Encore (Stereo Hearts Book 2) (3 page)

Shaun pulled back and threw up her left hand. She shot a look at her empty ring finger, frowned, reclaimed Adam’s eyes, and then wiggled her fingers.

“
Ooooooh
!” Noodle whooped, earning a sour look from Adam.

Shaun’s fingers continued dancing. “As long as this finger goes lonely, you’ll find me at work, every Monday morning, at nine a.m. on the dot. Just in case one of those groupies in the pit succeeds in reeling you in with her double Ds.”

“You saw that chick too?” Jon asked from the kitchen table, soft brown eyes ballooning. “Front row center? That rack was a thing of miracles.”

“I missed my whole cue, bro,” Noodle cried. “I almost swallowed my
tongue
.” He made claws at his biceps. “Even Yoshi fucked up his countdown when he got a load of that rack. That pale skin, those Porky Pig nipples—”

“Noodle!” Shaun cried, holding out her hands.

“Don’t worry, Molten, I’m down with chocolate nipples too,” Noodle reassured.

Shaun rolled her eyes, unable to fight a smile.

“Don’t
go.
” Adam dug his fingers into her T-shirt. “I’m in shambles without you. I’m miserable without you. I can’t go eight months.”

Shaun chuckled. “Try to remember that when you find yourself face-to-face with a new pair of tits tomorrow night.”

“I don’t want anyone’s tits but yours.” Adam’s eyebrows came together. “At least ride with us to Philly… We’ll dance our asses off at the club, and I’ll fly you back in time for work tomorrow.
Please
….”

“Molten,” Noodle deadpanned, motioning to Adam. “This is pathetic to watch. Please toss this man a bone so I can stop throwing up in my mouth already.”

Aria grinned from the table, leaning forward on her arms as she drank in Adam and Shaun. She couldn’t deny it was adorable. Adam had grown accustomed to getting what he wanted from women; he rarely had to ask twice. Seeing him beg was a sight to behold.

Shaun craned her head to the side when Adam wrapped his arms around her and began feathering soft kisses up and down her neck. “You guys know I’d love to stay on this bus and follow you all over the country…” She sighed when Adam’s kisses grew deeper. Her next words were strained. “But I’ve got an article to finish, and a superior who’s ready to take all the credit the moment I turn it in.
The New York Times
doesn’t write itself….”

Adam groaned while sinking down, arms still tight around Shaun, pulling her clothes with him as he slowly went to his knees. Once he was on the ground, he buried his face in the zipper of her jeans and groaned again.

“This is super uncomfortable,” Jon said.

Shaun shrugged. “What can I say, guys? He loves me.”

“What he
loves
is that choco-taco.” Noodle beamed. When Shaun shot him a look, he straightened, covering his heart like her eyes had driven a dagger through his chest. “Molten. That
look
. Choco-taco is a form of endearment.”

“It’s a slur, Noodle.” Aria nodded from the table. “A racial slur. I need you to do much better.”

“I would never use a racial slur with my Molten…” Noodle shot Shaun puppy eyes. After drinking in her understanding sigh, his eyes fell to Adam, still on the floor. “Jesus, Adam, enough. If you’re honestly this pussy whipped, why don’t you do what Yoshi does for Aria and give Shaun a job on the road?”

“She can’t do anything,” Adam mumbled, face still buried in Shaun’s zipper. “She can’t dance. She can’t lift heavy objects. Her singing voice makes me depressed…” Adam finally looked up just in time to catch the swat Shaun had waiting for him.

“And, for the record, Yoshi has nothing to do with me singing backup on tour,” Aria said, feeling the need to defend herself. “I mean, yeah, he got me the audition, but I’m the one who showed up and knocked it out of the park, okay?”

“And who writes the songs that require your backup vocals?” Noodle asked. “Hell, who writes
all
the songs? Yoshi and Adam. And I know Adam isn’t writing any of the tunes that require that sexy, sultry voice of yours. That’s all Yoshi. I’m sure he has you in mind when he’s writing them.”

