Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Music blasts, alcohol flows, and the nauseating blend of expensive fragrances streams in and out of my lungs.
The fallout from the botched interview with Kara Corbin was swift, violent, and still mounting. My phone has been blowing up with a constant stream of wrath, which was all the more reason to flee from one hotel to Luke’s with nothing but my small carryon and the clothes on my back.
Now that I’m here, I’m regretting it.
His heartfelt text feels more like a joke now that I’m at his suite and see he apparently didn’t just need me, but all these virtual strangers as well.
I’m a little pissed off he called me back here to watch him slip into old habits.
Maybe it was one last attempt at proving nothing’s changed and I should finally leave him alone once and for all.
If only it were that simple.
Like the unofficial babysitter I’ve become, I scan the sea of bodies in a recurring ten-minute check to make sure Luke’s alive.
Ironic, since the band has spent the last eight years teasing me for being the youngest. If I’d known Luke was inviting me to his suite only to recreate the period of our lives I’ve been desperate to forget, I never would have come.
And yet, I can’t bring myself to leave. His pattern of self-destruction may not be new or fair, but it will always be my problem. Tomorrow, once I make sure he survives whatever this spectacle is supposed to be, I’ll explain how badly he hurt me—again—and address what’s really going on.
Confident he’s still alive and functioning for now, I head toward the makeshift bar.
It’s not an ideal hangout for a guy who’s been trying to stay on the straight and narrow, but it’s better than being groped on the packed living-room-turned-dancefloor.
Being the only sober person at an event like this is almost awful enough to make me not want to be sober.
“Casey! Good to see you, man.”
I follow the voice to find Jaxon Anders leaning against the counter beside me. He motions to the bartender to order another round before facing me.
“Hey, Jax. Been a while.”
“Too long. It’s nice to finally see a familiar face. I was surprised how few people I recognized until I learned this entire guest list got the same call from concierge. Insane and genius, no? But that’s Luke for you.”
I study the actor’s face before squinting through the crowd in the direction I last saw Luke.
It’s impossible to see him from this vantage point.
Not that a visual would help interpret the latest head-scratching behavior of my best friend.
Just when I think I’ve figured shit out, Jaxon Anders says something like that.
“What do you mean you got a call from concierge?”
He tilts his head. “The invitation? Oh right, you’re his boy. You must be one of the few who got a direct invite.”
“What are you talking about? Weren’t you invited? Weren’t all these people invited?”
“Yeah, by the front desk. I got a call this morning saying Luke was throwing a party in 403 and to stop by if I wanted. I doubt he even knows most of these people.” Jaxon laughs and diverts his attention to the cocktails sliding toward him.
“Thanks, man,” he says to the bartender while slipping him a bill.
The other man swipes it off the counter and turns to me.
“What can I get you?” he asks.
“I…”
“Hey, good to see you, dude,” Jax says, bumping my arm. “Let’s catch up later.”
He heads toward a woman I recognize from a few B-Movies. She takes a glass as they exchange some words, then shoots me a curious look. I can only imagine what my face looks like right now.
Luke had concierge invite a bunch of strangers to his suite for an impromptu party? Why the hell would he do that?
“Sir? Anything to drink?”
I shake off the trance and settle my gaze back to the bartender. “Yeah. I mean, no.”
Shit, why did I come over here again?
I’ve lost all coherent thought.
“Never mind,” I direct at the bartender. “I just… yeah.”
I tap the counter and push away. He looks a fraction below annoyed before shifting his attention to an actual customer.
It hasn’t even been a week since my initial reunion with Luke. Somehow, he went from reclusive hermit to inviting an entire damn hotel into his life. Not even Callie could be responsible for that kind of transformation. Something is wrong. There’s no way this event is about having a good time.
I don’t know what it means, but I know it can’t be good.
I’m a few steps from the bar when I glimpse another familiar face. My breath catches, followed by a scorching wave of awareness.
Callie’s here ?
I don’t know why I find it surprising that Luke’s only friend would be at his party. Maybe because she’s from a different life. She doesn’t belong in this glossy, superficial ode to the past. She’s hope of a future.
Guess she just came to the same conclusion, because she’s heading toward the exit. A strange sense of panic has me chasing after her. I can’t let that happen.
