by Franca Storm
“I’m glad it’s going well,” Tom says sincerely, smiling at his son. “All of it,” he adds, looking between us.
“Thanks,” John says, grabbing my hand under the table and squeezing it affectionately. He flashes me that new look of his; his look of love that I saw for the first time a few days ago the morning after we had sex. Oh God. It gets me every time, warming me all over and making my heart do that pitter-patter thing I’ve only read about in books.
“I had a look at the Worst Exit website. It’s impressive. Did you create it?” Tom continues.
John’s gaze snaps to his dad’s. “I wrote the content and our bassist, Mitch, wrote the code and put it up on the web.”
“It’s very professional. Your mom showed me how to download the demos.”
“You listened to our stuff?” John asks the two of them, clearly shocked by the news.
“We did. Well, your mom always has. She just never told me,” Tom says, shaking his head at Karen.
“And whose fault is that?”
Tom holds up his hands in surrender. “Touché.”
“Damn right,” Karen mutters. She looks at me and says, “John gets his stubbornness from his father.”
“Oh, I’m well aware,” I chuckle, eyeing John.
He just shakes his head at me. He’s about to respond, when his phone suddenly goes off. “Sorry,” he apologizes. He pulls it out of his pocket and eyes the number. His eyes go wide with surprise. “I need to take this.”
Before any of us can respond, he dashes out of the room with his phone in hand.
“Tom, I’m surprised at you,” Karen says, eyeing her husband.
I can see that he registers the meaning of her comment right away as only two people who have been married so long can. “Let the boy do what he needs to do. He’s fine. He’s just fine.”
Karen smiles before turning her attention to me. The three of us start talking about how I’m doing in college, if things are going well between John and I and every other topic under the sun. Like I said; they always treat me as part of the family.
We’re interrupted when John returns to the room. He stops in front of the table, grinning widely with excitement.
“What?” I ask, beyond curious when he doesn’t offer anything up.
“It’s a good thing I took that call,” he says, his grin growing even wider.
“John? What is it?” I press.
“We’ve been invited to play Eclipse, Nicki!”
“You’re serious? For real?” Eclipse is the club for any up and coming band. It’s always trawling with label reps. It’s the final stepping stone to getting picked up; to getting signed!
“I never joke about the band. I’m serious. And we’re not just playing, we’re headlining!”
“Oh my God!” I shriek, pushing back my chair and throwing my arms around him.
“This will put us on the map!” he cries. “Finally. This is our break!”
“Your aggressive marketing efforts have paid off! You did it!”
“We did it!”
Oh my God. I can’t believe it. This is gonna change everything.
Chapter 33
~John~
“Cuz this heat burning in my veins/ It’s you bringing me back from the dead/ Resurrecting a black heart ….”
I stop strumming on my acoustic and glance at Nicki who’s scribbling away on her notepad opposite me, her guitar lying beside her. This is how we do it. We like to write barebones. Just the two of us with a notepad and our guitars.
“It’s really coming along,” Nicki says, of our newest song, Fool’s Game.
“We’re almost there,” I agree, taking her hand in mine and squeezing it. “I can’t wait for everyone to hear it at Eclipse.” While our campus hit, Twist Me, is still our signature song, I’m excited to play some new stuff. Plus, this new song is more personal than any of our others, because it’s about us. And, yeah, it’s a love ballad at its core, but with a hard edge which fits in well with our sound.
“Me too,” she says, excitedly. “I still can’t believe we’re gonna play there.” Her whole face lights up at the thought of it. God, I love that excitable look of hers.
We’ve both been on cloud nine since I told her about the call. Our upbeat mood is also cuz my dad’s put his people on the Greg situation; some guys he knows on the force. There’s a restraining order against the psycho. While knowing he’s out there still has us on edge, knowing also that we’ve got backup is a major weight off.
