Never Kiss a Rockstar (Never Trust Book 2)

by Sarah Darlington

  Tears brimmed in my eyes.

  “Now...” he said, changing the subject almost as fast as he’d brought it up. “How about I cook you something instead so you can help Caleb do whatever he needed you to do?”

  Crap. Caleb. I’d completely forgotten about my cousin. About Emma. About everything. I remembered that there was something Luce had said to John earlier that he was keeping from me. But I didn’t even care what it was anymore.

  “Okay,” I muttered, trying to motivate myself. I needed to go find my computer and my iPad so I could video conference Caleb, Luke, and Ollie—so we could work on this song Caleb had in mind. Probably something he planned to serenade Emma with. Likely his plan to win her back. But it felt so damn good in John’s arms, I didn’t want to move.

  I wasn’t ready for reality to come knocking.

  But I did it. I broke away and went to go get this thing over with. I just hoped it wouldn’t take all night.

  ~ CHAPTER 39 ~

  JOHN

  That girl—it was amazing the stamina she had. For hours, I listened to Dani play the drums in the garage. Until eventually I fell asleep on the couch in the den. When I woke, it was light. A whole night had passed, and she was still playing. I made her breakfast, and then I waited.

  And I kept waiting.

  Finally, after I’d completed Luce’s drawing for her tattoo, and a few other designs I felt some of my other clients might like, she came into the room. It had been almost twenty-four hours of no sleep and straight playing. Her hands were shaking. She swayed on her feet, exhaustion in her eyes.

  I jumped off the couch, scooping her into my arms, catching her a moment before she nearly fell to the floor. I left my drawings, carrying her to the bedroom. I was fucking raging. My blood was boiling. Caleb—he shouldn’t have pushed her like this. There was no need for it. I didn’t understand the rush to finish this song. Not at the physical cost it had taken on Dani.

  In my room, she mumbled something incoherent as I laid her down. “I need to call Michelle,” I think she said.

  I didn’t care who Michelle was. “You need to rest.”

  “The concert is tomorrow.”

  “What concert?”

  Her eyes closed, sleep washing over her.

  I breathed in deeply.

  A concert? For Emma? Was I invited? I watched Dani sleep for a moment—my stomach in knots. What did this mean for us?

  ***

  “My instructions from Caleb are to pick her up. She hasn’t given him a clear answer on if she’s coming or not.” Dani meant Emma. We were parked outside her family’s home, sitting in the driveway.

  Dani slept for twelve hours straight last night after collapsing in my bed. Today, she looked fresh—as if it had never happened. And so damn beautiful. She wore her leather pants, the ones that made my cock ache. It had been a couple days now since I’d been inside her. She had her chocolate hair straight as it could be, wearing full makeup with the brightest red lipstick on. I wasn’t used to her wearing this much makeup. I realized this was her ‘concert ready.’ The leather pants were for her fans, not me.

  “What if Emma decides she isn’t going?” I asked, thinking Caleb’s plan was moronic. “Then you still have to do this free concert in Richmond?”

  Richmond, Virginia was three hours away. That was with good traffic. Why not hold it somewhere closer?

  “Oh, that girl is coming.” Dani pushed open her door. “If I have to drag her out of that tiny house of hers, she’s coming.”

  I watched Dani leave the car—determined as hell, while still making my heart race in those damn pants. She knocked on the door. A couple minutes and a few worried glances in my direction later, Emma answered the door. In a baggy sweatshirt, no less. I thought that meant she wasn’t ready and wasn’t coming—but she followed Dani and climbed in my car.

  She took the backseat, while Dani returned to the front. I watched Emma in the rearview mirror. She moved slowly, carefully, cautiously as she sat down and buckled her seatbelt, pushing the top strap behind her back so it wouldn’t touch her chest.

  The poor girl was in pain.

  And stupid Caleb was cluelessly making her come to a crowded venue a whole state away. I started the engine—I guess it was too late now. I should have told Dani everything when I had a chance.

