“It’s not me,” Caitlyn said.
“You look cute.”
“I look like you.”
“Right,” Jenna said. “You look cute. Now do me a favor.”
“What?”
“Pretend to be cool.”
“Jenna…”
“Just for today.”
Caitlyn released an annoyed sigh. “Fine. I’ll pretend to be cool. But I need to hurry.” After being forced into sandals, she shoved her discarded clothes into her overnight bag and hurried out to the limo.
“What are you wearing?” Owen asked when she paused before him.
“Uh, Jenna thought…”
He shook his head slightly. “She thought wrong.”
For a moment, Caitlyn believed he was going to tell her to get lost, but he opened the door to the back of the limo, and she slipped inside.
He climbed in beside her, and the driver shut the door.
“I told you I like the jacket. I like the bow at your throat that begs to be untied. I like that your bra doesn’t match your panties.”
“It still doesn’t,” she said. “So you’re only attracted to me for my wardrobe, is that it?”
“No, you’d look hot in anything you wore—or nothing—but this outfit doesn’t give me a permanent boner. I have to be honest.”
“That’s probably a good thing,” she said and laughed. “My vagina needs a few hours to collect itself. It’s not used to so much attention.”
“Well, then, I’ll try to contain my blinding lust.” He grinned and took her hand, holding it gently in his. His thumb rubbed a lazy circle on her knuckles. “So,” he said. “Tell me about your camping trip. Jenna said you’d kill her if she told me about the skunk that got stuck in your tent.”
Caitlyn cringed. “She’s right. I’d kill her for that.”
“I didn’t take you for the outdoorsy type.”
“That’s because I’m not. Jenna is, though, and I am weak to her charm. She can talk me into anything.”
“It’s great to have a best friend, someone who pushes you to try things you’d never consider on your own. Makes life interesting.”
Caitlyn smiled, knowing he was thinking about Kellen again. Kellen was Owen’s Jenna. She suddenly felt a lot more comfortable about Owen’s relationship with Kellen. Caitlyn probably would never call Jenna’s name during sex, but whatever. If Owen said there was no attraction between them, she believed him.
“Interesting? I guess that’s one way to describe it.”
They both laughed and somehow ended up kissing all the way to the tour bus. Maybe it wasn’t her pathetic wardrobe that turned him on after all.
Their driver handed off their bags to some guy who stuffed them into a compartment under the bus.
“I’ll need to change later,” Caitlyn said.
“You can get your bag when we stop at the venue.”
She nodded.
“Ready to meet the rest of the band?”
Her stomach flopped. She was scared out of her mind, to be honest. Who’d have ever thought she’d be riding on a tour bus with a bunch of heavy metal musicians? Not her.
“I guess,” she said.
“You already met Kellen. He’s not so scary, is he?”
A little, yeah, but she shook her head bravely.
“And I’m the worst one of the bunch, so if you can handle me, you can surely handle the rest.”
“I highly doubt that you’re the worst,” she said. Because he was decidedly terrific. And it was hard to top perfection.
“Where have you been?” A muscle-bound hunk in aviator sunglasses spoke from the top of the bus steps. He had short dark hair and an abundance of bulges in all the right places. “If I’d have known you were going to be this late, I would have had Amanda stick around for one more quickie before I sent her home.”
“Caitlyn needed to stop by her friend’s house to pick up some clothes.”
“Who is Caitlyn?”
“That would be me,” Caitlyn said.
“Sorry, didn’t see you there.”
Which was the typical-man’s reaction to her. That’s why Owen’s attention had her completely befuddled and Jenna’s insistence that she was attractive didn’t hold much cotton. As a rule, men tended to ignore her.
“This is our vocalist, Shade,” Owen said. “He’s pretty much an egotistical ass**le, but he grows on you after a while.”
Caitlyn couldn’t believe Shade let the insult slide without a rebuttal. Instead he focused on her.
“You’re not planning on her riding the bus, are you?” Shade said. “You know the rule: no chicks on the bus.”
“Fuck the rule,” Owen said. “She’s riding with us to Houston.” He took Caitlyn’s hand and tugged her up the bus past a very confused-looking Shade.
At the top of the steps, she came face-to-chest with another band member. This one was long and lean. She tilted her head back to peer into the greenest pair of eyes she’d ever encountered.
Wow. While she did have a limited gag reflex, she thought choking on her own tongue, as she was now doing, might be fatal. Especially considering the sudden overabundance of drool in her mouth.
“This is Force,” Owen said.
“May the force be with me,” Caitlyn mumbled, lost in Force’s amazing green-eyed gaze.
“It seems we have a problem,” she heard Kellen say from somewhere down the corridor. “She’s been drawn in by the power of the Force. You’d better do something and quick, Tags.”
Owen kissed her, which effectively broke Force’s spell. She smiled at Owen. She wasn’t used to being with a man who was so easy with affection in public, not that she minded.
“Who is this?” Force asked as he tugged his baseball cap lower on his forehead.
“That’s Caitlyn,” Kellen said. “Owen is breaking all his rules with her.”
“All of them?” Force asked.
“Well, hopefully not the “BYOC” rule, but the “only one poke per bush” rule and the “never sleep with the women you sleep with” rule and the “never eat breakfast with a chick” rule and apparently the “no ladies on the bus” rule. Did you break the “never meet her friends” rule too, Owen?”
He cringed and pulled a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I broke that one too.”
“Stupid rules anyway,” Force said. “My name is Gabe, by the way. You don’t have to call me Force.”