Between classes and Nicki’s trips to the boxing gym, we’ve been working hard on our music to get ready for our performance at Eclipse in a few weeks. Chloe’s booked us into a high-end hotel in the city, a couple of blocks from the club. Only the best for her. I was fine staying in a dive to save money, but there’s no way she would’ve been. She booked three rooms. One for Nicki and me to share and one each for her and Mitch, much to Mitch’s disappointment. He just can’t catch a break with her.
“Those are new,” I say, eyeing Nicki’s black leather pants.
This is what my music does to me. We’ve been sitting here in my apartment working on our songs for the past couple of hours and now I’m noticing how damn sexy she looks? Crazy.
“Yeah,” she says. “I bought them for the show. Just breaking them in.”
She needs to. Those things are so tight. Damn.
“Chloe’s idea?” I ask.
“Kind of. She said it will look more professional if we all coordinate our outfits. Especially, you and I as we’ll be at the forefront, you know?”
“Well, any excuse for you to wear those things is fine by me.”
“So, you’ll wear yours then?”
“Sure.”
She cocks an eyebrow. “Wow, I thought it would take more convincing than that. You don’t like to be told what to do.”
I smirk at her. “I know it gets you hot seeing me in leather.”
She blushes. “What? How do you—?”
“I’ve seen you checking me out in them, even before we got together.”
She slaps my arm. “Shut up. I was not.”
I rest my guitar on the floor and lunge at her, driving her onto her back. She shrieks as I pin her wrists above her head with one hand. “Admit it.”
She shakes her head from side to side. “Uh uh. No way.”
“Maybe you need some gentle persuasion,” I say, running my hand slowly up her left thigh.
I know I’m not playing fair. Since I took her virginity, she’s been greedy, always wanting sex. I know the slightest touch from me gets her going. She won’t win here. She’ll admit it all right.
“John,” she whines, squirming beneath me as I walk my fingers up her thigh, stopping just before I reach her panties.
“Yes, baby? Something I can help you with?”
“Touch me,” she pants.
“Admit it and I will.”
“No.”
“So, you don’t want my fingers in your panties, my tongue between your legs, bringing you closer and closer to the edge? You don’t want my cock thrusting hard into your wet pussy, driving so deep that you can hardly fucking breathe?”
“Stop,” she pleads.
“Stop what?”
“Teasing me.”
“Just say the words I wanna hear.”
A loud slam startles us. The front door. Aggressive footsteps sound, before we hear:
“What’s your problem?” Mitch’s voice.
It’s followed by Chloe’s angry yell. “I told you I don’t want a relationship! Get that through your thick head!”
“So, we can fuck, but that’s it?”
“Yes! God, how many times do we have to have this conversation, Mitch?”
“Tell me why.”
“What?”
“Tell me why. I wanna hear you say it.”
“We’re…too different.”
“You mean, I’m trash and you’re a trust fund brat?”
“That’s not what I sa
id. And I’m not a brat, jerk off.”
“Fine. This is done. I can’t do this anymore, Chlo.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I can’t fuck you, but not be with you. It’s all or nothing.”
“Mitch!”
“I’m serious. What’s it gonna be?”
“We can’t be together.”
“Fine.”
I hear another slam of a door; Mitch’s bedroom door.
“You should go and make sure he’s okay,” Nicki tells me. “I’ll check on Chloe.”
Dammit. Why did they have to pick this moment to act out their drama?
“Son of a bitch,” I growl, reluctantly climbing off her and helping her back to her feet.
She chuckles. “We have plenty of time for us later. Go talk to him, John.”
I know she’s right even though my cock doesn’t agree. I do need to talk to Mitch. Aside from the fact that he’s my friend, there’s also the band to consider. We’re on the verge of our big break. We can’t have this bullshit going on right now. I need to put a stop to it.
“I’m going,” I say, as Nicki pushes me towards the door. “Your hands on me aren’t helping the situation.”
She releases me and laughs. “Horn dog.”
