Make Me Stay (26 page)

“What the hell is going on out here?” she asked as she stepped onto the asphalt. “Dustin! What the hell happened?” Rushing to him, she petted his head like a dog and knelt over him in her six-inch heels.

“It’s Justin,” he said in a brittle voice.

“Oh sorry, Justin. What the fuck happened?” she asked, standing and looking between me and Kitty. As her eyes fell on Caroline, realization hit her and her questioning stopped. “What is
she
doing here?” she asked suspiciously.

This was way too awkward even for me. The girl I was fucking, standing next to the girl I was trying to get over, by fucking the other girl--like I said, fucked up.

“Kane, I thought we talked about this?” Chloe said, bringing me back.

“Listen, Chloe, I’m not here to step on your toes. What I’m here to do is get Kane back,” Caroline said.

“Well, he doesn’t want you back. So maybe you should just run along, I hear you’re good at that,” Chloe clipped.

Kitty’s eyes turned wild as Chloe spoke and, for a second, I thought that she was going to jump on Chloe and start a cat fight--which would have been hot.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Caroline said.

“Oh, don’t I?”

“No, you don’t, because you have no clue what Kane and I had. You have no clue because you’ve never been loved by anyone the way Kane loves me--”

“Loved, past tense,” Chloe corrected her.

Caroline whipped her head to me, as Chloe laughed in the background. She was looking for me to confirm out loud what she and I knew, that I did still love her, but I didn’t, because I was fucking scared of telling her the truth and her breaking my heart again when she left me. So I just shrugged my shoulders.

“You’re a fucking liar.”

She stepped over my twin who was still in the fetal position on the ground and wrapped an arm roughly around my neck. Pulling me down, she crushed her lips to mine. I wanted to push her way, and then I wanted to pull her closer and, just as I was going to wrap my arms around her waist and take what I had dreamt of for over a year, she pulled back. Her hand cupping my cheek, she looked at me, seeing deep into my soul like I knew only she could.

“Tell me you don’t still love me,” she said, still peering into me.

“I--I--” I couldn’t form a sentence if my life depended on it. I also couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

“That’s all I needed. I’ll see you next weekend,” she said with a promise in her voice. “Bye, Chloe. He’s all yours, although I’d keep your other play toy around. I don’t think Kane will be
up
for anything tonight.”

Fuck, I forgot how spicy that girl could be.

I watched as she walked back across the empty parking lot toward the bar, and a little bit of my heart mended as she sauntered off.
What the fuck am I going to do now?

“Kane, you just let her--Oh, fuck, you still love her, don’t you?” Chloe said, covering her mouth in shock as she watched me watch Caroline walk away. “Don’t you remember what she did to you? She left you, Kane! She fucking left you,” Chloe shouted.

“I know she did, Chloe, I was fucking there. But shit, she’s here trying to--”

“Nope, you can’t let her back in. Who gives a fuck if she’s here? She’s leaving tomorrow to go back to her ‘dream job,’ remember? Hell she left just now!” Chloe was in front of me now, pulling on my jacket and rubbing my chest with her hands. “You did everything for her, Kane, and she still left you,” she said, caressing my face.

“I got it, Chloe,” I said, stilling her hand on my face by placing mine over it.

“Good, now let’s go work her out of your system.” She kissed the corner of my lips then turned and pulled me along with her. “Thanks for the shag, Dustin, I’ll text you next time I’m in town,” she said, walking over his body.

“It’s Justin!” he moaned from the ground.

“Oh, sorry,” she said before going up the stairs, with me in tow.

***

I could strangle Caroline right now
. We’d been at it for more than an hour and--nothing, absolutely nothing!

“I know a guy,” Chloe said, coming up for air.

“
What
?” I asked frustrated that my dick had betrayed me, again.

“A guy. I can get some viag--”

“Fuck that! I don’t need fucking Viagra!” I sat up, pulling a stray cover over my traitor of a dick.

“Well--”

“Chloe, just shut up,” I said, hitting my head against the back of my cubby.

She looked at me through hooded eyes. “Okay, okay. I have that guy’s number, maybe he can bring a girl and we can, ya know, get you inspired.”

“I don’t think so. It’s freaky enough that guy looks just like me. I can’t go there.” I moved from the cubby and pulled my pants on. “I’m just going to go for a walk. I’ll be back.”

