by M. E. Gordon
The second weekend that Caroline tracked us down, I still gave her the cold shoulder. I wasn’t able to joke or even talk to her yet, and I refused to call her Kitty, but fuck if it didn’t put a smile on my face, for a second that is, when I saw her sitting on Trent’s lap before we preformed.
Now, four weeks in, here she is again. Somewhere in North Carolina at a large festival, I walked around the bus to find everyone sitting in lawn chairs around a fire pit. I did a double take. A pretty girl with long black hair and bright green eye’s sat on JJ’s lap and I swore it was Chloe, but the girl didn’t have any tattoos or look like an Amazon warrior princess. I looked again and matched her up to the friend that was sitting with kitty the night we had our reunion.
She had looked familiar even then, but I pushed it out of my mind. Now that she was here I was going to figure out who she was. If anything, it was going to take my mind off kitty, and these days I was desperate.
“Kane, there you are! We were starting to think that those girls ate you alive,” Aiden said laughing.
“Close, but I got out before they ripped my shirt all the way off,” I gesturing to the tear on the collar of my shirt. I had just gotten done with a “meet and greet” with the 4 Alliance guys, before either of us went on stage later tonight.
The manager of the tour insisted that we sit with them during their meet and greet, because so many fans were asking for us, so the guys and I took turns and tonight happened to be my night.
For once, Caroline wasn’t on Trent’s lap. She was in her own chair on the other side of the fire pit. Her usual wild hair was pulled back, giving a clear sight of her long neck and toned shoulders. She had a simple, tight T-shirt on and jean shorts that should be illegal. I didn’t want to be around if she stood up because I knew the bottom of her ass would be peeking out.
She never dressed up when she showed up every weekend. She didn’t have to and, fuck, that bothered me.
“I see someone let the cat back in,” I said, gesturing to her. She smiled across at me, shoving her middle finger up in the air. “One of you should really think twice before letting her back here. She’s messing with your game.”
Reece adjusted himself in his chair, “No, dude, she’s messing with your game, not ours,”
“I got a ripped shirt, and a hundred screaming women that say otherwise.”
“Yet, none of them are here, are they?” Reece said, looking around for those hundreds of screaming women I just referenced.
Sitting back in his seat after craning his neck, he held up a hand. Caroline’s hand met his as a sexy grin spread across her face while she high fived Reece.
“Whatever.” I grabbed an extra chair and placed it next to JJ. Caroline was still across from me. The fire made it hard to see her clearly and I was grateful. If it was hard to see her, then, hopefully, it was hard to see me, I didn’t want it to be obvious that I was staring at her every two seconds.
“Who’s this?” I asked, looking at JJ and the girl on his lap.
“This is Piper,” the girl said, turning to get a look at me.
“Piper? Wait a minute, you’re--”
“Nate’s little sister. You got it,” she said, wiggling on JJ’s lap a little.
“Oh, why are you here?” I asked curiously.
Was this some sort of sick joke from Nate, to have his little sister flaunt around and remind me of that jackass?
“It’s nice to meet you too,” she said with an attitude that usually lead to me getting slapped.
“Dude, chill the fuck out. She’s here for me,” JJ said, finally speaking up and holding Piper a little tighter around her waist.
Piper scrunched her brows together, looking confused and a little pissed all at the same time. “No, I’m not. I’m here with Caroline, mini vacation.”
“Eh, tomato, tamato. You’re here and on my lap. You’re happy, I’m hopeful. Why argue?” JJ said, sitting up to kiss her blushing cheek.
I remembered her from the bonfire at the lake. She was glued to JJ that night and it seemed he was pretty fucking hung up on her now.
I shook my head and sipped on my beer, but then I caught a glimpse of Caroline on the other side of the fire. Fuck she was hot. She shouldn’t have that much fucking pull over me. My dick twitched every time I looked at her.
“Bro, just give in already,” JJ said, leaning behind Piper to whisper to me.
I adjusted myself in the chair, praying I hadn’t just got caught staring through the fire to where Kitty sat, legs crossed under her as she sipped on a beer.
“Give in to what?”
“What else does she have to do? I’m fucking tired of watching you watch her like you’re deciding which part of her you’re going to lick first. It’s disturbing, dude. I know your escapades with Chloe are...well, you haven’t fucked her all week and that’s a record for you two,” JJ said.
“First off, I don’t trust her. Second...” I had a second, I did, but my attention got pulled as the fire popped loudly.
I turned from JJ to make sure I wasn’t on fire as sparks flew all over the place, that’s when I saw it. Kitty jumped out of her chair, hopping up and down and brushing her hands over body. She yelped loudly, swiping at the ashes that landed in her lap. Facing her chair she bent over and wiped away the ashes that had landed on the flammable fabric.
Fuck, I was right, those shorts should definitely be banned. There was no fucking way she had underwear on. One move to the side and I was positive I was going to see everything.
“Are you fucking kidding me!? This is my only shirt!” she hollered, turning back around.
