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A week after the fiasco in Milan, the band’s private jet landed on the tarmac of the German airport. Everyone was feeling jet-lagged, but Chloe was excited to move on to the next adventure. She was ready for a change of scenery and with it, hopefully, a new pace with a more optimistic future.
It felt like, on some level, she was leaving a little slice of herself in every city they traveled to, but at the same time, was learning from her past mistakes and gaining more knowledge with each new place. They had a couple of days to rest and regroup before the next show, but she knew their time would be filled with sightseeing, press interviews and soundcheck practices. In the whirlwind of traveling, Chloe had been enjoying an ample amount of quality alone time with Roman whenever they got a chance to sneak off to be together.
She loved sex with him. He was incredible in bed, a gentle lover at times and a hungry, primal lover at others. He was the perfect blend and balance of both, giving her night after night of blissful orgasms.
“I have a few interviews,” Roman kissed her cheek as they loaded into the SUV that would take them to their hotel.
“I’ll be there,” Chloe smiled warmly.
Roman kissed the side of her cheek. “Good.”
“I know Emelia usually goes, but she asked me to accompany you guys this time around. Get some sound bites and talking points we can use for future marketing.”
Roman’s eyes gleamed with amusement. “You are so sexy when you talk marketing with me,” he teased.
He snaked his arms around her waist and planted his lips on her mouth, sending an electric jolt of pleasure up her spine. He knew exactly how to touch her to make her body go wild. She was having an enormous amount of fun being his personal ‘groupie,’ reaping the benefits of fantastic sex with him.
“Tell me, what else is on the agenda?” Roman leaned back in his seat, settling in to start scrolling through the social media feeds on his phone.
Chloe sighed and leaned back against the leather seats. “Well, first we are going to do the interview at the radio station, and then we have the rest of the day free.” She gave him a warmhearted, satisfied smile.
“Is everyone else meeting us there?” Roman asked.
Chloe nodded. “Yep. The whole gang will be there, including your assistant and Roman’s assistant.”
“Sounds great.” Roman glanced out the window in awe of the landscape. “It’s the best feeling to be able to travel the world and play music.”
Chloe cupped her tiny hand over his large one and squeezed. “I feel the very same way.”
He began stroking her inner thighs with a playful gleam in his eyes.
She gently pushed him away. “Easy there, tiger. We’re in a moving car in broad daylight. We don’t need to give reporters any more ammo.”
Roman was nuzzling his lips into her neck while grazing his hands all over her thighs. “Come on,” he murmured into her chest. “Just a little play time.”
“We will get to that later,” Chloe promised with a smirk. “You don’t have to jump my bones every second of the day, you know.”
“You are so irresistible though,” Roman mock-whined. He eventually pulled away, giving in when he realized that she wasn’t going to take his sexual bait for the time being.
A few minutes later, they arrived at their hotel. The building was beautiful with stone architecture, gold accents, and horse statues surrounding a fountain out front.
“This place is gorgeous,” Chloe chimed as they stepped out of the car.
“Not as gorgeous as you,” Roman gave her an affectionate grin, placing his hand on the small of her back as they walked inside the lobby.
She melted at his touch, but she still had a sliver of her guard up even though things were going well for them. Chloe was the type to never want to get too comfortable in her own happiness. Sometimes things came crashing down, no matter how clean your karma was like her father’s cancer. It was just part of life. She had to learn to be prepared for anything and expect nothing. It wasn’t a bleak way to look at life, in Chloe’s eyes, it was smart.
They checked in and assessed their room, freshening up while Burt called Roman to make sure the drummer was on his way to the radio station. They had a specific time slot to fill with the announcers, and if they were famously late as the band tended to be, they would miss their window.
“We’re on the way,” Roman groaned, with the phone tucked between his ear and his shoulder as they maneuvered out of the hotel room door.
Chloe watched him as he talked to his manager, admiring the crisp white button down shirt that he had rolled up to the elbows. He was hot, and he was all hers.
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CHLOE WAS RELIEVED when the radio show interview went off without a hitch. Emelia had been generous to let her take the reins on this one. She didn’t want to blow it on her first marketing promotion job, and after it was over, she was able to breathe a sigh of relief that it had been successful.
Roman approached her as he walked out of the sound booth. “Good job, babe.” He locked one arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “You did excellent pulling this one together.”
“Thanks,” Chloe beamed. “I did have help though.” She glanced around, smiling at the team of assistants. “I’m not a one-woman show.”
