Fame

  Not glancing back, Rook walked down toward the elevator, nodding in appreciation toward the secretary, who had the elevator waiting for him. As he rode it down to the parking garage, he thought about the dynamic of the house. It was going to be all kinds of fucked up, and Landon was right, he might have been selfish, but he didn’t care; all he wanted was Maisy, and he would do whatever it took to get her back.

  Plus, Rook thought the close quarters might help air out all their issues, because they were all a bunch of bottled up emotional fuck heads ready to burst. Luckily for Rob and the E channel, they were going to get some great TV and high ratings out of it.

  It felt like forever as Rook casually leaned on his motorcycle with his arms crossed over his chest and his legs crossed over one another. The parking garage was empty, and he saluted his boys, his rather annoyed boys, as they walked off to their cars and drove away. They would get over it, Rook thought to himself, especially after they saw the pay raises Rook was able to squeeze out of the deal.

  Pete was going to give Rook a serious tongue thrashing once he read through all of the paperwork Rook had set up without Pete present. Nothing was signed, so there was still room to make changes, but deals were never made without Pete, so it was just one more apology Rook had to prepare for in his pursuit to win back Maisy.

  Just when Rook started to think Maisy had gone out another entrance, the door to the parking garage opened and Willow, Kaid, and Maisy strode out toward the curb, just as a black SUV pulled around toward a pick up and drop off circle.

  Maisy walked with her head down, just as the others, but when she peeked up, she stopped walking when she made eye contact with Rook.

  “Hey, Boo,” he called out, while tilting his head toward her.

  Shaking her head and walking the other way, she turned away from. That just wouldn’t do for Rook, so he went up to her before she could get in the car and grabbed her hand. He pulled her to the side as Kaid eyed him with a glare to kill, but luckily, he just stood idly by and waited to see if he needed to step in.

  “Let go of me,” Maisy said angrily.

  He was a little thrown off by her attitude. He thought that, maybe, if anything, maybe she would have lightened up toward him because of the letter he wrote to Rob. He most definitely wasn’t expecting the cold shoulder.

  “Can we talk?” Rook asked.

  “Why? We’ll have plenty of time for Lord knows how long while we write an album and live together, all while being filmed, oh wait, and then we get to go on tour together as well. What the fuck, Rook?”

  “It’s going to be great for both bands,” he tried to shine some positive light on the situation, positive light that she wouldn’t appreciate, because what he thought was positive light was not what she apparently considered a good time.

  “Right now, I could care less about the band. Why would you do this?”

  Wanting to be completely honest with her, he ran his hand through his hair and looked her dead in the eyes. “Because I’m desperate to be near you, because just seeing you, even if you’re scowling at me, threatening to slay me with those deep brown eyes of yours, it makes me feel whole again.”

  She pressed her finger to his chest and said, “Should have thought about that when you were fucking that other girl, Rook. How many times do I have to say it? We’re over.”

  The hate pouring out of her was slightly debilitating, but before she could walk away, he pulled her flush against his body and held her close as her hands went to his chest. She tried to push away for a second, but he held her close enough to make her stop trying.

  Gazing down into her eyes, he said, “How many times do I have to tell you that you’re mine…that you’re meant to be with me, no one else?”

  She was about to answer, when a flash of something around her neck caught his eye. His heart bottomed out as he reached up to her collar in disbelief. When he pulled out the necklace he’d given her awhile back, he just stood there in shock.

  Quickly pulling away from him, she shoved the necklace back in her shirt and said, “Stay away from me.”

  “Why are you wearing that?” he asked, still in disbelief.

  “I…” she searched for words, but nothing came out as she looked around, trying to think of something to say, while gripping the necklace through her shirt.

  “Maisy,” Rook breathed heavily as he stepped forward, “Why are you wearing that necklace?”

