Chapter 2 #2
“It’s just my parents. I’ll be fine.” Lies.
I was more in danger from them than anyone else.
But seeing as we weren’t even on their floor, that wasn’t going to be an issue.
“And…look. This estate is rough, Jack. These stairs are the only way up. I’d feel safer if you made sure no one came any further than this. ”
I’d been watching Jack’s expressions long enough to know that the tiny frown on his brow meant he wasn’t sure.
Touching his arm, I batted my long eyelashes at him.
He’d never given me any indication that he was anything but straight, but I was prepared to use whatever weapons I had in my arsenal to get my own way.
“Please? I just…I really need to see them. If they see you hanging around, it’ll be a reminder that I’ve left this all behind. I don’t want to upset them.”
I held my breath while Jack considered it. “Fine. But I’m not standing in the stairwell. I’ll wait just outside this door so I can hear if you call me.”
Wasn’t ideal, but I’d take it. The estate was actually a massive block of flats arranged around a quadrangle. If Jack waited outside this stairwell, I just had to make it to one of the other three to be free.
Yep. Lied about that too. Lying was practically second nature when you’d been dragged up the way I had.
I’d only made it a few steps away before Jack spoke again. “Arlo?”
Fuck. I hated the way his growly voice made my skin tingle. “What?”
“Thirty minutes,” he said warningly. “I’ll be checking on you after that.”
That was fine. I’d be long gone by then.
With a mock salute, I sauntered off as casually as I could manage. But as soon as I rounded the corner, I broke into a sprint.
It might have been more than a year since I’d run down these stairs, but muscle memory kicked in. Using the metal railing, I flung myself around every bend, jumping over several steps before catching myself.
Jack would definitely have been pissed off if he’d seen me doing this. Maybe annoyed enough for the blush to spread down his ears and over his cheeks.
In less than a minute, I was sprinting out the back of the estate without anyone spotting me. I wasn’t expecting to run into my parents. The only time they bothered leaving the flat was on Tuesdays, also known as the day their dole money cleared.
Still, I didn’t want someone else spotting me and reporting back to them that I’d been here. I’d cut all contact with them months ago—the first time Dad had realised his punching bag had become a cash cow. Last thing I needed was either of them trying to track me down.
But I’d managed to escape scot-free. No parents. No grumpy shadow. Just me and whatever the night ahead would bring.
Three hours later, I was several shots into having a very good night.
It was early, but the club was already busy. Thanks to the bouncer recognising my somewhat famous face, I’d been escorted to the VIP area. From there, I scouted the dance floor for my conquest. Hmm, what was I in the mood for? Rugby player? Tall and lanky emo boy? The options were endless.
In my pocket, my phone vibrated for the hundredth time. I didn’t bother checking it. It’d only be a rehashing of one of the many texts I’d already read. Either one of my bandmates trying to track me down, or Jack getting slightly more unhinged with every message I ignored.
That was for future Arlo to deal with. Right after present Arlo got his dick wet.
A built gym bro caught my eye, throwing me a flirtatious wink. I almost passed over him, not feeling it, but then I caught sight of something that had me changing my mind.
Black ink curving up his neck.
Half an hour later, I had my tongue down his throat and my hand strangling his cock. We hadn’t even left the VIP area, just opting for a sofa in a dark corner.
There’d been an unexpected silver lining to the evening. Gym bro had turned out to have something to make our party even more fun.
Coke.
It wasn’t something I took often, but I didn’t say no to a hit every now and then. Without my guard dog looming over me, there was nothing stopping me doing a line.
Or a second.
Fuck. I felt more alive than I had in weeks.
I’d hate myself for it tomorrow, but right then I was in heaven.
Well, I would have been if I could have focused on getting off.
There was something about gym bro that wasn’t doing it for me.
Might have been the grunting. Even with the music blaring, I could hear it.
It was weird, because I was usually such an auditory person.
Not a surprise, given my career. Normally I lived for the sounds I could get other men to make.
But tonight it was throwing me off my game. It was more nasal than I’d been imagining. It should have been deeper. More growly. More…
Oh.
Before my brain could finish that thought, a rough hand on my neck had me jumping.
“What the fuck?” Gym bro shouted as I was yanked off his lap. “What are you doing?”
“See how easy it was for me to get the jump on you?” Jack’s growl in my ear had my cock twitching. “You think you’re so smart, but it only takes a few seconds of letting your guard down for someone to take advantage.”
“Fuck off,” I snarled, my cheeks blazing as I shook him off. Shoving my cock back into my jeans, I turned to face Jack with my hands on my hips. “There’s no way this is part of your job description.”
It wasn’t just his ears telling me he was pissed. No, it was written clear as day over his whole fucking face. “Keeping you safe is my job, Arlo. I can’t do that if you’re pulling shit like this.”
He gestured at the table and my stomach twisted. Fuck. My credit card was there, along with the telltale white dust we’d left behind.
Jack prowled closer, towering over me like maybe he thought I’d find that intimidating. Joke was on him. I’d survived way scarier than him and had almost zero self-preservation skills.
From the corner of my eye, I saw gym bro scarper, taking my hopes of an orgasm with him. Couldn’t blame him—the testosterone coming off Jack was enough to make you choke.
It wasn’t enough to make me back down though. Nothing was. I might have been in the wrong, but the day I failed to push back was the day they put me in the ground.
I closed the distance between us until our toes were touching. “And stopping me hooking up somehow falls under that umbrella? Wanna show me the line of your contract where that’s spelled out?”
A muscle jumped under Jack’s eye. “Don’t be so obtuse, Arlo. This isn’t just about you hooking up. I’m supposed to protect you, even if that means protecting you from yourself.”
I stumbled back a step. It was one thing to suspect that was what was happening, but it a whole other to have it confirmed. “Are you serious right now?”
Something unreadable flashed across Jack’s face before the familiar blankness was back. “Yes. Part of my job is to stop you doing stupid stuff.”
“And hooking up falls under that?” Yes, I was focusing on that rather than the blatantly obvious fact that I shouldn’t have been doing drugs…especially in public.
“It does when you put as little care into choosing your partners and locations as you do.” He glanced around pointedly, a slight sneer on his lips. “I know you don’t give a fuck about anything or anyone else, but surely even you can see how this is hurting the band’s image.”
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know enough,” Jack growled as something apparently snapped.
“I know you’re spoiled and entitled. You’ve been handed your dream on a silver fucking platter and instead of appreciating it, you’re throwing it away.
You don’t deserve what you’ve been given.
You think you can run through life doing whatever you please, because nothing bad has ever happened to you.
You don’t know what real consequences are because you’ve never had to deal with them. ”
I laughed. Full-on laughed in his face. Already Jack was retreating, a hand going over his mouth like he could call his words back. It was too late. He’d said his piece, and now it was my turn.
“Wow. Did you have your eyes closed when I took you back to the estate earlier? Newsflash, Einstein, I live like this because I’ve already survived the worst that life can throw at me.
This right here is what happens when you’re eighteen and already fucking sick of life.
I know damn well that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, and I’ve made my peace with that. ”
Horror was spreading across Jack’s face, like he was realising he’d miscalculated.
I was done though. I wasn’t listening to anything else he had to say.
“You were right about one thing though,” I added bitterly. “The band? The album? The success? All of the money in my account? I don’t deserve it. Any of it.”
Then I turned to walk away, not wanting to see the look on Jack’s face as I confirmed what a fuckup I truly was.
Yeah. My bodyguard hated me.
But he couldn’t hate me as much as I hated myself.