“Tyler, over here!”
“Tyler, look at me!”
“Hey Tyler!”
“Tyler, who’s the chick?”
The chick is me.
He ignores everyone yelling his name and keeps his eyes forward. A tall woman wearing a barely there dress moves down the aisle toward us, and she looks like the kind of woman who should be on Tyler’s arm...not me.
And yet...here I am. Jeans and a t-shirt and sneakers...and I’m the one he just banged. I’m the one whose hand he’s holding.
She hugs Tommy first then Tyler, and I hear her welcome the others over the screaming fans beside us. “Come on in,” she says, and we follow her in. We stop for a few pictures—none of which I am actually in even though Tyler’s clutching my hand in his. We’re taken to a VIP table, and the drinks start flowing shortly thereafter. He drinks whiskey sours, and I stick with vodka, and I have no idea what Tommy or Dustin or Brett are doing because I only have eyes for the bassist who brought me here.
And he only seems to have eyes for me despite all the people coming up to him to sign autographs and take pictures.
I’m on my second drink and he’s on his third when he leans in toward me. “Having fun?”
His breath is warm on my ear and I shiver. I nod, and he grins, and then he leans in and brushes my lips with his. “Give me another half hour and we’ll be having a hell of a lot more fun.”
Once their obligation at the party is over, most of us head back to the SUV still waiting right where we left it. Only Tommy and Brett, the drummer, stay behind. Tyler drags me all the way to the back row, and I assume it’s because he wants some privacy. My heart races as I wonder whether he’s going to seduce me right here in the car.
Should I give in?
There are other people here—Dustin, the lead guitarist, and Karl, the manager—but I don’t really think I care.
We only have five hours left.
It’s not enough, but I can’t think of an amount of time that will feel like enough.
Tyler clutches my hand as we ride back toward the arena that’s a second home to me and the place where his tour bus is currently parked. His eyes are focused out the window, and suddenly he’s a little quieter than he was before. His shoulders are hunched with tension and I have an urge to lean over and give him a hug.
I don’t. Instead, I ask softly so this conversation stays just between the two of us, “What’s wrong?”
He turns toward me, and even in the back of the dark car at night, I can see the regret on his face lit up by the headlights from the car behind us. “Five hours doesn’t feel like enough time.”
“I was just thinking the same thing,” I admit.
“Then let’s not just make this about one night,” he says.
I clear my throat. I love that he’s asking me for more...but I’m not exactly ready to jump into a relationship with someone when I have literally no idea what his life is like now. “What are you suggesting?” I finally ask.
“What if we keep in touch? Nothing exclusive, no commitment on either side, although the thought of you with another guy makes me want to punch something...but we just take our time and get to know one another.” He avoids eye contact as he talks, but his warm, strong hand still grips mine.
“You really want to do that?” I ask, thinking of what his life must be like and what he’d be potentially giving up so he could get to know me—not that he really committed to giving any of it up, exactly.
He lifts a shoulder. “Life on the road...it gets lonely. And that loneliness seemed to go away the second I saw you when I stepped off the bus today. We have tonight, Dani, and maybe that could turn into more than just one night.”
More than just one night with a rock star?
I think that’s an idea I can get on board with...as long as the rock star is Tyler Caldwell.
“Ask me later,” I tease, and he laughs.
I lean over and press my lips to his. He relaxes into my touch, and maybe we haven’t seen each other in ten years, but it feels like he’s the kind of old friend where we can pick up right where we left off.
Sort of.
A lot has changed. Location, looks, attraction, careers...and, of course, these strong feelings, but one thing remains. He’s a good guy, and I know who he is deep down. I know who he was before he broke out in the music world.
And I can’t wait to get to know more about the guy he is now.
After we make out in the back of the car and have more sex on my desk over the next five hours.