Center Stage (Bright Lights Billionaire #2) by Ali Parker Page B

soft sigh.
    "You need me to hold your hand?" Ethan's voice was soft, but teasing.
    "No," Deza barked and leaned forward as I opened my eyes to see what had gotten into her. "I'll hold her hand. Behave yourself."
    I glanced between the two of them. "Something I should know about?"
    Frank dropped down on the other side of Ethan and waved at me. "Morning, girls. You excited?"
    Ethan shook his head and leaned back. "There's nothing to know. Deza promised to be open-minded about something I wanted to do, but as usual, she lied."
    "I'm going to come over there and strangle your scrawny white ass if you don't stop." She leaned across me and swatted at him.
    "Okay. Well, things are normal if nothing else." Frank smiled at me over the top of Ethan's head as he swatted at Deza's hand. "This is how they always act. You'll get used to it. They'll kiss and make up shortly. Gotta get the tension out from time to time."
    "I see that." I swatted both of their hands away and crossed my arms over my chest as I closed my eyes.
    "Did you say you quit your job?" Frank had to be talking to me.
    I turned and opened my eyes, realizing that getting a nap was probably out. "Yeah. I quit before the party last week, though I shouldn't have."
    "Why not?" Ethan snorted. "You couldn't have made much of anything. It was a waste."
    "A waste that paid my bills. I've yet to get my advance on the movie and honestly don't know the timing of anything because my agent isn't really an agent." My tone had darkened a little thanks to the tension in the air.
    "Then tell Deza to find out for you. You don't need to concern yourself with silly shit like a restaurant job or school, really. Why are you still trying to graduate? You've done what most people could only dream of doing." He lifted his hands dramatically.
    How I could feel like I was falling off the cliff of love with him one minute and wanting to pick up rocks and stone him to death the next was confusing, but it was the truth. He looked so cute in his t-shirt and jeans when he'd walked onto the plane all puffed up. Now there was very little attractive about him as he acted flippantly about my life.
    "It might be a matter of principle, Ethan." Frank leaned forward and winked at me. "I'm proud of you for wanting to graduate. It's been a long three years I bet."
    "Yes, it has. I want to say I completed the journey. With it only a few months away, I plan to."
    "Just don't let it get in the way of your performance. It's not worth that." Ethan crossed his arms over his chest and gave me a cocky look. Was he pissed at me or Deza? Sure felt like his directed aggression was being shifted from her to me.
    "I'm aware of that, but being raised in poverty, saying that I have a college degree and knowing that I had to use scholarships to get there is a big deal. Some of us weren't raised on a silver spoon." I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it.
    "Oh, fuck," Deza mumbled beside me.
    Had I hit a nerve? Good. I hoped I would. He was being a cock to D and now to me. Frank was up next, no doubt.
    Ethan's expression tightened, aging him quickly. Handsome didn't hold a candle to how good he looked in the moment. Something about the way he watched me in his anger unraveled my insides.
    I got up from my seat as the plane took off and walked to the back, whispering, "Excuse me."
    My hands shook as I pulled down a bottle of whiskey from the cabinet above the flight attendant’s work station. I'd filled up my glass halfway and was working to get ice in the cup when the delicious scent of Ethan's cologne wrapped around me.
    "That wasn't fair." His voice was soft as he stood just behind me.
    I turned and lifted my glass before taking a quick sip and groaning as it burned its way down my chest.
    "Nope, nothing is fair in love and war, right?" I offered him a smile, but he didn't return it.
    "I didn't come from a silver spoon. That's a shitty assumption to make." He took my glass, finished the liquor and took a step toward me. "You