Ever Lonely (Ever James Band Book 1)

by Kimberly Lauren

  Her line of questioning confused me, so I paused, trying to figure out if I should answer that or not. My eyes darted between the siblings I’d just met.

  I've learned at this point to be careful what I reveal in front of strangers. Or even so-called friends, for that matter. Everything got twisted, and even someone you thought you could trust would sell a story for the right price.

  I grabbed Rose's fruity drink and started sucking it down while still eyeing everyone uncomfortably.

  “Sienna…” Gage sighed with annoyance. “Sorry. She’s getting territorial on you. She’s been in love with Alex since she was like twelve.”

  “I have not, you jerk!” Sienna hollered. Ah… she so had. This I could work with. She wasn’t trying to get some inside scoop. She just didn’t want me to come in and take away her man.

  I raised my hands in surrender and said, "I'm not trying to hook up with him or anything even remotely like that. He was just nice to me and evidently makes the most delicious drinks. That is all," I adamantly reassured her. "Girl-to-girl. I promise."

  “I’m a bitch,” she groaned. “I meet Ever James and then make accusations about her.”

  “Hey, if you do me a favor and go get Alex to make me another one of these, I’ll take no offense.” I smiled warmly.

  "Eden!" I turned at Alex's raised voice, and he was pointing at me from the bar. I laughed and shook my head.

  "Oh, and by the way, he has no idea who I am. He doesn't know my name, so play along," I said to Sienna. She nodded enthusiastically then stood to get more drinks.

  As Sienna stepped away from the group, I glanced up at the stage and startled when I realized Rhett's eyes were focused directly on me. He quickly scanned his friends, but then his attention came right back. The depth of his eyes bore into mine as if they were searching for the meaning of life.

  “I like this whole incognito thing you’ve got going on,” Gage’s voice called out, pulling my attention away from the silent inquisition coming from the stage. “I wouldn’t have recognized you if Sienna hadn’t pointed it out.” He gestured to my faux-brunette hair.

  "It's awful, isn't it?" I had to physically hold my own hands to stop myself from tugging on the wig. This one was starting to really itch.

  "You could have one of those disgusting janitor mops on your head, and you still wouldn't manage awful," Gage said with a smirk.

  "Ugh.” Rose made a face. “Please don't be like the bumbling idiots that constantly surround her."

  "Ignore her,” I teased. “It's been sixty-four days since she got laid."

  Gage sputtered out his drink and quickly caught it with a napkin. Then he openly laughed as Sienna rejoined the table, looking around with confusion. I reached out, took my glass and thanked her.

  “Need some help with that Rose?” Gage joked. “I can fix you right up.”

  "Real funny…" she grumbled.

  “How do you know this?” he asked me.

  "I guess that's what happens when you live and work with someone." I shrugged. I had also been counting the days because her mood directly correlated to her getting laid. She desperately needed to get some soon. She was getting edgy.

  “Let’s get back to your future relationship with Alex.” I smiled widely at Sienna.

  She groaned and put her face in her hands. “Let’s not. There’s no future. Your life is about a thousand times more interesting anyway.”

  "But your lives are interesting and... normal. Trust me, normal is a good thing. I always hear about the supermodel who overdosed or the actress who threw a rip-roaring tantrum on set, or the singer who was a total diva. I never hear real-life stuff."

  “That diva part was you, right?” Gage laughed.

  "Caught me." I winked. "But seriously. I mean, Sienna, you're secretly in love with Bartender Alex, and Rose over here desperately needs to get laid. What's your juicy dirt, Gage?"

  “None. I’m boring,” he quickly replied. I stared into his eyes as he slung back his beer.

  “Ha!” Sienna called out. “Gage is easily bored. Not boring. There’s a huge difference.”

  “What’s that mean?” I eagerly asked.

  “Sienna…” Gage warned. I waved him off and turned back to Sienna for the details.

  "Gage is the love ‘em and leave ‘em type. Our apartment is a revolving door, and I’m often stuck dealing with the scorned women who come by to see if he’ll take them back. It's pretty entertaining." Sienna smiled mischievously.

