Los Angeles, California
I loved L.A. Back home, Morgantown was considered a big city. Compared to L.A., it was barely a speck on the radar. L.A. had everything a girl could want. Plus, there was no humidity. My hair loved that.
I spent every waking moment with Chloe. True to his word, Logan would hang out with us when we weren’t shopping. We had gone to the beach and hit up every Starbucks in sight. We’d even gone clubbing one night. Chloe and Logan were known by a few of Breaking the Hunger’s obsessive fans, but it wasn’t so much that they couldn’t go out in public. I hadn’t expected that. Still, I didn’t complain over the fact that we could go anywhere I wanted.
The shopping had been incredible. I’d spent two days just shopping. Chloe had groaned the whole time, but I’d ignored her. It was just like old times. I just hoped I would be able to fit all my new clothes into my luggage. It wasn’t like I’d had a lot of room to begin with.
I hadn’t seen any of the band members, except for Drake, and he hadn’t been around very much. Apparently, they were working on a new album and spending hours in the studio. I counted my blessings. I couldn’t have come out here at a better time. I didn’t have to share Chloe and Logan with Drake and Jade. Plus, I didn’t have to worry about running into Adam. Talk about a win.
Naturally, my luck turned to shit.
Two days before I had to leave, we were sitting at Starbucks when Chloe’s phone rang. Based off of her goofy grin, I knew it was Drake.
“Hello?” she asked.
Her smile faded a bit, and she glanced over at me. “Um…I don’t know.”
I raised an eyebrow as Drake spoke again.
“I’ll see, but I doubt it. I’ll call you back in a few, okay?”
When she ended the call, she looked anywhere but at me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Uh…nothing,” she said, still not looking at me.
Some things never changed.
“When you stare at your feet like that, I know you’re hiding something. Come on, what’s up?”
She sighed. “That was Drake. He wanted to know if we wanted to come to a beach party tonight. A few other bands from their label will be there, too.”
“Oh, sounds fun! Is Avenged Sevenfold going to be there by any chance? If so, we need to start plotting ways to make M. Shadows fall in love with me. Maybe I can kidnap him and force him to be my love slave.”
She grinned. “I don’t think he’ll be there, but if he is, Drake is shit out of luck. I’ll help you kidnap him.”
We giggled like idiots, both of us gushing about the hotness of M. Seriously, he had to be the sexiest man on earth. Even Adam and Drake didn’t stand a chance against him.
“I’d love to go,” I finally said once we stopped plotting our imaginary illegal activities.
“There’s only one problem,” Chloe said, the smile slipping away from her face.
“What?” I asked.
She bit her lip. “Um…Adam will be there. The party is at his house.”
“Oh.” That stopped me in my tracks. I hadn’t seen him once, and I wanted to keep it that way.
“Yeah. I told Drake I’d check with you. I understand if you don’t want to go. The three of us can just hang out at the house tonight.”
“The three of us?” I asked, wondering if Logan would hang out with us or go to the party with Jade.
“Yeah. You, me, and Drake. He said he didn’t want to go without me.”
Shit. Sitting around and watching Chloe and Drake make dopey eyes at each other wasn’t exactly on my to-do list.
“You can go without me,” I said, forcing a smile. “I can hang out by myself for one night.”
She shook her head. “No way. You came out here to spend time with me. There’s no way I’m ditching you for a party. I’ll just call Drake back and tell him to come home after they finish at the studio.”
She picked up her phone to call Drake, but I stopped her. “Wait.”
She looked up. “What?”
It was ridiculous that I was going to screw up her plans just because I didn’t want to see the biggest douche bag to ever live. I needed to grow a pair of lady balls and suck it up. “We can go.”
She shook her head. “I’m not going to make you go when I know you don’t want to.”
“It’s not a big deal—for real. Adam and I parted ways a long time ago. I need to grow up and move on.”
