Chapter 22
The urge to pace or scream or curl up in a ball all gripped her, but Skylar couldn’t figure out which one to do first, so she just stood in the college’s music room with her head pounding.
“Notebooks,” she finally muttered. One counselor had suggested outlets, and it worked. Worst case, she could rip the damn thing apart. Only her hands were empty. “Did you grab one?”
Mandy was studying her with that look that Skylar hated.
“What?” Skylar snapped.
Mandy dug into the bag she carried and withdrew a notebook, but she didn’t release it, even after Skylar tugged on its edges. “We should talk,” Mandy said.
“No.” Skylar let go. “We really shouldn’t.” Her heartbeat competed with the pounding in her head.
“Skylar, I—”
“Shut up!” Guilt filled Skylar when Mandy flinched. “Shit, no, I know you want to help or something, but not right now, okay? I need some time alone.” She could still feel his hands on her shoulders. Her arms crossed as she clutched at herself, and her breath hitched. “Can you go away?”
Mandy hesitated. “Yes, all right.” She crossed toward the door, placing the notebook on the music stand nearby. Her hand gripped the straps of her bag as she stared at the frosted glass in the door with the word ‘music’ reflected backward from inside the practice space. “There are options, Skylar. We should talk through them when you’re ready.”
Skylar’s throat was too tight to respond. The door closed behind her manager, leaving the room extra silent with its muffled walls.
Mandy had been there to see and to hear. Probably that orgasm comment too.
“Fuck!” Skylar screamed, stumbling back the step it took to press herself against the wall. She slid down it as her breath didn’t return from the scream. Hands dug her shoulders into the floor. No, she wasn’t lying down. It was only her mind fucking with her again. Her arms curled around her legs, aching with how tightly they gripped. She couldn’t breathe. Her head slumped forward as the voices all jumbled in her mind.
Sorcha’s laughter.
The different grunts and moans each guy made when they ejaculated inside her.
“Stop squirming, you fucking slut!”
“I’ll hold her legs wider so you can lick her.”
“She’s so wet she’s dripping now. Or is that your nasty cum?”
“Pinch her clit and she’ll milk you like she did me.”
More laughter and grunting and her own pathetic voice asking them to stop, to let her up, and then just the word no over and over, though maybe that was only in her head.
Skylar stared at the carpet where she’d slumped over as the echoes inside her finally faded. Her panting had slowed into shallow but even breaths. Her heart and head continued to pound in a rhythm she could feel under her skin. She tried to not think.
Not thinking was always the problem. Her eyes shifted listlessly around the music room. Last time she’d been there, Damon had been with her, practicing his song. The notes he’d repeated began to fill her ears despite the quiet. Her throat was still too tight to sing the words. Instead, a humming slid out of her as she lost herself in the sappy melody.
Damon waited impatiently for the elevator doors to slide open. He’d felt anxious since leaving Erin’s house. It really was silly, missing Skylar after less than a day.
Seeing Mandy made hope simmer inside him. Skylar’s manager was stepping back from Jimmy, extricating her arm from him with a frown.
“I won’t change my mind,” she told his manager.
Damon stepped off the elevator. “Everything all right?”
Jimmy ran his hand through his hair as he turned toward him. “Fine. How was Erin?”
“Too willing to share, like usual. You know my sister.” Damon shrugged. “I gave you the night off, Jimmy. Something up?”
“Just wanted to talk to Mandy about the videos. Skylar nailed it, didn’t she?” Jimmy glanced at Skylar’s manager again, his smile falling as she stared back at him over her glasses.
“Indeed,” she agreed, but the word didn’t sound happy.
“If you’re turning in, Dame, I’ll head out.” Jimmy gestured toward the elevator. “Coming along, Ms. Perfect Manager?”
Mandy shook her head. “Skylar asked me to pick up a few things.”
Damon’s slim hope died. That meant she wasn’t there.
Jimmy slapped his shoulder as he passed. “Told you breakfast this morning was too cutesy for a rock star like her. Text me if you need anything.” Damon watched him jab the elevator button.
Damon turned back to Skylar’s button-downed manager. “You said you were picking up a few things. Does that mean Skylar’s pulling an all-nighter at the college?”
Mandy watched the elevator doors close behind Jimmy before she focused her gaze on him. “I lied.”
Damon glanced at the closed bedroom door. “So she’s here? Why’d you lie about that?” He remembered Jimmy’s crush. “Oh, was my manager too interested? He’s a big fan of hers, but I’ll talk to him.”
“No, you were correct about her working at the college. I lied about her sending me here to pick up a few things. I came here to talk to you, Mr. Lynch.”
Being called that reminded him of his father. He stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. “You can call me Damon.” Her eyes studying him behind those glasses made him squirm. “So, what’s up? Why did you want to talk to me?”
She folded her arms, the fingers of one hand tapping her elbow. “That video you warned me about. The one of you and Skylar having intercourse in the hotel gym. Why did you tell me about it but not your manager?”
Damon flushed at the reminder that he’d made an accidental sex tape. “It seemed like you’d take care of it.”
“Is that the only reason?”
It flustered Damon to think of their physical activities being captured on film, but he’d been more worried Skylar’s panic attack had been caught on tape. He frowned at her manager. “You said the video didn’t show much.”
“Another lie. Fortunately, the hotel seems to have been honest in that being their only copy. Unfortunately, there’s a very clear view of the entire gym. Which included your performance and the panic attack that occurred before it.” Her lips pressed together. “I appreciate your discretion.”
“It’s not that Jimmy would blab or anything. I just thought Skylar wouldn’t want anyone to know. It’s got to be hard enough on her.”
“Skylar is more private than the media paints. It’s good that you’ve realized that, if you’re considering a real relationship with her.” Mandy’s arms loosened, and some of the tension left her face, though she didn’t smile. “I think you’d be good for her. You’re very sincere, Damon, and your reputation for being sweet also seems to be true.”
Damon’s shoulders hunched. “You can say it. I’m not much of a rock star, am I?”
“I wouldn’t say that at all. Despite what Skylar might have said, she’s followed your career rather closely.” Mandy cleared her throat. “Actually, depending on your answer about the video, I was going to request that you grant me a favor.”
Damon’s anxiety returned. “Is this really for Skylar?”
“I—” For once Skylar’s manager looked uncertain of herself. She pressed her lips together before trying again. “I can’t disclose why, but today was a difficult day for her. Would you look in on her at the college’s music room?”
Damon was already moving to jab at the elevator. “And there wasn’t anything you need me to take to her?” he asked, annoyed when the elevator didn’t immediately ding.
“Only you, Mr. Sweetface.” Her lips lifted in a tremulous smile when his eyes widened at the use of Skylar’s nickname. “Sorry, that was less than professional of me.”
“No problem.” Damon ignored the heat in his cheeks when the ding finally came and he stepped on. “Thanks for telling me.” He jabbed at the button for the lobby.
“No, thank you. Oh, and the limo is waiting to take you there.”
He nodded as the doors began to slide shut again. Mandy’s trembling lips didn’t allow her smile to hold. As he lost sight of her, he thought he heard a slight sob but hoped he was wrong. Skylar’s manager wasn’t the emotional sort.
He prayed for the elevator to move faster.