Chapter Thirteen
He paced the tent with this pent-up, nervous energy, and not because they were going on stage in a few short hours. He just couldn’t wait to see her.
Touch her.
Taste her.
Smell her.
Already, the girl had burrowed beneath his skin. She occupied his every thought, invaded all his dreams. From the moment Matt saw Gina standing at his door with that pizza in her hand, he’d been a man obsessed. And he didn’t mind it.
Venery’s crew arrived early this morning to set up the stage and load in. Matt glanced at the time on his phone and opened a beer while listening to the techs do a soundcheck. Once they finished, the crew would join the band for dinner, where they’d all hang out together until showtime.
Nine months.
That’s how long it had been since their last tour ended, and Christ, he’d missed this. Sadly, it would likely be another year before they were back out on the road again.
Touring was not an option. It was expected.
Yeah, five guys living on a bus can get real old, real quick, but they were some of the best times of his life.
Nothing compared to the adrenaline rush of being up on that stage.
Of all the boys, Matt loved being out on tour the most, but then he didn’t have anyone who loved him to come home to.
Do I, now?
Yeah, maybe I do.
Maybe Gina wasn’t quite in love with him yet, but she would be, dammit. Matt was a goner, and well, in his mind, they were already there. So, the thought of having to leave her behind for months at a time didn’t sit well with him. He’d figure something out. Bo did too, after all.
Kit was the first one to hit up the buffet. His plate piled high, he glanced over at him as he pulled out a chair. “You gonna eat, bro?”
“Not yet.” Matt swiped a piece of shrimp off the bass player’s plate and popped it into his mouth. As hungry as he was, he wanted to save his appetite.
“Waiting on Gina?” Kit rolled his eyes with a snicker. “You said she was coming.”
“Yeah, she’ll be here soon.”
Kit shook his head, pushing the blond surfer waves from his face. He reached for a fork, then his lips parted, the utensil dangling from his fingers. “How’d Tony take it when you told him you’re fucking his baby sister?”
“I’m not fucking her.”
While Matt should take umbrage at the crass remark, he didn’t, considering that’s the only thing he’d ever shared with women in the past. He fucked them. Desired them. But he never had feelings for them beyond physical gratification.
With Gina, it was different. So different. Yes, he desired her, and yes, he wanted to fuck her senseless, but instinct told him it was so much more than that. And it wasn’t just his dick talking, his heart wanted her, too.
Yeah, man, you are well and truly fucked.
“And… I… uh… I haven’t had a chance to talk to Tony yet.” Matt could feel his face growing warm at the admission. He’d been meaning to go see him, and he almost went to Rossi’s last night to do just that, but he ended up calling Gina instead.
“What the hell, dude? That’s fucked up.” Kit set his fork down and picked up his beer, taking a healthy swig. “He should hear it from you, and the sooner the better. What if he sees her here with you tonight?”
“I know, man.” His gaze shifted to Sloan, who had taken a seat next to Kit, then back again. “I’m going to, all right?”
“It’s your funeral, my friend,” Sloan quipped, lips curling into a smirk. His shoulder-length, streaked hair was slicked back at his nape—fucker was always changing it. No shirt. Skin oiled. Tight, threadbare jeans torn in all the places guaranteed to make the girls lose their ever-loving minds.
Leaning forward, Kit glanced up at him. “Is she really worth it?”
“C’mon now.” His smirk turning into a grin, Sloan rubbed at the oil on his abs. “You know our boy here better than anyone. Look at him. He’s salivating at the thought of stuffing that dick of his into sweet, young virgin pussy.”
“How about I stuff it down your throat?” His nostrils flaring, Matt bared his teeth.
Kit snorted. “Might shut him up.”
“It’s not like that,” Matt said, softening his voice. Then he straddled a chair across the table from his bandmates. “See, I don’t wanna just fuck her.”
“Wait, you really care for this girl?” Kit asked.
And with a nod, he smiled. “Yeah, I do.”
“Don’t look so butthurt about it.” Observing Kit’s reaction, Sloan chuckled, then he turned his attention back to him and said with a shrug, “I think he might be jealous.”
“Get the fuck outta here, Sloan.”
