“Put that on,” she pointed to my sweatshirt. She slung my bag over her shoulder and then grabbed my charger out of the wall. “In fact, I probably would have, but they wouldn’t have asked.”
No, they wouldn’t have asked. I was the needy dickhead who couldn’t get enough of her.
Pushing my arms through the sleeves of my hoodie, I took in how tired Pen looked. Had she even slept last night?
“Do you want to stay here while I get my things or— “
“I’ll come,” I interrupted her, wanting to be in her space. It felt like it had been years instead of a month since I’d been to her condo, breathing in everything that was Penelope Rose.
“Okay, we should hurry.” She held open the door for me when it should have been the other way around.
“It’s not like they’re going to leave without us.” I followed along like a lost kitten to her room and waited for Pen to open her door. She patted her sweatshirt and then her pants, a worried look etched on her face. This morning she looked more stressed than ever before. Pen was out of sorts, which was so unlike her.
She pulled the keycard out and grumbled as she walked inside. “I thought for a minute there that I ran out of here so fast that I forgot to grab my card. Well, I did, but I’m lucky I put it in my pants when I went to get ice last night.”
I moved to sit on her bed. Happy to watch her from my perch as I took in her room. It was tidy, but that was to be expected. Pen kept everything nice and neat, and we’d only been here overnight. Staying at the hotel had been a treat. One that I was grateful for.
Outside the room, we heard loud voices pass by, and I knew it was Cross and Kenton joking around. Since we’d formed Crimson Heat, I’d wanted to be a part of that brotherhood, but as I sat here with Pen shuffling around getting her things together, I realized I’d much rather be in her space than theirs.
I wasn’t sure when Pen had come to mean everything to me, but I was damn sure I was going to do everything in my power to make sure I became everything to her. I needed to show her there was no other woman for me, even when I had to smile at the cameras with women grabbing my ass and signing autographs on their overly inflated boobs. I might be young, but I knew what I wanted and what I wanted was my sweet Pen.
“Are you ready to go? I’m sure that was them that sounded like a herd of cattle out there.” A grin broke out on her face as she settled the two bags on her shoulder. “I’m not sure how three people can make so much noise.”
I stood and tried to take my bag from Pen, but when her narrowed eyes fixed on me, I backed away and followed her out the door. “The sad thing is it was only Kenton and Cross. Greer was most likely staring ahead with a scowl on his face.”
“Someday, you’re going to have to tell me how you guys met. I can see why the rest of you are together, but not Greer. It’s like he hates…”
“Everything,” I supplied for her. “I’m not sure why but he does. He’s never opened up to us. Maybe that’s because Kenton and Cross have known each other for years.” I hit the down arrow for the elevator, and it arrived in a matter of seconds. As we stepped inside, I continued. “They had a band, and when it split up, they wanted to continue to make music, so they held auditions. They found me first, and we bonded. I think Greer felt that and never tried to make friends. We both know neither one of us is going to replace Kenton or Cross, and we don’t try. If Greer wasn’t a kick-ass guitar player, we never would have asked him to join. Especially with his attitude, but we put up with it for the sake of the music.” I shrugged as if it all made sense.
Pen nodded as we stepped off the elevator. We could see the bus sitting out front through the hotel’s windows. “I can see that. But you guys are very welcoming, so it’s his fault you’re not better friends.”
“I’m not sure how welcoming we really are,” I chuckled lowly.
“You all welcomed me with open arms,” she said as we stepped onto the bus.
“Yeah, and that had nothing to do with how beautiful you are or the fact that you believed in our music and wanted to get us a record deal,” I said in my most sarcastic voice as I walked behind her.
“Oh, fuck, you do look bad.” Kenton choked down a laugh as he stepped back to let me pass by. “I thought you’d faked being sick to get the bedroom, but now,” he held his hands up and got as far away as he could. “I think you should take it. I don’t want your nasty ass germs.”
“Thanks,” I grumbled as I trudged behind Pen. She opened the door to the bedroom and slipped inside.
“Don’t come out until you feel better,” Cross shouted.
I flipped him off even though I knew he couldn’t see it. I would have yelled, but it would have only hurt my throat.
“I’m going to go talk to the driver and ask him to pull into a pharmacy, so I can get you that apple juice.” Slumping down onto the bed, I glared up at her. You could get apple juice almost anywhere. We didn’t need to go to a pharmacy. “Don’t even start with me. It’s better to have something in case you need it. We could be hours away from a store if you come to your senses.”
“I’m not going to fight you. If it makes you feel better, then, by all means, buy out the pharmacy. Just because you buy it doesn’t mean I’ll take it, though.”
Pen made an annoyed little noise in the back of her throat, and I could imagine her wanting to stomp her foot. “I’ll be back once we hit the pharmacy.”
Lying back on the bed, I closed my eyes. While I hated being sick, I didn’t mind the extra attention from Pen since she’d been giving me the cold shoulder since she got back from her trip. Now I just had to figure out how to work it to my advantage.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
pen
I could hear Kenton, Cross, and Greer clear across the store. They were running around like they’d never been inside of one before. If this was what it was like to have kids, then no, thank you. I’d gladly pass.
My thoughts immediately went to Walker, and I wondered if he wanted to have children someday.
I shook my hands out. It didn’t matter because I wasn’t with Walker, and I never would be. It didn’t matter if he wanted kids or not. He wasn’t my future.
It didn’t really matter. I was getting too old to have children anyway. Thirty-seven was not the new twenty-five in relation to childbearing.
Stuffing my hand-held basket with everything known to man to help a cold and the flu, I made my way up to the front to check out. He may not want to take it, but if I got sick, I knew for damn sure I was going to take anything and everything to make me feel better. It wasn’t like I could take a day off. Especially not after taking a trip during the middle of their US tour. I’d have to suck it up and go on like I wasn’t sick.
The guys set down a wide range of items on the counter. They had jerky, beer, candy, chips, Lysol, and deodorant. I was thankful for the deodorant because things got stinky on the bus with four guys, and the driver and I were stuck in close proximity for long periods of time.
“Did you get everything you wanted?” They smiled like kids in a candy store and nodded their heads. Okay, Greer didn’t, but he didn’t look angry, so that was a plus. “Good because we’re not making a habit out of this.” I wasn’t sure why I’d offered to buy them whatever they wanted except that I wanted them to keep quiet so Walker could rest.