Shouldn’t this be a one-night-only kind of deal, and he sends me off? A wave and a quick thanks-for-the-memories smile. Isn’t that what rock stars do?
Thinking is impossible with my heart pounding so hard it drowns out reason. My tongue feels thick and clumsy, useless as I try to form a response. The coil of tension in my stomach tightens, twisting until it’salmost unbearable. I can’t seem to catch my breath—has all the air been stolen, or did the fire between us burn it away?
Sully runs the back of his hand against my cheek. I close my eyes, leaning into his touch. I don’t want this to end. The ghost of his touch still lingers on my face. My skin misses his kisses, his bites. One night, and I’m already hooked.
He leans in closer, whispering into my ear, “Please come,Engel. I don’t want to go without you. I’m not a fan of Las Vegas.” His fingers tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. I know deep down I’m a goner.
Sully brushes his nose against mine, his lips hovering just out of reach. “We can have dinner, take a walk…maybe more of this…” His fingers glide over the nape of my neck, sending a shiver down my spine. A slow, pulsing heat builds deep inside me, coiling tight and relentless.
“Okay,” I say between his feather-light kisses. “I’ll come.”
What did I agree to? I’ve lost my mind.
He crushes me in his arms and holds me tight as if I’d vaporize if he didn’t keep his hand on me. I inhale his sweet yet spicy scent.
Another concert. More kisses. More of what we did last night in that bed. My body is a little sore, but heat spreads through my veins at the idea of doing it again. Me being his and him being mine. For the weekend. I can do it. For once in my life, I’ll be the girl who throws caution to the wind. It appears I’m headed to Vegas.
8
“Pleasewaithere,andI’ll see what the holdup is.” Sully gingerly squeezes my knee and flashes a grin that awakes a flurry of butterflies inside me.
“Okay,” I reply as he steps out of the limo and closes the door. The rest of the band stands in a group with their luggage at their feet next to a bright red private jet with a whiskey logo of their tour’s sponsor splashed across its side.
My body trembles from head to toe. I can barely hold my phone without dropping it. While waiting, I call Alice to let her know I’m still alive and not to wait up for me. She’ll rake my body over the coals in a few days for my disappearing act and not spilling any details about it.
Holy shit, I can’t believe this is happening. What am I doing? Never in my life have I jumped the gun and gone on a trip with a stranger. It takes me weeks to plan anything, and I don’t even have a change of clothes. This is madness.
The phone ringing in my ear grounds me back to reality. On the fourth ring, she yells, “Where the hell are you? You call, and then you hang up on me! I call back, and your voice mail comes on. Who—”
As she rants, I lean forward, checking to see if Sully is still talking with his band, then settle into the leather seat, running my fingertips over the stitching where Sully was a moment ago. “It’s a long story. My phone died earlier. I’m safe.”I think.“But I’m not coming home this weekend.”
“Wait, what?” Alice screams into the phone, forcing me to pull it away to save my eardrum.
After a couple of heartbeats, I say, “I’m with Sully.”
“Sully?” She pauses as the name clicks and she sucks in a breath. “Holy shit! You called him? You hooked up with a bass player? I told you he—”
“Yeah. I put myself out there, and it was…”Thrilling? Mind-blowing?“Rewarding…”
She snorts. “I bet. In all kinds of ways,” she chuckles.
“Alice, please,” I say while peeking out the window. Sully and his bandmates greet another guy dressed in black who appears to be the pilot. A nervous breath escapes my lips. My middle finger and thumb run along my eyebrows over and over, trying to help me gain control over my anxiety, but it’s not working. My skin crawls as my nerves snap like livewires. My left leg won’t stop bouncing, and I’m sweating too much. It’s not even hot, but my bra feels like a swamp, the curse of big boobs. I can’t be this spastic on the plane with the entire band in small quarters; they’ll think Sully picked up a stray from the mental hospital.
The line muffles as Alice shouts, “My roommate isn’t dead!” Her voice isn’t directed at me. I hear a female voice in the background but can’t make out what she replies.
“Who are you talking to?” I ask, trying to keep my voice from cracking.
“Oh, Emily,” she laughs. I can picture her waving me off like it’s no big deal. “She came over after The Rainbow Pony and since you weren’t home...”
I bet she was real worried about me when she noticed I was gone. So much so that she cried on her girlfriend’s shoulder. Yeah, right.
“She wants to come to the restaurant and see your show. Being a marine biologist, it’s great research and—”
A frown bends my lips. “Is that a mermaid joke?”
She snorts. “Duh! But she really does want to see the restaurant. You were kidding about leaving this weekend, right? Because we’re thinking of ordering in. Do you—”
“Actually…I’m at an airport right now,” I say, twirling a piece of hair around my fingers until my heartbeat pulses in my fingertips. “We’re going on a quick trip to Vegas.” I glance out the window, watching Sully laughing with his band as the rest of their gear is loaded. He steps back, motioning to the limo. He’s going to walk over here and open the door any second now.
