Heartstrings: A Dirty Affliction Novel

by Regina Frame

  I spotted Chance from across the pool as he stood and started our way. I just wanted to crawl under my chair and hope that no one noticed.

  "She did not pee on herself. I repeeeat, she did not pee on herself. That is all." She giggled. "I took care of it. No need to worry." She was whisper shouting by now.

  "Yeah. Thanks for taking care of that." I took her drink from her hand and sat it on the glass top patio table behind us.

  "What's going on with her?" Chance whispered in my ear, so that she couldn't hear him. His warm breath ghosted over my neck, sending a ripple of pleasure down my spine.

  "I'm sorry." I winced. "I don't know what's going on with her lately. I really thought she had a handle on this." She dropped down into one of the lounge chairs and kicked her sandals off.

  "What do you mean? Handle on what?"

  "It's a long story. Can you help me get her inside? I'll just put her to bed, and with any luck, she'll sleep straight through."

  Chance put two fingers in his mouth, and an ear splitting whistle escaped. Heads popped up all around us. The plan to crawl underneath the chair was looking better by the second. Jinx sauntered over and gave Chance the chin lift.

  "Help me get her inside," he said to Jinx.

  I watched as Jinx lifted a now sleeping Harmony in a fireman's hold and headed for one of the guestrooms with Chance and I right behind him. She was going to regret sleeping through that. I couldn't contain my giggle. It'd serve her right for getting shitfaced so soon.

  "What's so funny?" Chance asked.

  I didn't dare tell him the truth with Jinx close enough to hear.

  "Nothing." I shook my head. "I was just thinking about how bad she's going to feel in the morning. I should probably stay here with her." Chance's anxious eyes met mine. "I'm worried she'll wake up and need me."

  "You two go on out. I'll stay here with her," Jinx offered, tilting his head toward the door.

  "There you have it, babe. It's settled. Jinx is staying, and you're coming with me," he demanded, lacing his inked fingers with mine and pulling me toward the door.

  I tripped over my own feet while trying to stop Chance's progress.

  "I wouldn't feel right leaving Jinx here to take care of her. She's my friend…"

  Chance cut me off before I could finish what I was saying.

  "Trust me. Jinx is a pro at this. He's babysat Linc's ass enough." His lips curled up. "Hell. He's even babysat my ass a few times. He was a boy scout, and he knows CPR. She'll be fine."

  "See, I'm practically a doctor," Jinx spoke up.

  Chance wrapped his hand around my elbow and led me back out to the pool.

  The music was loud, the bass thumping, and most of the girls had stripped out of the shorts they were wearing and were now sporting tiny bikinis. They practically looked like a cookie cutter version of each other. Rail thin with fake breasts. I was suddenly thankful for my curves and natural breasts. I never wanted to look like someone's clone, but in the industry that was, most times, the case.

  "I'll be right back," Chance said, as I slid onto one of the empty chairs at the fully stocked bar he'd set up for the occasion.

  I sighed and grabbed a handful of frozen gummy bears from a glass bowl sitting on the bar. They were delicious. I'd never had anything like it. How had I never thought of freezing them? It hit the spot in the scorching heat.

  I continued to pop the little suckers in my mouth, handfuls at the time, while watching Chance talk with some guy with long dark hair who'd walked in a few moments ago. I'd never seen him before and judging by his stance, he was none too happy about it. By the time Chance made his way back to me, I had a damn good buzz going on.

  His eyes widened in shock when I threw my arms around his neck. "Dance with me, Chance." I giggled. "Dance, Chance, Dance, Chance. It rhymes!"

  I laughed again, and tilted my head back so that I could see his handsome face. Curious green eyes gazed back at me.

  "I've been gone all of five minutes. How many drinks could you possibly consume in such a short period of time?" His eyes searched mine for answers.

  I couldn't contain my smile. There was just something about him that made me feel warm inside, or it could be the alcohol. I was gonna go with him.

  My arms slid from around his neck and hung at my sides while nausea churned in my stomach. "None." I grimaced as bile arose in my throat.

  "What do you mean, none? You're practically looped," he accused.

