Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 78142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
And I can’t help myself. “Is there something you wish you could change?”
“I don’t talk about that,” he says. “My point is only that there are some things I can’t change. There is no point in trying because it would be fruitless. But what I can change is my attitude, my behavior. Maybe going out tonight—being around the stuff I need to avoid—would be a good test for me.”
“You were around booze at the wedding.”
“I was, but I also had all my friends around me then as well. Jesse was there, looking after me.”
“And you don’t think I would be looking after you?”
“Why would you? It’s not like we’re friends, Diana.”
His words strike me with something I’m not prepared for.
He’s right, of course. We’re not friends. We had all of one or two conversations—short ones at that—before he moved in with me.
We’re not friends. We’re roommates. That’s it.
I’m not sure how to respond to his comment, though, so I simply say, “Are you coming or not?”
“Sure. Let me get my jacket.”
The doorman at Teddy’s building knows me, and he waves us through. Once we get to her loft, I knock loudly, as I can already hear the music blaring.
Teddy answers the door clad in black skinny jeans and a peach camisole. She looks amazing, of course, her flaming red hair always a showstopper.
“Dee!” She grabs me into a hug. She breaks the embrace with wide eyes. “And who’s this?”
“This is my new…roommate. Dragon.”
“Not the Dragon.” Teddy’s eyes widen. “From the band?”
“One and the same,” Dragon says.
Her jaw drops. “Oh my God! I can’t believe it! Come on in, both of you. This is quite a treat.” Teddy takes Dragon’s arm and pulls him inside.
Teddy’s loft isn’t huge, which is why her parties often end up on the roof. But although the music is loud, only about eight people are here.
“Let me introduce you guys to everybody.” Teddy turns to a man standing by her stereo. “Turn down the music, will you, Bud?”
Once the music goes down and we can hear ourselves think, Teddy grabs Dragon. “Most of you guys know Diana,” she says, “except for Bud and Tracy. This is my great friend Diana Steel. But this is so exciting. Not that you aren’t exciting, Dee, but we have a bona fide rock star here!”
Everyone gushes.
“This is Dragon. The Dragon of Dragonlock.”
“The drummer?” a young woman dressed in shorts—yes, shorts and fishnet hose—asks.
She must be Tracy, since I don’t recognize her.
“Yeah,” Teddy says. “The band that opened for Emerald Phoenix on their European tour earlier this year.”
Except Dragon wasn’t there. He was at one concert before he came home and went into rehab. He’s not correcting her, though, so I figure it’s not my place to do it either.
Tracy—or so I assume—flits over to him. “Can I get you anything? A drink?”
“Just water,” Dragon says in his low voice.
“But I brought this delicious craft IPA. You’ve got to try it.”
“No, thank you.”
“Pretty please?” She turns her lips into a flirty pout.
I’m about to open my mouth to tell her to shut up, that he’s an addict, but he actually gives her a smile.
It’s a small smile, but it’s a smile. More than he’s ever given me.
“I’m an addict,” he says. “So no, thank you.”
She drops her jaw. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.”
“You didn’t know.” That’s all he says.
She’s still holding on to his arm. “Let’s get you that water, and then I want to talk to you all about your career.”
I sigh and turn to Teddy. “Guess I don’t have to worry about him having a good time.”
“Tracy’s such a groupie. I doubt she even knows much about Dragonlock. She’ll screw anything that even slightly exudes rock and roll.”
“Oh?”
“Oh, yeah.” She smirks. “I mean, she’s one of my closest friends, but she’s a total…you know. We went to college together.”
“So she and Bud aren’t together?”
Teddy cracks a sly smile and narrows her eyes. “Depends on what you mean by together. They’re friends with benefits, but they both screw whoever they want. Sometimes together.”
I try to cover my surprise.
But Teddy just laughs. “You’re such an innocent, Diana.”
“Growing up on a secluded ranch on the western slope will do that.”
Except I’m not an innocent. Maybe when it comes to things like sex. And that, you know, I like it to be with one other person max.
The thought of Dragon getting naked with Tracy—or taking Tracy to bed, not to mention Bud—affects me in a way I don’t expect.
I wouldn’t call it jealousy exactly. But I definitely don’t like the idea.
“Let’s get you a drink,” Teddy says.
For an instant, I consider whether I should be drinking. Maybe I should be setting a good example for Dragon.
But you know what? He’s my roommate, not my ward. He’s an addict, and he has to deal with that himself. He’s the one who wanted to come here. Now that Tracy knows he’s an addict, she most likely won’t try to sway him.