Page 131 of Sky Full of Stars

“Why did you get ribs?”

“I didn’t realise you’d be ready to go, we have,” I look at my watch. “Shit, an hour.”

“Yeah, better get a wriggle on, where is that apron mom got you?”

I laugh at the visual of her in her expensive gown and make-up wearing the apron with a hamster riding a triceratops dinosaur her mom gave me for my birthday. Hurrying to the bathroom, I strip and shower, shave and sort out my hair, and despite the guys not wanting to dress up, I pull on charcoal grey dress pants with a crisp black shirt. I leave the top two buttons open and roll up the sleeves, putting my leather bracelets and rings back on. My boots aren’t perfect but they’re not the battered pair of sneakers I normally walk around in.

Jenna wolf whistles when I come out to the kitchen where she has carefully managed to eat some of the ribs without dirtying herself up. She comes and lightly kisses me, and I can taste the ribs. I grip her waist deepening the kiss by thrusting my tongue in her mouth. She willingly allows this for about five seconds, then flustered, pulls away, her chest heaving slightly. I love that she can’t get enough of me.

Her phone beeps and she checks it. “Limo’s here,” she smiles. “You got everything?”

“Yep,” I follow after her towards the door where she grabs her keys and a purse, slipping everything inside. “Oh shit, no.”

“What?” she looks back at me.

“I forgot my phone,” I say, feeling as if my face is giving everything away but she just rolls her eyes and tells me to hurry up already. I run back to our bedroom and open the closet. On the shelf that runs above the clothes rail where we pile shoe boxes and other crap, I feel around for the small box I hid up there three weeks ago.

It shows how fucking nervous I am I nearly forgot the damn thing. I grab a leather jacket and tuck it into the pocket, zipping it up to make sure I don’t lose it and wonder for the hundredth time if I’m being an asshole planning this in front of everyone we know.

Jordan is dancing with my mom, who looks fabulous in her 1950’s cherry covered swing dress, her hair piled up in victory rolls. She’s wearing her red glasses and has bright white Doc Martins on. I shake my head at their antics as I sip champagne and look around.

We’re in mom’s neighbourhood, the band rented out the four thousand square feet Old Brooklyn Bank and Vault for the party. There are cathedral style windows on one side and original exposed brick on the other. Various different music genres play through the music system which is linked to the LED lights making everything that much more authentically rock party. Archer raved about how there is studio space available to rent here, which made Adam’s brows lift because Archer was the hold out on returning to New York for good.

There are people filling the main floor and the two mezzanines, including press, bloggers and vloggers, industry people and friends and family.

“This is so awesome,” Brooke says beside me, holding her champagne glass up to me to clink together. “Although I’m still pissed about Jordan and-”

“My mom?” I cut her off. I know she doesn’t mean it, but I really like Alessa and she’s been great for Jordan, he needs someone to tame him. Being in a relationship with her, together with my mom’s influence, he’s really toned down his antics of late. Much to the fans disappointment but the guys all love this new mellow Jordan.

“Yeah,” Brooke grins but it turns wistful. “Everyone is pairing up, I’m gonna be a bitter old spinster before you know it.”

“Are you serious?” I huff. “Brooke there’s about ten guys looking at you right now.”

“Who? Where?” she glances around.

“Well, for one, Ciro from Red Alert has been eyeing you up for the last ten minutes.”

“Which one is he?” she tries to be discrete, but that isn’t one of Brooke’s best attributes.

“Faux hawk, tribal tats, padlock necklace. Fuck me eyes lasered in on you,” I grin. “Want me to introduce you?”

“Is the Pope catholic?”

But I don’t need to make introductions because Ciro is already on his way over, and I’m pretty much forgotten as they start talking. I don’t know him that well but Adam says everyone from the band is great. I bump into Meg and Joey and give them both big hugs.

After a seriously anxious few weeks, and a number of other victims of Michael’s coming forward in support, Megan miraculously wasn’t charged for killing her ex-boyfriend.

Brooke came up with tons of evidence and invoked the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act in her defence. Of course, it helped that the whole thing was tied to the band, as much as Bianca felt it was bad press for BreakNeck, it was also a stroke of luck for Megan’s defence. Not that the fans or press could sway the legal system, but both Megan and I were in imminent danger from a man who’d already attacked us, wielding a deadly weapon with full intent to kill one or the other of us, if Megan hadn’t acted. He didn’t live at the address so it was classed as breaking and entering too. Despite Meg’s relationship history with him, they couldn’t disallow a self-defence claim as he wasn’t a resident of the property.

I wasn’t sure of all the legal details, I was glad she wasn’t in prison for it. And that, against all odds, she’d managed to forge a relationship with Joey, a man who used violence as a career choice, but treated Meg like a queen, and it was beautiful to see her transformation with him. Sam even relented on their relationship within the gym, although there was never to be any ‘canoodling’.

Adam finds me as it gets closer to midnight, he needs to be seen with and speaking to various different people at the event, and there always seems to be a camera on him and the other guys most of the night, but he always has one eye on me when we’re apart.

He takes my hand and leads me onto the dancefloor, holding me close and nuzzling his nose against mine. “Missed you,” he hums. “They’re about to reveal the album cover,” he indicates above us to a huge screen taking up half the wall. There are smaller TV screens around the space which will also show the picture. He’s kept the reveal from me too, the little shit, but I’m excited to see it now.

“Do you need to go stand somewhere for it?” I ask.

“I’m right where I need to be,” he tells me, wrapping his arms around me so his fingers rest above my ass. “There is a VIP room upstairs, we’re gonna head up there after the reveal and a few songs, just family and friends.”

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