Hot Mess: A Players Rockstar Romance (Players #1)

by Diamond, Jaine

  Danica grinned. “If you want me to come on tour with you, yes. I can come. I’ll blow you from coast to coast.”

  “Sounds fucking amazing. What about your job?”

  “I’m not exactly curing cancer here, sweetie. I can take a leave for a while. If you need to be on tour and we need to be together, then we’ll be together on tour.”

  “Fuck, you’re amazing.”

  “Ashley. Don’t be dumb. If you asked me to go anywhere with you, do anything with you, I’d be there with bells on.”

  Yeah. I knew that was true.

  I believed her.

  It took a little while to build that kind of trust, to really feel it… but I believed her.

  “I love you, Danica Vola.”

  She stared at me. She kinda lost her step, actually. I had to dip her a bit to snap her out of it and keep her moving.

  “Keep dancing,” I said, as I pulled her against me again.

  “That’s the first time you’ve ever said that to me,” she said, kinda breathless.

  “Uh-huh.” That was true. Not because I didn’t feel it before this moment. More like I just didn’t man up the balls to say it until now. “I mean, I might as well. You’ve won over all my friends…”

  She giggled. “Hey. You sound surprised about that.”

  “And you already gave me a ring…”

  She groaned.

  “I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure how you’d go over with Amber. I mean, she definitely didn’t take to me the first time I met her. You seem to have impressed her more than I did.”

  “She cares about you now,” Danica said. “She wants you to be happy, Ash.”

  “Yeah.”

  “My friends like you, too,” she told me. “And my mom likes you. My dad loves you.”

  “Yeah. Me and ol’ Phil have a pretty good thing going.”

  She laughed. “I love that you guys get along. Like I’ve never seen my dad pay such rapt attention to every word that comes out of the mouth of a guy I dated before.”

  “What can I say. I saw that old Chevy Impala he had rotting away in the backyard, the one he always wanted to restore, and inspiration struck.”

  I’d taken Danica’s dad for a rip up the coast highway in my Camaro, as soon as I brought it over on the ferry, and that was it. Next thing I knew, he was inviting me down to play poker with his buddies. Dude liked old cars, beer and music, and he had a great sense of humor.

  Plus, he was a nice guy. Like I finally got to see where Danica got her kind nature from. Her mom was nice enough, in her own kooky way, but Danica’s dad had a selfless heart, just like Danica did.

  So the fucking opposite of my dad.

  “You’ve been really cool with him,” she said. “So thank you.”

  “You don’t have to thank me. I’m not doing it to kiss his ass. I just like him.” I brushed her hair off her shoulder and laid my hand gently on the side of her neck. The lantern lights sparkled in her eyes as she gazed up at me. “I know it sucks for you that your parents split up. But you’re fortunate to have such a great dude for a dad.”

  “I know,” she said. “And it didn’t all suck. They’re better apart than they were together. And I still get to have them both in my life. Everyone’s happier this way.”

  “Some people just aren’t meant to be together,” I agreed, brushing the tip of my nose down hers. “But I’m glad they hooked up. They made a couple of amazing daughters.”

  Danica smiled. I could’ve just said an amazing daughter, but that would’ve been excluding her twin sister from the equation, and that wouldn’t be cool. I knew Danica loved her sister, no matter how they butted heads. And truth be told, Daniella and I had gained a certain mutual respect.

  Objectively, she was as beautiful as Danica was, even if I only had eyes for my Dani. But Daniella had other good qualities, too. Like her dad’s goofy, twisted sense of humor—when you could get her to relax and actually open up a bit, instead of just spewing her opinions at you.

  “I think that’s true,” Danica agreed. “Some people are definitely not meant to be together for a lifetime. And others…” She kissed me. “Well, maybe they are.” She glanced aside and I followed her gaze. “I hope they are.” She was looking at Brody and Jessa, who were dancing slowly nearby.

  “They are,” I said. I was pretty fucking sure of that.

