Hated (Rock Star Trilogy) (12 page)

“That’s amazing. And you better call me after your date and let me know how it goes,” I say. “Oh, and I know it’s been a while, but don’t have sex on your first date. Always make ‘em wait ‘til the third.”

“Maybe we can have a date Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Three dates.” I know she’s joking… Sort of…

I laugh. “Let me know how that works out for you.”

“I will. I have to go though. It’s my bedtime.”

“Goodnight.”

“Night.”

I hang up my phone just in time to pull up to my house. Now I just have to decide what to do with Bridgett. Do I avoid her because I’m mad at her? Or do I tell her that I’m mad? Do I even have a right to be mad?

Yes
, yes I do. She dated my best friend, and then broke his heart. I can’t lose Alec.
I refuse to lose him
.

I should probably just march up to her room and tell her how much she sucks. Because she does suck. But I think I’m going to go with avoidance. I like avoiding. Avoiding is safe, and it gives me time to figure out exactly what I want to say to her.

Okay, I know what I
want
to say. But that is probably better left inside my head. No need in telling her
that
. I’ll think of something a bit nicer, then I confront. I don’t want to piss her off, because that would just make things worse.

Good plan, Scar,
I tell myself on the walk inside my house.

As I walk up to the front door, I nearly run into one of the camera guys. I glare at him. “How does it feel to stalk me for a living?”

“It feels
very good
. This job pays a lot, and I have five kids,” he says.

I laugh. “Oh, God. I would totally want to stalk me too. Seriously, five?”

He nods. “All girls.”

I walk inside, ignoring the cameras. Some days it’s harder than others, and today is harder. Probably because they weren’t around me for like five whole days, and now that I’m back in LA they’re back to following me.

Stephan, Mona, and Bridgett are all chilling by the pool, so I change into my bikini and go outside to hang out with them.

“One more day,” I tell them, as I climb into the hot tub beside Stephan.

“Then we don’t have to see Alec again until the tour, right?” Bridgett asks.

I glare at her. “No.
He is my best friend
. So we will still hang out. If you have a problem with it then, well, it’s
your problem
.”

“Just asking. You don’t have to jump me.” Bridgett climbs out. “I’m going to head up to my room. I have a few episodes of Pretty Little Liars on my DVR to catch up on.”

As soon as she walks inside, Stephan turns to me. I know he’s waiting for an explanation.

“She dumped Alec. Like for no reason. Well, she told him a reason, but she lied. She told him that she didn’t like him as much as he liked her. But it’s not true. At Thanksgiving she told Stacy and me that she was falling in love with him. I know this all has something to do with her crazy mom. Or maybe her crazy ex-boyfriend. Either way, I will figure it out.”

“Just when I thought things were finally going good between them.” Stephan frowns. “I really hope they don’t start fighting again.”

“Me, too.”

“I think I’m going to head inside too,” Mona says and winks at me.

Oh. Privacy. Well, besides Peter. I turn to them. “You guys can just go home. We are done filming for the night.”

“See you tomorrow,” he says. The camera crew follows him.

And finally, Stephan and I have privacy.

Hot tub sex? I’m thinking yes!

7:45 PM

Boys are so easily distracted.

“How was your day?” Stephan asks.

I scoot close to him, and rub my finger up his chest. “Do you really want to talk?”

“I like talking to you.”

I push my lips against his and straddle him. “What was that?” I ask.

“I said I like making out with you.” He’s grinning at me.

“I think you more than
like
it,” I say, putting my hand on the bulge in his swimming shorts. “You know, we’ve never had sex in a hot tub before. I’m thinking that this needs to be fixed.”

Stephan doesn’t have to be told twice. He pulls the string on my bikini bottom, and puts them beside the hot tub. He pulls my head back down and starts kissing me again. The kisses are fast and needy. He pulls the string on my top, and I instinctively put my hands over myself.

“Stephan! What if somebody comes out here. They’ll see my naked…”

He laughs. “They’ll see a lot more than that.”

Stephan starts kissing me again, and thoughts of anybody seeing us disappear. He gently kisses his way from my lips, to my ear, and down my neck. “I love you,” I whisper to him.

