Convincing Constance (The Blow Hole Boys) (10 page)

I walked Constance to her
room, even though she repeatedly told me she didn’t need me to. I wanted to make sure she was safe in her room and even though Chet told me he’d seen the asshole and Constance’s mom leave, I was worried he’d come back to finish the job.

“Lock the door behind you, pack up your shit, get ready, and we’ll be by to get you to go to the bus
,” I said as I slowly shut the door.

She looked at me with a heartbroken expression
, and my stomach felt weak. I shut the door and pressed my forehead against the cold wood. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my bag of pills and tossed a few in my mouth.

I’m not sure what I’d been thinking when I turned Constance down, but I knew I’d done the right thing. I couldn’t even allow her to touch me. It was wrong to take so much from her when I had nothing to give.

All I knew was walking into her room and seeing her be hurt changed something in me. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I didn’t want to see her hurt anymore and I didn’t trust myself to not hurt her. She deserved so much more than me, and I wasn’t going to ruin her chances of getting better.

Once we were ready to go, Chet, Finn, and I stopped by Constance’s room to get her. She wouldn’t even look at me, and maybe that was for the best. We had a one final show in Los Angeles, and then it would all be over. She’d go back to wherever she came from and I’d continue to be Tiny, the bass player of Blow Hole. The lonely fucker with a pill problem who was too mentally fucked up to even let a chick touch him.

I slept through the ride from Sacramento. Once we got to Los Angeles, we got our shit off the bus and went our separate ways. A car was there to pick up me and the boys, and some chick with blue hair who screamed and attacked Finn was there to pick up Constance.

I watched as she threw her stuff in the back of the chick’s car and walked to the passenger’s side. Before getting in, she looked my way and our eyes locked. The sadness in her eyes almost broke me.

If what I was doing was the right thing, then why did it feel so wrong? Why did her pulling away from me hurt so badly?

When we got to the condo
, the place was cleaner than it had ever been. Zeke was moping around the apartment like death, but at least his hand was doing better. I went straight to my room, dumped all my shit on the floor, and lay across my bed.

I should’ve been happy to be home. As badly as I hated those fucking bunks on the bus, I should’ve been ecstatic to be back in my bed, but I wasn’t. Everything felt wrong. The place no longer felt like home. My bed no longer felt comfortable. Getting up, I went into the kitchen to find Chet and Finn popping open a bottle.

“Party starts in an hour. Let’s celebrate being home,” Chet said as he threw back his head and downed a shot.

When Chet said party, he meant party. Within an hour, our condo was full of people. Finn disappeared for the night, and I ended up so drunk and fucked up on pills that I passed out on the kitchen floor.

The next morning, the place looked like the remainder of a zombie apocalypse. The half-dead chicks with smeared mascara leaving Chet’s room added ambiance. I peeled myself from the cold tile floor and stuck my head under the water in the kitchen sink.

Three hours later, I walked into the venue of our final show with a pair of shades on and a raging headache, which sucked since the next two hours would be full of sound checks. My pain pills seemed to be losing their potency or something, because no matter how many I took, I couldn’t shake the headache.

It had only been a day since I’d last seen Constance, but I wanted to see her. I think maybe I missed her, which was just crazy but true.

Chet walked behind me and moaned to himself.
“Dude, I feel like shit. Seriously, I’m thinking one of those girls slipped something in my drink last night.”

“Please. Like a chick would have to drug you to get some dick
,” I responded.

“Not dick, man. My fucking wallet. I can’t find it anywhere.”

I laughed and shook my head.

Finn walked up to us like he’d spent the night getting ass-raped.

“What’s wrong with you? Where’d you go last night?” I asked.

“Just rode around. I’m good, man.” He stood straighter and cracked his neck. “Y’all ready to do this? By the way, you both look like shit.”

I was about to reply when Constance walked through the door. She looked good—too damn good. Her typical black boots covered her feet and most of her calves, then her long legs stretched up to a short skirt that barely covered the four-leaf clover I knew was hiding on her thigh.

A thick black belt held
up the skirt and then it was all bare stomach until just below her tits. The long-sleeved half shirt she wore did me in. It was ripped and stretched and so fucking sexy I almost pulled her into another room and fucked her senseless. Screw the scars and all the other reasons I wasn’t good enough; I wanted her bad.

“Damn, Constance, that ass is looking sweet
,” Chet said as he looked her up and down.

She ran her hands down her sides and shrugged. “Yeah, I know.” She laughed.

She was doing the shit on purpose. She was acting out for me—wearing clothes that turned me on. She wanted my attention and damn it, she had it.

We did a sound check and my eyes stayed glued to her the entire time. She kept peeking over at me and purposely adjusting her clothes just right so I’d see some skin or the black lace of her bra. I knew her game, and I was all about playing.

Once we unplugged, I followed her to the back. I wanted to catch her alone, but Chet was up her ass and bullshitting about her coming over and partying with us after the show. I silently wished she’d go for it.

