Daisy and the Front Man (Entangled Crush) (Backstage Pass)

by Purdy, Rebekah L.

  “Sure.”

  LJ led him to the stadium and left him outside his dressing room.

  “So, what did LJ want?” Ryder asked, tossing a football in the air.

  Trevin shrugged. “Same old shit, different day. You know, keep the peace—shake my ass for the ladies—don’t get anyone pregnant.” Last person he wanted knowing about his “babysitting” job was Ryder. For one, Ryder hated authority, and number two, he’d be pissed and probably do shit just to prove a point. Although Trevin was pretty sure the guys had a good idea that LJ talked to him about them.

  “Oh, so he saw the way you were eyeing that redhead too?” Ryder dropped his football and slipped off one black T-shirt to replace it with another.

  “Will you let it go? I don’t want to talk about Daisy.”

  “Daisy? So you remembered her name… I bet it bugs the hell out of you that she shot you down about ‘hanging out’ tomorrow. But maybe it was just a front? I mean, you always find a way to charm the ladies,” Ryder said.

  “No, mate, I think she actually hates our boy. Did you see the dirty look she gave him?” Miles smirked.

  Trevin rolled his eyes. “Who cares? So it’s the first time someone’s turned me down. There are plenty of other girls out there. Besides, I was just trying to be nice because she’s Beau’s daughter.” Although that wasn’t the full truth. She was pretty. And it was still bothering him that she’d been so cold for no reason. “Trust me, if I wanted to nab that girl, I could.”

  “Is that so?” Ryder crossed his arms at his chest, watching Trevin closely. “Want to prove it?”

  “What do you mean?” Trevin tensed. Shit. Where was he going with this?

  “I bet you can’t make Daisy fall for you by the end of the summer.”

  Trevin snorted. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah—but let’s make this fun. How about if I win the bet, you need to quit being LJ’s little bitch and telling on me every time I sneak out or do something. You know, make it easier for me to hang out with Mia.”

  Trevin swallowed hard. Fuck. That meant giving up some of his control, which meant it could end with the band breaking up. And that was his worst nightmare. The last band LJ had managed had broken up. He didn’t want the same thing for S2J. But did he want Ryder thinking he was a punk? “And what would I get if I won?”

  Ryder leaned against the wall, eyes intense. “How about I let you take the writing collaboration with Pierce Mishler? You’re the one who wanted to write with him to begin with…”

  “You’d give up a chance to work with him?” This was what Trevin had been waiting for. So far he’d been allowed to write exactly one song on their albums, so this could be a huge break for him. And Pierce was one of the best out there.

  Ryder had been in the recording studio messing around after one of S2J’s sessions, and Pierce happened to hear him. He’d liked Ryder’s style enough to ask him to jam out for a while. And of course LJ, being who he is, made sure to jump in and make arrangements for them to work on something together. He probably figured it’d keep him on Ryder’s good side. However, Trevin would’ve given his left eye to collaborate with Pierce. He’d always been a huge fan. And now Ryder was offering him his dream in a nicely wrapped package.

  But…could he really string Daisy along like that? It’s not like it’d have to be permanent—she’d only be there for the summer, anyway. Damn, he wasn’t the type to lead a girl on like this. It was one thing to go on a few dates with someone while on tour—but this, well, it didn’t seem right. The thing was, he couldn’t exactly pass up this opportunity to work with Pierce. And…it might not be too bad spending time with Daisy. She was pretty, and he was sure if he could get under that icy exterior of hers, she might not be too bad to hang out with.

  “Sure,” Ryder said. “So, how about it? Or are you going to wuss out?”

  Trevin groaned. “Fine, you’re on. And just so you know, Daisy’s gonna fall hard for me. Have you not seen the effect I have on girls?”

  “Miles, you’re our witness, so if he backs out on it or loses, you know what he owes me.” Ryder reached for Trevin’s hand. “Let’s shake on it.”

  “Fine, whatever.” Trevin shook it, then let go.

  “Game on.” Ryder grinned. “Oh and by the way, don’t think I’m going to make this easy on you.”

  “I hope you know what you’re doing, mate. Ryder’s just being a dick.” Miles glanced at them.

