“Love you too, Dominic.”
She had only brought a carry-on, so she soon walked outside. Mitchell sat in his black Mustang and nodded his head. Most likely the music was on full volume, but his windows were up. Nothing was heard from the outside. With a smile, she knocked on the passenger window hard.
Mitchell jumped. He had already been asked to move by a policeman and circled around. When he saw it was Noelle, he was relieved. Quickly, he lowered the music and leaned over to open the door for her.
“Hey,” he yelled then waited for her to get in. “Lookin’ good. You comin’ to my place or yours?” He winked.
She rolled her eyes. “Do not make me kick you in the balls again.”
“I’m just joking. Relax.” Mitchell turned back when she had her seatbelt on and pulled away from the curb. “How’s Dominic doing?”
“He’s good.” She set her bag at her feet. “We bought a house on the beach.”
He gripped the steering wheel tighter, a touch of jealousy in his heart. “Cool. You gonna have a house-warming party or something when we’re out there?”
“Doubt it’ll be ready. The closing was yesterday. It needs some repairs. Maybe next summer or something.” She hoped Dominic had enough time to come back and enjoy it during the tour.
“Can’t wait to see it.” He hoped to spend some time with her before she left again. “Seriously. Where am I taking you?”
She yawned. “Home. I have packing to do and stuff to get rid of.”
“I can help.” Her glare was unexpected. He sighed. “I swear I’ll keep my hands and my dick to myself.” He wished she hadn’t passed out that night months ago, and they did have sex. Then maybe she would be with him instead. “I promise.”
Against her brain, which screamed at her, she agreed with a hesitant tone, “I guess I do need help.”
“How about we get Emilio to come over, too?” Mitchell was fine with a chaperone.
Her entire body relaxed. “OK.” Dominic would be good with that. “I’ll call him.”
Once in her living room, Noelle dropped on the couch. She called Dominic while they were in the elevator. He was with Jon at the studio still. So she didn’t keep him long. She closed her eyes and soaked in the familiarity of her condo.
“You gonna take a nap?” Mitchell laughed, lifted her feet and sat down. He set her legs in his lap.
She sighed. “Maybe. Do you mind?”
“Nah. Just gimme the remote.” He took it from her and put the television on at a low volume. Emilio had a few things to do before he showed.
Mitchell shifted his attention from her to the comedy show that played every few seconds. When her chest started rise and fall in an even rhythm, he smiled. He loved to watch her sleep. Slowly, he ran a hand up her loose pants and caressed her soft skin. He missed comforting her on the bus. Her in his arms was a good start to the day.
Her hand moved and dropped at his hip. If Dominic wasn’t an obstacle, would we be making love right now? He fantasized about her plenty. Some days he could still feel her naked beneath him.
At the motel, months ago, she had said his name in her sleep. He thought she was into him. Before that, he worried she had just been drunk and confused the previous night. Her screams were not what he had expected. He was balls-deep inside her, and in heaven, but her reaction made him pull out and scramble away.
The guilt he felt when he realized she didn’t want him was awful, but the heartbreak was worse. It was a good thing he had waited until she stirred to get on top of her. If she had woken up as he came inside her, she would have probably castrated him. He never told her how hurt he was that she didn’t truly want him.
A knock on the door sometime later, startled Mitchell. He carefully lifted Noelle’s legs and moved from under them. When he answered the door, he put a finger to his lips.
Emilio glared at him. “You fucked her?”
“No,” Mitchell growled softly. “She’s asleep on the couch with all her clothes on.”
“You cop a feel?” Emilio felt somewhat fatherly toward her. “I’ll break your fucking—”
Mitchell put up a hand. “I swear. I only touched her calf. She slept, and I watched TV.” He shook his head as he walked back to the living room.
With a frown, Emilio carefully closed the door and looked around. Noelle was passed out on the couch, clothes on like Mitchell said. He knew her flight had come in a few hours ago. “I’m gonna order Chinese,” he whispered when he was close to Mitchell. “Your usual?”
“Yeah.” Mitchell sat on the floor near Noelle’s head and brushed her hair away from her face. “Glad you’re happy.” His voice was barely audible.
