“Yeah, just let her grab some shoes. We’ll meet you in the lobby.” I pushed my fingertips against Donna’s lower back and she began walking toward her room two doors down on the left. When we got inside, I slammed her door a little harder than necessary.

“Sorry about that,” I sighed as she grabbed her shoes and slipped them on her feet.

“It’s fine.” Her tone had a bite as she ran her fingers through the loose curls that hung around her face.

“If you don’t want to go, we can just hang out.”

“I don’t want you to be embarrassed when people think we are a couple.”

“What?” I said. She tried to walk by me, but I grabbed her arm, stopping her beside me. “Why do you think I would be embarrassed?”

She sighed, her shoulders sagging as she looked at my chest, avoiding eye contact. “What does it matter if Derek and Sarah think we are a couple? Am I that much of an outcast? I know what you all think about me, but am I really that repulsive?”

I took my free hand and titled her chin up with my fingers. “It matters because we aren’t, Donna. And none of us think you are repulsive. You’re just a bitch.” I laughed as I saw the familiar frustration roll over her face.

She knocked my hand away as her eyebrows pulled together. “I know we aren’t. But why does it matter? If Derek thinks you aren’t looking at Sarah, he won’t care if you’re around. And maybe Sarah seeing you with someone else will make her realize what she is missing.”

I hadn’t thought of that. I let go of Donna’s arm as a smile spread across my face. “You’re kind of evil,” I joked. She grinned wickedly and winked at me. I wrapped my arm over her shoulder and pulled her head closer, kissing her on the forehead.

“I have my moments.” She giggled as I pulled open the door to her room, and we made our way down to the lobby.

The twins were already waiting for us and they turned around, eyebrows rising as they saw me with my arm around Donna. The elevator next to us opened and Derek and Sarah stepped out.

“This is going to be fun,” Chris said, laughing, and Terry shook his head. I just glanced at Donna, who smiled and slipped her arm behind my back.

“Where we hitting first?” Derek asked as we walked across the lobby toward the front door.

“I figured we’d hit a few bars and get a good buzz on before we find a club,” Terry called over his shoulder as we stepped out into the cool night.

I walked behind Sarah and Derek, getting a view of his hand grabbing her ass. I clenched my jaw and swallowed back the jealousy just as her hand swept behind her and knocked his away. I couldn’t help but grin a little bit at her clear annoyance.

Then he reached over and flicked her ribs and she glared at him. I could tell it really bothered her, but Derek was a clueless fucking idiot. Clearly he thought he was being playful or something. He just didn’t get her at all.

I laughed and Donna looked up at me through her thick, dark lashes. I just shook my head as we walked down the sidewalk toward a large neon sign ahead.

Chapter Four

SARAH

I WASN’T SURPRISED THAT E was with someone, but I didn’t expect it to be his manager. She didn’t seem like his type. Even though she was around our age and seemed cool enough, she was definitely more uptight and professional than E, and E was just . . . E.

Derek seemed to relax a little when he discovered they were together, and that made me feel a little more at ease. I didn’t want this trip to be ruined by his perpetual bad mood over my past with E. Derek just didn’t believe that we’d only ever been friends. Unfortunately, that was a side effect of his own cheating, even if it was way in the past—he just never trusted anyone anymore. But I knew that dealing with his insecurities was part of dating Derek—it just came with the territory.

But still, if he wasn’t worried about E, we could all hang out, and that is all I wanted. I missed Damaged. Life on the road without those guys—and Cass, especially—had been a lot more stressful. Our band just didn’t mesh the way theirs did, especially with all the drama between Derek and me lately.

We slipped inside the Wet Room, just a few blocks from our hotel. I was so glad we had an entire two weeks to relax and hang with our friends before getting back on the road. I loved the stage, but we all needed some time to relax.

The thumping music pulsed through my body and drowned out any lingering thoughts of E. Derek slipped his hand in mine, pulling me behind him, as we navigated our way through the crowded bar. I wasn’t much of a hand-holder, but I was happy not to get lost in the throngs of people stuffed into the room. The bar had to be at capacity and it was nearly impossible to move.

We found a booth along the right wall, and Donna and I slid in as the guys went to order us a round. We stared out at the crowd of dancing bodies as the lights flashed red and blue over them. The lack of conversation would have been awkward if not for the loud music.