There was a bunch of little holes in her T-shirt. Along with the holes, it was black from the ashes she had wiped off. She looked over the fire at Piper then at me. A sneaky smile pulled at the corner of her lips and I knew I was fucked.
She reached for the bottom of the shirt and I swear it was in slow motion. Her stomach contoured as she pulled up, her tits bounced, when she hit them with her hands. And when she tossed the ruined shirt at Reece, he stared at it like it was the first time he’d ever seen a naked woman. Once he turned his eyes from the shirt, he reached out to touch her. I heard a chuckle come from my right. Piper was trying hard to keep it together, then she buried her head in JJ’s chest.
“Go get me a shirt,” Kitty demanded, hitting Reece’s hand away.
His eyes were zeroed in on her tits. “Fuck that, I don’t have any. You’re going to have to rough it, Kitty.”
“Here, Kitty,” Trent said, pulling the shirt off his own back off and tossing it to her.
“Thanks, Trent,” she said, holding it. Taking it under her nose, she inhaled deeply. “Why do you always smell so good?” she asked with a dreamy look on her face.
“Blessed.”
He stood from his seat. She walked over to him, her hands resting on his chest. Trent was even taller than me. He had broad shoulders littered with tattoos, a shaved head, and a chiseled face. Kitty looked even smaller standing before him. I had to look away as she hugged him and left a soft kiss on his cheek. Her breasts flattened on his chest, her bare stomach met up with his.
“Fucking ridiculous,” I mumbled under my breath.
“You say something?” JJ asked.
“No,” I mumbled, taking a drink of my beer.
“Hey, you guys have about half an hour till you’re on,” Dave, the stage manager said.
His headset on and clipboard in hand, he stopped in his tracks the minute he saw Caroline. He moved the headset from his ear and stationed the clipboard to cover his junk. He openly gaped at her, the shirt Trent had given her was still in her hand. So there she stood in her lacey bra and shorts for everyone to see.
“Dave, put your fucking eyeballs back in your head,” Trent said demandingly over Kitty’s head.
“What the fuck, Dave?” Reece asked. “Don’t look at our Kitty that way. Only we can do that. When’s the last time you got laid, man?”
He bit down on his lip,
“Sorry, it’s just--I can’t take my eyes off her.”
The urge to get up and punch him for looking at her like...like a piece of perfectly cooked meat that he was going to devour...was messing with my head more than usual.
I didn’t know what the fuck came over me. Maybe it was the fact I could see his dick pushing against the clipboard from where I sat, or maybe it was the way he was licking his lips, but I fucking lost it. I stood and got in his face. “I think you should leave,” I said, looking down at him.
He adjusted his headset with one hand, keeping the clipboard securely over his dick.
He shook his head. “You fuckers always get the good pussy.”
“That’s because we’re rock stars, benefit of the job.”
He turned his head and looked at Caroline again as she started to put on the shirt that Trent had given her. I followed his gaze and we both watched as she grabbed her shirt from Reece. She stood in front of her chair, staring across at Dave and me.
“I thought you were done with her,” he said, eyeing me up.
“Get the fuck out of here, Dave. We need to get ready. We’ll see you back stage in thirty.”
I followed his gaze again to Caroline, who was still attentively watching.
With a cocky air about him, Dave made in intentions clear. “Fine, but while you’re up on stage, I’ll make my move, since you’re done with her and all. She’s free game now.”
The guys who worked on the tour were known for picking up scraps or promising girls things, and Dave, manager and all, was no exception.
“You can try, but that girl is fucking hard for my dick and my dick alone. Good luck, though,” I said, clasping his shoulder. “Oh and you might want to wear a cup if you’re going to try anything while we’re on stage,” I said before leaving Dave, the guys, and Caroline and heading for the stage.
I got around the busses and out of sight. Leaning against one, I rested my head and stared up at the darkening sky. Hands in my hair, I wanted to punch the bus behind me, get the frustration out. I didn’t want to admit it, but I was falling under her fucking spell again. I shouldn’t have cared that Dave or anyone was interested in Caroline. She wasn’t mine any more. I don’t want her...I don’t want her...fuck, I want her!
CHAPTER 43
Caroline
Thursday, eight o’clock at night, and I was stuck in the office again. The large table in the conference room was filled with stacks of papers. Hours-old Chinese containers and coffee cups sat atop the span of papers.
Ever since I got home from last weekend’s adventures to win Kane back, I couldn’t stop smiling. He had stood up for me and, damn, if I didn’t want to jump over the fire and do all sorts of naughty things to him. My plan to get him back was working, slowly, but it was working. He was on his way back to me. I had one weekend left before their tour was over.
JJ and the guys were keeping me informed of all their moves so I could be with them. It didn’t surprise me that once the tour was over they were headed to LA to work on an album. They were going to sign with the same record label as 4 Alliance and they were through-the-roof happy. It was happening for them. They’d be playing those big arenas Kane had always known they were destined to play in.
Their last stop put them in central Maryland, home field advantage. All I had to do was make it through all the papers in front of me, and I’d be free to head home--
“Caroline, you okay?” I looked up from the file, that I had been reading and re-reading for the past twenty minutes, to find Danny looking at me.
