Bits of plastic and metal went flying. The party stopped; the silence seemed to hum. The splashing in the pool, the conversation, the couple dancing way too close to each on the diving board, all of it paused. All heads turned to me.
I gulped, pulse racing.
Oh shit. I'd gone too far.
Way too far.
Ethan
ONE MINUTE I'D BEEN dancing, belly to belly with that hot chick on the diving board, the two of us grasping each other tightly so we didn't plummet into the water. She giggled and gyrated against me, all sexy moves, and nothing else mattered in this world.
The next minute the music stopped and a crazy chick with a baseball bat stood next to our broken stereo.
I pulled away from my dance partner and stared, not comprehending.
She'd smashed it?
My ears rang from the silence, or maybe that was the cicadas. Other than that, it was only quiet murmurings and the water lapping against the side of the pool. Everyone stared at the chick but she stood with her face in a snarl as though daring anyone to question her. I'd do more than question. You didn't walk into one of my parties and start smashing shit up.
"Just a minute, hon." I got off that diving board and walked around the pool.
The crazy chick started to walk off but I picked up my pace and grabbed her by the arm.
"What was that about?" I asked her.
"The party's over. Time to sleep," she said.
She looked me over like she wasn't impressed with what she saw. That just proved her craziness. No one looked at me like that. No one. Ever.
"The party isn't over until I say it's over."
She scowled at me and I scowled back. A beam of pure hatred radiated from her eyes making me wonder if we should've organized more security for this party. There were crazies everywhere. People who hated our music and took it personally or people who wanted attention. Mostly they never got near us but we'd let our guard down since we'd come to this hick town.
The silence stretched out, almost as painful as her death glare.
I spun around, searching out the crew amongst the crowd by the pool, and yelled. "Can someone fix the stereo?"
We'd get the music back on and get this chick thrown out of here. There'd been a cop here. Some local dude. Where'd he gone?
The crazy chick put her hands on her hips. "Do you have any idea what time it is? Some of us have to get up for work in the morning."
I blinked. She sounded like an old lady not someone in their twenties. I had no idea of the time but wasn't even really dark yet so it couldn't be that late. And anyway, this was a party.
"So, wear earplugs," I told her.
"I did. Didn't help. Not with the racket you were making."
This woman barely came up to my armpit but she glared at me with all the feistiness she could muster, like one of those small but vicious dogs.
I checked my watch. It was only eleven. Not even after midnight. This might be a small town but surely it wasn't that old fashioned. I almost laughed. Complaining about a bit of party noise at eleven o'clock. This chick surely wasn't that uptight.
"The cop said the noise was okay," I told her.
"Yeah well, Murphy's a dick."
I tried not to grin at that. The dude really seemed like a bit of a dick. Small town cop all jumped up with his small amount of power. Meanwhile, Murphy hustled himself over to join us.
"Sophie, that was going a bit overboard," he said.
She huffed and the cop turned to me.
"Sophie here has an early start tomorrow," he said. "She's the local florist and has to head to the flower market in the city to get her stock. Pink Petals is a local institution."
My lips curled into a grin.
"Pink Petals," I repeated. I looked Sophie up and down. "I'd like to see your pink petals, hon."
I wasn't sure if she reddened from angry or embarrassment but a blush definitely covered her face, spreading right down the neckline of that skimpy little top. What did she expect with a business name like that? Pink Petals. Sounded more like a brothel than a florist to me but this chick looked like no brothel madam. That surly expression would drive business away.
"Damn rock stars coming into town and turning it into some kind of hell hole. People are trying to live normal lives around here."
"Well, I don't see anyone else complaining."
Her grip twitched on that baseball bat. I stared at her hand, wondering what she'd do next. I could take her on but even if she had a weapon, fighting a woman wasn't something I did. But then news headlines tomorrow that I'd been beaten up by a tiny, little woman wouldn't exactly be good for my image either.
She inhaled, as though trying to take control of herself. It'd be a smart move to watch my mouth. She might be small but she'd made short work of the stereo.
"Come on, come on," the cop said. "I'm sure we can work this out."
"I think I just did," Sophie replied. "No stereo, no music, so you can all go to bed and give me some peace and quiet."
I turned back to the party. "Can someone fix the damn stereo?"
"No can do," one of the crew guys hollered back. "It's totally fucked."
The grin that spread over her face fueled my determination to get music playing one way or another. I took my phone out of my pocket and hooked it up to the speakers but the tinny sound that came out made me turn it off real fast.
Bitch. Damn bitch.
We could drive one of the cars around and use the car stereo. That worked when I was sixteen.
"Don't even think of putting that noise back on," Sophie said.
While I'd been playing with the stereo, Miles joined us. He'd be able to deal with this. He had a way with chicks like her. He could do that reasonable, good mannered thing that worked like a charm.
"Anything I can help with?" he asked.
"Just finish up," Sophie said. "You've had your fun but it's late and I really want to sleep."
I'd missed it in my first glance but she had unicorns on her feet. Unicorns, all fluffy and rainbow-colored. That didn't go with the demon glare and the random violence. She might act all tough chick but those unicorns were cute as hell.
