Rock Star: The Contest (Book 2 of a Bad Boy Romance) (4 page)

“Could have been you, Leann,” Luke said.

She frowned before laughing. “Please. Me, I’ve got my shit together. Can’t say as much for you.”

“What? What am I to do with this?”

“Word spreads.”

With that she turned and walked away without offering any further explanation.

“What the hell is she on about?” I said.

“Don’t worry. She’s a royal bitch at the best of times.”

The night ended abruptly. The organizers poured water on the fire and I watched the last burning embers go out. People dispersed in all directions. I saw Chase with Mia. Mia cast a glance over at me and looked all pleased with herself. I got the feeling that she enjoyed getting her own way and she had Chase wrapped around her little finger.

That night, Luke took me back to the café. We stood outside for a little bit. He smoked and wanted some company just until he finished his cigarette. I kept shifting from one foot to the next with my arms wrapped around me.

“Crazy, eh?” Luke said.

“Yeah, I hope she’ll be all right.”

“I used to do drugs. Nothing hard, just some of the soft stuff.”

“And?”

“It gave me a headache so I gave up.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I’ve never been one to touch it. Seen too many folks in this town ruin their life with it.”

I thought about Kyle and his buddies.

Luke stubbed out his cigarette. “By the way, I’ve enjoyed spending time with you. You’re more than a good partner. I like you.”

I laughed jokingly. “You’re not going to drop another meat joke, are you?”

He smirked. Then without any hesitation he leaned in and pressed his lips against mine. I would like to say I pulled away. But I didn’t. I found myself enjoying it. Maybe I was a little wired from the night. Perhaps it was the alcohol and I wasn’t thinking clearly. But I returned the kiss with just as much passion as him.

As we pulled apart, I heard the jingle of the door. We both turned our heads in time to see Spike standing there.

A
t seven o’clock
the next morning, sixteen contestants piled themselves and a few pieces of luggage into two SUVs.

The train didn’t stop even for those who had wound up in the hospital for drug use. They had planned to take us into Portland City. They had arranged a series of interviews with different radio stations for the following day. We had all got the text message late last night. After a night of drinking, they must have been insane. No one looked as if they were in the right frame of mind, let alone ready to go on some three-hour journey.

I had visions of them having to stop every ten minutes to let someone out to throw up.

“Hold on a second,” Brad Urban told the driver. He stepped out of the van and I could see him talking with Amber. They both looked a bit pissed off. Amber kept checking her phone.

Another ten minutes passed before Chase came running over. His hair was a state, he was still doing up his shirt. The guy had obviously slept in and the other two didn’t look impressed. He jumped in the SUV I was in, and took a seat near the front. He gave the driver the all-clear and we left.

I had my earphones to my iPhone in my ear. It had been rough getting up so early, so I fully intended to sleep the entire journey. However, Luke had other plans. I knew immediately the next morning that I shouldn’t have kissed him back. It wasn’t just because Spike stormed off in a huff. But it was the alcohol. At least I had convinced myself that was the case.

Luke had taken a seat by me and I had swatted his hand away a few times when he placed it on my leg. We really hadn’t had a chance to speak since last night. I knew he must have thought I was into him, and in some ways I was. He was a good-looking guy, I enjoyed his company and could see myself dating him, but… I glanced over at Chase who kept looking back.

I felt one of my earphones being pulled out.

“So about last night.”

Here we go. There was no way I was going to avoid this. He wasn’t going to forget. He had a taste and it wouldn’t be long before he would want more.

There had only been a few times when I was younger that I had to be blunt with a guy. Most of them were the same. They thought with their dicks. If you gave them any sign that you were interested. And by interested, I mean, a smile, a look or a compliment. They thought that was an invite into your panties. Guys were strange, like completely wired differently. Always getting the wrong end of the stick, and always wanting you on the end of their stick.

“Yeah, about last night. I think it was a mistake.”

That’s how it came out. I just said it as blunt as I could. I didn’t want to beat around the bush, or give him any sense that this was going to go further. I certainly didn’t want Chase to think that I was into the guy. Despite Chase being an ass hat, I had feelings for him that went far deeper than a few dates with Kentucky boy. Even if he was extremely hot.

“Oh.”

That was the worst response you could get. As I said, I had only had this happen a few times and every time the guy would usually act all macho or just call me a cock tease. The odd one would act sad. Those were the worst.

