Hard Rock Crush

by Athena Wright

  "Isn't this the audition for Hairy Tits?" he asked.

  "No," Gael said, sounding confused. "This is the audition for Cherry Lips."

  Liam pursed his lips. “Huh.” He flicked his eyes to me again. "Never mind." He shook his head. "It must have been a mix up. I didn't expect to be auditioning for a band like yours.”

  “What do you mean, like ours?” Gael spoke up, a frown crossing his lips.

  "You're one of the most popular rock bands to debut in the last year,” Liam said.

  Gael and Nate tilted their chins up smugly. They liked having their egos stroked, my brother most of all.

  But it was a lie. Liam didn't know Cherry Lips because we were popular.

  He knew Cherry Lips because of me.

  "Why are you here?" I asked.

  "I'm auditioning."

  "That's not what I'm asking."

  "You're looking for a temporary session guitarist to join you on tour, aren't you?"

  He was serious. Liam was actually here to audition. I didn't think he'd planned this. He had been just as surprised as I had been when he walked through the door.

  I couldn't help but remember the way we had left things between us.

  And now he was here, in front of me, asking to join my band.

  This couldn't be a coincidence.

  No. There was no way I was letting this happen.

  I owed this man everything. There was no way I'd be able to keep my cool around him. I'd already let my guard down around him too much.

  I couldn't let this happen.

  "Liam, right?" Gael asked, unaware of my panic. "Why don't you show us what've you've got?"

  Liam nodded and hefted his guitar strap over his head. "You guys mind if I play one of your songs?"

  "Go ahead." Gael waved his hand easily, indicating for him to start.

  The moment he began to play, I knew I was in trouble.

  Because Liam was amazing. He played as if he'd been born with a guitar in his hands. His fingers spidered up and down the fretboard easily, perfectly mimicking the way I played.

  Although I hated to admit it, he was better than me.

  They were going to choose him.

  "Thank you," I cut in over the music, long before Liam was done playing the song. "I think we've heard enough."

  Liam stopped with a screech. He placed his hands flat on the strings to quiet them and looked at me expectantly.

  "Thanks, we'll let you know," I said.

  Liam stared at me. He nodded once. He turned to Gael. "Will you be making your decision today?"

  "We’ll need to discuss with the other members of our band,” Gael said. “Would you mind sticking around?”

  "No worries," Liam said. "I've got all the time in the world."

  Without even looking at me, Liam left the room.

  "Him," Gael immediately said. "He's the one."

  "Definitely," Nathan nodded.

  "We haven't listened to the others yet," I protested.

  "Do we need to?" Gael asked. "This guy is even better than Nathan. Sorry, Nate," Gael tossed out.

  "Ouch," Nathan said, deadpan. "My wounded ego."

  "But—" I started to say.

  I had nothing. They were right. No one was going to be better than Liam. If it hadn't been for their breakup, his old band could have rivaled some of the greats. They'd been that good.

  "I recognize him from somewhere," Gael mused. "Wasn't he in some band before?"

  "Forever Night," I said grudgingly.

  Gael’s eyes lit up. “Right. I know them. They were awesome.” He looked to Nathan. "So we're in agreement?" he asked. Nate nodded. Gael looked to me. "Any objections?" he asked.

  Yes. A million objections. A war raged within me.

  "No," I said, giving up. "You're right. He's the best. But—" I held a hand up before Gael could respond. “We need to make sure he sounds good with the whole band. Seth and Julian have to work well with him.”

  Gael and Nathan nodded.

  “We’ll do a jam session,” Nathan said. “See how we sound together.”

  “Agreed,” Gael said. “I’ll go tell the guy we need him to come back for another round.”

  "Let me," I said. "I'll tell him."

  "Don't scare him away with some sort of, you-better-not-fuck-up-or-else, speech," Nathan said.

  "I won't scare him away.”

  And it was true. I didn't want to scare him away.

