Melanie folded her arms over her chest. “Senator Warner has put all three of your names on the guest list, and Piper and I chose three dancers to attend as your plus ones.”
Drew’s ears perked up as he pictured Lola lying across from him in the night playing a simple card game.
“Drew.” Melanie flicked him on the side of the head. “Are you even listening to me?”
“What?” All four of them looked to him expectantly like they’d asked him a question. “Yeah, sure, sounds great.”
“Idiot.” Noah coughed out the word.
Piper held in a laugh, but Melanie soldiered on. “Perfect, then you will meet Brooke down in the lobby at six.”
He shot up in his seat. “Wait, what?”
“Should have been listening to her, dude.” Jo smirked. “Noah already claimed the good date.”
“I’m so confused right now.”
Melanie sighed. “Anyone care to tell Mr. Daydream here what we’ve been talking about?”
Piper patted his shoulder. “Melanie chose which dancers will accompany you guys to the fundraiser. I’d be your plus one myself, but I’d rather stab a fork into my eyes than do that.”
“Ouch, Pipes. Harsh.” Noah lifted a hand for a high five, but Piper ignored him.
“We want Nolan accompanying Jo,” Piper continued. “And Brooke and Lola are now your most recognizable dancers. They’ve already agreed to go. Noah says he’ll poison everyone at the event if he has to go with Brooke, so Lola will be his date.” She sent Noah a pointed glare. “Which leaves you with—”
“Brooke.” He’d thought tonight would be bad enough with the tuxes and having to perform on his own, but now… “Fine.” He’d have given everything in that moment to switch dates with Noah, to walk into the ballroom with Lola on his arm. But these were the very people who could never know about the night before.
He didn’t need Piper’s disappointment or Melanie’s “fix-it mode.” Jo would only laugh, but Noah would give him a punch-worthy smirk.
Keeping his secret was a much better option. It was something only for him, only for Lola. No one else had to know his fingers itched to feel her skin, his lips burned for her kiss.
What was wrong with him? He’d told himself he hadn’t broken his rule the night before, but the rule wasn’t only about sex. He avoided all complications on tour, anything that could take his focus off his job.
And Lola… well, she was one giant complication.
Because when she kissed him, he didn’t want her to stop.
Melanie snapped her fingers in front of his face, bringing him from his own thoughts.
“Sorry.”
She shook her head. “If you weren’t so… you, I’d throw you out the window.”
“Um, thanks? I think.” He looked to Noah. “Was that a compliment?”
Noah shrugged. “Probably. Gotta read between the Mel lines.”
“Boys, will you shut up?” Melanie huffed out a breath. “I will be at the fundraiser tonight, but you will arrive without me. Your tuxes will be sent to your rooms. I’ve already had my local girl picking them out along with ballgowns for the ladies.”
“Wait, how do you know their sizes?” Noah leaned forward.
She rolled her eyes. “It was a very complicated calculation based on what I estimated their waistlines were when I looked at them.”
“Really?”
“No. I asked them.” She turned to Piper. “Make sure they’re in the lobby by six. I’m having a car pick them up.”
Piper nodded. “They’ll be there if I have to hog-tie them and throw them over my shoulders.”
Noah shot Drew a grin. “Your assistant says the nicest things.”
Drew stood. “If you had an assistant, you could be hog-tied too.”
“Why do I need my own when I have yours?” He got to his feet and pressed a kiss to Piper’s cheek. “See all you yanks later.”
They watched him saunter out the door before Jo groaned. “Does he realize the meeting isn’t over yet?”
Melanie glanced toward the door. “He’s…”
“Yeah.” Drew and Jo said at the same time.
Piper sat in Noah’s vacated seat. “Okay, let’s go over the next leg of the tour. We only have a few more weeks left with Noah and Jo, so we’ll make it count.”
Those words made something inside Drew tighten with dread. He hated the idea of finishing up the tour without his friends. A new singer would come on in their place, but it wasn’t the same. Noah and Jo made him feel like he wasn’t alone in this.