  “You little asshole.” Ryder went after him, running right past Beau, who was coming down the hall.

  “Boys, enough.” Beau grabbed them both by the backs of their shirts. “You don’t have time to be messing around. Get to hair and makeup. Now. Deb is ready to make you beautiful.”

  “When the concert’s done, you better run,” Ryder said.

  Miles grinned and gave him a wave. “See you.”

  “Come on, Kilo, why do you have to piss him off?” Trevin said, calling Miles by his nickname.

  “I don’t know. Maybe because it’s fun.”

  “Yeah, well, we don’t need our bus turning into the site of WWIII.”

  “Ah, I’m just having fun—relax.”

  Relax? Easy for him to say; he didn’t have LJ riding his ass about keeping the band together. And now he had a stupid bet to win, or Ryder would get him into even more trouble. But the opportunity to work with Pierce was too good to pass up.

  …

  “So I’m finally here,” Daisy said into her phone.

  “Please tell me you punched Trevin in the face,” Lena said from the other end.

  “I wish. He actually asked me to hang out tomorrow to show me that the band isn’t a bunch of stuck-up, heartbreaking, and environment-ruining assholes. Can you believe it? Plus, he didn’t even recognize me. Which just pissed me off even more.” Daisy covered her ear to try and shield out the screaming girls. “Right now I’m backstage—which might as well be hell.”

  “You’re flipping kidding me!”

  “No. I wish I was.”

  “So, are you going to start working on your plan for revenge?”

  “Yes—but I’m going to take baby steps. Build up to the big thing. I’ve already got the video of him standing me up packed away in my purse.”

  “Well, turning him down to hang out probably wasn’t a good start, then. It’s hard to get close to someone if you treat him like shit.”

  Daisy sighed. “I know—it was a reflex.”

  “You can pretend to like him for a couple of weeks, it won’t kill you. So I think you should apologize soon and get back in his good graces, or none of this is going to work.”

  Daisy toyed with her bracelet. “I know, but can’t I at least have tonight or even a few days to be a bitch? I deserve that much, right?”

  “Fine, take a couple of days to get the rage out of your system—but don’t you dare back out of this. You’ve been in plotting mode forever. I didn’t just spend our whole last weekend together trying to figure out a plan for no reason.”

  Just then, the guys pushed through the stage door. “Listen, I’ve got to go.”

  “Call me soon. Miss you already.”

  “Miss you too. Bye.”

  Nathan stepped up beside her, taking a mike from one of the stage managers. “Hi,” he said.

  “Hey.” She gave him a slight wave.

  His face turned bright red and he moved away from her. Trevin quickly took his place. With a grin, he glanced down at her. “Get ready to be amazed.”

  Was he serious? “Still waiting.” She smiled sweetly.

  He chuckled, his brown eyes sparkling. The scent of cologne wafted in the air between them. If he thought for one second that flirting with her was going to win her over, he had another thing coming. He might be gorgeous, with his dark hair styled in messy tufts and his sculpted biceps evident beneath the dark blue T-shirt he wore, but she knew the type of guy he was. He’d totally ditched her without a second thought. Guys like that didn’t change overnight—if ever. No
t to mention he probably had a different girl in every city.

  He put a hand over his heart. “Ah, you wound me.” Trevin leaned closer. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re kind of judgy?” His warm breath tickled her ear.

  Her eyes narrowed. “Anyone ever told you makeup is for girls? Oh and by the way, your eyeliner is smudged.”

  Daisy backed away from him and bumped into Miles, who busted up laughing.

  “She’s right, mate—your eye makeup is smudged.” Miles peered down at her, his British accent kind of cute. “Don’t worry, love, I’ll make sure he’s more presentable the next time you see him. Please don’t judge him on first impressions…”

  Trevin nudged him and he winced. “I think we should get onstage.”

  As they walked away, Trevin glanced at her over his shoulder and grinned. “See you later, Daisy. Hope you enjoy the show.”

  Not likely.

  Trevin certainly acted like he was God’s gift to women, but he didn’t know how wrong he was.