“
Or…
I have the success of the band in mind,” Yoshi jumped in, his eyebrows pulling. “And may I add that every award this band has won has been for a song
I
wrote.”

“I’m just saying. When a man wants a woman around
this badly
—”
Noodle motioned to Adam “—he will always find a way.”

The bus driver whistled, catching everyone’s attention. “Sorry, Adam, but we’ve really gotta get going if we’re going to stay on schedule. We’re already off by two hours.”

Adam took a deep breath and stood. His green eyes searched Shaun’s for several moments, and then his head fell. “I’ll walk you up,” he whispered.

After Shaun gave everyone quick hugs and kisses good-bye, she and Adam stumbled off the bus and onto the bustling street of her New York City neighborhood. The fans who had been tailing the bus instantly made their presence known, screaming Adam’s name. Some of them even screamed Shaun’s.

“Does Shaun’s building have security?” Jon asked.

“I hope so.” Yoshi laughed.

--

Once the band arrived at Splash Nightclub in Center City, Philadelphia, it was well past midnight. If the zooming purple strobe lights, sonorous hip-hop music, and grinding young bodies surrounding them were any indication, the party had just gotten started.

All activity came to a halt as one eye after another landed on Adam, who led the group, right behind the club promoter guiding them to their table. Aria smirked at the familiar gleam of awe in their eyes as they took Adam in. Burly security guards flanked the band, but even they weren’t enough to keep silver and gold-bangled arms from slipping in to sneak a touch of Adam, Yoshi, and Noodle.

Noodle tossed winks and smiles at the groping hands, offering his chest to every manicured claw snatching at his black T-shirt.

Aria took up the rear of the group, tightening her fingers around Yoshi’s as he held her close to his body. She adjusted her sleeveless black midi dress, which fell past her knees, leaving just an inch of space between the hem and her black combat boots. When she realized she was already getting hot amidst the shoulder-to-shoulder club-goers, she wished she hadn’t let her mid-back-length afro out of its rubber band for the night.

Even with security guarding them at every angle, Yoshi still held her close, making sure his body was always shielding hers. He was so close that all she could see was the back of his strong, bronzed neck and the dusting of black hair peeking out from his backward baseball cap. Whenever she accidentally bumped him and tried to take a step back, he’d tug her in again without even looking at her, knowing how easy it was for an unfamiliar face to become disconnected from the group.

Aria’s head flew to her left in shock when she heard
her
name being screamed from the crowd. She was always surprised when the fans knew her. Some of The White Keys’ fans were die-hard, however, and didn’t just know the names of the band, but their road crew as well. Even some of the security guards had fan followings. She wondered what it was like to be so well known that even the people who worked for you became famous by association.

She smiled in the direction of the person calling her name, allowing Yoshi to help her up the steps once the group arrived at their table. It was located in an elevated booth that overlooked the bumping club and was connected to a private balcony. The towering Center City skyscrapers winked from the tall windows.

She tried to sit in the booth, her fingers still locked around Yoshi’s, and was surprised when he kept a hold of her hand and pulled her back to her feet, dragging her after him onto the balcony.

She let him, waiting until they were both leaning on the railing outside, the cold night air biting their cheeks, to tilt her head at him. “Half-naked cocktail servers, house music, every assortment of liquor known to man, and you bypassed all of them, without a second glance? Have we met? What have you done with my Yoshi?”

Yoshi muttered something, kicking his black Chucks on the ground, hands shoved in his pockets.

Aria’s voice lowered. “Something’s going on. You started acting strange during the drive up here. Quiet.”

“It’s all good.” His smooth voice broke, going hoarse in the middle of his sentence the way it often did, similar to the dark clouds impeding the moon above. That fracture in his bedroom voice often emerged when he sang, and in Aria’s opinion, it was what made his voice so different—so special.

“It’s all good,” she mimicked, deepening her voice. She reached out and shoved him. He stumbled but recovered quickly. “Get the fuck outta here.”

