Chapter 8
He didn’t move as the bike idled on the edge of the road.
We were surrounded by beautiful pine trees and a rising hill on one side, with a cliff that overlooked the city on the opposite.
An incredibly gorgeous view that I was hardly paying any attention to.
I was merely waiting for him to say something or do something.
I thought for a moment that maybe I’d overstepped my bounds. But then he leaned forward and muttered under his breath. “Fuck, Princess.” And he used the hem of his shirt to wipe off my hand and himself.
Squeezing my legs a little tighter against the bike, I pulled away from his touch once I was mostly cleaned up.
Just the way he spoke did something to me, and I liked that nickname better.
No other man had ever created this level of excitement within me.
But I needed to change the subject, distract him or something, before I did something even more idiotic than, well, what I’d done.
Twice now.
“Princess?” I questioned, and he chuckled.
“Yeah, you’re my backpack, my passenger princess.”
I rolled my eyes. Hating how much I liked that I’d been suddenly deemed what felt a more permanent fixture in his life.
“Why are you still here? Aren’t you on tour?” I asked, breaking the thick seduction between us and ignoring what that meant.
“The one you came to was our last for a couple months. We are taking a small break to release a few new songs before we head to the next show on the tour,” he answered breathlessly.
“Oh, that makes sense.”
Slowly, he sat up and lifted the helmet from his head. Brushing his fingers through his gorgeous hair, I watched the earrings dance in the moonlight. He was everything my parents had warned me about. And I think that was why I liked it so much. Or at least one of the reasons.
Killing the engine, he threw the kickstand down and then swung a leg over.
Sitting sideways, he looked at me and then gently reached forward and began undoing the buckle under my chin, while I waited patiently.
He paused and watched me as I pulled my glasses off before gently slipping the helmet over my head.
Everything was blurry as I pushed them back onto my nose and found him smiling softly at me. Hanging it on the other empty handlebar, his gloved fingers were suddenly cupping my cheeks, and his lips crashed against mine.
A simple, passionate kiss. I melted into his velvety taste, ignoring the warning bells igniting in my head as his hands tugged me tighter against his mouth. I curled my fingers into his thigh, deepening the kiss. It wasn’t lustful or greedy; it was merely just a kiss.
My lips stuck to his as he pulled away, lingering on their own before he pressed his forehead against mine.
“That was reckless,” he mumbled against my mouth.
I bit back a smile. “I can hear just how upset you are.”
He chuckled and pecked my lips again.
“I’m a horrible friend,” I whispered as the reality of what just happened settled against my chest. He shook his head.
“No, you’re not.”
“I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be with you.”
“Why does she have to know?”
My heart sank in desperation. I wanted him to say those things. It would give me an excuse for my behavior. For giving in again.
“She wants you.”
“But I don’t want her.”
“You barely know me.” I opened my eyes, and he pulled away, breaking the contact with my forehead.
Dropping his hands, he took a deep breath and looked out toward the city lights twinkling below.
My back pocket began to vibrate as a chill swept through me, not giving me or him time to really process what we were truly saying.
I shivered and pulled my phone from my pants.
“Shit,” I cursed, seeing Sydney’s name.
“Did you just swear?” Asher gasped.
“Shush. It’s her.” I waved a hand in his direction, ignoring his question. He raised an inquisitive brow, and the corner of his lip twitched upwards. I think he liked that I didn’t look as dirty as I could be.
Answering the call, I put the phone to my ear. “Are you ready to come home?”
A drunken giggle was the first reply before she spoke. “Yesss. Megan is passed out, and her hubby is on his way.”
“Okay, make sure your location is on. See you in a bit,” I replied and then ended the call. Asher’s expression fell as I lifted my eyes to him. “I agreed to be their designated driver.”
I was always their designated driver.
He nodded slowly and took a deep breath.
Reaching toward the handlebar, he snagged the helmet off it and stretched it to me.
Too quick of a moment slashed by my own inability to just savor things with him.
It was silent, much left unspoken as I tugged it over my head, replacing my glasses once it was on, and he buckled it up.
Once he was back to straddling the bike with his own safety gear on, I reached forward and wrapped my arms tightly around his waist. I felt air fill his body as he turned the bike on.
Pressing my chest against his back, I closed my eyes.
Disappointed that this adventure was coming to a very unsatisfying and abrupt close.
The engine rumbled, and he carefully merged onto the road, flipping around so we were heading back the way that we came.
I didn’t know what to think. He hadn’t explicitly expressed his desire for me, but it wasn’t like he was hiding it either.
So now we were drowning in the murky water of uncertainty.
Did he actually want to get to know me, or did he simply want me for a different kind of pleasure?
I mean, it wasn’t like we’d talked much.
I couldn’t be upset if the latter was the reason; I hadn’t exactly held back in that department.
No matter what words I’d spoken to him, I doubted he believed them.
My actions had been the opposite. I wanted it to be more than for that reason, but I knew it couldn’t.
I’d already crossed too many lines with him.
With my body pressing tighter against his, he released the handlebar and rested his palm against my thigh. His fingers dug into my leg, brushing his thumb back and forth. We rode in silence, the chill dampened by his body heat.
A tear slipped out, unintentionally, as I closed my eyes, terrified of what was coming.
When with him, I forgot about everything else in the world.
I forgot that he was some famous rock star.
I forgot about Sydney’s claim to him. I forgot that I was a nobody.