“Kane, don’t. Stay with me.” She was up and tugging on the waist band of my jeans the moment I had them fastened. “Let me prove her wrong. She’s wrong. It’s not because of her you have this...issue.”

Maybe Chloe was right. Maybe it was all in my head. I needed to prove that I was over kitty, that she didn’t affect me.

But hell, how am I supposed to do that? I’d be lying my ass off.

Teeth nibbled on my ear lobe as soft fingers slipped down my pants. I guess my dick decided to wave the white flag, because as her finger teased the tip, it jerked to life.

“See? I told you,” she said triumphantly.

“I’m still taking that walk, and you should shower, you smell like my doppelganger.”

She sat back down on the bed. “Fuck you, Kane!” she spat.

“When I get back,” I said, pulling a shirt on.

She didn’t need to know that as her fingers caressed me, I was thinking about blonde curls and liquid blue eyes. All that mattered was that it worked. If I had to imagine Caroline to fuck Chloe to get all the tension out of me, then that was what I was going to do.

***

My traitorous friends had been in contact with Caroline now, more than when we all lived in the same town. Any given night on the bus, I’d find at least one of them talking to her on the phone. When they’d ask if I wanted to talk to her, I gave them the finger and walked away. They might have been able to forgive and forget, but I hadn’t. I hated that they were all getting along. They were my friends, and they were supposed to be on my side not hers. The abandonment had fueled the fire during the week, so that when she would show up, I’d be good and pissed.

The second weekend that Caroline tracked us down, I still gave her the cold shoulder. I wasn’t able to joke or even talk to her yet, and I refused to call her Kitty, but fuck if it didn’t put a smile on my face, for a second that is, when I saw her sitting on Trent’s lap before we preformed.

Now, four weeks in, here she is again
. Somewhere in North Carolina at a large festival, I walked around the bus to find everyone sitting in lawn chairs around a fire pit. I did a double take. A pretty girl with long black hair and bright green eye’s sat on JJ’s lap and I swore it was Chloe, but the girl didn’t have any tattoos or look like an Amazon warrior princess. I looked again and matched her up to the friend that was sitting with kitty the night we had our reunion.

She had looked familiar even then, but I pushed it out of my mind. Now that she was here I was going to figure out who she was. If anything, it was going to take my mind off kitty, and these days I was desperate.

“Kane, there you are! We were starting to think that those girls ate you alive,” Aiden said laughing.

“Close, but I got out before they ripped my shirt all the way off,” I gesturing to the tear on the collar of my shirt. I had just gotten done with a “meet and greet” with the 4 Alliance guys, before either of us went on stage later tonight.

The manager of the tour insisted that we sit with them during their meet and greet, because so many fans were asking for us, so the guys and I took turns and tonight happened to be my night.

For once, Caroline wasn’t on Trent’s lap. She was in her own chair on the other side of the fire pit. Her usual wild hair was pulled back, giving a clear sight of her long neck and toned shoulders. She had a simple, tight T-shirt on and jean shorts that should be illegal. I didn’t want to be around if she stood up because I knew the bottom of her ass would be peeking out.

She never dressed up when she showed up every weekend. She didn’t have to and, fuck, that bothered me.

“I see someone let the cat back in,” I said, gesturing to her. She smiled across at me, shoving her middle finger up in the air. “One of you should really think twice before letting her back here. She’s messing with your game.”

Reece adjusted himself in his chair, “No, dude, she’s messing with your game, not ours,”

“I got a ripped shirt, and a hundred screaming women that say otherwise.”

“Yet, none of them are here, are they?” Reece said, looking around for those hundreds of screaming women I just referenced.

Sitting back in his seat after craning his neck, he held up a hand. Caroline’s hand met his as a sexy grin spread across her face while she high fived Reece.

“Whatever.” I grabbed an extra chair and placed it next to JJ. Caroline was still across from me. The fire made it hard to see her clearly and I was grateful. If it was hard to see her, then, hopefully, it was hard to see me, I didn’t want it to be obvious that I was staring at her every two seconds.

“Who’s this?” I asked, looking at JJ and the girl on his lap.

“This is Piper,” the girl said, turning to get a look at me.

