I tucked Parker into bed, kissing him goodnight before focusing on his sister.
“How’s my warrior?” I asked, pulling the blanket up and over her. She held her arms out to me and I dropped in. No one hugged like my little girl did. So solid. So tight.
“Good. I taught Peggy a new trick today.”
“How nice. Maybe next you can teach her not to pee on my foot?”
“I’ll try.” She giggled. “And Mom bought me overalls so I can be like the K-pop boys.”
“You know, I used to be a real-life K-pop boy myself, minus the K.”
“I know. AnyDayNow. But that was in the olden days.”
The olden days? I’d just turned thirty. Hardly a relic.
She must have sensed my insecurity and went in for the kill. “I still think you’re cool… just, no one else does.”
I grabbed my chest, wounded. “Brutal.”
I could have told her that I’d just played to a sold-out crowd or that a woman in the audience had found me ‘cool’ enough to throw her bra up at me on stage tonight, but I didn’t bother. She was eleven. Nothing I said would convince her that I was even half as exciting as her K-pop idols.
She giggled. “You’re the best dad, though.”
I’d take it. “And you’re the best daughter.”
“I know.” She nodded, so confident it made me smile. “Handpicked.”
“Handpicked,” I agreed, so proud of how far this little girl had come.
“I’m glad you’re home. Now I can sleep,” she whispered, yawning. “I love you.”
I kissed the tip of her nose. “I love you more.”
Flicking off the light, I backed out of the room and whispered, “Good night, Parker. Good night, Sarina.”
The End
I hope you enjoyed reading RJ and Dani’s story. Want to know more about the boys of AnyDayNow? For Bodhi and Breeze’s story and to find out why AnyDayNow broke up, one click Like The Wind now!
When a mysterious letter is delivered to him after a concert, life changes in an instant for international pop star Bodhi Beckett.
Reeling from the deception of those closest to him, Bodhi spirals out of control and is sent to a secluded mansion in the coastal mountains of Southern California for some rest and relaxation. But the retreat proves to be anything but relaxing when a raging wildfire sets the landscape around him ablaze.
While escaping the flames, Bodhi rescues Breeze, a quirky, pet-loving woman and together, the two fight their way to safety.
As their connection grows, Bodhi and Breeze hit the road to uncover the truth about his family. What neither of them expected is to forge a powerful connection that will change their lives forever…but can it survive the real world, or will it disappear like the wind?
One Click Like The Wind NOW!
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Turn the page to read the first chapter of Like The Wind>
First Chapter-Like The Wind
“I see you.”
The microphone amplified my voice as I lifted my arm high in the air and pointed to the furthest seat in the stadium. A frenzy of activity followed, culminating in giddy screams pinging off every surface.
Jumping up and down near the edge of the stage, an adolescent girl squealed, “See me, Bodhi! See me!” I tipped my head in her direction and smiled. Such a trivial gesture, yet enough interaction to turn the girl into a free-flowing sprinkler system.
My band mate, RJ, batted his own lovesick eyes at me before shimmying on up to my side with that snarky grin on his face. Knowing his propensity for pantsing me on stage, I spun around in time to prevent his fingers from getting a hold of my waistband.
“See me, Bode-Hi,” he cooed, deliberately mispronouncing my name because, well, he apparently found it hilarious. It’s not like his name rolled off the tongue either - Renato Javier Salazar Contreras. Dammit, it actually did.
“Bo-dee,” I corrected for the hundredth time. “The H is silent, asshole.”
This little game of ours had been going on since he’d accidentally mangled my name the first day we met. Now he just said it wrong to piss me off. Pushing him away, I puckered my lips and sent him packing with an air kiss and the discreet extension of my middle finger. RJ’s eyes narrowed in on me. He’d been challenged and there was no doubt I’d be paying for it later. Every part of his body language screamed, ‘I’m going to pummel you.’ Had we not been on stage in front of a crowd of thousands, he probably would have jumped on my back and knocked my head into a wall or something equally over the top.
RJ was the youngest child of three sons and, as such, never let a diss go without swift, physical engagement. In contrast, I’d always been a more cerebral, calculated person. Making a sound decision took time and patience. Not so with RJ. There was no thinking in his ‘survival of the fittest’ world. He was all blustery reaction and you either rolled with the punches or hid in a maintenance closet until he’d safely passed.
I’ll admit, when I’d first met the dude, he’d taken some getting used to, and I’d done more hiding than rolling. Growing up an only child and never having gone to a traditional school, toys were my only playmates, and none of them ever beat the shit out of me.
But beatdowns and defensive training weren’t the only things my friend taught me. He’d also modeled for me what it was like to have siblings and, surprisingly, I loved the brutal inclusion. I could barely remember what life was like without RJ and his hyperactivity, but I’m sure it was unbelievably boring.
Both singled out as the fan favorites in a five-man boy band, there were a whole multitude of reasons for RJ and me to dislike each other, but somehow we’d risen above the petty jealousies that came along with preteen fangirls fainting at our feet.
Hunter, Shawn, and Dane rounded out our quintet. Together we made up the members of AnyDayNow, currently the most popular boy band in the industry. We were household names… as long as those households in question had girls under the age of fifteen living in them. Okay, so maybe we were bigger than I gave us credit for. After all, our mere presence in the tour cities prompted irritated locals to bitch about road closures, ear-splitting headaches, and Salem-witch-style hysteria.
As the fan cherished ‘hotties’ of the group, RJ and I were responsible for much of that delirium. The other guys were popular too, don’t get me wrong, it was just that they didn’t have as many bedroom shrines dedicated in their honor. And even though the two of us rose to heartthrob status at the exact same time, I’d learned to harness the awesome power, while RJ was still in the process of trying not to cut his arm off with the light saber.
The band’s handlers worked hard cultivating our images, although admittedly they had their hands full with RJ and Shawn, both of whom provided a steady stream of fodder for the tabloids. Me? I was on autopilot and always had been. The tale they’d spun for me from the very inception of the band had been elaborate in its details and carefully crafted throughout the years. I was the wholesome boy next door… or so it would seem. Given the fact I was a former child star who had lived most of my life out of a suitcase, portraying me as well-adjusted boyfriend material was a stretch by any means of the imagination. Not that I was a closet serial killer or anything, but I had issues that dated all the way back to my birth and no amount of whitewashing could wipe away the guilt that plagued me.