by Tara Brown
“My parents are still together, but they’ve had a couple close calls.”
I took a huge bite and moaned. “How do you find these places?”
He laughed. “Just say it—I was right, and this is the best shit you have ever eaten.”
I nodded. “You were right. This is exactly what I needed.”
He laughed. “I have had a lot of hangovers in my day.”
I closed my eyes, chewing and enjoying the sound of his voice and the taste in my mouth.
“Now that you’re all blissful and happy, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
I opened my eyes. “What?”
He drank a huge sip of coffee. “I want to stay together. Forget the bet, forget the moving out, and forget apartment hunting. Just be roomies.”
His proposal burned my insides. I thought for a second and nodded. “Okay.” He made me feel safe. As much as it burned me, I liked it.
“It’ll be cheaper for you to share the rent, and I won’t have to worry. I’ll know you’re safe.” His voice dropped down a bit.
My eye twitched. “You would worry about me?” I tried to sound sarcastic, but it didn’t happen.
He nodded. “Yup. Besides, I am in talks right now with the band, and an agent, about some serious contracts. So if I have to tour, it’s better if I have someone at the house for me.” He stole my strong yup, and I knew what we were both talking about. It was the end of the flirting and the fun. I felt like I could cry any second. He was asking me to be his friend. I was being friend zoned.
I wanted that, didn’t I?
I wanted to go to school and become a successful lawyer, and be independent. He was a sleazy singer. He was going to be crazy famous. We would never fit.
I wanted that, didn’t I? My heart tried to negotiate, but my brain shut it down. “So we’ll be roomies?” The words felt dirty and wrong, but I made myself smile.
He smiled back. His eyes tried to talk to me with the emotion he wasn’t letting himself say either. We liked each other. There was chemistry.
But we both felt the pitfall the other person could be.
I would be that tag-along girlfriend who would make him less sexy to the women of the world, and he would be that guy I never quite trusted and ruined my grades over. Or worse—quit school and follow him around on his tours. The idea of him with other women made me physically sick. I pointed. “Can we agree to no dates at the house? If girls and guys are roommates, it’s better not to have sex going on in the house.”
He nodded. “I agree completely.” He put his huge hand out “To the new deal.”
I gave him my hand. He shook them for both of us, while I tried not to think about the fact that his touch lit me up or that the new deal broke my heart completely.
Chapter Six
Bromance
I leaned against the counter, bobbing to the Beats I’d stolen from his room. He had the best headphones ever. I felt like I was at the Imagine Dragons concert. Not that I even had a clue who they were. He was opening my eyes to music, always filling my iPod that he had bought for me. I didn’t hear him come into the house. I picked at the strawberries on the counter and read the text from the class I’d just left. Something shifted in my peripheral. I looked up to a whipped cream-covered pie sliding across the counter at me. I pulled the headphones off. He handed me a fork.
“What’s this?”
He laughed. “We’ve been living together for a month with no fights, no sex, no problems. It deserves pie.”
I scowled. “Do you have an inner filter?”
A devious smile crossed his lips. “Nope.” He took the first bite.
I dug in where he’d taken his bite.
The coconut-cream pie melted in my mouth. Even with my lips covered in whipped cream and my mouth full, I spoke. “Is that real whipped cream?”
He nodded slowly. “From this seedy little place in the industrial section. I was going to bring you there, ‘cause I heard about the pie, but when I got there, I knew you wouldn’t eat there.”
I frowned. “I’m not a snob.”
He rolled his eyes. “I know. You’re a princess.”
I took a second bite. “You’re a princess.”
He laughed and ate a huge bite. “Ohhhhh my God.” He licked his lips and I looked back at the pie. Some things were safer not to watch. I hadn’t been to a show since the first one. That was also better not to watch. Seeing him so alive made me hot. I clearly had issues with sexy boys and self-control.
I arched an eyebrow. “So I Googled you.”
He snorted. “‘Bout time.” I loved the sarcasm in his voice. He could really care less about the fame when it was just the two of us. It was part of the show for him.
