Chapter 10
Ten
STONE
“You said what?” Adam’s brows nearly touch his hairline as I fill him in on what happened this morning in the hall.
“You heard me.” I pull on a shirt and then grab my shoes, lacing them up.
“Why?”
“Because I’m intrigued.”
“I thought you weren’t supposed to get into relationships until you’ve been sober for at least a year.”
“My counselors haven’t said anything about that.”
“Isn’t it just common knowledge?”
“I think it’s more of an AA thing. Besides, I’m not proposing. She’s smart and gorgeous.”
He nods, not that I particularly care what his opinion is. “Fair enough.”
“Have you figured out who tipped off the press that I’d be at her signing?”
“Not yet. I have a feeling it was just someone who worked at the store.”
If that’s the case I’m going to have Darren make all the employees sign NDAs. I was enraptured by her last night. The way her voice lent emotion to the words she wrote gave me chills.
The only reason I didn’t follow her into her hotel room last night was because I knew how exhausted she was. As soon as the car door closed behind us and she was tucked safely into the vehicle, I could see her melt against the leather seat. The crush of fucking paparazzi didn’t help either.
My knee bounces in agitation just picturing the fear in her eyes and the way she froze at all the flashes of light.
If I thought it would help, I’d reach out with a statement telling them she’s off limits.
But, for starters, that would only encourage their shitty behavior.
She’s a novelty. Someone to watch and pick apart because I’m not feeding them with my own antics.
“Ready?” Adam asks from the door as he slips his earpiece in.
“Yeah.” I grab my acoustic and walk through the door he holds open for me.
Part of my new pre-concert routine includes leaving my phone in the hotel, so there’s no temptation to reach out for booze or drugs.
All the dealers I typically used were deleted from my contacts, and I have a new number so they can’t reach me, but it’s as easy as slipping into the right person’s DMs and giving them a backstage pass.
Not having access to a phone eliminates the possibility.
So now I drink a fuck ton of water and warm up my vocal cords while playing a few easy songs. Thankfully, I’ve only vomited once, but that was more than enough of that.
Tobias and his bodyguard meet us at the elevator.
“Where’s Xan?” I ask him.
“Arguing with Jade.” He shrugs a shoulder. “The usual.”
“Did you hear what it was about this time?”
“Nope. Don’t care as long as they both show up and do their jobs.”
Tobias has zero tolerance for their fights after so many years together. I get it, it can grate on your nerves the way Xan picks at her constantly. I’ve tried talking to her about not being so reactive to his taunts, but I swear to fuck, they’re each other’s kryptonite.
“Saw the picture of you grabbing Hazel’s ass last night,” Tobias smirks from across the elevator. “Does that mean she’s off limits?”
“I didn’t grab her ass.”
“Looks like you did.”
“It was the angle of the photo.”
“Right,” the word is laced with disbelief. “You haven’t mentioned if she’s off limits.”
He’s goading me. The level-headed, rational part of me knows that. I also realize she’s a grown woman with her own agency. Calling dibs on women is childish. I shouldn’t do it.
But fuck it.
I hit the emergency stop button on the elevator and close the distance between us. “She’s mine. Try anything, and I’ll take your drumsticks and shove them so far up your ass, you’ll choke on them.”
He smirks at me, not affected by my threat in the least. “Touchy, touchy.”
Our bodyguards exchange a look while Tobias blows me a kiss.
“She’s hot, but I’ll find an easier target for tonight,” Tobias says.
I don’t know why he always chooses to be such a dick. In a lot of ways, I feel like I deserve to be treated like this. My behavior and addiction damn near ruined the band. Our livelihoods depend on each other, so when one of us fucks up, it fucks up everything for everyone.
I spent way too long living only for myself. Hopefully by the end of this tour, I’ll have earned back some of the respect I lost along the way. But that won’t be at the expense of getting to know Hazel.
There’s something so refreshing about her. She’s out of her element but handling everything with so much grace. She’s not afraid to bite back if we get out of line, and she doesn’t fawn all over us. Fuck, I don’t even know if she liked our music before getting stuck with us.
I sure as hell won’t be asking her if she does. I might be making a fool out of myself behind the scenes, claiming her like a damn caveman, but I’m not a needy fuck. At least not that I’d share with her.
My eyes do a quick scan of the hotel lobby as more security surrounds us, ushering us through a small crowd outside to waiting SUVs.
There are three of them tonight, which makes me wonder if Hazel is coming to the venue with us now instead of later.
