part of me wanted to stay and hear it.
“I guess you could call us friends. Friends with benefits, though, really.” She purposefully paused, waiting for me to pounce, waiting for the gushing and the pleading for details. I think she saw the blood drain from my face. She certainly picked up on my rising fury—her expression turned from smug to nervous. “Hey, it was only once, I don’t want to have a fight over him or anything.”
“I’m not going to fight you, you stupid bitch.” I barged her out of the way and marched in the direction of Nate’s dressing room, the muscles in my jaw so tense they started to ache. I flung open the door with a loud crash and he spun round, towel around his waist, still dripping from the shower.
“Anna—”
“You fucking dick,” I yelled. “Some way to ‘prove your trust through actions,’ asshole. Stay the fuck away from me, you’re full of shit.”
CHAPTER 14—NATE
I didn’t move for a second, just stared after her as she stormed down the corridor. There were a whole bunch of people milling about who had most certainly heard the whole thing, but I didn’t care. I had no idea what had just happened or what had triggered that outburst. I’d been so happy that Anna was here, and she’d been fine with me before I went on stage. Even after, that smile she’d flashed had seemed genuine. I couldn’t, for the life of me, think what could’ve possibly happened between then and now for her to unleash that tirade on me.
Hopping around, trying to pull my pants on with one hand and locate her number on my cell in the other, I hung up and tried again, each time she let it ring to voicemail. I had to put the phone down as I buttoned myself up, fingers fumbling while my heart pounded. I know this was supposed to be a casual fling with no room for it to be anything more, but I couldn’t deny the fear in my heart that I’d caused real upset in her about something and I—
The knock on my door made me start, and I flung it open, still topless, hoping it would be Anna. It was a member of the security team. She averted her eyes bashfully as I impatiently waited for her to speak.
“Sorry to disturb you, sir, but Rob’s told me you’ve got five minutes before the meet and greet are due to the green room.”
“Thanks,” I told her, closing the door and cursing Rob with every profanity I could think of. I dialed Anna again, and this time left a message.
“Listen, I don’t know what’s going on, but don’t go. Come back and talk to me about this, tell me what happened.” I sounded desperate, so I coughed to relax my vocal muscles. “Rob’s organized this dumb meet and greet that I can’t get out of, so I can’t come after you. I’ll say some hellos, have some photos taken and be outta there as soon as I can. Just. . .stay here, okay?” Sighing, I quickly checked my hair in the mirror and headed to the main hang out room.
A quarter of it had been cordoned off and a white clothed table groaned with soft drinks and snacks. Mikey and Jon were already in the middle of it as Rob spoke to them, his face already an attractive purple.
“Ah, Nate.” Rob beckoned me over. “I was just explaining, there is a very strict time constraint; you need to get around every person in fifteen minutes so no chit-chat. Quick hugs, smile for the camera and onto the next, alright?”
I nodded at him and forced a tight-lipped smile at the others. Jon saw the tension on my face, and was just about to ask when Rob spoke into his walkie, instructing the staff to bring down the fans, so there was no time.
Within seconds, we were swarmed by people, most of them wanting to touch us, tell us how our music had changed their lives. It was quite humbling, actually, to hear their stories, to see their passion and belief in us. For one crazy moment, I forgot that we were all a bunch of musicians who had gotten lucky, and believed that we
“I guess you could call us friends. Friends with benefits, though, really.” She purposefully paused, waiting for me to pounce, waiting for the gushing and the pleading for details. I think she saw the blood drain from my face. She certainly picked up on my rising fury—her expression turned from smug to nervous. “Hey, it was only once, I don’t want to have a fight over him or anything.”
“I’m not going to fight you, you stupid bitch.” I barged her out of the way and marched in the direction of Nate’s dressing room, the muscles in my jaw so tense they started to ache. I flung open the door with a loud crash and he spun round, towel around his waist, still dripping from the shower.
“Anna—”
“You fucking dick,” I yelled. “Some way to ‘prove your trust through actions,’ asshole. Stay the fuck away from me, you’re full of shit.”
CHAPTER 14—NATE
I didn’t move for a second, just stared after her as she stormed down the corridor. There were a whole bunch of people milling about who had most certainly heard the whole thing, but I didn’t care. I had no idea what had just happened or what had triggered that outburst. I’d been so happy that Anna was here, and she’d been fine with me before I went on stage. Even after, that smile she’d flashed had seemed genuine. I couldn’t, for the life of me, think what could’ve possibly happened between then and now for her to unleash that tirade on me.
Hopping around, trying to pull my pants on with one hand and locate her number on my cell in the other, I hung up and tried again, each time she let it ring to voicemail. I had to put the phone down as I buttoned myself up, fingers fumbling while my heart pounded. I know this was supposed to be a casual fling with no room for it to be anything more, but I couldn’t deny the fear in my heart that I’d caused real upset in her about something and I—
The knock on my door made me start, and I flung it open, still topless, hoping it would be Anna. It was a member of the security team. She averted her eyes bashfully as I impatiently waited for her to speak.
“Sorry to disturb you, sir, but Rob’s told me you’ve got five minutes before the meet and greet are due to the green room.”
“Thanks,” I told her, closing the door and cursing Rob with every profanity I could think of. I dialed Anna again, and this time left a message.
“Listen, I don’t know what’s going on, but don’t go. Come back and talk to me about this, tell me what happened.” I sounded desperate, so I coughed to relax my vocal muscles. “Rob’s organized this dumb meet and greet that I can’t get out of, so I can’t come after you. I’ll say some hellos, have some photos taken and be outta there as soon as I can. Just. . .stay here, okay?” Sighing, I quickly checked my hair in the mirror and headed to the main hang out room.
A quarter of it had been cordoned off and a white clothed table groaned with soft drinks and snacks. Mikey and Jon were already in the middle of it as Rob spoke to them, his face already an attractive purple.
“Ah, Nate.” Rob beckoned me over. “I was just explaining, there is a very strict time constraint; you need to get around every person in fifteen minutes so no chit-chat. Quick hugs, smile for the camera and onto the next, alright?”
I nodded at him and forced a tight-lipped smile at the others. Jon saw the tension on my face, and was just about to ask when Rob spoke into his walkie, instructing the staff to bring down the fans, so there was no time.
Within seconds, we were swarmed by people, most of them wanting to touch us, tell us how our music had changed their lives. It was quite humbling, actually, to hear their stories, to see their passion and belief in us. For one crazy moment, I forgot that we were all a bunch of musicians who had gotten lucky, and believed that we
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