Burning Up (36 page)

“Ego, you big-headed douche,” I finished.

“That’s not what you were calling me last night. I believe last night you prayed to every deity known to man. Or was that just me you were calling god?”

A loud banging on the door caught our attention.

“Ollie! It’s almost five. Seriously dude, fuck her when we get back!”

Eric’s frantic tones were echoing through the door.

“Slave driver calls,” Ollie said, rolling his eyes.

Climbing off of him, I watched in awe as he pulled on his clothes and packed a bag.

He picked up my clothes that were sprawled on the floor and threw them at me playfully.

“Better get dressed or prepare to be drooled over by Nick.”

Getting myself dressed and presentable was hard when every five seconds I was looking at the clock and counting the minutes till Ollie would be leaving me once again.

“Stop thinking about it,” he said looking over as he tied his sneakers.

I poked my tongue out at him and he laughed. “I’m gonna miss that tongue. I’m gonna miss that mouth. Last night was out of this world, and that mouth of yours will have me reeling for weeks.”

I smiled and took a bow. “Good.”

Holding out his hand for mine, Ollie opened the bedroom door.

“Come on. Time to go.”

I placed my hand begrudgingly in his as though not doing it would keep him there. It was ridiculous, but I just wasn’t ready to let him go yet.

Walking out into Eric’s cluttered and typically indie rock star, apartment, I rolled my eyes. Nick was sprawled out on the couch with his drum sticks clutched to his chest and his feet hanging over the arm. Taking the sticks from him and being careful not to wake the beast, Eric held them in the air, high above his head before whacking them against the soles of Nick’s feet. He hit him so hard that they made a swooshing sound as they moved through the air at rapid speed. Nick sat bolt upright and yelled out in pain as Eric threw the sticks at his head.

“Get your lazy ass up! I am not missing that fucking ride because your deadbeat ass can’t get up and be ready on time!”

Rubbing his head, Nick winced. “I’m ready, dude.”

Ollie raised an eyebrow at him. “Dude, you’re not wearing pants!”

Nick smirked. “I’m just making it easier for all the ladies to get into them. I’m like a boy scout. Always prepared.”

I rolled my eyes and groaned.

Nick stood up and walked around the couch to stand next to me, putting his arm around my waist.

“Oh, Layla. You make the most wonderful noises. For the record, did he answer you in the end? You know, God?”

My eyes widened, and I blushed with embarrassment.

“Don’t be embarrassed. I almost came in my pants just listening to you. It was like porn without the visual, but my imagination did a great job all on its own.”

I cringed. “Eww.”

Striking Nick on the head, Ollie pulled me to him.

“Sicko. Keep your hands
and
your imagination to yourself.”

Nick chuckled. “Can’t. Every time I close my eyes, oh, she’s naked!”

Opening and closing his eyes several times, Nick continued to rile Ollie up.

“Nick, I swear to God I will ram your drum sticks so far up your ass, you’ll be pulling them out of your throat.”

Laughing, Nick winked at me and began searching for his pants. Eric was walking around the apartment frantically with a list in his hand that he was reading aloud. Letting go of me, Ollie walked over to him, gripped him by the shoulders and shook him a little.

“Eric, relax. We’ve got this shit. You got your guitar, right?”

Eric nodded.

“Then what else do we need? They want to hear our music, not go through our fucking luggage. Jeeze. You two are gonna cost me my fucking sanity.”

I smiled as Eric swatted playfully at Ollie and Nick, hopping as he pulled up his pants, joined in, getting Ollie into a head-lock and messing up his new haircut.

“Looks who is talking, boy band!”

Ollie’s new ‘do had earned him the nick name after Amy had remarked that he looked more like a member of N-Sync than a rock band.

“Get off of me, douchebag!” Ollie shouted. They were like children, and as I watched them, I couldn’t help the sinking feeling I had. I would miss them all so much. They were everything being young and free were about. A loud beeping from outside stopped the rough housing and rushing to the window, Eric groaned.