  Just then the music started, and the crowd went wild as the curtain opened. The guys lined up, doing some complicated dance routine. Okay, they definitely had moves, she’d give them that. But this wasn’t her scene anymore.

  More than anything, she wished the floor would swallow her up. Standing there, watching Trevin sing and dance, was like throwing salt on an open wound. And if this torture wasn’t enough, the music for “Kiss This” started to play.

  “Hey, come up here so you can see better.” Her dad nudged her forward.

  “I’m fine. I can see everything from here.”

  “Trust me, you get a better view from up here. Besides, you’re here for the summer, which means you’ll get the best seat every night.”

  Daisy noticed she’d been pushed right into Trevin’s line of sight. Son of a bitch—it was like Dad wanted to torture her. She attempted to back up, but her dad put his hand on her shoulder, keeping her in place. Right then, Trevin noticed her, winking as he sang. He did a dance move with his hands where he made it look like his heart was beating and pointed at her.

  Can you say lame?

  A moment later, he turned back to the crowd. Was there no end to his act? God, he was so freaking self-absorbed. It was like he expected her to have some type of reaction to him. Like, just because he’d winked at her, she’d faint or swoon or maybe even toss him her panties.

  She dug her nails into her palms. She’d have a reaction, all right. Tomorrow would be the start of taking this cocky boy down—he wouldn’t know what hit him.

  Chapter Three

  Trevin yawned, slipping into the chair next to Miles. LJ had rented a banquet room in the local hotel so the band and crew could come in for some of their meals instead of having to eat before taking the stage or on the tour buses. It was a definite change from their usual routine.

  “Make sure you eat more eggs, Miles,” Marsha Carlisle said as she walked past their table to one filled with adults.

  “I’m fine, Mum.”

  Trevin chuckled. Marsha Carlisle had been touring on and off with the band since Miles had made it in. She coddled all the boys, which Trevin didn’t mind too much, since his own family was so far away. Ever since he’d turned eighteen, he didn’t need “parental supervision” anymore. Which meant he didn’t need permission, other than from LJ, to go do stuff. He was a free man—or at least as free as he could be while on tour.

  “Yeah, be a good boy and eat your breakfast,” Trevin said.

  “Sod off,” Miles said, “or I’ll sic my mum on you and tell her you skipped dinner last night.”

  Nathan stood in line loading food onto his plate, while Ryder and Will strolled in, both wiping sleep from their eyes. The girls from their opening act, Lexi and Paige from the band Cherry, sat at the end of the table along with several other crew members. But it was the redhead seated across from him who caught his eye. Daisy looked wide awake, unlike everyone else. She had a plate of fruit and plain wheat toast. He wondered if she was one of those girls who starved herself. If so, he didn’t understand why—she was gorgeous the way she was and definitely didn’t need to lose weight. Not that he should care whether she ate or not.

  She raised her gaze and glared at him as if to tell him he had no right to look at her. But instead of glancing away, he grinned. He had a bet to win, so might as well get started. “Morning, sunshine, get enough sleep?”

  “Yep, but I’ve suddenly lost my appetite.” She pushed her plate away, took a swig of coffee, and wrinkled her nose.

  “Not to your liking?” He nodded at her cup.

  “Not really. I’m more of a cappuccino or latte girl.”

  A girl after his own heart. “Maybe we can see if the hotel staff would get you something different. I’m sure if I asked—”

  “No, I’m fine.” She frowned. “I don’t need people waiting on me—besides, I can do it myself.”

  Touché. Did she seriously always have an attitude? Trevin watched her talk with Lexi, and she smiled. A real, actual smile. Okay, so that meant one of two things. One, she really hated boy bands like she’d stated, or two, she just didn’t like him. Problem was he didn’t like either of those answers. In fact, if she was going to dislike him, he wanted it to be because she actually knew him. It bothered him, more than he wanted to admit, that she would base her opinion off of what she thought she knew. He was going to have his work cut out for him. But he couldn’t back out now.

  “You gonna eat, mate?” Miles nudged his arm, his phone already out. He was probably texting his girlfriend, Aimee.

  “Yeah. Anything good on the buffet today?”

