Star Struck (11 page)

14

Beckett

I barely step inside
the coffee shop when I hear her voice. Instantly I recognize the clear, smooth tone, and I know it’s Star. For one second I contemplate heading out, but then I catch the haunting melody, and it causes me to freeze. This is not like her usual chipper stuff. This is different, and I have to hear more. I keep walking in, allowing the door to close behind me. Careful not to let her see me, I lean against the back wall.

She’s bent
over the keyboard, her dark hair falling like a curtain over her face. Her slender arms move swiftly over the keys, and her lyrics wash over me.

You reeled me in like a fish on
a hook

Then you threw me overboard without a single look

Now I’m sinking, I’m drowning

Alone in the water

You left me

To be pulled under

I listen with fascination. She finally did it. She reached deep down and pulled out something raw and emotional. I find myself wondering who the song is about. When she finishes, she gazes up. Her cheeks are flushed like they always are when she ends a song. Her lips are shimmery under the dim lights. As she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, I keep myself hidden behind a cluster of people. She stands, and my eyes drop to her bare legs. Damn, she wore a skirt again. After scurrying off stage, she sits down at a table with three other people. It’s then that I recognize Ryker and Lola, but I don’t know who the other guy is. When I see him lean over and whisper something to Star, my insides churn. Is she on a date with that guy? Not that I care, but the guy looks like a tool. He doesn’t look like someone Star would date in a million years.

Satisfied that she won’t see me, I make my way to
the counter and order a latte. As soon as it’s ready, I feel someone nudge my shoulder.  I turn around to see Star giving me a quizzical look.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” she asks.

“Same thing as you, I guess.”

She looks down at my empty hands. “You didn’t bring your guitar.”

“Wasn’t planning to play tonight. Just needed a little pick-me-up.” I hold up the white paper cup. “Got a long night of writing ahead of me.”

“You never cease to amaze me.” She smiles.

“Why?” I ask, curious.

“It’s just that I always thought rockers stayed up late drinking shots of tequila or
beer or something while they wrote. Not coffee.”

My chest tightens at her words. “
Sorry to destroy your image of the rockstar lifestyle, but I don’t drink, Star.”

She nods, clearly sensing my darkening mood. “That’s fine. I don’t either. But I guess that’s for different reasons. I’m not old enough.”

The corners of my lips curl upward at her nervous ramblings. “It’s fine, Star.” We move away from the counter together. “So, that song you played. Was it something new?”

Her cheeks redden. “Yeah, I wrote it the other night.”

“See, I told you that you didn’t need my help to become a better songwriter.”

She lowers her gaze
and bites her lip. “I guess not.”

“It definitely wasn’t like your others,” I say.

“No, it wasn’t.” She glances up at me, and I think she might say more. But then her gaze flits over to her table and she sighs. “I better get back to my date.”

“Your date, huh?” I peer over at him. “You’re seriously going out with that guy?”

“What?” Star places her hand on her hip. “He’s nice. He’s a friend of Ryker’s.”

That’s when it hits me. “Ah, yes. I thought he looked familiar. He has some kind of nature name.”

“Forrest.”

“That’s right.” I fight back a chuckle. “Forrest.”

Star gently smacks me in the shoulder. “Stop.”

“What?”

“I can tell you’re trying not to laugh at his name.”

“Do you blame me?”

“Yes. Believe me, with a name like Star, I’ve been teased endlessly. Therefore, I never make fun of other people’s names.”

“Fair enough.” I grin. “Well, then go back to your date with the cluster of trees and have fun.”

“Nice.” She rolls her eyes at me. “Good-bye Beckett.”

“See ya, Star.”
I watch her as she makes her way back to her table. When Forrest turns to her with a grin, I have the strange urge to punch him in the face. What is it with this girl? How does she have the ability to bring out this side of me?

“So, who’s the girl?” A familiar voice growls behind me.

My shoulders tighten and my insides churn. It takes all my willpower not to completely lose it. Gritting my teeth, I turn around. He looks exactly the same as the last time I saw him. His greasy hair hangs down to his ears, his dark eyes are ringed with circles, and his tall frame is lanky.

“
What are you doing here, Dante? Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in a bar? Or at a dealer’s house?”  I spit the words out.

Dante throws his arms up in mock surrender. “Just here for open mic night
, man.”

I glance down at his guitar with disgust. “You playing? Well, I guess I should thank you for the warning then. I’m outta here.”

Dante’s gaze roams over to where Star is seated. “That the new girl in your band? She looks a little familiar, like I’ve seen her before or something.”

I know what he’s saying, and it causes my blood to boil. I ball my hands into fists at my side. “
You better stay the hell away from her.”

Clucking his tongue, he leans toward me. “Or what, Beckett?”

I breathe in through my nose, keeping my lips together and think of Quinn. Letting him get under my skin is not a smart move. The last time I did that it ended badly for me. Without a word, I shove past him.

“You might want to stay,” Dante calls from over my shoulder. “I have a feeling things are going to get interesting.”

His words shiver over my skin, and I stop in my tracks. I curse myself for showing up here tonight. It would’ve been better if Dante hadn’t seen me with Star. I know my feelings for her are pretty complicated, and even though Dante’s a complete loser he has an uncanny ability to read people. And I know he’d do just about anything to goad me. With a frustrated groan, I turn back around and try to locate a seat. As much as I don’t want to watch Dante perform, I know I have to stay for Star’s sake. Forrest may be her date, but when it comes to Dante I’m the only one who can protect her.

15

Star

“Oh, no,” Ryker says under his breath as a tall, lanky guy walks up onto the stage.