“Amber—”
“No. We’re going, Chloe. I’m not passing up the chance to see a bunch of hot rocker dudes, shirtless and wet.”
She grinned. “Well, when you put it like that, how can we not go?”
It was dusk by the time we made it to Adam’s house. My eyes widened when we parked outside. This was what I expected a rock star’s house to look like. It was tucked away at the very end of a gated community. The beach house was huge. It looked like it was literally made of glass with only a few steel beams here and there for support. The combination was striking. I had no doubt that, despite the glass walls, Adam had all the privacy he needed, thanks to the tight security we’d just passed through and the long blinds I saw in a few of the windows.
Several palm trees sat in front of his house. We climbed out of the car and walked to the back of the house. My eyes widened as I stared at the massive pool. The asshole even had a tennis court. The thought of him playing tennis was laughable.
“We have to walk down that hill, and then the beach is right there,” Chloe said as we moved past the pool.
As soon as we reached the top of the path, the beach came into view. I whistled as I looked down. It was one hell of a view. I could see several people moving around on the beach. A massive fire had been built as well. Music was blaring.
As we reached the bottom of the path, I grinned. Rock stars obviously knew how to party. There had to be at least twenty people. Several of them were guys, probably members of the bands, but the women outnumbered the men. I looked down at the white bikini I was wearing, suddenly feeling very overdressed next to some of these girls. Their bikini bottoms were nothing more than strings, and the tops weren’t much better.
“I feel the need to go on a diet and have plastic surgery,” I told Chloe. I didn’t have low self-esteem by any means, but next to these girls, I felt plain.
She grinned and grabbed my hand, tugging me closer to the fire. “Ignore those girls. The guys only keep them around for one reason.”
“Can’t imagine what it would be,” I deadpanned.
I looked up when we stopped next to the fire.
Drake stood and pulled Chloe into a hug. He nodded at me. “Glad you two could finally make it. I was starting to wonder if you were going to bail on me.”
“I’m sure you would’ve been entertained even without us around,” Chloe said, motioning to two girls with butt-floss bikinis walking by us.
He rolled his eyes. “Like I’d touch that with a ten-foot pole.”
He sat back down on the sand, pulling Chloe down with him. I looked around, suddenly in need of some alcohol. I spotted a temporary bar set up a little ways down the beach.
“I’m going to grab a drink. You guys want anything?” I asked.
Drake held up his beer. “I’m good.”
“Get me whatever you’re getting,” Chloe said.
I walked down the beach toward the bar, glancing around as I went. Holy hot-rock-god overload. Everywhere I looked, I saw dudes without their shirts. In true rock-star fashion, most of their bare skin was covered in ink. I unashamedly eyed ink and six-packs. After all, I only lived once.
When I reached the bar, a pretty girl in cutoff jeans and a neon pink bikini top smiled at me.
“Can I get two cranberry vodkas?” I asked.
“Sure,” she said as she grabbed two glasses and quickly made the drinks. She handed them over. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” I turned and walked back to where Chloe and Drake were sitting.
I handed one of the
drinks to Chloe before dropping down next to her. My gaze drifted over to where a couple of guys were tossing a football back and forth. I watched with rapt attention, taking in every inch of them. I was becoming a groupie. I needed to get laid.
Thankfully, I didn’t see the one rocker I had no desire to see. I found that strange since it was technically his party.
“So, what do you think?” Chloe asked.
“About what?” I said, forcing my eyes away from the two guys.
“About the party.”
“I like it. I’m in love with the view.” I glanced around at some of the guys sitting around us. “Definitely loving the view. I think if I sat here long enough, I could orgasm off of it.”
She laughed.
Drake wrinkled his nose. “Let’s add that to the list of things I don’t need to know about you, Amber. Keep your orgasms to yourself.”
“Who’s orgasming?” a voice asked from behind me.
My entire body locked up, but I didn’t dare turn around. I knew that voice anywhere. It had haunted me for years.