  “Yeah, just as entertaining as it is to watch my little sister fawn over one of my best friends for over a decade.”

  "This is fantastic. I hope I get to see it all play out sometime." I laughed and took another drink out of my glass, not even realizing what I had just alluded to.

  Gage and Sienna stared openly at me. Then finally, Sienna asked, “You really think you would hang out with us again?”

  “I’d love to! You guys are a blast. Here, I’ll give you my number.” I gestured toward her phone. She unlocked it and let me enter my name into her contacts. I was being very forward and unusually trusting tonight, but I liked to believe Beau would approve of this crowd.

  As much fun as I was having, I couldn’t fully disconnect from the stunning sounds coming from the stage. People around us were swaying and dancing, and I could understand the appeal he was having on everyone.

  “Don’t you have big fancy parties every night?” Gage brought me back.

  "Eh… sort of. I mean, right now I'm sure Noah's friends are wrecking my hotel suite, but I don't know if I'd call them big or fancy and it's not every night. You guys can come over tomorrow night if you want. I’m sure we’ll have something going on.” I perked up at the idea of having new friends.

  “I’ll sure as hell be there,” Gage said. “I could use some new… faces.”

  “Yuck. He just wants to meet new women because he’s run through all of these.” Sienna gestured to the bar, then bounced in her seat and said, “But I’ll be there, too!”

  “Bartender Alex!” I shouted across the bar. “Shots for the table over here!”

  “Yes, ma’am!” he hollered back.

  “Remember that deal you made with Beau about not calling attention to yourself? You might want to start working on that,” Rose warned. I waved her off and sucked down more of my drink.

  Rhett finished the last of the lyrics looking as if he were savoring the last few plucks his fingers made on his guitar. The air fell silent then the bar broke out in applause and whistles. Rhett gave a little wave in appreciation before swiftly sinking to the floor and packing away his guitar. I noticed the same brightly colored pieces of paper were still scattered inside his guitar case from earlier. Not that I was watching closely or anything.

  Keith and Jay both stood and walked up onto the stage to chat with Rhett. I had no idea what they were talking to him about, but the guy was talented. If anyone could make somebody out of nobody, it was those two.

  The three men shook hands and Jay waved at me as he stepped off the stage. Keith gave me a chin up as he followed behind. They understood when I wore my ‘undercover outfits’ that I was trying to lay low. I watched them exit the bar and wondered if Beau would spot them leaving. If so, how long would he allow me to remain inside without security?

  “He’s done. Now you can meet him.” Rose looked to me.

  “We won’t see Rhett for awhile. The groupie train will converge on him soon. He usually doesn’t meet up with us until we’re all walking out at closing time,” Sienna explained.

  I threw back the rest of my drink and said, “Well, I guess if he’s done, I should head out…” I turned to Rose and added, “He was good.” I didn’t know what else she needed from me here.

  “Wait no, you can’t leave!” Sienna exclaimed.

  “Leaving?” I turned to see Alex walking our way. In his hands, he carried a board lined with shot glasses.

  The board thudded onto the
table but not a drop was spilled. Alex pulled up a chair and moved in right next to me. I didn’t miss Sienna eyeing his every move. He slid a few shots filled with a golden liquid across the table for us. After a short, silent agreement, we all quickly reached for them and threw back the small glasses in unison. There were hisses and a few coughs as we let the tequila heat our insides.

  "Rose, can you get Sienna's number for me?" I asked while making sure I hadn't lost my phone. "Oh, and can you pay Alex here for my drinks and the shots?"

  "Wow, is she like your servant or something?" Alex joked. I looked around uncomfortably. It was normal for me to ask Rose to do things for me. She was my assistant—actually, the best paid assistant in the industry—so I never thought twice about what I asked or when. Now I could see how my requests would seem a bit weird to an outsider, but thankfully, he didn't seem to catch on. He slung an arm over my shoulders and said, "I'm off the clock, and we can all hang out now."