“Yeah, I’m good. Why you ask?”
“I don’t know. You’ve been frozen in that position for, like, a half hour, and you’re smiling at the files. No one smiles at files, especially these,” he said, holding one up.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to get side tracked. I just had a really good weekend and can’t stop thinking about it.”
“That weekend have anything to do with that guy I saw you with at the bar a couple months back?” he asked, raising a brow.
“How do you--”
“Sarah busted you. I got stuck in the elevator with her, and she told me everything,” he said.
“What do you mean everything?” I asked, sitting up in my chair.
“She told me you were trying to win the guy back or something. Caroline, can I give you some advice.” I nodded for him to go on. He sighed. “Don’t you think you’re wasting your time? I mean, you’ve been going to see him every weekend and then coming back here to work. Listen, I heard that the ups were going to offer you a senior position and a team to work under you. If you keep running after this guy and acting all starry eyed, they’re going to give it to someone else.”
That information hit me like a freight train--a senior position, a team of my own.
I slumped back in my chair, “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I am. They called me in a week ago to give an evaluation. Caroline, I saw you with that guy. He didn’t seem interested. I know that sucks, but I also know men who are interested.”
Okay, this conversation just took a sharp left. “What are you trying to say, Danny?”
“I’m saying why the hell run after that asshole when you have someone here who’s going to--I mean--”
“Danny,” I said cutting him off before it was too late “Don’t do it, please don’t.”
“Caroline, I like you. I mean, I like you as more than a coworker.”
Fuck, he went there. You know, when it rains, it fucking pours.
It took me all night to get it through Danny’s head that there was never going to be an “us,” that I was in love with Kane, and I’d stop at nothing to get him back. I meant it too, and I would do what I had to. The opportunity to run my own team would be amazing, but I’d take Kane over it. I didn’t before. I left him, thinking this was what I wanted, and I was wrong.
The coming weekend was my last chance to get him back. He was leaving for LA. I had this job opportunity. If he didn’t want me after this weekend, I’d have to take the promotion, put Kane on the back burner till I came up with another way to get him back.
***
I was late getting there. Crowds of people clamored around the gates that led to where the busses sat. Fitting that it was the biggest stage the guys had played on. That I had seen at least.
The gate was guarded by a guy who worked for the stadium and he wasn’t letting me through. I called all the guys, but no one answered. It was my last chance, and I couldn’t even get back to see him. Fucking, pouring rain.
I thought that I’d have to leave and find another way, until the door to the bus the guys rode on, opened up. I stood straighter to see who was coming out of the bus. The sight of Kane always made my heart pump a little faster and my knees get wobbly and, even after a year, time hadn’t changed the way I reacted to him. A bunch of girls who were standing next to me started screaming and pushing on the gate once he was in sight. He turned at the screams and waved over to them--us.
“Kane,” I yelled over them, gaining his attention.
He took another look in the crowd and took a few steps toward the gate. The moment his eyes landed on me, he shook his head in disbelief.
“Kane, tell him to let me in,” I said, not having to yell as much because he was closer.
“Do you know this girl? Should I let her in, she keeps saying she’s family,” the guard asked from the other side of the fence.
I saw it in his eyes, that little snicker and evil grin. “No, I’ve never seen her before.”
“Are you kidding me, Kane?” I yelled at him.
“Yeah, man, I’ve never seen her, better keep her locked out. She looks like the kind of girl that’d claw her way through that gate. I’d also keep you’re balls away from her knees if I were you.” Winking at the guard, he nodded my way, waved, and kept on walking to the back stage area.
“You’re an asshole, Kane! You’re just going to leave me here!” I screamed.
He stopped mid step
and looked back at me. Straightened his body, held his head up, and continued walking. Fuck, he wasn’t over it. Here I was thinking I was closer to getting him back and he just walked away, leaving me, like I left him.
The door to the bus opened again and a skinny, red-mohawked man came sauntering out. Again the girls next to me went wild. Unlike Kane, Reece walked over to the gate, grabbing hands and signing autographs. When he got to my hand, I pulled him tightly against the fence. His face was plastered to the gate in a painful looking position as girls pulled on his clothes through the rails.
Reece loved the attention but when he saw it was me his smile fell. “Kitty? What the fuck are you doing over there?” He flipped his hand around and held mine tighter as the girls around me tried to push me out of the way so they could get a hold of Reece.
“Please, just get me out of here,” I begged, holding his hand for dear life.
Reece turned to the guard, asking him to open the gate so I could get on the other side.
The guard shook his head, “I’m sorry, I can’t do that. Kane gave strict instructions not to let her back here.”
“Well Kane isn’t fucking Prince Ali. I said let her in and I mean it,” Reece said, still holding on to my hand.
“Me too!”
“Please let me in!”
“I need you, Reece!”
“I want in too!”
Shouts like these, were flying all over the place as Reece argued with the guard to let me in.
A few minutes later, he let me through after he called another guard to help hold back the masses so there wouldn’t be a stampede. Safely on the other side, I walked with Reece to the back stage area.