  As if a light bulb flickered on in her head, she stood straight and stuck her chin in the air. “It’s to remind me of how you completely and utterly destroyed me when you left me. A reminder to never give in, never give up, and no matter what fuck-up I come across, he can’t destroy me.”

  Ouch, he knew he deserved her hurtful words, but they still stung, and hearing her call him a fuck-up was like a dagger to the heart. Out of everyone in his life who had ever doubted him, he never thought Maisy would ever use those words with him.

  Stepping back and away from her, he saw a light twinge of regret on her face, but she brushed it quickly away, laying on a stoic appearance.

  “Well, I guess everyone was right about me, I am a fuck-up. Daddy knows best, I guess. Once a fuck-up, always a fuck-up.”

  The spirit inside of him was broken as he turned and went back to his motorcycle. He wasn’t giving up, but he was wounded; he needed to lick the scabs she’d just ripped open and take a second to breathe, because if he took another look at her hateful scowl, he would be just about ready to throw in the towel.

  Out of everyone in his life, Maisy was the one person who ever truly saw him for who he was, and for her to see him as a fuck-up downright stole the breath right out of his chest.

  He needed to pack and think about his next plan of action. He had her in close proximity, now he just needed to erase the abhorrent feelings she had for him. It wasn’t going to be easy, by any means, but he was bound and determined to make it happen.

  **Cruz**

  Dropping his bags on the entryway floor, Cruz looked around and took in his new surroundings. It wasn’t the first time he’d lived at the label’s house with his band; it’s where they used to stay all the time when they were back in town, because they were on the road so much that they never really had houses. It wasn’t until they had six months off that Cruz decided to put some roots down and get a place. He could most definitely afford it.

  The label’s house had been renovated since he’d been there. The walls, floors, and furniture were all white, and there were little touches of color in unexpected places…like an area rug and molding around a door. The only colors that were used, though, were forest green and a silver color. The place screamed modern.

  Black and white photos of all the label’s artists decorated the walls. Shattered Souls had big solo portraits of themselves hanging in the living room, making Cruz feel a little prideful. Even though the label hated to admit it, they were their money makers.

  Cruz studied the four pictures of him and his bandmates. In his picture, he was flipping off the camera while wearing his infamous “fuck you” shirt, and he was sticking his tongue out. Landon was holding his drumsticks in his picture, wearing his dark rimmed glasses, and giving the camera a little side smirk duck lip. Basically, he was portraying a teenage girl in the picture, flat chest and all. Grey was the pretty boy. He was wearing a sock hat and had his right arm pulling on the back of his neck while he “smyzed” into the camera. Tool, Cruz thought, while he shook his head and laughed. Then there was Rook. If people didn’t realize the man was disturbed from the picture on the wall, then they clearly weren’t paying attention. He was holding onto an old school mic stand with one hand and the other hand had his shirt lifted up, showing off his six pack abs. His head was flung back and a cigarette was hanging out of his mouth while smoke wafted around him. It was a badass picture, Cruz had to admit it.

  “Admiring perfection?” Rook asked, as he walked up next to Cruz.

  “Yeah, it’s hard not to look at myself,” Cruz t
eased.

  “You look like a dickhead in that picture.”

  “No, Landon looks like a dickhead.”

  Both Cruz and Rook looked over at Landon’s picture and nodded their heads while chuckling.

  “What the hell was he thinking?” Rook asked.

  “He’s the goofy one, remember? The dingleberry was trying to really play up the part, kind of backfired on him.”

  “I can agree with that.”

  There was some ruckus from the front of the house, causing Rook and Cruz to turn around and find Grey and Willow trying to walk in the entryway at the same time. Well, Grey was trying to let Willow through, but she was throwing a temper tantrum and waving her arms about, which Grey kept running into.

  “I swear to God, if you touch me one more time, I’m going to go psycho bitch on you and cut your balls off in the night.”

