Page 68 of Not Another Rockstar
“How about we stay here? Throw our phones in the ocean and disappear from the world.” Phoebe scrunched her toes in the sand. “We could bury ourselves in the sand, where no one cares who we are. Fame fades—it wouldn’t be long before people forgot to care.”
“We could,” he tested, knowing her conscience wouldn’t let her. Not when her brother would see the photo of them, and the news about the hate mail.
“What about the band? You don’t want to leave the band, do you?” she asked, sitting up a little.
He knew August and Nick’s hearts would be broken if he left.
“They’d survive without me, and they can come and visit us.”
“Us?” She arched a brow.
“Sorry, I…” he stammered, not wanting to frighten her off.
“I like the sound of us,” she interrupted, resting her head on his chest. “But you love playing, and I know how much you care about the others. No matter what happens between us, I’ll never stand in the way of your dreams.”
God, if he didn’t want to throw her over his shoulder and take her home.
They stayed curled up together beneath the beach umbrella listening to the waves and enjoying the peace for as long as they could.
Anita sent a car to pick them up at the airport; Axel didn’t doubt she was making sure they didn’t “accidentally” miss their flight. He did his best to hide his irritation—they weren’t children to be wrangled—but he didn’t want an argument the very moment they stepped on Irish soil.
By the time they reached the front gate of the house, it was nearly two a.m.
“We’re home.” Axel kissed Phoebe’s hair, and she yawned awake, having used his thigh as a pillow. He’d learnt she couldn’t sleep on planes, but the car was no problem.
“Did you get any sleep at all?” she asked, eyeing him sleepily. Her falling asleep on top of him was beginning to become a habit he thoroughly enjoyed.
“No, I couldn’t stop thinking about what we discussed at the beach, but I’m glad you got some sleep.”
“You make it easy, being such an excellent pillow,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder.
With the partition separating them from the driver, Axel tipped her chin up, and he felt her breath catch as his lipsbrushed hers. He kissed her long and hard, his hands tangled in her hair, as they made the most of the time they had left.
He had never felt as vulnerable with anyone as he had that night on the balcony. Her comfort in that moment meant more to him than anything, and he hated the thought of having to hide their feelings now that they were home.
“What was that for?” she asked, running her thumb along his lower lip. He would never tire of her touches, or her lips. His fear was that he would crave her to the point of putting himself in an early grave.
“I won’t be able to kiss you like I want to once we get inside,” he whispered, while the driver removed their bags from the boot.
“I didn’t think about that,” she groaned, resting her forehead against his.
The driver opened the back door. “Sir, where would you like the bags?”
“Don’t worry about it, we’ll take them in,” Axel said.
They were welcomed home by the echo of music blaring from the house. They’d been too lost in each other to notice the rager going on in their home.
“I’m going to kill Nick,” Axel snarled, climbing out of the car. He helped Phoebe out after him and noticed her cringe at the sight of people staggering in and out of the house.
“Could’ve been August?” She tried to cover for her brother.
Axel arched a brow. “August only attends parties held in his own home because there’s no escape.”
“You’re right, but they’re probably just blowing off some steam,” she reasoned, but he didn’t let go of her hand as they walked into the house. He didn’t care if anyone saw; with the threats against her, who knew who was lurking in their house or the grounds.
“What the hell happened here?” he grumbled, walking into the crowded house with Phoebe close at his back.
Music pounded against the walls, and every countertop was littered with bottles and cigarettes. No one even noticed them arrive, but as they walked through to the sitting room, Nick stumbled through the crowd towards them. Axel could tell he was far past the stage of being reasoned with.
