“You always tense up when I touch you. What part of your body do you want me to touch most, Ellie? Your lips?” he asked, running a finger over my bottom lip. I wanted to savor that finger on my lip, lick it just because it was part of his body. “Your chest?” His finger dragged from my lip to my chest and heat boiled in my stomach. “Your full, perky breasts that I can’t seem to stop staring at? If I had the chance, I’d motorboat the hell out of ‘em.” He smirked, his fingers expanding and reaching in for one of my breasts. Before he could grab it, I snapped out of my daze and shoved him away, scowling.
“God, you’re so full of yourself.”
He chuckled deeply as I pushed past him to get to the coolers of beers. “I’ll be waiting, Ellie!” he called. I grimaced over my shoulder, but that grimace turned into a mask full of shock as a cluster of girls rushed for him, fighting to be on his arm for the rest of the afternoon. He simply laughed over their arguing, his eyebrow arched amusedly. His eyes then swung up to meet mine as I stopped in front of the coolers and snatched out a beer. It was hard to look away from him. “I’m ready when you are,” he mouthed at me, grinning widely.
“Never, dickhead!” I mouthed back.
He simply chuckled, chose two from his collection of girls, and went off with them. Not once did he look at me as the day carried on.
When the sun had set, Montana finally came to check on me, a smile gracing his lips. “You okay, Eliza?”
“I’m great,” I sighed, sitting up on my towel.
He tilted his head, his eyes softening. “I’m being a horrible date, aren’t I?”
I giggled. “A very horrible one, but don’t worry about it. I’ll move on.”
He chuckled and placed his palms on his knees to bend over. “Most of us are going to a party later. I know how you hate parties and… well… I’ll be hanging with the hot chick over there for the rest of my evening.” He pointed back with his thumb and I looked, seeing Miss G-string standing a few feet away with a towel on her shoulder. “Maybe you should call Ben, tell him to get you a ride back to the bus.”
I nodded because the bus sounded like heaven to my ears compared to a party. “Yeah. I’ll do that.”
“Great.” He sighed, standing up straight. “Have a good night, Miss Eliza!”
I waved at him, laughing at how nonchalant he was. Montana was sweet, but when he had plans, he didn’t like to be held back. I couldn’t blame him. He was living his life and doing what he wanted. I was never one to make others hold back, so I had no problem with him fleeing.
After calling Ben and hurrying for the parking lot to wait for my ride, I sighed and sat on the curb, the palms of my hands planted behind me on the concrete. Someone cleared his throat behind me and I glanced over my shoulder. Gage came into view with the blonde from the mall and the brunette he’d ridden with on the jet ski.
“No date?” he asked, smirking.
I stuck my middle finger up and turned my head. I was no longer in the mood for him.
Gage chuckled, stepping ahead with the skanks. He nuzzled the brunette’s neck as they approached the truck. She giggled obnoxiously, and as the girls climbed in before him, he spanked their asses and they yelped excitedly.
I rolled my eyes, looking away. He was truly revolting.
The doors slammed shut and the truck made a U-turn to get out the parking lot. As it drove by, Gage winked at me, making kissy faces and then shouting, “Make it soon, Sweet Ellie!” Again, I gave him the middle finger and as soon as they were out of sight, my truck came and I sighed heavily, ready for the night to just be over.
WRONG TIMING
The following night the boys had a show and, of course, they knocked the ball out of the fucking park. Amazing, beautiful, and heart throbbing, as always. I hated how Gage could sing so beautifully but had one of the ugliest and cockiest personalities. I don’t know why it did, but it bothered me that I’d caught on fire for his ass once again right after jet skiing.
It was two times in a row, and each time I made myself look foolish. He knew what he could do to me with his touch, how weak I could become.
Ugh.
It annoyed me.
It excited me.
It pissed me off.
It thrilled me.
It was completely enthralling, but I knew I had to keep my distance. He wasn’t good for me. He expected me to become one of the many whores on his arms. Um… not likely. Not ever. Unlike them, I had pride and dignity in myself.
