starbucks. Let's get coffee" He says pointing to the starbucks in our hotel. I nod and follow him. He got our coffees and we sat at a corner table.

"How was Tennessee?" I ask.

"It was good. I got a writing session in, so I'm pretty happy about that" He says. "How has it been here?".

"Good. I've been with the kids a lot" I say. He smiles.

"Good thing they all love you" He says. I nod. "So, the guy I was writing with told me that there's this girl I needed to meet". I raise an eyebrow.

"Okay?" I say.

"I told him I couldn't" He says.

"Well, why can't you?" I ask. He smiled.

"There...may be someone else" He says. I stayed quiet. "She's pretty cool. Emphasis on 'pretty', because man, she is gorgeous" He says. I was getting irritated by him now.

"Then ask her out" I say clearly annoyed.

"I've been mustering up the courage to while I was in Tennessee" He says.

"Why didn't you?" I ask.

"Well, I wanted to ask her face to face, and there was a problem" He says.

"Problem?" I ask. He smiled big and nodded.

"Yeah. The problem was...this gorgeous girl was in Texas the whole time". My heart dropped, and I immediately turned red. "So, I guess this is me asking now".

"Devin, I...I want to say yes, but-".

"So, say it. What's stopping you?" He asks. I sigh and look out the window at the billboard that had Little Big Town on it advertising the concert. "Karen and Jimi?".

"I came out here to get away from a boy. They thought that was the best thing for me. I was hurt by him and almost killed. He was abusive, and they brought me with them to have a break from boys and kind of...find myself again. If I say yes to you, that defeats the whole purpose" I explain. He was quiet for a minute, but then spoke again.

"Does Karen have to know?" He asks. "I mean, I know you're close to her and I get why she wants that for you, but...it really isn't up to her, is it?". He did have a point.

"I mean, I guess. I...I just don't want to disappoint her or Uncle Jimi. They're protective over me, and I know they're trying to keep me safe". He took my hand in his on the table.

"Lainey, I'm not going to hurt you" He says. There I went again, believing every word he said for no reason. "I swear that I won't. I-I don't know what happened to you, but I would never do anything like that. You're an incredible girl, and I've got to know you, and I want to take you on a date. I was to see where we could go. Karen and Jimi can't be mad about that".

"One date?" I ask. He nods.

"One date. That's all I ask" He says.

"I'll go on one date" I say. He lights up. "Butz Karen and Jimi can't know".

"Perfect. Tomrrow after the show. You and me" He says. I nod my head before spotting the four members walking out of the theatre from doing the interview. "I've gotta go".

He stands up and walks out of the starbucks with me. He hugged me goodbye before they all walked in the doors.

"Bye, Lainey" He says.

"Bye" I say. He tries to sneak away before being seen. I tried to do the same, but I wasn't as lucky. Aunt Karen spotted me.

"Lainey. What's up?" She asks.

"Uh, I-I came to get starbucks" I lie.

"Oh. I thought you would've went to the rodeo" She says. I shake my head. I noticed Kimberly looking past me, I turned around and saw Devin still walking back down the hall. I let out a sigh.

"Lainey, I've been wanting some coffee too. Come on, I'm buying" Kimberly says. I fake a smile.

"Jimi and I are gonna mess around with some songs" Phillip says.

"I'm going to take a shower" Aunt Karen says. I nod before Kimberly and I walk away. She ordered a coffee and we sat down.

"Lainey, can I ask you a question?" She asks. I nod. "When are you gonna tell Karen you're crushing on Devin?". I knew she knew already after seeing us at the hotel in Florida.

"I-I...I can't even lie. I don't know" I say.

"I know she doesn't think you should get involved with boys for a while, but ultimately it is your choice" She says.

"Yeah, I know" I say.

"You were here with him, weren't you?" She asks. I swallow hard and nod slowly.

"He asked me out on a date" I say. "I said I'd go. Tomorrow after the show". She smiled.

"Good. It'll be good for you" She says. "He's a good guy. When are you telling Karen and Jimi?". I stayed quiet and just looked at her. Her smile turned upside down. "You're not gonna, are you?". I sighed.

"She'd be so mad at me. It defeats the whole purpose of me being with y'all" I say. She nods.

"I don't think that's true. You're here because they love you and want you safe. If you want to be with Devin, they'll be supportive" She says.

"Yeah, maybe" I say. She smiled again.

"If you don't want to tell them just yet, don't. But...if you don't...it's gonna be a pretty sad day" She says standing up. I got up too.

"Are you going to tell her?" I ask 

"Now, why would I? It's not my business. I just happen to know about it. It's not my place to tell" She says.

"Thanks" I say with a sigh if relief.

"But, I'm serious, Lainey. You need to tell them. I'd hate to see anybody upset on this tour, and we're all a big family. Secrets aren't what this family is about".

QOTC: do you think Lainey is going to tell her family about Devin?