Page 9 of I Need You Tonight
Chapter 4
Mason
The next morning I opened my eyes to find myself in a bedroom that wasn’t mine, with morning wood that rivaled any I’d ever had. Light sneaked through the blinds, creating a striped pattern on the floral bedding—which, thank God, wasn’t the same nauseating pink as on the wall and floor.
Memories of Zack’s sister looking as hot as hell in her panda pajamas sneaked into my head, as did the memory of wanting to kiss her—neither of which offered any relief from my current below-the-waist situation.
I climbed out from under the covers, quickly dressed, and went downstairs. In the living room I retrieved my phone and checked my messages. Kirk had texted me to ask where I’d bailed to last night, since I’d said goodbye to Aaron and Tomas but no one else. Kirk had been busy with Beckie when I left, Nolan had been preoccupied with Hailey…and I could hazard a guess where Jared and Callie had disappeared to.
Not wanting to explain about last night, I simply replied,Visiting a friend.
Zack had also sent me a text:Thanks for checking on Nicole.
You’re welcome,I typed, and hit send. I shoved my phone in my back pocket and headed for Nicole’s kitchen.
Suddenly in the mood to cook, something I didn’t get to do enough of while touring, I rummaged through her fridge. Normally I wouldn’t make breakfast for a one-night stand. I was more like the screw-’em-and-bail type. But since Nicole and I hadn’t fucked, I was pretty sure she wouldn’t have an issue with me making us breakfast.
Besides, my stomach was doing its impression of a starving grizzly bear, and I had no idea how long Nicole would sleep.
I removed cheddar cheese, eggs, asparagus, mushrooms, and red peppers from the fridge and placed them on the counter. Then I started the coffeemaker and began chopping the vegetables for the omelet. My phone pinged. Kirk had responded to my text.You’ll be back in time for the tour, right?
Of course.
For the past several years I’d been busy with the band, touring, recording our first two albums, then promoting them. There hadn’t been enough time to recover before the cycle started again. I needed a brief break from being a “rock star.” I needed a brief break from the groupies and tabloids and L.A.
Even if it was just for one day, I needed to be a regular person—something I hadn’t been in what felt like a lifetime.
I poured myself a cup of coffee and got to work on the omelet. The water from the tap drip-drip-dripped in the sink.
While I ate my breakfast, I whipped up an omelet for Nicole, then hunted around for tools to fix the sink.
