The Rocker That Needs Me (The Rocker...) (11 page)

I ran a trembling hand through my hair. I hadn’t spoken to Drake since before I had moved to New York. Somehow, I had succeeded in avoiding him until I left. It had killed something inside of me when I left, unable to tell him goodbye, but as the weeks went by and I settled into my new life, things had gotten better. My heart was still shattered, but at least I had swept up the pieces.

Through Jesse and Layla, and even Shane, I had heard that Drake had checked himself into rehab and actually finished it this time. It had been big news in the rock world for about a week. Drake Stevenson sober. It had been a miracle, everyone said. People wondered what had brought on the sudden need to clean up his act.

I talked to Shane regularly, and he always took the chance to tell me that his brother was doing well. Always telling me how many days Drake had been sober, like it was a new mile stone, and really it was. I was proud of him, but that didn’t stop my heart from aching.

It didn’t stop me from wanting him to hold me every night.

But I had given up hope of that ever happening a long time ago.

Lana

When I had first gotten to New York, part of me—a really big part—had hoped that it would force Drake to realize that he was in love with me. I had lain in bed for two weeks straight, mentally willing him to come after me. Every day, I would search the crowd looking for him. Any guy with overly long, dark hair would make me stop, and I would hold my breath, only to be disappointed when I would realize that it wasn’t Drake.

When I had moved into the apartment with Harper, I stopped crying myself to sleep. I learned to live with the pain, and without realizing it, the pain slowly got easier to deal with. That didn’t mean I didn’t think about him. No, he was on my mind every five minutes. The littlest things would remind me of him.

Some might think that keeping tabs on Drake through his brother was just feeding my pain, but it helped. Knowing that he was okay gave me some peace, and getting to talk to Shane gave me the smallest of connection to Drake, which I hung onto by my fingernails.

It had also made Shane and me closer. He was a big part of my day to day, even if I hadn’t seen him in seven months. If I went a day without talking to him, it made me sad. If I missed one of his calls, he blew up my phone with texts until I called him back. Maybe he was keeping tabs on me for his brother, but I didn’t care.

Now, as I stared at my phone after having just gotten home from dinner with Jesse and my sister, I couldn’t help but wonder what the younger Stevenson brother was up too. It was after eleven here, so that meant it was still early in California, just after eight. More than likely he hadn’t gone out yet.

Sighing, I pulled up his name on my phone and hit send. It rang three times before he answered. “You didn’t tell me,” I said when I heard his voice on the other end.

“Jesse wanted to tell you first,” he assured me, knowing exactly what I was talking about without having to ask. “So… What do you think? We can hang out when I get into town.”

“Why would he do this, Shane? He hates attention like this, and now he’s going to put himself front and center on a freaking reality television show.” I closed my eyes, a headache making my eyes throb.

Shane paused, as if thinking about what to say before he spoke. “He has his reasons, Lana. Maybe one day he will tell you about them. Until then, let’s talk about you and me and the best burger in the world. I know this great burger joint, and I want to take you there.”

Rolling my eyes, I lay back on the couch. Might as well get comfortable. “When do you get in?”

“Tuesday. Drake has to be there for tryouts on Friday, and he wants to be settled in by then. So, let’s go out Thursday. I’ll pick you up…unless you want to come over to our apartment?”

“Um, no. That’s okay.” I wasn’t sure I was ready to see Drake face to face yet. “Thursday is fine. I’ll stay home and wait with bated breath for your arrival, stud.”

He chuckled. “Great. And then Friday you can show me the best jogging trail to take through Central Park.”

“I don’t run through the park. I go to the gym and use the treadmills.”

“No way! I’m ashamed of you, Lana! Okay, then we will find them together. After the burgers we are going to need the exercise…Ah, crap!”

“What?” I demanded, startled when I heard someone else’s voice in the background. Was that a girl? “Shane, really? Next time I call and you’re with some skank, do me a favor and don’t answer!”

