One More Time Read online

  Well, not that anyone would refer to Jared as prince charming. He was more like the Emperor of Cockiness and apparently Spectacular Orgasms, although providing the latter must run in their family. I quickly shut down the Caleb-direction my thoughts were taking and focused on Alicia.

  We hadn’t had a good girls’ night out for a while, so we’d decided on dinner and a chick flick. I should’ve known better than to agree to a romantic comedy with my head-over-heels in love sister. In fact, I should’ve suggested a horror flick if I was going to avoid the sappy conversation we were sure to get into within the next few minutes, if history was anything to go by.

  “Don’t you think it was just so sweet the way he went after her?” Alicia asked, still smiling dreamily. “Every girl deserves a love like that.”

  “Except most guys wouldn’t be able to get through airport security to stop her from getting on that plane,” I pointed out. “Although I guess your guy would’ve been able to.”

  Alicia giggled and nodded. “Probably. Jared would be able to convince an Eskimo they needed to buy ice from him, if that was what he wanted.”

  “Poor you,” I teased. “You’d never be able to get away.”

  “She wasn’t trying to get away,” Alicia exclaimed. “It was a misunderstanding. That’s all.”

  “Those seem to be common in relationships,” I remarked, thankful that if nothing else, there were no misunderstandings in whatever it was Caleb and I were doing.

  “That’s my point. Communication is really important in relationships. If there isn’t proper communication, then misunderstandings are bound to happen. In that way, the plot was kind of realistic, don’t you think?”

  “Realistic if you’re a hopeless romantic. Why would she forgive him just because he runs after her?” I enjoyed a good romantic comedy as much as the next girl, but mostly, the plots just depressed me.

  Alicia’s jaw dropped, and she spun to face me. “She didn’t forgive him because he chased after her. She forgave him because he came clean. Cleared up all the misunderstandings and then told her the god’s honest truth.”

  “Even so,” I said as we stepped onto the busy sidewalk outside the movie theater. It was a clear, balmy night, and the streets were alive with activity. Alicia and I hooked arms and headed off toward our favorite Mexican place just a few blocks over. “After all that, he told her the truth, and voila! She forgives him for everything?”

  “Haven’t you ever heard that love is forgiving?” Alicia countered. “It conquers all.”

  “You mean it conquers psycho stalkers that try to kill you and rock stars with their heads up their asses about their feelings?”

  She rested her head on my shoulder as we walked and squeezed me tighter. “Well yeah, there’s that too. But it worked out all right in the end, didn’t it?”

  “It sure did,” I told her, smiling because if anyone truly deserved happiness, it was Alicia. As nauseating as the two of them might have been together at times, it was super cute. “Good thing you believed in romance, right?”

  “I didn’t, though. Not really. I believed in being practical, not romantic. But then I bagged a guy that I never would’ve imagined before, and he might be annoying and frustrating at times, but I really do love him.”

  “I know. You two are great together.”

  “We are,” she mused. “What about you? Are you dating anyone at the moment? It’s been a while since you last told me about going out on a date with someone.”

  We reached the restaurant, and the bell above the door jingled as we went inside. Alicia’s question had made me nervous, and I appreciated the respite that arriving at the restaurant had given me to think of an answer while we were seated. The place wasn’t too busy, with only a few other diners scattered around, so we didn’t have to wait for a table.

  I didn’t want to lie to my sister, but Caleb and I weren’t dating. We weren’t really going out on dates either. We had meals together for interviews, or so we kept telling ourselves, and that was it. But if I said that, it would still feel like I was lying. I didn’t know why.

  Alicia and I were shown to a table just off the center of the room, the smell of garlic and spices in the air. We ordered nachos and a pitcher of margaritas, then sat back in the wooden chairs, and Alicia waited for my answer.

  “So, dating?”

  “Oh, yes. I mean no. I’m not dating anyone. I’m focusing on my career for now, new job and all. It’s pretty demanding.” As was the man I was sleeping with. It felt like we were spending a lot more time together than “fuck buddies” or “friends with benefits” or whatever, but Caleb had made it very clear that we weren’t dating.