And soon, he would be.
24
Lola
Lola didn’t recognize herself. She stared at the woman in the mirror seeing only a stranger. A sleek sky blue gown hugged curves that were normally hidden behind big t-shirts and sweatpants. It shimmered when she moved, and she couldn’t take her eyes from the way the skirt swayed along her legs as she tilted her hips. The slit reached her mid-thigh, leaving much more skin bare than she was used to.
It was like a prom dress on steroids, and she hadn’t even gone to her senior prom. That night wasn’t one she liked to think about. It was less than two years ago, and Asher had asked her to go with him. Last minute, Henley Perkins dumped her jock boyfriend days before the dance and set her sights on Asher instead.
So, as it always happened when Asher got into a relationship, Lola was left to her own devices. Those devices included bingeing Netflix with her mom and eating tacos.
She ran a hand through her shiny, dark hair, straightened to perfection. Even her makeup looked professionally done.
All thanks to her passive-aggressive roommate, Brooke.
The blonde stood next to Lola in the mirror, surveying her pale pink dress that dipped down low in the front. “Melanie knows me. This is perfect.”
Lola wished she felt as comfortable dressed up as Brooke. Instead, it made her feel like someone else.
Brooke looked sideways at her. “It’s a good idea you let me do your hair and makeup. Couldn’t have you walking in next to me looking like, well, you.”
Lola had only ever had one good female friend close to her age, and she wasn’t even sure if they were friends or just friends adjacent since Nora was Asher’s sister. But one thing was for sure. Nora, with all her fashion tips, never made Lola feel like she had to be anyone else to be beautiful.
Stepping around Brooke, Lola escaped the bathroom, feeling like she could finally breathe again without her roommate sucking up all the oxygen.
She fumbled with her phone on the TV cabinet, unplugging it before dialing a familiar number. Nora picked up on the second ring.
“How is my favorite dancer?” Nora asked.
“I heard that,” Penny yelled from the background. “Your sister is supposed to be your favorite.”
Nora laughed and lowered her voice. “That’s what she thinks.”
“Nora,” Lola choked out, trying her best not to hyperventilate in this dress. Why had she told Piper she’d go to this stupid ball anyway?
“Hey, what’s wrong? I’m going to FaceTime you.”
Before Lola could protest, Nora’s request to FaceTime came through. She answered it, so relieved to see a familiar face she didn’t consider her appearance.
“Lola.” Nora gasped, a hand coming up to cover her mouth.
Lola looked down at the dress she now felt completely ridiculous in. She brought the phone closer so Nora could only see her face with the ridiculous makeup and her ridiculous hair. Why did she think this was a good idea? “I know. I look stupid.”
Nora shook her head and dropped her hand. “You look stunning, Lo. I’m just surprised is all. I expected to find you in one of Asher’s ratty old shirts and leggings. But this… I want to be you when I grow up.”
Lola laughed despite herself. That idea was nuts. Nora had inherited the same good looks as her brothers. She’d never needed anyone else to dress her up to look incredible. “You’re only a year younger than me.”<
br />
“So? I can still want to be you. What’s with all the glam? Not that I don’t approve.”
“There’s a ball, a fundraiser put on by some senator your brother knows.”
“And he’s taking you?” A smile slid across her face.
Lola’s cheeks heated as she thought back to their kiss, kisses, and their night of playing games and sharing secrets. “No. Melanie asked me to be Noah’s date.”
Nora’s eyes widened. “Oh, swoon. That boy… Drew wouldn’t let me anywhere near him on my own when they were in town, but what I wouldn’t do…”
“Do what?” Asher appeared behind her, glancing at the phone. “Hey, Lo.” He looked away for only a moment before his gaze jerked back to her. “What? You look… different.”
Her shoulders dropped. Different. She shoved all her old feelings away. Her feelings for him were complicated but based entirely on their friendship. With Drew, it was something else entirely, and she couldn’t put a finger on the exact difference.
