“I can’t settle down with anyone and you know it. It’s not in me anymore. If a girl I’ve known over half my life can lie to me the way she did then how in the hell am I supposed to trust a random girl I just meet?”
“I don’t know how to answer that, but you’ll never learn to trust another girl with that attitude and negative thinking.”
“Maybe I don’t want to.”
It’s quiet for a bit as I think of how to go about asking about Natalie.
“You making it this year? Jake asked about you this morning and I told him I wasn’t sure.”
He laughs as if I should already know the answer. I do, and that’s what I’m counting on. “You know I can’t take time away from work to go on a trip to the middle of nowhere. I haven’t been able to make that trip in three years.”
“What about Natalie? She hasn’t met the gang yet then?”
He shakes his head. “Nope. I’m not sure when she will either. There’s too much going on here for me to worry about that.”
“How about on Thursday?”
He gives me a dumbfounded look. “I just told you I can’t make it. How would she meet everyone?”
“What if she came with me on the trip?”
He laughs, before his face turns serious. “What, as your fake girlfriend or something?”
I lean forward and place my elbows on my knees, wanting him to see I’m dead serious about this and need it to happen. “You know more than anyone that nothing would ever happen between the two of us. She’d be the perfect one to help get me out of this situation with Alana’s crazy ass.”
“I don’t think so. No. Nope.”
“I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t think it was necessary. I have no other options and you know it. Alana won’t stop until either we’re back together or I’ve dropped dead from alcohol poisoning.”
“What the hell? Don’t say that shit.” He’s quiet for a few minutes, as if he’s thinking it over. “What would she have to do if I agreed to this? And…” He shakes his head and re-rolls his sleeves. He always does this when he’s nervous. “She’d have to agree to it too. So, if she agrees… let’s say she does; then what would be involved in being your girlfriend for the trip? Give it to me straight or the answer is a big hell no.”
“I don’t know. Me wrapping my arm around her shoulder by the bonfire… dancing with me. She’d definitely have to kiss me from time to time to make it look real, but no sex if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Well, shit, Madden. You’ve put me in a tough spot.” He runs his hands over his face and stands up, looking distressed. “No groping. Definitely no tongue or I’ll kick your ass. You know I will. And the only reason I’m agreeing to this fucked up insanity is because I don’t want you getting wrapped up in Alana and getting hurt again. Also, because there’s no way in hell that Natalie would ever fall for you—she doesn’t even really like you.” He laughs, as if it’s the last thing on earth that would ever happen. And it probably is.
“I’ll take it, big brother. You know she’ll be safe in my hands. Then, later, if you decide to take the trip next year, we can just tell everyone that we broke up because I was on the road a lot and you were there to pick up the pieces. Her hero in a fancy suit.”
“Well, good luck talking Natalie into it tomorrow.” He sits back down and begins typing on the computer again, answering emails. “I’m sure she’ll get a kick out of this.”
Yeah, and knowing Natalie I’ll probably get kicked for asking…
CHAPTER THREE
Natalie
I take long, slow breaths in an attempt to keep my cool as I hop on the elevator and ride it up to the third floor for the third time in an hour.
I swear, if these jerks get locked out of their room one more time because they decided it was cool to party in the hallway and keep calling me up to let them back inside as if my job is a joke, I will most likely end up getting fired tonight for hurting someone’s pride.
The elevator opens to one of the drunken idiots standing at the door, apparently waiting on me, because he immediately begins walking beside me, clearly checking me out on our way down the long hallway. It’s way too long right now if you ask me, and I’m two seconds away from losing my cool and calm attitude.
“Are you single?” he asks immediately.
I clench my jaw. “Not a chance.”
He flashes me a flirtatious smile that does nothing but piss me off more. “Maybe we should change that.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t,” I hiss. “Now stop talking.”
“Someone’s a little bitchy. I bet that means you’re aggressive and angry in bed too. Are you?”