I bit my lip and then went for it. “I saw the articles about you getting kicked off the show.”
His bright-blue eyes lifted to mine but his look turned stern like his tone. “Drop it.” The tone wasn’t playful.
It made me smile nervously. “No.”
He gave me a stern look. “You wanna talk about your ex-boyfriends some more?”
I swallowed and the humor left me.
He pointed his fork. “This topic is like that for me.”
I took another bite. “Fair enough.” I ate the bite but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t feel like eating anymore. I dropped my fork. “Thanks for the pie.”
He grabbed my hand. “Don’t be mad.”
I looked up into his eyes. “Your expressions are so weird sometimes. You can darken your face, I swear it.”
He laughed. “Your brother still coming?” He was always ignoring the things he didn’t want to hear.
I snapped back and stopped staring at his face. “What?”
“Brother?”
I smiled and pushed away thoughts of the forbidden conversations. “Yeah. Tomorrow.”
“Sweet.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. He’s a hot mess. He’s really artistic and messy, and one minute he has a job, and then he doesn’t. My parents go insane with him. You guys will for sure hit it off.” I realized what I’d said when he gave me his blank stare. I laughed. “I’m on a roll today.”
He shook his head. “I gotta go rehearse. Try not to get into trouble.”
I stuck my tongue out at him and pulled my headphones back on. He grabbed me, pulling me into his embrace. “What did I say about that tongue?”
My hands trembled against his chest. He flashed me a smile. “Try not to think about me kissing you while I’m gone.” He let me go and walked out, leaving me thinking about the forbidden fruit he had become and how I would be the one chasing him around like a love-sick puppy. That was not the best version of me, not the version I wanted to be.
That night, I was studying when he came in late. I looked up, smiling and focused on our friend zone. “How was the show?”
He sat down next to me on the couch. “It was great. I heard afterward that some big wig was coming to see us play. We might have competing offers.”
I frowned. “What? Congrat— ”
He put a finger up to my lips. “Shhh. Not yet. Nothing to get excited about yet.”
His finger stayed there for a minute and then ran down my jaw. He leaned forward and lightly brushed his lips against mine. He pulled back. There was something in his eyes. “Sorry.”
I shook my head. “Don’t be.”
He arched an eyebrow, like he was questioning the fact I’d given him permission. He leaned in again, lightly brushing his lips on mine. “Goddamn, you are sweet,” he whispered into my mouth and got up from the couch. I sat there frozen for a few minutes, still tasting the kiss that wasn’t nearly awkward enough.
The next day he drove me to the airport to pick up Danny. We didn’t talk about the kiss. He was fun and playful. He cranked the car stereo and sang as loud as he could. We pulled up at a light and some girls looked over at him and started screaming. He waved at them and sang louder. I tried to only hear the radio but it was impossible.
It was an amazing performance for a car ride. He beamed at me from behind his sunglasses and messy hair.
I almost ran when we got to the airport. I needed to be away from him. When I looked back at him, I smiled at the fact that he was still wearing his sunglasses. His fame situation wasn’t getting better. He stood, looking like Lochlan Barlow, but in sunglasses. He needed the Brad Pitt beard and homeless apparel. Girls pointed and swooned. I nudged him. “You’re not fun to take out of the house anymore.”
He gave me his one-sided grin. “You’ve never been fun to take out of the house.”
I laughed. “Ass.”
Danny came walking down the ramp. He looked the same—thick and handsome but disheveled. His dark-blonde hair was cut into the same fohawk as Lochlan’s. It even hung in the back, almost like a mullet. His jeans were tight and his tee shirt was wrinkled. He stopped, grinning and shaking his head. His bright-green eyes twinkled, the way they always did. He was the most joyous person I knew. “Lochlan Barlow is your roommate?”
I looked between them. “What?”
Danny put his hand out for Lochlan. They shook hands. I sighed. “Danny—Lochlan. Let’s go before we get mobbed like we have one of the Beatles with us.”