While I stared at her feet, people began leaving.
Damn it. That meant she won.
"Sure thing," Miles said. "We'll sort this out for you."
Huh?
I shook my head. No. Not sure thing. She'd ruined my party. My legendary party that people would talk about for years to come. Now they'd talk about the way she'd smashed the stereo with that bat. Damn Ruff, I bet he'd been the one who'd left it sitting around.
"We have a right to have guests visit," I said. "It's not even that late."
"We have to get along with the neighbors," Miles said.
"We are getting along with most of them, just not this unicorn footed bitch."
I ran my hand through my hair trying to work out how to get her out of here before everyone went home. Without that surly mouth, she might be cute. Not pretty, not beautiful but definitely cute. But she obviously had a personality that could cut a man to ribbons. Every cell in my body said to stay well away from her.
Well, nearly every cell. There were a few downstairs responding to her in a whole other way. And, damn it, I didn't want to respond to her at all.
The chick got talking to the cop, taking him aside so I couldn't hear them.
"She's the one," Miles whispered to me.
"The one? The one who's the fun police you mean?"
Surely Miles didn't have a thing for her. Not her. Not the bitch who ruined my party. He'd start dating her and I'd have to put up with her being around constantly. Nagging and bitching. He'd end up as boring and batshit as her and I'd have no drinking buddy at all.
"The bet." Miles grinned.
It took me a minute. Then I remembered that stupid bet.
I backed away from him. "Nope. No way. Just no."
He couldn't be serious. That chick wasn't even at the party. T
echnically.
"My choice. That was the deal." A smug smile crept over his face while Sophie's hand still twitched on that baseball bat.
"Have I ever told you I hate you?" I asked Miles.
"About fifty times a day since I met you," he replied.
Before I could argue my case any further, Sophie pushed between us.
"Stop talking about me like I'm not here," she said. "Get these people cleared out and while you're at it, clean up the mess around this pool."
No way. She did not say that. That little Muppet would not act like she was my mother.
I opened my mouth ready to let her know exactly how I felt about her and her orders, but the cop intervened.
"There's a bar on the outskirts of town. It's open all hours. If you move the party out there then everyone will be happy. So long as no one's driving over the limit, I'm happy too. It's a win-win."
I grimaced. It wouldn't be a win for me. Everyone at this party saw me front up to her and now they'd see me having to back down. I wanted my party and I wanted it on my terms.
"Sounds good to me," said Miles, grinning at the cop.
"Wait. No."
But Miles had called out that the party was moving and people gathered up their stuff.
"I'm happy with that," Sophie said. "I'm glad we could reach a reasonable compromise."
It was only when she walked away, I noticed the shapely legs attached to the unicorn slippers. For a killjoy, she wore some skimpy little shorts that had me imagining all kinds of pleasures.
I shook those thoughts right out of my head. I would never go there. No matter how great the legs and no matter what Miles said about the bet. She might have her charms but a woman with a mouth like that was nothing but trouble. Trouble I didn't need. The chick in the string bikini, she'd been my type. All curves and willingness.
I had to give her one last look before she left though. She still had the bat in her hand.
"Hey, Unicorn Feet," I called after her. "That's our baseball bat. You can't steal it. We have law enforcement officers here to stop that kind of thing."
She didn't even turn, but dropped the bat and kept walking.
Damn her. Just damn her.
"The bet is off," I said to Miles. "You finished up the party early so the conditions weren't met."
"Too big a challenge for you, huh?"
"Nope, not at all. Miss Pink Petals Unicorn Feet would be begging me for it in an instant if I wanted her to. But she's gone home to bed -- alone, like she will be for the rest of her life -- and we're heading to this bar so it's not happening."
"I'll give you a week."
"A week?"
"Since the party's been called off, a week seems reasonable. And I wouldn't want to bother our new friend with you trying to seduce her tonight. But, buddy, she was at the party and I picked her for you and that is well within the conditions. You should thank me for the extra time."
Bastard. I'd get out of this, one way or the other. And I'd get out of it without giving up my Fender. But I'd worry about that tomorrow. First up, we needed to get to this bar. There were a lot of lovely ladies I needed to spend time with.
Just where had Miss String Bikini gone anyway?
Ethan
WHAT THE HELL HAD I done last night? Another morning with a throbbing head and a mouthful of cotton wool. The older I got, the worse the hangovers. Maybe I should be more like Miles, pacing myself and hydrating, but that was no rock star lifestyle. Work hard, party hard had always been my motto. I just wished partying hard didn't come with consequences.
I reached out for the girl beside me. A quick morning shag was the best hangover cure of them all.
Huh? Empty bed?
If she'd snuck out during the night, I hoped she hadn't souvenired anything. Last time that happened, I'd had to refresh my entire underwear supply. There hadn't been a single pair of jocks left.
I reached out again. The details of the night were all fuzzy but I had flashes of dirty dancing with at least one of those babes and dirty dancing usually led to horizontal dirty dancing.
The sheets were tucked in tight on that side of the bed.
I'd slept alone?