After the show ended, a few girls stormed backstage arm-in-arm, waiting on the boys to come out of their dressing rooms just to meet them. As I sat on the sofa by the wall, I couldn’t help but watch them. They were giggling… a lot. They were too eager to see the boys and were even taking pictures with one another with their tongues hanging out while they waited.
I thought about why I didn’t have friends, but then reality slapped me out of my stupor and told me exactly why.
“You were no good to be around.”
If reality were real, that’s what it would have said to me. It would have scolded me for doing what I used to do for my mom. I didn’t deserve friends. I remember when I made a friend in elementary school. Her name was Teresa Talon and she wore pigtails every single day. She was a brunette with bright brown eyes and extremely tan skin. I met her during one of our recesses and we immediately became buddies.
One night, Teresa asked me to come to her house for a sleepover. I told my mom and she said I could, but only if I came back with something valuable. By valuable she meant I had to come back home with something worth a lot of money. Something she could pawn for some extra cash.
Let’s just say after the sleepover, I could never play with Teresa again. I could never see her, hang with her on the playground—I couldn’t even set my eyes in her direction. Those were her mom’s commands. I was placed in another class and never saw Teresa again.
“OH MY GOD!” one of the girls squealed, snapping me out of my daze. “There’s Gage Grendel! Oh my God, look at him! He’s so fucking hot!”
I rolled my eyes because if she knew how Gage really was, her pants wouldn’t have been so hot. Gage came down the hall in black jeans and a white T-shirt with black Arabic print on it. When he saw the cluster of girls bouncing up and down for him, he revealed a low, lazy smile and kept moving forward.
As soon as he was a step away, the security guards stepped in place so the girls wouldn’t trample him. “Gage! Please sign this!” one of the girls screamed, holding out a poster and a Sharpie.
“Gage, I have something even better.” One of the girls with bright pink hair pulled out her tit and held out a Sharpie. The security guards’ eyes widened as they stared down, but they kept their arms folded and the girls back. Gage chuckled, as if it were nothing to him, and signed her tit. Gross.
“How’s that?” he winked at her.
“Thanks, Gage,” she said, aiming to sound seductive. I snorted a laugh.
Gage continued signing things for the group of girls and soon each band member joined him. Roy didn’t stay as long as the others and I couldn’t help but watch him nearly sneak out the exit door. He was one who didn’t like to be seen at all. I had the urge to go after him, but I didn’t. I couldn’t afford to be nosey and I definitely didn’t want to follow after him and witness him beheading a poor kitten or a harmless turtle.
“All right, ladies. Time for the boys to get going,” one of the security guards said, pushing the girls back. “Come on. Out the door you go.” He grunted, aiming to keep one of them back. The other rushed forward to help get them out and when the door had shut, they both sighed, staring at one another, their heads shaking. “I swear it’s like a fucking zoo every time.” One of them chuckled.
“It’s the damn wild,” the other added as they walked down the hall.
“So let me guess…” I sighed, pushing from the sofa. Deed, Montana, and Gage turned quickly to look at me. It was like they just noticed I was around. “You’re going to the club again tonight?”
“Oh, no, Miss Eliza,” Montana said, shaking his head. “Tonight we’ll be hitting a house party. It’s going to be epic. Tons of other famous people will be there.”
I raised my eyebrows. Yet again, I was stuck with the band. Ben had taken the keys to the bus and my only ride was with them. I knew he did it on purpose, but he acted like it was an accident when I’d called him about it. I could hear him trying to conceal his snickering while on the phone.
I looked down at my clothes. Pink shorts and a solid grey T-shirt. I definitely wasn’t suited for a house party—let alone a party where a ton of famous people were going to be. FireNine was already too much for me.
“Do you think your driver will drop me off somewhere else before you get there?” I asked.
“Uh, hell no,” Deed snapped. “We aren’t making any stops. We’re going straight there. Gah, who let the girl tag along?” I couldn’t see his eyes beneath his sunglasses, but I knew for sure they were upset.
“I don’t have to go. I was just—”
“No,” Gage said, interrupting me. “You’re worried about your attire, but you look fine, Ellie.”