Danny wrapped a thick arm around me. “You have better than the Beatles, dude. Only you would fail to mention that you were shacked up with a celebrity.”
I gave him a look. “There’s no shacking.”
Lochlan chuckled. “She didn’t know who I was for like weeks.”
Danny sighed. “I’m ashamed of you.”
My mouth hung open. “What?”
He shook his head. “You are shamed.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”
Lochlan laughed and nodded at Danny. “You should come to the bar tonight. We’re playing at the nice one. Our Fridays are the best bar we play.”
Danny gave me a look. I agreed, dreading the words about to leave my lips. “Yeah.” Shit.
They nattered at each other about music and dudes. I didn’t know anything they were talking about.
I walked behind them, stunned by the instant bromance going on. Lochlan seemed more into my brother than Danny was to him. That lasted until Lochlan went to the bedroom to get something when we got home, and Danny started silent screaming and mouthing things. I didn’t know what he was going on about, but I had to assume it was like a little girl seeing Justin Bieber for the first time.
I sighed and drank from the orange juice carton. When Lochlan came back around the corner with a tee shirt for him, Danny played it cool again. I snorted at the two of them. Lochlan gave me a look and walked into the kitchen. He took the carton from my hands and drank the rest. I tried not to watch him drink, or eat, or sing, so I went to the couch and read a book.
They flirted and chatted for hours. It was sort of good. I read and did my homework.
The romance novels were making my attraction for him worse, so I grabbed the newest James Rollins instead of romance. I finished it off in the tub and got out to get ready. I didn’t bother straightening my hair. A bar in the humidity of early fall in Boston was a death trap for straight hair. I hadn’t worn it curly since the night we’d made fools of ourselves. I looked at myself and smiled. With barely there makeup, a plain blue tee shirt and a pair of linen pants, I looked like I was trying to be casual. He wouldn’t even notice me, compared to the other girls in the bar.
I walked into the kitchen to find them eating Chinese food and listening to some old song. Danny pointed. “You hear the break? So classic.”
I was getting annoyed. Danny had barely spoken to me. I walked behind the island to see Lochlan filling a plate and listening to the song. He passed me the plate and a fork. I scowled. “I don’t like it when you—”
He put a hand up, silencing me. Danny shushed me.
I nodded, chuckling and leaned against the counter. “Screw you both.”
They ignored me. The song ended. Lochlan smiled. “You know what? You’re totally right. The way he gave the pause after the break was dramatic. I felt my heartbeat pause, waiting for it.”
Danny pointed. “I know, right?” He gave me a look. “How was the tub?”
I flipped him off, taking a huge bite.
He leaned forward, kissing the top of my head. “I missed you.”
Lochlan looked at his fat leather watch that looked like more of a cuff than a watch. “I gotta go. Come at ten.”
I nodded, looking as disinterested as I could.
He flashed me a grin and walked out.
Danny waited for the door to close and then the girlfriend gushing started. “Oh man. He’s so cool. You’re rooming with him? He’s like rich. He doesn’t even need a roommate. . . . Are you screwing him and not telling me?”
I choked on my noodles, coughing. He grabbed me a drink of water and passed it to me. I coughed again. “No.”
He looked confused. “Why’s he rooming with you? Didn’t they ever find you guys another place?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. We just agreed this was better.”
He nodded. “Oh man, please don’t blow this. I always wanted a rock-star brother, and a brother-in-law is just as good.”
A sickened expression covered my face. “Dude.”
He gave me the puppy-dog look. “Please.”
I sneered. “You’re a psycho. This isn’t a Third World country. You can’t just give me away to the guy you like the best.”
He folded his arms. “I’ll call Dad.”
“Go ahead.”
He smirked. “He’s a huge Lochlan fan.”
I sighed. “Great. Please don’t tell him. I don’t want him to come here and embarrass me too.”
He winked. “I know you’ll do the right thing. When the time comes, you’ll date him.”