“Urgh, it’s only Mel and Amy.”

I smiled. “
Only
.”

Picking up their bags, the guys headed down the stairs to the front door and out into the parking lot. Mel and Amy were standing beside Mel’s car, and as the guys walked out, the two of them whistled and cheered at them like groupies.

“Oh, my god! It’s DOA!” Amy teased, bouncing up and down.

Turning around and walking backward, I winked at Ollie playfully. “Oh, that Oliver Green is so dreamy. I’d happily play with his instrument for hours.”

He grinned at me and played his lip ring between his teeth.

“Hold that thought for a while.”

Nick lifted his hands in the air and nodded in appreciation of the applause.

“Thank you ladies, please form an orderly line. There’s plenty of Nick to go around.”

Eric threw his head back and laughed. “Yeah, and none of it worth having.”

Squaring up to Eric, Nick scowled at him. “I resent that. I find your comment offensive and insulting.”

Eric pushed him away and lifted his foot up to kick Nick in the behind, but Nick jumped forward just at the last moment and avoided a kick in the pants.

“I find your breath offensive and insulting. Dude, for the sake of the rest of us, suck a mint,” Eric said, waving his hand in front of his nose.

Mel and Amy rushed over to give me a hug, and whispering into my ear they asked about my evening with Ollie. I giggled and glanced back to make sure he wasn’t listening. His ego didn’t need any more inflating right now.

“It was amazing. I told him how I felt, and I’ve asked him to think about it.”

Amy’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious? You gave him a free pass while he’s away?”

I rolled my eyes. “I wouldn’t call it that. I just asked him to think it over. He’s going to be a star, guys. He’s going to have women throwing themselves at him, and I don’t want to be the ball and chain stopping him from having fun if it’s what he wants. I’ll be devastated, but I have to let him choose. For once, it’s not my choice, it’s his.”

Mel shook her head. “You’re crazy, but I get it. But you have no idea what you’ve set yourself up for. When you left, he was fucking anything that moved. That guy has a serious sex drive and low standards if you ask me. If it had tits and a pulse, he fucked it.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Mel, cut him some slack. It was a rough time for both of us, and he handled it the only way he knew how.”

Holding her hands up in front of her, she conceded. “You’re right. Okay, totally cutting him some slack and giving him the benefit of the doubt.”

Smiling, I kissed her cheek. “That’s why you’re my best friend.”

Amy cleared her throat loudly and placing a kiss on her cheek, too, I chuckled. “You know I love you,” I teased.

Letting out a long sigh, Amy stared at the guys as they talked animatedly about Florida.

“You all right, sweetie?” I asked, trying not to seem nosey.

She nodded weakly and gave me a halfhearted smile.

“I was just thinking how things are going to change now. DOA isn’t the six of us anymore. We were honorary members, and now it’s just them.”

I draped an arm around her shoulder. “And every time they swan back into town, we’ll be the six members of DOA again.”

The three guys strolled over, and Ollie slid his arm around my waist, leaning into me and whispering in my ear.

“What was that all about?”

I shook my head. “Amy’s getting sentimental. That’s all.”

He nodded and smiled before releasing me and grabbing Amy’s hand to pull her in for a warm hug. Her expression was one of both happiness and sadness.

“I miss you already, Amy. Keep my mic warm every Friday, okay?”

She sniffled away her tears and giggled at him, wrapping her arms around his back.

“Sure thing, rock star.”

Letting Amy go, he turned his attention to Mel who was trying desperately to seem unmoved by it all and failing miserably.

“See you around butt munch,” Ollie teased.

“Catch you later, emo dick. Don’t forget your mascara.”

Running his fingers through his hair, Ollie chuckled and nodded. I nudged Mel in the ribs, and rolling her eyes, she threw herself at Ollie and clung to him as tears streamed from her eyes. It was ugly crying. Mel had suddenly become a big ole ball of crazy.