“I can’t. I have plans tonight
,” she said.

“A hot date?” Chet asked.

She laughed. “Yeah, something like that.”

“Good. It’s about time you get laid.”

I pretended I wasn’t listening, but I was all ears. I wanted to know who she was going out with. I wanted to know why jealousy was creeping around my gut. I didn’t want anyone else to have her, but I knew she could do better than me. It was a fucked-up mess. No,
I
was a fucked-up mess.

Sound check was over, and she was leaving to go back to her place. She left the building and went to a shitty car. I was right behind her.

“Why are you following me?” she said as she turned around.

“I can’t help myself.” I joked.

“Seriously, what’s the deal?”

“Why are you ignoring me?” I asked as I moved closer to her.

She leaned against the driver’s side of her car and crossed her arms like she was pissed off.

“I’m not.” She shrugged.

“Liar.”

“Believe what you want. I’ll see you at the show.” She turned to open her door and I stopped her, pinning her to the car.

I breathed her in and pressed my cock against her ass.

I heard her gasp and then she turned in my arms.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked.

Her voice was low and raspy.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” I moved in closer.

Before she could ask another question, I kissed her.
At first she didn’t kiss me back, but once I coerced her with a nibble on her bottom lip, she was all in. She latched onto me like I was her everything, and I didn’t hold back.

Pressing her into the car, I let my hands devour her. She moaned into my mouth
, sending me straight into insanity. I pulled back and caught my breath.

“I want you
,” I said as I kissed her cheek and along the side of her neck.

“You’ve said that before, but you keep pushing me away
,” she said breathlessly.

“Let’s go somewhere. Anywhere.”

And I meant it. I was done with the games and done with wanting something I didn’t think I could have. She was there in my arms. Even if it was for a brief moment, I had her and she had me.

“Get in
,” she said as she turned around and pulled open her door.

I went around to the passenger’s side and jumped in.

Her car was a piece of shit, but I could remember when I drove a piece of shit, too. With her talent, it wasn’t going to be long before she was driving something pricey and worthy of her.

I watched her as she drove and let my hand linger up and down her leg from her knee to her thigh. Tiny goose bumps covered her arms and legs
, and I knew I was getting to her.

It wasn’t long until we were pulling up in front of an old motel. The place would do for a quickie, but if I
were being honest, it was pretty shitty, too.

“Too embarrassed to take me home?” I joked.

“This is home. At least for now,” she said as she parked.

Throwing the car in park, she jumped out and went for the door closest to her car.

“You coming?” she asked.

I couldn’t believe it. No way was she staying in th
is shithole. I’d been in shittier places, but she was the daughter of fucking Clarke McClaire, as in a rock and roll legend. There was no way in hell I was letting her stay in a dump like that.

“You’re kidding right?” I said as I stepped up onto the sidewalk outside the room.

“It’s not much, but it will do until I can find a place to rent. With the shows and shit, I haven’t had time.”

“You could’ve stayed with us.”

“Yeah. No. I’m fine here.”

The minute she said the words, sirens from a passing cop car went by. I followed her into her room and things just got worse. The room smelled like shit. Literally like a stray dog had come through and marked his territory all in that bitch. The carpet was stained with what looked like old blood, and the place was so fucking hot that I knew right away the air
-conditioning was broken. In California with no fucking air… hell no.

“Get your shit together. You’re not staying here anymore
,” I said.

The sex. Her hot skirt. All of it was forgotten just that fast.

“Excuse me?”

“I said you’re coming home with me.”

“You do know I don’t like being told what to do, right?”

“Well, you’re just going to have to suck it up and get over that real quick because I’m not letting you stay here a second more.”

After arguing more than I had with any other person in my life, I finally convinced her to pack her shit and come home with us until she found a place.

Later, instead of a party at the condo, we went to a local club. We partied ou
r asses off, signed autographs, and took pictures with our local fans. Constance stuck out like a sore thumb with us boys, but at the same time, she fit perfectly.

We all went back to the condo. Chet with two girls he’d picked up at the club
, Finn alone and grumpy, and Constance and me avoiding eye contact at all costs. Thankfully, we had an extra room where she could crash. Not that I didn’t want her in my bed, but the thought of her staying in my room and possibly seeing my scars didn’t fly with me.

It had been another party night, and Constance was the only sober person in the place. With a couple of pills and some alcohol in me, I sat on the couch and stared at her across from me. She knew I was looking, too. I’d catch her looking at me and she’d smile. Finally, when I couldn’t take it any longer, I stood and grabbed her hand for her to follow me. She didn’t fight it.

Taking her to my room, I shut the door behind us.

“What’s up?”
she asked innocently.

Grinning
, I asked, “Do you really want me to answer that?”

She giggled and it was the sweetest noise I’d ever heard.

“So why did you bring me in here?”

“I figured we could finish what we started today.”

I moved closer to her and she stood her ground.

“Is that so?”