“I love you too.”

“I want to get married.”

He backs away from me and gives me a questioning look. “It’s a little late for that, Scar…”

“No. I know that. I mean, I want to have a wedding and invite our families.”

“That’s a lot of work. And you have the tour coming up in like a month.”

“I meant after the tour. Maybe your mom could plan it, and we could have it next summer, that way everybody could be there.”

“I get it,” he says. “You’re doing this for my mom.”

“Maybe. But also for the rest of the family that didn’t get to come to the wedding… And for me, because I can’t remember our wedding. But you’re right. It is mostly for your mom. She needs this.”

“And you’re willing to go through all this trouble to make my mom happy?”

“Yes.”

“That means a lot to me,” Stephan says. “But for future reference, please don’t talk about my mom when we’re about to have sex. It kind of ruins the mood.”

I put my lips against his and kiss him. It only takes a few seconds for him to pull off his swimming trunks.

Boys are so easily distracted
.

I slide down on him and slowly rock my hips. Stephan likes to be in control, but this time I am in complete control. I like the power. Plus, I love how it feels being on top. It feels… intense.

I move my hips faster as the pleasure builds. I rock against him a few more times before I finally feel a release. Stephan grabs my hips, and moves me faster until his breathing becomes erratic.

He puts his forehead against mine and gently kisses me on the mouth. “You should be on top more often.”

“Definitely.”

Thursday, December 3

7:57 PM

Rock goddess.

I finished recording my album early on Tuesday, so I had the afternoon off… Well, when I say I had it
off
, I actually meant I spent it catching up on homework while Mona, Bridgett, and Stephan went to Disney Land. Yep — I know. It sucks. But it’s the story of my life. Missing out on all the fun stuff because I have to work. But, on a plus note —
I’m done recording
. And ahead of schedule. This is definitely a good thing.

On Wednesday, I spent the day running around Los Angeles, doing interviews and promotions. Which, as predicted, sucked.

And now, my head hurts.

Today we are holding auditions for my band. And they
have
to be picked
today
. It wasn’t
so
bad this morning. I picked out two guitar players and a bass player before we even took a lunch. But since two o’clock, I’ve been interviewing drummers — hence the headache.

“Everybody sucks,” I tell Alec.

And it’s not that everybody isn’t talented — they are. But they’re all annoying. I am not spending a year of my life with somebody who annoys me.

“We have one more,” Alec says. “You
have
to chose from what you’ve seen.”

Ugh
. I put my head against the cool desk until I hear the door open.

A short girl who looks about my height walks in. She has shoulder-length blonde hair with hot pink highlights and bangs that swoop to the side. She’s wearing a pair of hot pink converse, skinny jeans, and a black hoodie that says ‘
I believe in unicorns
’. Yeah, I pretty much like her already.

Please don’t be annoying, please don’t be annoying, please don’t be annoying
, I chant over and over again in my head.

“Hi,” she says. “I’m Riley Lewis, and I am here to audition to be your drummer.”

“Hey, Riley. As you know, I’m Scarlett. Have you ever toured with anybody before?”

“No.” She bites her lip, and she looks a little nervous. “I actually have only played for my church, and I’m hoping to branch out a little.”

My hope dwindles, but she obviously is a decent drummer to make it through the first two phases. “How old are you?”

“I just turned eighteen.”

“How long have you played the drums?” I ask.

“Since I was three years old.”

“Okay, Riley, show me what you’ve got.”

Riley sits down at the drum set, and Alec starts the music. I watch as she starts playing, but her hands are kind of a blur. I watch her face, and I can see that she no longer looks nervous. She’s looks calm, confident, and best of all, she looks like she is enjoying herself.

I’m impressed, because she’s
actually
a better drummer than me. Of course, the guitar is my main instrument, but I’m still a very good drummer.

I look over at Alec, and he has a huge grin on his face. He looks at me, and I give him a nod. He reaches over and turns off the music. The girl looks stunned, for a second, but she stands up and starts walking back to us. We meet her halfway.

“I want you,” I tell her. “I’ll have them draw up the contract, if you’re interested.”

“Yes! Definitely!” She looks excited.