All she’d wanted was to know he wouldn’t leave her.
She twisted her lips into a wry smile. “Yeah, well, different is good tonight. Melanie and Piper shoved me into a dress that’s way too revealing so I could look good on Noah Clarke’s arm.”
“You’d look good on his arm no matter what you wore.” Good, sweet, naïve Nora with her ready compliments. Lola wished she was here with her instead of Brooke.
As she looked at Asher, her secrets rested on the tip of her tongue. I kissed your brother, she wanted to scream. See? You have no hold over me. And yet, she knew those words would hurt him, that he may not love her, but he wanted to be loved by her.
How twisted was it she couldn’t take that away from him?
Nora shoved Asher away. “She called to talk to me, doofus.” A door slammed, and Nora flipped on a light. “We’re in my room now. So, why did you really call? You didn’t need me to tell you how good you looked.”
Lola sat on the corner of her bed. “I don’t really know.” Everything on this tour was moving too fast, as if life wouldn’t slow down long enough for her to understand any of it.
“Uh oh.” Nora grinned. “I know that look. There’s a guy, isn’t there? Please tell me it’s Noah Clarke.”
Lola glanced toward the bathroom to make sure Brooke was still in there. She tried to run a hand through her hair before remembering the ungodly amounts of hairspray. Pulling the phone closer, she dropped her voice. “I may have kissed someone.”
Nora’s squeal could have woken the dead.
Brooke walked into the room, her permanent scowl in place. She glanced at the phone. “Who just yelled?”
Trying to paste a calm look on her face, Lola held up the phone. “My friend from home.” She didn’t say Nora’s name because Brooke would know she meant Drew’s sister, and Lola didn’t need the dancers claiming she had any more advantage than she did.
But did she have an advantage?
When she’d shown up at Drew’s door, she’d known he’d kiss her back, that she was giving them something they both wanted. Wasn’t that the definition of unfair advantage?
Brooke pursed her lips. “Well, say goodbye. We need to get down to the lobby for our dates. I’ll meet you in the hall.” With that, she walked away.
“Ugh, was that Brooke?” Nora asked. “I’ve never met her, but from what Drew says, I don’t want to.”
“She’s my roommate.” Lola mimed puking.
Nora giggled. “Well, I’ll let you get to your date. Kiss Noah again so I can live through you.” She flashed a final grin before hanging up.
Lola released a breath. She hadn’t lied to Nora exactly. But what would Nora have said if Lola admitted it was her brother she’d kissed? Would she have been as excited?
Would she have told Asher?
Lola didn’t have a purse she could use with the dress, so she left her phone on the table and slipped a room key into the pocket of her coat before sliding her arms through the sleeves. With one final glance, she shut the door behind her. Brooke, surprisingly, waited by the elevators.
Maybe even girls like her didn’t want to arrive alone.
They rode the elevator down in silence. When it dinged, and the door slid open, Lola sucked in a deep breath and met Brooke’s eyes. For once, they were in this together, two girls who had no business going to a senator’s fundraising ball wearing gowns they couldn’t have afforded themselves.
They walked across the soft white marble to where a mahogany table sat under the weight of a giant vase filled with white and pink roses. Noah and Drew wore matching tuxedos that somehow made them both seem taller, broader, as if they held more authority.
Jo stood beside them in a white dress that didn’t look altogether odd with her pink tipped hair. It billowed out at the waist. Beside her, Nolan adjusted the sleeves of his tux, looking wholly uncomfortable.
Noah saw Lola first, and a grin spread across his handsome face. He pulled a long-stemmed rose from the vase and approached. “Ladies.” The soft purr of his accent was enough to make anyone’s blood rise. Lola knew what Nora saw in him with his contradictory soft eyes and wicked smile. He bowed, extending the rose to Lola. “A rose for a rose.”