  He had, however, invited me over later.

  I hadn’t decided if I was going to go yet. I had a lot of work to get done, but on the other hand, my body started buzzing at the very thought of going over to his place. It was a tough choice to have to make, but really no choice at all.

  Alicia was watching me closely, then nodded and poured us each a margarita when the pitcher arrived. “I hear you. New jobs can take up a lot of time, but I’m still kind of new too, and I’m making it work. You deserve to have some fun, even if you just go out and get some. Doesn’t have to be a relationship.”

  “Says the engaged person,” I teased, taking a sip of my drink. As always, the margaritas here tasted amazing. Just the right amount tequila and a thick rim of salt around the top. Yum.

  Alicia rolled her eyes and gave me a pointed look. “I wasn’t out to get married, you know? It was just supposed to be a bit of fun at first.”

  “And look where that got you.” I snagged a nacho off the plate that the server dropped off and pulled a stray bit of cheese that was hanging off the end between my teeth before popping the rest in my mouth.

  “Yeah, but it doesn’t have to be that way if that’s not what you want right now. Although there’s nothing that says you can’t have success both romantically and professionally if that was what you wanted. Want me to ask Jared if he knows anyone we could set you up with?”

  “No,” I answered immediately. That was the last thing I wanted. Even if Caleb and I weren’t dating, he was sure to hear that Jared and Alicia were setting me up with someone, and I wasn’t quite ready to let him go yet. “I’ll think about going out on a date once I wrap up these articles I’m working on. Happy?”

  “For now,” Alicia said, but I could tell she was going to bring it up again soon if I didn’t do something.

  “How about this? I’ll think about giving dating a chance if you start planning your wedding?” Score one for the home team, I silently congratulated myself.

  Alicia shot me a look, sighed, and popped a few more nachos into her mouth, washing them down with her drink. “Fine, I guess you’ve got me there. I’m still too busy at work to even think about it.”

  “You see what I mean?”

  “I do.” She grinned. “Hey, at least I’ve got the part down that I have to say at the end, right?”

  I giggled and snagged the last few nachos. “Sure, but you’ll have nowhere to say it if you don’t start planning soon, since I’m guessing you never confirmed that venue?”

  “Remind me why we can’t just get married in the courthouse again?” Alicia grumbled thoughtfully.

  “Because you’re marrying the Emperor of Rock. That man isn’t going to let the day go by without making a huge spectacle of it.” Her fiancé, true to his profession and the role he played in his band, had something of a flair for the dramatic. He’d even proposed in front of hundreds of people at a press conference that was being streamed live.

  “I hate that word, spectacle,” Alicia complained, before finishing off her margarita. “But it’s a fair point. Okay, so you think about dating if I start planning the wedding. That’s our deal?”

  “You got it. A date for a wedding.” It sounded so much simpler than it actually was. Why the hell did I have to go tumbling into something as complicated as casual sex with a freaking
rock star?

  Then Caleb’s dark eyes and sinfully sexy body played in my mind’s eye, and I was reminded exactly why.

  I was so screwed.

  Chapter 13

  Caleb

  “I love your TV,” Allie—Abbey?—gushed. The redheaded groupie was standing in the middle of my living room, looking around like she was in Disney World for the first time. My vision was swimming a little from all the shots I’d had earlier with Nick and a bunch of women he’d lined up, and I was already regretting the headache I was going to have in the morning.

  I’d brought Allie the groupie home with me because I was trying to convince myself that I wasn’t exclusive to Kelly, and Nick promised that Allie sucked cock like a vacuum cleaner, but mine wasn’t responding to her at all.

  “You do? What’s so special about it?” I had no idea why she was fawning over my television, or why she was eyeing my couches like they’d been spun from gold. I’d gotten them years ago, and despite Jared always being on my ass about replacing them, they were comfortable.