  About two and a half hours later, when we were nearing Richmond, with my eyes forward on the road, I said to Emma, “I heard about your surgery.”

  This was my way of telling Dani everything.

  ~ CHAPTER 40 ~

  DANI

  This was so damn awkward. Trapped in the car with Emma, having to drive three freaking hours, just so we could play a concert for her in Richmond. Caleb had already played for Emma once in Richmond, and he’d purposely decided to put on the same concert at this same venue all over again.

  All I knew was that he wanted to do it for her this time and to show all our fans he was a taken man. I think a simple tweet or leaked photo to TMZ would have sufficed. But Caleb had some grand plan in mind. We had three new songs to play for this girl. Three! Whatever. I hoped it worked out for him.

  I’d glanced over my shoulder a couple times, to check on Emma, and each time, the girl looked like she was in pain. Fuck—she was probably going to break his heart in front of thousands of people.

  We’d just passed a sign—ten miles to Richmond—when John spoke for the first time the entire car ride. “I heard about your surgery,” he said to Emma. I assumed he meant Emma since I hadn’t had any surgeries lately. John’s eyes were forward on the road. “You know, when you’re fully healed, I do tattoos for that. No cost. It’s always no cost for that.”

  What the actual fuck?

  “What surgery?” I demanded. I reached over to turn down the radio.

  “My breasts,” Emma answered, saying no more.

  I started to freak out on the inside. “Like, you got a boob job?” Why would John do free tattoos for that?

  “Not quite.”

  I turned around in my seat to stare into this girl’s blue eyes. “What kind of surgery?” I pressed.

  “Double mastectomy.”

  “Holy shit. Caleb is going to flip.” I combed my fingers through my hair, playing with the strands, fidgeting. “This is going to send Caleb straight off the deep-end. You have no idea.”

  “Please, don’t tell him.”

  “Wait, are you planning on not telling him?”

  “He doesn’t need to know.”

  I couldn’t breathe. Yes, he fucking needed to know. She was the girl he loved—of course he needed to know. “I have so much I want to say right now,” I said through gritted teeth. To John—because why the fuck did he think it was better to keep this from me? And to Emma—because why the hell hadn’t she told Caleb this? Now we had to do this stupid concert regardless.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t be going to this concert,” Emma said, a little panicked now. “Maybe I shouldn’t be in this car. Would you take the next exit, John?”

  “It’s not much further.” Thankfully, he kept driving.

  At least one of us was calm.

  I shook my head. “I can’t keep this in,” I grunted, debating with myself over how much I should tell Emma. Maybe she didn’t realize just how crazy Caleb was about her. “Dammit... okay. When we were in Miami, right before we canceled the rest of our summer tour, Caleb did not leave his hotel room for three days. He locked himself in his room. And the only thing that got him out of that room, was me booking the house in North Carolina.”

  “You mean when I stopped texting him?” Emma asked.

  “Yes.”

  “It upset him that much?”

  “Yes.”

  “You have no idea how much power you have over him,” I told her. “How crazy his feelings for you—”

  John reached his tattooed hand across the middle consul and squeezed my hand. “Dani,” he said softly. “Stop. This isn’t for you to say.”

  I went quiet.<
br />
  He made a good point. It wasn’t my job to tell Emma that Caleb loved her. Because apparently, he hadn’t. That was Caleb’s job. I wouldn’t ruin the moment for him. I breathed in deeply, trying to calm down. We’d be there soon enough. Caleb could deal with this. And I could get back to my bubble with John.

  “This is our exit,” John announced.

  ~ CHAPTER 41 ~

  JOHN

  Dani was antsy and distracted, her hand drumming against her leg. I parked the car as close as I could. Which was about a mile away from the entrance to this venue. “Let me walk you.”

  “No. Stay with Emma. Take her to lunch. Kill some time. Because it’s three more hours until we are supposed to start.”

  I breathed out, not really liking this plan to separate. “Okay.”