“I’m not with some skank, Lana!” Shane assured me. “I’m meeting Emmie and Nik for dinner. That was the waitress.”

“Sure it was.” I laughed. “Liar. I’ll let you go so you can get to your…dinner.”

“You are such a bitch sometimes,” he muttered.

“Yeah, I know. See you Thursday.”

“Can’t wait. Love ya, sweetheart.”

“Love you too, Shane.” With a quivering chin, I hit the end button and tossed my phone aside.

--

It felt like Thursday took forever to come around. My roommates avoided me at times because I was equal parts anxious and excited and that made for horrible mood swings. Linc kept giving me the evil eye, not sure if my behavior was from PMS or if I was just being my sometimes bitchy self.

I had one class Thursday morning. Trying to cram three months of Biology material into five weeks over the summer break was not fun, but I was glad for the challenge. Still, as soon as my professor excused us, I pulled out my cell to see if I had missed any texts from Shane.

Pick you up @ 1. Can’t wait for dinner 2 c u.

A glance at the clock on my phone told me that I wasn’t going to make it to my apartment in time unless I grabbed a cab. Muttering a curse, I flagged one down and tossed the driver an incentive to get me home as quick as he could. New York cab drivers in a hurry made for a terrifying ride. I just covered my eyes and waited for the car to finally come to a stop.

Paying my fare, I grabbed my shoulder bag that held all my essentials and turned for the apartment. The tall man standing by the door made me stop. He was just standing there watching me. I couldn’t see those blue-gray eyes of his behind the sunglasses, and his Boston Red Sox cap was on backwards, hiding that shaggy dark hair from me. He hadn’t changed in the seven months since I had last seen him.

With a delighted squeal, I jumped the few feet separating us and threw my legs around his waist. “It’s so good to see you,” I said, hugging him tight.

He laughed, swinging me around and around. It didn’t seem to matter to him that we were on a busy sidewalk, or that people had to stop and walk around us. Shane was the kind of man that didn’t care about public displays of any kind.

“I was going crazy back in the apartment. All I could think about was that I was going to get to see my favorite girl in the world and I couldn’t wait.” He sat me on my feet, scanning me from head to toe behind those shades of his.

“Wow!” He shook his head. “More beautiful than I remember.” His fingers touched my hair, which was longer now than it had been the last time he had seen me. “Okay, sis. Let’s get going before I start having thoughts that could get me killed.”

I slapped his arm, knowing that he was completely kidding. “Do you want to come up?” I motioned to my shoulder bag. “I want to get rid of this thing before we go traipsing around the city.”

He followed me into the building, and I stopped at the doorman’s desk. After making sure that Shane was on my list of approved guests, we took the elevator up to my floor. I knew that everyone was home before I had even unlocked the door. I could hear Linc and Dallas arguing, something that didn’t even faze me these day.

I glanced at Shane. “Keep an open mind, okay?” I told him, trying to prepare him for Linc. I had learned, after my gaffe of not believing Linc was gay, that his type was the pretty boy type. And you didn’t get prettier than Shane. He and his brother were borderline beautiful, in a masculine way, and Linc was going to be on red alert.

“Sure.” He nodded.

Opening the door, I found my roommates spread out around the living room watching the Style Network. No wonder Dallas and Linc were arguing.
Dallas knew most of the models on there―had actually been one of them―and knew all their dirty secrets. Linc, who was friends with several of those models, didn’t want to believe Dallas.

Harper, looking bored with the whole thing—the conversation and the t
elevision show―skimmed through a copy of
The New Yorker
. Three pair of eyes turned their full attention on me as I pulled Shane into the apartment. I saw Linc’s blue eyes light up, and I narrowed my own at him.

“Hey, look who I found!”

Dallas gave Shane a once over then another one just for good measure. I glanced at Shane who had his eyes narrowed on Linc, not even noticing the interest in the ex-top model’s eyes. “You’re Linc?” he demanded.

“Yep. That’s me.” Linc grinned, liking the attention.