The pillows didn't even hold a trace of perfume. I'd definitely slept alone. How drunk had I been?
I got up and opened the bar fridge. Beer or orange juice were my only options. I grabbed the juice and chugged it down. Food could come later when my stomach settled. A burger or something. I never worried about what I ate.
Gregor, our drummer, had moved a full-sized fridge into his room along with a hot plate and mini oven. Hell knows why. The guy mainly lived on protein shakes. He worked way too hard on his body. At least I never had to go to those extremes. So long as I hit the gym a few times a week and took it easy on the beers, I managed just fine.
More than fine according to fan reports. Voted hottest body in rock three years in a row. Take that, Gregor.
We were laying down guitar tracks today but I couldn't remember the exact details so figured I should head to the recording studio. If they didn't need me, I'd come back to the motel and swim a few laps of that pool. That'd get the cobwebs out of my head.
By the time I showered and dressed, there was no sign of the other guys. I jumped in my car and drove over. The studio was close enough to walk but I didn't want to deal with people until my head cleared. I had a reputation to keep, after all. There were already a couple of girls near the motel entrance trying to look like they were casually sauntering by.
What the hell had happened last night? I kept trying to piece it all together.
I remembered getting to the bar and sitting in the corner sulking. I hated to lose and I'd most definitely been bested by that little chick. Just thinking about her unicorn slippers brought a smile to my face, and I didn't want to smile thinking about her.
If I'd done anything stupid, Miles would definitely fill me in on it. That made me almost not want to go to the studio. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. But no point chickening out. Miles would have his say eventually.
When I arrived, I slipped into the sound booth and watched Miles play. The two of us might be dead opposites when it came to personalities but we melded perfectly when it came to music. That's what made us so great.
Watching Miles made me happy, in a totally manly, fellow artist kind of way. He was close to genius level on that guitar.
Gregor and Ruff hung out by the sound desk but they were too engrossed in their conversation to give me more than a token nod. Something to do with gaming. I'd never really got into that so I ignored them.
Billy sat at the sound desk, headphones on. I sprawled next to him, foot up on my knee.
After a while, Billy paused.
"You guys probably wouldn't be interested but there's a festival happening soon to raise money to build a local community center..."
I didn't want to be rude. Billy was a great guy and all, but a hick town festival wasn't our kind of thing. We didn't play for free unless it was a high-profile event. I didn't want to refuse outright and cause an issue, though.
"You'll have to take it up with our management," I told him. "They handle that."
Billy shrugged. "Just thought I'd ask." He turned back to the sound desk.
Miles ran through another song.
"Sorry. That was shit." He took his headphones off. "Let's try it again."
"Didn't sound like shit to me." Ruff spoke to no one in particular. But then Ruff had no idea.
Miles was a perfectionist. He'd never be happy with something half-assed no matter how long it took.
"If I'm not needed, I'll head back to the hotel." As much as I loved Miles' playing, listening to him to go over the same song a hundred times wasn't my thing.
"Wait around, we're about to have a break," Billy said.
"Hey, Ethan." Miles walked through the door from the sound booth. "I thought you'd be getting a head start on the romancing today."
"Huh?" I spun around in my chair to f
ace him with no idea what he was talking about.
"We had a bet, dude. You and that girl from the party."
It all rushed back to me now. Miles suggesting that stupid bet. But hell no. I planted my feet firmly on the ground. I'd argue this with him and make him see sense.
"Our bet," he repeated.
Miles' sneaky grinned made my stomach lurch. He joked, surely. I wouldn't, couldn't agree to something like that.
"Our non-bet. I never agreed to it. Especially with someone like her."
Then he laughed. "You agreed around about 4 am. You said no woman, not a single woman on this planet could resist you. And if someone acted all uptight and bitchy, it was just because she was repressing her feelings for you."
Those words did seem vaguely familiar but it didn't matter. He couldn't hold me to it.
"A bet made under the influence doesn't count."
"You said you'd say that today but not to let you out of it." Ruff got a bit of paper out of his pocket and smoothed it. "You even wrote that."
It was my handwriting, even if it did look written by a five-year-old. Sometimes, after a few drinks, I could be a bit of an idiot.
"I might've said that, I might even have written that, but I was drunk."
The three of them stared at me. Okay, maybe a lot of an idiot.
"Turn the paper over," Ruff said.
On the back, I'd written more. That I'd give Miles my Fender if I tried to call this off.
But they couldn't enforce that.
The three faces staring at me said different. Three against one wasn't fair, and I knew what this was about. Musos versus hot lead singer who gets all the chicks. They might be my bandmates, they might be my friends, but the bottom line was they hated me for that.
"You know this is wrong?" I said. "You can't just seduce a woman to win a bet. It's degrading her. It's objectifying her. It's all those things women hate. And it's going to break her heart. Women, even crazy ones with baseball bats and unicorn slippers, are people too. People with feelings."
"So, be honest with her," Gregor said. "Tell her you're here for a good time, not a long time. After all, you're the hottest rock star on the planet."
I raised my eyebrows.
Rock Mayhem: 8 Complete Rock Star Romance Novels Page 86
