by Fiona Cole
“Oh, no,” I said.
“Just a few to loosen you up. This is a night from a movie scene, and you can’t go walking around like you have a stick up your ass.”
“It is like a movie scene,” Vera agreed. “He’ll finish his last note and pass off his guitar, getting ready to walk off stage. But just then, he looks up, and everything stops.”
“Because there is the hottest bitch he’s ever seen,” Rae cut in. “Red hair flowing like the fiery goddess he always dreamed of. Your eyes lock, and a promise of the filthy night to come floats between you.”
“Until you can’t take it anymore, and you both run into each other’s arms,” Vera took over. “Ooo,” she cooed, the ideas coming faster. “Maybe he’ll see how awesome you are and never let you go. You’ll get married and have adorable rock star babies.”
“A baby musician band,” I added, joining in on the crazy fantasy. Why the hell not.
“But first, he’ll take you back to his suite and fuck you all night long,” Rae inserted.
“Yes,” I cheered.
Rae’s eyes lit up. “Damn, you are excited. You never cheer when we talk about sex.”
I shrugged, liking the sound of all night long.
“But before he whisks you away, he introduces me to that delicious Viking man who will end up fucking me all night long.”
“Uh…” Vera and I shared confused glances at the turn of events. “Boyfriend,” I explained.
Rae sniffed in annoyance and ignored us, getting away with it when the waiter returned with our drinks.
“To a new year,” Rae toasted.
I skipped my shot and lifted my still mostly-full champagne glass. I didn’t need to add any alcohol with the number of butterflies fluttering through my whole body.
As the clock ticked closer to midnight, I finally got a message from the contact Aiken set up for me. I had a press pass of sorts that would allow me free rein. Before we got to the party, I nabbed a few pictures of bands setting up. One more of the hottest rock band, and I’d call it a successful night for business.
We collected our jackets, and with Nico’s broad body guiding the way, we made our way over to the stage The Haunted Obsession was performing on.
Nerves started creeping up my throat, and the high that had carried me this far started being weighed down by doubts. What if he didn’t really want to see me? What if he really did? What if we do run into each other’s arms, and kiss, and…everything else? What if he leaves me again? What if this was a mistake? What if—
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see a message from Parker, smiling before I even read it.
Rock Star: Are you going to watch us play tonight?
Me: Of course. Wouldn’t miss it.
Rock Star: Make sure you cheer so loud I can hear you all the way in Times Square.
Me: I’ll make sure you hear me.
The tension and what-ifs faded away, replaced by a calm, happy, acceptance. It’d been five years since I’d had Parker’s arms around me—since I’d felt like I’d found home. Remembering the warmth and strength of his embrace had all the tension melting away. This was different. We were different now. I would be smarter.
Once we reached the stage, we moved past the crowd. The wind bit at my nose, and I shoved my shaking hands inside my faux fur-lined puffy coat, burrowing into my collar. Partially so I could hide my face in case Parker popped around a corner and saw me. I wanted the meeting to be on my terms.
I glanced at the time. Fifteen minutes.
“You’re just in time,” the guy who approved my pass said. “They just got on stage, getting ready to play one of their songs and then singing the John Lennon song. You can head up and take the pictures you need. Just stay off to the side.”
Rae said she would walk up with me as my ‘assistant’ while Vera and Nico stayed off to the sides.
“No matter what, I’m proud of you for being brave,” Vera said against my ear with one last hug.
I knew she was worried, and I appreciated it. I just hoped she was wrong, and we could laugh about it later.
My heart thundered, and the bright lights swirled until I was sure I’d pass out. This was it. This was it. This was it.
On repeat in my head, it was all I could think about as I ascended the few steps on wobbly legs. People filled the edges of the stage, shoulder to shoulder, preparing for whatever came next.
“Happy New Year, New York,” Parker’s voice rang all around me, and the crowd answered with a roar of epic proportions. Everything else faded away, and my sole focus shifted to the stage. “How about we get a little chaotic before we close out this year?”
The crowd roared again, and the beginning chords of their latest song began. Rae latched on to my arm and shook me in excitement, and I laughed, bouncing with her to the beat, singing each word I knew by heart.
I’d gone to see them a few times in concert because I loved their music—loved to see how they’d grown into themselves and become better musicians. But standing at the edge of the stage—even if I only caught glimpses between everyone moving around—it was something else. Something I’d never forget.
Happiness, like I’d never experienced, had me shaking my ass and jumping up and down between remembering to snap a few action shots and take video. Rae and I shimmied and bumped hips and swayed to the slow break only to start jumping and banging our heads when the beat picked up.
The song ended but quickly shifted, and the soft chords of John Lennon’s Imagine floated across the crowd. Parker’s rough voice sang the words like they’d been made to be sung with a rock vibe. As each lyric passed, the seconds ticked by, and despite the countdown for the new year beginning, mine had already started.
Finally, the song ended, and seconds later, the final minute countdown started on the screen. People moved to collect the equipment, and with a not-so-subtle shove from Rae, I stumbled past a crowd.
Parker stood talking and laughing with Ash, Brogan, and some other people.
Turn around. Turn around. Feel me.
