Linden: Rocking Pleasure: New Adult College Romance (Coral Gables Series Book 3) (41 page)

“
All right, Ava and Thierra, let’s go,” Linden calls out.

Nathaniel acts as referee and throws the squishy ball into the middle of the pool. Delsin and I both dive for it, but I manage to grab it first. I pass it on to Hailey, who throws it to Thierry, who splashes forward to get at the basket. Ave is right behind him, reaches the basket first, and catches his brother’s pass. He dunks it, and we all cheer loudly.

“
Two points for the girls,” Nate announces. “Guys, I feel weird calling them ‘the girls’ when two of the most massive guys on campus are on their team.”

“
Why don’t you call them the ‘Pink Pussies’ then?” Delsin suggests.

“
You better watch out that the ‘Pink Left Hooks’ don’t give you a black eye, baby,” Ave counters with a wink.

“
Right, I forgot how tough the Morrison sisters really are,” Delsin laughs.

“
Didn’t you say he was your best friend, Ave?” Thierry smirks. “Unbelievable.”

“
Guys, we’re playing a game here, not strutting our stuff,” I chime in.

I take the ball from Draven and swim back toward the basket, but Linden blocks me and tries to wrest the ball from my grip. When he leans close enough, I kiss him on the cheek and pass the ball over my shoulder to Cami, who scores two more points.

“
Four to zero for the girls and their male support,” Nate announces.

We continue to play. Delsin and Linden work together to score a few points for the male team, and of course they’re successful with that. When I manage to make my way close to their basket again, Linden lifts me out of the water and throws me over his shoulder.

“
Cheating!” Cami yells. “Foul!”

“
Calm down, Caramel, it’s only a game,” Delsin laughs.

“
And I’m scoring anyway,” I tell them after I’ve torn the ball from Linden’s hand. I throw it and hit the plastic backboard before it falls into the hoop.

“
Yeah,” Thierry and Avery cheer loudly. “Atta girl!”

Dale makes a few more baskets after Avery lifts her on his shoulders and barrels his way through the rest of the swimmers. The entire game is great fun. Linden finally lets me slip from his shoulder back to the ground, laughing.

We keep playing until the score is even, and then we stop. It was exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. It’s hard to score points against all those tall guys, even with Avery and Thierry on our team.

After, Linden and I lie down on a lounge chair together, cuddling in the shade while the others continue to play and splash in the pool. Dale and Ave have taken the other extra large lounge chair.

“
Dahlia, would you like to come to the concert tonight?” Linden asks her.

I look at her and smile, because she gives him a wide-eyed stare. “Yes, I … Yes, if Avery wants to go, too,” she stammers.

“
I’m not averse to a concert,” he murmurs.

“
I brought VIP tickets for everyone,” Linden explains. “You can watch from the press pit up front, so you wouldn’t be squashed by the crowd.”

“
That’s very generous of you,” I chime in.

He shrugs. “You’ve barely seen your friends this last week, because I was all over you. And there’s also a little after-show party later, which will be way more fun with a bunch of friends.” He chuckles.

I nod. “Oh, I see. So you’re not that generous, after all. It’s purely egotistic.”

“
Me? Never,” he says in mock outrage.

I giggle softly, even though I’m afraid I’m acting like a starry-eyed teenager, and then I snuggle closer to his side.

***

That evening, Linden makes me join him in his dressing room while my friends sit in a lounge, waiting for the show to begin. I’m afraid the photographers are going to curse us for being such a large group in their press pit, but that’s not our concern. Linden invited all of us.

He sings a few scales to warm up his voice.

I’m sitting in an overstuffed chair, watching him get dressed. The band changes their outfit three times during the concert. They start out in a denim look that doesn’t appeal to me much, but will probably elicit a few squeals from the audience. Granted, he does look hot in his dark blue overalls, but to me, the outfit looks too close to a construction worker. He’s wearing a baseball cap in neon colors with that. Very 90s.

“
I’ll be so glad when I finally get to decide what I wear on stage,” he complains as he turns back and forth in front of the mirror.

I rise and walk over to him. “Don’t worry, you look hot, even though this outfit’s not my personal favorite.”

“
Really?” he asks, sounding unconvinced.

“
Really.” I nod with conviction. “And the rest of the outfits are better, so no need to worry. Just put that shirt on and you’re good to go.”

“
The white one?”

“
Yeah, and leave it unbuttoned. That’s it.”

“
I think I should wear normal jeans. That would be much hotter, wouldn’t it?”

“
So all the other girls can see what belongs to me? No, thank you.” I smirk.

“
What—”

I laugh out loud, and he doesn’t finish his shocked question. “All right, all right, I’ll allow them to swoon over you.”

Linden pulls me close. “They like the Linden who flirts with them from the stage and in video clips. The real Linden, the one these girls will never get to see, he only loves you, okay? My heart is yours, babe.” He kisses me gently.

Just as the kiss threatens to become more passionate and lead to something else, there’s a knock on the door. Alexis sticks his head in. “Three minutes. Are you coming?”

“
Yeah, I’ll be right out,” Linden says. He breathes another kiss on the corner of my mouth, before taking me by the hand and leading me out to a long corridor.

Azer has brought all my friends back here, and he’s in the process of directing them to the press pit. After Linden has taken his leave with yet another kiss, I hasten to join them.

The venue gets dark, and the noise subsides. The teenagers are probably taking a few deep breaths before resuming their screaming and whooping.

“
Are you ready for Downstair Alley?” a deep voice encourages the audience. It sounds like Alexis. “Then scream it out loud!”

And the screaming starts up again. I end up next to Nathaniel, who pats my back. “It’s cool that Linden invited us all,” he barks into my ear. It’s the only possible way to communicate in this spot.

