Alexis: In love with a rockstar (The Hamptons Series Book 2)

by Drucie Anne Taylor

  “Right.” I walk past him, down the stairs and into the kitchen. It is empty, save for Ms. Cunnings in front of the stove. “Good morning.”

  “Morning, Miss Prescott.” She blushes.

  I sit down at the table and look at her. “I’m at least as embarrassed as you are.”

  She exhales. “I’m sorry I came into the living room, but the others arrived and asked where you were, and I’d heard the piano when I was cleaning the kitchen earlier, so I assumed …”

  I shrug and make a noncommittal sound.

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Starving!”, I reply with a smile.

  “It’s good that you came down early. Once the boys are at the table, it’s hard to get a morsel for yourself.”

  “Good morning, Ms. Cunnings,” Thally comes in cheerfully. “Good morning, Honor.”

  We return her greeting as she sits down next to me.

  Dear god, these men really eat as if they’ve been starving for days! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone wolf down their food the way these guys did.

  “Okay, it looks as if the feeding of the predators is not going to end in mutual devouring today. I’m going outside for a smoke,” Thally announces, before looking at me. “Do you want to join me in the garden?”

  I nod. “Sure.” Then I stand up from my chair and follow her.

  “Maybe better anyway. At least no one can tease you when you’re not at the table,” she smirks as she closes the back door behind her.

  “I would retaliate, but it’s good to be forewarned that they like to take digs at other people.”

  “Yeah, it’s got a tendency to get annoying, especially Azer when he thinks he’s being hilarious. He bullshits anyone who’s unfortunate enough to cross his path.”

  We sit down at a patio table.

  “Head’s up, football’s coming!” someone yells, and Thally ducks her head in response.

  “I guess that means more names for you to memorize. I hear Callum and the rest of them coming.”

  “I’ve already met some of the people who live next door,” I reply.

  “Oh, okay. Well, they’re with a blast to be around.”

  “Have you known them a long time?”

  “Yes, they all went to college with me, except Amira. They switched to long-distance studying after they got their record contract, since it’s hard to manage this music business and a college degree,” she explains. “If you get along well with Callum, you would absolutely love one of my best friends!”

  I look at her in confusion.

  She shakes her head. “I’m just thinking about how you would fit into my circle of friends at home. We have everything from the lovable chaos queen – which would be Delsin – to a real Prince Charming – which would be Avery. The same goes for my female friends; they’re all unique characters and really special.”

  “Sounds like you’re missing them,” I state.

  “Yes, I actually do, even though I’ve only been with Linden again for three weeks. I’m flying back for a few days next week, because one of the guys is throwing a farewell party.”

  I nod slowly.

  “Morning, ladies,” a new voice says.

  “Hey, Cal. You doing ok?” she asks.

  “Always.” He looks at me. “Hey, Honor, how you doin’? Made yourself at home yet?”

  I nod again. “Yes, thank you. How are you?”

  “I’ve made myself at home quite a while ago, and I’m always fine,” he replies with a smile, and I can see the roguish glint in his eye. He turns to Thally. “How’s Alexis doing?”

  “I’m not sure, but Jayden said it’s not too bad.”

  “Cal, throw us that damned football if you’re having a tea party over there!” someone yells.

  He lifts a finger, turns around, and then pitches the football with a lot of verve.

  “Thank you!”

  “You’re very welcome!” he yells back and then turns to us again. “I think I’ll drive over this afternoon. If anyone wants to come, I’ll head out around two.”

  “Alright. I’m going to see if we have a few cookies or candy bars in the house, so at least he won’t starve. I’ll meet you at your car. Say two-ish?” Thally says.

  “Okay, Thally … oh, and if you happen to talk to Rough, tell him I said yes, that should work.”

  “Will do, though I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she smirks.

  “It’s a surprise for Cami,” he explains. “And no, I’m not telling you what it is, because you’re just as much of a gossip as Hailey.” He gives her an exaggerated smile.