She’ll never hear me over the noise, so I push through the crowd to grab her arm.
Callie spins around. Her startled expression transforms into recognition, then a hint of disappointment.
Ouch. But I’m not surprised. She came to see Luke and got his drummer instead. I’m used to that, just not the odd sting that’s coming with it now.
I put aside the hurt when I realize why I need her here so badly. She’s the only other person in this packed crowd who actually gives a shit about the host.
I lean close to her ear and breathe in a quick hit of citrus.
“Breakfast club girl!” I call.
“Rock god!” she returns.
I laugh to ease some of the tension and force away the creeping shadows that have been following me around lately. I need her to stay tonight. I tell myself it’s for Luke, but when she turns her big hazel eyes on me, more than gratitude stirs in my chest.
A minute ago, the last thing I wanted to do was get drunk and party. Now, introducing her to our world and making her feel welcome feels like the most important thing I can do for both of us. In a life where I’ve lost all control, this is finally something I can do.
“Where’s Luke?” she asks.
I motion toward the crowd, knowing she won’t be able to see him from here. It’s petty, but part of me is glad I have to be the center of her universe for a minute .
Because suddenly, she’s the center of mine.
I’ve been so distracted by her presence, I haven’t noticed what she’s wearing until now.
Blood rushes to places it shouldn’t as I take in her short silver cocktail dress and sexy heels.
Her hair is curled in soft waves, her makeup confident but not overdone.
She looks incredible. Completely different from the last time I saw her in that diner.
But I found her just as attractive then.
What’s changed the vibe in our chemistry is the atmosphere around us.
The dim lighting, sensual beat, beautiful people, and heavy ooze of sex throughout the space has my mind disoriented and my body regressing back to a time when nothing was off-limits for a person like me.
Alarms blare in my head. Flashbacks gnaw at the recesses of my brain. I ignore them all. I’m a different person now. A better person. And at some point I have to trust myself.
“Come on! I’ll get you a drink,” I say, directing her ahead of me.
She returns a quick smile, and I suck in a breath when her ass brushes my hip as she scoots past. The look she shoots back is somewhere between apologetic and intrigued, and I can’t stop my gaze from flowing over every curve of her body. Just an innocent peek, but I’m not the only one looking.
A wave of protectiveness floods through me when I catch the predatory stares of other guests. She doesn’t belong here. These wolves won’t play fair, and since I’m the one who convinced her to stay, I feel responsible for making sure she has a good, safe time.
Her wide eyes broadcast her innocence as she surveys the room, triggering a sudden urge to give her a night filled with excitement and joy. I might be powerless to help Luke, but I can show this undercover princess an actual taste of the royal life.
Not everything about our world is bad—it doesn’t have to be, anyway—and it feels like she’d be the missing piece to give it meaning.
While she takes in the sights and sounds, I return to the bar. The bartender seems almost relieved I’m not as weird as he thought, until I demand a sealed bottle of champagne and two empty glasses.
I hand him a huge tip, scoop up my bounty, and go on the hunt for Callie.
She’s balanced on the one-step ledge leading into the living room.
Her wide stare scours the writhing bodies on the dancefloor like she doesn’t know if she should run in disgust or join in.
More guests cross all kinds of lines on the surrounding couches.
Others undulate against the walls, leaving little to the imagination.
Her gaze locks on a couple practically sharing a body as they grind against each other to the hypnotic groove of the music.
She chews on her lip, sending another spike of heat through me.
Her innocent curiosity is a drug, and my body burns with the desire to explore the hedonistic sensations occurring around us.
This growing fire inside me is going to be a huge problem.
We need a distraction.
“Here!” I call out from behind her.
She spins around with a small gasp, and I love everything about the relief and excitement in her eyes when she sees me.
It’s the opposite of her initial greeting.
The reservation is gone, the disappointment that I’m not Luke replaced by a glint of heated curiosity.
The way her gaze travels over my face, down my button-up shirt, and back to my eyes ignites a fresh current of sparks.
Her brain is where I thought it was. Where mine is.
Where I hoped, and dreaded, we’d end up.
You’re in deep shit, dude. Deep, deep shit.