It’s not like I wouldn’t have enjoyed having a romp in the sack with Luke. He was extensively good-looking, and fun to be around, but it wasn’t right. Alcohol had a way of making you think differently. I had awoken that morning feeling a sense of dread. Like I had done something wrong. Thoughts of Chase finding out had plagued my mind while I was rushing out the door. It’s not like we were an item, but we had crossed over into territory that was new and even if Mia was trying to come between us, I didn’t want to screw it up.

“Listen, Luke, you’re a nice guy. It’s not you.”

“Oh it’s the… ‘It’s not you. It’s me’ routine.”

“No.”

“Then what is it?”

I couldn’t exactly say it was Chase. I was already walking on eggshells over what the media had put out there.

“I’m just not in a good place for a relationship.”

He sank back into his seat, nodding.

“Right.” He pushed his own earphones into his ears and closed his eyes.

I felt awful. How the hell do we end up in these situations? Now I had two guys who were hurt and pissed off at me.

I thought about last night. After Luke had left, I went inside the café. Sophie was cleaning up, putting away chairs. Spike had gone behind the counter and was pretending that he hadn’t just witnessed what he had.

“Spike.”

He never replied.

“Spike, I need to talk to you.”

Sophie tossed a towel at him and he glanced up.

“Open your ears.”

He came around, and I led him out back.

“About that. It’s not what you think. I shouldn’t have.”

I couldn’t believe I was explaining myself to him. I mean we weren’t an item, or anything. He was just a friend, but I knew he had a hard time seeing me with any other guy, especially Chase. But now Luke, which must have just been the icing on the cake.

“What you do, is your business. It’s not like what I think matters.”

“But…” I began.

“Listen, what do you want from me? What do you want me to say? You want me to make you feel good? Eh? Is that it? You want to play both sides of the fence? Does Chase know?”

My eyes dropped.

“Yeah, I figured,” he said.

“Look, I just don’t want this to affect our working relationship.”

“Working relationship. Ooh, how lucky I feel.”

“Don’t be an asshole, Spike.”

“Tell me, Meghan, when all this is over. When they blow out of town and this all becomes just a memory. When you don’t have the pick of the crop. What then? You going to come to me then and give me a chance? Maybe I won’t be interested then. Have you even allowed yourself to wonder what it would be like with me?”

I bit down on the side of my lip.

“No. I’m just good ol’ Spike. The guy you grew up with, the one that pesters you and gets a punch on the arm from time to time. Well, I feel things too. I have urges like you and dreams. What about mine? Where do I fit into all of this?”

“Well, you…”

“I what? Remember when no one else knew about your singing? I was the guy who wrote alongside you. At least I did the music. But now I’m just on the sidelines. A vague memory, while you…”

“Hold on a minute. Don’t make this out to be something where I’m against you. I’m not. I didn’t ask for this any more than you did. If Sophie hadn’t put my video in, I wouldn’t even be involved in this. It’s not my fault that they want the singer and not the guitarist. But that doesn’t mean I am going to leave you behind. If this works out, heck, you can come on the road.”

“Oh thanks. Maybe I can carry your luggage up to your fancy hotel room.”

“Don’t be an ass.”

“Listen, what you do is your business. Just be careful as you aren’t just playing a game. You’re playing with hearts here.”

With that Spike walked off and I exhaled hard. He was right. What the hell was I doing? I was getting sucked into a world that didn’t feel like me. Was I losing myself in it? Going to lose my friends in the process?

A bump in the road brought me back into the present moment. I stared outside the window and watched a series of trucks power past us. It was strange stepping into new things. Uncomfortable and yet I remained curious. All I had ever known was my small town, my tiny group of friends and working. I wanted new experiences, but I was nervous about all that it would bring. I hadn’t had the chance to date many guys. Was it wrong to want to feel wanted? By more than one guy?

I cast a glance at Luke. He didn’t looked pissed. But then not much seemed to get him down or affect him. I kind of liked that about him. Chase however was a different kettle of fish. Up and down, all over the place. He was a lot more like me. He smiled at me without making it too obvious. My lip curled up ever so slightly at the corner.

Maybe he was right. Perhaps it would have been better to pull out of the contest. I could still see him, Spike would be less pissed off, then again, maybe not.

