Chapter Ten
JUNIOR YEAR.
It was hell.
Daisy was in every AP and honors course she could get into and, much like the years prior, it was all due to her father’s persistent urging.
The only good part was that Jameson shared one of her classes.
He was a senior now, graduating in a few short months.
His schedule was already wild, and the band was gaining real traction.
Their first single, “Dark Road,” debuted just after summer and became an instant local hit. Then the album dropped right before Christmas, tugging the guys away over winter break for interviews and appearances.
Daisy vividly remembered the first time she heard their song on the radio.
They’d just left a late movie and, with her newly extended midnight curfew, had driven to a nearby beach.
The second the car was in park, they were wrapped around each other—Daisy straddling his hips, Jameson’s hands at her waist, kissing her like she was his very breath.
Her mind floated to that familiar, blissful place when he touched her.
She knew the time was coming to take the next step.
She was sure he was the one she wanted to share everything with.
Part of her felt bad for making him wait. Fans would expect a rock star to be the opposite of patient, but she knew Jameson didn’t care. He only wanted her to be certain.
Though they were waiting, it wasn’t easy, especially in times like these, when they would get hot and heavy in the front seat of his Land Cruiser. They weren’t parked for more than ten minutes when they heard it, a familiar melody that floated up from the radio, faint at first, then clear.
They stilled. Daisy’s mouth fell open as Jameson’s voice filled the car.
“You’re on the radio,” she whispered, shock fizzing through her words.
“Holy—” He didn’t finish.
They listened in silence to the entire song.
When the last note faded, Jameson didn’t speak. He kissed her instead, deep and laughing, pouring every kind of happiness into her.
Life seemed to move too quickly.
Daisy thought that daily as the months flipped forward.
So much had happened in a year. She had decided which colleges she would apply to.
Her customer base was growing beyond her parents’ friends.
Jameson, Kyler, and Sean were recent high school graduates, and TKC was preparing to go on their first-ever tour with Ace Monroe at the end of the summer.
The guys went to LA at least once a month to meet with their label, mainly networking, talking logistics, and learning the machine that was the music industry.
Before their tour commenced, TKC was set to perform at a big music festival in Santa Barbara.
Daisy began buttering up her parents weeks ahead of time.
While their daughter was just shy of being a “real” adult, they still held fairly strict rules.
It came as no surprise that they were hesitant in allowing her to travel with a bunch of boys to a music festival.
But what came as an even bigger surprise was when they said yes.
It would be a weekend to remember.
None of the parents could make it—Charlie and Rebecca were away on a long-planned anniversary trip, and Margot couldn’t get the time off work.
So Daisy, Anna, and Sean drove down separately from the guys. The label had booked the band in a nice hotel near the venue, complete with too-much food, drinks, and a spa. They hadn’t even toured yet and the rock-star treatment had begun.
After a quick hang in the band’s room, the guys peeled off to rehearse, and Daisy, Anna, and Sean went exploring. They ate lunch at a small café and after rented e-bikes to ride along the beach.
They’d just returned when Anna tugged Daisy toward their room.
“Don’t hate me, okay?”
She squinted her eyes at her best friend. “Is it bad?”
Anna shrugged and avoided eye contact. It must have been bad.
“Just spit it out.”
Anna winced. “I… kissed your brother.”
Daisy’s eyes nearly popped. “Ew—why? You’re like a sister to him!”
“I know! It just happened.” Rushing into their hotel room, both Daisy and Anna plopped down onto their respective beds. “Just tell me quickly.”
Anna crossed her legs and sat upright. “It happened last week at his graduation party. It was innocent but also hot… sorry. I’ve been feeling really guilty about it all day and had to tell you. Are you mad?”
Daisy massaged her throbbing temples, still processing the information.
“Disgusted, yes, but mad? No. You should know me better than that.”
“Good, because I was hoping we’d, um, hook up again tonight.”
“Anna!”
“What? You said you weren’t mad.”
“I wasn’t—when it was a one-time thing. That’s my brother and you’re my best friend. It’s… a lot.”
“You’re right, what was I thinking? I just love being alone all night while my best friend gets her freak on with her rock-star boyfriend.”
Daisy flushed.
Before the guys left to rehearse, Jameson had pulled Daisy aside and asked her to stay the night in his hotel room.
Daisy was quick to say yes. He’d promised sleep was fine—whatever she wanted—but Daisy had a feeling that tonight would be the night.