  Brody Mason wasn’t the kind of guy to let a good thing go.

  Neither was I.

  “And who knows,” Danica said, peeking up at me. “Maybe, if we’re lucky… we’ll be around one day, like twenty years after we first met, dancing and still in love… just like them.”

  “It’s got nothing to do with luck,” I told her. “But it is incredibly likely, if you keep being you.”

  She smiled.

  “Hey, Danica?”

  “Yes, Ashley?”

  I cleared my throat a little and just said what I wanted to say. No holding back. I’d promised myself that.

  I’d promised Danica that.

  “If you keep being you… I might just marry you one day.”

  She smiled at me. And instead of freaking out or pulling away, like other people had done when I got serious about them, Danica just held me tighter. Her eyes sparkled and she looked at me that way she so often did—like she couldn’t quite believe how amazing life was.

  Funny thing about life; I felt the same way when I looked at her.

  “You keep being you, Ashley,” she said, “I might just marry you back.”

  Epilogue

  Ash

  It was close to midnight, but Dolly’s yard was still pretty full of people. Everyone enjoying each other’s company, the liquor, the music. And as my friends celebrated around me, I just stood sipping a beer—and watching Danica talking to Matt across the lawn.

  And fuck… did I have a problem.

  I knew that now.

  I knew I had to tell her about what happened between me and him at that castle in England.

  I just hadn’t done that yet.

  I realized, as I watched them, that I didn’t even know if I would tell her until just this minute. That maybe I’d somehow convinced myself I didn’t have to? That it didn’t really matter or something?

  But now that Matt was right there, talking to my girlfriend… and he was gonna be in my band… Shit, yes, it mattered.

  I just didn’t know how much it mattered, until now.

  I had to tell her.

  Sometime.

  But this wasn’t that time.

  For one thing, we were in the middle of a wedding reception. And in case Danica was upset about it, I wasn’t gonna do that to her in public, in front of all my friends. Obviously.

  For another… I really needed to get my head right about it first. Figure out exactly what to say to her about it. Find the right words.

  Last thing I wanted to do was bring it up and somehow leave Danica with the impression that she had something to worry about.

  She had nothing to worry about.

  Matt and I weren’t hooking up.

  We couldn’t, even if we wanted to.

  Did I want to?

  As I watched them there, so close together… Yes, I was attracted to him. Definitely. That part wasn’t just gonna magically go away.

  Unfortunately.

  Maybe I’d convinced myself that it would just go away. Easy enough to do when he was on the other side of the planet.

  And Danica was here.

  I was in love with her. I didn’t need anyone else.

  But now that he was here…

  And now that I saw him with her…

  I couldn’t exactly deny the responses in my body. The heat running through my veins. The weird, slow sledgehammer pounding of my heart.

  It was a strange, uncomfortable blend of jealousy and hunger, as I watched them, together.

  Fact was, Matt just looked way too fucking good standing there with my girlfriend.

  Matt Brohmer was so my type.
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br />   Just like she was.

  When it came to women, my type, as it turned out, was exactly Danica Vola.

  A sexy girl. A girly girl. A girl with her own mind… and a huge heart.

  And when it came to men… I could sum up my preference in one sentence.

  Bisexual dudes who liked the same women I did.

  What better way to guarantee a hot three-way?

  But it was more than that, obviously. I’d always been most drawn to a very specific type of guy, for sure.

  A good guy. A whole guy. A guy who wasn’t broken, like I so often was.

  A nice guy—with an edge.

  The type of guy I could never get near when I was a kid. Or thought I couldn’t.

  The boy-next-door guy.

  The ones who came from nice homes and had nice parents and did nice things. The pretty, popular boys who always had something to smile about, even if I couldn’t understand what it was.

  Guys like Dylan Cope.

  But no, it was more than that, too.

  I liked good guys who knew how to be bad—in bed.

  For me.

  Guys who could take control, show me what they wanted from me.

  I liked a man to be a man.