“Maybe. But you’ll never find out.”
“Maybe not, but I’m always up for a challenge, beautiful. And since you’re already here and all, maybe we can…”
When I feel him walking too closely to me, I stop and place my hand on his chest, pushing him a good distance outside of my personal space. “Back up, creepy little stalker, unless you and your friends want to experience the most miserable night of your sorry existence.”
He throws his hands up and laughs, as if he’s having fun getting rejected. Apparently, he’s one of those assholes who get off on the chase.
The closer I get to the room I take notice of just how quiet the hall is. It was extremely loud the last two times I came up here, which tells me Douchey here most likely called me back up here just to try getting in my pants.
Getting more frustrated with each step I take, I quicken my pace and turn the corner to look down the hall, seeing that it’s empty.
It’s completely vacant, which means this little player wannabe isn’t locked out of the room at all. His idiotic friends are inside, most likely cheering him on to see how far he’ll get with me.
I stop in place and reach into my pocket, before turning around to face this little pretty-boy who I want nothing more than to punch in the balls right now.
Stepping up to him, I place my mini pink stun gun to his dick and lean in to press my lips to his ear. “Since you didn’t know I was carrying this cute little thing, I’m going to give you a chance to apologize before I roast your tiny manhood.”
Stiffening up, he slowly lowers his chin to look down and see what’s currently threatening his precious little package. “Oh shit. Oh shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any harm. My friends and I are just drinking and having fun. Fuck, and for the love of God, do not use that thing on my dick.”
I tilt my head and smile, because I’m the one amused now. “Good boy. Now run along and tell your friends not to bother me or the staff again for the rest of the night. If you get locked out again, you’re shit out of luck. You can sleep in the hallway. Got it?”
He nods his head but doesn’t speak. He’s still too focused on his pride getting hurt.
“Good. Glad we got that taken care of.” I bump him out of the way with my shoulder and begin walking the opposite direction. “Oh, and by the way… I am very aggressive and angry in bed too. You would’ve never been able to handle me.”
His eyes go wide, before he grabs his dick and begins swearing under his breath.
Smiling, I shove the stun gun back into my pocket and step into the elevator. Pete would probably rip me a new asshole if he knew I was still carrying this thing while on duty, but I feel much better being here at night knowing that me and my crew have some sort of protection. You never know what you’re going to find in the middle of the night at a hotel, and security isn’t always close enough by to get to a situation in a timely manner.
I tend to pull it out more when I’m on edge, and this dumbass picked the wrong time of day to mess with me. Once ten p.m. hits, it’s best not to provoke me unless you want an extremely furious woman to deal with.
That’s exactly why I do everything in my power to be out of this place before then, but sometimes, like tonight, I have no choice in the matter.
Gigi called off, Hilary couldn’t get a babysitter, and Amy d
oesn’t get back from vacation until tomorrow, so Kayla and I had to split her shift. It’s now almost one a.m. and close to time for me to get out of this nightmare, which I’ve been at since noon.
Kayla gives me an irritated look once we meet up at the front desk. “I wish they would just fire Gigi already. This is getting ridiculous. Do you know that my shift starts at nine a.m. and ends at five? How do they expect me to function during the daytime rushes when I have to be here right now to cover this bitch’s shift?”
I shake my head while clocking out, and then reach under the desk for some of my things. “I know. I’ve been here all day and I’m tired of this crap too. I’ll talk to Pete tomorrow—after I get some rest—and tell him that he needs to hire someone else because we can’t keep doing this anymore.”
“Don’t you have some vacation days to use up soon? There’s no way I can handle this crap job without you unless he gets us someone else.”
“Yeah, I have to use them by next week or I lose them. You know Logan though. I likely won’t be using them, because I’ll have no reason to. I’ll end up stuck here, taking on late shifts and filling in for incompetent employees.”
“I hope so.”
“Well, that’s real nice. What a friend you are.”
