by Liz Crowe
“Fuck you and your mother,” he mumbles with his mouth full.
“Neither me or my mother would fuck you if you had a foot long vibrating dick,” I snap making him choke and gasp for breath.
“Damn it to hell! I swear I love you!” Hunter says, once he swallows.
“Done!” Henry says, slumping against the back of the booth. “Chop, chop fuck nugget. You guys have an interview tomorrow morning that we can’t miss. I gotta get the big bitch gassed up ‘n movin’ down the road. Just puke so we can go already,” he taunts.
Grabbing the last half of his sandwich, Hunter bites into it. His rapid chewing and swallowing makes me laugh. I have come to terms with the fact that I am probably losing this bet. Hunter seems strong enough to finish this, so I’m accepting my fate. God only knows what I will have to wear. Hunter grins as he holds the last bite in his hand. “Ready to lose, Daisy?” he purrs.
“Fucking hell, Cunter. Just give up already! You’ll never eat that damn thing,” Cam snaps. I turn eyeing her suspiciously as she sits wringing her hands in her lap. What the hell has her so unhinged?
Hunter shoves the last bite into his mouth, chewing, then he swallows just as the timer goes off. “I did it! Fuck you all!” he says, jumping to his feet in the booth. He climbs on the table making everyone stare at us as he screams. Jumping to the floor, he starts grinding his hips and shaking his ass in a victory dance. “Daisy you can suck my…” He stops clapping his hand over his mouth.
Hunter’s face goes green, his eyes widen, then he turns bolting for the bathroom. “HA!” Camaron whoops from the table as he flings the door open, “Anyone can tell you that even if you swallow, it don’t count if you choke on it, bitch!”
“I’ll get on the web to find ya a list of strip clubs, Daisy. You ladies can pick then I’ll call and see about bookin’ a dance for Hunter,” Aiden says with a laugh.
“I can only hope what happens in Vegas stays there,” Henry says, rolling his eyes. “That crazy asshole will be the death of me.”
Just as Henry goes to settle the check, Hunter flops into the booth. “You realize you only win on a technicality,” he groans. “I’ll let ya have it, ladies, only so you can salivate over my junk. I know you have to pretend around these pussies.”
“Yeah, that’s how it is, alright,” I huff sarcastically.
“Bus leaves in five!” Henry shouts from the door, making us all scramble out of the booth after him.
Chapter Fourteen
Hail to the Beef
I feel a little bad for Hunter and I buy him a bottle of Pepto before getting back on the bus. “It’s better than a Hallmark card,” I tease. He catches the bottle, clutching it to his chest as I sit next to Gray on the couch.
“Daisy, nothing says love like acid relief,” Hunter says after chugging from the bottle.
“So we have an interview tomorrow with a radio station, then it’s hittin’ the club Vegas style tomorrow night so that Cunter can shake ‘dat ass!” Aiden says looking at his phone.
“Do you have everything on that thing?” I ask, watching his thumbs move so fast it makes my eyes cross.
“Yep. I keep our schedules all on here so that I know what we’re doing. I don’t need anyone tellin’ me shit. Plus, Tad struck me as slimy anyway so I thought it was a good idea,” Aiden says, not taking his eyes from the screen. “I got a call from a venue in Minnesota. They said that Tad was billin’ them twice as much as we charged last year. Checked the invoice copies he sent me. It says our usual but it’s still fishy.”
“Don’t worry about it. That bastard is fired as of Vegas. We see them day after tomorrow; it’s over then. We’ll take all of that back over ourselves. Daisy is goin’ to stay on to handle some details so it’s all good,” Gray says, pulling me against him. I watch, absentmindedly, as Hunter flips through the channels. Gray’s fingers run through my hair as I fight to keep my eyes open. Hunter settles on some boxing match just as I lose the battle and my eyes flutter and close.
I wake sometime later in bed, only wearing Gray’s t-shirt. The sun is setting; I must have been out for a while. Leaning up on my elbows, I watch Gray strumming his guitar. His headphones covering his ears while he hums along with a song. I make sure not to move so that he doesn’t know that I’m awake. I want to watch him, study his fingers strumming the strings as his other hand curls around the neck. I can’t quite figure out the song, it sounds so familiar but I can’t place it. He is just as lost in the song as I am in watching him.