“You look cute.”
“I look like you.”
“Right,” Jenna said. “You look cute. Now do me a favor.”
“What?”
“Pretend to be cool.”
“Jenna…”
“Just for today.”
Caitlyn released an annoyed sigh. “Fine. I’ll pretend to be cool. But I need to hurry.” After being forced into sandals, she shoved her discarded clothes into her overnight bag and hurried out to the limo.
“What are you wearing?” Owen asked when she paused before him.
“Uh, Jenna thought…”
He shook his head slightly. “She thought wrong.”
For a moment, Caitlyn believed he was going to tell her to get lost, but he opened the door to the back of the limo, and she slipped inside.
He climbed in beside her, and the driver shut the door.
“I told you I like the jacket. I like the bow at your throat that begs to be untied. I like that your bra doesn’t match your panties.”
“It still doesn’t,” she said. “So you’re only attracted to me for my wardrobe, is that it?”
“No, you’d look hot in anything you wore—or nothing—but this outfit doesn’t give me a permanent boner. I have to be honest.”
“That’s probably a good thing,” she said and laughed. “My vagina needs a few hours to collect itself. It’s not used to so much attention.”
“Well, then, I’ll try to contain my blinding lust.” He grinned and took her hand, holding it gently in his. His thumb rubbed a lazy circle on her knuckles. “So,” he said. “Tell me about your camping trip. Jenna said you’d kill her if she told me about the skunk that got stuck in your tent.”
Caitlyn cringed. “She’s right. I’d kill her for that.”
“I didn’t take you for the outdoorsy type.”
“That’s because I’m not. Jenna is, though, and I am weak to her charm. She can talk me into anything.”
“It’s great to have a best friend, someone who pushes you to try things you’d never consider on your own. Makes life interesting.”
Caitlyn smiled, knowing he was thinking about Kellen again. Kellen was Owen’s Jenna. She suddenly felt a lot more comfortable about Owen’s relationship with Kellen. Caitlyn probably would never call Jenna’s name during sex, but whatever. If Owen said there was no attraction between them, she believed him.
“Interesting? I guess that’s one way to describe it.”
They both laughed and somehow ended up kissing all the way to the tour bus. Maybe it wasn’t her pathetic wardrobe that turned him on after all.
Their driver handed off their bags to some guy who stuffed them into a compartment under the bus.
“I’ll need to change later,” Caitlyn said.
“You can get your bag when we stop at the venue.”
She nodded.
“Ready to meet the rest of the band?”
Her stomach flopped. She was scared out of her mind, to be honest. Who’d have ever thought she’d be riding on a tour bus with a bunch of heavy metal musicians? Not her.
“I guess,” she said.
“You already met Kellen. He’s not so scary, is he?”
A little, yeah, but she shook her head bravely.
“And I’m the worst one of the bunch, so if you can handle me, you can surely handle the rest.”
“I highly doubt that you’re the worst,” she said. Because he was decidedly terrific. And it was hard to top perfection.
“Where have you been?” A muscle-bound hunk in aviator sunglasses spoke from the top of the bus steps. He had short dark hair and an abundance of bulges in all the right places. “If I’d have known you were going to be this late, I would have had Amanda stick around for one more quickie before I sent her home.”
“Caitlyn needed to stop by her friend’s house to pick up some clothes.”
“Who is Caitlyn?”
“That would be me,” Caitlyn said.
“Sorry, didn’t see you there.”
Which was the typical-man’s reaction to her. That’s why Owen’s attention had her completely befuddled and Jenna’s insistence that she was attractive didn’t hold much cotton. As a rule, men tended to ignore her.
“This is our vocalist, Shade,” Owen said. “He’s pretty much an egotistical ass**le, but he grows on you after a while.”
Caitlyn couldn’t believe Shade let the insult slide without a rebuttal. Instead he focused on her.
“You’re not planning on her riding the bus, are you?” Shade said. “You know the rule: no chicks on the bus.”
“Fuck the rule,” Owen said. “She’s riding with us to Houston.” He took Caitlyn’s hand and tugged her up the bus past a very confused-looking Shade.
At the top of the steps, she came face-to-chest with another band member. This one was long and lean. She tilted her head back to peer into the greenest pair of eyes she’d ever encountered.
Wow. While she did have a limited gag reflex, she thought choking on her own tongue, as she was now doing, might be fatal. Especially considering the sudden overabundance of drool in her mouth.
“This is Force,” Owen said.
“May the force be with me,” Caitlyn mumbled, lost in Force’s amazing green-eyed gaze.
“It seems we have a problem,” she heard Kellen say from somewhere down the corridor. “She’s been drawn in by the power of the Force. You’d better do something and quick, Tags.”
Owen kissed her, which effectively broke Force’s spell. She smiled at Owen. She wasn’t used to being with a man who was so easy with affection in public, not that she minded.
“Who is this?” Force asked as he tugged his baseball cap lower on his forehead.
“That’s Caitlyn,” Kellen said. “Owen is breaking all his rules with her.”
“All of them?” Force asked.
“Well, hopefully not the “BYOC” rule, but the “only one poke per bush” rule and the “never sleep with the women you sleep with” rule and the “never eat breakfast with a chick” rule and apparently the “no ladies on the bus” rule. Did you break the “never meet her friends” rule too, Owen?”
He cringed and pulled a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I broke that one too.”
“Stupid rules anyway,” Force said. “My name is Gabe, by the way. You don’t have to call me Force.”
