Page 9 of Hard Rock Fling
My lungs stopped working.
A tall, gorgeous man with messy brown hair walked in. His eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, but I knew exactly who it was. I sat, frozen, my hands clutching my coffee cup.
Ian didn't see me at first. He ordered a coffee and leaned against the counter, flirting with the barista. "Think you could give me an extra shot of espresso, sweetness?"
She blushed and ducked her head. He tilted her chin up and whispered something in her ear. I couldn't hear what he said, but she squeaked and rushed away. She would no doubt give him exactly what he wanted.
That sounded a lot dirtier in my head than it was meant to.
He scanned the room, waiting. His gaze fell on me. A sly grin crossed his face. The barista came back moments later. He took his coffee without looking at her.
He made his way over to my table. I forced myself to breathe. He would probably walk on by. Of course he wasn't going to remember me. He'd probably flirted with dozens of girls after the concert last night.
Ian stopped in front of my table.
"Mind if I join you?"
Chapter Five
Ian's low, teasing voice did something to my insides. I swallowed hard and couldn't answer. I just stared at him, trying not to melt. He smirked and pulled out the chair.
"What are you doing here, Ian?" The words blurted out without any input from my brain.
He stopped in the middle of sitting down. He tilted his sunglasses down an inch, staring at me over the rim. Those green eyes were penetrating. Every time he looked at me, it turned my insides to mush. This time I felt a spark of something else. It wasn't a flirtatious look. It went deeper. Like he was peeling back my layers and examining my insides. I felt oddly exposed.
"What?" I asked. "Why are you staring at me?"
"How'd you know I wasn't Damon?"
I shrugged. "I can just tell."
"You'd be the first…" he murmured. He pulled the chair over until he was sitting next to me, our knees almost touching. "What's a pretty girl like you doing here? This place is such a dive."
I couldn't think with him that close. I tried to shift away subtly, but he kept on inching forward. "I'm hiding."
"Yeah? Me, too. No one ever comes here, fans or media." He stopped following me and leaned back in his chair, eyeing me up and down. "Who you hiding from?"
It was such a normal question. The kind a fellow intern would ask. Why would a rock star care about the boring details of my day?
"I'm trying to avoid my boss."
"Skipping out on work?" He made a tsk tsk sound. "Naughty girl."
"I needed a break. I've been awake for almost twenty four hours straight."
"Had a wild and crazy night, did you? And they say rock stars party hard."
"I wasn't partying, I wasworking,"I stressed.
"That's no fun. Sounds like you need to let loose a little."
"I'm plenty loose."
Ian laughed. I flushed.
"Shut up, that's not what I meant." I took a flustered sip of my coffee, taking a moment to regain my balance. "And what about you? It's barely past noon. Shouldn't rock stars be nursing their hangovers this early in the day?"
He stretched out his legs, bumping his toe against mine. "Can't get a hangover if you're still drunk."
