Alluring Infatuation (14 page)

I nod. “I know what you’re saying. I hear you. I just don’t know what’s going on here.”

She smiles at me. “Well, figure it out. Go into whatever this is with a clear head. I see how he affects you. Just keep your wits about you, ok?”

She’s right. I have to keep my head straight. I can’t allow him to sway me or allow my feelings for him to allow me to compromise myself. I’d hate myself. I’m not doing that.

Fine, he’s in New York. He can’t call me. I’m ok with that. I have friends. I have things to do. I can’t make him more important than he makes me.

What the hell are you even talking about, Mel? You’re blowing smoke up your own ass right now. You’re already in too deep with him. Now all you can do is make sure your ass has a lifeline no matter what happens.

Woman overboard…

Sighing, I smile at Monica and try to fool her, since I can’t fool myself.

We drink the rest of the bottle and talk about the practice, her boys and husband, and life in general. It’s nice and relaxing, yet Dade is never far from my mind. Though I don’t appear to be on his, as I glance at my silent phone for the millionth time.

Dade

I
stretch as the alarm goes off for the third time. Rolling over, I grab the phone from the nightstand and swipe the screen to silence it. The damn ducks are annoying as shit, but effective. Lying back, I stare at the ornate ceiling and try to clear my head for the day.

Last night was the concert in Central Park. It was insane. People were everywhere. We arrived at the venue around 4PM and started doing sound checks while the roadies finished the set up. It was closed to the public and there were barricades and police and security strolling the perimeter since the concert didn’t start until 7:30PM.

Blue hired a local photographer she’s worked with in the past and they caught the rehearsal, sound check, concert, and after party for Rock With Me. Kate and some of the other Angels showed up and were let backstage, so there was an informal photo session there as well. I think we’ll use a couple of the girls in the next music video. Bradi ran a tight ship and the small meet and greet before the concert went perfectly.

She’s good at her job and there were no hiccups. Devil’s Lair went on at 7:30PM and did their set much to the crowd’s enjoyment. I stood at the side stage with the guys, Blue, and Bradi to catch the show. Clove, Lexi, Micah, Erik, and Alec all had front row seats. We wanted Clove off of her feet, so we had a small horseshoe for VIP’s directly in front of center stage with barricades, so they were safe. The Angels were also there, along with the governor.

The crowd got a little wild when we joined Devil’s Lair on stage and rocked out with them for a few songs, but the security was top notch and removed the few overzealous fans promptly.

Our set went off without a hitch. It was a great show. The after party was also a good time, though I left about an hour into it because I was dead on my feet and I had enough of women making propositions in my ear and grabbing my dick through my jeans.

One woman was there with her daughter who had just turned eighteen and they both wanted to accompany me back to the room. Um, no. I’ve never been the guy who takes random women back to his room. I prefer to be a little more selective in my choice of bedmates. But that just weirded me the fuck out. They approached Cruz once I gently turned them down. I saw his face from across the room and I laughed my ass off. He looked at them like they were insane.

The daughter then approached Jessie and Blue quickly walked over. It’s easy to cast the ones looking to nail a rocker and they don’t care which one.

Her face was priceless with whatever Blue said. She can be scary. The fan turned tail and left pretty quickly, grabbing Mommy on the way out.

I laugh as I remember it. Crazy shit happens a lot with this lifestyle, but every now and then, something so fucking out of the box still surprises me.

I check the time and see I have time for a quick shower before meeting everyone downstairs to head to the children’s hospital.

We’re heading home late tonight, but today is going to be an extra-long day.

I make it downstairs with minutes to spare pulling my hair up into a ponytail as I exit the elevator.

There’s a small crowd in the lobby and from my vantage point, thanks to my height, I see Jude, Jessie, and Cruz in the middle of it. I sigh and make my way through the people, stopping to take pics and sign stuff as I shoulder my way through.

I love this life, but I’m glad this was only one show. We just toured not that long ago and we have another one that should be starting in about six months. We need to get this new album down. We were going to do an arena tour over the summer, but Jude just got married and Jessie and Blue and Liam and Clove are planning summer weddings now, so we scrapped that idea.

The new tour is slotted to start not long after Clove has the baby. We’re trying to get them to push it back a couple more months, but we’ll see. We’re going to be upgrading the buses though and we’ll drive much more for this tour so Clove and the baby can travel with Liam and Blue can travel with Jessie. They can run Rock With Me from the road.

Finally, I break through and see a clear path to the guys. Jude has his arm around Lexi’s waist and Blue is standing to the left of Jessie watching the crowds while the photographer she hired snaps away.

Making my way to Cruz, I ask, “Liam and Clove not down yet?”

He mumbles as he signs things, “No. They’re up though. He texted me. Said Clove’s a little tired, but they’ll be down in a few.”

My mind starts racing. I knew this was going to be too much for her. She’s pregnant and touring is exhausting. That’s it. Once we get home, she’s staying there. Nothing is happening to her or the baby. Liam better get on this shit and take care of her.

A few minutes later, I hear Bradi over the crowd. “Ok, guys. That’s enough for now. We have to get going. We have an appointment. Back up. Lady with a baby coming through. Make some room.”

Her presence is very commanding and most people listen to her though they grumble if they didn’t get to us yet.

She’s parting the crowd like the Red Sea with Micah behind her, in front of Clove. Erik is on one side, Alec is on the other, and Liam is right behind her with his hands on her back. She’s in a protective box of male muscle. Ok, maybe I won’t be so hard on him. He loves my baby sister.