“Suck my dick.” And with a lift of his chin, he squeezed the denim between his legs. “I ain’t goin’ nowhere, baby.”
“What’s CJ doing here?” Maybe he shouldn’t have been, but Matt was surprised to see him waltz in as if he still belonged here. He didn’t. As agreed, they paid him a nice bonus in lieu of renewing his contract.
“One of two things.” Sloan held his beer poised at his lips. “To start some shit or to try and get his job back.”
“Fat chance of that.” With a toss of his mane, Kit sniggered. “He’s got some balls, man.”
“Nah.” Matt picked up his beer and winked. “He lost those a long time ago.”
“Yeah, well, you better hope he’s gone before your girl gets here,” Sloan whispered a warning, pointing his finger at him. “The fucker would love nothing more than to run to Tony.”
“Or sell you out to TMZ,” Kit added.
It wouldn’t be the first time CJ had pulled something like that. He always had a reason—publicity, image, or some such shit. And they let it slide, until Taylor got married, anyway. After that, when they left the label, his intrusive ploys only got worse.
“Hell, he’d do both.” His blue eyes narrowing, Sloan stabbed at a piece of prime rib. “Right after trying to get his stubby little fingers into Gina’s pretty white panties.”
Like no-nuts tried to with Ava? Over my dead fucking body.
“I’ll fucking kill him if he so much as breathes near her.”
“Think he wouldn’t know that?” Sloan steepled his fingers beneath his chin, and tilting his head, he grinned. “Fuck’s sake, Matt, he’d be counting on it.”
Right. CJ would get a story for the media, no matter what. He couldn’t let that happen. Matt would not subject Gina to his bullshit, and needing to know how much time he had left to get him out of here, he sent her a text.
Matt: How much longer until I see your gorgeous face, bunny?
Gina: Lina showed up late, but I’ll be leaving my house in about fifteen minutes.
Matt: Hurry, I need your lips on mine. Be safe on your way over.
Gina: Teo, Luca, and his friend are walking me.
Matt: Good. They can hang out here if they want.
Gina: They’d like that. I’ll tell them.
“Let’s help CJ move along, shall we?” He stood. “Gina will be here in about thirty minutes, and I don’t feel like going to jail today.”
Kit rose alongside him. “Looks like Taylor and Bo could use some help with that, yeah?”
Neither one appeared to be pleased at the arrival of their former manager, especially Bo.
“Hey there, Curtis,” Sloan taunted him, knowing all too well CJ hated to be called that. “What brings you here?”
“Did you think I’d miss a gig just because I’m not your manager anymore?”
Sure, you would. The asshole had missed plenty of them. CJ didn’t even come out on the last tour.
“We’re still friends, right?” He clapped Sloan’s back, flashing a bitter smile.
“I don’t know.” Matt glanced over at Bo. “Are we?”
“He’s no friend of mine,” the drummer said with a shake of his head.
“You heard him.” Matt held up his hands and shrugged. “Guess not.”
“Is that what all this bullshit’s been about, drummer boy?” His stance wide, CJ thrust his chest out and sneered. “You still got a hard-on for the babysitter?”
Matt saw the veins in Bo’s neck twitch. His fingers curled into fists, the muscles of his forearms flexing. It took every ounce of strength Taylor possessed to hold him back.
“You fucked with us one time too many, Curtis James.” Sloan snatched the bottle of whiskey that CJ held in his hand. “And after everything we’ve done for you.”
“You ungrateful fuck, I’m the one who got you where you are.”
No, motherfucker, we did that in spite of you.
“What in the hell did you ever do for me?”
Then, oblivious, CJ made an unrecoverable error. He poked Sloan’s chest and woke the bear.
“We made you rich as fuck, that’s what.” His expression murderous, Sloan bellowed the words like the metalcore screams he was famous for.
Then, to drive his point home, he pushed him into a table.
“Penthouse apartment overlooking Lincoln Park. Two Maseratis. You think your whiny-ass girlfriend would stay with you otherwise? Think again.”
“If she only knew,” Matt muttered under his breath.
The countless number of women CJ fucked behind her back for starters.
