Page 17 of The Rocker

“Well, it looks like you’ve done that and more. You know if you want to blow off some steam, you can come to the house they got for us and hang out with us by the pool.” Now that I thought about it, I realized it probably wasn’t just a nobody who got the house for us. “Did you have anything to do with getting us that house?”

The house was what we all dreamed our houses would be like when our band finally made it big. It was a mansion. We each pretty much had our own wing, there was a huge ass kitchen that was going to waste since none of us knew how to cook, and there was a sick ass pool with a whole grotto thing going on. Cross and Kenton were inviting over any woman they saw on the street, trying to recreate the Playboy mansion.

She chewed her food, nodding. “I may have had something to do with it. Do you like it?”

“Like it? We fucking love it. I want to buy it someday,” Kenton banged his hands on the table excitedly.

“And one day, you will. For now, keep dreaming about it when you have an asshole like Wallace giving you a hard time.”

“What’s his deal anyway?” I asked. Either Pen had blinders on where we were concerned, and we weren’t all that, or there was something else going on.

She looked off to the side as she drank from her water bottle. “Wallace was supposed to be on vacation for the next two weeks, but it was canceled. He was told that if he went on the vacation that he’d been planning for a year, he’d be fired.”

“Fuck, that’s harsh.” Cross flipped his phone end over end.

“But that’s not a good excuse to give us a hard time. Maybe if he wasn’t being an asshole, we’d finish recording early, and he could go on his vacation.” Greer huffed and then chomped down on his burger.

“There’s no good excuse as to why he was being an ass. That’s why he’s being replaced.” She hung her head, biting her lower lip. “I should have been there.”

“Hey,” I enveloped her tiny hand in mine, and our eyes met. “You were doing what you needed to, so you can take care of us like you’re doing now. Not everything can be easy. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be worth it.”

Pen’s phone pinged, and she looked down at the message.

“Hey, do you want to play hacky sack while they finish eating?” Cross asked the guys.

I looked down at my uneaten food, realizing I’d been too busy watching Penelope.

“Let’s go.” Kenton grabbed up their trash and threw it away in a nearby trashcan. I watched as they moved further away to play.

“I didn’t know people still played that. I was never any good at it. I was always lucky if I hit it once with my foot.” She looked at them playing and laughed. “Walker, why are you being so nice to me?”

Leaning forward on my elbows, I searched her golden eyes. “Why wouldn’t I be nice to you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because I skipped out on you, and I’ve been putting distance between us since that night. I’m supposed to be the adult, and instead, I’ve acted like a child. I’m sorry.”

“First of all, we’re both adults here, and second, I understand the position you’re in. I actually have a friend back in Willow Bay who’s got the hots for his teacher. He’s trying everything in his power to hook up with her.”

“And if they get caught, she loses her job, right?” Her eyes widened, giving me a knowing look. I did understand what was at risk for her, and I didn’t blame her for keeping as much space between us as possible.

“Yeah, she would,” I acknowledged.

“And she might lose her teaching license as well. I can see why she’d have a problem with giving inifshe’s even interested. Plus, she’s probably older than him.”

There it was again—the age difference.

“I’m going to ask you something, and it’s not to offend you or anything like that.”

She looked over to where the guys were still playing for a moment and then back to me with a slight downturn of her lips. “Okay, I’m not sure I’m going to like where this is going, but what is it?”

Reaching forward, I hooked my index finger with hers. Her skin was so soft and warm, making me wonder if it felt that way all over. “Not that it matters to me, but how old are you?”

The moment the words were out of my mouth, Pen pulled away. “I’ll happily tell you. Then you won’t be interested in me anymore, and we can get on with our lives.”

Doubtful, but I wouldn’t tell her that.

“I’m thirty-seven. Happy?”

“Yeah, because now that it’s out there, and I can tell you I don’t care that you’re thirty-seven or forty or any age. What I do know is my dick gets harder for you than it has for anyone before you. Neither one of us care. The only one that does is you.”

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