Page 10 of Dirty Rock

Without further explanation, Coops pushed himself to stand and walked over to Julia before he leaned into the phone and shouted his congratulations to Presley and Tessa.

I drained my beer bottle, feeling the need for escape creeping in. We were in another fucking city in another fucking state, while Tessa and Presley were living out their little Playboy fantasies on some beach somewhere, getting each other off with promises of forever, eternities, and sex on tap.

It pissed me off that I was stuck here with these dipshits, caged up like a damn circus animal.

When my beer was empty, I dropped it to the floor and ran my palm over my forehead, closing my eyes. Tiredness wasn’t something I coped well with. It seemed almost lazy for me to sleep. Like I was missing out on the dream and not taking it in.

“You doing okay, Rhett?” Dicky asked, perched on the edge of his sofa, eyeing me.

“Yup.”

“What are your thoughts on Tess and Presley getting hitched?”

I dropped my hand on the arm of the sofa. “My thoughts are that I wish everyone would shut the fuck up going on about Tessa and Presley getting hitched.”

Dicky smirked, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“Ah, this is going to be so beautiful,” Julia sang, dropping in to place beside me, her hands landing in her lap as she clutched her phone.

“Jules, this, here, is the quiet sofa. The ‘we’re not here to discuss veils and tiaras’ sofa. The ‘fuck right off over there where the happy people sit because we want to stay miserable’ sofa.”

“Look at my face, Rhett. What do you see?” She leaned closer.

“I see pride. I see power. I see a badass motherfucker who don’t take no crap offa nobody,” I recited in my bestCool Runningsvoice.

“Hilarious. Now look at my hand. Tell me what you see.” Julia raised her hand slowly, her middle finger standing proud as she brought it in between our faces.

“I see an instrument that could be used to tickle my balls if its owner was willing.”

“The only orifice this would go is up your nostril to poke some sense into your brain.”

“I might like that.”

“None of your kinks would surprise me.” She flopped back, kicking her feet up on the coffee table between both sofas. “I’m so happy for our friends,” she said with a feminine dreamy sigh. Jules closed her eyes with a dopey smile on her face, and I was about to say something sarcastic when she rolled her head my way and looked up at me. “Do you know what I love the most about them? I love how Presley always gets so nervous before Tess walks into a room.”

“Nervous?” I frowned.

“Yeah. You know. He’s always been this super confident guy. Nothing ever got under his skin. Not until she came back into his life, and then all of a sudden, there he was, getting nervous every time she walked away and every time she let herself get close. He got weaker and she grew stronger. It was incredible to see the way love changed them both. I guess that’s when you know.”

“Know what?”

Jules looked away from me and stared off into a daydream before she whispered, “That you’ve found the one. It’s when the butterflies never take a day to rest.”

“I have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about.”

“You wouldn’t,” she muttered quietly.

Within seconds, Julia had turned her attention to the other members of the band who all seemed happy to talk to her about love, romance, and all that other dating crap I couldn’t get onboard with.

I looked around at every one of them. At ordinary, boy next door Coops. At tall, dark and hairy, rugged Big D. At bald as fuck Hawk with his tattoos on his head, and at Dicky, our manager. They were all half asleep, smiling dopily as Jules went on and on about how this wedding was going to be so good for the band’s image. Blah, blah, blah.

I couldn’t care less.

Internally, I was the pacing lion in that circus cage, and the rest were docile monkeys and elephants, unaware they were still able to create enough noise to protest about this capture we’d found ourselves in. The bars we were kept behind were hotel room walls. The spectators dying to prod us in our bellies and make us roar were camped up outside this building, waiting for us to attack. We were being watched around the clock and fed when management told us it was time to be fed. And now they were trying to throw us all in tuxedos and make us smile for the camera while Tessa pranced around in a white gown and veil.

Fuckthat.

“Christ, when did you all become such pussies?” I snapped, looking at each and every one of them as Jules fell silent. “I don’t care if Presley’s getting married. I couldn’t give a rat’s arse about Tess saying yes. I’m not remotely interested in the big white wedding. You know why?” I paused and rose to stand, holding the tension in the room like I held the crowd at a gig. “Because I’m still on the train I was on three years ago. I’m focused on the band, on the music, and on making history. If it isn’t about lyrics, beats, or the tour, I don’t care for it. It’d be awesome if some of you fuckers could get back on board with me and get your shit together.”

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