  I get up from the chair. “I’m leaving you guys to it.”

  “Are you coming to the hospital, too?” Callum asks me in a friendly, curious manner.

  I give him an irritated look. “Why would I?”

  His cheeks start to redden a little. “Oh … well, I thought … aren’t you two … together or something?”

  “Because we slept together once?” I counter, taken aback. “No, we’re not together. That was just a one-off.” Two-off, my inner voice chides me.

  “Oh, I see. But you can still come along, right? I’m sure he could do with a little distraction,” he adds with a smile.

  “I doubt that he wants to see me now.”

  “Why wouldn’t he want to see you?” Thally wants to know.

  “Well, all that stress and anger last night was at least half my fault,” I reply with a heavy sigh. “I don’t want to be responsible for agitating him again, so I should just stay away from him.”

  “I think that’s bullshit. You should come with us; I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you,” Thally argues with conviction.

  “No, I had better meet with the others and find out how long this stint here is supposed to take,” I decline.

  “Anyway, I’m going back over to my side of the fence. See you later, Thally,” Callum pipes up.

  Chapter 7

  Alexis

  I hate hospitals. They smell sterile, they are sterile, and it feels like you’re going to die of boredom. The TV has only six channels, but at least the nurse is kinda hot, a feast for my tired eyes. If the guys hadn’t made such a big deal out of Honor and I having sex, I wouldn’t even be here! Sometimes I want to kick Linden in the nuts for being such a damn know-it-all. He thinks of himself as the head of the band, but he’s just one of its members, same as me. Downstairs Alley is a democracy; we make decisions by taking a vote, but as soon as it is about me, he’s getting all dictatorial. Honor smoking hot, she could even mean more to me, but neither she nor I are ready for a serious relationship. In theory, nothing speaks against enjoying each other’s company, but thinks look very different in the harsh light of reality.

  Okay, so several background singers left the band again because of me, because I came onto them, because I had sex with them. But honestly-come on - everyone knows that the lead singer in a band isn’t cut out to be a faithful boyfriend. Nor am I boyfriend material. I cannot love anyone if I’m not completely at ease with myself.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Kingston, and how are we feeling today?” Callum belts out cheerfully as he steps into my hospital room.

  I sit up straight. “What are you doing here?”

  “We came to check on you,” Thalia chirps.

  I raise an eyebrow. “But I can go home tonight or tomorrow.”

  “Oh, and you intend to sit here on your own and be bored until then?” She probes.

  Callum sits down next to me on the bed and grabs the remote control. “Second floor.” The bed starts moving upwards. “First floor.” Then it is lowered again.

  I shake my head at his antics. “Is the fire still raging at home?”

  She makes a face as if she just drank a bitter cup of coffee. “Honor is hiding in her room, after butting heads with Jayden and Joel earlier. I think she’s about to go back to New York City. Joel offered that she could sing and record all her parts over there, in one of the small studios, so she won’t d
istract anyone anymore.”

  “Excuse me?” I blurt. “That is a little exaggerated, considering all we did was give into our mutual attraction.”

  “Dude, everyone’s overreacting because they are seriously worried about you,” Callum chimes in.

  “They can go fuck themselves. It’s not fair that Honor should suffer because I–“

  “Screwed her,” Thally finishes my sentence for me.

  “Hooked up with her,” I correct her grumpily. “When I was alone with this woman, I was utterly relaxed for the first time in a long while.”

  She sits down in a chair next to the bed. “That almost sounds as if Alexis Kingston is ready to settle down.”

  I shake my head and raise my hands in protest. I’m certainly not about to settle down. “No, he isn’t, but she’s a calming influence. I don’t know what it is, but she soothes me, and she fires right back if I try to fuck with her or take advantage of her. You know, I could behave as despicably as I wanted with anyone else, and they showed me nothing but friendliness and patience in return. But if I mess with her, I’m scared she might cut off my dick. That’s awesome.”

