Chapter Thirteen #2
Rob laughs. “Your manager has spunk, guys. I like her. We’ll work well together. You obviously have the band’s best interest at heart, and that’s a good thing. Well done, Miss Everly.”
Sia scoffs, and Dingo chuckles. “Excuse me, that’s Mrs. Everly, not Miss. I’m married, don’t you know!” She shoves her left hand in his face, her wedding band and engagement ring in line with his eyes.
He chuckles. “Excuse me. Sorry, Mrs. Everly.”
“Wait, how did you know my surname?” Sia asks, creasing her brows.
“That’s part of my job to know as much as possible about you all. I know that’s Anna Soulding and Deliah Norman sitting over there. And I know your husband’s real name is Rupert, not Dingo.”
I can’t help myself as I burst out laughing. Everyone turns to look at me, and I instantly stop and bite my lip, holding back more laughter. “Sorry.” I look down at the floor.
“What’s funny, Miss Norman?” Rob asks, and I feel intimidated immediately.
“Um… sorry, it’s nothing,” I say, looking at Dingo.
“You’re laughing at me, aren’t you, Dee?” Dingo states, and I break into a fit of laughter again.
“I’m so sorry… your name is Rupert Everly?” I try hard to stop myself from laughing, but it’s not working.
Everyone except for Dingo laughs, and I can’t help myself. The laughter is unstoppable at this point.
“Shut up! It’s not. My name’s Dingo. It has been since I was five. Never… ever… call me Rupert, or I will hurt you,” he says with a smirk, fueling me to laugh so hard tears start falling down my cheeks.
“Didn’t you know, Dee?” Sia asks as she wraps an arm protectively around her husband.
“No, I had no idea. How did you get the name Dingo?” I ask, and everyone groans and rolls their eyes.
“Oh, now that’s an awesome story. I was attacked by a dingo when I was holidaying in Australia with my parents, and we were in Uluru. The dog was massive and had teeth the size of a lion’s and—”
“Here we go,” Johnny interrupts as they all disperse, and Dingo walks over with Sia alongside.
Sia looks at me and shakes her head, rolling her eyes. “You had to go there.”
It doesn’t stop him. “No joke, Dee, that bloody thing was massive, and I was only five, but I fought it off with nothing but my bare hands. I even have a scar to prove it, but be warned, it’s pretty nasty and might make you feel sick,” he says.
Everyone is pissing themselves laughing at this point.
“Shut up. It’s my war wound,” Dingo states, lifting his shirt, pulling down his jeans slightly, and pointing to his hip.
I look closely, trying to make out his scar, but I only see a thin, faint white dot, like maybe where one tooth might have gone in, and I mean, might have, but nothing that’d make me feel sick.
I look up at Sia, who’s smirking, and she widens her eyes at me and mouths, Just go along with it.
I make a clicking sound with my tongue, then nod. “Yeah, that’s a pretty impressive scar you’ve got going on there, Dingo.”
Dingo nods like he’s proud of his massive, non-existent scar. “I know. It’s a good thing I’m so fuckin’ tough. That bloody Dingo had no idea what hit it,” he brags.
Rob walks over to Colt, and they start talking.
“Well, I’m sure he went and told all his other Dingo mates not to mess with Rupert Everly,” I say.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, cracks up laughing, except Dingo.
“Don’t be stupid, Dee. Dingos can’t talk.” He shakes his head while he walks away.
Sia looks at me and nods. “Well done, you even kept a straight face. When I first heard the story about two hundred thousand times ago, I couldn’t keep a straight face.
He honestly thinks the scar is massive, but I can hardly even see it.
You should hear his mother talk about it.
I think that’s where he gets his overactive imagination from.
You’d swear, to her, the thing was like a grizzly bear-sized and was so vicious that no one could go near it to stop it from attacking Dingo.
Funny thing is, his father always said the Dingo was more like a six-month-old pup, and after it lightly bit Dingo, it was quite friendly, and they gave it food and were almost able to pet it.
But don’t try to tell Dingo or his mum that.
They’ll bite your head off,” she tells me.
Anna and I laugh as I watch Colt shaking hands with Rob again, who walks out of the room, and Colt moves over to me.
“Hey, baby, you ready to watch me rock?” he asks, lifting me into his arms.
“Sure am,” I reply.
He kisses my forehead, his touch lingering. “Then let’s make this a night to remember.”
***
The concert at the Staples Center in LA was amazing.
Colt knows how to work every crowd.
After the show, we headed to a club, but instead of an after-party like normal, the band and Sia discussed the contract with Rob Luxley. Apparently, there wasn’t much to discuss because they were only talking for about an hour before we were heading back to the penthouse suite for the after-party.
I’m cuddled into Colt’s side as we walk past our room and to the penthouse suite. Since tonight is a night of celebration, we decided to spend some time with the other band members.
We walk inside, and Johnny turns on the lights while Dingo heads to the sound system.
The Slayettes are already here, and Jessi looks extra trashy tonight, wearing only a corset, black panties, and fishnet stockings.
Her tattoos are on display for everyone to see, and I instantly sigh when I spot her in the room.
Colt walks me over to the L-shaped couch and sits on the end, making me squeal when he pulls me into his lap. I wrap my arms around his neck and lean in to kiss him. That’s when I hear a commotion. Turning, I watch Dragon’s Lair enter the penthouse, and I exhale, rolling my eyes.
