Page 37 of Filthy Rock Stars

“I’m glad you’re a secret Trekkie,” he says, his sweet voice purring. “It’s one of the reasons I thought I could trust you at first, ridiculous as that sounds. It’s right up there with you being a reader.” He grins. “Both indicative of a secret sweetheart,” he teases.

Fuck, hearing that he trusts me hurts. I didn’t earn that.

“Oh yeah?” I manage. My voice is rough as I bury my emotions, but I manage a flirty smile. “Glad I brought it up, then.”

I want to say so much more. I’m not sure if it’s the emotional hangover after yesterday’s rage or what, but the way I want Prince right now feels raw and desperate.

Except I can’t have more with him, whatever more is, so I do the next best thing.

I take him in the woods, and I give him everything I can.

CHAPTERELEVEN

NICO

It’sthe end of another full week with Kissing Dirt, and I’m totally relaxed.

We’re at the studio, the squat brick building where we always meet. Mare and Star are sitting on a love seat, playing around with their guitars and coming up with lyrics that make each other laugh. Case is sprawled across an armchair, casually reading a novel on his device as he half-listens. He and I both toss out our own lyrics every now and then, and we laugh at the jokes.

It’s songwriting. This is work, I keep telling myself.

But it doesn’t feel like work. It feels like getting together with a group of friends. It feels like the point is just to have fun, and when beautiful songs and catchy melodies emerge, all the better.

They’re still major rock gods, and I’m still regular old me, using a vacation day from the Museum to spend my afternoon here, an interloper from the normal world. It’s a disorienting reality. World tours, massive stadiums, public appearances—enough to give me hives.

But here in the recording studio, drifting in and out of playing music together, I find something that’s been missing in my life.

My phone buzzes, yanking me from my thoughts.

Solo: Hey, quick question. Are there any openings on your research team?

Me: Won’t the vampire hunters miss you if you quit?

Solo: Fuck ‘em. My bosses smell like garlic, and they pissed me off again. Royally this time

Me: As soon as we get this teleportation machine up and running, I’ll zap you over

Solo: Deal

I grin. Our running jokes are so dorky.

“Oh. My. God.” Mare’s voice is stunned, and I dart my eyes up to see her staring at her phone.

Star gasps. “I can’t believe it.”

Case and I both sit up straight. He gives me a confused glance, and I shrug.

“They released a diss track,” Star says, stunned.

“Forbidden Destiny?” Case asks. “About us?”

Mare shakes her head, staring sadly at the phone. “Do we even want to listen? Maybe we should just ignore it.”

She sounds wounded, which surprises me. She’s such a powerful person, and for the most part, this feud has seemed to roll off her back.

“Maybe it’s not that bad,” Case offers helpfully. “Are you sure it’s a diss track?”

“You’re right,” Mare says, nodding to herself. “Let’s just listen and get it over with. Right?”

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