“It’s nice to get out of the hotel for a little bit,” Donna yelled to be heard.

I nodded and smiled as the image of her and E locked away in a hotel flashed in my mind. They had separate rooms and I wanted to ask her why that was, but it wasn’t my place. I didn’t know Donna well.

“So, you and E . . .” My voice trailed off.

She stared out at the crowd. “He’s a good guy.”

“Jesus, this place is fucking crazy,” Terry yelled as he reached the booth. Donna slid over closer to me in the half-oval bench seat so he could sit. E showed up with two drinks in hand as he looked down at me.

“Oh, sorry!” I slid out of the booth so he could slide in beside Donna. I stood at the edge of the table awkwardly for a moment before I sat back down, keeping space between E and me. E handed a drink to Donna and leaned closer to her ear to say something, and I wondered what they were talking about.

“Where’s Derek?” I yelled.

E turned to look at me before scanning the crowd and shrugging. “I think he went to the bathroom.” He slid his mixed drink in front of me. “Here. You can have mine while you wait.”

“Thank you.” I smiled over at him and my eyes fell to the hand that was resting on his leg. Donna’s hand. I picked up the drink and took a sip as I pondered their relationship. They didn’t seem like a good fit for each other, but E seemed happier than I remembered.

Chris came back and, without saying a word, slid in next to me, bumping my hip and shoving me closer to E until my side was pressed against his.

“Sorry!”

He turned his head toward me and our noses nearly touched. “What?” he mouthed, and leaned closer so my head was next to his ear.

The smell of his polo sport washed over me. “I said I was sorry.”

He pulled back to look at me, his brow furrowed, before placing his lips next to my ear. “You don’t ever need to apologize for touching me.” As he pulled back, he winked and turned to resume his conversation with Terry on the other side of the table. Such a notorious flirt. I shook my head—I swear he only did things like that to mess with Derek.

I grabbed my drink and sucked down half of it. My throat burned. It was practically straight liquor with just a splash of soda.

“I should go look for Derek,” I said to Chris, who was nursing a beer on the other side of me. He glanced down at me and back to his beer as he set it on the table.

“I’m sure he is just stuck in line at the bathroom.” His gaze flicked to Terry and there was some silent exchange.

I rolled my eyes. I hated when they communicated in code like that. “Whatever, just let me out, Chris.” E looked to Chris and nodded. Chris sighed and slid out of the booth so I could get out, just as Derek showed up at the table.

“Hey, this place is crazy, man.” Derek’s eyes were already glossed over, and he slipped in front of Chris and tapped my thigh for me to slide back into the booth. I did, pushing my leg flush against E’s as Chris squeezed in on the end.

“Where were you?” I asked as Derek ran his hand over his mouth.

“I was getting a fucking drink. This is a bar.”

“Where is mine?”

He laughed as he shook his head. “I may have drank it.” He smiled as he looked over at me, the smell of vodka on his breath. “What’s yours is mine, right? Or some such shit like that.”

“Fuck you.” I rolled my eyes as I laughed.

“Oh?” He cocked his head to the side and lowered his voice. “Right now?”

I felt Eric’s body stiffen beside me as his shoulder pressed harder against mine. “There’s ladies here, man,” he said loud enough for Derek to hear.

“I must have missed them.” Derek laughed again but there was no humor, and I knew he was trying to start a fight.

E didn’t take the bait. He shrugged as he grabbed Donna’s drink and drank it down. He leaned over so his lips brushed against the shell of my ear. “I won’t fight with him. You can relax.”

E always had the reputation of flying off the handle, but he wasn’t a bad guy and was actually a lot kinder than most in our business. Still, the endless fights after our gigs had earned him a reputation that wasn’t easy to shake. He was always the first one to shove a photog, freak out at an overzealous groupie, or even flip out at one of us if he thought the set didn’t go well. He just had a short fuse, and he seemed to be almost always on edge, especially lately.

I glanced over at him and his gaze didn’t waver. I knew he would keep his temper in check for the sake of our friendship.

“Who needs another round?” Chris asked, and we all held up a hand. “I’m going to need some extra hands. Help me out, buddy?” He stood and looked down at Derek. Derek nodded and slid out of the booth. I breathed a sigh of relief that he would have a few minutes to cool off.