Fame (10 page)

“Damn right you will,” he smiled. “Now are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

Needing a little more comfort, she got off of Kaid’s lap and sat on the couch with her legs propped up on the couch and her knees hugged into her chest. She rested her chin on her knees and looked up at Kaid.
 

“It’s just all too hard right now.”

“What’s hard? The album? Baby girl, if it wasn’t hard, everyone would be doing it.”

“Not that,” she said, while pressing her forehead against her knees. “It’s too hard hearing about Rook. It’s tearing me up inside.” She looked up at him and said, “How can I care so much about someone who I want to hate with every last fiber in my being? How is that even possible?”

Kaid sat back on the couch, gearing up for what he was about to say, which made Maisy entirely too nervous because the look in his eyes made it seem like he was about to say something she didn’t want to hear.
 

“Never mind, I don’t want to know. I’m just going to go lay down on my bed.”

She went to get up when Kaid placed his hand on her leg and said, “You are going to sit there and listen to what I have to say.”

Maisy searched his eyes and said, “I don’t think I want to know what you have to say.”

“You need to know.”

“I can’t,” a tear ran down her face. “I can’t know that’s he’s gone; you can’t tell me that.”

Kaid wiped her tear away with his thumb and said, “He’s not dead, Maisy.”

Relief shot through her body at the knowledge that Rook wasn’t dead. She was just starting to relax when she thought about what Kaid had to tell her. Speculation of Rook with another woman ran rampant through her head, and that was a type of pain she couldn’t handle…seeing Rook with someone else, laughing with someone else, maybe the girl Maisy walked in on that horrible day on the bus.
 

Of course, she was with Cole, so she shouldn’t have those feelings, since she’d supposedly moved on, or at least tried to, but to think of Rook with someone else meant that he’d truly moved on, that she meant nothing to him. It was a fear she carried around with her every damn day since she left him.
 

Shaking her head, she buried her head in her hands and said, “This is so fucked up. I should be done with this, done with him. Why, all of a sudden, is he resurfacing in my life?”

“Because he never actually left, baby girl. I’m not going to tell you what I know because it’s not my place, but I will tell you this, when Landon said there is a reason for everything, there is.”

Maisy looked at Kaid dumbfounded. Was he really defending Rook’s actions? No matter what, he cheated on her, he fucked another woman, viciously planned it out. How was that okay?

“Why are you defending him?”

“I’m not,” Kaid answered, running his hand through his hair. “I’m going to be honest with you, Maisy, ever since we left the Shattered Souls tour, you’ve been walking around like a zombie, not truly living your life…”

“It’s because he fucking shattered my heart,” Maisy yelled. “It’s not easy to move on from something like that.”

“You’re right,” Kaid calmed her down, “But you can’t keep living the way you are. You’re not doing anything to solve the problem, and going out with Cole…that’s not doing any good either because you’re leading him on. Your heart’s not in it.”

“I like Cole,” Maisy defended.
 

“We all like Cole,” Kaid countered. “But that doesn’t mean you actually have feelings for him, and don’t tell me I’m wrong.”

He was right; Maisy hated to admit it, but he was right. She didn’t have feelings for Cole. He was nice and, at times, they felt more like semi-fuck buddies than anything else. Not that they actually had sex, but they did do other things. Maisy was passing the time with Cole, rather than really living.
 

“You need closure, Maisy. I know you don’t want to, but you need to find it with him, with Rook.”

“I can’t do that,” Maisy shook her head. “If I see him, I will crumble right then and there. I’m not strong enough, Kaid.”

“Like I’ve said before, you’re stronger than you think you are.”

Strength required being able to hold yourself up, and right now, Maisy felt like she could barely stand. There was no way she could face Rook.
 

“Where’s my pimp and whore?” Willow’s voice rang out, as she came through the front door and tossed her purse to the side, along with some shopping bags from the mall.
 

“In here,” Kaid called out, still looking at Maisy.
 

The click of Willow’s heels let them know that she was making her way into the living room, where Maisy and Kaid were sitting. She looked at them and said, “Who died?”

Kaid rolled his eyes and got up to go to the kitchen. As he passed Willow, Maisy heard him mutter under his breath, “Rook problems.”

Willow nodded in understanding and then plopped herself down next to Maisy. She grabbed Maisy’s hand and held her fingers up. Maisy looked at her in confusion as Willow started folding them down until only her middle finger was sticking up.
 

“You see this?” Willow asked.
 

Maisy smirked and nodded.
 

“This is called a ‘fuck you;’ you can point this at anyone and basically with the flash of one simple finger, you can convey every last thought and feeling in your body. Flipping the bird can be very cathartic. So…” Willow pulled out her phone, typed a few things in it and then showed her a picture of Rook. Maisy’s gut twisted from the sight of him singing into a microphone. “Take that dainty little finger of yours and point it at the phone, then let out a good old fuck you.”

“Willow…”

“Do it, or I’m going to have to go into your room and start shredding all your clothes.”

“I can get more,” Maisy countered with a smile.
 

“Humor me,” Willow said with annoyance in her eyes.
 

Taking a deep breath, Maisy lifted her hand and pointed at the picture of Rook, she took a deep breath and said, “Fuck you,” just as Kaid walked back in the room with a beer in his hand.
 

“Real mature ladies.”

“It’s cathartic,” Willow said, as she patted Maisy on the leg. “Isn’t it?”

“Oh, yes, all my worries are gone now,” Maisy responded sarcastically.
 

The moment Kaid sat next to Willow, she stole his beer just as it was about to hit his lips, and then she turned to Maisy and said, “What’s going on now?”