“What?” Lola asks, her fingers lighting on his arm.

“Nothing. I’m sure everything will be fine,” Ryker answers, but he’s fidgeting and appears more nervous than I’ve ever seen him. “At least Beckett isn’t here.”

This causes alarm bells to ring in my head. “Beckett is here.”

“What?” Ryker’s eyebrows shoot up, just as the guy on stage starts playing his guitar.

“Yeah.” I glance behind us and find Beckett sitting at a table near the back window. “See, he’s right there.”

“Oh, man.” Ryker groans, running a hand over his face.

“Why? What’s going on?” I ask, my throat tight. Before Ryker can answer, the guy on stage jumps to the ground in front of me with his guitar in hand. He leans toward me, singing seductively in my face. His voice is nothing compared to Beckett’s, but it’s not bad either. It has kind of a nice raspy
quality.

“Beckett’s going to lose it,” Ryker says, and my body tenses at his words.

What is going on?

I scoot my chair back a little
and glance over at Forrest. He’s furrowing his brows, and I can tell he’s as confused as I am. But this only seems to fuel this strange singer more. He bends over me still singing. It’s clear that he’s totally flirting with me, and I hear a few girls giggling and squealing. I know that sound. It’s the same one Beckett’s fan club makes when they wait for him after the shows. Clearly this guy has a fan club as well, only I can’t tell why. He’s not nearly as good looking as Beckett. Then again, I guess if you’re into that whole grunge look he wouldn’t be so bad. He reaches forward and sweeps his finger over my cheek. I suck in a startled breath.

“Dante, what the hell?” Beckett’s voice crashes over me.

I freeze.

Ryker jumps up. “Beckett, man, calm down.”

“Stay out of this, Ryker.” Beckett shoves Dante back. “I told you to stay away from her, Dante.”

“And I told you things would get interesting.” Dante grins. “And now things just got interesting.”

“This isn’t a joke, Dante.”

“You know what you’re problem is, Beckett? You take everything too seriously. You need to lighten up a little.”

Before I can even register what’s happening, Beckett’s fist slams into Dante’s face. Dante flies backward, blood spurting from his nose. Ryker grunts. Lola gasps. I stand there stunned. What just happened?

“Hey, break it up!” The manager of the coffee place lumbers over. “You two need to get out of here right now!”

Beckett throws his arms up, palms exposed. “Fine with me.”  He stalks off, rage still evident in his face.

I glance down at Dante who is scrambling off the floor. “Man, he damaged my guit
ar!” He yells in a nasally tone while blood continues to leak down his face. He looks at me. “You better tell your boyfriend to watch his back.”

As he stomps off, Forrest gives me a questioning glance. “Is there something going on with you and Beckett?”

“No.”
At least I don’t think so.

“What the hell?” Lola runs a hand through her hair, looking confused.

I sigh, my gaze reaching for the door. “I need to go talk to Beckett.”

“No, that’s not a good idea.” Lola rushes to my side.

“Lola’s right,” Ryker says. “He needs time to cool off.”

I shake my head. “No, I need to talk to him now.” I glance sheepishly at Forrest, quite certain he’s never going out with me again. “I’m sorry.”

“Star.” Lola grabs my arm, but I shake it off.

“I have to do this, Lola.” Without letting
her protest further, I race outside. The dark night air swallows me, and I look to my right and then my left, squinting. I don’t see him. He’s probably long gone by now.

“Hey,” a voice calls out
, and I recognize it immediately. No one else in the world has that same rich, raspy tone.

I walk in the direction of the voice and see Beckett standing in the shadows. “You’
re still here,” I say, stating the obvious.

“I just wanted to make sure Dante didn’t cause any more trouble.” He leans his back aga
inst the wall, and tucks his hands into the pocket of his jeans.

“What was that all about? Why were you fighting about me?” I hold my breath awaiting his answer. When he went after Dante it seemed that he was jealous and staking his claim on me. It almost scares me how much I want it to be true.

“We weren’t fighting about you, Star.”

“Oh.” My stomach sinks. “Then what were you fighting about?”

“Dante is the lead singer of Cold Fever.”

Anger courses through me. I should’ve known this was just some stupid band thing. “So, this is all just about a band rivalry.”

“No, it’s more than that.” Beckett pauses, sighs. “Years ago, Dante stole away the only girl who ever meant anything to me.”

I feel like I might puke. “That’s why you hit him. For this other girl
?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

His eyes lock with mine. “No, Star, it isn’t what you’re thinking.”

“It’s fine.” I move away from him. “I need to get back inside.”

“Wait, Star.” His arm juts out and his fingers circle my wrist. When I turn
around, his face is serious like he’s going to share something with me. But then just as quickly his features transform back into a teasing look. He offers me a lopsided smile and a wink. “Be careful. I hear the forest can be a dangerous place, especially at night.”

“Real cute, Beckett.”  I glower at him.

“Hey, where’s that pretty smile?”

I pull my arm back. “Goodnight, Beckett.”

“Night, Star.”

As I walk back into the coffee shop
, I fight back tears. Why do I always make such a fool of myself when it comes to Beckett? When am I going to realize that he’s never going to see me as anything more than another member of his band?

Lola spots me and races in my direction. “What happened? You look like
you just lost your best friend.”

I force a laugh and try to appear happier than I feel. “That’s impossible. You’re right here, silly.”

Lola squeezes my arm. She knows me better than anyone. I know that she can tell I’m just putting up a good front, but she’s still going to help me.  “Yes, I am. And I’m never going anywhere.”