  “And find me after the concert.” Without saying anything more, she opened her door and left. Her feet moved fast walking in the direction of the concert venue.

  Was she pissed at me?

  Or were these normal pre-show jitters?

  I didn’t know. I hated that I didn’t know. This would be the first time I saw her play in public, in her band, in a concert. I wanted it to be different than this.

  I started the car, left the venue, and did as she asked. I took Emma to the nearest place for lunch. Red Robin. “Do you eat plant-based like Luce?”

  “Mostly,” she said as we left the car behind and walked toward the red doors. “But not always and not when I need comfort food. So... not at all since my surgery.”

  I felt for her. If I lost Dani and had to get my balls chopped off at the same exact time—I’d be pretty damn miserable, too.

  Emma moved so slowly that I wished we’d gone through a drive-thru instead.

  I pulled out my phone. I needed to call Dani and see if she could get us some preferred parking access at the concert. Only—I didn’t have my girlfriend’s number. I’d never once needed to call her. Over the last month, we’d always been together. I never thought to program it into my phone.

  With no way to reach Dani, I felt uneasy. Emma and I got a table, made some forced small talk, and ordered our lunch. It wasn’t until our burgers had arrived, and I was about to take a bite, that she said something that had my attention.

  “So, you and Dani? I never knew she stayed behind this whole time in North Carolina.”

  I relaxed a little. I didn’t mind talking about Dani. “She stayed with me.”

  “She’s living with you?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s great. Unexpected, but great. Is this a permanent thing?”

  “Yes. Well, we’ve talked about splitting time between—”

  At that exact moment, some loud-as-hell guys, all in Sunset Revival t-shirts, piled into the empty booth behind where Emma sat. We weren’t far from the venue; they were probably killing some time before the concert just like us. One of them bumped Emma’s head with his elbow, hard enough that I stood from my seat and glared at him.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled, before sitting down. Laughter followed. I sat back in my seat and tried to return to my burger, but kept an eye on them. They were clearly all wasted.

  “Do you think—” Emma started to say. But her words went interrupted when we both heard the guys behind her say Dani’s name.

  “Dani Mills. I’d let her ride my cock.”

  “Dude, she would never come near you. Keep dreaming.”

  “No, I swear, if I could just meet her... I hear she’s easy. Trevor, from work, claims he had her. I guess he bought backstage passes to their concert in Las Vegas last year. She was wasted and rode him reverse cowgirl. He says she has some weird hang-up about kissing on the mouth. Wouldn’t kiss his mouth. Kissed everything else, apparently.”

  “That’s bullshit.”

  “I believe him. And if Trevor can get with her, then I have a chance. There’s a bar downtown. I read on a fan site, when she’s in Richmond, she always goes to it. I’m going tonight. I’m going to fuck her. If all it takes is a few drinks, I’ll let her ride me reverse all night.”

  Hearing all of them talk so carelessly and graphically about the woman I loved, having to imagine someone else with her, taking advantage of her— it boiled my blood.

  I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe.

  I only wanted to hurt these strangers. I stood, my jaw tight and my fists balled.

  “John,” Emma breathed. “C’mon, John. It’s really not worth it.”

  I couldn’t hear her.

  I stepped toward their table.

  Emma moved out of her seat—one hand holding under her chest, the other on my wrist—and she blocked my path.

  Her eyes were pleading. “Please, you can’t go to the concert if you’re in the hospital.”

  I stopped. Mostly because Emma reminded me of Sydney. She was way too innocent to watch me beat the shit out of these guys. I wouldn’t go to the hospital. They were drunk, and I had years of lessons in boxing and fencing as a kid on my side.

  “You got a problem?” one of the guys asked, the one who’d been talking about Dani the most.

  “Dani Mills won’t be at the bar you mentioned tonight, so fuck you.”

  They all stared at me with confused, blank faces. I hated that sort of mentality, like fucking a girl in a borderline rape manner was okay. It was one of the reasons I’d disassociated myself with the world I grew up in, the world of the entitled. With a sigh, feeling defeated now, I pulled some money from my wallet. I tossed it on our table. Then I tugged on Emma’s arm, leading her toward the exit. We hadn’t finished eating. But I couldn’t stay here.