Brooke giggled as Lola took the rose and uttered a soft “thank you.” Fear coursed through her, keeping her from lifting her eyes to the man she was sure had seen her by now. They hadn’t spoken since she left him sleeping. Tension sizzled around them, but no one else seemed to notice.
Noah pressed a soft kiss to the back of her hand before offering her his arm. “Our chariot awaits.”
Without looking at him, Lola sensed Drew near. He reached Brooke. “Shall we?”
Lola let her eyes drink him in. The tuxedo fit him like he’d been born to wear it, the stark black matching the darkness in his gaze when his eyes met hers.
The air sparked between them, but that was probably just her overactive imagination. She couldn’t keep the thoughts from her expression as her eyes shot to his lips, lips she now knew the feel of. His hands, hands that had held her.
What would it be like to be loved by Drew Stone? She’d once wondered that of Asher, but it wasn’t the same. Asher would have drowned her, and she’d have let him.
But Drew… something told her he’d let her live, truly live.
Noah cleared his throat, and Lola took his arm. He leaned in. “You look lovely tonight.”
“Thanks. You’re very dapper yourself.”
“Well, dapper is what I’ve always aimed for.” He smiled. “Just like my roguish charm.”
She laughed, and for the first time, she thought tonight might be fun. Noah had become a sort of friend over the last few weeks, ever since their disastrous dancing. He had an uncanny ability to make her laugh even while wearing too-high heels she’d probably trip in at some point.
Three black town cars waited near the valet out front. One for each couple.
Nolan shot her a wink before climbing in behind Jo.
Lola followed Noah into the backseat. Her leg bounced the entire ride.
By the time they reached the venue, nerves raced through her.
Noah clasped her hand. “Hey, it’ll be okay. It’s just a fundraiser.”
She wished the fundraiser was the only thing making her nervous. She wished she could walk inside and laugh and dance.
But what she hadn’t considered the night she walked to Drew’s room, the night she changed everything between them, was that there was no going back.
They weren’t merely a rock star and his dancer, not when he bore the last name Stone. Not when his family was hers and his brother…
She sighed as the driver opened her door.
The biggest problem wasn’t that she wanted to take it back, the kisses, the feel of his hands on her.
It was that she wanted to do it all again.
25
Drew
Fundraisers weren’t a new thing to Drew Stone. He received many requests every year to perform
. If he could, he’d accept them all, but his schedule allowed for few events outside of his tours. This tour wasn’t like any he’d done before. It was the first time he had enormous leverage with the label, in part because Noah and Jo shared the tour, and the three of them together were able to make demands.
No sleeping on busses for the stars or their crews.
Frequent days off between some tour stops.
Fewer press events.
And no other event not approved by them.
This fundraiser for children’s health was one such event. Senator Warner approached Drew about it before the tour when they’d both been in L.A. Drew had known the man for years as they crossed paths at many such balls or dinners. They were even friends of a sort.
And Drew couldn’t say no.
It was only a few weeks ago the senator called to say his musical act dropped out, and he needed Drew to be more than a guest.
So now, here he was dressed up like a penguin with Brooke on his arm. He glanced behind him to where Noah and Lola walked up the path lit only by spotlights in the trees. She looked incredible tonight, and he hadn’t gotten the chance to tell her. Then again, Lola Ramirez looked good in anything she wore.
Brooke was saying something, but Drew barely heard her as they stepped through the open double doors into a red-carpeted foyer. A spiral staircase wound to the upper level with gleaming wooden banisters draped in gauzy white fabric.
Beyond the staircase, music poured from the hall. A man in a white suit walked toward them with a clipboard. “Names?”
Drew lifted an eyebrow. It wasn’t often he wasn’t recognized, especially when Jo was there with her distinguishable hair. “Drew Stone, Noah Clarke, and Jo Jackson.” Brooke, Lola, and Nolan wouldn’t have their names on the list other than as plus ones.
Love is a Dance Step (Rockstars Anonymous) Page 18