I chanted the plea, hoping he’d feel my need and comply.
Ten. Nine. Eight.
I didn’t want to step any further on the stage. All the lights shined on him as people all around paired off.
Seven. Six. Five.
Two more steps. I needed him to see me. To turn around.
Four. Three.
Fuck it. I charged forward, making each step count before we hit one.
Two.
Red hair flew from the other side of the stage and a body leaped into his arms.
One.
And held on tight as she placed her lips on his.
“Happy New Year.”
The crowd erupted and the New Year song played over the speakers, but everything pin-holed into the sight of Sonia’s lips on Parker’s, and for those first few seconds of a brand-new year I couldn’t wait to start, my chest crumbled in on itself.
I was wrong. I thought I knew Parker so well—even after all these years, I never imagined him being an outright liar. But glimpsing the way he caught Sonia, single is the last word I’d use to describe him.
I stood under the bright lights, with thousands of people celebrating around me, oblivious to my complete mistake.
All but one person.
“Supernova!” Oren called. I jerked my head to find him coming out from behind the drum kit, only to jerk back to Parker.
His head whipped around, eyes wide, mouth smeared with red lipstick.
I’d already begun backing away when he pried himself from Sonia’s arms.
“Nova.”
I watched his mouth form my name, but I couldn’t hear anything over the ringing in my ears. Not wasting another second, I turned and ran.
Nine
Parker
She stood there like a vision—like everything I ever dreamed of.
At the completely wrong time.
For a moment, I stood frozen, unsure if she was
real or if I’d wanted her there so much that I conjured her in my mind.
“Nova,” I whispered.
I’d seen her over many Facetimes, and not a single one did justice to the woman before me. The screen didn’t capture the sharp points of her full lips or the line dimpling the center of her bottom one. It didn’t capture just how green her eyes were or that perfect shade of deep red in her hair. I never got to see the full length of her long, lean limbs.
It almost stole my breath, taking her all in at once—this stunning woman she’d grown into.
But as quickly as she appeared, she turned and vanished back into the crowd. As soon as she left my sight, the world crashed back in around me.
The blinding amounts of confetti, the loud crowd cheering and dancing to Frank Sinatra’s New York. Sonia’s arms wrapped around me like a spider monkey.
“Fuck.”
Uncaring of anyone watching, I gripped Sonia’s arms and pulled them off, pushing her back as I took off to follow Nova. I needed to get to her—to explain. Hell, I wasn’t even sure what had happened because Sonia appeared just as quick as Nova had. I’d stumbled and had to focus on not falling from the collision; I’d barely had time to register what the hell was going on.
Although, I should have been ready for anything when she appeared right before I went on stage and wished me luck.
Everyone slapped my shoulder as I tried to move past, wishing me a Happy New Year. I think I nodded in return, but I also shoved people out of the way, knowing it was a waste of time but too desperate to care. I’d barely reached the edge of the barricade, and it’d taken almost five minutes. Hands grabbed at me and screaming burst the bubble of my focus. I blinked, taking in the gaggle of women gripping my arm or reaching out to touch any inch they could reach. Some held up phones, and flashes went off in my face making it harder to think. I just needed to think.
It’s over. You ruined it.
She’s gone forever.
She’ll never pick up. She’ll never listen.
I’ll never see Nova again.
That one glimpse would be it.
That one hurt, slamming me back to earth more than anything else. I needed to get out of there before they tore the clothes from my body. I wasn’t solving anything in the middle of Times Square anyway.
Gently prying their hands off me, grateful for when security finally caught up to my mad dash, I smiled and said thank you blindly to anyone and turned back to the stage. Funny how much easier it was to get back on than it’d been to get off. Not that Nova seemed to have an issue.
“Where the hell did you go?” Aspen greeted me first, sounding pissed. “We have photos we have to take.”
Aspen.
Seeing her made it all click in place. “You,” I sneered. “You did this.”
She crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “Why, yes, Parker. I did do all of this. I busted my ass to get you this slot because it’s my job, and we don’t scoff at our jobs when it gets hard or maybe not everything we want to do.”
“Don’t. Don’t pull that shit. I bust my ass for this job—for this label. I said no Sonia.”
“And I said tough shit.”
“You had no right.”
“I had every right. You signed a contract making a deal with her, and this is part of it. I wasn’t going to argue with you anymore. I told you it would happen, whether you liked it or not, because it’s your job.”
Knowing I wasn’t getting anywhere with her, I walked past and rounded the back of the stage, descending the other steps that led to our gear and the guys.
“Dude, that was fucking Nova,” Oren exclaimed, bouncing around like a kid with a sugar high. “I had no idea she was coming.”
“Me neither,” I muttered.
“Nova was here?” Brogan asked. “Where?”
“She totally ran,” Oren answered. “Pew,” he said with a hand demonstration of her taking off.
“Why?” Ash asked, cutting in.
I ran a frustrated hand through my hair, remembering our last conversation and how she playfully asked again that I hadn’t met anyone new.
“Why didn’t you see her?” Ash asked.
“He was playing suck-face with Sonia.”
