Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
The bold words made my nipples bead.
Connor noticed. His smile widened. “But not today.” He put a knee to the bed and towered over me. “Kiss me before I go.”
My stomach clenched but I did as I was told.
When he pulled away from me, I licked my lips and made an odd face.
“That’s what you taste like.” Connor’s eyes smiled as mine widened in surprise. He smirked. “Fucking delicious.”
His constant praise was making me uncomfortable. I covered my eyes and peeked up at him through the small gap in between my fingers. Unfortunately, he’d seen my smile and pinched my toe, making me squeak.
This, all of this, was driving me crazy! Why didn’t this feel awkward?
When he lifted his hand, we high-fived, and I laughed as he moved to leave my room.
“See you tomorrow?” I asked, pulling the covers up over my body as he moved to open the door.
He paused. “Baby.” He shook his head slowly, a tiny smile pulling at his lips. “Dumb question.”
When the door closed behind him, I threw off my glasses and sighed into my pillow, smiling like a loon.
That sounded promising to me.
Chapter Sixteen
Somebody To Love.
Connor
We were halfway to Magdalena, New Mexico, when all at once, every single phone in the car chimed.
I pulled out my cell and clicked on the message. It was a group chat from Emmy that included each band member. An instant smile took me by surprise. Goddamn it. She was something else.
The moment the message opened, the file she attached started to play, and when I heard it, I chuckled to myself. In every seat of the car, at different times, the same file played as each other guys opened the message and when they heard it, they all snickered.
“Can anybody find me,” Queen sang, “somebody to love.”
The message underneath had me tipping my head back and laughing out loud.
Emmy: One assistant looking for a band to love.
Emmy: Pros: Quiet.
Emmy: Cons: Abandonment issues.
The entire car broke out in raucous laughter.
Noah spoke through a chuckle. “You think we should’ve just brought her along?” His laughter faded. “I feel bad.”
Hell made a sound in his throat. “I love Emmy, but—” He sounded hesitant about what he was about to say. “—she needs to learn to live without us.”
A moment of silence.
Then Lee asked a solemn, “Has anyone spoken to her about what’s happening after the tour?”
My own smile faded. “No. We’ll tell her when we get home.” Suddenly, I didn’t feel right. “Don’t ruin it for her. She’s having fun, man.” Probably for the first time in her life.
“Somebody to Love” continued to play in the background.
Noah looked at me before turning back to the road. I narrowed my eyes at him. “What?”
He shrugged a moment before saying, “Don’t tell me you’re actually going to miss her.” He peered at me once again. “I thought she was a pain in your ass.”
“She is,” I admitted freely. I also reluctantly added, “But I like her.”
Nobody knew about our late-night visits. As far as the guys were concerned, every time I disappeared, I was out hooking up, fucking fans. And I was okay with that assumption.
Emmy was my friend. She put up with me when nobody else wanted to. I had issues. I knew I was too intense for some people. This was one of the reasons I avoided her in the beginning. She looked frail and frightened of the big, bad world, and I had no business hanging around her, bringing her down. But she grew on me, like a fungus. And after six weeks on tour, I came to realize that Emmy wasn’t as weak as I assumed she was. In fact, she was stronger than I gave her credit for.
Every time she took a punch, she got back on her feet.
She was honest to a fault and that was so rare a find it made her special.
Emmy was brave and selfless, and I now knew that no matter what I first thought of her, she didn’t need us.
We needed her. Desperately.
Some of us more than others. This was also why I needed to be careful with her.
When women who were once sweet turn bitter, a man like me was usually the cause. See, most females were gullible, naïve, and I liked to help them understand that trusting a guy like me was always a bad idea.
I was a lesson, an example. I couldn’t change who I was.
But Emmy… she made me want to change. And that scared the fucking shit out of me.
My mood turned sour. I didn’t want to think about what would happen when we got home. It was pointless to stress about it.
So, I would live in the now, in a good place. A place where I got to hang out with my friends on the daily and watch a frightened little girl grow into an independent woman.