Emilio walked into the kitchen. He called for the food as he watched Mitchell. As he shook his head. I should smack him. The boy was crazy about her. She pushed him away, and he came back for more. He was a glutton for punishment.
“Leave her alone,” Emilio admonished Mitchell when he came back into the room.
Mitchell looked up. He played with her earrings. The semi-new ruby stud was a nice addition. He did what he promised he wouldn’t, so he got to his feet.
“Dominic?” Noelle turned over to look for him and fell to the floor.
“Oh, shit.” Mitchell rushed to her and helped her up. “You OK?”
She blinked her eyes a few times. “Mitch? Where’s… Oh.” She laughed. “I was dreaming, huh?”
“Yeah.” Mitchell looked her over and tried to check for bruises, but most of her skin was covered up. “Did you hurt yourself?”
Noelle’s eyes settled on Emilio. “I’m fine.” She pushed Mitchell back. “Do you guys mind if I take a shower and change?”
“Go ahead,” Emilio replied. “I ordered lunch, don’t worry, I won’t let loverboy here peek at you.”
* * *
Noelle stepped out of the bedroom just as the food arrived. She could smell it in her room. The shower woke her up, and clean clothes made her feel human again.
Mitchell smiled as she walked toward them barefoot, hair in a ponytail, dressed in shorts and a tank top. His cock started to swell as he stared at her breasts that jiggled. Oh God, she doesn’t have a bra on! He closed his eyes and tried to think of anything but her tits.
“Cover that thing up,” Emilio growled in Mitchell’s ear.
His face red, Mitchell looked down to see his cock had tried to escape his low-rise jeans. “Shit.” He turned and adjusted his erection to run down his thigh, where it could not make an appearance. “I can’t help it. Look at her.”
“I see tits all the time,” Emilio whispered. “Hers are off limits. Tell your dick he ain’t getting her.” He stepped away and nodded at Noelle. “You look relaxed.”
She grinned. “I am. Thanks for getting food. I’m starving, too.”
Mitchell’s mouth dropped when he saw her back. For once, her ass didn’t catch his eye. It was the new tattoo. He stared, mouth agape, confused. She never had any interest in tattoos before. He tried to convince her that one on her lower back would be sexy. She blew up and slapped him across the face.
“Whoa!” Emilio noticed the ink and was shocked as well. “Is that real?”
Noelle sat down at the table and looked up at them. “What do you mean?” She didn’t understand their odd expressions. “Is what real?”
Emilio moved to her and lifted her hair. “This.” He gently swiped the skin under her neck with a finger. “It is real. When’d you get it? It looks like it’s still healing.”
“Monday.” She smiled. “You like it? Me and Dominic drew it. Well technically, he drew it. I just colored it in.”
“It was done well.” Emilio admired the line work. “Dom drew this free hand?” Her nod made him smile. “He’s a man of many talents. Did he tell you he plays piano?” They had hung out a slew of times over the last 20 years.
She smiled. “Not exactly. I heard him playing and watched until he noticed me. He’s amazing. I think I convinced him to play on an album soon
.”
“Good.” Emilio let her hair go. “I’ll go get plates.”
Mitchell waited until they were alone to get a better look at her tattoo. He slid her hair to the side and smiled. “It’s perfect for you. I love it.”
Her phone was across the table. She grabbed it and pulled up the pictures they took at the tattoo parlor. “Look at his.” She had clicked on the one of Dominic’s arm.
“Uh, wow.” He was surprised they were identical. “I like the blue.” His eyes drifted to her skin. He couldn’t help but imagine what it would look like with Dom’s arm around her shoulders. “He must love it.”
She smiled. “Yes.” She leaned forward and snatched the container of fried rice. “I’m starving.”
“Me, too,” Mitchell mumbled as he grazed his fingertips over the tattoo. “It looks beautiful.”
“Thanks.”
After they had eaten and the table cleared, the three of them got to work. Noelle directed her bandmates on what was to be packed and what she didn’t need. She had no mementos or photos except those of her band or favorite artists. As she went through the things in her living room, she realized how little she wanted to take with her. Other than her books, most of it didn’t matter.