I left the kitchen, abandoning my plate, and turned on the TV. We watched a couple episodes of Law and Order SVU.
He glared at me. “You shouldn’t watch this shit. You already have your paranoia.” I stuck my tongue out at him and flipped through Emma by Jane Austen.
“How do you read and watch TV?”
I muttered. “It’s easier when no one talks.” He biffed a throw pillow at my head. I ducked.
It was only nine thirty when he nagged me to death, and I was forced to leave the apartment. He almost ran down the stairs. He was like a kid going to see Santa. I, on the other hand, was dreading it. Lochlan didn’t need to be a bigger star in my mind.
The bar was a different one than the one I’d been to. Danny showed the bouncer a card and we walked in. I looked at the line out the door and around the block.
“What’s that card?”
He flashed me a grin. “Loch gave it to me. He said we would need it to get in and get a table.”
I was stunned. “Loch?”
He ignored me and walked to an empty table in a circle booth. The bar was filling up as the line was slowly let in.
Gerry strolled up, grinning. I smiled, about to introduce them, but Danny was up and out of his seat within seconds. “Oh man, Gerry Ronson?”
Gerry laughed. “You must be Danny?”
Danny shook his hand. “I’m a huge fan. You’re the best drummer.”
Gerry shook his head. “No way. The best will always be Rick Allen from Def Leppard.”
Danny put his hands out excitedly. “I know, right? One arm and he still kicked the shit out those drums.”
Gerry winked at Danny and gave me a look. “How’s it going?”
A slow smile crossed my lips, although it was forced. “Great.”
He laughed. “Some wine?”
My eyes narrowed. “He told you?”
He laughed and sat next to me as Danny went and attacked the bass player, Mike. We’d met briefly once.
Gerry sat down next to me. “He told me about the new deal.”
My stomach ached. “Yeah?” What else could I say? Lochlan had friend zoned me after I friend zoned him first. Then we kissed and now
we were pretending that didn’t happen.
We both watched as Danny mauled Lenny, the other band member. Gerry laughed. “Your brother is awesome.”
I glanced at him. “He’s annoying and completely smitten with Lochlan.”
“Everyone is. That’s why we asked him to join. He’s brilliant with business and he’s an amazingly talented singer. As long as he keeps his temper in check, he’ll take us to the top.”
I lifted my head. “He’s smart?”
Gerry laughed. “You’re an asshole. Yeah, he’s got his MBA in business from the University of Tennessee. He’s smart. He’s already got us an agent and a few tour dates for the winter months. We got a huge offer a couple days ago, but he told us to turn it down. We’re just waiting to see if that move pays off.” His voice was filled with admiration.
“God, he’s perfect.” I mocked.
He laughed. “He’s got a horrid temper, and an even-worse roving eye. He’s not perfect. He has groupies like I’ve never seen. Those poor girls are all in love with him and he . . . well, he’s not interested.”
That made me sick. He was a womanizer. The worst kind of ‘not perfect.’ The foul temper didn’t even affect me. I could have cared less about that. He had never shown it to me. I’d seen the glimmer in his eyes and that was about it.
Lochlan strolled over with a cranberry lemonade. “I told them you can’t have more than three of these, or you’ll be their problem.”
I gasped. “Ass.”
He took a sip and placed it in front of me. “Hey, it’s not my fault you can’t hold your liquor.”
I scowled. “You’re mean.”
He shoved me over, sitting too close. I moved over, taking my drink. He grabbed it and took another sip. I snatched it back. “I don’t like it when you drink— ”
He turned, cutting me off. “You wanna go to Salem tomorrow? Danny was saying that he’d be interested in seeing where the witch trials were.”
I gave him an exasperated look.
He shrugged. “We don’t have to go.”
Danny sat down. “Mike freaking Jones. Like . . . oh man, I am dying right now.”
Lochlan beamed at him, nudging me. “You can tell him you don’t want to go to Salem. You’ll break his poor heart.”
