Page 12 of Finding Emotion

“Jimmy?” Damon snorted. “He’s been with me from the start. Long before any of this shit. Besides, there’s no way he’d say some romantic shit like ‘Your Match.’” They’d been privy to each other’s conquests over the years, and if Jimmy had some long-term crush, they’d been together too often for Damon not to pick up on it. “No, Jimmy’s solid.”

Malcolm frowned, not ready to let the theory go. “He didn’t seem too happy about your thing with Skylar.”

“I can’t blame him. He’s been vocal about his crush on her the whole tour.” Damon winced as he wondered again if Jimmy had realized what Skylar was up to on the jet. He rubbed his fingers against his forehead. “Besides, that just happened yesterday.” The stalker had left the first present about ten months ago.

“Your tour is over, right?” Trenton asked.

“Yeah, and I kept my destination as wrapped up as I could.” The delayed flight in the airport hadn’t helped.

Trenton nodded. “So maybe you’ll get a reprieve.”

Damon wanted to consider it a possibility but shook his head. “Not likely. With the Skylar crap going viral, I expect the paparazzi to find me soon enough. That’s why I’m staying at a hotel and not with any of you.” He smirked. “That, and not wanting to hear the headboards smacking the walls now that you’re all getting laid regularly.”

Blake groaned from behind them. “Please, like you’re one to talk with all your groupies.” He shuffled over before collapsing onto the stool next to Damon, clutching his head. “Remind me not to try to outdrink Nick again.”

Nicholas sat gingerly on the stool on the other side of Blake. “Please, not so loud. And you were the one that kept pushing drinks on me.”

Blake managed a grin. “Because you’re a hoot when you loosen up.”

“Last night, you mentioned the situation with Skylar was fake,” Trenton said, pulling Damon’s attention back to him. “Does that mean you don’t see any possibility there?”

“Bite your tongue.” Malcolm laughed, though. “It’s bad enough that Blake and I are now brothers by marriage. I don’t need to take on Damon as a brother too.”

“You know you love me.” Blake made a kissing noise.

“You’re ready to propose to Jami?” Damon asked.

“Eventually.” Malcolm shrugged. “When she’s ready. She’s just starting to live life again, and I don’t want to tie her down. But we know we’re it for each other.”

“That’s nice,” Damon said, meaning it. He stared down into his coffee. “Skylar is way out of my league.”

“Don’t sell yourself short.” Blake smacked his shoulder, which made him wobble on his stool.

Nicholas steadied him with one hand as he frowned. “Isn’t Damon the bigger headliner?” He continued to prop up his head with his other hand. “At least, that’s what Erin told me. I don’t know much about the music industry, but even I was impressed when I saw your rankings in the charts.”

“I do well enough,” Damon said, wanting to leave it at that. Besides, he had meant she was out of his league in another way entirely, but admitting as much to his friends was a rabbit hole he preferred to avoid. Not even they knew he avoided living the rock star lifestyle, especially when it came to sex. He envied them for the happiness they’d found. All he had was his music, though that wasn’t a small thing. He loved making music.

He slipped off his own barstool. “I’d better go crash for a while.”

Trenton also stood. “I’ll drive you.”

Damon accepted, knowing Trenton would be the last one to push at his boundaries. He waved at the others before unlocking the tavern’s front door and squinting against the rising sun.

Skylar fingered her guitar chords as she hummed the new melody. She was a little in love with it, but damn it, the beat still sounded off. Soft somehow. That served her right for using Damon Lynch as inspiration. No wonder it had turned into a pansy-ass song.

That wasn’t fair, she admitted to herself. Her newest creations had sounded different, losing the anger that had pushed her firmly into her grunge label. After the fiasco that had caused her swift exit from her band, it hadn’t been hard to channel the energy her hatred for Jack had given her. Though she wasn’t just angry at Jack. She was a piece of shit too.

Instead of any of those feelings, she kept imagining the other night, when she had sung the chorus to her fan. There had been very little of her normal energy in that moment. She’d be a liar if she said the fan hadn’t touched her heart. Being able to touch the fan’s in return made her feel good. That moment wouldn’t leave her alone.

Her fingers shifted, a new riff following. She didn’t have words for it yet, which was unusual. Normally the words came first, and she forced them onto a melody. This sound had a sad note, like she should be fucking depressed to be living her dream.

Skylar stopped playing and set the guitar aside. The music room at the college had plenty of mirrors. She didn’t mind the way she looked, but was kind of indifferent to it too. Hell, being sexy was more an art form than a feeling. She sold better if she showed some skin and kept the right figure. The people she chose to fuck complimented her often enough.

The thought reminded her of how she’d gotten Damon off on the plane. She’d teased him about his cum tasting like candy, but it had tasted just like any other guy’s. That should have helped her to put him out of mind. Instead her scalp tingled, as if remembering his gentle touch.

Which was stupid. She fucking hated gentle.

She groaned as she slumped over onto the carpeted floor. The soundproofing of the room was better than some of the places she’d practiced in before. She traveled too often to have high expectations, but the local college hadn’t skimped on their music department. She doubted they got much out of it. Her hometown wasn’t out in the sticks, but it also wasn’t a big city. Just a normal place with normal fuckwads living their normal lives. So boring she could die.

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