Page 4 of Rock Strong

“Was he a friend of yours?” she asked.

Man, she really didn’t know us from a hole in the wall, did she? Refreshing! “Tucker? He’s our drummer. You’ve probably heard of Tucker the… You know what? Never mind. And that guy right there…” I pointed to the guy in the pool who’d been wrestling with Jacob in front of her before they’d both fallen in. “That’s Corbin Ross, our bassist.”

“Right. What about Wesley Shaw?” she asked.

“Wes?” I scanned around for our lead guitarist, but he was more the private type and was probably upstairs in a bedroom taking his pants off as we spoke. “I don’t know where Wes is. Probably better that way.”

“Well, you’re wrong. I do need you,” she said, clearing her throat. “For something, that is. My paycheck,” she clarified, breaking out another thin smile.

“Ha, ha, good one.” I grinned. Then, because I’d talked to everyone at this party except for her, I sat my ass against the edge of one of Robbie’s potted plant things, crossed my legs, and studied her—the way she scoped around, trying not to notice the naked people in the pool, as if hoping horse blinders would appear on the sides of her face.

I wanted to put my arm around her and tell her it was going to be okay. The lifestyle might be a little crazy, but we were basically all good people.

We’d never had a string section on tour with us before, but back in December, I told the guys that I thought Save Me Tonight and Never Again could use some instrumental backup onstage. Other bands did it for their live shows, and their songs were all the richer because of it. Wes, Tuck, and Corbin had been on board, but the hard part had been convincing Robbie. He’d thought it would give us too serious an appearance, like an older band wanting to grow as musicians when we should still come across as bachelor playboys. He’d finally relented, if only because I insisted, so I was really bummed to have missed the string rehearsal this afternoon. Unfortunately, there’d been a thousand and one things to do before we headed for San Francisco. But if I’d known Abby was going to be there…

“Well, I just wanted to say thank you…for employing me.” She laughed in a really cute nervous way, hands clasped in front of her. “I look forward to the tour starting tomorrow.”

“You’re welcome. Thanks for doing an awesome job…you know…playing the cello.” I pretended to hold an oversized cello upright and slide an imaginary bow across the strings.

She reached out, placed her small hands over mine and corrected my wrist, swerving it back and forth. “It needs to bend, like this, in order to keep the bow straight.”

“Oh. Gotcha.” I did my best to imitate her hand movements, but the truth was, I couldn’t focus on anything but the touch and feel of her hands on mine. “Thanks for the tip, Teach. I’ll see you at the buses tomorrow.”

She smiled, and holy shitballs, Batman…Tucker was right—she looked like the girl from the happy massage place, yeah, but ten thousand times prettier. Without hardly any makeup, without her hair done, with most of her body covered, too. It was hard not to imagine her dressed in something shorter, tighter, with maybe a pair of black patent leather boots up to her knees and some cherry blossom red lipstick outlining that perfect mouth.

My brain shivered.

“Will do. Have a good night.” She turned to leave then stopped and faced me again. “And thanks for stepping in earlier. That was nice of you.”

“Anytime.” I gave her my best smile, and she walked off, joining a tall, leggy blonde waiting for her nearby. I wondered if she worked for me, too. But my interest in the blonde was fleeting.

Abby was smaller in stature, but the impression she’d left on me was huge.

Again, I pictured her naked and playing her cello.

And like a string, I quivered.

Once the party died down, I meandered through the house, wondering where everybody was. Even Helen usually followed me around—had since middle school—but tonight, she seemed to be missing in action as well.

I headed upstairs to Robbie’s guest bedroom where I’d be staying tonight. All four of us would be sleeping at the house. It was tradition the night before a tour, and though I wasn’t fucking hammered as balls as I usually was, I was tired and ready for bed. I opened the door and spotted Corbin in there, half-naked with the pool chick he’d been sucking face with earlier. Actually, I’d been with her before, too, but I fucking forgot her name. “Hey…uh…both of you,” I said. Man, I was out of it. I’d completely forgotten about the threesome Corbin had planned for us tonight.

“Bro! We’ve been waiting for your ass,” Corbin cried, holding out his arms to welcome me. He sprawled out on the bed with Pool Chick lying alongside him, her upper half propped up, as though she’d been kissing his chest before I opened the door.

“Yeah, Liam, bring that hot ass over here.” She beckoned with a glittery silver fingernail.

I distinctly recalled the feel of those sharp nails digging into my ass at some point. Oddly enough, the memory didn’t have me hardening. Didn’t even have my dick twitching with mild interest. “Wow, you know what? I totally forgot about this, uh…meeting, and I’m actually kind of tired. So you guys party without me.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Corbin’s eyebrows flew up. “Dude, Bella wore her good-luck bikini just for us, for the tour.”

Bella, that was her name.

“Yeah, Liam.” She reached back and undid her bikini top, freeing the most beautiful set of perfect tits the world’s eyeballs had ever seen. “You sure you’re tired?”

Okay, so I wasn’t dead. A stirring in my pants called to me.

Corbin cocked his head. “Dude, it’s bad luck if you don’t help me. I mean, look at her. Clearly, I need backup.”

I laughed. “You’re man enough to handle her alone, Cor.”

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