“I am. All these hot guys are sending my ovaries into overdrive,” Chloe said.
I glanced at her. Her eyes were on me, and I hated the pity I saw in them.
Unable to sit still any longer, I slowly turned around. My breath caught in my throat as I stared at him. God, he was beautiful. I hated that I still thought so. I wished that I could think of him as unattractive. His skin was deeply tanned from hours out in the sun. His dark brown hair was no longer dyed the electric blue I was used to seeing, but he still had his trademark Mohawk. His eyebrows were both still pierced twice, and he still had a set of snakebites. My eyes drifted lower, taking in every ripple of his stomach. The boy was ripped. I wished he were fat. That would’ve made this a little easier.
The moment our eyes met, his widened in shock. The cheerful look on his face disappeared and was replaced by a scowl.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” he asked as he sent a glare my way. He obviously couldn’t stand the sight of me, even after all this time.
The feeling is mutual, buddy.
No, that wasn’t true. Despite all the shit that had happened between us, my body still wanted him. My stupid heart did, too.
“I invited her. Is that going to be a problem?” Drake said.
I was surprised by the coldness in his voice. I glanced over at him to see him giving Adam a glare of his own.
Damn. With that look alone, Drake had just gained about fifty brownie points.
“No,” Adam bit out, “no problem at all. Just keep the whore away from me.”
“Hey!” Chloe yelled at him. “Stop being a fucking asshole.”
Adam ignored her as he turned and walked away from us. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
“You okay?” Chloe asked, scooting closer to me.
“I’m fine,” I told her.
“He had no right to say that to you,” she said angrily.
I forced a smile onto my face. “I couldn’t care less what he thinks of me.”
“I’ve never seen him so…mean before. Adam’s always so easygoing. I wouldn’t have brought you here if I knew he’d say something like that.” She hesitated. “What happened between the two of you that made you hate each other that much?”
I shrugged, very much aware of the fact that Drake was listening to our every word. “It’s in the past. It doesn’t matter.” I finished off my drink. “I’m going to get another drink.”
“I’ll go get it. You just…stay here with Drake,” Chloe said as she stood.
“Um…okay.”
“I don’t want you to be alone tonight.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m a big girl. I can handle being called a whore a few times without breaking out into tears or curling up into a ball.”
“Stay.” She shot me a look before walking away.
Once she was standing at the bar, Drake spoke, “You want to talk about it?”
I snorted. “Really? You want to sit around the fire and talk boys with me, Drake? Why don’t we paint each other’s toenails while we’re at it?”
“We can if you want. I prefer purple over any other color though.”
I grinned at him. “Smart-ass.”
He stared at me for a moment, making me squirm. Drake had never looked at me like he was now. I felt like I was under a microscope.
“I think I know what happened between the two of you,” he said.
“And I’m sure whatever you’re thinking is wrong.”
He shrugged. “Maybe, but I doubt it. You started to care about him, didn’t you? And when you told him, he freaked.”
I raised an eyebrow, surprised. Maybe Drake paid attention more than I’d realized.
“You two were together a lot, and then you fucked it up with feelings. Am I right?”
“Nope, not even close,” I lied.
“Did you ever think that he freaked because he felt the same way?” Drake asked, pretending not to hear my denial.
“Here you go,” Chloe said as she appeared with two drinks, effectively ending my conversation with Drake.
Unfortunately, his words continued to play over and over in my head.
Chloe handed me one and dropped back down onto the sand. “And look who I found.”
I looked up as Jade and Logan sat down on Drake’s other side. Logan gave me a small smile before turning his attention to Jade. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap.
Great. I’m the odd one out—as usual, I thought to myself as I stared at the two couples.
I lifted my new drink and took a healthy swig of it. The vodka burned my throat, but I ignored it. At least the bartender had made it strong. I had a feeling I was going to need a lot of strong drinks to get through this night.
