The back door swung open and light surrounded us. “Put your damn dick away. Everyone’s waiting on you for sound check. Then we need to warm up. Hey, Jess,” Green said.
“Fuck,” Krit groaned, looking up at me. “Did I get you wet? Are you gonna be left achy?”
“Damn, dude, whisper that shit,” Green said from the door.
Krit glared over at him. “Then shut the damn door,” he called back.
“If I shut the door, you’ll finish what you started,” Green argued.
“If she fucking needs me to, I’ll finish it right now with the damn door open,” Krit replied.
I moved his hand and started buttoning my jeans back up before they got any louder talking about my needs. “I’m good. I promise. Later,” I told him, and kissed him.
“Break? Come back to the storage room,” he said.
I nodded.
“I fucking hate you,” Green swore as he held open the door.
“Hey, Green,” I finally said.
Krit kept me close to his side as we walked into the bar. “Rock’s already out there. I saw him earlier,” he told me. I nodded and headed to find my cousin.
JASON
This was a bad idea. It had been three months. I had thought I was over it. Over her. When the guys wanted to come stay at Jax’s beach house, I’d said sure. Why not? It was just a weekend. Then they’d all insisted we go to the local bar to hear the band. Someone had told them how good the band was, and they wanted to check it out. There was a good chance she wouldn’t even be here.
I was overreacting. It wasn’t like she had come to the bar all the time when I’d spent time with her. Hensley opened the door and Finn walked on in. Hensley followed him, and I stood there wondering if I went back to the limo if anyone would notice. Finn was already tipsy, and Hensley wasn’t far behind him.
I stood there as the door closed and tried to convince myself to walk inside. The door opened again and Hensley looked at me. “Come on,” he ordered.
Telling him it was about Jess wouldn’t be good. They thought that was over and done. If they knew I couldn’t get her out of my head, they would never let me live it down. I would have to hear them say her name all the time and talk about her body, and I couldn’t deal with that shit. I had enough going on internally.
I followed them to the bar, which was the last place Finn needed to be. I wanted to scan the place for her, but then what if I found her? What did I do? Did I speak to her, or would she want to ignore me?
“Heard this band is fantastic. They played at a bar in New Orleans when Cash was there last spring. He got their CD and shit,” Finn said as the bartender handed him a shot of tequila. It was too early for him to be doing shots.
“Hey, the hottie you brought to New York, she’s fair game now, right? I mean, since you’re dating Star?”
I tensed up. Had he seen her, or was he just looking for her? I turned to look at Hensley. “She’s off-limits,” I said. “Why?”
Hensley frowned. “You’re dating a fucking celebrity. Why the hell is she off-limits?”
“I’m not dating Star. She’s a friend. She’s Jax’s friend. Do you see Jess?” I turned, giving in and looking out into the crowd.
“Who?” Hensley asked.
I clenched my teeth. “The girl I brought to New York. Her name is Jess.”
“Oh yeah, she’s right . . .” He pointed, then stopped. “Whoa.”
I followed his gaze past the area where her cousin and friends were last time, to the wall over by the stage. A guy with white-blond hair sticking straight up and covered in tattoos had her head in his hand and his mouth locked on hers.
“Fuck, is that guy with the band?” Finn asked. “Oh wait, he’s fucking that chick from New York’s face. Wait, I’m confused,” Finn slurred as he set the empty shot glass down.
“Guess she’s taken, Hensley said. “I’m not about to mess with that. The dude looks rough.” He turned back to the bartender and picked up his beer.
“You guys know Jess?” the bartender asked, and I turned to look at him. My throat was so damn tight all I could do was nod. I wasn’t sure I could speak just yet. I hadn’t seen her since she got on the jet in New York. I’d let her go. It had been for the best. I just hadn’t expected to see her like this.
“She’s Krit’s girl,” the bartender said, as if that answered all the questions in the universe.
“Who?” Finn asked, still looking confused.
“The lead singer of Jackdown, Krit. Jess is his.”
I turned back around to see Krit take the stage. He was shirtless, and his body was covered in tattoos. His jeans hung on his hips, and he was wearing eyeliner . . . and nail polish. Really? She was dating that?