“Oh . . . all right, but I’m not bailing you out if you get in another fight. Just let me go change.” My eyes scanned down her body; her dress revealed the top of her breasts and her breathing had grown heavy, pushing them toward me with every inhale.
“You look good. Just grab your shoes.”
Her cheeks tinged pink as she smiled. I let my hands slide off her silky skin. I grabbed the bottle from her hand and sat it on the counter behind us. “We can finish that later. Let’s go get something a little stronger.”
As I opened the door to the hotel room, I placed my hand on the small of Donna’s back to guide her out of the room. When I stepped into the brightly lit hall, my eyes locked with Sarah’s as she swiped her key card in a room just three doors down.
Her mouth opened as if she was going to say something, but her door pulled open and she practically fell inside as I heard the sound of Derek’s muffled voice. I swallowed hard as Donna and I walked in Sarah’s direction.
As we passed the door, which still hung open, Derek glanced out at us and smiled. “You two are like a thing now, huh?”
I glanced over his shoulder to Sarah and back to him. “We’re just hanging out.”
“Whatever, man.” He glanced back at Sarah behind him. “We’re just getting ready to hit the bar scene with the twins. You guys should come. Would suck to be the only couple there.”
I glanced to Donna, who shrugged but didn’t want to commit to anything. I knew she was worried it would upset me more to be around Sarah, but Derek was holding out an olive branch and I would be stupid not to take it.
“Yeah, just let her grab some shoes. We’ll meet you in the lobby.” I pushed my fingertips against Donna’s lower back and she began walking toward her room two doors down on the left. When we got inside, I slammed her door a little harder than necessary.
“Sorry about that,” I sighed as she grabbed her shoes and slipped them on her feet.
“It’s fine.” Her tone had a bite as she ran her fingers through the loose curls that hung around her face.
“If you don’t want to go, we can just hang out.”
“I don’t want you to be embarrassed when people think we are a couple.”
“What?” I said. She tried to walk by me, but I grabbed her arm, stopping her beside me. “Why do you think I would be embarrassed?”
She sighed, her shoulders sagging as she looked at my chest, avoiding eye contact. “What does it matter if Derek and Sarah think we are a couple? Am I that much of an outcast? I know what you all think about me, but am I really that repulsive?”
I took my free hand and titled her chin up with my fingers. “It matters because we aren’t, Donna. And none of us think you are repulsive. You’re just a bitch.” I laughed as I saw the familiar frustration roll over her face.
She knocked my hand away as her eyebrows pulled together. “I know we aren’t. But why does it matter? If Derek thinks you aren’t looking at Sarah, he won’t care if you’re around. And maybe Sarah seeing you with someone else will make her realize what she is missing.”
I hadn’t thought of that. I let go of Donna’s arm as a smile spread across my face. “You’re kind of evil,” I joked. She grinned wickedly and winked at me. I wrapped my arm over her shoulder and pulled her head closer, kissing her on the forehead.
“I have my moments.” She giggled as I pulled open the door to her room, and we made our way down to the lobby.
The twins were already waiting for us and they turned around, eyebrows rising as they saw me with my arm around Donna. The elevator next to us opened and Derek and Sarah stepped out.
“This is going to be fun,” Chris said, laughing, and Terry shook his head. I just glanced at Donna, who smiled and slipped her arm behind my back.
“Where we hitting first?” Derek asked as we walked across the lobby toward the front door.
“I figured we’d hit a few bars and get a good buzz on before we find a club,” Terry called over his shoulder as we stepped out into the cool night.
I walked behind Sarah and Derek, getting a view of his hand grabbing her ass. I clenched my jaw and swallowed back the jealousy just as her hand swept behind her and knocked his away. I couldn’t help but grin a little bit at her clear annoyance.
Then he reached over and flicked her ribs and she glared at him. I could tell it really bothered her, but Derek was a clueless fucking idiot. Clearly he thought he was being playful or something. He just didn’t get her at all.
I laughed and Donna looked up at me through her thick, dark lashes. I just shook my head as we walked down the sidewalk toward a large neon sign ahead.
Chapter Four
SARAH
I WASN’T SURPRISED THAT E was with someone, but I didn’t expect it to be his manager. She didn’t seem like his type. Even though she was around our age and seemed cool enough, she was definitely more uptight and professional than E, and E was just . . . E.
Derek seemed to relax a little when he discovered they were together, and that made me feel a little more at ease. I didn’t want this trip to be ruined by his perpetual bad mood over my past with E. Derek just didn’t believe that we’d only ever been friends. Unfortunately, that was a side effect of his own cheating, even if it was way in the past—he just never trusted anyone anymore. But I knew that dealing with his insecurities was part of dating Derek—it just came with the territory.
But still, if he wasn’t worried about E, we could all hang out, and that is all I wanted. I missed Damaged. Life on the road without those guys—and Cass, especially—had been a lot more stressful. Our band just didn’t mesh the way theirs did, especially with all the drama between Derek and me lately.
We slipped inside the Wet Room, just a few blocks from our hotel. I was so glad we had an entire two weeks to relax and hang with our friends before getting back on the road. I loved the stage, but we all needed some time to relax.
The thumping music pulsed through my body and drowned out any lingering thoughts of E. Derek slipped his hand in mine, pulling me behind him, as we navigated our way through the crowded bar. I wasn’t much of a hand-holder, but I was happy not to get lost in the throngs of people stuffed into the room. The bar had to be at capacity and it was nearly impossible to move.
We found a booth along the right wall, and Donna and I slid in as the guys went to order us a round. We stared out at the crowd of dancing bodies as the lights flashed red and blue over them. The lack of conversation would have been awkward if not for the loud music.
“It’s nice to get out of the hotel for a little bit,” Donna yelled to be heard.
I nodded and smiled as the image of her and E locked away in a hotel flashed in my mind. They had separate rooms and I wanted to ask her why that was, but it wasn’t my place. I didn’t know Donna well.
“So, you and E . . .” My voice trailed off.
She stared out at the crowd. “He’s a good guy.”
“Jesus, this place is fucking crazy,” Terry yelled as he reached the booth. Donna slid over closer to me in the half-oval bench seat so he could sit. E showed up with two drinks in hand as he looked down at me.
“Oh, sorry!” I slid out of the booth so he could slide in beside Donna. I stood at the edge of the table awkwardly for a moment before I sat back down, keeping space between E and me. E handed a drink to Donna and leaned closer to her ear to say something, and I wondered what they were talking about.
“Where’s Derek?” I yelled.
E turned to look at me before scanning the crowd and shrugging. “I think he went to the bathroom.” He slid his mixed drink in front of me. “Here. You can have mine while you wait.”