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I glance over at him and nod toward the woman. He looks over at her and her eyes grow wide. She screams something over the rest of the crowd singing back to us, and Miller winks at her. Such a cocky womanizer.
I wipe sweat from my forehead as the stage lights dim and Bordeaux sings out the final few words of the song. The crowd roars and my heart threatens to jump out of my chest with the feeling of pure ecstasy. I get why people do hard drugs, I really do—especially if this is the kind of euphoria that they bring. There’s no better feeling.
I let my bass fall, my strap catching it as I gaze out over the crowd of people screaming our names. I glance over to the wings of the stage, where Spence is kneeling, getting a few shots of us as we close out the show. Kade isn’t far from him, standing at attention and saying something into his mouthpiece with one hand pressed to his ear. I refuse to think about either of them and instead, I give the crowd my undivided attention as Bordeaux screams into his mic.“Thank you, Boston!” Bordeaux flashes his signature smile, turning around toward us just as the entire stadium goes black.
After an encore, I’m back in my dressing room before our meet and greet starts. The key to this is to have a little bit of downtime before meeting our fans, but downtime doesn’t exist after a show. The high from being on stage takes hours to wear off, but it’s a nice thought.
A loud knock on my door pulls me from my thoughts of how insane tonight’s crowd was. “Come in!” I shout over the sound of our album playing in the stadium as fans leave. I’m expecting it to be one of the guys or maybe Isla or Mia, but Kade walks in the door instead.
I’m not sure if there’s a person in this universe who wouldn’t find Kade attractive—especially when he’s wearing his security uniform. He crosses the room over to where I sit on a leather sofa. His tight black pants and black shirt practically mold to his body. The only real difference in Kade’s and Spence’s build is that Spence has more muscles than Kade now—he didn’t use to. Kade was always more built; really, it came with the territory of being a jock in high school. Spence and I were more into art and music while Kade was our total opposite, loving football.
He still looks good, and it’s annoying.
“DJ, you fucking killed it out there.” He smiles, closing the space between us and extending a cold towel to me. “You guys are badass.”
I take the towel from him and do my best not to moan out in pleasure when I press it to the back of my neck. This is nice. Holy shit. I love a nice cold towel after a show, but I’m not sure how Kade knew that.
“Thanks, Kade.” I smile, grateful for the kind gesture.
He takes the earpiece out of his ear and grins at me. “I thought we could chill for a bit. I’m seriously so impressed by you. I mean, I know you’ve always been talented, but seeing you now in comparison to the woman you were in high school…” He shuffles, almost nervous on his feet. “There’s just something about the way you’ve grown, DJ.”
I’m not sure if I should really take that as a compliment or not, but for the first time in a long time, I agree with him. I have changed a lot since high school. And one of the things that has changed about me is the fact that I’m not going to give in to hanging out with Kade because I can’t hang out with Spence.
“I’ve gotta go to the meet and greet,” I tell him, moving the towel from my neck to my chest. It was sweet of him to bring me the towel and check in on me, but I can’t deny the fact that I wish it were Spence doing it.
“DJ, you know why I’m actually here.” Kade moves closer to me, and I stand from the couch, heading over to the vanity to touch up my makeup after the heat from the stage lights wore the majority of it off. He follows me and stands behind me in the mirror. My gut instantly tells me that something is off, tightening as an overwhelming sense of dread courses through my veins.
“I actually don’t, Kade. I would think you’d be with Miller, especially considering that’s who you’re being paid to protect.” It’s sassy and comes out a bit bitchier than I intended, but something hasn’t felt right since he’s been back.
“I’m here for you and only you. Maybe you’re paying me to follow Miller around, but the only person I really care to be around is you.” Kade steps closer to me and brushes the hair out of my face, his arms circling me as he does so. My chest tightens and it feels as if the air in the room has all but evaporated. I don’t think I’d ever be able to get back there with him, even if I wanted to. Five years ago, his hand knew every single inch of me—I submitted to him, I allowed him to claim me in every sense of the word. But now? Now I can’t hardly be around him without my heart breaking all over again. It’s a conflicting feeling because I know Kade was always my second option, but those two years we were together weren’t without meaning. Not for me, anyway.
I finish reapplying my makeup and slide my phone into the back pocket of my tight, low-rise jeans. Fuck mom jeans; I’ve never been a fan. After adjusting my black crop top, I walk out of my dressing room with Kade on my heels and feel his hand on the small of my back. “Kade,” I say before glancing back at him.
“What, DJ?” He smiles. “Just making sure my favorite old friend gets to the meet and greet safely.”
I scoff, rolling my eyes at him as I turn around and almost run smack dab into Spence.
“Holy shit,” I say, grabbing my chest. “You scared me.” Something flashes in Spence’s eyes as he looks at Kade and back to me again.
If this were a movie, I’d have to pick my jaw up off the floor. For as hot as Kade is, Spence is somehow just that much hotter—at least, in my opinion. His dirty-blond hair is combed back perfectly into place, sitting longer on top. His dark denim jeans hug his body perfectly, and I can’t help but let my eyes trail to his biceps. His green shirt matches his eyes and cups his bicep in such a way that it looks like it’s threatening to rip it.
“Was just coming to check on you, Dec.” Spence glares at Kade, but his face softens when it lands on me again. “You ready for the meet and greet?”
Kade answers before I can, always such a gentleman. “DJ and I were just headed there, little brother. Care to join us?”
***
19
***
SPENCE
My entire body heats as I walk behind Kade and Declan toward the meet and greet. I don’t even realize my fists are balled at my side until my hands are physically throbbing.
His hand on her back is enough to make me want to fucking punch shit. He rubs her back, and my eyes refuse to leave the spot he’s caressing. Just as I force myself to look away, he flips me off, peeling one finger away from her skin long enough for me to see, knowing damn well he’s being a piece of shit.
May the best man win, little brother.