  “What’s up?” an unexpected voice called out. Rhett grabbed a chair from a nearby table and sat in the seat backwards while hugging the wooden bars to his chest. He nudged his way in so he sat directly across from me. We were eye to eye. Our legs could touch under the table if we wanted them to.

  I didn’t want them to.

  Really, I didn’t…

  He eyed Alex’s arm for a moment and then those eyes were back on me.

  Blue.

  His eyes were blue.

  Of course they were. How stereotypical hot-guy was that?

  He gave me the same curious stare as earlier down by the subway. Did he recognize me from before, even with the different wig?

  Rhett reached toward me but halted when his fingers grasped the remaining shot glass. His eyes didn’t leave mine as he tilted the small glass up to his lips and the tequila disappeared. He caught an escaping drop with his tongue, and for some reason I continued to watch him.

  Fuuuuck.

  I squeezed my thighs together a little tighter.

  “What is going on here?” Sienna asked with clear frustration. Thankfully, her words broke the dazed spell I found myself in. “First of all, you always close.” She pointed toward Alex. “Secondly”—she gestured at Rhett—“you are always too busy with groupies to even come say ‘hi’ after a show.”

  Gage laughed and said, “I’ll give you three guesses, but I’m sure you’ll only need one.” He looked at her pointedly.

  I reached down and fixed the sling-back heel that had started to slide off. Well, at least that's what I pretended to do so that Alex's arm slipped from my shoulders. I eyed Sienna with an apology, hoping I was still fluent in silent girl communication. She shrugged her shoulder as nonchalantly as possible. I imagined in the past decade she's had this secret crush on Alex, she's seen her fair share of him flirting with other girls.

  Rhett extended his hand across the table to me. “Rhett. You a friend of Rose?”

  “Friend… colleague…. One in the same…” I shrugged and shook his hand, then quickly pulled away before I could enjoy his warmth.

  Rhett stared at me, almost willing me to introduce myself. But I didn’t. And he didn’t ask.

  He placed his elbows on the table and chewed on a guitar pick. He held it between his thumb and pointer finger and lightly bit the black plastic.

  Sienna reached up and snatched the pick from his fingers, earning a glare from him. She handed him a plastic straw, and he immediately popped the end into his mouth with a grateful smile.

  “Your dentist must hate you,” Sienna scolded.

  “My teeth are perfect, thank you very much.” But just to prove his point, Rhett smiled brightly, displaying his perfectly straight, white teeth. He hadn’t been lying about that.

  “Are you a friend of Rose?” I decided to ask him.

  Rhett glanced at Rose. “Yeah, she ran past me one day in some big ol’ hurry in the subway. Your girl here is always in a hurry. Whatever work you two do, it sounds like you work for a slave driver.” I noticed Rose cough back a laugh and then wipe it away. “She liked my music so she’s been hanging around.”

  “Interesting…” I glanced toward Rose, but she was looking away. Convenient.

  Sienna added, “Rose is cool. Trying to get another girl in this group is impossible. One of these numbskulls will sleep with her and then she’s gone.”

  Rose nudged my arm and nodded her head in the direction of a group of women who stood a few feet behind Rhett, staring at the back of his head. I watched as they appeared to debate whether they should join us. I knew Rose was getting nervous someone would spot me. Hell, Sienna recognized me immediately. I was just lucky she could contain her enthusiasm quietly.

  “That’s probably my cue to leave,” I told her.

  Rhett turned and looked behind him at the fawning women. His grin when he turned back to look at me made me want to smack his too-handsome face. “Sorry about that. I usually give them a bit more attention.”

  “Yeah, why don’t you go do that now, buddy?” Alex suggested. “We’re just hanging out.”

  Rhett's eyes narrowed slightly, and I couldn't tell what kind of silent bro-talk he and Alex had going on with one another. Gage sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, apparently amused by the whole situation.

  To break the tension, I asked Rhett, “You know Bartender Alex?”

  “You know Bartender Alex?” he asked in surprise.

  "Oh yeah, we go way back. He makes my favorite drink." I smiled. Beside me, I felt Alex chuckle.

  “That I do,” Alex smarted off. Rhett glared a little harder.

