Chapter 37
Alara
I never thought it would feel odd coming home, yet as we pull up to my house, I'm disappointed to be here. I shouldn't want to spend all of my time cooped up with men I just met, but I do. There's something about them that I find myself craving, but I’m the one who asked to come home.
I still don’t understand why they want me, of all people, to go on tour with them. I’m not anything special. Sure, I have a pretty voice, but there are so many others out there with just as much talent and more established careers.
"Are you okay?" Nix pulls me from my thoughts. I still haven’t tried reaching for the door handle.
"I’m still trying to decide if I’m good enough to go on tour with you.”
He throws an arm over my shoulder, pulling me closer. "Well, stop thinking about that. You’re amazing."
His free hand slides under my chin, tilting my head toward his wanting lips.
"I can't help it," I admit.
"I know, my sweet sparrow. We will get through it together, one step at a time. I will help you. The other guys will too. "
"They don't know me. You barely know me. And you’re all still willing to take this chance. You’re all huge stars, and I’m–."
“Also, a star,” he interrupts.
“Nix,” I try, but he places his pointer finger on my lips.
“We’re two stars who collided, and now my path doesn’t exist without you.”
That is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. His path doesn’t exist without me? How do I react to something like that?
“You will be amazing.” He pokes the tip of my nose.
"I don't want to disappoint anyone." My head falls forward.
"You won't. We've all heard you sing. You have talent. Believe in yourself. You never know how far it could take you."
"That's kind of corny."
"Is it? Should I keep going?" He raises a brow.
"Please don't." I giggle, trying my best to keep my composure.
"Whatever. You like it when I’m corny. It makes you smile."
"Ughhhhhh." I pretend to be annoyed, even though he’s not wrong.
Movement from the side of my house catches my eye, and it takes everything in me to not tell the driver to pull off.
"You have got to be kidding me." I huff.
"What is it?" Nix leans over to glance out of the window. "Is it paparazzi? I can distract them so you can sneak inside."
"That's actually sweet of you." My heart flutters. "It's not the paparazzi. It's something far worse... for you."
His brows furrow, confusion wracking through him. "Worse?"
"Yeah. It's my best friend. She might be obsessed with your band."
"Your best friend knows who we are, but you didn't?" He chuckles under his breath. "Come on. Let's go say hello."
"You don't have to do that. I'll just pretend like you weren't in here." I have to at least give him an out. Rayne has no filter sometimes. Who knows what she could say.
"No way. I want to meet her. She can tell me all the things you're too embarrassed to admit." He pushes his door open before I can protest further.
I sigh when Rayne spots us, and her entire demeanor changes. She crosses her arms over her chest, leaning her hip to the side. This is different from what I was expecting. She taps her foot, giving Nix the most menacing look I've ever seen.
"Uhh, are you okay?" I carefully ask.
"Am I okay? Yeah. Oh, I'm perfectly fine." She breathes out as the two of us stop in front of her. "Are YOU okay? I haven't heard a peep from you. I was just stalking your house to see if you were still alive."
"Clearly, I'm alive. I've just been, uh, busy." I rub my arms nervously.
"You!" She points over to Nix. "I don't care that you're a rockstar. You’d better make sure my best friend stays in touch with me. Next time, I'll show up at your place and check on her myself. "
My eyes go wide. She cannot be serious. She’s really going to yell at Nix like that the first time they meet. I can't stop the laugh that bursts out of me.
Nix raises his hands in defense. "I promise that moving forward, I will make sure she checks in with you daily."
"Good." Rayne nods once. "Now that we've got that out of the way," she steps forward, extending a hand for him to shake, "I'm Rayne."
"I'm Nix, but I think you might already know that." His sly smirk creeps across his face as he shakes her eager hand.
He glances over his shoulder, nervously. I can tell that being out in public like this is making him uncomfortable. Even with the security guards standing behind us, it's like he can’t relax. Is that something I'm going to have to worry about, too?
"Should we go inside?" I suggest.
"Actually, I'm going to give you some time with your friend if that's okay?" he offers. "Unless Rayne would like to chat a bit. I'm sure I can hang around for a few minutes."
"Why don't we set up a brunch or something with the whole band?" I propose.
"Hell yes. I like that idea way better. Oooh, I’ll get to find out some of the juicy bits about River and Lane." She jumps up and down.
That dream is still stuck in my head, the two of them touching me, and how I might actually want that. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around Nix being okay with potentially sharing me with the band .
“Only if you sign the NDA.” Nix winks. "I'll see you soon."
He leans in to press his lips against mine, and I melt like a jar of putty in his arms. When he pulls away, I find myself regretting the decision to leave their apartment. Shit. I could’ve had my legs wrapped around his waist, riding him like a damn roller coaster.
He waves at Rayne, and all I can do is watch. "It was nice to meet you."
I'm still frozen in place, just watching him and his security walk away, when Rayne slaps the top of my arm.
"Earth to Alara. Put those googly eyes away."
I roll said eyes and turn to unlock the front door before pushing it open. "We need girl time," I insist, not giving her the opportunity to leave.
"What about stud-muffin over there?" She points her thumb in the direction of the tall, muscular man that I didn’t realize stayed behind. Huh. It's kind of crazy how quickly you get used to them following you around.
"That's... Er–That's my security."
Her eyes light up. "YOU have security?"
I turn to face him, unsure of where to put him. I don't exactly want him standing outside my front door. Surely, he's not coming into the house. "I don't know where–"
"I'll be in the car across the street, ma'am," he cuts me off. "It has a good enough vantage point from most directions. Every so often, I'll take a lap around the premises to make sure nothing nefarious is afoot."
"Afoot," Rayne mocks, but he continues .
"Should you need anything, you can text or call. When I spoke with Lane last night, he assured me that my phone number would be added to your phone. It’s under ‘Security Guy’."
Rayne loses it, completely. She hunches over, a barreling laugh escaping her. "Security Guy?"
For fuck’s sake. I'm dying from secondhand embarrassment. I mean, I probably would have saved his number in my phone as that, too. The fact that Lane did it doesn’t surprise me.
"Of course he did." I grab Rayne’s arm and pull her into my house.
I don’t bother looking to see what car the security went to. Maybe I should have asked what his actual name is, but Lane will have to take the blame for that. He had me distracted.
I don't even want to know when he got hold of my phone. Maybe it was when he was watching me sleep on the couch. My cheeks briefly heat, thinking about that moment, before Rayne refocuses my attention.
"Are you friendly with Lane, too?"
I let out an exasperated breath, preparing to unload all the newest revelations. This should be interesting.