  I’d always known Dani’s past and that there had been plenty of guys before me. It hadn’t bothered me before. But now I knew the mindset of her male fans. I’d always hated the famous thing, mostly because I hated any type of attention myself, but this just made her fame even more unbearable.

  I didn’t know how I was going to make it through this concert. If I felt this nauseated before the first one, how would I ever make it through a lifetime of enduring them?

  I loved her. I’d figure something out. But it still felt shitty.

  “You still thinking about backing out of this?” I asked Emma.

  “Why? Are you?”

  “It’s a possibility.”

  ~ CHAPTER 42 ~

  DANI

  I’d played in front of thousands of people before. But I’d never played in front of John. Not on stage. Not for a full concert. Not like this. Knowing he was going to be watching me—it was doing crazy things to my nerves. My hands were shaking, my foot bouncing, my skin crawling. Where was he? In the crowd?

  I had no way of knowing if he and Emma made it back. I tried to call him—only to realize that I didn’t have his phone number. I’d never once needed it or thought to program it into my phone. How ridiculous was that?

  Dammit—it was time to start. I had a clear line of sight to the front row. I’d left tickets at the will-call box office in John’s name, and his seats were the seats my eyes were stuck on. But they were empty. And Caleb seemed determined to start anyway.

  He approached his microphone. “Shit,” he said awkwardly.

  The crowd quieted.

  My heart began to pound.

  Why the hell wasn’t John in the front row?

  “We’re Sunset Revival,” Caleb said to the thousands of eyes on him. “And I wanted to invite you all back here tonight, the same group from the concert we played in September, because I messed up and I want a do-over.”

  “We love you, Caleb!” some random girl shouted.

  “Thanks. So, that night, the girl I love was in attendance. She’s here tonight too—I hope. Ya’ll probably didn’t notice, but I spent the night sweating and avoiding eye contact with her the entire time. So instead of freaking out, and being me, being my usual insecure self like that, I just want you all to know that every song tonight is for her. The new ones and the old ones. Emma, wherever you are, it’s all for you. I’
m in love with you. And it’s only ever going to be you. C’mon, Dani.”

  He glanced over his shoulder in my direction. That was my cue. I started the familiar intro to one of our softer songs. I had no choice. I had to play now. We were passed the moment of hesitation.

  “And Emma,” Caleb added. “If you’re here. Please get your pretty ass to the front row where you belong. Where I want you always. I’m not doing this for anyone else.”

  Ditto.

  The reaction for Caleb’s speech blew me away. They cheered and screamed, they even started to chant, “Emma...Emma...Emma...”

  Caleb ignored it all and dove right into the lyrics. He had a voice like an angel. If Emma was in this building, she didn’t stand a chance against the charm and sexiness that was Caleb Mills.

  We weren’t even halfway through the first song when Caleb stopped singing. He abandoned his microphone, set his guitar down, and jumped down off the middle of the stage.

  I exchanged an “oh shit” glance with Luke. Then Ollie went centerstage.

  What the hell now? How could he leave us? We’d never performed without Caleb. This wasn’t even a show without him. Nobody paid to see the rest of us. They only paid to see him.

  Ollie started to sing Caleb’s lyrics.

  All this time, all my life, I never knew Ollie had it in him. He had a decent singing voice. I was surprised. Luke and I, not missing a beat, kept playing.

  I couldn’t see far past my drums and the stage lights. I had to assume Caleb had left the stage for Emma. He must have spotted her in the crowd. A big cheer followed, confirming my theory. And for a minute, as we rounded out our first song, the noise only grew. He must have kissed her in front of them, too.

  Holy crap, Caleb really did love her.

  I half expected Caleb to return to the stage. He didn’t. We were surrounded by all these people, only four minutes into an hour-long set, and we didn’t have our lead singer.