“Stop being so humble,” Roman chuckled. “You’re amazing.”
“I agree,” Asher approached them. He was wearing gray shorts and a button-down plaid shirt that he too kept the cuffs rolled up to the elbows. “Let’s go celebrate with a drink or something.”
Roman gave him a disapproving glance. “Dude, it’s the middle of the day.”
Asher grinned and shrugged, winking at Chloe. “So?”
“How about we do some sightseeing?” She suggested, knowing that they had the rest of the day to kill time and roll at whatever leisure pace they chose.
Roman shrugged. “I could use some downtime.”
“I’m in,” Asher shrugged. “As long as you don’t mind me being the third wheel.”
“I don’t mind,” Chloe gave him a kind smile. The band was a family, no one excluded.
Out of all the band members besides Roman, Asher might have been her favorite. He was witty and funny, always trying to make everyone around him laugh. Burt called out a few security guards to be on dispatch while the trio walked around town, taking in the culture of yet another new city.
Chloe loved being adventurous with Roman, but more than anything, she desperately needed the distractions so that she wouldn’t constantly worry about how her father was doing at home. She knew that having her mom, her sister and a team of nurses was more than enough people to care for him, but the guilt still lingered no matter how hard she tried to shove it to the back of her mind.
They walked through quaint little shops, stirring up attention in their wake. Chloe loved being with the handsome rockers, especially hand in hand with Roman. He didn’t seem phased with the concept of being affectionate with her out in public. If anything, it fueled him even more. As they all got tired out and drifted back to the arena to do sound check, Chloe’s heart was full. She was excited and thrilled to see where the future would take her and Roman, and the horizon was bright.
They walked into the venue with sore legs and arms full of all the gifts they bought for family and friends.
“Wow,” Emelia laughed as Chloe approached her. “Did you guys buy all of Germany?”
Chloe did a full-bodied spin, adorning all the bags. “You would think so right?”
“You’re the fashionista,” Emelia chuckled, shaking her head with whimsy. “Did you get anything good?”
Chloe nodded. “Oh yeah!”
Emelia’s eyes twinkled. “The keepsakes are the most memorable things you could buy.”
Chloe beamed, doing one final spin. “I hope my family loves them.”
“How was sightseeing?” Emelia asked as they wandered over to a pair of empty seats in the arena that would soon be filled with screaming, adoring fans.
Chloe yawned, nodding as she propped her legs up on the seat in front of her, leaning in to watch the sound check. “We had a blast. My legs are so sore. I’ll probably regret all that walking in the morning.”
“Oh, stop it,” Emelia swatted Chloe’s thigh playfully. “You are in amazing shape.”
Emelia glanced at Trevor, watching him with adoration for several seconds. “Trevor and I have been talking...” she trailed off.
“And?” Chloe wasn’t a glutton for punishment. She wanted Emelia to spill whatever dish she had spinning around in that head of hers.
A grin cracked across her lips. She crossed her ankles and placed her hands on her jeans. “We’ve been talking,” she began again, knowing full well how much Chloe detested suspense. “And we both agree that we want to expand on our family.”
“Are you pregnant?” Chloe squeaked, animatedly patting Emelia on the shoulder with unrestrainable excitement.
“Shh,” Emelia hissed, still smiling. She pressed her finger to her lips. “You don’t want to start a media riot.”
Chloe glanced around, feigning confusion. “There’s no one here.” They had to exclaim over the roar of the guitars anyway.
“I’m not pregnant,” Emelia admitted. “But we are going to start trying soon after the wedding.”
“Soon?” Chloe wanted Emelia to elaborate. “Like now?”
Emelia belted out a lighthearted laugh. “No of course not now,” she inflected. “After the tour. We want to wait until the tour winds down.”
Chloe nodded and squeezed Emelia’s arm. “That sounds really smart.” Then she inspected her gorgeous best friend. “Oh, Em,” she crooned. “I’m so happy for you guys. Seriously.”
“Thanks.” Emelia blushed, radiating with the glow of motherhood without even being with child yet.
They sat back in their seats as the music began to play for sound check. Chloe watched Roman, pounding his heart out behind the drum set. She couldn’t help but wonder what the future would bring for the pair of them.
It was certainly exhilarating to mull over the prospect that they might end up together, but she knew she would have to just drift with the tide and exercise patience. Her time would come, but for now, she could bask in the excitement shared by her best friend.