Chapter 7
TRAVIS
“I wouldn’t go out there, man. It’s a madhouse,” Liam warns. But how else am I supposed to know what that girl tastes like?
I grin at him, making the message loud and clear, then slip out the door and down the hallway that leads to the main area of the club.
The show was packed tonight. I checked the crowd while I was on stage and saw some good-looking potential. Even caught some girls crowd surfing. Now that’s what I’m talking about.
One caught my eye, and I’m going to see if I can find her. Sure, I could send Calvin out here to do it, but my adrenaline is still raging from the show, and I want to keep it as long as possible. The bus isn’t leaving the city until morning, so I have all night here.
I spin my flat bill around and pull it down low, trying my best to be inconspicuous. Having the Mohawk out would definitely be too obvious.
The crowd is thinning; most people already gone or in line at the merch stand.
By the front of the stage stands just what I’m looking for—groupies.
A small circle of girls is by the barricade, staring at the crew as they clean up our stuff, as if they’re hoping we’ll pop back out.
Well, lucky for them, I’ve got some pent-up aggression to get out.
My eyes scan the area until they land on a white, cropped shirt. Bingo.
Definitely looks like the one I noticed earlier, but even if it’s not, oh well.
She has long, dark hair, not exactly like Ellie’s—hers is more caramel, with natural sun-kissed streaks in it—and there’s no curl to it.
But it looks silky and soft, and there’s plenty to grab onto.
She’s tall, with slim, tanned legs underneath her shorty shorts.
I hesitate, knowing I’m throwing myself into the lion’s den alone, but my friends are assholes. Liam was too scared to come out here, and Penn and Tanner are already on the bus. Probably video-fucking their girlfriends.
Ah, fuck it.
I stride over and catch several pairs of eyes on my way. They all widen at the sight of me, and one screams. Jesus.
Guess the hat didn’t do much in hiding me.
My gaze connects with the girl’s, and she steps forward as I enter their circle. “’Sup, ladies? Enjoy the show?” God, I hate this part.
They’re all trying to talk over each other, loudly throwing compliments at me while pawing at my arms. My skin itches and I want to shake them off, but I can’t be too rude.
I force a smile and nod, pretending to listen, but my eyes stay on the dark ones in front of me. She’s getting my silent message, and thankfully, is bold enough to squash her friends and take what she wants. She comes closer, grabbing my arm. The group goes quiet.
“Want to get out of here?” I ask. There’s no other way to say it. She knows. I know. It is what it is.
She licks her lips, they’re dark red and almost too full, but I bet they’d feel good around my dick. She loops her arm through mine, and we ignore the pouts and whines from the other girls as we walk off. I grab us both a shot from the bar before leading her back to the greenroom.
The room’s empty now as I move us to the cushy couch.
Another thing I’m not used to—the nice-ass greenrooms. Before, it was mostly a closet with bare walls and wrinkled pleather couches.
Now we get soft lighting, real leather, accent pillows, and refreshments that aren’t just alcohol, though I do appreciate that.
There are snacks too—chips, candy, and fruit baskets.
And our name. Our fucking name is on the door!
And not just on a piece of paper with Duct Tape.
It’s spelled out in neat, wooden letters. I almost can’t believe it.
I’m prepared to talk to the girl, at least ask her name, but as soon as I sit, she latches onto my face and slams her lips to mine.
She tastes like beer and vodka as she covers my mouth in a sloppy kiss.
Her lips move quickly, desperately, and I lift her onto my lap.
She grinds against me instantly and my dick twitches slightly.
My hands drift up her shirt and wrap my fingers around her shoulder, keeping her pressed nice and tight to me while she humps my lap. My cock just starts to grow when Calvin barrels through the door.
The girl doesn’t flinch, but I do.
“What?” I bark.
“Venue is closing. Time to go.”
Shit.
I run my options through my head. No hotel tonight, and the guys hate when I bring girls on. Not that it ever leads to much, but they don’t know that.
Calvin throws me a line. “The bus is clear. Guys went down the block to eat.” I jump up and drag the girl behind me.
Calvin doesn’t follow us as I lead her out the back exit to the bus and drop onto the couch.
The top bunk is not made for fucking. I haven’t tried.
There’s not even enough room for me, let alone two.
We reclaim our positions and continue making out. “What’s your name?” I ask through kisses.
“Erica.”
I lean away, alarm bells blaring that I nearly missed. “How old are you?” She looks old enough, but you never know these days. She holds up her wrist, showing off the neon over-twenty-one bar band.
Relief hits me, and I grab her face again, massaging her tongue with my tongue ring. The kiss isn’t that great. It’s extra wet, and we’re not in sync at all.
She starts moaning and panting every two seconds. I try not to get annoyed, but my dick shrinks at her overdramatic theatrics. I know I don’t have much time. The guys will inhale their food and be back soon.
My hand slowly slips under her shorts, waiting to see if she retreats, but she doesn’t.
Her legs fall wider, and I slide my fingers under her scrap of underwear.
She’s wet. Real fucking wet. It should turn me on, but I’ve barely touched her.
That’s how easy it is with these girls. The idea of me is enough.
I thought I’d love that, but it’s no fun.
I rub her swollen clit and she lets out a breathy, “Yessss.”
I pull away, push her off my lap, and unbutton my jeans.