“I know you’ve been watching me,” he says, not turning to face me. “Why don’t you stop fuckin’ me in your head? Get over here and take what you want, Wildflower.” He tosses his headphones to the floor then sets his guitar on the stand.
Standing, I walk around the side of the bed in front of him. Gray smiles as he pulls me in between his legs. “So, what exactly is it that I want, Gray?” I purr, my voice still raspy from sleeping.
Taking his hands, I slide them under the hem of the shirt, letting them run up the backs of my thighs. Taking control, Gray slides his hands up cupping my ass with both hands. Gray’s fingers curl around the edge of my panties then, with a rip, they’re gone. He squeezes, watching my eyes with every movement his hands make. He smiles up at me, those wicked gray eyes planning and plotting. Then leans down running his nose along the inside of my thigh, pushing the shirt up as he goes. My hands grip his through the shirt, squeezing hard when he latches on to my clit, making me cry out his name in surprise.
Turning us, he pulls me to the bed, meeting my eyes. “I can always feel when your eyes are on me. I’ve never felt more fuckin’ alive than when you’re watchin’ me, Wildflower,” he growls, slamming my mouth to his.
I can taste myself on his lips but it doesn’t bother me. I soak up every second, every taste of his lips. The way his lip ring feels against my mouth as it moves it’s unbelievable. I want more of him, all of him. I want nothing between us, I want to let go. Does he know that I feel more alive when I’m with him? Does he know that, in the past few days, I have felt more alive than I have my whole life? Even with all the shit with Landon, and my life spinning out of control, Gray makes it all okay. He centers me in all the madness, almost like it isn’t real if we don’t think about it. Grayson Cole is really good at making me forget everything but him when he touches me.
How the hell do you feel things like this for someone so quickly? I loved Landon, but it took a while for the feelings to come. Though I still love Landon, I never felt anything like this for him. Sure the sex was great, but with Gray and me it is like a connection. It is so much more than just sex. We come together in ways I never thought was possible. It’s overpowering. I don’t want to give it up; yet, I know that soon, I will have to. Even if it is in a few months at the end of the tour, I will have to give him up. I quickly push that thought from my mind. All thoughts of leaving the bus, or talking to Landon, are shoved to the back of my head when Gray rips the shirt over my head. His mouth diving between my breasts biting, licking, sucking until I cry out again. My nails digging into his shoulders making him smile against my stomach as he moves along to the hip where my tattoo is.
“I love this, you know,” Gray whispers, as his tongue grazes just along the edge. “Daisy, the way you stood up to Hunter was so fuckin’ sexy. No one talks to him like that but us. Women fall at his feet, but you don’t.”
“I fell at yours, Sex and Sin,” I moan.
He jerks his head up meeting my eyes. “What?” Gray asks arching a brow at me.
I blush. “That’s what I thought of you, at the bar, that first night. In my head I called you Sex and Sin.”
Gray rolls to his back roaring with laughter. “Sex and Sin! That’s fuckin’ hilarious!”
I lean up on my elbow watching as Grayson Cole has a giggle fit. Do guys even call it that? Well, that’s what this is. “You know the way you hit on me, I assumed you played that game all the time. I was like a deer in the headlights. Then Landon came out.
” I stop when his eyes meet mine.
“I felt like shit, Daisy. I wanted to bury myself in you right there in the booth, but then my brother… He told me he was bringing a girl but never thought about it being that serious. I wanted you the moment I saw you there alone in the booth. I didn’t care whose you were because you were supposed to be mine.” Leaning up, he runs his nose along my ear. “You are supposed to be mine. Mine Daisy.”
“For right now, I am,” I whisper as the words he said make me tremble against him.
“You’re not going anywhere. You’re mine. It really is just that simple. Where’s that fuckin’ list I made last night? I need to add this,” he says, pulling up to sit.
“No. I won’t forget,” I whisper against his lips. “Brand me, Gray. I want you to take me, mark me, make me yours, Sex and Sin.” This time Gray doesn’t laugh at his nickname. This time he growls low in throat, diving onto me and he makes me his in every way, all night long, until we watch the sun start to rise.