I forgot about all that I was hiding. I forgot about all the lies.
But as we cruised closer to home, all that I’d shut out came crashing back in.
My parents would be here next weekend. Along with Danny. Both of them combined were enough to make a girl die from exhaustion, and what was worse was that I was slowly losing my grip on control. If everything wasn’t perfectly in order when my parents came, I would be toast.
And things weren’t. I was hiding something from my best friend, and it was wearing on me. But it was also exciting.
It was more exciting than anything I’d experienced before.
I found it exhilarating to not be the good girl that my parents had always expected me to be while growing up.
Riding on the back of a motorcycle with a man full of red flags at two in the morning was everything my parents hated and more.
I hated how long it had taken me to rebel a little, but I was loving it all too much.
The fact that it would crush Sydney was not lost on me, and I didn’t like that part.
I wished that part didn’t come with this.
It was the control my parents still held over me that I was escaping from that I craved and loved.
I was doing this solely for me. For the first time in my life, I was doing something only for myself.
I loved that my friends accepted me for exactly who I was, introverted and quiet. This escapade wasn’t to ruin that, but this feeling of freedom was intoxicating.
Asher rounded a corner and pulled the motorcycle off to the curb in front of my house. We idled in the driveway for a moment, just soaking things in. Finally, he killed the engine and helped me dismount.
Unbuckling the helmet, I handed it to him as he lifted the visor on his own. Amber eyes watched me intently, a mischievous brow lifted.
“Not again,” I whispered, and he chuckled.
“Right.”
“Goodnight, Asher.”
Sighing, he glanced away from me. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”
I furrowed my brows. “Why wouldn’t it be? Like I said before, this would kill my best friend.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t ask what she wanted.”
My phone began to vibrate once more in my pocket. Slipping it out, I glanced at the text notification. Speaking of Sydney…
“Take care,” I muttered and turned around.
“Cosette!” Asher shouted as I walked up the drive.
I didn’t turn around to face him, feeling so conflicted.
The words that had come out of my mouth hadn’t reflected what I was truly desiring.
Truly wanting. I shocked myself with my ability to tell him no again.
To ignore him shouting my name right before I shut the front door.
To avoid any sort of questions, I needed to change back into the sweatshirt and shorts I had been wearing. And quickly. Sydney was becoming impatient, and I was risking her finding out that I hadn’t been waiting at home like a good best friend.
Another party, another mansion, another two-in-the-morning pick-up.
Parking my car on the roundabout driveway, I stepped out and wrapped the sweatshirt sleeves around my hands.
Rising in front of me was a massive brick house; the double oak doors sat between two large chimneys that were all for show.
Bass thumped inside, the lights bright and flashing.
The house was alive and loud, sitting back on several acres, isolated from the rest of the neighborhood.
Every house I’d driven past was as large and extravagant as this one.
Much like Sydney’s parents’ home. I’d long since become unimpressed by the blatant display of wealth that these types of houses exuded.
Pushing open the intricately designed door, I stepped inside the fancy home.
The foyer held several polished marble statues and a large chandelier hung high above.
Farther into the home, the party’s mess slowly appeared.
Red Solo cups were scattered upon the beautiful, natural stone flooring that sparkled brown and gold.
Wandering through and around so many rooms that held elaborate paintings and more than one grand piano, I followed the chatter and found Sydney leaning drunkenly against Katie.
Tera was giggling with some other boy, as usual, standing beside them.
All three girls hovered around a black bench against the wall beside the ornate kitchen.
Pushing my way through the crowd, I paused as my eyes slid over three figures standing around the fireplace that I shouldn’t have been surprised to see. But I still was. Maybe even more shocked that my friends weren’t bombarding them.
“Sydney!” I shouted, waving at my blissfully drunk friend.
She looked up, flopping her head to one side, and sighed. I approached and tucked my arm around her waist.
Tera took a break from her flirting to catch Katie and leaned in my direction. “She’s a little upset.”
“Upset?” I questioned, and Sydney flopped her head my way. I nearly gagged at the stench of alcohol coating her breath. “Upset is not the word I would use to describe her state.”
Tera hiccuped, tipsy herself. “The Dark Banshee never showed up.”
I shook my head as Sydney groaned, shoving herself off me. “I don’t get why he hasn’t come to any of the recent parties? Like, what’s the point of staying in town if he’s not going to show up with the rest of the band?”
I knew. And I couldn’t speak another lie, so instead, I tried to tug her forward and redirect the conversation. “But you at least went and talked to the other guys, right?”
Tera and Katie snorted at the same time. “You really think we did?” Katie slurred.
This time, I was genuinely confused. “I don’t understand why you guys have never gone and spoken to them. At least once with all the parties you go to.”
Sydney sighed and then shoved off me. “You’re right!” she stated and stomped as quickly as her drunk self could carry her. I chased, attempting to keep her from slamming against other people, all while desperately trying to drag her out of the mansion.
“Sydney, stop!” I gasped, shoving her to the right as she nearly barreled into another partygoer. “Sorry,” I muttered an apology, as she skidded to a stop. Directly in front of the three people leaning against the fireplace mantel. Three people that I’d only had a brief conversation with once.
Sydney shoved through the two girls who were already flirting with them—even though it seemed they were barely paying the girls attention—and placed her hands on her hips. All three men blinked in shock, sliding their gazes from Sydney toward me. I closed my eyes and groaned internally.