Six
Ben
What just happened? I thought for sure she was playing some game with me, but my South Carolina blond left. She waltzed her sassy ass out of here like the damn building caught fire.
“Way to go. Her friend was down to hook up. You owe me,” Eric says from the couch with a joint in his hand.
I go to grab it, on edge and fucking irritated. I’ve never been turned down—I’ve never been more turned on. Talk about a mindfuck.
Taking a hit, I release the smoke and reply, “World’s shittiest wingman goes to me then?”
“She was fucking hot. What the fuck happened with you and the prude?”
“Don’t call her a prude.”
Even though she turned me down, I feel a pull to defend her. I pass him the blunt.
“Her hot friend Kate said she was standing in the corner cause she’s more reserved around people and this shit ain’t her scene. Dude, she’s probably still a virgin.”
“Fuck me.”
I could have shot myself in the foot and it would have caused less damage. She’s not the type of girl I should have been forward with. I wouldn’t usually care how girls feel or if I offended them, but this girl, this woman, made me feel something. Blame it on the lust, but I’ve never seen a more beautiful woman in my life, and now I’ll never have a chance with her because I’m a fucking dick.
“You asked her if she wanted to fuck, didn’t you?” Smoke fills the air, and I nod my head as JJ, Nick, and Jason enter the room with some takeout. I probably traumatized Sadie. Good going, Ben .
Turning, I punch the wall, almost plowing straight through it. Grabbing my shirt and jacket, I head out to fix my rage with my fist in someone’s face. I make it to the door before Nick stops me.
“I’ll call Dr. Danivah.”
I want to fight Nick on this because I can’t see through the fog right now, and the only way I see out is to give in to the urge. To punch a wall or, better yet, have someone hit me.
“Fine. Get me to the bus and get him on the phone. Now.”
I’m going to battle against my every instinct, and then tomorrow I’m going to find Sadie.
* * *
“Welcome back, boys.”
We sit down on the couch and chairs in the room as Trey and Kingston, our record producers, walk in. After my call with Dr. Davinah, I took my medication and fought a terrible struggle in my mind until sleep took me under. Waking up this morning was equally as taxing. I have a pounding headache, and we had to wake up early to head to Seattle for a recording session. Not only am I mentally and physically drained, but I now have to spend the morning recording and then rush back to Portland for a photo shoot. Today is going to be a long day. And of course, I can’t stop thinking about her. I want to taste her.
“Gentlemen, you ready for today? Hope you brought your A game,” Kingston sings, far too chipper for me this early in the morning. “Did you miss me?”
“Who wouldn’t?” I retort.
“The girl from last night sure doesn’t,” Eric says. If he could see the death glare I’m giving him under my shades, he’d take that shit back.
“What did you get yourself into now?” Trey asks while he messes with some knobs on the mixing board.
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it. How’s fatherhood? You two are starting to go gray a bit.” I wink, and they both audibly growl. Trey glares at me, and Kingston curls his lip in annoyance. “Sensitive topic? Don’t worry, I’m sure Lana and Shayla will stick around for a couple more years.”
“At least they have someone,” Jason quips, sitting next to me. I can’t help but punch his arm.
When are they going to drop last night? I get it, I was rejected, and that’s a first, but enough is enough. The more they talk about it, the more worked up I become. Her memory is picking me apart; I’m tied up in knots over how much one woman is occupying my mind. That’s never happened before.
“All right, spit it out. Who is the girl?” Kingston asks.
“One who was lucky enough to not fall into his trap,” Nick says.
I remove my sunglasses and blink a couple times to adjust to the lighting. Nick stands next to the door, looking me dead in the eye, challenging me to say something back. I debate it, too prideful to let him have the last word, but when he doesn’t back down, I shut up. Nick may be a bit overprotective, but it’s more than I can say for a lot of people in my life. He doesn’t tolerate my bullshit, but often he’s the one dragging me out of my own fucking mess. The number of times he has kept me from getting arrested after bar fights deserves some sort of award. Definitely got him a hefty pay raise. Amazing what people will do when a tall, tattooed man tells them to shut their mouths, ice the eye, and take a nice payoff. Well, most of the time, I just egg my opponent on until they throw the first punch, and the rest is simply self-defense.
It isn’t only the fights he has to pull me out of, though. Since I’m in the public eye, no dive bar is ever truly hidden enough from the bottom feeders in the tabloids. Nick has helped me repeatedly rebuild my reputation. However, how many times can you rebuild until people stop giving you a helping hand and a forgiving shrug? I guess we will just keep fucking with the system until it bites back.
“Shit, the Ben Cooper, playboy extraordinaire, tripped and caught feelings. Whatever happened to the whole ‘Only here for a good time, not a long time’?” Spinning in his chair, Trey looks at me, as does everyone else.
“All right, guys, drop it. I think she’s hot.” They don’t need to know what I’ve got planned. “That doesn’t mean I’m in love and shit. I said maybe five things to her. You know what? Can we just fucking record? We have to get back to Portland soon.”
Eric and I talked last night before my medication took me out, and he convinced Kate over the phone to give me Sadie’s address. I am not done with her, not even close. I don’t know what the pull is, but I’m a curious man, and I want to know why one woman is fogging up my brain.
“Let’s get to it, boys.” Kingston leads us in, and we record one of my best songs yet. A certain blue-eyed muse can be thanked for that.