  "I swear! The only thing I've had are some of those frozen gummy bears." I pointed to the now empty bowl on the bar top. Had I really eaten all of those? I lifted my hand and waved at the guy tending bar. "Can we get some more of those yummy gummy bears?" I snorted, and covered my mouth in embarrassment. "I made another rhyme!"

  I swayed on my feet, and Chance reached for me. His strong hands wrapped around my upper arms to keep me from falling over.

  "No." Chance shook his head, and the guy walked away. "You're drunk," he accused.

  "Am not."

  Leaning a little too far to the left, I almost fell off my chair. Was I?

  "How many of those damn things did you eat?" he inquired.

  "I don't know." My brows pulled down in concentration. I tried my best to remember. Had I really eaten that many? "They're like popcorn and potato chips. You can't eat just one." My stomach rumbled and my head began to spin. "I think I'm gonna be sick." I slid off the chair and swayed on my feet.

  "Babe, you're shitfaced on vodka soaked gummies." Well, that explains a lot. "Come on. Let's get you inside." His strong arms lifted me and carried me inside. "Don't puke on me."

  A loud groan escaped my lips as I slapped my hand over my mouth. I will not be sick. I will not be sick. We barely made it to the bathroom in time. I dropped to my knees in front of the toilet and wretched. Chance gathered my hair and pulled it away from my face while gently rubbing my back in soothing circles.

  "Oooh God. I'm dying," I groaned.

  Finally, my stomach was empty, but it left behind a sour feeling.

  "You're not dying. Although, in the morning, you'll probably wish you had. Come on. Let's get you to bed." His strong arms lifted me up and walked down the hall and to my room.

  He gently sat me on the side of the bed and walked to my dresser and pulled out a tee shirt. His shirt, to be exact. The one with Albert Einstein on the front. He'd been wearing it at the studio the day I arrived, and he looked sexy as hell in it. His mouth opened as if he were going to say something about it, but decided not to.

  "Up," he instructed as he grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head.

  He hissed out a breath, and when my eyes met his, there was a simmering heat behind those emerald greens. I licked my lips. My mouth was suddenly dry. His gaze followed the motion, and he swore under his breath.

  I forced myself up off the bed and stripped off my shorts, leaving me in nothing but a pale pink thong. "Damn, Sparkles," he breathed.

  "I told you I had pink."

  I watched as he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing beneath the inked skin of his neck. I was suddenly feeling brave. Maybe from the alcohol, I was not sure, but I took advantage of it. I placed my palm in the center of his firm chest and traced the defined muscle downward. When my fingers reached the waistband of his shorts, he grabbed my wrist to stop me. I tilted my head up to see that his eyes were clenched shut and he was biting his lower lip. He looked as if he were in pain.

  "Not like this." He shook his head. "I want you, Sparkles, but not like this. Not when you're drunk." He reached around me and folded the comforter back. "Hop in," he instructed.

  My shoulders slumped, and my heart hurt at being rejected. I thought he would just walk out and leave me to wallow in my gummy bear haze, but was surprised when he lifted his shirt and threw it to the floor.

  My eyes raked over his naked chest and defined abs, and I made myself a promise right then and there that one day soon, I'd trace those tattoos with my tongue and I'd follow that hap
py trail of dark hair that led to his promised land.

  He padded across the room and flicked off the light. A moment later, I felt the bed dip beside me and his spicy scent wrapped around me like a warm blanket. A muscled forearm wrapped around me and pulled me flush against his firm chest. He buried his face in my hair and breathed in.

  "Goodnight, beautiful." he whispered, his warm breath ghosting down my neck.

  I closed my eyes and sighed at how right he felt. I was wrapped in his warmth, and within minutes, I drifted off.

  ***

  I cracked one eye open, and groaned when the room started to spin. I couldn't remember the last time I'd drank too much, but, then I remembered it wasn't so much what I had drank, but all those damn gummy bears I ate. Chance had told me that they had been soaked in vodka and then frozen. That little tidbit would have been nice to know before I ate the whole damn bowl full while waiting for him.