Kayla laughs and reaches for her bottle of soda. “I’m sorry, but it’s true. I need you here with me, so I’m sort of glad that Logan is always too busy for you.”
“Hey!”
“Again, I’m sorry. But you know it’s true. You two have been dating for almost two years now and he’s never taken you anywhere. I mean at all. Not the movies. Not out dancing. Not on any vacations. Nothing. Just dinner that he always seems to get rushed through. It’s a little pathetic. My worst boyfriend was better than that.”
I lean against the desk, somewhat feeling sorry for myself now that I’ve had to listen to it come from someone else’s mouth. “Yeah, well… I knew what I was getting into with him when we met. I can’t complain now, and I won’t. He’s a good guy and he treats me well. What else could a girl want?”
Kayla gives me a duh look and leans in close to me from the opposite end of the desk. “Some excitement. How about that for one? Some wild, crazy sex on occasion. There are two. A guy who takes her places to meet his friends… That’s three. Should I keep going?”
“Okay.” I stand back up and release a frustrated breath, wishing that she’d stop pointing out all the obvious things I’ve been trying to deny. “I guess. But I’m sure he will when he’s not busy. Besides, none of his close friends live around here. He hasn’t seen them since we’ve been together.”
“Isn’t that trip you’re always talking about coming up this weekend or something? Let me guess. He’s not going again?”
“Yes and no. His little brother is at his house now and I guess he’s heading out on Thursday.”
Kayla is quick to perk up at the mention of Madden. “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Madden Parker is here in town and you failed to mention that to me?”
“He’s a manwhore, Kayla. Trust me, you don’t want to meet him or else you’ll end up in his bed with a broken heart just like every single girl he’s slept with.”
“And your point is?”
I laugh and begin walking away. “You don’t want to be one of those girls. Everyone thinks they can handle it until experiencing it. I’ve heard it takes years to get over a guy like Madden Parker.”
“With looks like that I wouldn’t care if it took ten years, as long as I got my one night with that man.”
“Bye, Kayla!”
“Yeah. Whatever.” She waves me off with a dreamy look in her eyes. “I’m daydreaming now. Just go so I can be alone in my thoughts of that sexy as hell rock star since you won’t bring him here for me to meet. Or will you?”
The front desk phone rings and I’m thankful for the distraction.
“Good luck with that.”
“Ugh. You’re lucky.” She throws her head back and grunts, before picking up the phone.
I seize this opportunity to get the hell out of here before I end up stuck here longer talking about my boyfriend’s playboy of a brother. I just can’t deal with that right now.
Remembering I have to drop off the phone charger that I borrowed earlier, I head across the street to Sunrise Motel and walk to the adjacent bar. I’m immediately greeted by Carla, the bartender, whom I met a couple years ago when first starting at Brightside.
“Hey, babe!” She extends her tatted-up arm out to reach for the charger when I hold it out. “Oh good, you brought my charger back. I have less than ten percent battery power left.”
“Sorry, I thought I’d have it back sooner. It’s been a hell of a night.”
“Want to talk about it?” She leans over the bar and places a fist under her chin for support. “I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. Lay it on me.”
I smile, grateful for her always being willing to listen and offer up advice. “As nice as that sounds, I’m beat. I’m barely keeping my eyes open as we speak.”
“You sure?” She reaches up to play with one of the old school curls on top of her head. “How about a drink to take the edge off?”
“Tempting… so tempting, but I should go. Maybe tomorrow tonight.”
“Sounds good.” She winks and moves to plug her charger in. “Have a good night, babe. Get some rest.”
“Later, Carla.”
Once I get to my car and start driving, I realize just how tired I truly am, and decide to head to Logan’s place instead of mine since it’s closer.
I seriously don’t know if I can make it the extra ten or twelve minutes to my place, and knowing Logan, he gave his bedroom to his brother since I told him I wasn’t coming tonight.
