Page 42 of The Rocker

“I bet we’re her best customers of the day,” Kenton said as he dumped a pile of penis—well, everything—onto the countertop.

We probably were.

While the rest checked out, I went and got some chocolate and soap penises because a girl needed to have fun. Maybe if Stella got married one day, I could give her these at her bridal shower. Who was I kidding? I’d be lucky to wait until her birthday. I’d probably give them to her the first time I saw her.

After buying a plethora of penises, we headed down the street in search of some lunch. We found a cute little restaurant with a courtyard where we could sit outside and enjoy the breeze and sunshine. It was nice to feel the sun on my skin after endless days of being stuck on a bus or plane.

The walls and tables were cream with seafoam green painted chairs. There were terra cotta planters with different plants sprinkled around the courtyard, having a calming effect on me.

We all sat around a table looking at menus. It was impossible to pick what I wanted to eat. Everything looked good. It didn’t help that we were all starving.

“When I retire in our very distant future, I want to live here,” Walker muttered from next to me.

“It is beautiful. One day of being here isn’t enough.”

Walker’s hand gripped my thigh under the table and squeezed. Leaning over, he spoke quietly enough for only me to hear. “What about a lifetime?”

I liked that Walker thought about us in the long term. He wasn’t your typical twenty-one-year-old guy. If he was, I didn’t think I’d find him so attractive. He was serious about himself, his career, and his band—all things I loved. And most importantly, Walker was serious about us.

Reaching over, I squeezed his hand under the table. What I wouldn’t give to hold his hand for all to see. “I could live with that.”

“Only just live? I think you can do better than that.”

“We’ll have to see.” I cleared my throat. “Has everyone else figured out what they want? Because I feel like I want one of everything.”

“Why don’t we get a bunch of different items and share?” Cross suggested.

I pointed at him. “I like the way you think.” Pulling out my company credit card, I flashed it. “Plus, it’s on Titan Records, so let’s splurge.”

“Oh, hell, yeah,” Cross cheered. “Why don’t we do this more often?”

“Because I want to keep my job, and the tour needs to be profitable,” I laughed. There was no way we could spend more money than the tour was making by eating out, but that was a small expense. It was the hotels and flights, along with the crew, that ate up the profits. It was a good thing everyone was loving Crimson Heat and was buying their songs and selling out venues over here in Europe.

Cross shrugged, setting down his menu. “I guess that makes sense. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

“Oh, please,” Greer rolled his eyes. “You act like she’s done all of this out of the kindness of her heart. She’s making money off us. You don’t think she’d drop us if we weren’t bringing in the green.”

I wanted to reach across the table and slap him a couple of times. When was Greer going to finally give me a chance?

“You need to shut your mouth before I do it for you,” Walker growled out. “Pen has fought to give us everything we have, and here you sit like some ungrateful asshole.”

Greer scooted back. The legs of the chair scraping against the ground made the most god-awful screeching sound. It was worse than nails on a chalkboard. “I don’t have to put up with this shit. You all can kiss her ass all day and all night for all I care, but I’m done.”

Greer stalked away, not turning back as Cross and Kenton called after him. His only response was to flip them off.

“So much for having a nice meal,” Kenton grumbled.

Cross scoffed, “How about so much for having a nice day without Greer being an asshole?”

Hanging my head, I closed my eyes and sighed. “He’s free to have his own opinion on me.” I looked up and tried to smile at them. “But thank you for what you said. It means a lot to me, and I want you to know you feel like family to me.”

“So,” Kenton drew out the word. “Does that mean if Walker ever gets to fuck you, it will be like incest?”

“Kenton,” Walker barked out. “Not today.”

Kenton held his hands up as his face fell. Seeing him like that didn’t seem right. I loved that Kenton was always so happy. “I’m sorry. I was trying to lighten the mood, not make it worse.”

“Why don’t we all get a drink as well and try to relax. Let’s forget about Greer. He probably got his dick stuck up his ass or something and is extra pissy today. The one thing I do know is I’m not going to let him ruin Greece for me.”

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