  Allie’s giggle permeated my slightly drunken haze and grated my nerves. She twirled a lock of hair around her index finger and skipped back to where I was leaning on the doorframe. “It’s yours, silly. That’s what’s so special about it.”

  “Oh. Right.” Millions of other people had the exact same thing. Mine was no different. This was why groupies annoyed the shit out of me. I’d even caught one trying to steal a closed roll of toilet paper from my trailer once. Why?

  “What’s that?” she asked, pointing to my gaming consoles, green eyes wide as they met mine. They weren’t as bright as Kelly’s, more watered down and—

  No. Allie—or Abbey—was here so that I wouldn’t think about Kelly. I was trying to work up to fucking this woman, ditzy and annoying or not. My dick was becoming addicted to Kelly, and I couldn’t have that. Kelly and I weren’t exclusive. It was time my dick got up to speed on that.

  “That’s my X-box,” I answered. “Wanna play?”

  “With you?” she asked, moving closer to me.

  “Sure, why not?”

  Clearly, Allie had a different idea about what kind of playing I was suggesting. She grabbed my dick and squeezed. Hard. Then she giggled again and licked her lips.

  Christ.

  I gently extricated myself from her before I lost my favorite appendage and moved out of her reach. She was becoming more annoying with every passing second, but maybe I just had to get her to relax a little. “How about some music? What kind of music do you like?”

  “Destitute. Duh. You’re such a silly billy.” She cooed, following me to my music player’s docking station. Planting her hands firmly on my ass, she pressed her body to my back and tried to peek at what I was selecting. “Instead of playing something on there, why don’t you give me a private show?”

  “Sorry, sweetheart. I’m supposed to be resting before the tour if I’m not in practice.” It was bullshit, but there was no way I was playing for her. If I wasn’t playing for Destitute, playing was a private thing for me.

  Jared and I both started out in music because we loved it and it kept us out of trouble, and it was still my reprieve. Sure, I made my money and spent a huge amount of time playing to crowds of thousands, but when I wasn’t, my guitar was for me and me alone.

  It gave me space to think, to create, to make sense of things. That wasn’t something I shared with anyone. I figured I shared enough of my music that I had the right to keep at least some things to myself.

  Allie pushed her breasts flat against my back and snuck her hands from my ass to my hips, her fingers brushing the waistband of my jeans. If her intention was to turn me on, she was failing miserably.

  “Come on, just one song,” she said, her tone becoming high and whiney. “I won’t tell anyone.”

  Well, at least I wasn’t the only one bullshitting in this room. If I played anything for her, no doubt it would be all over her social media before the last notes even faded.

  “I know you wouldn’t, but it’s manager’s orders.” I shrugged and tapped on an instrumental version of a song by a band that I’d been into for a while.

  “But I love Destitute so much. It would be amazing to hear you play just for me. You guys are the best.”

  I chuckled dryly. “Not by a long shot. There are some fuckin’ amazing musicians out there. We’re just doing the best that we can to contribute.”

  “No, you guys are fucking amazing musicians,” Allie protested, finally letting go of my hips when I shifted to move out of her grasp and collapsed onto my couch. “Being a rock star must be so, so cool. I’m so jealous of you guys.”

  “Why? It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I can promise you that.”

  Allie’s eyes grew wide as she sashayed over to the couch. “I think you’re just being modest, Caleb Larsen.”

  “That’s something I’ve never been accused of.”

  She laughed and sat down beside me, turning so she was facing me with one of her knees bent on the couch. “Good, then I’ll be the first. I don’t believe for one second that you don’t have the best job in the world.”

  “It’s not bad for a job, I guess,” I conceded. “But it’s also not what people think it is.”

  “Are you saying you don’t like it?” Allie asked, looking slightly disgusted by the possibility. Good thing I didn’t give a fuck what she thought.

  “Sometimes I don’t like it, yeah.”

  Her pink mouth formed a perfect “o” as she raised both her eyebrows. “Now I don’t get that at all. You have it all, the fame, the glory, the money. You get invited to all the best parties. What’s not to like?”