Great! Just what I need.
I feel Colt’s hands on each cheek, turning me to look at him. “Don’t you move out of my sight tonight? You need to pee? I’m going with you. I don’t want Coslecki anywhere near you. Do I make myself clear?” he demands, looking down at me.
I gulp as nerves rush over me because I hate Jared, and the more anxious Colt feels when Jared is around, the more nervous I become.
It’s like a vicious circle.
A chain reaction.
A Catch-22.
So I nod in acknowledgment.
Usually, I’d put up a fight about Colt’s demanding behavior, but for this one, I’ll do exactly as he wishes, not only for his sanity but for mine as well.
Jared spots me immediately and comes strutting over like he owns the place. My lip curls as he winks at me, then sits beside us.
“Lovebirds, we gonna get wild tonight? We are celebrating after all,” he says, raising his eyebrows.
I scoff, and Colt’s hand grips tightly on my knee.
“I think we, as in Dee and I, will have a quiet one tonight. Thanks, Coslecki. Maybe you can get wild with some other, more willing couple,” Colt replies and looks over at Johnny, who’s at the refrigerator. He nods at us and brings over three beers.
Johnny sits on the table in front of Colt, handing us each a beer, then flips off the cap on his.
“Yeah, no worries, fuck face. I’ll get my own beer, shall I?” Jared hisses and stands to move off.
“Thank fuck for that,” I blurt out.
“God, I love it when you swear. It makes me hard,” Colt says, then takes a large, long gulp of his beer.
Johnny chuckles and moves from the table to where Jared was sitting next to us.
“Fucking Coslecki, waltzing in here like he owns the damn place. Dude, next time we go on tour, Dragon’s Lair is not coming with,” Johnny states, causing Colt to chuckle.
“Yeah, man, that’s totally cool with me,” Colt replies, clinking his bottle with Johnny’s.
I nuzzle into Colt’s shoulder, and his arm warms me as he wraps it tightly around my shoulders.
“Where’s Anna?” I ask Johnny.
“I dunno, she wasn’t feeling too good after dinner. I saw her head to the bathroom before. Actually, thanks, Dee. I might go and check on her,” Johnny says, standing and walking to the bathroom.
“I hope she’s okay? I did notice her looking a little paler than normal at the Staples Center.”
“Yeah, she probably drank too much last night or something,” Colt says as Jessi sits beside us. I exhale while Colt rolls his eyes.
“So, Dee, seeing as you won’t let Colt have any fun anymore, I thought maybe you could share him with me tonight. I’m getting antsy. I need a Colt fix. And seeing as you won’t share him, I thought we could tag team,” she says, running her finger up Colt’s arm.
He flinches away and shakes his head with a loud exhale.
I’m in shock.
Actual shock.
Did she really just ask for a threesome with Colt?
“Fuck off, Jessi, not interested,” Colt replies, taking another sip of his beer. He seems so calm, but this is a big deal to me. It’s not every day a girl asks for a threesome. Well, not in my sheltered world, anyway.
“Oh, c’mon, Colt, it’s not like you haven’t done it before,” she protests, and I feel Colt tense up under me.
What the hell?
Seriously, why am I even surprised by this? He’s a rock star. Of course, he’s had threesomes and done other crazy stuff. I don’t know why it bothers me, especially as it’s in his past.
“Jessi, shut up. I told you I’m not interested. I don’t want to share Dee with anyone else, especially not you. I know where you’ve been.”
“Then come and party without her. You don’t have to share her. You can share yourself with Kira, me, and maybe Steph. We can have a real fun time, like that time in Essex, when we were high and—”
“Okay, that’s enough! Go hang out with Coslecki and Brad. I’m sure they’ll tag team you,” Colt says.
Holy shit! Colt used to get high as well?
I am stunned into silence.
I’m starting to think I don’t know who he is at all.
Silently, internally panicking, I sit up straight on Colt.
“Well, if you change your mind, I’m always open for business… for you, Colt,” she hints seductively with a wink before she leans down and kisses me on the cheek.
What the fuck? This girl is seriously twisted!
She walks off, and I rub my cheek with the back of my hand, trying to wipe away the slimy, disgusting remnants of her disgusting touch. My stomach twists. I feel sick.
Colt doesn’t look at me. Instead, he takes a long, slow pull of his beer, his jaw tight, his expression unreadable. I shift off his lap, the warmth of his body suddenly unbearable, and settle onto the seat beside him.
I don’t know what I’m feeling.
Anger? Maybe.
Disgust? Definitely.
Hurt? Absolutely.
I knew his past existed, but I never wanted it thrown in my face, never wanted to feel it like a punch to the gut.
Colt finally turns to me, his brow furrowed, regret darkening his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. I know he means it. I hear it in his voice, see it in the way his fingers tighten around his beer like he wants to crush it. But the sick feeling in my chest doesn’t go away.
And I hate that.
I hate this.
Unable to stand the weight of his gaze, I push up from my chair. My pulse is pounding, my breath unsteady.
I need air.
So I prepare to leave.
I don’t know where I’m going. I just know I need to get away before I say something I can’t take back.
And before his past that I thought I could handle becomes too much to bear.