The Price of Love (A Price Novel Book 1) by Maggi Craft

immediately started stripping his clothes off. I guess it was wardrobe change time.
    “It’s ridiculous how good he is, isn’t it?”
    I jumped. Kinley was standing right next to me. “Umm, I guess.”
    “It’s sad that he hates it. It’s such a waste. He only did it tonight because the designer is a friend of my dad’s, and she asked for Slayde specifically.” She gave me her fake smile and walked away.
    For some reason, the thought of him doing a favor for her dad really bothered me.
Why would he feel the need to do a favor for her dad? Is there more to him and Kinley?
He definitely hadn’t shared any of that information with me. For all I knew, they could have dated or something. She sure seemed to know a lot about him.
    I didn’t like this feeling I was having.
Is this jealousy?
I shook my head and took a deep breath. This was getting my head all messed up. I couldn’t be in a relationship with Slayde. Not with him here and me on the other side of the world. I would make myself crazy. I decided I’d had enough. I was ready to go back to LA.
    This trip had been a big mistake. I lost my sister, I lost my virginity, and I was teetering very close to the edge of losing my sanity. I had to regain control, and I had to do it now. Grabbing my stuff, I went out a back exit.
    I knew what was coming next: tears. I tried to stop them at first but got tired of fighting and gave in. I cried all the way back to Slayde’s apartment. When I passed two girls who looked at me like I was nuts, I picked up the pace and jogged the last block. As soon as I got there, I turned on the computer, went online, and looked for a flight home. There were no flights out until eight the next morning. Looking around, I thought,
I can’t stay here.
Staying at Slayde’s would only mess with my head more. I grabbed my bags and started throwing my stuff in them as fast as I could. After I’d packed up all my stuff, I went back online to find a hotel.
    As I was opening the door to leave, Slayde came barreling through it, knocking me over, and we both fell to the floor. He looked disheveled. His clothes were just thrown on, his hair was all crazy from the show, and he still appeared to have a little bit of makeup on.
    “Why did you leave?” he asked. My throat was tight, and I couldn’t speak. Tears began to pour out of my eyes again. He helped me up and said, “Baby, what happened?”
    I was shaking. “Nothing, I don’t know. I just can’t do this, Slayde. I don’t belong here. I want to go home.”
    “
No!
Please don’t go home. Can you just calm down enough to talk to me?” He sat down on the corner of the couch and ran his fingers through his hair, or tried to. He obviously had a lot of gel or something in his hair. He looked up at his hands, said, “What the hell?” and then looked back up at me, still looking confused.
    After a minute, I calmed down enough to speak. “Slayde, look, I’ve had a great time with you. This has been the best summer of my life by far, but it’s time for me to go home.” I was choking back more tears. “I just want to go home.”
    He looked down at the floor, then back up at me. I noticed he had tears in his eyes. Nothing like mine, but they were definitely there. I could see he was blinking fast, trying to keep them from spilling down his cheeks. “Forgive me if this sounds selfish, but I don’t want you to go home. I want you here with me as long as I can have you here. Is this because I told Nick you were my girlfriend?”
    “What?” I was confused, and obviously so was he.
    “I don’t know why I said that. I’m sorry. I guess it was just wishful thinking. Look, I’ll back off. I’m not trying to rush you into anything. I just thought we were on the same page.”
    I wanted to scream, “That’s not it, you idiot. It’s your psycho wannabe girlfriend messing with my head.” But of course I refrained.
    After a minute, when I still hadn’t said anything, he asked, “Is there