  And the way Matt pushed me up against that wall and kissed me?

  I was still having flashbacks of it.

  Like if Dylan Cope had ever done that to me, I would’ve been gone.

  But Dylan wasn’t Matt. Dylan also wasn’t in my band, so there would’ve been no issue with us getting together if he’d ever wanted that.

  Matt was in my band.

  Which meant he wasn’t some guy I could just hook up with if I felt like it.

  Even if Danica said it was okay.

  Or… if she wanted him to join the two of us in bed…?

  Nope.

  Not happening.

  He was in my band now.

  Off-limits.

  Maybe… some other guy. Someday.

  Just maybe.

  If Danica was into it.

  But… not him.

  Not anyone in my band.

  So why the fuck did I keep thinking about it…?

  Why was I standing here with a beer in my hand, staring at them? Watching them talking… and imagining things it was nothing but dangerous to imagine?

  Danica was doing most of the talking. Her cheeks were kinda flushed and she was smiling, her hands moving. And Matt was leaning into her, listening carefully. Or so it appeared.

  Her tits were like inches from his chest.

  Her dress was tight, and the tops of her breasts swelled above the fabric, plump and bare.

  I kept picturing him shoving her up against a wall and kissing her.

  How would she react to that?

  Laying his hands on her tits and squeezing… Peeling her dress down a little so they popped right out. Squeezing her nipples in his fingers.

  Taking them in his mouth and sucking a little, licking them with that tongue I’d felt in my mouth… as she tossed her head back and moaned the way she did for me…

  Jesus.

  Like once the idea was in there, I couldn’t get it out of my head.

  Did he think she was hot?

  Of course he did. She was hot.

  If Matt Brohmer was into women the same way he was into me that night at the castle… he had to have noticed how hot she was in that dress.

  Was he imagining what her soft lips would feel like, wrapped around his cock, right now?

  And why did that image in my head have to make me so fucking hot?

  Fuck.

  I set my beer aside. I really hadn’t been drinking much tonight, but now it seemed like a bad idea to be drinking at all.

  The more booze I put back, the more my dick was gonna get curious… About how open my girlfriend might be to letting me spread her legs so Matt Brohmer could lick her pussy… maybe feed her his dick just a little—and fuck no, I wasn’t going there.

  So stop fucking thinking about it.

  “Hey.”

  I fucking jumped when Dylan appeared next to me. My whole body was throbbing. My nipples were fucking hard and my dick was starting to swell. My balls felt heavy and full.

  Fuck. Me.

  I needed to fuck my girlfriend. Soon.

  “Jumpy?” Dylan smirked.

  “Zoned out.” I slammed back some beer, which was at least cold. Put the fire out a little, maybe. I scraped my hand through my hair and cleared my throat. “How’s it going?”

  “Great. Got a chance to talk to Danica a few times.” He looked over at her, talking to Matt. “Amber really likes her.”

  “Cool.”

  “And I like her. She’s gorgeous, man.”

  “I know.”

  “And… she fucking loves you, you know.”

  “I know.”

  I did know.

  Just made me feel more guilty about what I’d just been thinking.

  Because Danica had never given me the slightest impression that she wanted to be shared between me and one of my friends.

  Or that she wanted to share me with anyone.

  I mean, not that I’d exactly asked her.

  You want to be shared. Just fucking admit that.

  Yeah. Shit.

  Summer was fucking right about that…

  I’d wanted to be shared by pretty much everyone I’d ever been with. I’d never really craved monogamy all that much.

  But I craved it with Danica.

  Dylan was watching me. He followed my gaze… maybe realized I’d been staring at Danica.

  “She’s amazing, Ash,” he said. Then he added, lightly, “You’re not gonna fuck it up, are you?”

  “Nope,” I said firmly. Too firmly. Then I amended, “Jesus Christ, I hope not.”