Dusk turned to darkness quickly. I watched my friends and the people around me. Almost everyone was drunk, including myself. My eyes kept darting around, searching for Adam. I caught sight of him a few times, but he never ventured near our little group. Every time I saw him, he had his arm around a different girl. I pretended that it didn’t bother me.
Eric joined our group just as I walked back from getting my fifth drink. Or maybe it was the sixth. I’d lost count. He nodded hello at me, and I gave him a small smile. I didn’t know Eric at all. He was the quiet one of the group, but whenever he spoke, everyone would listen.
I watched the fire crackle and pop until I was lost inside the flames. I felt my eyelids drooping, the vodka hitting me hard. I was a sleepy drunk. Go figure.
“Hey! Wake up!” Chloe shouted at me as she shoved my arm.
I opened my eyes and flipped her off. “I wasn’t sleeping.”
“Sure…” she slurred as she leaned further into Drake.
I grinned when she turned her head and grabbed his face, pulling him in for a kiss. She was obviously drunk, and she fought to turn in his lap. Once she managed to straddle him, I looked away. I did not need to see them banging on the beach.
“I gotta pee,” I mumbled as I tried to stand. I laughed ridiculously loud as I fell back down. “Fuckin’ beach keeps moving.”
Logan laughed at me. “I’m sure it’s the beach.”
I flipped him off, too, before trying to stand again. “Hush.”
I wobbled away from the fire, tripping as I went. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that I was about to piss myself. A toilet would be nice, but that would require me to go into Adam’s house. That so wasn’t going to happen.
I moved farther down the beach until the party was nothing more than background noise. The moon was barely more than a sliver, giving me almost no light to see with. That was fine with me. If I couldn’t see, no one could see me.
After relieving myself, I slowly walked back toward the party. I’d made it no farther than thirty feet when someone stepped right in front of me. I bumped into a hard body and staggered.
“Whoa, sorry,” I mumbled as I tried to move
past the person still blocking my path. My temper flared. I was having a hard enough time trying to walk as it was. I didn’t need another obstacle to go around.
“Excuse me,” I said. I tried to move, but the person blocked me again. “What the fuck, asshole?” I glared up at the person in front of me. I sucked in a shocked breath when I finally saw who it was. Even with almost no light, I recognized him.
“What the fuck are you doing in California?” Adam demanded. His speech was slurred, telling me he was just as drunk as I was.
“Move.” I tried to push past him.
He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. “You don’t belong here. No one wants you here.”
“Back the fuck off of me!” I jerked my arm free. “I’m here with my friends. Seeing you was just an unfortunate accident.”
“Bullshit. You’re at my party. I don’t want you here.”
“And I don’t give a fuck what you want.” I shoved at his chest.
It felt so good to push him that I did it again. Then, I hit his chest with my fist. I reared back to hit him again, but I lost my balance and fell on my ass. It was not my finest moment.
His legs came into view though, so I did the only thing that would make me feel better. I kicked him. He cursed as he toppled over next to me.
“Fuckin’ bitch,” he snarled at me.
I kicked him again just because I felt like it. “And proud of it.”
He glared at me. I glared at him. Epic drunk-glaring ensued, neither of us backing down.
Then, the fucker did something I never thought he’d do again. He kissed me. In one swift move, his body covered me as his lips sought mine. I fought him at first, but that didn’t last long. As soon as I felt his erection pressed against my stomach, I caved. I blamed the alcohol.
He kissed me deeply, his tongue diving into my mouth. I bit down on it, and he moaned as he thrust his hips against me. I went from pissed to unbearably turned-on in two seconds flat. I let out the most desperate moaning sound I’d ever heard as I reached up and dug my fingers into his back.
He shoved my bikini top aside and sucked one of my nipples into his mouth. I moaned as the wet heat of his mouth overloaded my senses. He swirled his tongue around my nipple before biting down on it.
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