  Because Liam's audition had been awe-inspiring.

  That was good for the band. It meant we could hire someone who could keep up with us.

  It was bad for me. It meant we were hiring someone who turned my insides into knots. Someone who made me want to just go for it and fuck the consequences.

  I had barely been able to resist him before. Would I be able to resist him again? Would I be able to keep myself together if I had to work with him, day in and day out, as we rehearsed for the tour?

  I didn't know if I had the strength. The connection between Liam and I had been strong. Stronger than anything I'd felt since…

  No. There was no way anything was going to happen between us. I would make sure of that. I would state my boundaries firmly and clearly.

  I'd already let myself open up once before. I'd let myself become vulnerable. I wasn't going to make that mistake again.

  I heard a familiar voice call out.

  "Hey, Cherry Lips."

  That was beginning to become a habit of his.

  "If you're going to be in the band, you can't keep calling me that," I said.

  Liam's eyes lit up. I tried to keep my face impassive.

  "Your audition was impressive," I said.

  "Did you doubt it would be anything less?" he asked.

  I couldn't help but laugh inside. Liam's ego rivaled my band's.

  "Did you really not know who you were auditioning for?" I asked him.

  "My manager said the name of the band was Hairy Tits."

  "I can see how he might've gotten confused."

  "If I'd known it was your band…" he trailed off.

  "You would have auditioned anyway?" I said, filling in for him.

  A slow smile crossed his face.

  "I definitely would've thought about it," he said.

  "You didn't do this just to get close to me?" I asked.

  "No." He slowly eyed me up and down. "Can't say I mind the perk, though."

  His gaze lingered on my legs, on the skin exposed between the hem of my leather skirt and the tops of my knee-high boots. My stomach muscles clenched at the heat in his eyes.

  His eyes snapped back to mine. "Does that mean I got it?"

  "We want you to come back and play a few songs with the rest of the band. Make sure we all mesh. But if all goes well…" I took a deep breath in. "Yeah. You got it."

  A triumphant look crossed his face.

  "With a few caveats," I hastily added.

  He turned solemn, looking at me expectantly.

  "Laying down the ground rules?" he asked. "Let me guess. Rule number one: no dating within the band."

  I nodded. "Band members being in relationships with each other never turns out well. I could go through a list of bands as examples if you like."

  A predatory grin crossed Liam's face. "But I'm not in your band," he said. "I'm just filling in temporarily."

  My heart thumped a heavy beat in my chest.

  "Do you think that makes a difference?" I asked.

  He shrugged easily.

  "There's no risk of anything going wrong long term," he said, studying me. "You know just as well as I do there's something between us."

  I pressed my lips together and looked away. He stepped close. He tipped my chin back towards him with one finger. I glanced into his eyes as they met mine, a bright green.

  "I would really like to work with your band," he said, "but I'm not sure I can agree to your demand."

  He took another step towards me. I took a step back. I hit the wall. There was nowhere
to go. Liam leaned in. The masculine scent, that same woodsy smell that had so overwhelmed my senses that night in the club, washed over me. The heady scent turned me dizzy.

  What was I doing, saying no to him? This was the first time I'd felt anything for another man since…

  I shook my head internally.

  This was such a bad idea.

  I stared into Liam's eyes. He leaned forward, his face getting closer to mine. My lips parted unconsciously. His eyes fixated on my mouth. If I didn't do something, he was going to…

  Liam flicked his eyes to mine, studying me. He pulled back. I let out a breath of air with a silent whoosh.

  "I know your band members convinced you to hire me," he said. "There's no way you would have agreed to let me in the band if they hadn't pressured you. You're too—" he cut himself off.

  "What?" I demanded. "What were you going to say?"

  "You're too much of narcissist to allow someone who's better than you in the band." He laughed as I narrowed my eyes at him. "But if your bandmates have made the decision then I guess you're stuck with me, aren't you?"

