“In the room we’re sharing?” she eyed me skeptically, and then her eyes went wide. “Oh, did I interrupt something? Were you looking for porn?”
I rolled my eyes at her. “I can go without masturbating for the duration of the trip, and if I couldn’t, I’d do it in the shower or something.”
“Then what is it?” Stella sat down next to me on my tiny bed and looked in the direction of my phone that was lying face down on the bed.
“I was checking in on the boys,” I admitted sheepishly. I had promised no work, and while it wasn’t working, I hadn’t told Stella about Walker and me. Something I was so thankful for now that we weren’t… together. Anything to each other? I didn’t know what we once were.
Stella narrowed her eyes at me. “I thought we said there would be no working while we’re on vacation.”
“I know, but I didn’t want to go hang out with the rest of the ladies, so I thought I’d check online.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek, waiting for her to admonish me.
Lying back, Stella rested her head on my stomach. She turned to look at me. “Are they being good little boys while you’re away?”
“As far as I can tell. I didn’t look much, and I didn’t call to check-in or anything like that.” Lifting a strand of her black hair, I twisted it around my finger. “Let’s not talk about my work. Tell me how it went with Remy.”
Her cheeks pinked as she looked up at the ceiling. “The man knows how to please a woman. I can say that.”
“That’s my girl. I’m glad you got a good dicking.”
“Oh, my God, Pen. I can’t even with you,” she laughed.
“Are you going to hook up with him again?” Since I wasn’t having sex, maybe I could live vicariously through my best friend.
“I want to. There’s no doubt about that, but it’s not so easy here on the boat. Those women are always swarming. Especially Ophelia.”
“Oh, yeah, she wants him bad and hates the fact that he can’t hide how much he wants you instead of her. I’m assuming since you had sex with him that you talked to him about Ophelia saying he was with her last night.”
“I did,” she nodded. “He admitted to sleeping with her on the first boat he worked on.”
“Oh, do you think you’re going to become obsessed with him like she is?” I joked.
“Oh, fuck you,” she giggled and pushed on my leg. “I will not become obsessed. After we leave Spain, I’ll never see him again.”
“Are you saying you’re not going to rent us a yacht every year when you become a famous author?”
She rolled her head back and forth on me. “As nice as this is, besides Reagan being a raging bitch, I’ll never spend this much money on a vacation. I don’t care how much money I make.” She smiled sleepily. She was probably dick drunk. “What about you?”
“I’ll never be rich or famous, so… no private yachts for me.”
Stella yawned. “I’m tired. I think I’m going to take a quick shower and go to sleep.”
“Are you okay?” I asked her as she stood up and walked slowly to our bathroom.
Stella turned at the doorway and looked back at me. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be? I just had the best sex of my life.”
“I don’t know, but if you need me, I’m here. Always.”
Her face softened. “I know, and the same goes for you. I worry about you being on the road all the time with a bunch of stinky boys.”
She wasn’t wrong about them being stinky, but they were also becoming something like family. I liked how they were a unit, and even though Greer was an ass ninety-nine percent of the time, they still included him in everything they did.
“Don’t worry about me. I can handle those boys. They’re harmless.” Or at least I thought they were. Seeing those pictures of Walker was like a dagger to my heart. I guess I should have been happy it happened now and not when I got attached to him.
Or at least that’s what I was telling myself. If I didn’t have any feelings for him, I wouldn’t be upset about those women snuggled up to him.
CHAPTER TWELVE
walker
The moment I saw Pen standing backstage, I wanted to walk off and take her in my arms even though I knew I couldn’t. She’d been gone a week, and it had felt like an entire year went by in her absence. I wasn’t any closer to convincing her we were good together than the day we started our tour, and she ended things. That’s not how I thought things were going. I had planned to have her in my bed night after night. The thought of her being only a few feet away was soothing, even if we couldn’t sleep next to each other. What I wouldn’t give to have her sleep beside me for one night. Now, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get her back to get the chance.
Finishing our final song of the night, I looked out to the crowd and was still amazed this was my life. There were thousands of people out there every night we played, listening to our music and singing along to some of our songs.
I watched as, one by one, the guys left the stage and hugged Pen as they went by her. Okay, not Greer, but he didn’t hug anyone. Ever. I followed suit and pulled her into my arms when I came up to her. I breathed in her citrus scent and never wanted to let go. Pen had other ideas. She patted me on the back and pulled back immediately.
I walked alongside her to the green room, keeping as much space between the rest of the band and us as possible. Leaning down, I spoke quietly enough that no one else would hear. “I missed you. Did you have fun on your vacation?”
When Pen told us she was leaving us for a week to go on vacation, I wasn’t happy. At the time, I thought she was doing it to get away from me and put some space between us. Then I thought for sure she was going to use that time to get us a new manager.
I’d been wrong. I could admit that.
Her head whipped my way, and her whiskey eyes narrowed into slits as she looked at me. “I’m sure you weren’t lonely for long.”
Grabbing her bicep, I stopped us in the middle of the hallway. “What are you talking about?”
Pen pulled her arm from my hold and started walking. “Don’t act like you don’t know. Don’t mistake me for convenience. You can get a different girl each night to sate your needs.”
What?
Before I could even open my mouth, Pen opened the door to the green room. She went around to each guy and asked them how they were doing and if they needed anything. Well, almost all. Pen didn’t even look my way before she was on her phone and ordering something for Kenton. Once Pen was done, she put her phone in the back pocket of her jeans. She looked up at us and smiled.
“Did you miss me?” She asked with a look that said she knew we had.
“Are you fucking kidding us? Cristiano is the biggest asshole. We didn’t know how good we had it until you were gone.” Kenton went down on his knees with his hands up like he was praying. “Please don’t ever leave us again. You don’t have any other vacations planned, do you?”
Stepping forward, she ruffled his shaggy hair. I nearly growled at seeing her touch another guy even when I knew it was only friendly. “Not that I know of. It was for my best friend.” Her lips turned down as she thought of Stella. “She really needed the getaway, and who can say no to a private yacht.”