The Rocker Who Wants Me (The Rocker... Series) (31 page)

I saw Ryder’s eyes flicker to the entrance to the back.

“So you wouldn’t care at all if I told you some beefy frat boy fucktard is throwing game at her right now, right?”

I felt anger start to rise and my head snapped to him.

“What do you mean?”

He nodded his head toward the entrance and said, “See for yourself.”

I took a few steps forward and saw some asshole in a polo shirt with his hand on Jessie’s waist and was leaning into her ear, whispering something to her that had her scrunching up her face in disgust. She was trying to back away from him but he wasn’t taking the hint.

“I’ll be right back guys,” I said, taking off down the steps as I heard the guys laughing.

I came to a stop in front of her and gripped her arm gently.

She looked at me with relief and I asked, “Hey Jess, who’s this guy?”

“Um, I don’t know him,” she said, tucking her long hair behind her ear and moving closer to me.

The frat boy idiot turned and glared at me.

“Excuse me, asshole, I was talking to her.”

“Well
I’m
talking to
you
, mother fucker, and she’s with the band. She clearly isn’t into you so back the fuck off before I knock your ass out,” I spat at him.

Jessie placed her delicate hand on my arm and tugged.

“Kris, let’s just go.”

The guy took a drink of his beer and turned his eyes back to Jessie.

He looked her up and down, staring at her like she was nothing more than a piece of meat, and said, “Aw, come on sexy. Why would you want some white trash rocker when you can be riding my cock? I bet I can make you come faster than he can.”

Before I could even think, I punched the asshole frat boy right in his jaw and he stumbled back. Jessie gasped as I grabbed the collar of his shirt.

I pulled him close to my face and growled, “You so much as look at her again I will
end
you, mother fucker. She’s fucking seventeen years old and if you touch her at all I won’t need to call the fucking cops because I’ll kill you myself.”

The prick rolled his eyes and scoffed as I pushed him back to the wall.

“Whatever, you can have her. This little cunt isn’t worth it anyway.”

He spat blood out at us and it landed at my feet.

I was about to go after the guy again but Jessie grabbed my arm to stop me. He was laughing as he walked away and if I didn’t have her holding me back I’d have taken off after him.

“Kris, you’re shaking. Calm down,” she said, fear in her voice.

I turned my head and looked at her. She looked frightened and it made me soften up and start to calm down. I hated when she looked scared because it made my protectiveness go into overdrive.

I looked into her eyes that were wide with concern and I answered, “Sorry, Jess. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Letting go of me, she smiled and said, “You didn’t scare me. I was afraid I’d have to try and bail your ass out of jail. I’m saving all my money to move so you’d probably be sitting there for a while.”

I smiled at her and nudged her arm with my elbow.

“Well, it’s the thought that counts, right? Come on, let’s go backstage.”

I held my arm out for her to go ahead of me. As she climbed the stairs, she tossed her hair back over her shoulders and I caught a whiff of her cherry blossom scented shampoo. I always loved the fragrance of it and as I breathed her in I instantly felt calm.

“Are you sure you want to hang with me and not chase that red head that had her eye on you during the show?” she asked. “She was pretty stacked.”

I hooked an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into my chest.

“Hey, this is the first show you’ve been able to come to in over a month. The only girl I want to hang out with tonight is you,” I said, and she giggled.

She looked up at me with those big blue eyes and she grinned.

“Thanks, Kris. I’m really glad I was able to get tonight off. I know I need the money now more than ever but it’s still nice to get away from life for a while and have some fun.”

“You’re definitely due for some,” I asked.

“Which reminds me, what do you want to do for your birthday next week?”

“Oh, we don’t have to do anything. As long as I can hang with you and the guys I’m good.”

“Come on, Jess, there has to be something you want.”

She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and I could swear I saw her blush. I have never seen Jess have this reaction before…I wondered if this was about a guy.

My eyebrows drew together and before I could ask her about it, she said, “Really there isn’t. Just being with my friends and having a night away from Crystal sounds like heaven to me.”