“Piper? Wait a minute, you’re--”

“Nate’s little sister. You got it,” she said, wiggling on JJ’s lap a little.

“Oh, why are you here?” I asked curiously.

Was this some sort of sick joke from Nate, to have his little sister flaunt around and remind me of that jackass?

“It’s nice to meet you too,” she said with an attitude that usually lead to me getting slapped.

“Dude, chill the fuck out. She’s here for me,” JJ said, finally speaking up and holding Piper a little tighter around her waist.

Piper scrunched her brows together, looking confused and a little pissed all at the same time. “No, I’m not. I’m here with Caroline, mini vacation.”

“Eh, tomato, tamato. You’re here and on my lap. You’re happy, I’m hopeful. Why argue?” JJ said, sitting up to kiss her blushing cheek.

I remembered her from the bonfire at the lake. She was glued to JJ that night and it seemed he was pretty fucking hung up on her now.

I shook my head and sipped on my beer, but then I caught a glimpse of Caroline on the other side of the fire.
Fuck she was hot.
She shouldn’t have that much fucking pull over me. My dick twitched every time I looked at her.

“Bro, just give in already,” JJ said, leaning behind Piper to whisper to me.

I adjusted myself in the chair, praying I hadn’t just got caught staring through the fire to where Kitty sat, legs crossed under her as she sipped on a beer.

“Give in to what?”

“What else does she have to do? I’m fucking tired of watching you watch her like you’re deciding which part of her you’re going to lick first. It’s disturbing, dude. I know your escapades with Chloe are...well, you haven’t fucked her all week and that’s a record for you two,” JJ said.

“First off, I don’t trust her. Second...” I had a second, I did, but my attention got pulled as the fire popped loudly.

I turned from JJ to make sure I wasn’t on fire as sparks flew all over the place, that’s when I saw it. Kitty jumped out of her chair, hopping up and down and brushing her hands over body. She yelped loudly, swiping at the ashes that landed in her lap. Facing her chair she bent over and wiped away the ashes that had landed on the flammable fabric.

Fuck, I was right, those shorts should definitely be banned
. There was no fucking way she had underwear on. One move to the side and I was positive I was going to see everything.

“Are you fucking kidding me!? This is my only shirt!” she hollered, turning back around.

There was a bunch of little holes in her T-shirt. Along with the holes, it was black from the ashes she had wiped off. She looked over the fire at Piper then at me. A sneaky smile pulled at the corner of her lips and I knew I was fucked.

She reached for the bottom of the shirt and I swear it was in slow motion. Her stomach contoured as she pulled up, her tits bounced, when she hit them with her hands. And when she tossed the ruined shirt at Reece, he stared at it like it was the first time he’d ever seen a naked woman. Once he turned his eyes from the shirt, he reached out to touch her. I heard a chuckle come from my right. Piper was trying hard to keep it together, then she buried her head in JJ’s chest.

“Go get me a shirt,” Kitty demanded, hitting Reece’s hand away.

His eyes were zeroed in on her tits. “Fuck that, I don’t have any. You’re going to have to rough it, Kitty.”

“Here, Kitty,” Trent said, pulling the shirt off his own back off and tossing it to her.

“Thanks, Trent,” she said, holding it. Taking it under her nose, she inhaled deeply. “Why do you always smell so good?” she asked with a dreamy look on her face.

“Blessed.”

He stood from his seat. She walked over to him, her hands resting on his chest. Trent was even taller than me. He had broad shoulders littered with tattoos, a shaved head, and a chiseled face. Kitty looked even smaller standing before him. I had to look away as she hugged him and left a soft kiss on his cheek. Her breasts flattened on his chest, her bare stomach met up with his.

“Fucking ridiculous,” I mumbled under my breath.

“You say something?” JJ asked.

“No,” I mumbled, taking a drink of my beer.

“Hey, you guys have about half an hour till you’re on,” Dave, the stage manager said.

His headset on and clipboard in hand, he stopped in his tracks the minute he saw Caroline. He moved the headset from his ear and stationed the clipboard to cover his junk. He openly gaped at her, the shirt Trent had given her was still in her hand. So there she stood in her lacey bra and shorts for everyone to see.

“Dave, put your fucking eyeballs back in your head,” Trent said demandingly over Kitty’s head.