Rocking Standby

by Cassandra Lawson

  “Damn, I’ve missed you guys,” I admitted.

  “You’ve been gone less than a day,” Harley pointed out as she looked at her menu. “Don’t be such a pussy.”

  “That says a lot about how fucked up your trip must have been.” Austin remarked as he regarded me. “So, what’s going on with your mom? Is she having problems with her medication again?”

  “I don’t even know where to begin,” I said on a sigh. “My brother owns Mooncast Records.”

  “Did he buy it before or after we signed?” Xander asked.

  “Before,” I replied. “It seems he bought it to help us get signed.”

  “And now you’re having rich boy problems,” Harley concluded with a nod.

  “What do you mean by rich boy problems?” I asked. Before we’d signed with this label, I’d had to work full-time to pay my rent. I’d spent seven years saving up for my treasured custom Gibson Les Paul. That guitar was my pride and joy.

  “Totally rich boy problems,” Austin agreed.

  “You would know,” Xander told Austin. “Didn’t you recently complain because your dad only pays half your mortgage?”

  “This is why I’m qualified to identify rich boy problems,” Austin said with a grin.

  I decided now wasn’t the time to remind them I wasn’t rich.

  “You’re all missing the point,” I began. “Long story short, my brother is engaged. If the stories are true, she’s a gold-digger who’s only marrying him to get her hands on his money.”

  “Who cares?” Harley asked. “I mean, unless she’s some sort of black widow who’s planning to kill your brother after she marries him. If that’s the case, you should be worried.”

  “She’s definitely not a killer,” I replied automatically. My own defense of Bentley irritated me. She was likely using my brother for his money—taking advantage of him. While none of that had mattered to me at first, the longer I’d had to brood over the whole thing, the more it bothered me. There was also the fact that I was still pissed that Bentley was with my brother. She’d let me kiss her, for Christ’s sake!

  “You may be right about her using your brother for his money,” Xander agreed. “I still don’t think you should worry about it. Let Colin enjoy some hot pussy. She might even love him. That shit happens sometimes.”

  “She doesn’t love him,” I argued.

  “How the hell do you know that?” Harley demanded, sounding more like her usual self.

  “I just do,” I insisted, continuing when Harley glared at me. “I met the woman my brother is marrying on my flight. Not once did she mention having a fiancé or even a boyfriend. When I asked her out, she agreed and took my number, promising to text me. She even let me kiss her goodbye. Do those sound like the actions of a woman in love?”

  “That is some crazy shit,” Austin muttered.

  “I know!” Xander agreed. “What were the chances of you running into Colin’s hot pussy on that flight? She is hot, right? It’s fucking insane that you and Colin have both had your tongue in her mouth.”

  “Why do you have to make everything weird?” I asked him.

  He shrugged and replied, “It’s a gift,” before filling his mouth with waffles.

  “I was in a hurry to catch my flight, so it was a quick kiss,” I explained. “My lips barely touched hers.”

  “Has she texted you?” Harley asked thoughtfully.

  “No,” I admitted.

  “It’s possible she took your number with no intention of calling you,” Harley pointed out.

  “Why would she do that?” I asked.

  “Maybe she’s not good at turning guys down,” Harley suggested. “Before you start with the kiss, it sounds like you kissed her, not the other way around.”

  “You weren’t there,” I argued. “She was into me.”

  “Did it ever occur to you that she was just being nice on the flight and had no interest in taking a ride on your wonder pole?” Austin asked.

  “Wonder pole?” I asked with raised eyebrows. “Where the fuck do you come up with this stuff?”

  Xander pulled out his phone and spoke into it. “Never let Austin write songs.”

  “What are you doing?” Harley asked him.

  “Making a note for myself,” Xander explained. “I’m trying to get more organized.” He then continued to dictate to his phone. “Not all girls want to ride Gage’s wonder pole. Wonder pole means cock.” He paused and looked at Austin. “That is what you meant, right?”

