18
Ihadn't known what to expect when I arrived at the address Cameron texted. Another expensive high rise condo building like Noah's, perhaps.
What I hadn't expected was an enormous mansion with loud pounding music vibrating from every door and window. Drunk party goers were laughing and falling over themselves on the front lawn, which was perfectly landscaped, aside from the beer bottles and trash littering the grass. Dozens of paparazzi were hanging around on the sidewalk out front, no doubt as close as they could get before officially invading private property.
As soon as I stepped out of the taxi, flashes went off in my face. I brought a hand to my face to shield my eyes. As soon as the media realized I was a nobody, they backed off, ignoring me completely.
As taken aback as I was, I had to admit this kind of thing was exactly what I should have expected from Cameron Throne, reputed to be the party animal of the bunch.
A bouncer stood guard at the front gates, tall, beefy, and intimating. I gave him my name when asked. I wondered for a second whether I'd even be on the guest list when he went to check his clipboard, but he gave me a nod and ushered me in.
The front door opened onto a vast foyer with five times as many drunk people inside as there had been out on the front lawn. I was torn between excitement and nerves. I wished I'd invited Ivy or Nat to come with me. They no doubt had experience with this kind of thing, although I knew their boyfriends Ren and Morris were a lot less crazy partiers than Cameron Thorne was known to be.
The moment I stepped through the door I was greeted by a group of drunk guys who tried to pull me into a game of strip football. I didn't know how exactly that would work, but I declined and made my way into the next room as soon as possible.
A random stranger thrust a beer into my hand with cheer and a grin. The top was on, so at the very least I knew it wasn't spiked. I still laid the beer down on a side table as I made my way towards what I assumed was the kitchen. I didn't want to drink this early in the night. I needed to have my head about me if I wanted to have this conversation with Noah. If I could ever find him among the throng of drunken party goers.
I caught sight of a tall blond in the corner and recognized him as August. I squirmed through a crowd of people to get to him. They mostly seemed to be talking about music and their work on the latest album.
"Excuse me," I said, sliding through an empty space.
August nodded when I caught his attention. "Hello, Jennifer."
I was still brought up short by how beautiful this man was. His platinum blond hair complimented his ice blue eyes. Eyes that looked like they could see into your very soul.
I gave myself a mental shake. "Hi, August." It felt weird to call a celebrity by his first name. He had always been August Summers to me. "Do you know if Noah is around anywhere?"
"I think I saw him out back near the pool." August gestured to the others in his circle of followers, indicating that they should leave us alone. When they dispersed he shot me a careful glance.
"How's it coming along?" he asked quietly.
"It?"
"Noah's song."
Tension spiked through me. "It's going fine. Great, even. He's working hard on it."
"I hope he isn't giving you too much trouble with yourconsulting." He stressed the last word, giving me an oddly penetrating look.
He knew. August definitely knew I was writing the song for Noah. Did he know we'd had a fight? Maybe August knew everything that went on in the band.
"Noah's not too bad once you get to know him." I was lying through my teeth of course, but I didn't want to bad mouth August's fellow bandmate in front of him.
"If you ever need help getting through that thick skull of his, let me know."
"Actually…" I wondered whether I should tell August what happened. The thought of confessing our sexual escapades and subsequent falling out was embarrassing enough that I found myself flushing. No. No one could find out about that. "We had a bit of a misunderstanding. I'm trying to find him so I can clear things up."
"Please be patient with him."
I blinked. "Patient?"
August nodded. "He can be difficult to work with."
"I've noticed."
"Like I said. If you ever need any help."
"I'll remember that. Thank you."