  Grey stopped in his tracks and practically cowered in the corner of the entryway while Willow got her items together and stormed off toward the second floor where the bedrooms were. Just as Willow was leaving, Landon and Quinn walked in the house holding their suitcases. There was an awkward exchange between the three of them. Grey looked pained as Landon and Quinn ducked their heads and walked off, leaving Grey fuming.

  Cruz turned toward Rook and patted him on the shoulder. “Real fucked up situation you put us in, bro.”

  “It won’t be so bad; you’ll have your fuck buddy, Willow,” Rook tried to point out, as Cruz shook his head.

  “Yeah, pretty sure that’s over, but then again, you never know with her. She is a total wild card. Anyway, I have a girl in the works that, if I play my cards right, I’ll be seeing her more often. The only thing standing in my way is her damn job, which…” Cruz trailed off as he thought about what she did. He really didn’t know what she did, but whatever it was, it was at night, and he was almost positive it had to do with having sex with guys for money. It was the only conclusion he could come up with.

  “What does she do?” Rook asked.

  “Umm, not quite sure, but it gets in the way a lot,” Cruz confirmed vaguely. He gave Rook one last pat on the back, just as Maisy and Kaid were walking in the house. The whole crew was here now, fucking fantastic.

  Grabbing his things, Cruz went up to his room and laid out on his bed. He needed to call Maelani to tell her about his new situation. He wanted to see her, no, he was desperate to see her. She kept putting him off, and he had no clue why. Whenever they set something up, she always had something come up; he was beginning to think maybe she really didn’t want to meet with him, but if that was the case, she wouldn’t have snap chatted some pretty amazingly hot pictures with him the other night. Yeah, he snap chatted and loved every second of it.

  He pulled out his phone and pressed her name to call her as he turned on his back so he was looking up at his ceiling. After three rings, she picked up.

  “Why, hello there,” her sultry voice came through the speaker, instantly relaxing him.

  “Hey, beautiful, how are you doing?”

  “Better now that I’m hearing your voice. I’m sorry I keep bailing on you. I owe you one hell of a blow job.”

  Groaning into the phone, Cruz replied, “Or you can just spend the night with me so I can fuck you any way I want; that would make up for your neglectfulness,” he added a little pout to his voice.

  “That sounds awfully tempting. When?”

  “Tonight?” Cruz crossed his fingers, but knew it was a fucking long shot that she would be able to come over. Plus, he was being a little risky, bringing Maelani over to his now shared house on the first night, but if he could get her tonight, he didn’t care who he offended…as long as he could taste some of that sweet island pussy again.

  “What time?”

  Hope sparked in him as he shifted on his bed. He didn’t want to sound too eager, but fuck, he was almost as desperate as Rook at this point.

  “Whatever time you’re available, I’m free, beautiful.”

  “Nine? Is that okay?”

  No, Cruz wanted to say, he wanted her in his arms now, but that would come off as needy and he was trying to avoid that.

  “Sounds good, but I have to warn you, I’ve changed addresses.”

  “Your place not big enough?” she teased.

  “No, my place was fucking perfect, but Rook, he’s our lead singer, got us roped into some business with the label where we have to live in the label’s house with Willow’s band and be filmed.”

  “Wait,” Cruz could immediately hear the trepidation in her voice. “You’re sharing a house with Willow and it’s being filmed?”

  “Not for a little bit, the camera crew still needs to be set up, but yeah, Willow is here.”

  “That might not be the best idea…”

  Cruz could feel her starting to drift away from him, and he couldn’t have that, not one bit, not after only getting a slight taste of her.

  “You won’t even see her,” he reasoned. “She lives on the other side of the house and is usually gone, at least from what I’ve heard from Kaid…she’s never home. I’ll sneak you in the back. Please, Maelani, I have to see you.”

  Okay, maybe he resorted to a little bit of pleading, but it wasn’t beneath him, he would do just about anything to get her to come to their house.

  “I don’t know,” she said hesitantly.

  Growing antsy and frustrated, Cruz said, “Maelani, don’t deny the chemistry we have. There is something going on between us, and I want to explore it. Please, come over.”