“Me? You’ve been holding that title for the last few weeks. I’m the innocent one here.”
“Shut up,” she says, punching me in the shoulder. “Get going. Move that sexy ass of yours.”
I spin around and cup her perky little tits before leaning in to kiss her hard. I pull away quickly and smirk at her. “Now, I’m good…until later.”
I walk out of the room, leaving her standing there breathless and wanting more. Just the way I like my girl.
***
“I’m bleeding out here/ And the wound belongs to you….”
We suddenly lose the beat and Chloe yells at Mitch, “Are you tone deaf right now?”
“You’re the one who’s off-beat, Chlo. It’s a bit of a bitch to work with.”
“I’m off-beat?”
Uh oh. It’s probably the worst thing he could’ve said to her; criticizing her drumming skills like that. And he knows it too. Not that her bullshit comment was any better.
“Enough!” I thunder, stepping away from my microphone and storming over to them.
“She—” Mitch begins.
I hold up my hand to silence him. “I said; enough!” I snap, harshly.
“Guys, come on,” Nicki cuts in, backing me up.
Despite the two of them assuring us that whatever’s going on between them wouldn’t impact practice, clearly it is. They’ve been at each other’s throats through every song we’ve run through: Twist Me, Fool’s Game and now, Only Burns. And now Chloe’s actually stopping mid-song to deal out her insults. This shit is not flying with me.
“We’re coming up on our big break here,” I tell them. “There’s no room for mistakes and bad blood in the band. I get that you two have issues, but you deal with it on your own time. We’re gonna take a ten-minute break. If you can’t get your shit together by then, then get the fuck out of here. Make no mistake, I will fucking pull one of you if I have to. You got me? Fix this. Now.”
Chloe huffs, pulls herself from behind the drum kit and storms out of the room.
“Sorry, dude,” Mitch says, resting his bass against the wall.
“Ignore her trying to bait you,” I advise him.
“Easier said than done.”
“Focus on the song. Let it pull you in,” Nicki suggests.
Mitch nods. “All right. I need a beer,” he says, heading out of the room.
I blow out a breath and scrub my hand over my face.
Nicki grips my shoulders. “Nice lecture.”
“Really? You normally get on my case about being too harsh.”
“Nah. They needed to hear it. This is Chloe we’re talking about. You know she doesn’t respond to people pussy-footing around her.”
“They’d better get their shit together.”
“It’ll be fine. I promise.”
“How do you know?”
“Because,” she says, kissing my neck. “I know you. You’re a great leader; a great front man. They always listen to you.”
She goes to pull away but I wrap my arms around her. “Uh uh. You’re not going anywhere. Come here and kiss me like you mean it.”
Chapter 34
~John~
“Urgh,” Chloe mutters into her martini as she and I sit up at the makeshift bar in the yard of the sorority house on campus.
We’re here tonight to play at one of their mid-term celebration parties. We’re using this as a test run before our big performance at Eclipse in a couple of weeks. And we’ve been killing it tonight. Right now, we’re on a break. I sip at my beer, scanning the crowded yard for Nicki. She headed off to the bathroom a few minutes ago.
“Bitch,” Chloe continues.
I follow her line of sight over to the other side of the yard where Mitch is putting his moves on some brunette.
“You turned him down, Chloe.”
She scoffs. “Please. This isn’t about him, John. It’s about that bitch, Tina.”
“What about her?” I don’t give two shits about the drama Chloe’s currently wrapped up in, but it’s just the two of us, so I figure I need to at least fake an interest in this chick shit until Nicki comes back and rescues my ass.
“Look at her in her tiny black dress that’s basically painted on. She’s all over him. This is her competing with me. She knows he and I hooked up. She always goes after what’s mine.”
I raise my eyebrows. “What’s yours, huh?”
She slaps my arm. “Shut up. That’s not what I mean. I just…she pisses me off.”
“Isn’t she one of your sorority sisters?”
