She narrowed her eyes and smiled. “You know what I mean.”
Karla was right, though. Trev and Callum were the two strongest characters in the show, and both had very high opinions of themselves. They were the ones all the female fans adored. Leanne was the cool, badass girl of the group. Paul was the baby. James was the father figure, the oldest and most responsible, and the one who kept them all in line, when that was actually possible.
“So where are you filming the next episodes?” Lee asked lifting his pint.
Trev glanced over his shoulder, probably to check if anyone nearby was listening, but the place wasn’t too packed and the tables on either side of us were empty. “We’re doing Europe this time. The idea is for the five of us to Interrail across a few countries and perform stunts in the major cities.”
“Wow, that sounds exciting,” said Karla, her eyes alight with interest.
“Yeah, it feels like we’ve exhausted most places around the U.K. so it’ll be good to have a bit of a change. We start in Brussels, then Paris, Bordeaux, Madrid, and the last episodes will be in Barcelona.”
“Sounds like you’ll have a ball of a time,” said Lee.
It really did, and I couldn’t help feeling envious. Just a tad. Here was Trev, only a year older than me, and he had the world at his feet. And there was me, still working the same old club gigs and giving the same old piano lessons to ten-year-olds.
“It must be pretty pricey to film in all those locations and put the whole cast and crew up in hotels,” I commented.
Trev’s attention came to me, his elbow knocking off mine for a second. I moved my arm closer to my body to avoid any further collisions.
“Yeah, but the first two seasons did so well that they upped our budget. And we’re not staying in hotels, mostly self-catering apartments.”
“All five of you will be staying in one apartment?” asked Karla. “Now this I have to see.”
Trev shot her a grin. “It’s gonna be interesting all right.”
“There’ll be drama, I just know it,” my best friend went on.
Trev chuckled. “Probably, but I’m staying out of it. I’ve enjoyed reacquainting myself with a drama-free life since I broke up with Nicole.”
“Hey, you were asking for it with that one,” said Lee. “I knew she was nuts as soon as I clapped eyes on her.”
Trev and his girlfriend had broken up? That was news to me. Then again, it was news that he’d even had a girlfriend. They always portrayed him as single on the show, but maybe that was to keep the fans’ interest up. How long had they been together? If Lee knew, did Karla know too?
It actually stung a little to think that Karla had intentionally kept that from me, but I wouldn’t hold it against her. It would only be to protect my heart, as was her way, something I loved and appreciated about her. What hurt the most though? During our friendship, I’d never known Trev to hold down a relationship longer than three or four months. Before he had that phone call two years ago, he had wanted us to be more. But then, I became invisible to him. He’d pursued me, but when there were other offers on the table—no doubt, so readily—I was forgotten.
“Yeah well, I learned my lesson the hard way,” said Trev, his voice pulling me from my meandering, depressing thoughts.
A moment of silence fell, and again I wondered about this girlfriend. What had she done that he’d learned a lesson? My curiosity and the fact that I couldn’t voice it was maddening.
The waiter came with our food and we continued chatting as we ate. We didn’t discuss anything more about Trev’s personal life, much to my disappointment. I shouldn’t have been disappointed, of course. I shouldn’t have wanted to know anything about him at all. But I was often prone to wanting things that were bad for me, which was the story of my life really.
At the end of lunch, Trev offered to pay the bill. He and Lee argued over it for a couple minutes, but he won in the end. I wanted to say I could pay for my own, but I was still a little muddled over his presence. I didn’t want to argue with him. I just wanted to get home so I could have that private freak-out session I’d promised myself.
“It was great seeing you,” said Karla as we hugged outside the restaurant. “Are you still coming over on Tuesday night?”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” I said and turned to say goodbye to Lee.
When I glanced at Trev he was staring at me thoughtfully. It was difficult reconciling this new, more sedate version of him with the wild, carefree boy I used to know so well. He’d changed, and as much as I tried to resist, I was curious.
“You walking home?” he asked. Karla and Lee had already started to leave. I felt trapped.
“Yes.”
“Let me walk you.”
I shook my head. “That’s not necessary.”
His gaze sharpened. “I want to.”
“Trev, are you coming, or what?” Lee called from a little way down the street.
“Nah, I’m walking Reya home. I’ll see you back at the house.”
Lee nodded and Karla sent me yet another apologetic look. She knew I wouldn’t want this. What she didn’t know was that a part of me did. An idiotic, masochistic part of me.
“Okay, but it’s not far,” I said and started walking. Trev fell into stride next to me.
“You still living in the same flat as before?”
“Yep.”
“But you always hated it there,” he said, studying my profile.
I stared straight ahead and let out a joyless laugh. “Yeah well, sometimes we have to take what we can get.” I paused to shoot him a wry look. “Not everyone has TV money.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” He swore under his breath. “Christ, I’m fucking this all up. I’m just trying to get a fix on what your life’s like now. Karla won’t tell me anything when it comes to you.”
I was relieved to hear that, but then again, she was one of the people in my life I trusted. “Maybe that’s because there isn’t much to tell. A lot might’ve happened for you in two years, Trev, but that’s not the case for most of us. My life is pretty much the same as it was before, with just a few small adjustments here and there.”
“Such as?” he probed and I started to grow uncomfortable with how closely he regarded me. It felt like I was under a microscope.
“Well, like I said, I don’t really busk anymore. I prefer to play the clubs, less arseholes shouting insults and all that. I discovered that I’m allergic to strawberries, so I don’t eat those anymore. Oh, and I switched my phone service provider from BT to Three. So, you know, I’m basically a whole other person now.”
The edges of Trev’s mouth curved in a smile. “You’re fooling no one, Reya Cabrera. I bet you’ve had a lot more exciting things happen, you just don’t want to tell me, and that’s fair enough. You don’t trust me. How things ended between us . . . I hate myself for it every day.”
I eyed him suspiciously, because I found it a little hard to believe that. If he hated it all so much then why hadn’t he tried to make amends in the two years we’d been apart?
“Look, let’s not get into that,” I said, dismissive.