“Well, there’s something we can talk about later,” Shane muttered to me. “Drake is going to shit a brick.”

I stiffened. “This is none of Drake’s business.”

“Oh, I think it is.” He pushed his sun glasses on top of his head. “But whatever, sis, we can talk about it later.”

I gave him a hard glare and pushed him toward the couch. “Guys, this is Shane. Shane, these are my roommates. Linc, of course. Dallas, who seems to be eye-fucking you...” I shot her a wink, knowing that I would get bitched at later “...and this is my bestie, Harper.”

Harper waved but went back to reading. She wasn’t fazed in the least by Shane’s complete hotness. My friend had a big self-esteem problem. She had no idea that she was drop dead gorgeous and never suspected when guys were interested. I shot Shane a warning look and went to change clothes.

Ten minutes later, I came out of the bedroom I shared with Harper to find everyone laughing in the living room. I stopped, taking them all in before they could notice me. Shane had the ability to put anyone at ease. It surprised me that he had picked the part of the couch closest to Harper, when Dallas had been giving him the green light with her eyes from the moment she had seen him.

He said something that I didn’t hear, and Harper snorted with laughter. It was then that I saw it, the way his eyes danced when he looked at her. Shane had been presented with a challenge when Harper had showed disinterest. He was used to every woman he came across giving in, and now he had found one that didn’t really give a fuck about falling into his bed.

Muttering a curse under my breath, I made a mental note to kick Shane Stevenson’s ass while I was out with him today.

--

The best burger in the world was in my stomach, and I felt like I had gained fifteen pounds. I was stuffed to the point of pain, and it was all Shane’s fault.

As we left the little Mom and Pop place, I groaned, trying to figure out how to make this full feeling go away. The rock star beside me probably wasn’t enduring the same pain as me. He had finished his burger, and half of my own, as well as two orders of fries and some onion rings. With all the junk he had put away during our meal, which had included Shane ordering a huge hot fudge ice cream dessert that I hadn’t been able to even look at because I was so full, I couldn’t help but wonder if he ate like that normally. Emmie probably attempted to keep the saturated fat to a minimum, but now that he was three thousand miles away from her, he was taking advantage. I would have to keep an eye on that and let Emmie know if he kept it up. I took an evil delight in possibly tattling on him.

“You look miserable.” Shane laughed as he pulled me close. He turned right and I didn’t even question him as we started walking. I needed the exercise after all.

“I am, but it was worth it. That was the best burger I have ever had. Thanks. I’ll have to let Linc know about that place.”

“About Linc…” Shane grimaced. “Is he really gay, Lana? I mean, really?”

I couldn’t help but snicker. “I didn’t believe it at first either, but yes, he is very gay. I guess you would say he’s butch?” I shrugged. “I’m not sure what the correct term for him is.” My grin was wicked. “If it helps, you’re his type. Linc loves a man with a pretty face.”

His big hand swatted against my ass, making me squeal. “You mean little bitch!”

My laugh was soul deep. “Just thought you would want to know.”

“Gee, thanks, but I’m going to have to say it’s a definite no this time around.” We stopped to wait for the light to turn so we could cross the street. “Although, if you could help me out with your friend Harper…”

I pushed him away. “No way! Stay away from Harper. She’s not your type.”

“Sis, I don’t have a type,” he said with a smirk.

“That’s the problem. Harper isn’t the kind of girl to come running when you cock your sexy finger.” The light turned and we started across the street. “She’s a good girl. Not one of those groupie skanks that you and your brother are used to. Especially what you are used to.”

“That’s harsh, sis.” He gripped his heart, a pout on his lips. “You wound me.”

“Oh, please. You have loved maybe one girl in your whole life, and she’s going to marry your best friend.”

“Not true.” He wrapped his arm around my waist again, holding me protectively to his side as we walked with and against the evening crowd. “I actually love five girls. Emmie, Mia, Lucy, Layla, and you.”