  "They go all the way back to an hour ago," Sienna chimed in, and I laughed.

  "Sienna!" Gage chastised. "Play along. I think our boy Rhett here was showing a bit of what I like to call jealousy."

  Rhett eyed him with confusion and quickly stated, “Just curious.” Then he turned to look at me again. “I don’t think I caught your name…”

  "Seriously, weren't you leaving?" Rose interrupted. The girls behind Rhett were looking at me now, and Rose was getting antsy.

  “Party’s just getting started,” Rhett said, gesturing toward himself. “Why leave now?”

  Sienna rolled her eyes, and I couldn’t hold back my grin. She was clearly not fazed by his good looks. Unfortunately, I hadn't acquired that immunity yet.

  "Actually, you should sing with Rhett," Sienna suggested.

  "That's a great fucking idea," Gage announced, sitting up straight. "You still got the stage, right?" he asked Rhett.

  “That’s probably not a good idea,” I was quick to add.

  “You can sing?” Rhett looked surprised.

  A few muffled snickers came from around the table, and I responded, "I've been told I could a time or two." I shrugged my shoulders.

  I watched as his cockiness level rose a few points, and I loved the idea of wiping that smirk from his face.

  "It's cool. Not everyone can do the stage thing." Rhett smirked.

  I pushed back from the table and immediately stood up. No one could tell me I couldn’t handle the stage. With determination—and a decent amount of alcohol—in my blood, I headed for the small set of stairs.

  "This is fucking brilliant," I heard Gage say with a laugh. "Finally, someone to liven this place up."

  — THREE —

  Rhett bypassed the steps, hopping up on the stage and making a beeline for his guitar, which had been safely tucked away behind the curtain. With a few flipped switches, I heard the familiar buzz of amps and the hum from the microphones being turned on. He pulled an additional mic from backstage and carted out two chairs. I looked at the strange objects that did not belong on a stage.

  Stages were not for sitting.

  Stages were for dominating.

  He sat down and pulled out his guitar while I stood a few feet over. He looked out at the crowd, and they all stared up at us. They hadn't been expecting an encore.

  "Hey, guys." Rhe
tt's voice filled the bar. "I think I might do one more song, if that's alright." The group of girls still gathered together cheered, their hands clapping wildly as they tried their hardest to get his attention.

  He leaned away from his microphone and whispered, “I still don’t know your name.”

  “Oh… Did I not tell you that?” I replied, pretending to be naïve.

  He instantly caught on that I was fucking with him and nodded his head as if to say, “Okay, game on.”

  He moved the microphone back to his mouth. "I've been told this girl can carry a tune, so she's going to try and join me.”

  Oh, he was about to pay for that. I glared at him, and he winked. That damn straw was still stuck between his lips, causing me to look at them way too often.

  “Ladies’ choice,” he said into the microphone. “And if you say Taylor Swift, I’ll only sing that duet she does with Gary Lightbody. That was pretty badass, but nothing else.”

  The nerve of this guy! I looked down to see Gage choking back a laugh, while Sienna was full-on hooting and hollering. Alex stared at both of them, appearing as if he had missed some joke. Which he totally had since he still had no idea who I was.

  I’d often been confused with a particular country/pop singer in the tabloids. The only thing that we had in common was long, curly blonde hair, and I was pretty sure she’d chopped hers off.

  I didn't do country or pop. And I was sick of the assumption I would.

  Maybe I was a little sensitive about it. I was just honestly tired of being asked questions that were clearly meant for her. When I first started performing, the tabloids used to love making comparisons when there really weren’t any to make.

  “What about Ever James?” Rhett offered. My eyes widened. Had he figured it out? “Don’t chicks like her?”

  I couldn’t speak. The words couldn’t pass my lips. Gage and Sienna immediately stopped laughing. They now stared wide-eyed up at the stage, just like Rose was doing. I could see her silently begging me not to cause a scene.

  "Ohhkay…" Rhett said, probably trying to fill the awkward silence. "I get it. She's too much of an attention whore for my taste anyway."