by K. A. Linde
“No one here would even believe me. So, why should I bother?”
“We’ll listen. What is it?”
“Preston! God, can’t anyone else here see what he’s doing? He’s a lying, manipulative slimeball. He just came on to me in the kitchen when no one else was around so that there would be no witnesses.”
“Trihnity,” her mother admonished.
“Don’t even say it. Just don’t.” Trihn sighed. “I love you, Mom, but I’m not going to come back to New York again unless it’s to introduce you to Damon or for work. I just can’t handle this, and I don’t need the stress in my life.”
She hugged her mom and then hurried out of the house. It wasn’t until she had made it back to her hotel that she felt the weight lift off her chest. She was miserable about how Preston had acted, but in some way, it just proved what she’d already known. Preston was an asshole, and she couldn’t pretend otherwise for Lydia.
Trihn curled into bed and was falling asleep when her phone started ringing. She reached for it and saw Damon’s name on the screen.
“Hey,” she said with a sigh.
“Hey, love. Oh, how I have missed that voice.”
She laughed softly. “I miss you. How was the show?”
“Orlando was incredible, and now, we’re on our way to Atlanta. How was dinner with your parents?”
“Lydia and Preston showed up, and he was a total asshole.”
Damon was silent for a full minute.
“Are you still there?” she asked.
“Yeah, just reining in my anger.”
“Join the club.”
“Well, I have a long drive ahead of me,” he said into the phone.
She imagined him lying back on a bunk in a van driving them up the interstate toward Atlanta.
“Are you about to go to bed?” he asked.
She nodded. “Mmhmm.”
“Early flight, right?”
“Yeah.”
“All right. Just close your eyes, love, and forget all about what happened at your dinner. Just pretend I’m sitting in front of you, strumming on my acoustic guitar.”
And then he started singing. The words were slow and soft, almost like a lullaby. Before she knew it, she drifted off to the sound of his voice, which proved to be a much better ending to a tiring day.
“SHIT. FUCK. FUCK. FUCKING HELL!” Trihn jolted out of bed and started running around the hotel room like a maniac.
While falling asleep to Damon singing had been the most epic night, not setting her alarm and subsequently sleeping through her flight had not been as awesome.
She quickly stuffed everything back into her bag and was on her way to JFK within ten minutes. She was so late. There was absolutely no way she could make it now, but hopefully, the airline would take pity on her and let her board a later flight.
She jotted out a text to Damon while sitting impatiently in the backseat of a cab.
Missed my flight. Fuck.
That sucks. Are they going to let you switch flights?
I don’t know. I’ll have to see when I get there.
Come here instead.
To Atlanta?
Yeah. The show isn’t until later, and we don’t leave for Charlotte right away. You could stay the night. I’d pay for you to fly back to Vegas.
Trihn stared down at her phone in shock. Is this for real? That sounded like a much better option than returning to Las Vegas.
That would be amazing! I’ll see if the airline will go for it.
Let me know. I’d love to see you. It’s been too long!
The rest of the ride to JFK was a lesson in self-restraint. Now that she had a better destination, she was so anxious to get to the airport that she couldn’t stop the jitters.
Once she finally paid the cab and wheeled her suitcase up to the airline counter, she was practically bouncing with excitement. A ten-minute conversation with the airline proved even better than expected, and soon, she was clutching a one-way ticket to Atlanta.
A couple of hours later, Trihn was standing outside of Damon’s hotel in Atlanta. She couldn’t believe she had just flown there instead of going home.
She’d texted him that she had gotten a flight to Atlanta, and he’d sent over the hotel information. He’d said they had a morning rehearsal, and then he was just going to be chilling in his room. When she landed, she was supposed to text him, but she’d thought she’d surprise him at the door.
Trihn knocked twice. When no one answered, she knocked again.
“Fuck, I’m coming, Chloe. Give me a minute. Jesus.”
The door swung open and revealed Damon without a shirt and in a pair of dark jeans that were unbuttoned at the waist. His hair was perfectly messy, and stubble had grown in across his jawline. He looked like a sexy fucking mess.
“I hope you don’t always answer the door for Chloe like this,” Trihn said, arching an eyebrow.
“Bloody hell,” he breathed. “You’re the best fucking sight of my life.”
Trihn laughed right before he crushed his mouth down onto hers. He grabbed her bag and dragged her into his hotel room. Before the door was even closed all the way, Damon was peeling the layers of her clothes off her body. She was actually quite happy at the state of his undress because it made it easier just to slide those pesky jeans and boxers off his legs.
He hoisted her legs up around her waist and carried her over to the king-size bed.
“I missed everything about you,” he murmured, crawling onto the bed and rocking forward on top of her. “Your beautiful body.” His hands ran down her sides. “Your amazing lips. That voice. Say my name.”
“Damon,” she purred into his ear.
“Fuck, that makes me hard.” He roughly kissed her. His hands tangled up into her hair. “This hair. I’ve dreamed about pulling this hair.”
He knotted it in his hand and yanked until she arched her body, giving him access to her neck. His kisses traveled along the hollow of her neck to her collarbone, rubbing his chin across her skin and leaving wonderful fucking scratches.