Seconds later my question is answered when the door opens, and she climbs in.
She looks fucking hot.
Combat boots, fishnet stockings under tiny ass black shorts. A black tank top dips low enough to show her lush cleavage, and over it all is a black and white flannel she’s tied closed at her belly button.
My cock wakes right the fuck up as the image of me fucking her tits flies into my brain. Then her scent hits me. It’s different tonight, a darker, headier scent that makes me think of rose petals and candle wax. If my dick gets any harder, it’ll pop the button on my jeans.
“Hey,” she pulls the door closed.
“Hi.” My voice is all but choked with lust. I clear my throat. “Are you going to watch from backstage tonight?”
She shakes her head. “No, I think I want to be in the crowd. Soak up the atmosphere, you know?”
I don’t like that. Not a single bit.
“Are you sure? Now that we’ve been photographed together, you might be more recognizable.”
“I’ll have Dan, right?”
“Yes, but he’s only one person.”
“I doubt I’ll have much need for him at all. I’m good at blending into the crowd and going unnoticed.”
I don’t know who the fuck she thinks she’s fooling because she could be in the middle of millions, and I’d still pick her out like a Where’s Waldo book. Maybe I should assign another bodyguard to her during concerts. Just out of an abundance of caution.
My eyes flick to the backseat where Tobias is sprawled out scrolling on his phone. Not sure why I thought he’d back me up, he’s probably not even eavesdropping on our conversation.
“Hey Adam?”
He turns from the front seat and locks eyes with me. “Yeah?”
“Do we have someone we can assign to team up with Dan on Hazel duty?”
“I can find someone.”
“Honestly, I don’t think it’s necessary,” Hazel says. “If you really think it’s something I should worry about, I’ll stay in an empty box tonight.”
“Or the VIP tent,” I offer.
“I’m not a VIP.”
“Sweetheart,” I lean closer toward her, “you are the VIP.”
Her eyes droop as her gaze dips to my mouth. Her pink tongue peeks out between her pillowy lips as she wets them. I’ve never been more turned on by a simple act before.
RIP to my sanity.
And my common sense.
The tension between us snaps taut. I feel myself pulled toward her like the sun holding the planets in orbit. The attraction between us is stronger than gravity. Physicists should study the forces pulling us together because there’s no way they know of anything stronger.
We’re knocked out of our trance by the vehicle coming to an abrupt stop at the back of the venue. She looks away first, opening her purse and pulling the lanyard with her all access pass out of her purse and draping it over her head.
Dan opens the door and offers her a hand as she climbs out. She whispers her thanks as I’m hit with an uncomfortable wave of emotion. Jealousy is no longer a foreign sensation, but her ease with him, the way she didn’t hesitate to take his offered hand makes me furious. Irrationally so.
I walk around to the trunk and pull out my guitar case, trying to ignore the ugliness rearing its head within me. Tobias falls in step beside me.
“Thought you were gonna fuck her right there in the car.”
The only acknowledgment I give him is a grunt.
“You’re so intense about her. Is this the real you shining through now that there’s no drug- and alcohol-induced fog around you?”
“Try sobriety and find out.”
“Awww, no thanks. I quite enjoy numbing myself through chemistry.”
He fucks off as soon as we enter the venue, I’m sure to find a place to engage in said chemistry before the show.
It truly doesn’t bother me that he continues to use, but I am grateful he has enough decency to not do it in front of me.
I haven’t been tempted, but I know that could quickly change if the opportunity was dangled in front of me.
Luckily Hazel has been occupying most of my thoughts. The time I would have spent looking for my next fix, I spend looking for her. The high that drugs would give me has been replaced by a different kind of rush.
I find the empty dressing room I’ve requested for the tour.
Icy cold bottles of water and sports drinks sit in a small refrigerator on a table.
There’s a comfortable couch pushed back against the door and a scented oil diffuser in the center of the small coffee table.
It’s the perfect, quiet environment for me to relax and focus in.
As soon as our opening act goes on stage, I’ll go into the greenroom with the rest of the band for our pre-performance rituals.
But for now I flip open the locks on my old guitar case and pull out the beat up, hand me down acoustic I got for my tenth birthday from my uncle.
It’s been my most prized possession since the day I got it.
Music flows from me as I close my eyes. It’s a new melody, lyrics filter into my mind as I settle into the song. I grab my notebook and start writing out the ideas as they come to me.