  He waited on pins and needles for her response.

  Sighing into the phone, she responded, “Okay, text me the address and tell me where to meet you. I would rather not run into Willow. She sent me some pretty nasty text messages the other day.”

  “Did she?”

  “Yeah, something about being a back stabber. I got the impression you guys weren’t together; am I wrong?”

  “No, you’re not wrong. We were never together, just having fun. I think she’s going through a rough time right now and is taking her anger out on us.”

  “Maybe…”

  “No, don’t fucking say it; you’re coming here tonight, and I’m going to fuck that sweet pussy of yours, you hear me?” Cruz practically growled into the phone.

  “Yes,” she responded breathlessly.

  Satisfied with their conversation, Cruz made plans to meet her out on the back driveway to sneak her in the house through the kitchen. It was a little sleazy, but hey, he was ready to disguise her as a man just to get her in his room. Whatever it took, he was going to be with Maelani tonight.

  Chapter Twelve

  **Kaid**

  “Are you just going to hide out in your room for the next however many months we’ll be here?” Kaid asked Maisy, who was lying on her stomach on her bed with her feet kicked up and doodling in her notebook, not writing lyrics, no, doodling. When he leaned over to see what she was drawing, she quickly closed it, taking on a slight shade of red.

  Before she was able to shut her notebook, he was able to catch a slight glimpse of what she was drawing, and it wasn’t a picture, more like a name.

  “Why are you torturing yourself?” Kaid asked, as he sat down next to her, grabbed her notebook, and opened it up to see Rook’s name drawn in all different ways, one even had kitties with each letter of his name on their bellies. It was rather precious.

  “Hey, give me that, it’s personal.”

  “No, it’s not. It’s never been personal before, and by the look of this notebook, it doesn’t seem to be yours. It looks like it’s Rook’s, since his name is written all over it.”

  Maisy crossed her arms over her chest like a child and almost pouted. Kaid could see that she wanted to, but she refrained from doing so.

  “Just give it back.”

  Shaking his head in disbelief, he handed it back to her and cupped her chin so she had to look him in the eyes.

  “Listen to me baby girl, this whole situation with Rook is ge
tting out of hand. I get the vibe that you don’t want to be near him, so I warn him off, tell him to leave you the fuck alone, and then I see you writing his name all over in your notebook. Do you have feelings for him? And don’t lie to me. Just tell me, right now, is there a chance you two would ever get back together?”

  Maisy’s eyes darted back and forth, looking at his, trying to think of an answer. He could see the inner wheels of her thoughts starting to work and come to a solution. She closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, and then opened them as she nodded her head yes.”

  Shocked, Kaid sat back and studied her.

  “Wow, I’m kind of surprised, I didn’t think you were going to say yes. I was all ready to give you the fuck him speech and move on with your life, but now, well…shit, I’m kind of at a loss for words.”

  Laughing softly, Maisy said, “Sorry to throw you off your game.”

  “What changed from yesterday to today? Because, on the car ride home, it almost seemed like you were going to ask the driver to turn around so you could slash Rook’s throat or something. I was fucking quaking in my boots from the devil that was peering through your eyes.”

  Maisy took a deep breath and then started pacing the room while she held onto her forehead.

  “I mean…come on, Kaid, the guy goes and sets up this elaborate scheme with the label so we are in the same house, working on albums together, and then once again going on tour together. Who does that? And that letter, was that really true? Because, if it is, I don’t know if I want to kiss him or kick him in the balls. All this heartache because he wanted to save me? What the fuck is that? Did he, all of a sudden, think he was in medieval times with his scepter and shield or whatever the fuck they used back then, swooping in to save my life? I can take care of myself; I have been for years. I didn’t need him protecting me; I just needed him.”

  It wasn’t very often that Maisy went on rants, but when she did, Kaid made sure to sit back and just listen, because that was what he did best.