Barbie leaned forward from her spot in the middle. “Oh, so you’re playing chauffeur, huh? I don’t think so. Sitting in the middle where I can’t see shit sucks, and I deserve my own seat.” She unbuckled and hunched over to maneuver herself up and into the front seat.
“Sit down, young lady. We’re getting ready to merge onto the freeway. And don’t get too comfortable. We’ll be picking up Andrew in a moment.”
“Andrew?”
“Yes, he’ll be your manager on the road.”
“Great. Another asshole douchebag giving orders. Just what I wanted.”
“Button it, Ms. Bennett.”
Vicki, from her spot in the backseat between me and Liz, said, “Turn it up!”
I pricked up my ears to hear the song on the radio. I hadn’t heard it before. “Is that to your satisfaction, Ms. Graham?”
“It is, kind sir.” I giggled, glad the vibe in the van was finally chilling. I only hoped this Andrew guy would be cool. She then looked at me and said, “This is the second single off Death Crunch’s album.”
“It is?” And I wondered how the fuck Vicki knew that. I thought I was the one in lust.
“Yeah. There’s a bootleg of the entire album on YouTube.”
We listened to it and I loved how this one was harder than their first. I was patiently waiting for the album to be released—legitimately—so I could buy it for my iPod and listen to it over and over and over again, just like I did all the albums I loved.
When the song was over, Vicki yelled at Peter and told him to turn it back down. She was on her phone then, pulling up YouTube. “Did you see the acoustic song CJ put on YouTube the other day?”
I heard a ringing in my ears. “What?”
“Yeah. It’s on the Death Crunch channel. I figured he showed it to you, ‘cause…well…”
My eyes got wide. “And I thought you were my friend,” I teased and took her phone, waiting patiently for the video to load. CJ sat on the edge of a bed—probably in some hotel room—an acoustic guitar on his lap, and he said, “I’ve been working on this song for a few weeks and I want to share it with you guys now. Huge thanks to all the fans who’ve been supporting us on our tour. You guys are the best.” I couldn’t pull my eyes off his lips, but when I did, they went to his eyes, and I felt then like he was talking to me.
The tune was simple—rocking but mellower than what Death Crunch was already becoming known for—and his voice was strong but sweet. I hadn’t known he had such a great singing voice, and I started to wonder why he didn’t do vocals for his band until I rethought about it, because they did a lot of screaming. I didn’t know that CJ’s voice could do that.
When he started singing, I knew why he hadn’t told me about the song…because I was pretty sure it was about me.
You got me wrapped around your finger.
Yeah, you’re wrapped around my heart.
For what I’m feeling there is no cure.
I just don’t know where to start.
She says she needs me but I have to stay away.
That girl is danger…
The line of the chorus, “That girl is danger,” he repeated three more times before moving into the next verse. I found myself smiling, warm and tingly, because CJ was declaring to the whole damn world that his feelings for me were mutual. His drunken “confession” of doing more than kissing me a year from now had felt silly, like something he’d regret in the light of day and without the aid of alcohol but this? This was thought out, calculated, and then broadcast to…over twenty-thousand people thus far, according to the counter.
At the end of the song, he grinned at me…and I was grateful that my new life started now, that my first night on a huge stage began tomorrow night, because I knew that the only way I could make it that long—an entire year—would be immersing myself fully in my first love, my guitar.
So, as we pulled back off I-25, past businesses and through traffic to a residential area to pick up our new manager, I felt nothing but happiness and positive vibes and wondered what some of the people in my favorite bands had felt like when taking the first steps of their journey. I wondered if it was as awesome as what I was feeling right now…and I couldn’t imagine feeling any higher than this. Not ever.
Quick Note from Jade
Hi, everyone!
This is a work of fiction. I remind you of that because I also want to let you know that I have gleaned a lot of inspiration from real-life female bands and artists. Some of my inspiration came from real stories behind The Runaways and Heart. That said, nothing in this book is meant to replicate reality. Because a few of the scenes in my books are inspired by real-life, I felt the need to remind my readers that the characters in this book are not real, nor are they meant to resemble anyone real. The events in this book are also not real.
That said, I hope you enjoyed part one!
Rock on!
