Page 49 of The Rocker

“Not for something stupid like wearing a mask,” he sneered and tried to pull his hand out of mine. I didn’t let go, though. There was no way in hell I was going to let him get into more trouble.

“Let go,” he demanded.

“No. Not until you’re in your room. Then we’re going to order us dinner because I’m starving, and you need to sober up. Then you’re going to tell me what your problem is with me.”

Greer yanked on my hand, causing me to become unbalanced and fall. I caught myself on my hands and knees. The instant I hit the pavement, I knew both would come up bloody. I stayed down, looking up at Greer, who was now circling me on the sidewalk.

Looking up at the sky, Greer yelled. The words dripped with so much pain that I felt it deep in my gut. “You want to know what my problem is with you? With the world?”

“Yes,” I whispered to him as I stood up and moved in front of him.

“My problem is I want the one person I can never have,” he cried out.

“Greer,” I put my hand out to comfort him, but he swatted it away.

“It’s not you, woman,” he said the last word with so much venom I took a step back.

“I want Walker. He’s who I want and will never have,” he confessed, a lone tear streaming down his face.

Walker, Cross, and Kenton stepped out of the shadows as if on cue, all eyes on us. When had they gotten here? “Well, that explains a lot.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE

walker

Looking up from my phone,I spotted Greer looking over at me, but the second our eyes met, he turned his head to look away. It had been two weeks of this awkward dance. He wouldn’t talk to me or anyone else on the bus. The only people he talked to were the crew members.

I felt bad. Unrequited love, lust, like, or whatever the hell he felt for me was a bitch. I couldn’t do anything about it, though, and unfortunately for Greer, those feelings would never be reciprocated.

Pen felt awful and had been keeping too much space between us when Greer was around, which felt constant. I thought with all of the guys knowing, we wouldn’t have to hide, but now it felt like we were hiding more than ever.

Pen came bounding into the room. There was a bounce in her step and a wide smile. You could feel the happiness coming off of her in waves.

“I’ve got amazing news,” she squealed. Picking up my hand, she held it to her chest as she faced the others. “I just got off the phone with Cristiano.”

“Is that why you’re so happy? Not that I blame you,” Cross joked.

“No, silly,” she swatted at him. “Twisted Youth just went gold,” she called out the last word long and loud.

Cross leaned back against the wall across from me. His mouth hung open. “You’ve got to be fucking with us.”

“I don’t joke about business,” Pen said before turning and jumping on me. I caught her effortlessly like I knew I would until the end of my days. She wrapped her body around mine, her fingers pulling on my hair until I was exactly where she wanted me, and then her lips were on mine.

With one hand under her ass, the other pulled her closer. The hard press of her mouth to mine had me wanting to forget the show we were supposed to perform in twenty minutes and take her back to the hotel where I could ravage her body all night long. That celebration would have to wait. Now it was time to revel in this moment with my brothers.

Breaking away, I pressed my forehead to Pen’s before I placed one last kiss on her swollen lips and put her down. She quickly moved out of the way as the guys and I converged in the middle of the room in a big hug where we all laughed, yelled, and maybe shed a tear or two. For once, even Greer was happy.

Cross was the first to step back from the group. He went directly to Pen and gave her a big bear hug, murmuring something to her that had her eyes misting up as she met my gaze. A watery smile graced her face as she rubbed his back.

“Let me get in on the love,” Kenton broke away and hugged Pen and Cross from behind.

“Alright, while I love you all, you need to finish getting ready. Your set to be on stage in…” she looked down at her watch. “Ten minutes. You know the drill. Do what you need to do.”

While Cross and Kenton disbanded from my woman, I prowled toward her and pulled her into my arms. “Does that include me?”

Tilting her head to the side, she shook her head with a touch of a smile. “Does what include you?”

Leaning down, I shadowed her body with mine and nipped at her earlobe. “Doing whatever I need to do before the show.”

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