Page 1 of Bred By the Rock Star Next Door

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KACI

TEN YEARS AGO

Irise up on my toes, trying to look over the heads of all the people in line in front of us. At my height, it’s an ambitious endeavor. But I’m pretty sure I see what I’m hoping to see.

“I think the line’s moving,” I gasp, grabbing my best friend’s arm with excitement.

Savannah looks up from her phone. “Finally. It’s been a million freakin’ hours.”

Technically, it’s been six hours, but I know it’s felt a lot longer than that to Savannah. She’s a fan of Astral Velvet, but she never would have waited this long in line to see them perform live if it weren’t for me. I’m the one with a bedroom lined with their band posters. I’m the one who has every lyric of all their songs memorized by heart. I’m the one with the ridiculous crush on the lead singer.

Rationally, I know there’s a zero percent chance that Devon Reeve will fall madly in love with me and propose to me and we’ll live happily ever after…

…but it’s pretty fun to fantasize about.

As the concert line starts to slowly shift forward, Savannah puts away her phone and threads her arm through mine.

“You aren’t going to pass out when you see him, are you?” she teases.

“Very funny,” I say, giving her a dirty look.

“I’m serious, Kaci! You are obsessed with the guy. For you this is like stepping through the pearly gates of heaven or something.”

“I’ll be fine,” I say.

Savannah laughs. “You are so giddy right now. It’s adorable.”

“I’m just excited for the concert!” I insist.

“Uh-huh,” she says, obviously not buying it.

As soon as we get into the concert venue, my heart starts beating faster. I’ve been looking forward to this day for months, and it feels a little surreal to finally be here. We make a beeline down the concourse to the restrooms—after standing in line for six hours, we both desperately need to go. As I’m peeing, I hear some girls at the sinks talking about how hot Devon is.

“I bet he’s slept with, like, thousands of girls,” says one of the girls.

“So? I’d still do him,” says another.

“Of course you would,” says the first, laughing. “You’re so dick-crazy, Kylie.”

“You’ve seen his bulge, right? The man is hung.”

Hearing them talk like that makes my stomach clench. When I’m alone in my room, staring off into space as I listen to Astral Velvet through my headphones, it’s easy to forget that they have millions of adoring fans across the world. And that a whole lot of those fans probably have the same fantasies as I do about Devon Reeve—although some people’s fantasies are probably a whole lot more explicit than mine.

I know it shouldn’t matter. It’s not like a famous twenty-eight-year-old rock star would ever be interested in an eighteen-year-old nobody like me. I just…I don’t know. Whenever I listen to their music, it feels like Devon is singing directly to me, you know?

But, of course, everyone probably feels that way.

The girls are gone when I emerge from the bathroom stall. Savannah gives me a questioning look in the mirror.

“What’s up?” she asks. “Did you just get your period or something?”

I force a laugh. “Nope. This bathroom is just gross, that’s all.”

We quickly make our way back out to the concourse and then into the performance area, which is huge and spacious. People are starting to gather in front of the stage, but Savannah and I hurry up and manage to grab spots right up front, too.

“Dude, this is awesome,” says Savannah, grinning at me. “The six-hour wait was worth it after all.”

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