“Thank you.” I smiled over at him and my eyes fell to the hand that was resting on his leg. Donna’s hand. I picked up the drink and took a sip as I pondered their relationship. They didn’t seem like a good fit for each other, but E seemed happier than I remembered.
Chris came back and, without saying a word, slid in next to me, bumping my hip and shoving me closer to E until my side was pressed against his.
“Sorry!”
He turned his head toward me and our noses nearly touched. “What?” he mouthed, and leaned closer so my head was next to his ear.
The smell of his polo sport washed over me. “I said I was sorry.”
He pulled back to look at me, his brow furrowed, before placing his lips next to my ear. “You don’t ever need to apologize for touching me.” As he pulled back, he winked and turned to resume his conversation with Terry on the other side of the table. Such a notorious flirt. I shook my head—I swear he only did things like that to mess with Derek.
I grabbed my drink and sucked down half of it. My throat burned. It was practically straight liquor with just a splash of soda.
“I should go look for Derek,” I said to Chris, who was nursing a beer on the other side of me. He glanced down at me and back to his beer as he set it on the table.
“I’m sure he is just stuck in line at the bathroom.” His gaze flicked to Terry and there was some silent exchange.
I rolled my eyes. I hated when they communicated in code like that. “Whatever, just let me out, Chris.” E looked to Chris and nodded. Chris sighed and slid out of the booth so I could get out, just as Derek showed up at the table.
“Hey, this place is crazy, man.” Derek’s eyes were already glossed over, and he slipped in front of Chris and tapped my thigh for me to slide back into the booth. I did, pushing my leg flush against E’s as Chris squeezed in on the end.
“Where were you?” I asked as Derek ran his hand over his mouth.
“I was getting a fucking drink. This is a bar.”
“Where is mine?”
He laughed as he shook his head. “I may have drank it.” He smiled as he looked over at me, the smell of vodka on his breath. “What’s yours is mine, right? Or some such shit like that.”
“Fuck you.” I rolled my eyes as I laughed.
“Oh?” He cocked his head to the side and lowered his voice. “Right now?”
I felt Eric’s body stiffen beside me as his shoulder pressed harder against mine. “There’s ladies here, man,” he said loud enough for Derek to hear.
“I must have missed them.” Derek laughed again but there was no humor, and I knew he was trying to start a fight.
E didn’t take the bait. He shrugged as he grabbed Donna’s drink and drank it down. He leaned over so his lips brushed against the shell of my ear. “I won’t fight with him. You can relax.”
E always had the reputation of flying off the handle, but he wasn’t a bad guy and was actually a lot kinder than most in our business. Still, the endless fights after our gigs had earned him a reputation that wasn’t easy to shake. He was always the first one to shove a photog, freak out at an overzealous groupie, or even flip out at one of us if he thought the set didn’t go well. He just had a short fuse, and he seemed to be almost always on edge, especially lately.
I glanced over at him and his gaze didn’t waver. I knew he would keep his temper in check for the sake of our friendship.
“Who needs another round?” Chris asked, and we all held up a hand. “I’m going to need some extra hands. Help me out, buddy?” He stood and looked down at Derek. Derek nodded and slid out of the booth. I breathed a sigh of relief that he would have a few minutes to cool off.
“So . . .” Terry ran his hand through his dark hair with a smirk on his face. “He’s kind of a dick still.”
E laughed.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “He’s just stressed. We all are.”
“I’ll drink to that,” E said, and Donna laughed, laying her head on his shoulder.
“Maybe I should go back to the room. I’m not really feeling up to this.”
“You’re a rock star. Partying is in your blood,” Terry yelled.
“I’m just the boobs of this operation,” I joked, and rolled my eyes. E’s deep laugh shook his whole body against my side and he turned, flashing me a smile, revealing a deep dimple in his cheek. I couldn’t help but smile back at him.
“Why don’t we dance?” Donna grinned up at E, her bottom lip between her teeth.
My heart sank a little when he nodded in agreement. I didn’t want to be left in the booth alone. Terry slid out of the seat, and Donna and E followed him. As they began to walk off, E turned back to me and held out his hand.
“You coming?”
I looked around for any sight of Derek and Chris, but they were nowhere to be found.
“What have you got to lose?” E asked.
“My street cred,” I joked as I slid out of my seat and put my hand in his before I could second-guess my decision.
I thought he would drop my hand as I rose to my feet, but instead he curled his fingers around mine and pulled me in the direction that Donna and Terry had gone. His thumb ran softly over my knuckles as we navigated through the dancers.
Donna was dancing in front of Terry, who was already receiving attention from other women. I began to sway my hips to the beat of the booming base.
“I couldn’t find you!” Derek called from behind me, and E’s head snapped in that direction as his fingers slipped from mine. Derek lifted a cup over my shoulder for me to take.
“Thanks,” I yelled back as he put his free hand on my hip and pressed his body against me from behind. His hips began to move with mine as I quickly downed my shot.
Chris handed out the shots to the others, and they yelled cheers as they all tipped their heads back and drank. E only glanced over at Derek and me for a second before he pulled Donna against him and began to dance. She smiled as she looped her arms around his neck, her right leg between his legs as they moved against each other. E’s hands moved down her back as he whispered something in her ear, and she shook her head as her fingers went into his hair and she gazed up into his eyes. The moment suddenly seemed intimate and private, so I quickly looked away, feeling invasive.
Derek’s hands ran over my hip bones as he held me against him. “I’m sorry I was such an asshole.” His lips found my neck and I let my eyes flutter closed as I melted against his rock-solid chest. I knew he was trying, and that was all I could ask for from him. He had always dreamed of being a star, and having a girlfriend on your hip definitely wasn’t a part of that plan, but we’d fallen quickly and we’d fallen hard. The rest was rock-and-roll history.
“I forgive you,” I sighed as he nipped the base of my neck with his teeth.
“You’re too good to me.”
Chapter Five
ERIC
I DON’T KNOW WHAT I was thinking by inviting her out to dance. I knew I would never be able to get close enough to even touch her, but as she’d put her hand in mine, I couldn’t bring myself to let go. I would have been happy standing there all night surrounded by hundreds of strangers if she would stand with me.
Of course, like death and taxes, Derek was unavoidable.
As I saw him come up behind her, I had to fight the urge to pull her against me. Instead, I let her fingers slide from mine as he pressed his body into hers.
A smile spread across her face as she whirled around and her body melted into his on the dance floor. His hand drifted down to her ass, but instead of swatting it away, she let it linger there, clearly just losing herself in the music, in the moment, in him.
During the tour, Sarah and I had spent hours together, just talking and talking, revealing so many of our secrets . . . but I never had the guts to tell her how I really felt about her. But now I’m glad I held that truth back because Derek is the one who gets to hold her in his arms.