“Now?”
Not waiting for him to reply, I attempt to drag him toward the entrance of the bar. I say “attempt” because he weighs a ton. After laughing at my eagerness, he downs the remainder of his beer before following me outside. Once we’re next to his bike, butterflies flutter in my stomach.
They become a full-blown epidemic when Slater snags a black helmet out of his saddlebag to place on my head, ensuring he tightens the straps securely under my chin. After throwing his leg over his bike and flipping up the stand, he assists me onto the back. I flatten my torso against his back before curling my arms around his waist. His six-pack feels as mouthwatering as it looks. When he kicks over the bike, the vibrations of his engine add to the crackling energy teeming between us.
“Hold on,” Slater says a mere second before we rocket out of the lot.
Squealing, I look back at the dust cloud we left behind. Just as we make it onto the freeway, Dylan rushes out of the bar. Even from a distance, I can see the anxious fury settling in his eyes. He has no need to be worried. I feel the safest and most protected I’ve ever felt.
After waving goodbye at him, I reattach my tight death grip around Slater’s ridged stomach. . .
“There he is!” Melanie’s squeal already drags me back to the present, so the addition of her French tip nails digging into my arm isn’t needed. “If you introduce me, I’ll love you forever.”
Her eyes stray to Marcus, who’s making his way onto the dance floor with Emily and Noah following closely behind him.
“I’ll try, but he may not remember me. I only met him once.”
After clamping my hand around hers, we make our way to Emily, Noah, and Marcus. It isn’t an easy feat with how many people are vying for their attention. This is one of a rare occasions Melanie’s aggressiveness comes in handy. She barges people out of our way without the slightest bit of remorse, meaning we reach the trio long before I’ve settled my sky-high heart rate from reminiscing about Slater.
I tap Emily on the shoulder. Forever polite, she cranks her neck back to face me. “Hello.”
When her eyes land on mine, she bursts my eardrums with an excited scream before throwing her arms around my neck. I want to say poor hearing is the least of my worries, but if the expression on Noah’s face when Emily screams is anything to go by, I’m seconds from having my intestines removed via my nasal cavities. Mercifully, Noah recognizes my hazel eyes as quickly as Emily, saving me from an operation with a blunt instrument.
After inching back, Emily locks her light brown eyes with mine. “What are you doing in Seattle?”
“Only attending the concert of the world’s greatest band,” Melanie answers on my behalf.
Emily smiles proudly. “I should have known.”
When I introduce Emily and Noah to Melanie, I’m surprised she maintains a cool, calm composure. I can’t say the same thing when Marcus joins us. Her eyes bulge out of her head as her grip on my hand turns deadly.
“Hi Kylie.” When Marcus greets me with a kiss on my cheek, Melanie sighs. Don’t ask me if she’s swooning or mad. Her good and bad sighs sound the same.
“Marcus, this is my friend, Melanie.”
Marcus greets Melanie with a dip of his chin before offering his hand to shake. When she remains still, staring at him, unable to move or speak, I pry her fingernails out of my palm before placing her hand into Marcus’s.
His hand curling around her sweaty one snaps her back to reality. “Sorry, I was just imagining what our children will look like.”
Noah laughs, loving her enthusiasm, but Marcus looks genuinely petrified. “Nice seeing you again, Kylie.”
Noah waits for Marcus to reach the stairwell guarded by two big, burly bouncers before devoting his attention back to Melanie. “I think the baby talk scared him away.”
Melanie slaps his chest like they’re lifelong friends. “He’ll get used to the idea...eventually. We’ll make beautiful caramel babies.”
Chapter Five
Slater
An hour after arriving, my band members have hung up their dancing shoes and returned to the VIP section of the club, and I’m thoroughly satisfied. I never had any troubles hooking up before I was famous, but now the women are endless. It is, at times, a little too easy. I can snap my fingers, and I’d have several companions vying for my attention.
As I make my way to the red leather booths they’re occupying, I ensure the zipper in my jeans is up. I’ve been busted with my pants down before. I don’t want that social media catastrophe for the fifth time in my limited rock career.
When my gaze lifts, the first set of eyes I notice belong to Kylie. Her hazel eyes are locked on the zipper I just fixed into place. She stares at my crotch long enough for my cock to act if it wasn’t drained of cum before her eyes drift to the waitress who followed me out of the bathroom. Her lipstick is no longer in existence, and her hair is ruffled from the tight grip I had on it to ensure she gave head the way I like. I could have fucked her in the bathroom, but since neither of us had protection, and I sure as hell ain’t going down the parenthood route like Noah and Nick, we didn’t. I don’t care if the chick assures me she’s on the pill, I refuse to have sex without a condom.
When Kylie’s eyes return to mine, tears gather in them, making me hesitant to join my bandmates. I’ve always been a sucker for her tears, but they shouldn’t have the same hold over me they once had.
My idiocy doesn’t linger for that. That’smyband. They’remyfriends. And I’m not the one who fucked up what weoncehad. She’s onmyturf, so if anyone should feel like an intruder, it isn’t me.