His dick rubbed against her, and all thoughts of the orgasm she had given herself at the sound of his voice disappeared. There was nothing like the real thing. And she could give herself a pretty amazing orgasm without his help. She opened her legs wider for him, begging for him to be inside her.
And they bucked together at the same time. Their bodies joined, and Trihn released a low moan. It had been so long. Their thrusts were measured and in sync. Each of them was desperately hungry for the other. All those days apart had just fed the ache between them.
She let loose, clutching on to his back and digging her nails into his skin. He pumped three more fierce thrusts into her and then emptied himself with a cry.
Her fingers slowly relaxed, and she pulled him closer to her, leaving several light kisses across his shoulders.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you, too,” he said into her shoulder. He pulled back from her embrace and kissed her on the mouth. “I am so glad that I suggested you come to Atlanta. I will always remember that Atlanta is a good place.”
“Best idea you’ve ever had.”
“Working up the nerve to talk to you was the best idea I ever had.”
“Then, you wouldn’t have had any of this—the single, the record, the tour.”
“You. Just you.”
The pair quickly showered off the smell of sex and then headed out, hand in hand, to explore and find some food.
Damon donned his characteristic flat-brim hat and pulled it lower over his eyes than he normally wore it.
Trihn laughed. “Afraid you’re going to get mobbed?”
He made a face. “It happens on occasion. Chloe draws a crowd.”
“I saw that.”
“What do you mean?”
“The tabloids,” she said. He frowned, but she pushed forward, “They were all over New York at every magazine stand. Kind of hard to miss.”
“
Yeah. Paparazzi hound her. It’s crazy.” He scratched the back of his head. “None of that stuff is true though.”
“I know,” she said automatically. “Unless you and Chloe had somehow met before I introduced you, I think it’s safe to assume that you didn’t have a secret love affair before you went public.”
Damon looked so shocked by what she had just said that all she could do was laugh.
“People are fucking saying that?” he asked.
“You rose out of obscurity. There must be a reason.”
“Or I just got lucky.”
“No. You’re talented. Talent recognizes talent.”
The pair entered Piedmont Park and started walking on one of the trails. Cyclists and runners flew by them as they leisurely strolled around, taking in the blisteringly hot and humid Atlanta summer.
They were almost to the other side of the park where Damon had gotten a recommendation for a place to eat when a group of girls who had to be in high school ran up to them. One girl in particular seemed to be the ringleader.
“Are you Damon Stone?” she asked in a rush.
His eyebrows shot up, and he apologetically glanced over at Trihn. “Yeah, I am.”
“Oh my God! Oh my God! I can’t believe you’re here. Is Chloe here with you?”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t know where she is.”
“But you two are together.”
“I—”
“Who is this girl?” the girl asked, eyeing Trihn up and down. “If you’re cheating on Chloe, you’ll have the Avanaddicts after you.”
Trihn stared at this girl in disbelief. Clearly, she was not the only one who had seen the tabloids, and apparently, everyone else believed them.
Damon looked at the girl. “We’re not together.”
“Good. You’d better not be with someone else,” the girl said rather vehemently.
Damon had been talking about himself and Chloe, but the girl thought he’d meant himself and Trihn.
He opened his mouth to correct the girl, but she just kept talking, “Now, can you take a picture with me and my friends?”
He shrugged, slightly exasperated, and shot Trihn a sheepish look. “Sure. Why not?”
The girl thrust her phone into Trihn’s hand a bit begrudgingly. Trihn thought, at any minute, they might have a mini riot caused by a group of fifteen-year-olds on their hands. But after she took their picture, the girls disappeared, all whispering to themselves.
Damon shook his head. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea that was going to happen. I don’t go anywhere without Chloe or an escort. I didn’t think fans would even recognize me without her.” He anxiously glanced around. Some of Chloe’s fears about crowds had gotten to him. “We should probably get moving.” He took Trihn’s elbow and gestured for them to exit the park. “Last thing we want is for our location to be noted on Instagram and for the paparazzi to show up. I don’t want to drag you into the papers.”
“It’s okay, Damon. Slow down. It’ll be fine.”
He slowly eased up, and his shoulders dropped back to normal. “You’re right. I didn’t realize how psycho Chloe’s fans were. Did that girl call herself an…what was it?”
“Avanaddict,” Trihn filled him in. “It’s her fan club.”
“Yeah. I think I’ve heard Chloe mention them, but that was something else. I’m sorry again.”
“Don’t apologize. You can’t change how random people are going to react. As long as nothing is going on between you and Chloe, then it doesn’t matter,” Trihn honestly told him.
“And nothing is going on.”
He laced their fingers back together and pulled her into a diner. They ordered burgers, fries, and a salted caramel chocolate milkshake to split. Then, they chatted over their meal.
It was so nice to just be with Damon. Sure, there was madness all around them from the tour and Chloe and her Avanaddicts, but when it was just the two of them, it felt totally natural.
They spent the rest of the afternoon touring the more accessible parts of the city. If they’d had more time, Damon promised he would have taken her to the aquarium, but with the concert coming up, they only had enough time to wander around Centennial Olympic Park and the CNN Center, and then they rode the Ferris wheel.