  “Well, nothing as good as your mum’s kimchi stew. Ah, just thinking about it makes my mouth water. Do you think maybe she’ll come out to see another one of our shows and bring some with her?”

  “Your mom makes kimchi?” Daisy peered over her coffee cup at him.

  “Yeah. I am Korean, you know—so it’s kind of our thing,” he teased.

  Her cheeks turned crimson, and he immediately regretted being so sarcastic. “My grandma taught her when they still lived in Seoul.” Trevin fidgeted in his seat, reaching for Miles’s napkin, which he tore into tiny pieces. He needed to just get his food and shut his mouth. But as he stood to go, LJ walked in.

  “Okay everyone, I’m making today your day off. It’s been weeks since you had any downtime. Bask in it while you can, because you’ll need to report to the stadium at six a.m. tomorrow morning for rehearsal. You’ve got a new dance routine to learn.”

  “Are you for real? We get the whole day off?” Ryder dropped down beside Trevin, his plate overflowing with potatoes, eggs, bacon, and toast. His eyes shifted to Mia, his girlfriend, one of their newest opening acts. He reached across the table and grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers through hers.

  Ryder was definitely more laid back since he’d started dating Mia. Not that he couldn’t still be an ass—but he kept it to a minimum when she was around.

  “Yep, so use your time wisely.” LJ made his way to the food.

  “Good, I think I’m gonna go back to bed. I haven’t had more than four hours of sleep a night in like three weeks,” Will said. “What are you guys gonna do?”

  “Talk to Aimee.” Miles held up his phone. “Then go crash on my bunk for ten hours of uninterrupted sleep.”

  Nathan mentioned something about going for a walk, then answering his fan mail. He went through every letter personally.

  “If you guys go out, I want your bodyguards with you. Understand?” LJ called before finding an empty seat by the window overlooking the pool. The skeevy bastard was probably watching women in their bikinis swim.

  Daisy pushed her chair back and went over to talk to her dad, while Trevin got up to grab some eggs, bacon, and toast. As he piled food on his plate, he strained to hear what Daisy and Beau were talking about. He needed to pay close attention to the things she liked if he was going to have any chance of winning her over.

  “Can I pl
ease go into town for a while? I found a couple of vintage shops online I want to check out,” Daisy said.

  “I don’t know if I want you going alone—this is a big city.” Beau ran a hand through his short hair.

  “So I’m just supposed to sit in my room all day, every day, and do nothing?” she snapped at Beau.

  Did this girl have a constant attitude with everyone? Or maybe just the males? They headed back toward the table, Trevin close behind.

  “I can go with her.” Trevin sipped his juice as he took a seat.

  Daisy spun to face him, a frown crinkling the edges of her lips. “What?”

  “I’ve got a few things I wanted to check out anyway. I’ll just throw on a disguise and go with her.”

  Miles grinned at him, then leaned over and whispered in his ear. “I see what you’re doing here, mate. Even if the others don’t. You want to get her alone. Go on, tell me I’m wrong.”

  “You’re wrong.” Trevin shoved a bite of toast in his mouth. He figured if he did something nice for Daisy, maybe she’d give him a chance to get to know her. If not, then he might be kind of screwed on the Ryder front.

  Plus, Trevin wanted some time away from everyone and everything, without a bodyguard trailing him, making it more obvious who he was. Not that he minded being Trevin Jacobs “the celebrity”—but sometimes it was nice to have time alone. To be able to enjoy life without a crowd of screaming girls around every bend or paparazzi looking for their next big story. And much as he hated to admit it, being with Daisy, who wasn’t in the band, might help, too. He spent so much time with the guys that sometimes he wanted to have a break, or at least some time with someone he didn’t see twenty-four seven. Then maybe later he could work on a song he’d been trying to write on his guitar.

  “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.” Beau glanced at him over his protein shake. “There are lots of crazy people out there.”

  “I promise, if things get hectic or someone recognizes me, I’ll call for backup.” Trevin finished his food and shoved his plate away.

  “Fine. But if anything happens to Daisy, I’m gonna come talk to you.”

  “Really, Dad?” Daisy rolled her eyes. “You act like I’m five and don’t know how to cross the street on my own. Trust me, I can handle myself.”