She hadn’t told him; she wanted to be certain in the moment.
“Do what you want, Anna,” she said, softening her tone. “But please don’t give me the play-by-play tomorrow.”
Anna clapped once. “Double D, you have my word.”
They arrived early at the festival to soak in the backstage. A stagehand checked their VIP passes and led them to the holding room. The guys were sprawled on a couch, goofing around. Jameson’s gaze found Daisy instantly, warm enough to redden her cheeks.
“Like what you see?” she whispered.
“Love what I see,” he murmured into her hair, “and I’ll never get enough.”
She wore tight jeans and a TKC tank. Jameson’s cartooned face, tour art, sat right over her heart. Of course he noticed.
A loud cough sounded behind them. Daisy turned.
“Oh—Daisy, this is Harley, our manager.”
Harley, a striking blonde with a pearly smile, shook Daisy’s hand. “I’ve been wondering when I’d meet the famous Daisy Daniels. The boys can’t stop talking about you.”
Something in Harley’s gaze assessed more than greeted. Daisy tried to ignore the prickle, but she couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated as she greeted her back.
“I need you,” Harley said to Jameson.
“What’s up?”
Already tugging at his shirt, she scoffed, “This… is not what you’re wearing on stage.”
Jameson looked down at the Guns N’ Roses’ Use Your Illusion tee Daisy had given him for his birthday. “What’s wrong with it?”
“It doesn’t fit the image. You’re a young, hot frontman, not some kid still playing a bar in the Bay. Let’s go.” She pivoted like a drill sergeant.
Daisy arched her brow. “She seems lovely.”
“She’s… intense,” Jameson admitted. “But she means well. You’ll see.”
He turned back to Daisy. “Before I go—I was hoping you’d do me a favor?”
“Anything.”
“Will you watch from the wings? Security says this show gets rowdy. I’ll breathe easier knowing you’re safe. And…” He bit his lip, suddenly shy. “I want you to be the first face I see when I come off.”
Her heart fluttered. “Okay.”
Daisy stayed near the stage with Harley while Anna and Sean went to their seats. If Harley disliked sharing her wing space, she certainly wasn’t subtle about it. But still Daisy tried to give her a chance.
“How long have you two been together?” Harley asked, eyes on the crowd.
“A little over two years. Longer if you count—”
“We’ll need to keep that under wraps for a while,” Harley cut in, smooth as butter. “That’s if it even lasts.”
Daisy’s mouth slumped in shock. “Excuse me?”
Harley dispassionately flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Sorry to be brash, but you know young love… it can be a fickle bitch. The label has a very specific image in mind for Jameson. We need the public to view him as sexy, mysterious, single.”
Daisy didn’t realize the public needed anything more than his talent. She understood the implications that came along with fame, but she didn’t realize that their relationship would be compromised in the process.
“Does Jameson know you’re trying to change him?”
“Not change, honey. Enhance.”
Daisy wanted to give Harley a piece of her mind. Jameson didn’t need any changing or enhancing. He was perfectly him, perfectly hers. She didn’t get a chance to answer; the guys were moving into place.
“You ready?” Harley said as more of a demand, rather than a question.
The guys nodded and waited anxiously to be announced.
Jameson slid his clammy fingers through Daisy’s. He was nervous. She squeezed back, the automatic cure. “You’re going to be great. You always are.”
He dipped his head so only she could hear. “Thanks, darlin’. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” She started to lift her face but then remembered Harley’s warning. Daisy stepped back instead. The MC announced The Kings Court, and Jameson forced a grin.
“Kill it, Band Boy,” she said.
“I always do.”
The show was electric.
Mid-set, Jameson ripped off the fitted red shirt Harley had insisted on, and the crowd exploded. Daisy tried not to grin too hard, but she knew him well enough to catch the message.
He was giving the “one finger salute” to Harley and the label. No one ever could or would change Jameson Kingston.
They played three songs—two originals and a cover of Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark.” Tears stung Daisy’s eyes as she watched them hold five thousand people in their palms. They were right on the edge of the thing they’d worked so hard for.
It scared her to picture the life that might follow, but with Jameson beside her, she’d take it.
They were young and though she hated to admit it, Harley’s words echoed: young love could be fickle. People wouldn’t understand. People would judge. But Daisy and Jameson had never doubted, back before the brink of anything, and not now as they performed before this crowd of thousands.