Since she was on the East Coast for the past 10 days, Noelle started to crash early. While on the floor, she cleared out the bottom of her largest bookshelf. She soon leaned her head on the wood, but she wanted to finish.
“You’re too tired.” Emilio knelt next to her and touched her arm. “Go to bed. We have a few days to get more done.”
She turned her head, eyes half closed. “I’m fine.”
Mitchell stood behind her and lifted her up effortlessly. “You fell asleep twice already.” He was concerned she pushed herself too hard. With her safely in his arms, he walked to her bedroom. “Call me tomorrow when you get up.” He soon laid her in bed and tucked her in. “You need anything?
“My phone.” She yawned.
Emilio came in the room with her phone. “Sleep in tomorrow. I ain’t opening my eyes before noon.” He laughed softly then climbed on her bed. “Call if you need anything.” He kissed her cheek. “Sleep well.” He got off the bed and glared at Mitchell. “Alone.”
“I’m not gonna ask to sleep over.” Mitchell sighed internally. He was about to ask just that because he enjoyed comforting her. The same went for her body against his and an occasional, purely accidental tit brush. “G’night, Noelle.” Mitchell went to kiss her lips, but she turned, and he hit her jaw.
When she heard the front door close, she sleepily brought up Dominic’s name on the phone and hit the call button. She barely heard him answer. In the background were rock music and voices.
“Noelle! Can you hear me?” Dominic shouted. He hoped the bar wasn’t too loud.
She closed her eyes. “Uh, yeah. Where are you?”
“At Charlie’s with Chad and Anthony.” Dominic knew she was tired. “You were right. We’re having fun. No girls, don’t worry. Neither of them need another woman in their lives right now.”
Slowly, she nodded. “Cool.”
“Go to sleep, sweetheart.” He knew she was about to crash on him. “I love you.” When she didn’t reply for a full minute, he ended the call.
Anthony patted Dominic’s shoulder. “Who was that?”
“Noelle.” Dominic grinned. “She fell asleep talking to me.”
Chad strolled toward them, with another round of beer. He set the bottles down on the table the other two men were at. “Wonder if Paulie’s gonna do bartending again when he comes back.”
“He’s definitely moving back?” Dominic thought it was tentative. They had talked more about Paulie before they picked Anthony up.
After a shrug, Chad replied, “Sounds like it. He’s miserable out there, but he doesn’t have a place to stay. I offered one of my bedrooms, but he worried it would be awkward for Crystal. She’s the reason he’s not here already. He’s not sure he could handle seeing her with Giovanni, either.”
Dominic nodded. “Yeah. Bet that would be awkward.”
After he had taken a sip of his beer, Anthony glanced at Chad. “Her ex?”
“Yep.” Chad rolled his eyes. “Still not easy for me. He’d be a mess.” Like I useta be. Some days he wished he hadn’t brought the Saracino brothers into her life.
Anthony cocked an eyebrow. “Oh. So you’re ‘ex’, too?”
“Not exactly.” Chad sighed. “She and I… Too hard to explain.” He missed having her in his arms more than anyone knew. Even Dominic didn’t know everything. “Let’s just say I thought we had more than there was, and I lost her.”
Eyes set on his hands, Anthony said, “Been there. Don’t blame Giovanni. You can’t help who you fall in love with.” He looked up and met Dominic’s gaze. “I won’t do that again. Promise, Dom.”
Dominic smiled. “I know you won’t.” He set his bottle on the table. “Do you wanna meet Tommy and Shane or just hang out here?”
“Stay.” Chad leaned back. “Tommy’s gonna push chicks on me. He always does. He just don’t get it.”
“You’re right.” Dominic scanned the bar. Many men hit on women. “I hope something wakes him up.”
Chapter 17
Tommy’s phone went off just as he exited the Holland Tunnel the next night. He answered via Bluetooth. “Hello?”
“It’s me.” Shane Martin was on the Long Island Expressway. Traffic was light for a Friday night. “I may be a bit late. Lacey picked a fight, and you know I hate to back down.”