Crystal was Jessie’s mom and whenever she wasn’t around her she called her by her first name. That woman didn’t deserve to be called “mom” by anyone, let alone one of the greatest girls in the world.

“Well, we’ll figure it out. You’re turning eighteen and that means you don’t have to stay with Crystal anymore. That alone is a celebration.”

“I know. I’m surprised she hasn’t thrown me out yet, but why would she? She still gets government assistance for me until I move out.”

“Which will be soon, I promise,” I said, squeezing her into me again.

“You’ve got to be close to having enough to get your own place, right?”

Jessie smiled and said, “One more paycheck, Kris. God it’s going to feel so good to get the keys to my own apartment. I don’t care if it’s bare and I have nothing to sleep on. Just being away from her and on my own is going to feel amazing.”

“I know it,” I said, smiling at her enthusiasm.

I couldn’t wait to get away from my bastard father but saving for a new drum kit was making that impossible. Alan had offered to help me buy them, but he’d already done so much to help us so I refused. I had to do this on my own.

As we reached the door to the back stage lounge, Jessie pulled away from me to open the door. When she did she brushed her ass across my crotch. Suddenly, I felt tingles shooting through me and I stood up straight.

She tossed her hair back again and said, “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into you!”

Her cheeks were red with embarrassment as I moved away from her, but not in enough time to hide my instant semi.
What the fuck was that?

“It’s okay Jess, no worries,” I said, shifting around and thinking of anything to make my sudden erection go away.

Thankfully she didn’t seem to notice and walked into the room while I tried to shake off what the hell just happened.

About an hour later, we’d been hanging out backstage, having a good time just drinking and laughing. My reaction to Jessie’s ass brushing against me was all but forgotten and I was feeling pretty good and buzzed. We’d been hanging with Corey Brewer, who not only loved the show but was insistent on talking to his manager about us to maybe come on tour with them this summer. We were on the verge of everything we’d been working hard for and we were all excited for this chance, including Jessie. We were starting to get noticed and she was one paycheck away from being free from Crystal. Things were finally starting to look up.

“Okay, well, I’m going to head out guys. Your band is fucking amazing and I’ll definitely be in touch,” Cory said, stopping to shake everyone’s hands.

“Nice meeting all of you.”

“You too, man,” Ryder said.

We all gave him one final goodbye and when he was gone, everyone jumped up and cheered.

“Dude, can you fucking believe this? This summer we might be on tour with Sticks and Stones,” Beau said.

“God that would be so awesome. Can you imagine playing in those venues night after night?” Ryder added.

“What about all the fucking hot ass girls at those shows? The pussy that’s going to get thrown at us every night…” Jude said and he and Ryder fist bumped.

I nudged his arm and said, “Fuck man, Jess is here. Can we not talk about pussy in front of her?”

Jessie rolled her eyes and said, “Kris, come on. I’m not a baby. I’ve heard you guys talk about this stuff before. It’s no big deal to me.”

“Yeah, but still…” I said, trailing off.

Jessie put up her hands and said, “Stop it, it’s okay, seriously. Let’s focus on the fact that Cory Fucking Brewer was just here and you might finally get your big break!” she squealed.

I smiled at her and grabbed her up into a big hug.

“This still doesn’t feel real.”

“Well it’s real, so you better start believing it. I am so happy for you all. You might actually get the hell out of this town!” she said.

“Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Cory said he’d be in touch so now we just play the waiting game.”

Jessie hugged me back tightly. “You’ve got this, Kris. I know it,” she said, stifling a yawn.

“You tired already? It’s only midnight,” Ryder said to her.

“Well, she’s working her ass off at that restaurant night after night. She’s not used to being out this late,” I answered for her.

“Thanks for that, Dad,” she joked.

“I know it’s lame but I am starting to crash. I think I’m going to head back to the hell hole. Crystal should be either passed out from drinking or whatever she shot into her arm by now so there shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I can take you home,” I answered without thinking.

“Oh no, it’s all right. I can just take a cab,” she insisted.