  “Of course, that’s what I meant,” Austin replied with an exaggerated sigh.

  “Why do you need to make a note of that?” I asked with a laugh.

  “If Austin uses phrases like wonder pole, his songs will suck,” Xander explained.

  “I meant the note about my dick, dumbass,” I clarified.

  “In case you forget,” Xander explained. “I’m going to set a reminder for the entire band to hear this once a month.”

  “No,” Harley told him.

  “You don’t think once a month is often enough?” he asked with an innocent smile.

  Harley shook her head before focusing on me again. “They’re idiots, but they’re right. She might not be interested in you.”

  “Fine.” I relented. “She might not be interested in me. I may have misread things. I’m still having a private investigator look into her.”

  “What’s really going on here?” Xander asked. “You are way too worked up over this girl.”

  “I don’t get why you’re so worried about her marrying your brother for his money,” Harley added. “You’ve never seemed all that concerned with Colin’s money. Besides, he’s in good health. I know the accident shook you up, but he’s doing fine now.”

  I let out a frustrated sigh. “Colin has brain cancer.”

  “Shit,” was all Harley said.

  “My mom told me when I went to visit her,” I explained. “I don’t have all the details yet.”

  “You didn’t call him?” Austin asked, leaning forward to regard me.

  “I’m going to see him after we finish recording in a couple of weeks,” I told them. “I should have the report from the private investigator by then.”

  “Are you afraid to hear how bad things are?” Harley asked gently.

  “That’s part of it,” I admitted. “Mostly, he won’t talk to me over the phone. I don’t know what’s up with him. When I called him, he said we should talk in person, and he insists he can’t make time until two weeks from now. What the fuck is that about? I can’t believe my brother could actually die. After he came out of the coma, I figured he was fine.”

  “Why not just go out there?” Harley asked. “He’s not going to turn you away.”

  “You only say that because you’ve never met Colin,” I told her. “He won’t see me until he’s ready.”

  “I’m sorry, man,” Austin began. “I think this is affecting your judgment.”

  “How do you mean?” I asked.

  “He means you shouldn’t have your brother’s fiancée investigated,” Harley explained. “You’re being an ass.”

  “How am I being an ass?” I demanded. “I’m trying to protect my brother.”

  “Your brother’s a grown man,” Harley argued. “He doesn’t need you to protect him.”

  “Back off, Harley,” Xander told her. “He’s got a right to feel overprotective of his brother with everything going on.”

  “Thank you,” I told Xander.

  “It’s still fucked up,” Xander added. “If you find out you’re wrong about this girl, you’ll have totally screwed up any chance you have with her. What if she isn’t even with your brother?”

  “Even if she is, this Bixby chick may not be using your brother,” Austin added. He’d never been good with names.

  “Bentley,” I corrected him.

  “That’s one of those hot blonde names,” Xander mused. “I’ll bet she’s got huge fake knockers and ass implants.”

  “Very classy, Xan,�
� Harley muttered.

  He shrugged off her censure. “I’m just saying it’s one of those names. She’s a hot as fuck blonde, right?”

  “Not even close,” I told him. “She’s got this sweet, girl-next-door thing going on.”

  “Then why are you so interested in her?” Harley asked. “You like bimbos as much as Xan does. I’ve never seen you go for the nice girls.”

  “I asked myself the same question when I met her,” I admitted. “Maybe she’s not as nice as I thought.”

  “But what if she is?” Harley asked. “You obviously liked her on your flight. If not, you wouldn’t have given her your number. Are you prepared to screw up your chance with her?”

  “She didn’t text me,” I pointed out.

  “Are you sure your wounded pride isn’t part of what’s pushing you to have her investigated?” Austin asked.

  I shrugged. “That might be part of it, but I am worried about my brother being taken advantage of. He seemed off when I talked to him. What if his brain cancer is making him more gullible?”

  “I’d want to look out for my brother, too,” Xander admitted. “Still, you might be taking this too far.”