  "Don't forget about my rule," I warned. "We keep this professional."

  "What if I also have a rule?" he asked.

  "What would that be?" I asked.

  "I always get what I want." His eyes flashed with wicked heat. "And I want you."

  The glint in Liam's eyes, the deep rumble of his voice, was enough to send warmth flooding my system.

  It was one thing to know there was an attraction between Liam and I. It was a completely different thing to realize he wasn't going to give up his pursuit.

  "I'm not going to give in that easily," I told him.

  "I don't expect it to be easy," he said with a crooked smile.

  The butterflies in my stomach returned. I opened my mouth but nothing came out.

  Liam backed away, releasing me from his hypnotic stare.

  "So if I've got the part, I suppose that means I need to meet my new band members?" Liam asked.

  "Our drummer and keyboardist aren't here today," I said. "We'll have you come back and meet them in a few days."

  "I can be patient," he said.

  The double meaning wasn't lost on me.

  "You might as well take off now," I said. "I'll call you when we've got a date and time." I held out my phone for him to enter his details into my contacts.

  "So this is all just an excuse to get my number?" His eyes twinkled as he thumbed the screen rapidly.

  I grabbed my phone back the instant he was done. "I need to go tell the others they didn't make the cut."

  "Let them down gently," Liam called out.

  I stalked away. I needed to get away from him, to gather my thoughts and catch my breath.

  Liam turned me upside down and no doubt took great pleasure in that knowledge.

  I took long strides, not looking back. I knew that grin on his lips would still be there. He knew I was running away.

  So what if I was? If Liam was going to push my boundaries, the only way I could survive was by putting distance between us.

  Figuratively and literally.

  5

  When I walked into the rehearsal room on the day of our jam session, Liam was already chatting with the guys. He must've been telling some sort of joke or funny anecdote because Gael, Nathan and Seth were laughing. I thought I even caught a twitch of Julian’s lips.

  Liam eyed me as I walked carefully through the door.

  "So this is the new band," he said, gesturing to the group of us.

  "For now," I said. "You're only here for the tour. This is a temporary situation."

  Gael shot me a look, as if to say don't be so rude.

  "So is it true you were the founder of Forever Night?" Seth asked, his hazel eyes lighting up. He was practically vibrating with excitement. I had to wonder if he'd been a fan.

  Liam's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. The corners of his lips turned down. His expression soon smoothed out.

  "Yeah, that was me." He didn't elaborate any further.

  "So why did you guys break up?" Seth continued.

  "Creative differences."

  "Why don't you just start another band? Why just work as a session guitarist?"

  Liam turned to me, ignoring Seth's question. "We should get started, shouldn't we?" he asked. "If we're going on tour soon, I'll have to learn all your songs and figure out how best to work with our different performance styles." He turned to Julian next. "You said you could provide me with sheet music?"

  Julian gave a sharp nod. His dark hair fell over his eyes and cheeks. He went back to fiddling with Seth's drumsticks, no doubt eager to end the small talk and get started.

  I hesitated in the doorway.

  For now, Liam was keeping things professional. Maybe that was because we were in front of the guys, and he wanted to keep this — whatever this was — between the two of us.

  He knew Gael was my brother. He would no doubt want to keep his advances a secret. The stereotypical protective older brother was a stereotype for a reason. I'd lost count of the number of guys Gael had almost punched in the face for trying to hit on me.

  "Are you familiar with many of our songs?" my brother asked.

  Liam nodded. "I know Nineteen and Kneel Before Us pretty well. Why don't we start with those to get us warmed up? Then we can move on to the songs I don't know."

  I was impressed Liam knew any of our songs. He hadn't expected to audition for Cherry Lips, so he couldn't have prepared ahead of time. Maybe he really did like my band and didn't just pay attention to us because of me.

  The guys gathered their instruments and got into place. I grabbed my microphone and put it in the stand. The atmosphere in the room turned tense, filled with nervous expectation.