Jade
Second Quick Note from Jade
I NEED YOUR HELP!
Now that I have your attention, I want to tell you about something I’ve discovered over the years as an indie author. I can spend money on marketing or invest time in activities I think will help, but the bottom line is this: YOU help me more than any venture I could set out on. Yes, you. So how can you help me? It’s easy—I promise!
If you loved this book, would you consider...
* leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads (or both)?
* lending your copy of the book to a friend (all my books on Amazon US are lendable)?
* talking about the book to a friend or friends?
Thank you so much for any and all help you can give me. I appreciate it!
Jade
Stalk me! I don’t bite (well, not too hard anyway)!
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DON’T MISS THE NEXT BOOK IN THE VAGABONDS TRILOGY!
On the Road
All that glitters isn’t gold. Sometimes it’s plastic.
Kyle Summers hits the road with her band the Vagabonds, living the dream. Five young women are tossed into the limelight with little supervision, seemingly left to the wolves. Kyle is driven and headstrong, and—while she enjoys the temptations of sex and drugs on the road—music always comes first. In spite of her friends crumbling under the pressure and lack of support, the Vagabonds become a household name and enjoy success not experienced by people far beyond their years.
But Kyle realizes two things—one is that her relationships are hollow without love, but she and CJ, her main love interest, are only on-again, off-again at best, leaving her feeling unfulfilled. The second is that Kyle quickly grows weary of dealing with egos and prima donnas, and she feels helpless while watching her band fall apart.
Can she save her band—and her relationship with CJ—or will she end up alone and forgotten?
I asked CJ if he wanted to wager anything. “Like what?” he asked.
I laughed. “How about that sweet car? I know you could afford another one.”
He looked up at his score. There was no way in a million years I could beat him. Well, maybe a million, but it would definitely involve a miracle of some kind. He grinned and started to say, “You know there’s—”
“Shh,” I interrupted, placing my index finger on his lips. “Are you man enough to take my bet or not?”
He chuckled and then sucked my finger into his mouth. Holy shit. That was hotter than it had a right to be, and I was pretty sure he read that reaction all over my face. I forced myself to let the air out of my lungs while he released my finger. Then he replied, “Fine, darlin’, I’ll take your bet.”
“Sweet. I love that car of yours. Now…what do you want me to wager?” I chewed on my bottom lip a second before adding, “I could make some suggestions.”
He blinked once, slowly and methodically, a slight grin making his eyes twinkle. “I’m sure you could. Why do I get the feeling you’re being naughty?”
My smile grew wider. “Am I that obvious?”
“Mm-hmm.” Yeah, like he hadn’t encouraged it.
“Okay, so let’s take care of this last frame.”
“But the bet—”
“How about…” He lifted my ball off the return and held it in his palm for me to grab. I stuck my fingers in the holes and he continued. “I choose my prize if I win?”
Oh. Okay. That would involve a lot of trust. Two seconds and I decided—I knew I trusted him. Two more seconds and I felt a thrilled shiver charge through my spine wondering just what he’d choose. I nodded. “All right. Wish me luck.”
“Absolutely. Good luck, babe.”
Another shiver darted through my body. He hadn’t called me babe often, but I loved when he did. I couldn’t quite smile at him as I took my ball out of his hand and walked up to the line. I took a step forward and swung the ball, closing my eyes as I let go of it. I kept them closed, listening for the sound of the ball hitting the gutter. But that sound never came. In fact, I heard the steady whirring sound of the ball rolling down the lane in a straight-ish path.
I finally peeked through a slit of one of my eyelids and saw that my ball was still traveling right down the middle, ready to hit the front pin.
And it did. My first strike of the evening. I couldn’t help but squeal and then I jumped up and down. I knew I’d get to throw the ball twice more now, and I turned around, smiling wide. “I got you now, mister!”
CJ grinned and brought the fingers of both his hands to his mouth, imitating the act of biting all his fingernails off. “Oh, no.”
Even had I hit all the pins twice more, I would haven’t beaten his score. But I didn’t even come close. I was still behind, and CJ hadn’t even had his turn yet.
He picked up the heavy black ball off the return and said, “This doesn’t even seem fair.”
I rolled my eyes. “Just get it over with.”
