Page 22 of Rock Star

We went to our separate dressing rooms. I cooled down my voice and followed the guys to the hospitality area where we met with selected fans. I was just about to go and find Phoenix when Jake appeared with a reporter.

An interview was the last thing I felt like doing and I almost flipped him the bird.

But I didn’t, of course.

ChiMera business always came first.

The guys and I sat in a circle and answered the reporter’s questions.PhoenixI rode to the nightclub in a chauffeured SUV with Joe and the members of Vanilla Sky after I’d gotten the message that ChiMera would join us as soon as they’d done a press interview. Camila, Hayley and the backline boys had already left for the villa in the helicopter. After our appearance at the club, the guys and I would be driven back in the rented cars.

Somewhat upset at being abandoned by my bandmates, I sat next to Thea on the back seat. “Great show,” she said, smoothing down her red hair. “We watched from the wings and loved every minute.”

“I did the same while you were on.” I smiled despite my sullen mood. “You were incredible.” And she had been. Her harmonious lead vocals had blended beautifully with Ethan and Violet’s guitars and Liam’s drumming. Vanilla Sky’s sound was familiar yet at the same time highly original, I decided.

Liam turned around to face us from where he was riding shotgun. “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” he said with a cocky grin.

Ethan, their guitarist, had his arm around Violet, the bassist. I shot Thea a glance, and she must have read my thoughts. “Liam’s my brother. We started the band together then met these two.” She indicated toward the loved-up couple. “How do you like working with the bad boys of rock?”

I knew better than to reveal any information I shouldn’t have done. Axel, Rhys, Foxy and Zach were no longer the out-of-control coke addicts they’d been in the past from what I’d seen, but I didn’t wanna narc on them. “It’s been fun so far,” I said, and left it at that.

We lapsed into silence for the rest of the ride. All day, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Axel calling off our bet this morning. Obviously, he’d come to his senses. I’d thought I would have been relieved, but I wasn’t. Stupidly, my heart had felt like it was shrinking in my chest.

After kissing me, he must have decided I wasn’t worth pursuing.

My lower belly clenched.

No one had ever kissed me like that before.

My skin grew hot as I remembered his mouth taking possession of mine, our lips pressing together while our tongues tangled. Shamelessly, I’d pulled at his hair and opened up to him, my pulse drumming. Then, when he’d said I was addictive I’d shied away like a little girl. Must have been why he’d called off the bet. He’d realized I was inexperienced and he wouldn’t enjoy fucking me. My breath caught on a sigh and my thoughts flittered like moths around a flame.

At least the show had gone without a hitch. Full of unforgettable moments. The crowd’s electric energy had crackled throughout the stadium during the bridge of ‘Live, love, lose.’ And I’d loved watching them move in unison all through ‘Ghost in the Heart’, crouching down when Axel directed them and then jumping up like one body at his command. It took my breath.

HE took my breath.

I stared out the window of the SUV, and the beauty of Milan’s historic center distracted me momentarily… massive floodlit churches, market squares and elegant buildings.

Cameras flashed as we rolled to a stop outside what I presumed was the nightclub. Joe leaped out and did his best to shield us from the paps, but when they saw we weren’t ChiMera they swiftly lost interest. The doormen let us in and Joe led us upstairs to the VIP lounge, where we sat around a table in the corner of the room.

I was still wearing my sparkly outfit from the concert, thankfully. Everyone in here was so well dressed, the ambience classy and elegant, the décor sumptuous.

“I’m in the mood to get rat-arsed,” Liam chuckled, signaling to a cocktail waitress.

I tilted my head to the side. “What does that mean?”

“Extremely drunk,” Thea laughed. “If CM are picking up the tab, let’s go for it. We can sleep all day and be right as rain by showtime tomorrow.”

I wasn’t sure about getting drunk, but my bruised ego needed bolstering. Maybe I should be celebrating Axel calling off the bet? I could focus on my career from now onward with no further worries. Except about my mom, of course.

Nothing new there…

“We’ll have a bottle of your best Prosecco,” Liam told the waitress.

I asked what that was, and they explained it was an Italian sparkling wine a little like Champagne. I’d never drunk either before… but kept that fact to myself.

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