I ground my jaw at the reminder. “I didn’t fucking know she was coming,” I muttered, like it would have mattered. “And I sure as fuck didn’t know about Sonia.”
A flash of red hair off to the side had my heart skipping a beat, but then I took in the too-shiny locks and unnatural red. Not Nova. My body deflated and hated everything.
Five minutes in the New Year, and I sat there in a mess of my own making.
No, not my own making.
I didn’t do this.
Clenching my fists, I pulled my shoulders back and stormed through the guys, charging at the second culprit. Sonia and I talked enough for her to know how much I hated being a show pony. She knew I didn’t want to do this anymore. I asked her to think of other ways of finishing out our contract and still be beneficial. She fucking knew I was done and should have told Aspen no.
“What the hell did you think you were doing?” I growled.
Sonia whirled my way with wide eyes, but a moment later, being the perfect actress she was, her face morphed into a playful smile.
“Kissing you at midnight. Duh.”
“I never agreed to that.”
“Oh, come on, Parker. You know I never pass up a promo moment. We’re both single. I assumed you were just playing hard to get when you told me you didn’t want to do this anymore.”
“I don’t give a fuck about your assumptions, Sonia.”
“Parker.” Her smile held firmly in place, but her eyes flicked side-to-side, trying to determine if anyone noticed our disagreement. “You’re making a scene.”
“No, you made a scene with that damn kiss. And you fucked up my plans. It’s not always about you, Sonia. Get the fuck over it.”
“Parker,” Aspen snapped my name, and I met her hard gaze. “That’s enough. You need to get your shit and take pictures. Do. Your. Job,” she reminded me.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm the rage, finally backing away from Sonia with another glare, redirecting it back at Aspen.
“Where’s my phone?”
“I don’t know,” Aspen sneered. “You have more important things to worry about.”
“Where the fuck is my phone, Aspen?”
Her face went placid while her eyes filled with murder. Running a hand over my face, I tried for another deep breath and backtracked. I was pissed but didn’t want to piss off the boss’s daughter. “I’m sorry. I’m just…trying to fix something.”
She nodded but didn’t respond.
“Here’s your phone, bro,” Ash said, holding it out to me like a lifeline. “I’ll get your stuff. Go call her.”
With a pat on the back, I dashed off to sit in one of the cars that brought us over. With shaking hands, I found her number and hit send. On the fourth ring, the screen came to life, but it wasn’t Nova’s face I saw.
No, Raelynn’s glittery dark eyes glared back.
“Fuck off, fuck boy.”
I didn’t have time for her strong-girl act. “Let me talk to her,” I growled.
“You think because you’re some rock star, you can make demands? You think you’re such hot shit that you can lie and cheat without responsibility?”
“Dammit. Let. Me. Talk to her,” I tried again.
She narrowed her eyes to dangerous slits. “No.”
I snapped. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are—”
Her bark of laughter halted anything I planned on saying, and like a fucking sociopath, the laughter cut off, and she morphed into a woman with a death glare, all humor gone. “Who am I? I’m the fucking boss. I’m the dad with a shotgun. I’m the crazy-ass mom in a bathrobe with curlers chasing you out of the house with a frying pan. I’m your worst fucking nightmare.”
Gritting my teeth tighter and tighter with eac
h explanation, I feared they’d crack. There was no way I would get anywhere with Raelynn. I looked around the bar behind her, trying to take in any features that’d let me know where they were at. I’d fucking chase her down all night if I had to.
“Oh, yeah, you see this bar.” Rae pulled the phone back for a moment showing me around too fast to pick up anything just to come back to her crazed face. “If you come close to here, I’ll nut punch you.”
I wasn’t getting anywhere with my frustration, so I went for another tactic. Taking a deep breath, I dug deep for a calm I was far from feeling. “Listen, Rae. Can I please talk—”
“No.”
And with that, she hung up.
I almost crushed the phone in my death grip, barely reminding myself it was my only connection to Nova before relaxing my fist.
Knocking on the window jolted my whole body, almost making my heart stop. It was already so overworked with anger, I didn’t need fear added on top of that.
Oren smiled and waved through the glass.
“You scared the fuck out of me,” I grumbled, getting out.
“I know. You jumped like a solid foot. Very impressive for a tight space.”
“What the fuck?” I asked.
“We have some shit to do, then we head off and enjoy our night.”
“Yeah,” I mumbled.
“Did you find Nova?”
“No.”
“Bummer, bro.” We walked two more steps. “I’m assuming she has reason to be upset about you kissing Sonia?”
“I didn’t kiss Sonia. She fucking bombarded me.”
“Yeah, she’s a little crazy. It’s kind of hot.”
“Not really.”
“You think if I let her know I’m into it, she’ll let me fuck her?”
A laugh broke free because Oren said the most random shit that always caught me off guard. I kind of loved it.
“Maybe, man,” I said, patting his back.
“Sweet. Let’s do this promo shit and then head out.”
By the time we finished, I’d figured out the bar Nova was at. I’d had to dig deep in my memories, but a weird-ass painting of a bearded lady caught my eye, and I knew just where they were. I didn’t have faith she’d be there, but I had to try. Taking security with me, I had them go in and look, only to come out with a rueful head shake.