“Good morning, Wildflower,” he purrs, just as I start to fall asleep.
“Now who’s the smart ass?” I tease sleepily, making him slap my ass as he pulls me against him. “Good morning, Gray,” I whisper, realizing that if this is wrong then being right can go straight to hell along with my list.
The next morning comes all too soon. By noon we are being rushed around like mad by the crazy man known as Aiden, in his OCD scheduling glory. “If we aren’t out the door for the radio studio in two minutes then we might as well cancel!” he shouts as we all make our way out of the bus for the ten second walk it takes to get to the studio.
“Calm down Anal Annie, we have time,” Hunter says, clapping him on the back. “You can’t enjoy something like this wound so fuckin’ tight that your head will explode. Go take Cam back in the bus, fuck her good and hard, make the right head explode, then we’re golden,” he teases, as Cam comes off the bus slapping him in the back of the head. “Ow, feisty bitch!”
“Do not talk about my sex life, asshole. It’s something you’ll never see, babe.”
“I’m kinda glad I lost this bet,” he groans. “I can’t wait to shake my stuff. Gonna lead to some major fuckscapades tonight. I’m goin’ to have bitches singin’ Hail to the Beef!”
I choke on my coffee, spitting it all over the sidewalk. Leaning over, I heave for breath through my laughter. Gray pats me on the back. “Are you alright?” he asks, while I try to compose myself.
“Is it possible to pretend I don’t know you tonight?” I huff, clearing my throat.
Hunter licks his lips, “Babe, the first dance is yours. I’m bringin’ you up on stage with me.” He grabs me by the waist pulling me to him. “You in a chair, my sexy ass grindin’ all over you…”
Gray glares at him, “I don’t think so, Cunter. Let’s go before we miss the interview slot,” he barks. Gray grabs my arm, tucking me beneath him as we walk through the turnstile entering the building.
“So, what’s the plan?” I ask when we exit the elevators outside the studio room doors. There is a huge window where we can see the D.J.’s talking about the guys and their latest hits. The speakers above us let us feel almost like we’re in there with them.
“You will stand here with Cam at the window so I can see you. Just think of it as stage left, Wildflower,” he says, kissing my lips. “Back in a bit.”
“Oh look, here they are! Aren’t they a bunch of studs!” the female D.J. says, nearly panting.
Hunter doesn’t wait as he flings the door open, hopping on the stool next to her. “I’m Hunter, you’re smokin’,” he purrs, kissing her hand.
“We know who you guys are. You’re my favorite, though. My name’s Jesse,” she says, giggling.
“I always am,” he tosses out as the male D.J. looks at the window watching Cam and I.
“Hey, who are the hotties?” he says, gesturing at us.
“Oh them?” Jesse says, “They’re groupies, right?” she asks, her eyes not leaving Hunter.
“Nope, those are our ladies,” Aiden says, smiling at Cam through the glass. “Cam on the left, she’s my girl. Then Daisy is here with Grayson.” I watch Gray smile, giving them a nod of agreement. My eyes fly to meet a frantic Cam.
“He just ratted us all out on the radio fuckin’ live!” she shouts wandering back to the sofa just as her legs give out. “Oh my GOD!”
“Cam, what’s wrong with him admitting you’re his?” I ask, sitting on the arm of the sofa next to her so that Gray can still see me.
“I don’t want the attention, Daisy!” she shrieks, nearly hyperventilating. “I’m havin’ a fling with a rocker. I have feelings for Aiden, of course I told you that, but I want to stay in the background. I don’t want to have the groupies attacking everything I do. Oh and the paparazzi. They don’t exactly have that problem yet, but it’s going there and fast.” She shoves her head between her knees taking deep breaths. “Oh Daisy, I can’t do this. I can’t be in the spotlight. I can’t even be on stage. That’s why…”
“That’s why you freaked when you thought Hunter won?” I ask, remembering how nervous she was at the diner.
“I don’t do vulnerable. I won’t. The most vulnerable I’ve ever been is with Aiden and that’s only when we’re in a scene. That’s only because he knows my limits. I can safe word anytime then it’s over.”
