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He was the best experience of her life. All that crazy hair, those sea-colored eyes, and a smile that set her body on fire and her heart aglow every time she saw it. The way he touched her so gently until she gave him that wordless signal to bump things up a notch. A pop on the ass, a tug on her ponytail. She loved those things, and he gave them to her without judgment.
But he was just as good at cuddling in the morning. Wrapping her up in his strong arms and nuzzling her cheek as they tangled their legs together and talked about what new thing they’d decided to do that day. From seeing the sights to new positions to just chilling with his friends with her at his side. It was all equally wonderful.
In the midst of all of it, she kept getting texts from Ethan, usually of the apologetic variety. They were talking, albeit in short bursts. She didn’t really know what to say to him now. Especially when he asked when she was coming home.
As in to their place. She didn’t know how to tell him that her home wasn’t there anymore. Never really had been. She appreciated his generosity in his time of need s
o much and would never be able to repay him for it. Absolutely, she missed talking to him and laughing with him and she wanted more than anything for their friendship to go back to normal. But as for home?
Home was already with that crazy, sexy man jumping on stage as Molly glided out and introduced her band. Tonight’s set would be a short one, as there were a few other acts scheduled to perform as well. The event was a benefit for Love and Paws, as well as several other charities that had been picked by the performing acts.
She smiled at West, hoping he could see her where they were stationed near the front. Big Dude was obstructing her view, so she held up the rocker sign she’d recently learned and screamed West’s name with what felt like thousands of other fans. In truth, the club was packed but that meant under one thousand people. Way under. The charity event had packed the place though, and the shaving booth for Wigs for Kids that was prominently featured near the stage already had a long line. It didn’t stop even as Warning Sign launched into their setlist, starting off the night with “All Night Long”.
Lauren grinned and grabbed Tristan’s arm on one side of her and Denver’s on the other. She was pretty sure they both thought she was a little nuts, but they grinned back and humored her.
She had a sort of squad now, whatever that actually was. For the first time in her life, she had honest to God pals. Ones other than Ethan and girls stuck rooming with her at boarding school or the people she knew for a short time at her random jobs.
Genuine friends.
She sang along to the lyrics about needing just one more night, unabashedly raising her voice with the others. Only recently had she learned this song was one of West’s creations. So insanely fitting for their situation, though he’d written it years ago. Back in high school, she was pretty sure. Now it was one of their biggest hits.
And he didn’t think he was worth much. The guy was crazy. Downright insane. She grinned and yelled as West slammed on the keys, circling his head like a maniac so that all his wavy long hair flew around like a golden nimbus. Lighting him up.
Lighting her up, since she was insanely in love with the guy and didn’t care who knew it.
Well, okay, so she hadn’t told him yet. But soon. She just didn’t want to use her feelings as strings. More like ribbons that just made the good shit even better. Right now? Everything was good. She clasped her hands to her chest and jumped with Denver, who was shouting for all of them, but Ryan most of all. Her closest friend in the band. West’s best friend too.
Lauren wished he’d been around the past week so she could get to know him better. His vanishing acts made West uneasy, not that West ever shared much on that score. She wanted to get to know Michael better too, who’d been dealing with his heavily pregnant wife and their little boy. His stepson, if she understood correctly. Chloe, Michael’s wife, was just about to pop. She was so gorgeous and God, her pregnancy glow was off the charts.
It had made Lauren a little wistful. Not that kids were anywhere in her sphere for quite some time yet, but she definitely wanted some in the future. Maybe not as far off as she’d once thought.
Seeing Michael and Chloe make it work was definitely giving her ideas. Just not only about children. About making a life too, whatever that life happened to look like. Michael was doing the band thing and still had a thriving personal life.
It was possible. Everything was.
Her rose-colored glasses about love extended to West’s friends as well. Since Ry and Michael were important to West, they were important to her too. Just like Juliet was and the rest of West’s band. Lauren touched the streak of pink in her hair, courtesy of her new friends. Jules was awesome, and she’d taken her under her wing. Elle too. Molly not so much, but even Warning Sign’s vaulted ice princess appeared to be melting a little in her direction.
Everything was coming together. She hoped. Now she just had to tell West the decision she’d made not to go back to school and let the keys fall where they may.
No matter what happened with him, she wasn’t meant for the rigors of higher education. Truth be told, she still wasn’t fully sure what she was meant for. She loved kids and pets, she knew that much. If that meant volunteering while she worked at crap jobs to keep body and soul together, then that was just what she’d do.
The sky was the limit. It would be hard, and she still had lots of decisions to make, but she knew where her compass was pointed.
Telling her parents wouldn’t be easy. Staying the course definitely wouldn’t be when it was so much easier to retreat to the safety of their secure, boring, loveless life. But she couldn’t live like that anymore. She’d known too much else now. Experienced a lifetime in just a couple short weeks. Ethan was still going to be a part of her future, she hoped. She wanted to make things right between them, and she’d do everything she could to ensure that happened. But she wasn’t going to move back in with him if she could find any other way, and she wasn’t going to run home to mommy and daddy.
She was going to stand on her own. Hopefully with West right by her side.
West shouted something on stage, catching her attention. “Who’s ready to get fucking lit?” He yelled into the crowd, toasting them with what looked like a bottle.
Lauren frowned. He was drinking onstage? That was new. Maybe he was just in a good, partying mood like the rest of them and trying to fire up the crowd. Not that he needed to do much. Everyone was jumping on all sides of them as Michael and Elle jammed out to “Cascade” and Molly sashayed back and forth, careful scarves trailing behind her like a banner. Mal banged on the drums and Jules kept time with her bass, dancing in place beside Michael as she aimed a smile of pure feminine pleasure out into the audience.
A quick glance at Tristan and his equally besotted smile back and Lauren sighed a little. She was seeing love everywhere around her lately. She’d met Randy—called Sparks—the head lighting tech and Jules’s other guy. He was great too. Somehow they were making an unconventional relationship work.
Surely she and West could too. One way or another.
He was banging on the keys one-handed while he tossed back his drink with the other. She wasn’t close enough to see how much was left in the bottle, but from his focus on it, the alcohol had to be disappearing fast.
She rubbed her sweating mostly full bottle of beer against her throat. He’d seemed a little distracted before the show, but she’d figured he was just focusing on his set. It wasn’t as if she knew much about his pre-show routines yet. They were so new. But maybe something was on his mind. She couldn’t quite separate crazy, show West from out-of-control West. His act sometimes veered toward the wild, and she enjoyed that about him too.