“Yeah. So? She’s always trying to one-up me. Crazy, competitive bitch.”
Wow. The claws are already out. Damn.
“John,” someone calls from behind me.
I turn on my stool to see a blonde standing in front of me. She grins at me and flips back her hair while also making sure to push out her tits that are spilling out of her top. She looks familiar, but I can’t make a positive ID, which probably means I’ve fucked her before.
“Daphne,” Chloe says, in a warning tone.
Daphne. Yeah, I’ve fucked her all right. I can’t remember how it went down, but the name rings a bell. It’s not exactly run-of-the-mill. She ignores Chloe’s warning and wedges herself between the two of us, leaning across the bar and ordering a drink. The bartender takes one look at her tits and quickly gets her the drink she ordered—a screwdriver.
She locks eyes with me as she starts sucking on the straw, her tongue darting out and swirling around. Yeah, woman, I see what you’re doing.
“It’s been a while,” she says, winking at me.
“Has it?”
Chloe leans forward on the bar so I can see her and she rolls her eyes at me.
“It has. Remember how hot we were together that night?”
Before I can shut her down, another blonde joins the party, draping her arm over Daphne.
Daphne grins at her and then tells me, “How hot the three of us were.”
Oh yeah! I remember now. The threesome all-nighter.
“Got a girlfriend now. Nothing’s gonna happen here,” I tell them.
“Take one night off,” Daphne urges me, sliding her hand up my thigh.
“Get your hands off my boyfriend!”
The girls spin around to see Nicki standing there, her hands on her hips and looking pissed as hell.
“I’d beat it if I were you. She’s a boxer,” Chloe tells them. “You don’t want her to mess up your pretty little faces, do you?”
The girls take the hint and hurry off.
Nicki glares at me. Her eyes move to my jeans, to the spot where one of the girls touched me. “What’s going on?” she demands. “I’m gone for one second and you’re hitting on other
women?”
I hold up my hands. “Uh uh. I was just sitting here drinking my beer. That’s all.”
“They had their hands on you. I didn’t see you pushing them away.”
I look to Chloe for her support.
“He’s right. They just wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
Nicki’s eyes stay glued to mine. She’s shooting me daggers now. “And I bet you loved every second of it, Mister-Big-Shot-Rock-Star. This is what it’s gonna be like if we get signed after Eclipse, isn’t it? Groupies everywhere. Me fighting them off you and you sitting there letting them put their hands and God knows what else all over you?”
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
I shoot to my feet. “What’s got into you? Why are you so uptight tonight?”
“And, I’m out,” Chloe says, sliding off her stool quickly and hightailing it the hell away from us and what I’m beginning to see is gonna be one hell of a fight.
I don’t get it. Nicki isn’t usually this insecure about anything. Where’s this coming from?
“Forget it,” Nicki says, making a move to walk away from me.
Yeah, I don’t think so. I grab her arm, stopping her. “Talk to me. What’s this all about?”
She blows out a breath. “Everywhere we go they’re looking at you. And some of them are even brazen enough to come right up to you when I’m with you and start flirting like crazy. It’s gotten worse ever since word spread about us being booked as headliners at Eclipse.”
She’s not wrong. It has been pretty crazy lately. “They’re just leeches, Nicki. It’s the possibility of fame. That’s all.”
“It’s the whole rock star cliché, John.”
“I’m not that guy anymore. I’m with you and that’s it.”
“None of them seem to be getting that message.”
“What do you want me to do? Shout it from the fucking rooftops?” I snap, getting pissed. She has no reason to be like this. Since we got together, I’ve done a complete one-eighty. I don’t give a crap about other women, because as far as I’m concerned there are no other women. Not now that I have her. I’ve changed for her and here she is throwing it in my face? I don’t fucking think so.
“I don’t know. You could start by telling them right away that you’re dating me. But you never do. You let it drag on. Why? Because you like the attention.”