  I'd always had a thing for the gummies. They were cute, colorful, and they had sweet smiling little faces. Some might call them cherub like, but what they really were, was deceiving. If I never saw another one of those evil little bastards again, it would be too soon, and judging by the churning in my stomach at the moment, I would probably punch them in their happy little kisser.

  The bed shifted beside me, and my hand froze midway to my head. Maybe Harmony woke up and crawled in bed with me during the night. It had happened before. We used to do that sometimes when we were in high school. We would lie there and talk for hours and hours about all of life's trials at the ripe old age of seventeen.

  When the person beside me mumbled, I knew it wasn't her. The voice was deep and husky, even in sleep. My alcohol sloshed brain took notice, and my nipples reacted accordingly. I'd heard that voice in my dreams many times.

  I rolled to my side, and saw Chance's blue hair sticking up in every direction. I pinched my eyes shut and tried to recall what led up to that point. Why was Chance in bed with me? Think. Think. It was slowly starting to come back to me. I remembered trying to get Chance to dance with me. I'm a horrible dancer. I'd once been compared to Elaine on Seinfeld. I remembered laughing uncontrollably at anything and everything, but nothing after that.

  Did we have sex? I was going to be pissed big time if we did and I couldn’t remember it. He mumbled something in his sleep and threw one inked arm over his eyes. That caused the sheet to lower and—sweet baby Jesus! All that exposed skin…

  My eyes moved from the colorful Koi fish tattooed on his neck to the dragon that covered his shoulder and down his bulging bicep. I had seen them many times since I'd been there; just not close enough to see the detail that had gone into it. Whoever the artist was had some serious skill in tattooing. I had enough of my own to appreciate a good art work when I saw it.

  My eyes moved to the artwork on his right side. The one I'd been the most curious about from day one. A beautiful scroll of music notes ran the length of his side and dipped beneath the sheet. I could barely make out the words Mary Jane written in a beautiful font that also disappeared beneath the sheet. I flexed my fingers above the bed linen, itching to lift it and finally get to the bottom of that tattoo.

  My imagination was all over the place as to how far it extended, or what the remainder of the lyrics were. Was Mary Jane just a song, or was it a long lost love?

  "You could just ask, you know."

  His voice, startled me. I had been too wrapped up in his tattoos to notice that he was watching me. My face heated as his green eyes bore into me with amusement.

  "Why are you in bed with me?" I wasn't about to tell him I was molesting him with my eyes.

  "Don't change the subject. You're wondering about my tattoos, aren't you?"

  "Okay. I'll admit it."

  I flopped back down on the bed. Not a good move on my part, because it made my head throb at the sudden movement.

  "I got the koi fish after a tour we did in Japan." His hand went to the tattoo on his neck. "The hotel we stayed in had a huge koi pond, centered in this big garden area behind the place. I'd sneak out there in the early morning hours to just think. To just be alone. It was during our first big tour, and I was having problems adjusting to it all. You know, the paparazzi, the stalking fans, and all that other stuff that goes along with it. Fans seem to forget that we're human. You know?"

  I was beginning to see firsthand the damage the media could cause. His face almost looked sad. I couldn’t say that I blamed him after what had transpired over the last few weeks. "Okay. Enough of that deep shit. It's too early in the morning for that crap."

  "Okay then. Care to tell me why you're in bed with me?"

  He rolled over, bracing himself on one arm as his hungry green gaze raked over me, leaving a trail of warmth behind.

  "Someone had to make sure you didn't choke on your own vomit, and we both know that Harmony wasn't up for the task."

  He was right about that. Flashes of my drunken friend played through my brain. The embarrassing announcement she made about me peeing my pants. Burying my face in my hands, I groaned.

  "Those damn gummy bears." He snickered.

  "You undressed me, didn't you?"

  "Uh uh." His eyes dropped to my mouth, and his lips curled. "Like the pink panties, by the way." I shoved at his chest, causing him to fall back on the bed. "You're adorable when you sleep. The throwing up part … not your finest hour, babe."

  Hell. Just shoot me now.

  "Why am I wearing your shirt?" I whispered. I was almost afraid to ask, but needed to know.