An irritated Kaid stood back up and went to the kitchen, this time, asking Maisy if she wanted a beer, but Maisy just shook her head no; she wasn’t in the mood for any alcohol.
 

“Rook, apparently, is missing,” Maisy said.
 

“Oh, I know,” Willow said casually, as she sipped her beer. “Cruz told me.”

Dumbfounded, Maisy looked at Willow as if a unicorn horn was sprouting out of her head.
 

“And you failed to mention this to me because…” Maisy asked.
 

“Last time I checked, you didn’t care about the man and wanted nothing to do with him, so why would I tell you that?”

“Because…” Maisy paused, searching for words to say, but none came.
 

Willow took another swig of her beer just as Kaid sat down and said, “Listen, you need to move on. That toxic relationship has sailed. You have Cole now; he’s good to you.”

“But he’s not Rook,” Kaid muttered.
 

Willow snapped her head toward Kaid and said, “You’re damn right he’s not Rook. Cole would never do to Maisy what Rook did to her. He’s a good guy. And what the hell is wrong with you that you are now defending Rook?”

“I’m not defending Rook!” Kaid shouted. “Christ, I’m just trying to look at things from all points of view.”

“Well, stop because you’re looking like an ass,” Willow said. “Rook is a fuck-up and will always be a fuck-up. That’s the way he was born; it’s in his blood.”

Feeling the need to actually defend Rook, Maisy said, “He’s not a fuck-up; he’s damaged.”

A maniacal laugh popped out of Willow’s mouth. “Cry me a river. We’re all fucked up; there’s just different ways of handling it. The boy is no good and it’s a good thing you got out of that relationship when you could. Like I said, he’s toxic, nothing good could come from him.” Willow checked her watch and swore. “I have a date in like twenty minutes. I have to go change. I will catch you babes later.”

“Say hi to Cruz for us,” Kaid called out, as Willow made her way down to her room.
 

“It’s not Cruz,” Willow called out, and then shut her door.
 

Shaking his head, Kaid crossed his leg over his knee and said, “I worry about her, that the fame is getting to her head.”

“Tell me about it…”

“Ooops, forgot my shopping bags,” Willow said, as she came running out of her room…naked.
 

Kaid hung his head and yelled at her to put some clothes on.
 

“Like it’s the first time you’ve seen me naked.”

“Let’s make it the fucking last, Christ!” he shook his head and said, “I need to add a guy to this band, maybe a triangle player or something. There is too much estrogen in this house.”

“Don’t deny that you love it,” Maisy teased, feeling a little at ease from her bandmates’ antics. It was one of the reasons why she loved them; they could help her forget the radiating pain flowing through her, if only for a few seconds.
 

“If I did, then I would be giving in to you two, and I refuse to do that,” Kaid winked and leaned back on the sofa. His face grew serious for a second as he leaned over and half whispered, “For what it’s worth, baby girl, I think you’re strong enough to face him, and I think you’re strong enough to listen to what he has to say as well.”

Well, that made one of them, because in Maisy’s mind, there was no way in hell she would be able to see him in person again, that’s if he was ever found.
 

**Willow**

“That dinner was so good,” Willow cooed into Declan’s ear, as she held onto his arm and walked up the path to his house that overlooked the ocean. It was made of an expanse of glass windows and was high up on a cliff, so there was no one in view. She nodded in approval and started planning all the ways she could be fucked up against the windows of his house.
 

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Declan said, as he unlocked his door and ushered her in. “I’m also glad that you wanted to come back to my place.”

“How could I not?” Willow said, as she pulled on the lapels of Declan’s jacket once he shut the door.
 

Declan put up his finger and said, “Hold that thought. I need to go get something, meet me in the living room?”

“Mmm, hurry up,” Willow said, as she sauntered over to his extremely white living room. The seating area almost looked like it had never been touched; it was gorgeous.
 

She sat down on his white couch that overlooked the moonlit sea and took in the beautiful view in front of her. She had never seen anything so exquisite, so she made sure to soak it all in.

The night went by fast as Willow and Declan ate dinner while slowly sexually teasing each other the entire meal. Willow would seductively run her finger down her rather revealing dress that was entirely too short. The neckline dove down to the middle of her stomach, revealing too much, especially for where they ate dinner, but she didn’t care. She would watch in fascination how Declan’s eyes would burn with need from just a simple touch or glance down her cleavage.
 

From under the table, he would grab ahold of her leg and slowly move his hand up to dangerous territory, making her wet with need. It was one big aphrodisiac after another between them, and now that they were back at his place, all she wanted to do was strip down and have Declan take her; she was beyond ready, and possibly a little tipsy at the same time.
 

With a saunter that was making her even more wet than before, Declan walked into the room with his dress shirt buttons undone, showing off a well-defined chest. He held a mysterious wooden box in his hand as he approached her. Willow walked over to him and ran her hand down his stomach until it connected with his belt, which she slowly undid.
 

“What do you have there?” She nodded toward the box while dropping his belt on the floor.

“Why don’t you take off that dress of yours and I’ll show you.”

With pleasure, Willow slipped her arms out of the arm holes of her dress and pulled the silky fabric down, revealing her perfectly pierced nipples and a very miniscule thong. Declan took his time taking her all in with his lustful gaze. When his eyes landed on her breasts, he licked his lips in appreciation and then looked up at her.
 

“Fuck, I’ve been dying to get my hands on you, ever since the minute you walked out of the dressing room for your photo shoot; I knew I had to have you.”

“Is that right?” she asked, as she sidled up next to him and pulled his hand around her body so he cupped her ass. She stood on the toes of her heels and ran her tongue up his neck to his jaw and across his lips, which parted with ease as he moaned into her mouth.