They talked about the various tour stops so far, and Trihn filled him in on everything that had happened in New York. Damon looked like he was going to punch a hole through the Ferris wheel window when she told him what Preston had said in the kitchen.
Overall, it had been a totally relaxing day. It was just what she needed.
But when they made it back to the hotel, that all changed.
“WHY HAVEN’T YOU been answering your phone?” Chloe practically shrieked the minute she saw Damon.
“Hey, Chloe. Meltdown much?” he joked.
“We have to be at sound check in half an hour. No one knew where you were!”
“I was with Trihn.”
“Hey, Trihn,” she said before rounding on Damon again. “Why the hell weren’t you answering your phone?”
“Because I was with my girlfriend and didn’t need to be hounded by your incessant text messages. I see you every day. I don’t see her enough. I wanted to be present. So, get over your hissy fit. You could have gone on without me. I’m really only desperately important for two songs.”
Chloe narrowed her eyes and then stormed off.
“Diva moment,” Damon growled.
“Is she normally like this?”
“No,” he admitted. “She’s normally cool.”
They started to follow Chloe when she turned to face them again. “What did you two do this afternoon?”
“We walked around the city. Why?” Damon asked.
She thrust her phone into his face. “You met an Avanaddict, and I wasn’t even there for the picture. But more importantly, Trihn is now on everyone’s radar.”
“So?” Damon asked.
“Not that I care that everyone knows you’re dating someone, but I have a feeling the paps are going to get crazier after this.”
Damon took the phone from her and read the Instagram picture Chloe had just been tagged in.
@avanaddict1234 with @damonstone in #piedmontpark missing our queen @chloeavana! Don’t worry Chloe! We yelled at him for being with another girl. #chloeavana #queen #addict #dontmesswithourgirl #squee #OMG #didthatjusthappen #toorealforlife #nofilter #totallyafilter #ATLlife
“God, that is hard to read,” Damon complained.
Trihn peered over his shoulder, reading the message. “Who cares about one girl?”
“The paparazzi who stalk me and now Damon. Everyone is going to be wondering who said girl was,” Chloe said. She swept her gaze over to Damon.
“But I don’t care if they know who Trihn is,” Damon said.
“Yeah, well, you might if the tabloids start calling you cheating scum because they have pictures of you two together. This is why we have a publicist. I’m going to message her now, so she knows what we’re dealing with.”
“It’s only an Instagram picture,” Trihn noted.
“Welcome to my life,” Chloe said. She sighed and took her phone back. “Sorry, I’m in ultra-crazy mode. I haven’t been sleeping, and this shit is just getting under my skin. It is good to see you, Trihn.”
“Maybe we should just go to sound check and not worry about one picture,” Damon suggested.
“You’re right. I hope it all just blows over,” Chloe said.
But the look on her face said she didn’t think it would.
Backstage was a chaotic mess.
Trihn was hanging out in Damon’s dressing room in Philips Arena. It was a sold-out show at a major venue, and everyone was running around like crazy, getting things ready. The opener was onstage right now, which meant they only had another half an hour before Chloe would go on.
Damon was alternating between tuning his already in-tune guitar and messing around on the piano. He would sing occasionally, but it was more to
fight the nerves than to warm up.
She was excited to see him perform again. It felt like forever since she had been backstage with him and Chloe. Trihn and Damon had come a long way since they first started dating.
“What are you thinking?” Damon asked.
“Nothing. Why?”
“You’re smiling.”
“Am I?” she asked, unable to mask her grin.
“You are.”
She shrugged. “I’m just happy for you. Excited to see the show.”
“It’ll be good to have you here again. I’m more involved musically with the whole production. I only sing on the two tracks, but since I play so many instruments, production let me switch instruments songs. It’s more interesting, I think—or at least more fun,” he said with a smile.
“Good. You’re too talented to play backup.”
He chuckled. “‘We Never Met’ is sitting at number one on the charts under my name. I don’t think I’m playing backup.”
“True.”
Damon stood from where he had been seated at the piano and walked over to Trihn. He held his hand out for her, and she took it. He hauled her to her feet. She stepped easily into his arms. Then, he started moving. Slowly, their hips swayed back and forth, their bodies were pressed tightly together, and he was drawing her hand up to twirl her in place.
She laughed. “What are you doing?”
“Dancing.”
“You’re about to go onstage in front of thousands of people, and you’re back here, dancing with me?”
“Mmhmm,” he said, pulling her back in and nuzzling her neck.
She sighed into his embrace and couldn’t deny how amazing this was.
Their bodies moved together in a seductive dance that they were all too good at. She dropped his hand, wrapping her arms around his neck. He gripped her hips. Her fingers threaded through his hair, and suddenly, he claimed her lips.
They were still dancing, despite the fact that there was no music. If they had been back at the hotel, this would have been leading straight to that king-size bed again. But now, it was just hot and sensual and making her completely weak in the knees.
Then, the door swung inward.
“Damon, I just wanted to go over—” Chloe abruptly cut off.