* * *

W
hen we arrived in Portland
, it was cold outside. The sky was grey and overcast and the weather looked as if it might rain. The first stop was to radio station 94.7 FM. We felt like sardines being stuffed into a small room. Two by two they took us into the sound booth and interviewed us. I fully expected them to bring up my relationship with Chase. And sure enough they did.

“So Meghan, without singling you out, we have been looking forward to speaking with you. I know a number of our listeners have questions that they want to ask. As big fans of Chase Bryan we are all fascinated by how you came to win a competition to spend a day with him.”

I took a deep breath. I could see the other contestants looking on, also eager to hear about this.

“You know. It was just a mystery to me to. I uh…”

They immediately jumped in, cutting me off.

“Hold on, it looks as if we have a fan of Chase Bryan’s on the phone. Hello caller, please introduce yourself and ask your question.”

A woman came on the line.

“Hi Dave, I love your show. OK, my question is this. I’m a huge fan of Chase Bryan. I have followed him from the beginning. I also have a VIP membership to his fan club. How come I never heard about this competition? I have asked several on the board and no one knows that there was a competition to spend the day with him. I would have been all over that if it existed. So where was this posted?”

Oh my god, this was it. I thought I was going to melt into my seat. I wanted so badly to vanish at that moment in time. I could see Chase beyond the window. Mia was with him. Both of them looked as nervous as I felt.

“Well. You see.”

Think, think. I wanted to slap myself around the face. My brain was just not engaging.

“It was very random.”

That’s how it came out.

“Yeah. You know like how Starbucks has a few stores that it uses for testing but no one really knows they are Starbucks stores.”

“Uh?” the lady said on the other end of the line.

“Yeah, coffeehouses do it all the time. At least big chain ones do. It’s a way for them to test out new marketing, products and ideas without raising too many eyebrows. That’s what Chase’s management had done. They just randomly picked several fans and had us enter a competition. I only knew because I got an email.”

“Well, that sucks. I didn’t get an email.”

At that point Chase came into the studio.

“Oh, speak of the devil, here’s the man himself.”

Chase smiled at me, stepped up to the mic and spoke.

“Hon, this is Chase. Stay on the line and I will get you hooked up with VIP tickets for the next few shows. Just my way of saying thanks for being a good sport about this. Not everyone was in the know and I kind of feel bad about that. So I hope that’s OK.”

The woman started gushing and soon forgot that she was mad. “Oh Chase Bryan, I absolutely love your music.”

He locked eyes with me and mouthed the words, thank you. I gave a short nod. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Leann. Her mouth pursed, her eyes narrowed and her bullshit meter on high alert.

After I got out of there Mia pulled me aside.

“Quick thinking. I wanted to also thank you for keeping your distance. It helps. I know Chase is still eager to pursue his relationship with you, but it’s good to see that you are thinking about someone else besides yourself.”

Had she just said that?

“I’m not doing this for you, or Chase. I’m doing it for me.”

Her perfectly plucked eyebrow shot up. I walked away. I didn’t like the woman and if she thought I was covering their ass, she was quite mistaken.

The following four hours was spent going from radio station to radio station. Most of them had the same idea. They would grill me more about my relationship with Chase than about the contest. It was if they knew that there was more to the story than just a competition to spend the day with Chase. Maybe they had become wise to his antics. It wasn’t like he tried to hide them. Even if Mia attempted to.

I think even the other contestants had picked up on it. Several of them were asking why the stations kept asking me questions about Chase. When all the others were asked about how they were doing in the contest, what they would think if they won, and basically how it would change their life.

At the final radio station. I had pretty much had enough. I was having to repeat myself and starting to think that being part of
The Next Country Star
was probably a bad idea. The trouble was, the chance to win the contest had become the center of my universe. I couldn’t speak for the others. I’m sure they were eager and each of them probably saw this as their chance to break out and have a life that would never be the same again.

They all seemed to be caught up in the business side of it. How it would give them a career with earnings that no job could provide. Some of them had even come from families that had millions of dollars. So it wasn’t like they needed the money. But they were obsessed with it. Maybe it was their way of proving themselves to their rich parents. Me, however, I just loved to sing. That was it. Whether that was in a stadium or a bar. It didn’t matter. It was my outlet. My way of expressing myself. I knew not everyone would like my style or care for my looks. But that didn’t matter.