She stares, waiting for instructions, like she doesn’t know what I want.
For once, I want someone to put my pleasure first. These girls are ready to bend over for me the second I get near them.
Wanting to fuck so they can add me to their wall of trophies.
It didn’t used to bother me, but damn, it’s starting to.
“Suck me,” I demand.
Her eyes light up, and she scurries off the couch and onto the floor. She takes me out and then gasps.
Typical.
Her gaze roams over me as she wraps her hand around the base. For a second, it looks like she’s going to explore, and my cock twitches, wanting her to. Wanting to feel her run her fingers over the bars, count them out loud before she licks each one. But she doesn’t do any of that.
Skipping any extra foreplay, she opens up and slides me into her mouth.
I let my head fall back and close my eyes. I barely drank tonight, so my dick should be good and ready, but once again, he’s not acting right. She’s slurping. It’s sloppy. I usually like that, but her noises are grating on each one of my nerves.
I thrust my hips, taking back control in hopes I can at least get off tonight and fuck her face.
Just as my balls start to tingle, a little shriek pierces the air. “Sorry!”
I jolt, eyes popping wide to find Ellie standing at the front of the bus, a hand clamped over her face as she walks backward. The girl between my legs doesn’t stop; if anything, she sucks harder, but my dick might as well be deflating.
Using her hair, I ease her off of me. “Times up.”
She narrows her eyes, her face flaming red in anger as she stands. I flick my hand, shooing her away.
“Asshole,” she spits before stomping off.
Once she’s gone, I button my jeans and drop back down on the couch. “Coast is clear.”
Ellie doesn’t move, a hand still pressed firmly over her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. Calvin sent me to ask if you wanted the guys to bring you back food from the pizza place.”
“What?”
“Do you want something to—”
“Calvin sent you?” I ask, through clenched teeth. That son of a bitch.
“Yeah, to get your order.”
“Ellie, uncover your eyes, there’s nothing to see,” I snap, not meaning to take my anger out on her. I want to throttle Calvin. He knew exactly what he was sending her to walk in on.
She peeks through her fingers. When she sees me dressed, she drops her hand. It’s not like she hasn’t already seen everything anyway.
“So…do you want food?” she repeats, not looking the least bit embarrassed or pissed about what she just walked in on. No hint of blush on her sharp cheekbones. Then again, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her shy or embarrassed.
“Fuck yeah, I’m starving.” I hop up, and Ellie trails after me. I stalk past Calvin with a glare, shoulder-checking him. I’ll deal with him later.
“The guys are this way.” Ellie points down the sidewalk.
I continue in the opposite direction, leaving her no choice but to follow. “I want tacos. Where can we get tacos at this hour?” I wonder out loud.
“Well, there’s a Taco Bell two blocks away. Paco’s Tacos around the corner and…”
I spin around and she bumps into me. She looks up from her phone at the same time I glance down at her screen. She’s pulled up the Google results for nearest tacos.
“What’s Paco’s Tacos?” I click on the tab, and we both wait for the page to load. We scroll through the menu and decide to check it out.
It’s a small, colorful joint with sombreros hanging everywhere and Mariachi music playing in the background.
My stomach rumbles as the smell of sizzling onions, peppers, and grilled meat hits my nose, reminding me I haven’t eaten in hours.
Ellie grabs us a table in the corner while I walk up to the counter and order a little bit of everything, then join her.
“You ordered for me?” She cocks a sassy eyebrow.
I shrug. “I know what you like.”
She tucks her plush lips—ones that are the perfect size for kissing and cock sucking—between her teeth and smiles. She doesn’t try to deny it. She knows as well as I do we were good together—in the bedroom. Or the car, or alley; anywhere as long as it was me between her thighs.
It was the other stuff that got complicated.
I could feel her getting attached. Of course, she never said that, but I knew.
It was in the way she would linger longer after hookups, cuddle me at night like she didn’t want to let go, the way she’d text me about her day.
The way I’d catch her staring at me with stars in her eyes like I was something special. I’m not.
I thought we were on the same page, but she wanted more. When she proposed exclusive friends with benefits, I freaked out and ghosted her. It was a dick move, especially since I knew I couldn’t actually hide from her. Our best friends were falling in love.
I knew we’d have to face each other eventually.
I hid as long as I could, and she let me.
She never tried hunting me down, and when we saw each other again, she pretended I didn’t exist. Then Penn went and punched Olivia’s ex-boyfriend, and the blood from his nose caused Ellie to faint.
I helped nurse her back to health, and it seemed like she forgave me after that.
Since then, we’ve been friends, only cashing in on the benefits a few times, but that was a while ago. We’re strictly on business terms now.
The guy brings our food to the table, and we chow down on the assortment of tacos and salsa. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your…you know,” Ellie says, crunching on a chip.
I wave her off, shoveling a chicken taco down my throat in one bite. They’re smaller than my hand. I don’t bother telling her that Calvin set her up to see me like that. He probably just wanted to stir shit up.
Besides, it’s no secret I’ve been hooking up with groupies.
Or trying to, anyway. Just as I’m sure Ellie’s getting her rocks off.
I’ve caught her flirting with the crew members at venues.
I assume her hotel bed hasn’t been cold this whole time.
Thankfully, I haven’t had to see it, so I can pretend otherwise. Ignorance is, in fact, bliss.