  Letting out a frustrated breath, I asked, “I should back off, right?” even knowing I wasn’t going to take my friends’ advice.

  They all nodded, voiced their agreement, and left it at that. Thankfully, the rest of our breakfast conversation revolved around music. Since everyone was free, we made plans to head over to Austin’s to use the studio at his house. In a couple of weeks, I’d have all my answers about Bentley.

  Chapter 10

  Bentley

  My friend, Cami, had been messaging me all day, but I’d barely had time to send her a quick text promising to update her later. It was my fault she refused to accept that response. I should have waited until after work to call her about the events of the morning, but I’d been hoping she’d answer her phone so I could talk to her during my drive to the office. Instead, I’d left her a voicemail sure to pique her interest—a voicemail involving my photo in a tabloid and my kiss with Gage. She already knew about the kiss. I’d called her to lament my bad luck in losing his number as soon as I’d gotten home.

  Cami had mentioned Reckless Release several times in recent months. She’d discovered them early in their career, and I knew she was excited about their upcoming tour.

  I put Cami on speaker as soon as I started up my car after work, hoping she didn’t have a patient. It was a Wednesday, not one of her normal days for evening appointments, but she’s been known to change things up from time to time.

  “You teasing bitch!” she accused.

  I laughed at her insult. “It’s not often I have any juicy stories to tease you with.” Cami was notorious for messaging me with the near-scandalous details of a recent date. We often joked that she dated enough for both of us. “I didn’t expect you to send my call to voicemail,” I told her.

  “One of my patients needed to see me today, so I had to squeeze him in this morning,” she explained.

  We’d both been sophomores in college, each planning a career in psychology, when we’d met. Cami had recently gone into private practice with one of our professors who’d gotten tired of teaching.

  “Gage Addison? Are you kidding me? You kissed Gage Addison?” she demanded excitedly.

  “Technically, he kissed me,” I told her. “I didn’t know his last name when it happened, so I just thought some hot guy named Gage was kissing me, as you may recall.”

  “And you honestly didn’t recognize him?” she asked. “You weren’t keeping this from me?”

  “I don’t follow music,” I reminded her.

  “I’ve shown you pictures of the band,” she began. “You were ignoring me, weren’t you?”

  “I looked,” was my immediate reply.

  “A brief glance is not enough when we are talking about all the hotness that is Reckless Release,” she insisted. “Gage is so gorgeous. I still can’t believe you lost his phone number. You should have had it tattooed on your body.”

  “I wasn’t going to call him even if I hadn’t lost his number,” I told her.

  “Then why take his number?” she asked.

  “I took his number before realizing I can’t call him,” I clarified.

  “Why can’t you call him?” she pushed. “He’s hot. You like him. He’s hot.”

  “You mentioned him being hot twice,” I pointed out before adding, “Actually, you may have said that three times.”

  “It was worth repeating,” she insisted.

  “No matter how attractive he is, I am not dating a member of a rock band,” I stated firmly. “His brother is also my boss. This would be bad on so many levels.”

  “So far, you’ve only mentioned two reasons,” she stated. “That hardly counts as being bad on many levels. When was the last time you got laid?”

  “Why do you ask me questions you already know the answer to?” I asked her. Seriously, I told Cami everything.

  “I honestly don’t know,” she admitted. “It’s been that long. If the old saying about losing it if you don’t use it is true, your vagina is going to put in for a transfer.”

  “Did you just say my vagina will leave me?” I asked around a laugh as I pulled onto the freeway. “Forget I asked that question. I’m not sure I want to hear more on this subject. I know what you’re getting at. You’re trying to find a reason why I should call Gage. I lost his number. There will be no calling Gage Addison. End of story.”

  “You could always get his number from your boss,” she suggested.

  “Him being Colin’s brother is another reason to avoid getting involved with Gage,” I pointed out. “Having a tabloid accuse me of sleeping my way to the top with my boss is bad enough. I don’t need to add to that drama by getting involved with Colin’s brother.”

