Star Struck (21 page)

“He’s not so bad.” Star nudges me.

“Not so bad. I thought you said I was amazing.” I wink at her.

Her cheeks flush, and her gaze drops to her hands. “Well, it’s getting late. I better take off.” She glances up at me. “See you tomorrow?”

“I’ll pick you up bright and early.” I follow her to the door.

She looks over at Tate. “G’night, Tate.”

“Night Star.”

I kiss her softly on the lips, and then open the door.

“See you in the morning.” She gives me a slight wave of her hand.

“I can’t wait.” After watching her walk down the hall for a minute I close the door and walk back inside.

Tate whistles at me. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

“What?” I feign confusion.

“You are totally whipped.”

“No, I’m not.” I sink down on the couch.

“Believe me, you are.”

“I just like her, that’s all.”

“I can see that.” Tate smiles. “And I’m happy for you, bro.”

“Yeah, me too.” I smile back.

This morning Star is wearing one of those skirts that drive me crazy. As we unload our stuff out of the truck, I can’t help but stare at her butt. A couple of times she catches me and her face reddens. It’s so cute, I want to just shove her back in the car and forget the whole performance. But I don’t act on it. That’s not how things are going to happen between Star and me. She means too much to me for us to have our first time in my truck.

I spot Ryker pulling into the parking lot with Jimmy and Pierce in tow. After they park, I wave in their direction. Then I plant a quick kiss on Star’s cheek. “The gang’s all here, baby. Are you ready?”

She gives me a nervous look
, her gaze scouring the area. “I think.” I can see her eyes widen as she takes in the giant stage set up outside, the huge crowd of people already gathering, and the food vendors scattered throughout. It is definitely going to be the biggest show we’ve played with her.

“Star, trust me. You’re gonna be amazing like always.”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime.” I pick up my guitar case. “Now, let’s go get the guys and get ready.”

“You go ahead. I’m gonna use the restroom really quick and then I’ll meet up with you.”

I curl up my nose. “I think they just have port-a-potties here.”

She gives me a rueful look. “When you gotta go, you gotta go.”

“True.” Before she can walk away, I grab her arm. “Hey, you okay?”

“Fine. I’ll see you in a minute.” She forces a smile and scurries off.

I watch her
leave, a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. She’s more nervous than I’ve ever seen her. I hope she’s going to be fine. Still worried, I carry my guitar case and head over to Ryker’s van.

When I get there, Ryker pulls me aside while Pierce and Jimmy work on pulling out their equipment. “Hey
, man, I’ve been meaning to talk with you.”

“Yeah?” I lean against the side of the van, my leg bent. “About what?” I’m hoping this isn’t going to be another conversation about the band breaking up.

“About Star.”

I cock my head to the side. “What about her?”

Ryker shoves his fingers into the pocket of his jeans. “Are you serious about her, man?”

“
Yeah, I am.”

“It’s just that Lola says Star’s pretty into you, you know? So I wanted to make sure that you weren’t just using her or something.”

“No, man, not at all.” I run a hand over my head. “I really like her. More than I thought possible, actually.”

“Yeah, I kind of thought this might happen.”

“What do you mean?” I’m surprised by his words.

“I could tell you liked her the minute I introduced you two. I think that’s why I pushed so hard for her to be in the band.”

“I thought it was because you wanted her,” I tell him.

Ryker shrugs. “Not gonna lie, when I first saw her at open mic night I thought she was pretty hot. But then I met Lola and I knew right away that she was the one I wanted to be with. Besides, I saw the way Star looked at you that night.”

“Really?” I didn’t notice Star that night, but it makes me happy to realize that she noticed me.

“Yeah, and I just ke
pt thinking that if you gave her a chance maybe she’d be the girl to soften you.” He punches me good-naturedly in the upper arm. “I can see that I was right.”

“It seems like you were.” I glance back toward the restrooms and wonder what’s taking Star so long. “Speaking of which, I better go check on her. She was pretty nervous when we got here.”

“It is a little overwhelming,” Ryker agrees.

“Yeah, you’re right.” My stomach tightens as my gaze sweeps the chaos around us.

27

Star

“Hey,” a voice calls to me when I leave the restroom.
A band is already on stage and the music pulsates under my feet.

I whirl around and come face to face with Dante. My pulse quickens, and I wonder what he wants. My gaze sweeps the area
. There are a few people heading to the restrooms, some with kids in tow. In the distance I see the band playing on stage, and the crowd of people dancing out in the middle of the field. Others are standing in food lines or sitting on the grass. When I don’t see Beckett, I heave a sigh of relief. The last person I want him to see me with is Dante. “What?” I cross my arms over my chest. I know I should just run away, but I’m curious why he stopped me in the first place.

He smiles, noticing my defensive stance. “I take it Beckett’s told you about me.”

“Maybe,” I respond coyly.

“Don’t believe a word of it. He’s just bitter.” He steps closer to me, and I back up. “Y
ou don’t have to be scared. I’m not going to bite. I just wanted to wish you good luck.”

“Thanks,” I say quickly
, and start to turn away. I need to get back to Beckett before he starts wondering where I am.

“So a
re you and Beckett together now?”

My shoulders stiffen. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes.”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Beckett’s voice startles me, causing me to flinch. I spin around to see him stalking in Dante’s direction. His hands are balled into fists at his sides, and his jaw is clenched. I’ve never seen him look so furious, and that’s saying something.

Dante flashes him a sickening grin.
“Just having a conversation with the lovely lady.”

