Page 20 of Aria

Devon moved in dangerously close."Fuck you, Hayes.I like her.But what would you know about that? It's all about the chase for you."

"It's all about the music," I corrected him, choosing to ignore the barb despite the way my hackles rose. "I thought we were on the same page. The band comes first."

"Isay what comes first.Imake the rules. And if you fuck with my personal life again, you're out."

My jaw clenched as Devon stormed off down the stairs with his cell phone to his ear.I gripped the balcony rail, my knuckles turning white.Arguments with Devon were nothing new—I knew I was playing with fire tonight.But I also knew Devon's threats were always empty. We’d been through far worse together and had still managed to maintain a cordial working relationship and friendship.

Scratching at the base of my neck, I made my way down to the dance floor to find the girls, quickly spotting them dancing their hearts out to an upbeat song.Chelsie looked drunk, but she was keeping her balance as she jumped up and down to the music. It was obvious what Devon saw in the woman—she had a perfect mix of sweetness and sass.I decided that the sass only came out when I was around, and I was okay with that.

And as far as looks went, Chelsie was hard to beat with her slender physique, ivory skin, and emerald eyes.

I shook my head, not liking where my train of thought was going, before eyeing the room for any sign of Devon. Not seeing him anywhere, I sighed in defeat and pulled up a bar stool, signaling the bartender for another drink.

An hour went by and not much had changed.

"I'm not going anywhere!"

I turned to see Chelsie putting up a fight with Julia.Lisa approached me then, groaning with dismay."She's been doing this all night.We can't seem to get her off the dance floor."

"Yeah, I sure as hell thought she'd be passed out by now,” I shrugged. “The girl's got spunk—I'll give her that.”

Lisa’s features contorted with worry. "I'm not sure what to do.I don't want to make a scene."

My jaw ticked as I glanced up at Devon, who was now sitting alone on the balcony, texting furiously."You know, Devon and I can take her home.I was the one who got you guys into this mess." Apprehension settled in the red-head’s eyes, so I smiled warmly. "Seriously, she'll be okay.We'll get you and Julia a limo, then take Chelsie home when she's ready."

Lisa gave a nervous nibble to her lip. "Are you sure?I don't want to inconvenience you guys. You've been so good to us already."

"It's not a problem," I said.

I planned on giving full “Chelsie Duty” to Devon.

"Okay," she relented."I'll go get Julia."

I watched as the two friends discussed the plan before veering back in my direction.

Julia stormed at me with her hands on her hips. "If I turn on the news tomorrow morning and find that Chelsie was left for dead in a ditch somewhere, I'm hunting you down. I'm only trusting you because you're rich and famous. And hot."

"I appreciate the sentiment," I chuckled. "The limo is outside." My shoulders sagged as I watched my evening of sin walk out the door and sighed wearily, knowing I only had myself to blame. "All right, Water Girl, let's get you to your babysitter for the night…" I mumbled. When I turned to collect Chelsie, she had disappeared back into the crowd. "Damnit."

My eyes perused the dance floor, trying to pick her out from the rest of the petite blondes packed into the room, coming up unsuccessful. Panic crept up inside me, knowing I was a dead man if I didn’t find her fast. I pushed my way through the dancing bodies, my eyes on high alert. The music was loud. Fog and bright lights were making me dizzy, and the beers I’d just downed were creeping up on me."I am so fucked," I muttered to myself.

Five minutes later, I was right back where I started after being roped into scribbling seven autographs onto cleavage after a crowd of women spotted me—only, I was missing the one woman I'd offered to take responsibility for.

"Sir?"

I spun around to find a bouncer standing in front of me. "Yeah?"

"Sir, I think your friend is in the bathroom. We really need her to leave.She's passed out in a stall."

My teeth ground together. "Blonde hair, white dress? About ‘yay’ high?" I gestured just over five feet.

"That's the one."

Releasing a bitter chuckle, I headed toward the bathrooms.All eyes were on me as I entered. I pushed open each stall door until I found Chelsie lying sprawled out over one of the toilet seats.

Awesome.

"Jesus, woman, you're really making my life a living hell."Chelsie was motionless and I was running out of options, so I picked her up and carried her out of the bathroom, having every intention on handing her off to Devon.

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