“
Yeah. It was a really nice gesture.”

“
So what’s gonna happen with you and him now?” he probes.

“
We’ll wait and see how it goes while they’re touring in Europe!” I yell back and shrug.

The music sets in, and the band comes on stage. Gavin is walking on crutches, and there’s a high stool and a microphone stand waiting for him on the far side. He sits down first.

“
Are you ready to rock this joint?” Linden calls into the mic.

This is the first time I see him in his pop-star role. They normally play their own instruments and all, but for this first song, it’s just song and dance. I look up at him and smile as I watch them perform.

He throws me a few glances in between moves, and then he winks at me. A lot of girls behind me will probably go home wondering whether he winked at them. I don’t mind that now, because I know he loves me.

My friends are swaying, tapping their feet, or nodding with the beat. Draven, Ave, Delsin, and Thierry are more reluctant to let go, because it’s not really their kind of music, but even I have learned to like their songs, despite my penchant for hard rock. It’s an acquired taste. Or maybe I’m just biased due to my penchant for the sexy lead singer.

It’s unbearably hot in here, though, which makes me long for the intermission.

***

When the much-needed break is over and they’ve played an awesome show, they announce the final song. Linden looks straight at me.

“
Tonight, there is a very special person here in the audience. She helped us write the new song you just heard. Thally, would you please come up here for a moment?” He leans down and reaches out his hand.

I stare up at him like a deer in headlights and shake my head.

He laughs into the microphone. “She seems to be a little shy, so I guess you all need to help me get her up here. Thally, Thally, Thally,” he starts, and soon enough, the people behind me are picking up the chant.

“
Thally, Thally, Thally,” my friends chime in, and then a security guy as broad as a barrel lifts me up. Linden has put the mic in his pocket and grabs me around my waist, pulling me up on stage.

“
What is going on here?” I ask under my breath.

“
You’ll see.” He smiles gleefully. “Or, better yet, you’ll hear.” Then he takes me by the hand and leads me to center stage. “Please give a hand for Thally,” he calls into his mic.

“
But I don’t want to sing with you,” I whine very quietly.

“
You won’t have to, even though I would love that,” he reassures me in a whisper. “This is about something else.” He holds the microphone close to his lips again, pulling a folded piece of paper from his other pocket. Then he says loudly, for everyone to hear, “You told me you’d give me another chance if I took the stars out of the sky for you. Well, I did the next best thing.” He unfolds the paper, and I can see it’s some kind of certificate. “I couldn’t pry those damn things loose, but I named one of them after you, Thalia.” The slip of paper confirms it.

He named a star after me.

The tears start to well in my eyes, and I wipe them away, overwhelmed. “Oh my God,” I breathe.

“
I have something else for you, and for all the other people here, too,” he announces. “I bet they’re glad I left the stars where they are. This is a cover, but I think it expresses perfectly how things were between us in the beginning.” He glances at his bandmates, who stand ready with their instruments, and nods.

And then a melody starts—a still very familiar one, because I still listen to this band today. No, this time I’m not talking about Westlife.

Alexis speaks the first line, before Linden joins him and starts to sing, “
From the first day that I saw your smiling face, honey, I knew that we would be together forever
.”

Linden goes on one knee in front of me and takes my hand as he sings the rest of the song. I get goosebumps everywhere, and I can hardly see through the veil of my tears. I’m deeply touched that he’s singing this for me, only for me, in front of everyone.

The guys’ voices come together for the last chorus. They circle me and hand me several red roses each, until I’m holding a bouquet in my hands.

“
Oh my God,” I sniffle, when the song is over and the applause washes over us. I’m glad nobody can hear me sobbing over the audience freaking out and cheering.

Linden straightens again and then kisses me in front of all his fans, which impresses me greatly. “I love you.”

“
I love you, too.”

“
Thally, Thally, Thally!” my friends in the press pit are chanting again.

“
I’m going to get down again,” I say in my small voice, absolutely overwhelmed with all he just did for me.

He smiles. “Okay,” he whispers, before he kisses me again and then says into his mic, “Ladies and gentlemen, another round of applause for Thally, please.”

The noise is deafening, and then the security guy helps me get down.

“
Oh my God, that was so cute!” Hailey squeals in my ear.

“
Oh yes, and it wasn’t the least bit overwhelming,” I say dryly.

“
All right, and now we have one more song for you,” the band says on stage. “Are you ready for ‘Without You I’ll Die?’”

Dale sings along and hops up and down to the beat, which I find utterly adorable. I’m glad I’m not the only one enjoying the evening.

After an encore, the band waves goodbye again and disappears backstage. We slowly start to leave our privileged space as well. I walk back into Linden’s dressing room, where I set down the roses and the star certificate. Nobody else is in here, so I quickly take off my panties under my skirt. I want to seduce him slowly, though I suspect we’ll end up having a quickie on the dressing table once he finds out I’m not wearing any underwear.

When he comes in, he greets me with a satisfied smile. “I’m totally exhausted,” he pants, before he wraps me in his arms.

I put my arms around his neck and pull his head down to my height. “You took me by surprise.”

“
That was the idea.”

“
A star called Thalia is a wonderful token,” I whisper.

“
And here I thought the song was the big deal,” he chuckles.

“
That doesn’t count,” I counter. “Someone else wrote it.”

“
Oh … Then I should write another love song for our next album.”

“
I wouldn’t say no to that, but you don’t have to. You … you didn’t take the stars out of the sky for me, but you named one in my honor, and … I know how lucky I am to have you by my side.” I’m struggling to declare my feelings.

“
I wanted to prove my love for you.”