What I did know was that I was in love with him. Head-over-heels, reach-for-the-starts in love with him. The only thing was that he was a star and that I’d already reached him once. I didn’t know if I’d be allowed or able to do it again.
Chapter 19
Caleb
Home sweet home, I thought sarcastically. It was ironic how, despite San Diego being our hometown, we were all staying in a hotel all the same. Just another hotel room among the hundreds that would be our home on this tour.
Standing at the bank of windows in my suite, I looked out over the city I’d grown up in. The streets of downtown were bustling, and the bay was sparkling, the beaches already starting to fill up.
We’d played our first show here last night, sold out since San Diegans still saw us as theirs, and we had another one next week. Then, because that show was scheduled for two days before Christmas and this was supposedly our home, we had a couple of weeks off before the tour carried on.
An unexpected knock sounded at my door, pulling me from my thoughts. I hadn’t ordered breakfast, but maybe Alicia had them bringing up fruit and all that shit she liked for breakfast. I got ready to snarl at anyone bringing me rabbit food, yanking the door open with a scowl.
Standing at my door wasn’t a room service cart or a friendly hotel employee, though. It was Kelly.
Surprise caused my heart to hammer in my chest. Well, surprise and the short shorts she was wearing. She’d paired the barely there denim shorts with a white button-up shirt that was loosely tucked in, dark sunglasses hanging on the top button.
Her golden hair shone as it cascaded over her shoulders, anything but tame. Those green eyes that I hadn’t looked into for weeks had nothing but a dab of eyeliner underneath them, and her lips were pink and glossy, but she didn’t seem to be wearing any other makeup.
She lifted a brow, planting one hand on her curvy hip. “Well? Are you gonna stand there staring at me, or can I come in?”
I moved out of the doorway and motioned her inside, dragging a hand through my hair. I’d showered shortly after waking up, but since I didn’t have any immediate plans, I’d put on a pair of drawstring pajama pants and stayed shirtless.
“Come on in. And I wasn’t staring. It’s called being surprised.” My eyes tracked Kelly as she walked to the living area of the suite and turned in a slow circle.
“You don’t say,” she mused. Once she’d completed her quick sweep of my living area, she turned her back on me, crossed her arms, and stared out the windows I’d been looking out of just before she arrived.
Tension knotted her shoulders, and I could feel it radiating from her, straight into me. Kelly and I hadn’t spoken much since that incident at the first show. In fact, we hadn’t said anything more to each other than the occasional polite greeting, and even that was strained.
She’d been traveling with the tour as I’d known she would be, but she was pretty good at avoiding me. And it wasn’t like I’d gone to seek her out. She was focusing on other aspects of the band and the tour thus far, but I was sure she was here to talk about the next installation of the series of articles I was front and center in.
Whether either of us liked it or not, we both still had jobs to do, and part of those jobs was occasionally working together for these articles. Kelly didn’t say a word as she took in the view of the clear day beyond the windows, her spine straight as a rod and her posture still.
“Coffee?” I offered.
Kelly shook her head, still not looking back at me. “I’m not staying, but thanks.”
I shrugged, though I knew she couldn’t see it, poured myself some coffee, and flopped into one of the black couches as I waited for her to gather the courage to say whatever it was she’d come here to say. I knew there was a whole minefield full of shit littering the space between us, but Kelly had the floor.
Besides, one of the perks of not being in a relationship with her was that we didn’t have to talk through all that shit. Kelly’s shoulders raised on a deep sigh before she turned around, taking away the stellar view of her ass that I’d been trying not to stare at.
“You been okay?” she started, her eyes darting around nervously. “I heard the show last night was another massive success.”
“You weren’t there?” Strange, I’d thought she was coming to all our shows.
She lifted one of her shoulders in a shrug. “No, I had some stuff I had to finish for work.”
“Get it all done?”
Fidgeting with a narrow silver ring on her index finger, her gaze finally settled on mine. “Sort of.”
“Sort of?” Wrapping my hands around my mug, I took a sip of my bitter coffee and prayed that it kicked in before the reality of this painful conversation did. “Okay, good to know. Why are you here, Kelly?”
I set my mug down on the wooden table next to the couch I was sitting on and stood to join her on the other side of room. She seemed to be wanting to keep her distance from me, but she’d come here. She’d just have to deal with having me in her space for whatever it was she wanted to say. I strode all the way up to her, leaning my ass down on the armrest of the couch closest to her.
Kelly’s bright greens followed my every move, tracking me across the room and raking over my body when I settled so close to her. My dick twitched at her appraisal, and I nearly got hard when her lips parted just slightly and a familiar look crept into her eyes.
Both of us ignored the sexual tension suddenly crackling in the air between us, and I saw Kelly push her desire down, so I did the same thing. She shifted back on her feet, clearly trying to add some distance between us, and then lifted her eyes to mine.
Determination burned in them, though I didn’t know what for yet. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“We’re talking,” I pointed out, waving my finger between my chest and hers. Her eyes rolled skyward as her arms crossed her chest.
“Clearly. Okay look. I thought you should know that I’m planning on being honest with my boss about sleeping with you.”
My head snapped back as her words sank in. “You’re what now?”
“I’m going to tell my boss about us,” she repeated confidently, a challenge in her eyes.
“Really?” Both my eyebrows raised, and my arms went across my own chest. “You’re going to tell your boss that we’re sleeping together after we’ve stopped?”
I didn’t know if we’d stopped permanently. God knew, all I wanted was to throw her over my shoulder, carry her to my bed, and keep her there until it was time for our show on Saturday, but that wasn’t what she was here for.
She squared her shoulders and looked right into my eyes as she answered. “Yes, I am. You got a problem with that?”
“Why tell them now? Is it because their excitement about your exclusive interview is wearing off? Or maybe you just want your fifteen minutes of fame?” I spoke in a mocking tone. I couldn’t help myself. “The reporter who fucked Caleb Larsen, is that what you want your claim to fame to be?”
Kelly took a step toward me, raised her hand, and sent it flying to connect with my cheek before I could make sense of what she was doing. Her palm stung my cheek as she slapped me, surprising the ever-loving shit out of me.