“Is that supposed to be a threat, rhythm man?” He glared at him, then, wiping the spittle from his mouth, his countenance changed. “C’mon, we’ve been friends since the first grade. I busted my ass for you guys and this is how you repay me?”
“You got paid,” Matt reminded him. “And very well, I might add.”
A lot more than you deserved.
“We made you millions upon fucking millions, but that wasn’t enough for you, was it?
So, you betrayed us.” And Sloan came at him again.
Gripping the collar of his shirt, he seethed through gritted teeth.
“Tell me, Curtis, how much did you get for the story that sent Dominy spiraling? For letting the paps in on Tay’s wedding? ”
Mic drop.
A ruddy flush crept across his cheeks, and CJ’s eyes popped open so wide that white sclera was visible all the way around the iris.
Sloan’s deep chuckle filled the silence. “Oh, did you think I didn’t know about that?”
“Bloody hell.” It was Bo holding Taylor back now. “Was he in on it with Salena?”
“Are you high?” CJ waved Sloan off. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I know people, Curtis, and people love to talk. Did Vanessa Parisi pay you to get to us, too, or did she just fuck you for the privilege?” Sloan spat on the ground at CJ’s feet, and with a shake of his collar, he let him go. “I hope she wasn’t too disappointed.”
“This is how you do your friends?” Flabbergasted, Matt could only shake his head.
“You’re going to regret this. All of you.” But CJ was looking right at him. “I made you, and I can ruin you, too.”
“Bollocks!” Taylor shouted. Matt couldn’t recall ever seeing him this angry. “You didn’t make us, you slimy bastard.”
“C’mon, CJ, you’ve had a lot to drink,” Brendan said, escorting him toward the exit. “I think you should go home before you say something you’ll regret.”
“You knew what he did and never said anything?” Bo asked, his jaw going slack.
“Just a hunch,” Sloan said, pouring CJ’s whiskey into a glass. Then, he drank it. “But I’d say the look on his face confirmed it.”
“Damn.” Bo took the glass from Sloan, refilling it. “CJ knows people, too. You think he’s gonna start shit?”
“Let him try.” Slinging his arm over Taylor’s shoulder, Brendan didn’t appear to be concerned. “I’ll have Phil send him a strongly worded letter, and if he does, we’ll sue.”
“I think now’s a good time to tell them, mate.”
“Tell us what?” Matt asked, his gaze going back and forth between the two men.
“A friend of a friend put me in touch with UMG.” Brendan reached for his shoulder with a broad grin, then he shook it. “And they want Venery.”
“Universal Music Group?” Bo took a step back, rubbing his forehead. He muttered the very thought in Matt’s head, “I thought we were done with record labels.”
“The deal’s to our advantage. We should at least consider it,” Taylor said, oddly enough, being that he was the one who convinced them to part ways with their old label, and it had proven to be a wise decision.
“They only want to back us—license our music. We get to stay in control and retain ownership of the masters.”
“We’re doing just fine on our own.” And slumping down into a chair, Sloan picked at the tattered rips in his jeans.
“You are, but they’ve got a marketing team with tremendous reach and you don’t,” Brendan offered, but Sloan already had tuned him out.
Matt turned his gaze on Taylor. “They’ll want us touring a lot more than we have been.”
“Probably.”
“And you’re good with that?” It would stun Matt if he said so. Taylor was a grumpy motherfucker when he was away from his family. “What about Chloe, Jesse, and the kids?”
“We haven’t negotiated a contract yet.” And he handed him a beer. “Besides, if anything, Bo has shown us there’s a much better way to travel. Universal’s a major label—one of the big three—so I’m sure they’ll accommodate our needs.”
Then, glancing at the path outside, Sloan got up from his chair. “And here comes trouble.”
Brendan followed his gaze. “Who’s that?”
She wore a little white dress. Hips swaying, long, dark hair swinging in the breeze, her brothers and Kevin Cofield walking alongside her.
Matt smiled. “My girl.”
“You remember Tony Rossi’s little sister, don’t you?” Pressing his lips together, Sloan attempted to contain his snicker. He failed. Miserably.
“Gina?” Brendan arched a brow, sighing. “Oh, boy.”