  Bonus Epilogue

  Xander

  Hours after Brody and Jessa tied the knot, I was sitting at a table on Dolly’s back lawn in the lantern light, nursing a beer and shooting the shit with the members of my new band.

  There was Ash, the fucker. A guy I was glad to finally be able to call a band brother. Dude was a wicked vocalist. Had one of those voices, and one of those faces, too, that you just knew was gonna go all the way.

  Truth was, I’d wanted to play with Ashley Player years ago, even when we were just kids—fucking badly. Back then, he was way fucking cooler than I’d ever dreamed of being. I was a skinny little geek, and he wouldn’t say it to my face, but I knew if I hadn’t gotten so good on the drums, a guy like Ash would never have even hung out with me back then, much less been in a band with me.

  I’d fucking chased him for it.

  So maybe, this time around, I’d let him chase me. And maybe I’d gone a little overboard.

  I just wanted to be sure this time he meant it.

  And there was our bassist, Matty Brohmer.

  I hadn’t figured this dude out yet. We’d hung out on the road with Dirty over the winter, but he held his cards close to his chest. I liked him, had no reason not to, but I really didn’t know all that much about him.

  And then there was Summer.

  Honestly, I’d always thought it would be cool to have a chick in my band. Wasn’t much sexier than a girl who could rock with the boys.

  But it would have to be the right chick. Like one I was okay with not fucking.

  Summer Sorensen wasn’t really my type, though I would’ve fucked her for sure—she was that sexy—if I’d ever had the chance before we became bandmates.

  Now, not so much.

  She’d already informed me of her rule about no bandmates screwing around, and I was cool with it. Last thing I needed was to give a girl a taste of my dick, then have her begging for more, when I wasn’t interested in a repeat. Wasn’t gonna pretend I’d never been in that situation before. And if she was my bandmate?

  No fucking thanks.

  I didn’t need that kind of drama just to get laid.

  “Tell me about the bachelor party,” she was saying,
“and don’t lie. Elle says Seth swears there were no naked babes at this thing?”

  “None,” Ash said.

  “Unless you count Con flashing us all his ass,” I put in. “I’d go out on a limb and call him a babe.”

  Summer laughed. “And why would he show you his ass?”

  “I think a bet was lost,” Matt said. “Involving a beer bong.”

  “Hmm,” Summer mused, “I didn’t think men over thirty had beer bongs at their parties.”

  “Con’s twenty-nine,” Ash said. “It’s acceptable.”

  “If you say so.” Summer sipped her martini.

  “So the guys, uh, decided,” Ash informed her, glancing at Matt and me, “at the party, that the band should be called the Players.” Then he waited, clearly expecting her to be irritated she wasn’t involved in that conversation.

  But Summer just said, “It should be. It’s your band.”

  “It’s our band,” he corrected her.

  “Actually,” I told him, “reality is you’re the frontman and you’re probably the most well-known of all of us. To every fan, it’ll be your band. And the Players works. ”

  “Anyway, we’re all players, aren’t we?” Matt said.

  “Alright. Fuck.” Ash looked around at all of us, and finally he smiled a little, grudgingly. “We’re really doing this, aren’t we.”

  “Fucking right we are,” I said.

  Summer smacked a kiss on his cheek. “Let’s celebrate. Where’s your girl?” She looked around for Danica.

  “Yeah,” I goaded, “where’s your girl? Last I saw her, she was getting the twice-over from Con. I’d play that tight, brother. Dude’s got that smile, and the ladies can’t seem to resist that blond man-bun.” I grinned as Ash looked around for his girl.

  “Don’t listen to him,” Summer said. “She loves you.” Then she poked me. “And stop trying to stir up shit, you.”

  “Hey, if I can’t stir up shit, how else will I entertain myself? Seriously, Ash. I like her. Get her over here for a drink.”

  “I like her, too,” Matt said.

  “Based on what?” Ash growled, not happy about that at all. “You just met her,” he said to Matt. “And you don’t know her well.” He eyed me suspiciously. Being all protective of his girl.