“You think I’m using you right now?”
“I just like hearing you like this.”
“I shot whiskey and snorted fun from two women last night, honey,” Reed said. “And I fell asleep thinking about you.”
“You poor thing,” I said. “So are you talking with your rock star heart or your rock star dick?”
“Can’t it be both?” Reed asked.
He took another step.
I sucked in a breath.
And that was it.
He didn’t gently touch me and go in for some romantic kiss.
He was still a rock star.
His hands grabbed my ass and he pulled me against him.
His mouth slammed down to mine with force.
My knees bent and his fingers dug into my ass to hold me.
Our tongues touched and I began to melt.
My hate for Reed switched to hate for myself, as I couldn’t help myself from wanting this. From wanting him. From needing him.
I broke the hot kiss…
“I love you too, Reed,” I said. “I loved you then. I loved you this entire time.”
“Oh, honey, I needed to hear that,” he whispered.
He moved in for another kiss and I stopped him. “Wait. There’s something else.”
“What?” Reed asked.
“I still hate you,” I said.
“Good,” he said.
“Good?”
“The hate will keep you around. The love will make you smile.”
“Reed…”
He brushed his lips to mine. “Or look at it this way… in the morning when our eyes open and flirt and we kiss each other with morning breath, sip coffee and smile… that’s loving each other. But at night, when we’re tearing each other’s clothes off and I’m fucking you so hard you can’t feel your legs… that’s the hate.”
I grabbed his shirt and curled my lip.
That sounded like a disastrous relationship to have.
But I was fucking okay with it too.
“I want to know everything about those calls, too. Okay? I’m going to handle it. I’ve got money. And I’ve got power. This is my fault, Abby. You’re not going to suffer anymore over this. I can’t imagine losing you. Ever.”
I could have argued with him, but he was kind of right. The gambling debt was because of him. Because I was desperate to survive. He could keep the money from the recording sessions if he could make the debt go away. That was fine.
Reed kissed me again before I could tell him any of that, and I kissed him back just as hard.
I loved him with all of my heart.
But this moment and kiss was about hate… which wasn’t so bad at all.
I turned around and saw Jess was gone.
She must have seen the tongue fucking going on and assumed it was okay to leave.
Which wasn’t exactly a smart decision.
What if I decided to kiss Reed goodbye? What if I wanted him lingering with the taste of my lips, a hard dick, and no keys to escape?
“Looks like your friend bailed on you,” Reed said.
“No. She was just being a good friend. Knowing what I wanted.”
“I know what you want too, honey,” Reed said.
I slowly turned and looked at him. “Oh?”
He pulled me close again, his hard body pressing against mine.
“So, is this us, Reed? A relationship based on arguments and sex?”
“As opposed to what? You want me to take you on a picnic and do some fucking bird watching?”
We both started laughing at the same time.
I put my face to his chest and shut my eyes for a second.
This was just so…
“Fuck,” I said.
“What’s wrong?” Reed asked.
I broke away from him. I slammed my hands to his chest. “You’re an asshole.”
“What did I do now?” he asked, lifting one eyebrow.
I pointed to his motorcycle. “You brought this on purpose. You knew I wasn’t going to be able to ride away.”
“So?”
“You basically trapped me, Reed.”
“Your point?”
“I took the keys and fucking threw them.”
Reed looked to his left. “Yeah. You did.”
“I’m not digging through all that to find your keys, Reed.”
“Then I guess we’re trapped.”
“I’ll call Jess. She’ll come back. And she can take me home. You can find your own way home.”
“Oh, you’re still on that?” Reed asked. “You still want me to walk my ass home? Remember what I said… if I see a minivan… and I see a lonely housewife driving that minivan…”
I gritted my teeth. “I hate you, Reed.”
“No, you don’t,” he said.
He reached into his back pocket and took out a set of keys.
He smiled.
“What is that?”
“The keys to the motorcycle.”
“What?”
“Let’s get out of here, honey.”
“Wait… what keys did you give me then?” I asked.
“Oh, those?” Reed asked. “Those were just some old keys to an old storage unit.”
Reed walked to his motorcycle and grabbed his helmet and stuck his hand out for me to take the helmet.
I just stared at him.
“What?” he asked.
“I can’t believe that I actually love you,” I said.
“Neither can I, Abby,” he said.
I took the helmet and put it on.
I climbed onto the back of the motorcycle and we took off together.
Down the quiet, long road.
My arms around his body.
Him in control of our direction.
My heart racing - and not because I still didn’t like motorcycles.
All I could do was smile and think one thing…
Fucking Reed.
21
REED
I walked from the elevators to the hallway.
The place was getting a little crowded.
Everyone wanted to hear the new song live.
If there was one good thing about the radio station it was that nobody bothered us for autographs and pictures unless we wanted it. And even if we didn’t want it, Toby would coordinate the pictures and it would be a quick thing.
The new song - Forever You - exploded.
It shouldn’t have been a shock.
But there was always a sense of worry when something new happened. Who would like it and who would hate it. The band was always known for just getting on stage and playing shows. With this song, there were a lot of moving parts to it. The piano. The singers. The strings. It was a production. The sound of the piano always made me feel things. The old days when Mitchy was around and things were good. Hell, it even brought back memories of Linx. He had been with the band for a short while, but he had been important to all of us.
Fuck me for standing there and getting all sentimental over a damn song.
But it was a great song.
Any doubt was washed away when two days ago some gigantic biker pulled over when he saw me. He pointed at me with thick fingers, skull rings on those fingers, and he nodded.
“Now that’s a fucking song, brother!” he yelled to me. “I’m marrying the old lady again to this one. A real song.”