My eyes fly wide open as I jerk her head up. “What the fuck do you mean safe word? Are you and Aiden like…”
She looks at me like I’m crazy. Shit, maybe I am. “Yes. I’m only going to tell you this because we’re friends, Daisy. Aiden commands, I submit. I do that because I want him. I want to please him. It’s one of those things that he can’t get from groupie pussy. That’s all I’m gonna say. It’s not ugly like what Tad was doing with Landon. What Aiden and I have is beautiful. It’s what we need from each other. He doesn’t do whips, chains or anything like that. It’s about me giving him the control. He needs that from me. More than that, though, I need to give that to him. It makes us each feel cherished in our own way,” she explains as we watch him talk about their latest album. Her smile spreads across her face with her love for him so damn clear it could be a neon sign.
“It sounds like you love him, Cam.”
“I do, Daisy. That’s the problem. I can’t do the limelight, that’s where he is and where he wants me to be. Look at him. He’s a fuckin’ rock star. He wants a woman who is going to stand beside him, shine with him as she encourages him. I can’t be that. It was never meant for me to be that woman for him.”
“How do you know that? Cam, shit, you told me to be strong; to say ‘fuck the plan.’ Well, that’s what you need to do, too. Don’t let this go to shit, when you could be everything to each other,” I snap out, pissed that she would even consider that Aiden is anything less than crazy as hell in love with her.
“I know what I need to do. This is why I quit my job to be with him. I wanted this last month with Aiden. Then I’m going to break it off while I still can, without it ruining us both,” she says, turning away so that Aiden doesn’t see the tears streaming down her cheek.
“Cam, I think it’s a bit late for that isn’t it? You’re both so wrapped up that breaking this between you may ruin you both, more than you could ever fix. Are you prepared for what losing Aiden is goin’ to do to your heart?”
“It will be like dying. I already know that I’ll leave my heart with Aiden Chesterfield on that bus.” She turns, meeting my eyes. The sight of my friend in so much pain, over this, rips my heart out. “Promise me that you’ll watch over him when I’m gone, Daisy. He’s more fragile than he lets on. He won’t admit it, but he is.”
I pull her into a hug. “I’ll be here for both of you anyway that I can; until you find your way back to each other, because you will. You may think that this is for the best, Cam, but if you leave, I know that you’ll be back. Fight it all you want but you belong here with him.”
Cam excuses herself to go clean up her face befor
e Aiden sees, claiming she doesn’t want to ruin tonight or cause him to worry about her. I know it is really just an excuse so she can cry in private. I know that she doesn’t want to leave Aiden. I just hope that something I said shakes her, making her change her mind. She needs to realize that if Aiden just made that sort of commitment to her on the radio, where millions of people heard, then what they have means something to him. Then a breath gets caught in my chest as Gray winks at me. Millions of people, including Landon and Tad, just heard that I’m here with Gray. I am torn between the feeling of happiness and the sting Landon must be feeling right now; then, with the sadness of how hurt he probably is that I didn’t tell him when I had the chance
Yeah I know that this is probably the perfect revenge. Instead of walking in on it like I did or noticing something I wasn’t supposed to, Landon finds out on the radio, probably while eating his lunch or checking the setup for tomorrow’s concert venue. The guilt grips me by the throat as I fumble for my phone in my bag. I thumb a text to Landon hoping that he finally turned the damn thing on:
Landon meet me tomorrow before the show please?
He answers back quickly:
Can’t meet before. If we have to do this it has to be after.
At least he is talking to me so he can’t be too upset. I am relieved that I will be able to talk to him in person. I want to get everything off my chest so that we can move on. I don’t like the way he did things but I know that I love him enough to want him happy. I want him to find that happiness even if it isn’t with me.
That’s fine. Will you be back on the bus?
No, Daisy, we won’t. I’ll text you when and where.
I reply that I’m glad they are alright. That we will speak tomorrow, then quickly shove my phone in my purse as the guys end their interview. “So, Grayson, we know that you end the shows lately with a cover song of your choice. Any logic to pickin’ those?” Jesse asks.
“Yeah,” Gray says, when I walk back up to the glass. “They’re for her. Every song has been for her.”