Beckett rushes him, and
shoves him against the port-a-potty. “How dare you. You stay away from her.”

“Beckett.
” I run to him, placing a steadying hand on his arm. “It’s okay. Nothing happened. Come on.”

“Just stay back, Star,”
Beckett commands, harshly. Shocked, I slink back. “Dante, if I ever see you talking to Star again, I swear to God I’ll kill you.” Beckett throws him back and turns away. He grabs me by the hand and pulls me forward. Hesitantly I follow his lead. My heels click on the pavement with each hurried step.

“What was that all about?”
I ask.

“Nothing.” He keeps his gaze trained in front of him.

I stop walking and jerk my arm out of his grasp. “That was not nothing.”

Beckett glances over to where he left Dante. I look too
, but Dante is nowhere in sight. “What did he say to you?”

I
shrug. “He just wished me good luck for today.”

“Did he hit on you?”

“No.” I shake my head. “Is that what this is about?”

“I don’t want you talking to him again, okay?”

“Why not?”

“Seriously, Star. Are you trying to piss me off?
” Beckett glares at me. “Because I said so.”

A bitter laugh escapes through
my lips. “Are you serious? That’s the reason? Because you said so? We may be dating, but that doesn’t mean you get to run my life.”

“Star.” He
circles his hand around my wrist. “Please.”

I
soften under his touch, but I’m not ready to let him off the hook that easy. I need him to be honest with me. “Tell me why.”

Beckett
drops my arm and groans. “God, you are so infuriating sometimes.”

“Oh, and you’re not?” I cock
an eyebrow. “You practically beat up a guy for merely talking to me. Then you demand that I never talk to him again, but you won’t tell me the reason.”

“Dammit, Star, why can’t you just trust me? The guy is bad news, so stay away from him.”

“I’m sure that’s true, Beckett, but I want to know what happened between the two of you. Why can’t you be open with me about it?”

He grabs me by the shoulders, and the sudden movement shocks me.
“Star, just promise me!”

Unnerved, I
shove him backward. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I don’t want to lose you like I did Quinn,”
he says in a rush of words.

I freeze.
“What?”

Beckett exhales slowly. “
I’ve only known you a short time but I really care about you, and I’ve opened up to you more than anyone else. The thought of losing you now scares the shit out of me.”

“You’re not going to lose me, Beckett.” I reach my hand out and gently touch his arm. “Is Quinn the name of the girl Dante stole from you?”

Beckett nods.

I run my fingers down his forearm until they reach his hand, then I thread my fingers through his. “That’s not going to happen with
me. I’ll never cheat on you with anyone, especially not Dante. I only want you.”

Beckett gives me a funny look. “Is that what you think? That Quinn was my girlfriend?”

His words confuse me. “Wasn’t she?”

Beckett slumps his shoulders, a shaky breath escaping from his mouth. “I don’t think I can do this, Star.”

My stomach tightens. “Do what?”

“Talk to you about Quinn.”

I feel sick.
What is it about this girl?
“Please?”

“It’s too hard to talk about. Can’t you just trust me on this?” Beckett leans into me, brushing his lips against my cheek.
My knees buckle. I want to nod in agreement, but I can’t. For some reason I can’t let this go. I don’t want there to be anymore secrets between us.

“I do trust you, Beckett, and now I need you to trust me. You can tell me anything, and it won’t change the way I feel for you.”

“I never should’ve mentioned Quinn to you. I’m sorry, Star.”

“Don’t be. Just tell me about her.”

“I can’t.” He shakes his head.

“You said you cared about me. When you care about someone you don’t shut them out.”

“You’re right. It’s just that I’ve never talked about this with anyone outside of my family and Ryker.”

“Didn’t you say we’d have many firsts together?” I smile in an effort to lighten the mood.

“I did, didn’t I?” Beckett grins back, and it lights up his whole face. He touches my cheek lightly with the palm of his hand. “I can’t believe I’m going to do this, but I guess you do deserve an explanation for how I’ve been acting.”  His hand falls away from my face, and he takes a deep breath. “Quinn’s my sister.”

It feels like the ground flies
out from underneath me. I hold tightly to Beckett to keep from falling over. “I didn’t know you had a sister. I thought Tate was your only sibling.”

Beckett swallows hard, his gaze scouring the area around us. People are milling about. “Can we go somewhere else to talk about this?”

“Do we have time right now?” By the distressed look on his face I kind of feel bad for pushing him to tell me today.

“Yeah. Our set isn’t for a few hours.”

I nod, my curiosity winning out. “Okay.”

Beckett leads me to his truck. Once we are both inside he turns to me, his face a mask of despair. My chest tightens
, and I know that whatever he’s going to say it’s going to be bad. I only hope it doesn’t ruin things between us. It should make me feel relieved that Quinn is his sister, not an ex girlfriend, but for some reason it doesn’t. It only widens the distance between us, because the fact that he has another sibling is a huge thing to have hidden from me. Snatching up my hand, he places it in his lap. Absently he strokes my flesh with his fingertips. I stay silent, waiting for him to speak.

When he
does, it’s so soft I have to hone in to hear it. “I know I was kind of an ass when we first met.”

I’m a little taken aback. It’s not how I expected him to start this conversation. I have no idea what our meeting has to do with his sister, but I keep quiet and listen.

“The truth is that when I saw you, the only thing I could think of was how much you look like Quinn.” He keeps his eyes lowered, staring at my hand in his lap. “You have the same brown hair and eyes, a similar build. But it’s more than that. You’re innocent like her, sweet like her, talented like her.”