“Great. It’ll be ready tomorrow. Monday, December 14th, we start practicing bright and early. We only have one week to be ready. There will probably be some pretty long days before the tour. It’s nothing compared to the actual tour. You won’t get enough sleep most of the time. I know touring seems glamorous, but it’s a lot of hard work. Are you sure you’re up to it?”

She considers my words for a few seconds before she replies. I like that she’s actually taking time to process what I said. It means she’s not impulsive.

“I am positive,” she says. “This has been my dream for a very long time, and I am more than ready.”

“Good. I like you, Riley. I wish you would have been our three o’clock appointment, instead of eight. You could have saved us five hours of torture, and me a migraine.”

She laughs. “By the way, I heard some of your new stuff when I auditioned the first time. I just wanted to tell you how much I love the new sound. You sound more… true to yourself. It’s a lot better. Pop Princess really doesn’t fit you.”

“I know, right?” I like her even more. “I’ve always saw myself as more of a…
rock goddess
.”

“Totally,” she agrees.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Riley. They will call you tomorrow when the contract is ready, and I will see you bright and early on the 14th.”

“See you.” She turns and walks out the way she came in.

After she leaves, Alec turns to me. “Nice! A girl drummer.”

“I know! Score!” I like having girls in my band.

“She’s kind of hot.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re in love with my sister. Don’t rebound with my drummer, or I will be pissed.”

“Whatever. Fine, I won’t touch your drummer.”

“You better not.” I poke my finger into his chest. “Or my guitar player.”

I am excited because two of my four musicians are girls. Riley, of course, and my guitarist is Samantha. My other guitar player is Chance, and my bass player is Cam. Both of the guys are pretty sexy, so I’m hoping Stephan doesn’t mind.

“We leave one month from today,” Alec says, as we walk out to our cars.

“Oh, wow. That’s so crazy.”

“So what are you and Bridgett doing for Christmas?”

I look at him. “Alec Torch, we have spent every Christmas together for the past four years. Just because my sister broke your heart doesn’t change things. You were my friend a whole lot longer than you were her boyfriend.”

“I just don’t want things to be weird.” Alec is playing with his car key.

“If it’s weird, then it’ll be
her fault
. You are spending Christmas with me, and that is final.”

8:45 PM

Dirty laundry

“You have to do something about her. She’s driving me fucking crazy,” Mona says to me as soon as I walk through the door.

“Who?” I ask.

“Who do you think? Bridgett! She’s been moping around here, and whining since she got back from Thanksgiving. I can’t take it anymore. I get it. She’s heartbroken. But there is no need to take it out on the rest of us.” She rolls her eyes. “Seriously, get over it already. She’s the one who dumped him anyway.”

“I love your sensitivity, Mona.” The sarcasm is heavy in my voice.

She laughs. “Honey, this is me being sensitive. Give me another couple days of her whining, and then I’ll snap.”

“I’ll take care of it,” I say. I turn to Peter. “Can you guys like leave so I can talk to Bridgett without you?”

Peter gives me a look that says ‘
no fucking way are we leaving’
. “This is important to film.”

I roll my eyes. Everything is
important
to them. “Fine.” I walk up the stairs, and head towards Bridgett’s room. I knock on the door and hear a muffled ‘
Come in
’.

“Hey, Scar.” She looks up at me for a second, and then puts her head back down on her pillow. Her hair is sticking up all over, and she’s still wearing the pajamas she was wearing on Tuesday.

“You look pathetic,” I say. Maybe I’m harsh, but the truth hurts. She needs a wakeup call.

“Well, I look better than I feel.” I watch tears fall down her cheeks.

“Why did you break up with Alec?” This talk is overdue.

“Because it was stupid to date him to begin with,” she says. Her voice sounds mechanical. Like it isn’t her own thoughts. “He’s Alec Torch, and I’m Bridgett Evans. I’m a nobody. And Alec is… well, he’s different than what I thought. But he’s too good for me.”

“He wants to be with you, and I
know
you want to be with him. I don’t understand why you’re being so stubborn.”

“This sounds a lot like a conversation that you and I had about Stephan not too long ago,” Bridgett says.