Amy, Nick, Eric, and I exchanged glances as we watched Mel claw and cling to Ollie who was trying desperately not to fall over.

“Mel, sweetie, let the poor guy breathe,” Amy said, trying to yank Mel’s hands from Ollie’s back.

“I just can’t help but think of what could have happened to him, and now he’s leaving to be a huge rock star. He saved my best friend’s life.”

Finally able to pry her off of Ollie, Amy gave Mel a comforting hug. “Jeeze, I ask for a little emotion and I get Niagara Falls!”

I threw my head back and laughed. Mel was never the emotional type, and this was almost too good to be true. It seemed once that dam of hers had been chipped away, it was an uncontrollable flow of emotion and tears.

“We should probably invest in a mop for the apartment,” Amy joked.

Taking my hand, Ollie pulled me away from our friends to the edge of the sidewalk.

“Layla, I don’t need to think about this. I know what I want. I want you, just you and me, no one else. I’m done with all of that shit.”

I shook my head at him. “How do you know that? You’re about to go away for three months with two guys. You think I don’t know what kind of temptations will be thrown your way. I don’t want you to feel like you’ve missed an opportunity and resent me.”

Pulling me flush against him, he kissed me.

“I’m going to be with a dirty horn dog and a guy who’s so fucking tense about getting this right that I’m wondering if it’s he who has one of Nick’s drum sticks up his ass.”

I giggled and smiled at him.

“Layla, it’s going to be fine. What’s the worst that could happen?”

A large bus pulled into the parking lot and caught our attention immediately. It was enormous, black, and had the R.J. Littman logo printed along the side. Eric, Nick, and the girls rushed over, and as the doors opened, a short and curvy red head stepped out. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were puffy from a clear lack of sleep.

“Hi, you must be Eric. I’m Charlie Fitz, your new contract manager.”

She was British! Holding her hand out for Eric’s he took it and shook it enthusiastically.

“That’s me. This is Nick and that over there is Ollie.”

She smiled at each of them and then pointed at us girls. “And you’re the wags?”

I gave her a confused look.

“What did she just call me?” Mel said with an irritated tone.

“Wags. Oh, sorry. Wives and girlfriends,” Charlie clarified.

Mel and Amy shook their heads enthusiastically. “Hell no!”

Charlie turned her attention to me, and putting his arm around my waist, Ollie nodded. “She is.”

I couldn’t hide my glee. I must have looked like a lunatic as I stood there grinning.

Nick moved closer to Charlie, and pressing his palm against the bus, he leaned in, leering at her cleavage. “That’s right, only blue balls over there is off the market. I’m totally available.”

Holding up her left hand in his face, Charlie smiled sarcastically. “Mrs. Fitz.”

Ollie and Eric snickered as Nick shrugged and walked away with his tail between his legs.

“So, you guys ready to go?” Charlie beamed.

Giving each of us a quick hug, Eric and Nick loaded their instruments onto the bus. Ollie gazed at me, holding my hands in his. “It’s going to be fine. Trust me.”

I nodded at him, and just as I was about to kiss him goodbye, the sound of heels clanking on steel grabbed my attention. Staring at the bus, I watched with surprise as a pair of long legs, a short denim skirt, and a pair of enormous breasts emerged from the doorway. A tall, dark-haired woman with a leather belt and fishnet tights stood in front of us. I looked to Ollie who was staring, wide-eyed and shocked, at her. Looking around at us all, she smiled and stepped off of the bus. Her eyes locked onto Ollie, and striding over, she grabbed him by the collar, pulled him to her, and kissed him!

I stood frozen and watched in disbelief.

Releasing the love of my life from her grubbing claws, she winked at him.

“Hi, Ollie. Long time no see.”

Glancing quickly back at me, Ollie stuttered and stammered. “I … uh.
Shit
.”