  “All of the above?” I ventured, but Allie was shaking her head. “Let me give you an example. Say you go to a music festival where all your favorite bands are playing. Do you want to watch them, or just know that you’re going to be in the same general area where they’re going to be playing at the same time that they’re playing?”

  “I want to watch them,” Allie answered immediately.

  “Exactly. So do I. Jared and I started Destitute because we fucking love music. It was never about any of the other stuff. Now when we play those festivals, we don’t even get to see the other amazing bands playing. It’s all about the other stuff.”

  Allie shifted while I was talking, staring at the lights of L.A. blinking down in the distance. When I turned my attention back to her, she’d taken off her top and was rising up on the couch to straddle me. “I don’t think you started the band for the music. I think you did it for the women. I know all about your reputation, Caleb. It doesn’t seem to me that you’re too worried about the music when you’ve got the girls.”

  Her comments made me bristle, but I pushed it down. There was an objectively hot girl on my lap, her perky little lace-clad tits right in my face and her eyes begging me to fuck her. I owed to it my teenaged self to let the irritation go and revel in the moment. “The girls have been pretty damn awesome.”

  “I bet.” She wiggled her tits in my face and her ass in my lap. Still nothing. My dick was as limp as a dead fish in my pants. I blamed it on the alcohol and tried to shake it off to clear my head, even if I knew I’d never had a problem getting it up before, half-dead drunk or not.

  Get in the game, Larsen. Get the fuck out of your head.

  “I’d also bet you know how to show a girl a great time,” Allie chided, tucking her small feet under my thighs. “You’ve had enough practice.”

  “That I have,” I acknowledged, placing my palms on her thighs to let them do their thing. Only, they didn’t move. Allie seemed encouraged by the fact that I was now touching her and egged me on, putting her hands on mine and dragging them higher up to the hem of her denim shorts.

  “So many women and still so shy.” Allie cooed when I slid my hands out from underneath hers as they reached the rough edges of her denim.

  “I’m the furthest fucking thing from shy.” When I was with a woman that did s
omething for me, at least. “If you had any idea how many women I’ve fucked, you definitely wouldn’t call me shy.”

  “What is it then? You don’t like sex?” She tilted her head. Then she reached behind her back, unhooked her bra, and threw it off. Her breasts were small but round. Her nipples dusky pink and erect, and yet I had no desire to touch them. Or to pull them into my mouth.

  Just nothing.

  “I love sex, but it just doesn’t quite satisfy me anymore.” Fuck knew why I’d told her that. Allie seemed surprised too but not discouraged. She smiled what was probably supposed to be a naughty, sexy smile, but it looked kind of like a sneer. Then she slid to her knees.

  I stared at her for a while, realizing that I couldn’t go through with it, just as she told me, “Let me satisfy you.”

  “Put your clothes back on, Allie. I’ll call you cab.”

  Sitting back on her heels, her confused eyes met mine. “What?”

  “I said put your shirt back on and let me call you a cab.” I pushed up off the couch and headed across the room to grab her shirt and her bra, handing them back to her.

  “You don’t have to do that. I don’t have to leave yet. Don’t worry. Just sit down. You just need to relax. I’ll make it good for you.” She stood and pushed my hand with her clothes in it away.

  “No, Allie. This isn’t happening. You gotta go.” I ran my free hand through my hair as I tried to figure out how the fuck to get her out of there.

  “Come on, Caleb. I’m already here. Just fuck me already.” Her wide eyes were begging, along with her tone. If she’d had any chance of changing my mind, she’d blown it by begging. That wasn’t my bag, not in that way.

  It disgusted me actually. “Really? Just fuck you? You should have some pride in yourself. Don’t stoop to that level. It’s beneath you.”

  She looked stunned, then hurt, and anger filled her eyes, and the next thing I knew, her tiny palm connected with my cheek in a slap that barely stung. I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t help but laugh at her attempt.