“Why’re you so violent?” he accused.

“I’m only violent when you bullshit me. How do you not know by now? I’ve always got my eye on you…” She cocked her good eye at him, glaring with it. “I only have one, but I can still see you. And it knows something’s off. You were fine on the bus a few hours ago. What’s up?”

“Look…” He chuckled. “Truth is… I do have to tell you something, and it’s getting harder to avoid. It’s eating me up a little bit.”

“You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know. When you’re in a club and not bouncing off the walls, being loud as hell and assaulting every hot woman in sight, I already
know
something is wrong.”

He hesitated, took a deep breath. “Remember that Sony exec I told you about? The one I performed two songs for way back?”

She nodded. “Yeah, you said you put your whole foot in it, but he never called.”

“Well, he called, and I think this is it. He wants to sit down and talk about a solo contract. I’m flying to LA after tomorrow night’s show, since we’ll have a couple days off.”

“You’re flying to LA? Secretly?”

He pushed his hands deeper into the pockets of his tapered jeans. He came out with a red lighter, flicking the flame on and off as he nodded. “Secretly.”

“So, you’re leaving The White Keys?”

“Nothing’s finalized. But if and when something is finalized, no, I’m not leaving the Keys.” He stepped forward and cupped her chin between his thumb and forefinger, searching her gaze. “
We’re
leaving the Keys.”

“But…” Aria stepped back, breaking their connection. “
Adam.
”

Yoshi watched her retreat, keeping his body open to hers even as she backed away. “I know.”

“He saved our lives.”

“I know.”

“Dragged us out of the trenches.”

“I know.”

“We didn’t have
shit.”

“I know, Bo. Damn. You think I don’t know?”

“Would you really feel right going behind his back? Doing it all in secret?”

“The exec says it has to be on the low.” He took a moment to drink in the look on her face then held his tattooed arms out at his sides, showing his lean frame. “Does my life stop because I play drums for Adam? Do I stop going after what I want? My dreams, my passion, my happiness? Do I put everything I want on the back burner, just because his feelings might get hurt?”

Aria sputtered.

“When we ran away together… I promised you I’d be a star. That I’d take care of you forever.”

“You
have
taken care of me
.”
Her jaw went slack. “Yosh,
we’ve traveled the world, playing shows, painting every town blood red, and having the time of our lives. We’re living those same dreams we whispered to the moon every night on that rooftop—dreams that seemed so far away it actually made us laugh to even speak them out loud. But now it’s real. Eighty cities, ninety shows, three hundred days. You’ve done more than take care of me—you changed my life. Both our lives.”

“I don’t want to spend the rest of my life rotting away behind a drum set. I want to be seen, Bo. Seen… Heard….”

“Loved?”

Yoshi straightened. A lump moved down his throat before he turned away and faced the balcony rails. The loose white tank he wore blew in the night breeze. It was a crew neck with nonexistent arms, leaving a gaping hole that stretched down to his hips and left his entire side exposed, hinting at the deep V at his waist and the beginnings of his six-pack abs. When he clutched the railing, his toned forearm flexed. The muscle seemed to travel up his bicep, along his shoulder, and all the way into his jaw where it rolled beneath his skin, finally coming to a stop at his chiseled cheek. “I don’t even know why we’re talking about this. It’s not even a done deal. I haven’t been offered a contract.”

“But you will.”

He met her eye.

Aria let a silence fall, drinking in his familiar woodsy scent and the warmth of his presence. She stepped closer. Leaning her hip against the railing, she bent her head and tried to reclaim his gaze, kicking his calf gently with the tip of her boot. When a smirk finally broke through the corner of his mouth, she tucked her finger under the hem of his shirt and tugged the fabric hard, making the hole stretch enough to reveal every dip and curve of his toned chest, even a hint of his pink nipple, nearly taking him off his feet. His smirk blossomed into a full-blown smile as he reared away, and she drank in those deep dimples.