Bradi gets to the rest of us and keeps walking, calling over her shoulder as she passes, “Fall in boys. We have a schedule to keep and kids to greet. Cars are out front.”

Security ushers through the large crowd in front of the hotel and we’re loaded into the waiting cars. There are three of them. We fit in the first two. I ask about the third. She laughs. “Well, it seems your friends wanted to come visit the kids, too. There are six Victoria’s Secret models back there. Kate is a sweetie.”

Well, I’ll be damned.

I nod. “She is.”

Clove is watching me closely with a peculiar expression on her face. I mouth, “What?”

She shakes her head and smiles tiredly before she looks out of the window.

We spend six hours at Morgan Stanley’s Children’s Hospital. We sign posters, hats, t-shirts, and cd’s. We take more photos than imaginable with the patients, the staff, and even the cafeteria workers. It’s great day and we have a blast.

I read a story to a few kids in the playroom. Seeing the smiles on their faces as they breathed through oxygen masks and wheeled around IV bags makes my day. All I did was show up and spend a little time with them but it really made a difference. I wish more people would take the time to visit these kids. Such a simple gesture can have such a profound impact.

Before we leave, I go into one more room. A little boy is in the bed connected to far too many tubes and wires. He tells me his name is Timmy and he’s eight. He has a congenital heart condition. He told me he spends a lot of time there since he has a weak heart and that he gets sick really easily since he has no immune system from all of his heart surgeries. He tells me that he loves basketball and dreams of being a basketball player, but that he can’t do it. His heart can’t handle the stress and exertion.

I can’t imagine being eight years old and living with something like that. My heart breaks for him, but he is the happiest kid. He’s adorable with his bright red hair and twinkling brown eyes. His grin is infectious and I can’t help but smile around him.

He tells me that while he can’t be a basketball star, he can be a musician and he wants to play the guitar in a rock band and be just like me when he grows up.

His simple words rock my world. I am blessed to be able to do something I love every single day and I make a damn good living at it. I jam with him for a minute before Cruz pops his head into the room and taps out a beat on the tray table which Timmy tries to mimic. Before long, everyone is in this one room and we all sing one of our songs with Timmy accompanying us in his adorable voice.

I’ll remember this forever. This is why I do this.

It’s amazing to have fans. It’s awesome to have people appreciate what we do and love our music, but this… this eight year old boy who has faced more in his short life than most people face in eighty years… for him to say he wants to be like me. My heart is overflowing with emotion.

I give Timmy and his parents my cell phone number and tell them to keep in touch before we leave.

His parents follow me into the hall as he starts to nod off. They thank me for taking the time to spend with Timmy and tell me that I’ve just made his day and that he’s one of our biggest fans. I thank them for allowing me to spend some time with him.

As we leave the hospital and head back towards the hotel to wrap our New York trip, I think to myself, “today was a long day, but it was probably one of the best days I’ve ever had.”

We get to the airport early and have a little time to kill before heading home, so I take out my phone and text Melonie.

“Dade:

Hey, you around?”

As I wait for her to respond, I feel someone sit next to me. Looking up, I see my beautiful, yet exhausted, baby sister.

Reaching out, I smooth her hair behind her ears. “Hey you. You look tired.”

She smiles. “I am tired. I’m beat.” She laughs. “It’s been a long two days. This was a good trip though.”

I nod in agreement. “It was. You need to sleep on the plane.”

She rolls her eyes at me. “I know that. I’m trying desperately to stop myself from falling asleep right now. Who knew being six months pregnant would be so damn exhausting?!”

I chuckle. “Well, you are incubating a new person.”

She laughs musically. “How are you big brother?”

I’m taken aback. What does she mean?

She read my face. “I mean how are you? Have you talked to Dr. Bird this trip?”

I frown. I haven’t talked to her. I’ve texted twice, but we’ve been so busy, I haven’t been able to call. “No. I haven’t had a real chance. I just texted her though.”

She nods. “So, you and Kate?”

My head whirls around and some of my hair escapes my tie. “Me and Kate?”

“You two seem… close. She’s beautiful. And she seems really sweet. Pretty down to earth for being a Victoria’s Secret model.”

I nod. “She is. But there is no me and Kate. There’s never been a me and Kate. We’re friends.”

Her brow raises. “You don’t find her beautiful?”

I laugh and shake my head. “Of course she’s beautiful. She’s gorgeous. Have you looked at her?!” She frowns. “She’s not interested in me and I’m not interested in her, Clove. We went on a blind date and there was no romantic connection. We’ve been friends ever since. She’s a great girl and she really is fun.” She’s clicking her tongue as she looks at me as if she doesn’t believe me.

“Seriously. Do Blue and Liam have a romantic connection? What about you and Cruz?!”

She coughs. “Ew, no. Liam and Blue are like best friends. Cruz is amazing and gorgeous, but no. I’ve never had feelings for him. Liam is my guy.”

I smile. She just figured out her own quandary. “Exactly. Same with me and Kate. She’s awesome and hot, yet I have not and I do not want to sleep with her.”

I laugh. Sleeping with Kate?! Yeah, ok. I picture Melonie naked and rumpled on the beach and I instantly get hard. Great, I’m sitting here talking to my sister with a fucking boner over her baby doctor.

Her sexy as shit baby doctor that I really want to see tonight.

I check my phone. Nothing from her. I type out another text, and hit send as I board the plane.

“Dade:

Heading home. Be there about 9:30. If you get this and will be awake, let me know.”

Everyone gets on and settled and before the pilot is done telling us our ETA, I’m asleep.

Melonie