  “Does that mean you plan on becoming friends with her?” Cal wants to know, and when I nod, he counters with a snort. “Do you really think that’s going to work? Remember, I tried to be friends with Quinn, but then boom, I was in love with her. A single guy can’t be buddies with a single girl.”

  “Hey!” Thally barges in. “That’s not true. Just think of Kelsey and Cliff, or Hailey and Aiden.”

  He laughs. “For a moment, I thought you wanted to say Hailey and Clayton.”

  “We all know that is a thing of the past. And it all went down the drain,” she grumbles. “Whatever happened between them, it must have been a major deal breaker.”

  “To be perfectly honest, I don’t even want to know how Miss Osment managed to screw things up this time,” Cal counters. “I’m just hoping that Clay is over her by now, because he was down in the dumps there for a while.”

  Thally’s eyebrows twitch. “It doesn’t matter if you’re single or not. Men and women can be friends if they want to be.”

  “That’s what I think,” I agree. “Plus, there’s nothing wrong with her and I becoming closer. We agreed that we’re bot not interested in anything serious, so that’s out of the way. It could be so easy.”

  “You know Linden will throw a fit if you hook up with another background singer,” she reminds me.

  “Yes, I know that. Sweet Jesus, it’s still my own decision what I do, and nobody can keep me from being friends with someone I like.”

  Cal grunts. “Absolutely. When Quinn and I became closer again, I also told Spencer to back off. It’s our life, and as long as we play our parts the way we’re supposed to, on stage and for the camera, what we do behind closed doors is nobody else’s business.” Then he smirks. “After all, we’re adults and we know what we’re doing.”

  Thally sighs. “Sometimes I doubt that you know what you are doing, all of you.”

  We both laugh. “But at least we’re grown-ups.”

  “And I’m not the only one who doubts that from time to time,” she counters with a grin.

  After I’ve stopped chuckling, I let out a sigh. “With all this pressure coming at me from all possible sides, I think it’s only natural I screw up from time to time. I have no effing clue how the others do it. Our future is uncertain and there’s virtually no support system ready to catch us if we run into any problems. I’m not sure I can do this much longer. And with Joel pushing like a maniac…it’s driving me insane.”

  “That is the burnout talking,” Cal opines. “Maybe the future is uncertain, but dude, we’ve made such a butt load of money already, we can tide over for a long, long time.”

  “When I get up in the morning, the first thing I think about is all the problems waiting for me that day. That isn’t burnout; it’s all the crap that happened recently.”

  “Come on, Alexis, all you need to get through right now is this recording, and then you can go on vacation if you like. Or you can go home and spend time with your family, be a completely normal young person,” Thally says, her voice tinged with compassion. “I know you’re all working really hard for the success you’ve been having, but at least there’s a break coming up soon.”

  “Yeah, and after that break, we will tour all of Europe, and then Asia. That prospect scares the shit outta me. Jetlag after jetlag after jetlag.”

  “I’m with you on that part, bro,” Cal smirks. “Going back and forth between time zones is fucking exhausting.”

  Thally tilts her head to one side and puts her hand on mine. “Have you tried talking to Joel? Maybe he can postpone the tour, if you’re not really up to it.”

  “He can’t do that. Those dates have been fixed almost a year ago,” I explain, feeling crabby and irritated. “But anyway, I’ll make it through some way or another.”

  Cal pats me on the shoulder. “Nobody doubts that, bro.”

  “And now tell me why you’re dead-set on getting your freak on with Honor, even though everybody keeps telling you to keep it in your pants,” Thally demands patiently.

  “Getting my freak on? Well, I don’t know, she’s different. I know, that is the standard answer, and it’s also what Linden said about you, Thally, but she is … easygoing. Unruffled and cool, when we meet women, it’s always the same – they start screaming and swooning, and overall behaving like bimbos once they’ve found out who we are. But she did nothing of that sort. Honor is different.”

  “Ooh,” Callum says cheerfully. “That doesn’t sound like a casual encounter at all.”

