Page 11 of Stuck With My Rockstar Boss
“But we gotta go out! We’re the fierce foursome!” Jay cries.
Everyone sounds like they’re talking underwater.
“Fierce Foursome?” Chase asks.
“That’s what Entertainment Tonight called us,” Jay proudly announces.
Dylan’s voice comes through the fog. “Luke, what’s wrong?”
“All I’m saying is we gotta go out. As a team. Partying is like a sport and if you do it right, you can burn just as many calories,” Jay says. Chase pushes him on the shoulder and they playfight.
I feel Dylan getting closer and it’s making me feel hot, burning all over and not in a fun way. I feel like I’m being incinerated from the inside out. “Lucas–”
“Enough!” I say, feeling my pulse in my temples. “I’m not going out! Leave me the fuck alone!”
The guys go silent; in the background, a newscaster discusses an accident on the highway. I stare at the toes of Dylan’s shoes.
I try to catch my breath. “I mean…”
“Fine, then.” He lifts his hands in surrender. "But you know where to find me if you need me,” he adds retreating to go finish his shower.
I nod, but I can’t make eye contact. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Jay and Chase. They are staring at me like they’ve seen a ghost.
“Okay, man. We’ll…” Jay starts, “…see you later tonight then. Maybe. Who knows. You know Miami.”
Chase follows Jay out. I sit back down and put my head between my legs. I read online that this works sometimes. I wrap my arms around me and try to take deep breaths.
This is going to be a long tour if I can’t figure this out.
6
Mika
I stretch out along my beach towel, gazing out at the Atlantic. The ocean is bluer than blue if that were possible. Beside me, Lucas lies face down on a towel, a sheen of sunscreen on his back, making his skin glimmer. He had me rub it in for him earlier. I ran my hands along his broad shoulders, his trapezius muscles, the small of his back. It almost felt intimate if it weren’t work.
Who am I kidding, it felt intimate even though it’s work.
It’s a Wednesday. Even though the beaches are always busy in Miami, it’s less busy than I thought, which is great for our purposes. Of course, we’re rather out in the open and if the paparazzi get wind of this we may be in a world of trouble. It’s not evidence or proof if we’re just hanging out together. It would just blow our cover. And I feel responsible for making sure Lucas’s situation isn’t any worse than it already feels to him.
“You mind if I go down to the water and stick my feet in?” I ask.
Lucas grunts affirmatively. “Go ahead. Doubt anyone can recognize me with my head in the sand.”
I laugh. It’s true. He’s face down and has an army green sun hat on, the kind dads wear while gardening. Unless someone recognized the splotch of the tattoo on his shoulder blade, a spiraled snake that seems to dip over and under his skin. It looks like it cost a lot of money for how artful it is. “Okay. Let me know if you need anything.”
He holds up his hand and gives me a thumbs up.
I go down to the shoreline and dip my toes in the frothy spray. Chillier than I expect. I move out a little farther, relishing the feeling of the wet sand under my feet, until the water is up to my ankles. I stand there, basking in the Miami sun. The expanse of the ocean is so intimidating. The fact that beyond it, the rest of the world is calling. It fills me with hope, this call to adventure. Maybe someday I’ll have the money to do it on my own. Go backpacking through Europe, hike up Kilimanjaro, snorkel through the Great Barrier Reef.
Maybe someday.
“Beautiful day.”
I look askance. An older man appears in my vision, tanned to the gods, with hair that’s silver at the temples. Even though he’s much older than me, he’s got a body that a thirty-year-old could be jealous of. He smiles at me. Way too white.
“Yeah,” I say with a smile and then look back out at the horizon.
“Just visiting?” he asks and takes a step closer to me.