I shook my head and replied, “Hell no. I’m taking you.”

“What’s the big deal? I take cabs all the time and we all don’t exactly live in the greatest neighborhood anyway.”

“Okay please don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re fucking hot, Jess. You already had some cock sucker trying to get into your panties tonight and dressed the way you are there’s no way you are going to make it back to your building without being groped or worse,” Jude answered in a protective big brother type way.

We all love Jessie and he teases her a lot, but when it comes down to it he cares about her as much as we all do.

“Let Kris take you home and we can load up all of the equipment.”

I smiled at Jude, surprised that he offered to pack up my drum kit for me. He never wanted to help pack shit up after a show. I wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth and walked to him, clapping him on the back.

“Thanks man,” I offered.

He smiled and said, “No problem, bro. You can owe me later. Just get her home safe.”

Usually when I owed Jude a favor it meant he wanted me to run interference on one chick so he could hook up with her friend.

Sighing, I said, “You know it, man. I’ll check in with you guys later.”

Jessie hugged everyone goodbye and made them all promise to call her the minute they got any news from Cory. As soon as she was ready, she linked her arm through mine and we walked out of the back stage lounge and out through the club.

As we reached my old beat up Ford pickup truck, I opened the passenger side door and she climbed in.

Before I shut the door, she had a dreamy look on her face and she said, “I can’t believe you guys are finally getting your big break.”

I laughed and shut the door after she got inside.

As soon as I was behind the wheel and putting the truck into reverse, I asked, “You really think this is a sure thing, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” he said, answering like it should have been obvious.

“You and the guys are incredibly talented and you know I’m not just saying that. If you sucked I’d tell you.”

I chuckled.

“I know it. If there is one thing you’ve always been it’s honest, even if it’s not what I want to hear.”

“What are best friends for?” she asked, biting her bottom lip.

“True.”

As we neared the apartment complex, I saw a light on inside her apartment and I could see her shivering out of the corner of my eye.

“Looks like Crystal is still up.”

“Or just passed out with the lights on,” she said, trying her best to not sound afraid.

I pulled into my parking spot and shut off the engine. She reached for the handle but I stopped her by gently taking her hand.

“Hey, you don’t have to go inside there if you don’t want to. My old man is working graveyard tonight so you can crash at my place.”

“No, it’s okay, Kris. I’m used to this. If she’s up I will try to just side step her to my room and lock my door.”

I felt angrier as the seconds ticked away. It made me irate to see her this way. No one should be afraid to go home and seeing her trying to hide her fear of her mother always made me see red.

“Can I at least make sure you get to your room safely? You know if I’m there she won’t fuck with you.”

The one thing I had going for me was my looks and Crystal was a true whore. She tried everything she could when I was around to get into my pants and even though I never let it get that far I used it to help keep Jessie safe from her. She was fucking disgusting and made me want to puke being near her.

She bit her bottom lip and turned her face to me.

She nodded her head and said, “Yes. Thank you so much, Kris.”

“What are best friends for?” I asked, mirroring her words.

I got out of the truck and she scooted across the cab and got out of the driver’s side door.

“Only a true friend would walk a girl to her apartment to keep her bitch mother from attacking her by letting the skank try to seduce him,” she said, and I scoffed.

“As if that whore had a chance. How someone as trashy as her had a daughter as beautiful as you is beyond me,” I answered, and I thought I heard Jessie let out a soft gasp.

Neither of us spoke as we walked up to her apartment. I heard shuffling as she unlocked the door. Crystal was obviously awake and I could sense Jessie’s fear. I placed an arm on her shoulder and rubbed it reassuringly as we walked inside.

Crystal was sitting on the couch with one leg propped up on the coffee table. As soon as we were inside her eyes landed on Jessie and it seemed like she was trying to focus. The bitch was as high as a fucking kite. Luckily, getting her to back off so Jessie could get some sleep would be a piece of cake.

“Where the hell have you been? You’re dressed like a fucking whore,” she snapped at her.