That means I’ll have to squeeze my way onto the couch beside him, while at the same time doing my best not to wake him up and disrupt his sleep.
His day starts in less than four hours and he needs every minute of sleep he can get. He’s insistent on making that clear every time we have a sleepover. As much as it annoys me, I get where he’s coming from. His job is very demanding and stressful.
I do my best to be as quiet as possible as I stand on his front porch and dig through my messy purse for the spare key.
It’s so dark out here that I have to use the flashlight on my phone while trying to hold my purse and dig at the same time. It’s not an easy task and my brain is too exhausted to think straight right now.
“Thank fucking goodness!” Once I finally find the key, I turn off the flashlight and drop my phone into my purse so I can unlock the door and quietly creep inside.
I can see the shape of Logan’s body spread across the couch and covered up by a sheet, so I carefully strip down to my underwear and bra and climb over him to get to the back of the couch.
Then I carefully lift the sheet and shimmy my way under it, before I wrap my arm around Logan and snuggle up against him.
He’s shirtless, so his warm, muscled body feels fantastic against mine, and I find myself running my hand over his arm and leg until I finally begin to doze off.
“…wake up.”
I snuggle in closer, too out of it to understand anything. “Shhh… go back to sleep, Logan.”
He struggles to lay on his back, before he whispers something that I can’t understand.
All I want to do is sleep, so I rest my head on his chest and run my hand down his hard stomach, resting it inside the waistband of his briefs.
“… not Logan.”
The words not and Logan somehow register in my mind and I pull my hand out of Madden’s underwear and shoot up so fast that I end up elbowing him in the face.
“Ouch,” he grunts.
“Oh shit! I thought you were your brother. I didn’t… Why are you… Shit!”
I’m already ducking behind the couch and doing my best to cover up when Madden sits up and looks over the edge with a smirk. “Nice undies.”
“Shut up, Madden!” I whisper-yell. “You always sleep
in the bedroom. You were supposed to be Logan.”
He laughs quietly, reaching over to grab for a cigarette. “Well, I’m not.” He doesn’t even bother grabbing for his pants to cover up after he throws the sheet off and stands up. He just walks to the backdoor and opens it, standing there in the dim lighting with his perfectly sculpted body. “I need a smoke after all that groping you were doing.”
“I wasn’t groping.” I reach over the couch and yank the sheet around me to cover up. “It’s not my fault you and your brother are built alike.”
He lights his smoke and takes a drag before speaking. “We’re not. I’m bigger and harder all over. Trust me, babe. You can tell the difference.”
“I don’t even know why I’m talking to you right now. All I want to do is sleep. I had a long, shitty day. I’m tired and I can’t function right.” I shoot him a dirty look that he most likely can’t see very well from where I’m standing and make my way to Logan’s bedroom door, my heart racing with adrenaline. “Let’s just forget this ever happened. It was a mistake.”
I feel like such an idiot as I step inside Logan’s room and shut the door behind me. I should’ve checked first instead of just assuming that Logan would be on the couch, and as exhausted as I was the only thing on my mind was sleep.
I just want to sleep.
I take a few seconds to clear my head of Madden’s hard, half-naked body before I crawl into Logan’s bed and snuggle up behind him.
A feeling of guilt takes over, because now that I’m snuggled up behind Logan and I’m aware of what I’m doing, the difference between their bodies is extremely clear.
This only proves just how out of it I was when arriving here tonight.
I move in closer, needing to touch the right Parker Brother right now. My Parker Brother.
“It’s hot in here, babe,” Logan mutters, while shaking my arm off of him. “You against me is going to keep me awake. I need my sleep.”
“Sorry,” I whisper, before backing up a bit to put some space between our bodies. My stomach twists into knots as I stare at the back of his head in the darkness, wanting nothing more than to hold him or to have him hold me. To feel some kind of comfort after such a long, hard day of hell at the hotel.
Reckless Rock Star (Cocky Hero Club) Page 3