  Liam was good but we didn't know how he would mesh with the rest of us. Each band had its own unique dynamic. Bringing a new person into the mix always risked ruining that. That was one of the reasons why I'd been so reluctant to hire a temporary guitarist.

  I shouldn't have worried. The instant the song began, Nathan and Liam wailed on their guitars in unison, perfectly complementing Gael's heavy bass. Seth pounded on his drums, keeping the band in time, as Julian joined in with the keyboard. As I sang the first lines of the song, the music vibrating throughout the room was in perfect harmony.

  By the time I finished singing the first verse, our muscles relaxed and the tension melted away. It was early in the game and things were already going well.

  The lyrics flowed from my lips easily. I knew this song even better than I knew my own brother. It was one of the first Cherry Lips songs I'd ever worked on.

  One of the first I'd written after…

  One of the first I'd written about how…

  I dug my nails into my palms, refusing to dwell on those thoughts.

  This song usually brought up a lot of unwanted emotions. I'd considered dropping it from our set list once we had enough songs for a full concert, but the audience loved it. Gael refused to let me cut it.

  The words were painful. The lyrics used to dredge up awful memories. Memories of what I'd lost.

  But after singing this song for so long, I had made new memories. Memories of me on stage with my band, cheering and chanting fans gathered around us. The lyrics no longer held as much heartache as they once did.

  As the song wound down, I flicked my gaze to Liam, sensing his eyes on me. His head was cocked to the side, studying me closely with a concerned look on his face.

  Without quite realizing it, the beginnings of tears had begun to gather along my lash line, turning my eyes shiny and glassy. Liam noticed.

  I quickly turned my head to the front, focusing on the pretend audience in front of me.

  Maybe I wasn't as unaffected by the lyrics as I liked to pretend. Showing emotion on stage wasn't a bad thing. It meant you were dedicated to the music. As long as I didn't let the tears fall, I could manage the feelings the music brought up.

  The so
ng came to a close. We put our instruments down.

  "That was awesome," Seth said. "We completely rocked."

  "Seems like we made a good choice," Nathan said. "We should go celebrate after. Drinks?"

  "As if you ever need an excuse to go drinking," Seth laughed.

  Gael was oddly quiet, staring at me.

  If Liam had noticed my emotional reaction, there was no doubt in my mind Gael had as well.

  My brother tilted his head toward me.

  You okay? he mouthed.

  I nodded sharply.

  I didn't know why that song had affected me more today than it usually did.

  "We were pretty good," I said out loud, "but pretty good won't satisfy our fans. We need to be fantastic."

  I expected Liam to get offended with a blow to his ego like that. But he just nodded.

  "We'll work at this until we're one hundred percent satisfied," Liam said. "I'm not afraid to put in some hard work."

  "We'll be at it night and day," Gael warned. "This girl's a harsh task mistress."

  Liam's eyes fell on me. "I have no problem with that."

  The wicked smile playing on his lips was for me alone. My cheeks flushed pink. I looked away and busied myself with the cords and amps, not wanting the other guys to see me flustered.

  If this was how I reacted to Liam when we were focused on playing and surrounded by my bandmates, I had no idea how I'd be able to keep myself together if he ever got me alone.

  I would just have to make sure that never happened.

  But from the determined look in Liam's eyes, I had a feeling that was going to be much more difficult than I thought.

  6

  After hours of practice, we left to go drinking. We were able to get into a club with special VIP access because I knew some people.

  To say I had connections in the industry would be an odd way of putting it. I had a friend who was in a band that hit it big. Morris and I had been friends since we were kids, way back when Harper and I had first met.

  I paused.

  I'd actually said Harper's name out loud.

  Or more like, I'd thought half his name. He always went by his last name, even though his first name was Jason. He'd been named after his deadbeat dad and wanted nothing to do with him. So even with me, he had always just been Harper.