  “And you think all musicians will be like the people you met when Lex was still playing,” she added.

  “Most are,” I argued.

  I’m fully aware that I’m prejudiced against musicians. They aren’t all bad people. That doesn’t change the fact that most make poor choices. My brother isn’t a bad person, and neither were the other members of his band. Still, as soon as his band started to see some success, the drinking got worse. Soon, they were all using a variety of drugs and partying too much. It wasn’t only his band; the other bands they hung out with were doing the same. I didn’t want to be involved with someone like that.

  “You’re killing me, Bennie,” she whined. “Play with the sexy rocker. Live out my fantasy.”

  I had to laugh at her dramatic plea. “Sorry, but you’ll have to find your own rocker to play with.”

  “That is another good reason to call Gage,” she began.

  “You can’t sleep with Gage,” I snapped.

  “Down girl,” she said with a laugh. “I was actually going to suggest you get Gage to introduce me to the drummer. Of course, I’ll have to pretend I’m distraught after a bad breakup. That might not work. I’m not a very good liar.”

  “Why would you need to pretend you’re getting over a breakup?” I asked.

  “He’s the ultimate rebound guy,” she explained. “Women flock to him to help mend their broken hearts.”

  “You spend far too much time researching this band,” I told her.

  “It’s not just them,” she began. “I research all bands with hot drummers.”

  I let out a sad sigh. “Sometimes, I wish I could be as carefree as you are, Cami.”

  “Then who would keep me out of trouble?” she asked.

  A startled bark of laughter escaped my lips before I responded. “Keep you out of trouble? Since when have you ever managed to stay out of trouble?”

  “I stay out of trouble,” Cami insisted. “How do you think I’ve managed to keep my job so long?”

  “Good point,” I conceded.

  “You never used to be this good at staying out of trouble,” she mused. “We had so m
uch fun back in our undergrad years.”

  She was right. We’d had a lot of fun back then, but things had changed. “My parents need one of us to be responsible.”

  “Are you saying Mercedes isn’t responsible?” she asked. “The girl owns a business.”

  I wasn’t about to discuss my sister or her business, The Frisky Beaver. My parents were still pretending my sister owned a restaurant where women didn’t take their clothes off. I was proud of my sister’s success, but I knew it bothered my parents.

  “Traffic is getting bad, so I’d better let you go,” I told her.

  “Are you trying to get out of talking about Gage?” she asked.

  “No, but that is a good reason to get off the phone,” I replied honestly. “We’ve talked enough about Gage already, and I need to focus on driving. It looks like there’s an accident up ahead, and people are dodging in and out of lanes to try to get further ahead.”

  “Idiot drivers,” Cami muttered. “Let’s do lunch on Saturday.”

  “Sounds good,” I agreed. “I’ll call you later.”

  “Love you, babe,” she said.

  “Right back at you,” I replied before ending the call.

  As I fought the traffic home, I wondered what my life would be like had Lex taken a different path. Maybe then I wouldn’t care about Gage being a member of Reckless Release. I shook my head. I wasn’t the type to be in the spotlight, and I never had been. Losing Gage’s number had saved me from the mistake of getting involved with someone who was wrong for me. If I kept reminding myself of that fact, I’d be fine.

  Chapter 11

  Gage

  It had been nearly two weeks since I’d asked Calvin Jameson to investigate Bentley and her relationship with my brother. In that time, I’d had to deal with my mom’s constant calls about Colin. I was glad my aunt was back in Portland. That relieved a lot of stress for me. My mom needed the help. Her fixation on Colin’s relationship with Bentley didn’t make sense. I was also worried about him, especially since Colin seemed so determined to avoid talking to me. My mom’s concern was bordering on an obsession. She’d even suggested calling my father. I wasn’t certain he even knew about Colin’s accident, and I doubted he’d care much that Colin had cancer.