He threw the ball, this time not getting a strike, but he did get a spare and an extra ball. Talk about adding insult to injury. So, as we took our bowling shoes off and put our street shoes back on, I said, “Well?”
He looked over at me. “Well what?”
“What’s it gonna be?”
He shrugged. “I have to think about it a little bit.”
So we turned in our shoes and walked outside into the cold. “Have you decided yet?”
He laughed. “Nope, not yet.” We got to his car and, after letting it run for a few seconds, he turned the heater on.
“Okay…now?”
He laughed. “Impatient.” He reached over and turned down the radio. “I think I’ll collect sometime this summer.”
Oh. Oh, God, no. I knew what that meant. That meant he did want to have sex with me, but he was going to make me wait until I was eighteen. That stupid fucking rule of his. But I kept my anger in check and instead figured out a way to slither myself in between his body and the steering wheel to straddle him. He was laughing again and held his arms up to allow me to sit on his lap facing him. I pressed my forehead into his. It was only thanks to the glow of the dashboard and the lights in the parking lot that I could see his deep brown eyes in the darkness of his car. “I want you to collect now, dammit.”
And there was that magnetism, that draw, that need I felt for him as my lips brushed over his. My eyes were closed by then and he responded—thank the heavens he responded—touching my tongue with his. It was another magical kiss, one that transported me out of that car and into the sky, out of the freezing night air and into a flaming furnace…
Pre-order On the Road here:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1huiVzU
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1Vtgr3v
Other rock star books by Jade C. Jamison
The Bullet series by Jade C. Jamison
Bullet
(Bullet #1)
What if you discover the man you want is toxic?
She’d tasted a little bit of heaven with him, and now they’ve gone through hell and back, but can their relationship take anymore?
Valerie Quinn is a naïve college freshman when she meets on-the-rise rock star Ethan Richards. He’s an idealistic, handsome, reckless young man, but he’s captured her heart. She doesn’t give up on him and eventually his walls crumble down. By the time Valerie has given herself to him completely, she discovers he’s damaged and may be beyond help. Can she save Ethan and their relationship before he implodes, or will he self-destruct and take her with him?
Other books in the Bullet series:
Rock Bottom
Feverish
Fully Automatic
Christmas Stalkings
Slash and Burn
Locked and Loaded (coming late 2015)
The Tangled Web series by Jade C. Jamison
Tangled Web
(Tangled Web #1)
Katie Logan has had a secret crush on her best friend Johnny Church since high school, but he’s never looked at her the same way. So when Johnny—now a famous rock-and-roll guitarist—comes home to visit, Katie can’t bring herself to tell him she’s engaged to be married. She should have, though, because she soon discovers that maybe the attraction is mutual…
Other books in the Tangled Web series:
Everything But
Punctured, Bruised, and Barely Tattooed
Seal All Exits
Other Rock Star Romance novels by Jade C. Jamison
MADversary
Then Kiss Me
Be Careful What You Wish For
You might also enjoy these
BOOKS BY JADE C. JAMISON
Savage
Substitute Boyfriend
Finger Bang
Quickies: Sexy Short Stories and Other Stuff
Old House
Then Kiss Me
MADversary
Worst Mother
Fabric of Night
Stating His Case
TANGLED WEB SERIES
1 Tangled Web: A Steamy Heavy Metal Novella
2 Everything But
Punctured, Bruised, and Barely Tattooed (companion novel)
3 Seal All Exits
BULLET SERIES
1 Bullet: An Epic Rock Star Novel
2 Rock Bottom
3 Feverish
4 Fully Automatic
4.5 Christmas Stalkings
5 Slash and Burn
NICKI SOSEBEE SERIES
1 Got the Life
2 Dead
3 No Place to Hide
4 Right Now
5 One More Time
6 Lost
7 Innocent Bystander
8 Blind
9 Fake
WISHES SERIES
1 Be Careful What You Wish For
VAGABONDS TRILOGY
1 On the Run
2 On the Road
3 On the Rocks
NONFICTION
Indie Writer Companion
COMING IN LATE 2015 AND 2016:
Locked and Loaded (Bullet #6)
Lies (Nicki Sosebee #10)
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On the Run (Vagabonds #1) Page 22