  “Agreed,” Thally nods. “You’re totally in love with her.”

  I click my tongue. “That’s bullshit.”

  “No, it’s not.” She grins. “You’re even blushing when we bring it up.”

  “I’m not in love with Honor. I like her, I’ll admit that much, but I don’t fall in love.”

  Callum is still fumbling with the bed remote, testing its various functions, but now he lets out a heavy sigh. “Alexis, I hate to break this to you, but … you definitely are in love, or at least falling hard and fast. You can twist it and turn it any way you want, but you have deeper feelings for this girl.”

  “What if we just like each other – nothing more?” I ask, somewhat perplexed by the whole suggestion.

  “Most of the time, that’s still the first step to something more,” Thally sums up, but then her phone rings and interrupts her. “Leroux?” She rolls her eyes. “Yes, honey, he’s fine and dandy. You wanna talk to him?”

  I gesticulate wildly in protest. If there’s one thing I don’t want to do now, it’s having a conversation with Linden.

  “Sorry, honey, the nurse has just come in. Alexis has got some kind of examination coming up, so he can’t come to the phone … I know, I just asked you if you wanted to talk to him … Don’t get touchy with me now …” She snorts. “Tone it down, will you? You know I’m responsible for your sex life,” she grumbles, before hanging up on him. “That man is a pest right now.”

  “You don’t say,” I comment dryly. “Guys, I don’t want to throw you out, but I’m really tired and I’d like to rest for a while, catch up on my sleep.”

  “Second floor … first floor … fuck, I need to talk to Quinn about this. I want a bed like this at home,” Callum says, chuckling to himself.

  “She’ll be delighted, I’m sure,” Thally laughs. “Anyway, let’s go. Do you want me to tell the others anything?” she turns to me.

  I shake my head. “No, but please tell Honor to stay. I promise I won’t bother her anymore. Will you let her know?”

  They exchange a meaningful look before Thally nods. “Of course.”

  “Thank you, Thally.”

  “No biggie, Alexis.” She leans over and kisses me lightly on the cheek. “But you shouldn’t keep your distance if you really have feelings for her, because you won’t be able to bear that after a
while,” she whispers into my ear so that only I can hear it. Then she straightens and looks at Callum. “Come on, big guy, let’s go.”

  “Alright, little Miss.” Callum rises and pats my shoulder once again. “See you when you get home, buddy.”

  “Yeah. Tell the rest of the bunch I said hi.”

  “Will do.”

  Thally links arms with Cal, and then they take off. At least these two have a little sympathy for me. I appreciate that, because I know that my other friends wouldn’t understand the way I feel right now. With a sigh, I lie back down and close my eyes. I immediately start to fantasize about Honor. I see her writhing with lust before me, moaning thanks to me because I lick and fondle her. My cock twitches in response, demands attention, but I can’t give it to him here and now. I know one thing for certain: it’s going to be incredibly hard to keep my hands off this woman, because to me she is temptation incarnate. But somehow, I need to push her away, just so I won’t give in again. I know exactly how to do that, but it would mean losing her for good …

  Honor

  I’m sitting in my room. My mood has hit rock bottom, and I’m trying to write another song. I don’t want to work on the other one, because Alexis had such a lot of valuable input, so I think we should work on that together; it should be a joint project. Now I’m struggling to put my feelings down on paper. It’s certainly much easier to write a diary. I take off my glasses. I’ve run out of contact lenses, which I normally wear, so I’m going to have to call my ophthalmologist later to get a new prescription. I hate these glasses, they don’t suit me, but so far, I haven’t been able to afford a better-looking pair. I mean, is anybody still waring chunky frames like this? Maybe it’s the hipster look of the day, but they look stupid on me. When I was sixteen, I thought they made me look cool, but that was when I was still scared of sticking a contact lens on top of my iris. I don’t like the sensation of touching my eyeball with my fingers when I take them out. Well, there are worse things than that. A light at the end of the tunnel, turning out to be an oncoming train- that’s a truly bad thing.