  "That would be because you vomited on yourself, and me for that matter. I should be asking you why my shirt was in your dresser drawer."

  Oh. I'd taken the shirt from the laundry one day before the service had a chance to wash it. How pathetic am I to swipe someone's dirty laundry? I remembered how good he looked in it that first day at the studio. The way Albert Einstein was stretched across his defined chest muscles. My eyes drifted shut as the spicy scent of his cologne invaded my nose.

  "We slept together?"

  I buried my face in my hands and groaned, shaking my head. Just my luck. I'd dreamed about what it would be like to have sex with him, and now that it'd happened, I couldn't even remember it.

  "It's not what you think. We may have slept in the same bed, but we didn't fuck. I might be a dick, but I'm not that big of a dick. Trust me, Sparkles. When we sleep together, you won't be drunk. You'll be sober, and you'll enjoy every fucking minute of it."

  My lips parted and my breath hitched, and the pink panties I was wearing now needed to be changed.

  "You really don't remember what happened?" He shook his head in disbelief. "Go take a shower while I make breakfast. We'll talk about it." I waited until he left the room before I slipped from the bed and headed for the shower, taking my magic bullet with me, because all that tattooed skin had made me horny.

  Chapter Eight

  Chance

  When I stepped into the kitchen, Jinx and Harmony were already up and making breakfast, so I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat on one of the barstools. None of us were really saying much. I guess that it could be that we were all hung over, or the morning after was just awkward. Kind of like doing the walk of shame, except in my own home.

  "You guys sleep okay?"

  "Yes," they both answered in unison.

  I didn't miss the looks the two passed to one another, which I found really interesting. It was not the look of someone who was embarrassed or ashamed of the night before. No. That was a heated look of two people who couldn't get enough of each other.

  It was the exact feeling I got every time I was around Honor. I couldn’t get enough of her smile, her laugh, or the way her cute little nose scrunched up when she was in deep thought, and I was sure that once I did kiss her, I wouldn't be able to get enough of that either. Which I planned to accomplish very soon.

  I'd tried to keep my distance. I knew I was not worthy of her, but lately, the need had become so much stronger. I was tired of fig
hting it. Maybe if I let her in, allowed her to get closer, my future might have a happy ending. I'd just have to get past the voices in my head. The ones that kept telling me I was not worth it; that I didn’t deserve to be happy.

  "Good morning," Honor greeted, with a smile that looked forced. One that clearly said ‘I'm still sick from last night, and maybe even a little ashamed of it’.

  "Is it really, Sparkles? Because from where I'm sitting, you look a little green." I chuckled at my own joke, and looked to where Jinx was sitting across the table from me. "What do you think, Jinx? You think she looks a little green?"

  Her lips curled down in a frown, and her hand went to her stomach.

  "I would say that's a lovely shade of gummy bear green." He laughed.

  "Fuck you all," she said, before turning and running back down the hall.

  I shot out of my chair and ran after her. The sounds of her being sick echoed from behind the bathroom door. Lifting my hand, I knocked a couple of times, and when she didn't respond, I pushed it open and stepped inside. There she was, on her knees, worshiping at the porcelain throne.

  "Don't-Don't look at me," she managed to say in between heaves.

  "After last night, babe, there's not a whole lot I haven't seen."

  She turned and glared at me as I pulled her hair back and away from her face.

  "Shoot me now." She groaned and rested her head on her arm. I filled one of the little paper cups I kept in the bathroom with water and handed it to her.

  "Rinse, and we'll get you back in bed." She pushed to her feet, and I scooped her up before she had a chance to protest. I lowered her onto the bed and pulled the down comforter up to her shoulders before placing a kiss on her forehead. Her eyes closed and a sigh escaped her pale lips. "I'll bring you some pain reliever and some dry toast. You'll feel better in no time."

  I watched as she snuggled deeper under the covers and muttered a thank you. When I rounded the corner to the kitchen, I caught Jinx and Harmony in a very heated kiss. I was talking hands and lips everywhere! I almost felt like I was intruding, but, damn it, it was my house. I cleared my throat, and with a knowing grin, watched them separate as if they'd been caught making out in class.