At a red light, Tommy pursed his lips for a few seconds. “It’s fine. Just park and keep your head down.” He glanced next to him at Rick, who did security for Gasoline. “We’ll wait for you inside. Someone’ll meet you at the door.” He planned to bring his most nondescript car, a black BMW X5, but it was in the shop. The red Challenger was flashy but his favorite.
Not long after, Tommy had parked on the street. There weren’t any nearby lots. He walked toward the venue, Rick glued to his side. At times, Rick’s overprotective nature annoyed him, but when shit hit the fan, Rick was ready to do what he had to in order to keep the band safe. Rick, Dwayne and Matt did security for them for over 10 years. They could be trusted with almost anything.
Tommy lowered the brim of his baseball cap. They wanted to blend in that night. It rarely worked that way, but he still wanted to try. The club had been notified he would be there. That way he could get a good spot on the balcony to observe each band without hassle or the need to fight for a spot away from the mosh pit.
They walked into the Bowery Ballroom. Tommy presented two tickets just before the manager had appeared. “We have a prime spot cordoned off for you. Follow me.”
Rick let Tommy walk between them. “You sure you wanna do this?”
“Yes. Chill.” Tommy rolled his eyes.
They had arrived early. His eyes roamed over several scantily clad women, who stood around. He had to wait until the end of the night to hit on any. Otherwise, he risked recognition. As subtly as possibly, he checked out a few more as they walked to the stairs. He hoped to find a certain sexy brunette later in the night.
A female voice suddenly rang out, “Oh my fuckin’ God! It’s Tommy Fischer!”
Tommy cringed and narrowly avoided the hands that pawed at him. She squealed and jumped up and down, blocked by Rick’s large arm. As quickly as possible, Tommy signed the young woman’s t-shirt. They continued along, soon swarmed by women and a few men. Tommy was grateful Rick agreed to come along. He dodged most of the gropers but shook a few hands and signed several items. There was no worry that he would be overwhelmed. Calmly, he appeased fans as they moved forward.
Once upstairs, Tommy sighed when he saw the roped off area. He nodded at the manager. “Thanks. This is perfect. Shane should be here soon. Can you make sure he gets up here in one piece?” He palmed a hundred-dollar bill and shook the manager’s hand. The manager nodded. “Thanks.”
After he had taken t
he seat closest to the stage, Tommy looked over the railing. Crew members set up on the stage. The floor in front of the stage filled up quickly. A few girls he had seen downstairs waved to him. That attracted further attention. When more gawked at him, he sat back.
Half the balcony was available to the public. He waved to a few who stared. That meant the first girl must have screamed his name louder than he expected. He hoped they forgot about him when the bands started to play.
By the time Shane walked into the place, the crowd had grown. He quickly scanned the area, unsure where Tommy would be. They hadn’t thought that part through. He pulled his phone out and shot him a quick text.
Downstairs. Where are you?
Tommy felt the vibration of his phone and jumped. He read the message then looked over the railing. When Shane looked his way, he waved. At least, he didn’t back out.
Here goes nothing. Shane was nervous but wasn’t sure why. Maybe because it was a step toward replacing Troy. With a sigh, he took the stairs slowly. It felt like an impossible task, but he promised Troy’s wife, Patty, that he would try to move on. When he saw the velvet rope, he knew where to go.
“Shane,” Tommy called to him. He smiled widely and waved him over.
Rick moved from the wall where he stood and pulled out a chair for Shane. Then he folded his arms over his chest to look as terrifying as possible.
“Hey.” Shane stuck out his hand to Tommy. “Good to see you again.”
Tommy nodded as they shook hands. “You, too. No pressure. Just listen and watch. If nothing else, you can figure out what you don’t want in a bassist.”
“Yeah.” Shane sat and exhaled loudly. “Thanks for taking the time to do this with me.”
“No need for thanks.” Tommy leaned on the table between them. “Dude, I can’t imagine what you’re going through, but I know Troy wouldn’t want you to give up. I’ll do all I can. Sound good?”
“Perfect.” Shane noticed the girls that waved from below and waved back. Their squeals brought back many memories. “It’s been a while.”
Evolving Urges (Gasoline Book 2) Page 12