“Bug.” Someone jostled my shoulder.
I groaned and rolled away.
“Bug, we’re here. Get up.”
I moaned and burrowed my head into my pillow. “Go away.”
“Damn, it’s like waking up Chase. She won’t even open her eyes.”
“Fuck off,” I muttered.
“Ella, come on. You gotta wake up. We can’t leave you here.”
“What?” I snarled, sitting up. My head wacked against something, and I fell back, clutching my forehead. “Ow!”
“Shit. I forgot you’re not used to sleeping in bunks. Are you okay, bug?”
I finally blinked open my blurry eyes and found Jesse bent over me, looking all concerned.
“Damn, I think you’re going to have a goose egg.” His hands brushed mine away as he probed my forehead.
“What did you do, dickhead?” Xander pushed Jesse aside and peered down at me. “You gonna live, kiddo?”
“I’m not a kid, and why are you all staring at me? Can’t a girl sleep in peace? Son of a bitch.” I clutched my head in my hands and rolled away from them. “Just leave me alone.”
“Uh, that’s the thing though. We’re here. At the hotel. It’s time to check in.” For probably the first time ever, Xander sounded flustered.
“What?” I rolled over and blinked blearily at him.
“Shit, maybe she has a concussion,” Jesse said from somewhere behind Xander. “That thunk practically shook the bus.”
Noah chimed in. “We’ve had her for one day and broke her. Chase is going to kill us.”
“You guys aren’t helping my headache.” I groaned. “What’s going on? Where do I need to be?”
“We’re in Vegas, baby!” Noah shoved his way past Jesse and grinned down at me. “Get dressed and meet us up front. No one knows we’re here yet.”
I nodded along like anything he’d said made sense. It was too freaking early in the morning to be that cheerful.
Noah was probably high.
Grabbing some clothes, I pushed my way through the guys and headed for the bathroom. It wasn’t even light outside.
After splashing some water on my face, I grimaced at my reflection. I looked like shit. My mascara was smudged under my eyes, I had an eye crusty still, and a vivid red spot lit up the center of my forehead. That was going to be fun later. Still, I pulled some clothes on and ran a brush through my hair, trying to look a little bit more presentable.
“Come on, bug!” Jesse hollered. “No one cares what you look like.”
“Ouch,” I muttered.
I flung open the bathroom door, made my way to my bunk, and pushed some things into my backpack. “Ready.”
“How’s the noggin?” Noah asked as I stopped next to him.
“Sure to be hurting like a bitch later.”
Noah laughed and rested an arm on my shoulders. “We’ve all been there, little-R. More than once. So welcome to the club.”
“I’d rather go to an actual club,” I muttered as I followed the guys off the bus and into the predawn light. “What time is it anyhow?”
“This is what five AM looks like,” Noah said with a majestic wave of his hand. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Five?” I repeated weakly. “What the fuck.”
“Welcome to the glamorous life of a rock star. Most of what happens is beyond your control, and you go where you’re told. Ain’t it grand?”
“It’s something,” I muttered as we followed Jesse and Xander and a few security guards. I hadn’t even taken in our surroundings, aside from the very noticeable lack of sunshine.
I couldn’t help but gawk at the opulence around us. Gleaming tile floors lead to a long, curving front desk that had to be eighty feet long at least. The wooden façade behind the front desk made me think of a tortoise shell. But it was just so over the top. From the coffered ceilings and the ornate chandeliers to the gleaming tiles that gave way to a plush carpet, it was all so luxurious. I would’ve thought we were in a five-star hotel and not a casino. It actually took me a minute to register that the chiming I heard was slot machines.
I would’ve loved to gawk for ages, but I let the momentum of the group pull me to the far end of the front desk where Wes stood with a leather binder in his hands.
“Nice of you all to finally join us.”
Us? I looked past Wes and noticed Chase stood just beyond him, twirling a small white square in his fingers. Damn, maybe I should get checked for a concussion.
“Everyone’s on the 60th floor.” Wes handed out tiny room key folders to the band, and surprisingly me too. “Don’t go wandering away. You’ve got an hour to shower and dress before we hit the morning show circuit. Check your texts for today’s itinerary. You’ll have downtime tomorrow. Today’s a workday, children. Do not make me come find you.”
Noah hooted, bouncing around us. “Vegas, baby!”
I barely suppressed my groan. It was too early for this crap.
Chase fell into step next to me. “How was the ride over here?”
“Short.”
My brother laughed. “Yeah. Sleep is a luxury. Pretty soon, you’ll get used to being a walking zombie.”
I gave him an incredulous look. I didn’t want to be a zombie. I wanted to go back to bed.
Ten of us piled into an elevator. But there’d been a distinct lack of both fans and crew in the lobby when we’d arrived. “Where’s everyone else?”
“Not staying here.” Chase smirked. “The best part of staying in one city for multiple nights is the break from everyone else.”
“And the beds,” Xander threw in. “So much more comfortable than those tiny bunks.”
Jesse choked and coughed deeply.
“You okay, man?” Chase asked.
I threw Jesse a nasty look. I knew he was remembering my whack to the head.
“Yup.” Jesse coughed a little more. “Just swallowed wrong.”
“That’s what she said!” Noah crowed.
The entire group groaned.
I heard a thump behind me followed by a grunt. Then Chase’s voice. “Watch it, dipshit. Not in front of my sister.”
“Oh my god.” I groaned. Seriously? How old did he think I was?
The rest of the elevator ride was decidedly awkward after that. It was a relief when we finally reached our floor. I read the number on my card 6009 and when the doors opened, I booked it for my room.
“Ella!” my brother called behind me. “Wait up.”
I pushed my keycard into the slot. Red. Pulled it out and pushed it in again. Red. “Dammit.”
My escape plan was foiled by my inability to open my freaking hotel door.
Chase caught up to me and pulled the card out of the slot. “Here. Let me try.”
He pushed it in again. Green lights flashed.
Of course it opened for him. I pulled my keycard out of his hand and shoved the door open. “Thanks.”
“Seriously, Ella?” Chase asked behind me.
“What, Chase?” I wanted to lay into him about how he wasn’t treating me like a regular crew member, but I didn’t have the time or mental bandwidth. “I want to go take a shower and wake up. I’m not used to waking up at the butt crack of dawn.”
Chase shook his head with a laugh. “You’re such a wordsmith. Maybe I’ll ask for your help when I’m writing my next song.”
I groaned. I so wasn’t in the mood to bicker with my brother this early in the morning. And I don’t know why I expected anything else from him. He loved nettling me when I least expected it. “Can I shower now?”
“Wow. A thank you would’ve been nice. Do you think any of the other crew members are staying in a room like that?” He gestured to the room beyond us.
I wanted—ached—to tell him off. I didn’t want this room. I would’ve been happy with a room at a budget hotel like the other crew members no doubt had. But I also knew yelling at my brother wouldn’t get him out of my face or even change anything. He was always going to be an overprotective douche. Case in point, the bus I rode to get here.
Instead, I sighed. “I’m sorry. Thank you. Can I go shower now?”
“Whatever.” Chase gave me that look that made me feel three inches tall, but it wasn’t changing my stance or my attitude. Finally, he sighed too. “I’m gonna head over to my room to get ready. I’ll see ya in an hour?”
“Less than.” I walked Chase to the door and held it open for him. “Hey Chase? What did you want to talk about?”
His cheeks flushed red. “Uh, it’s not important.”
“You were checking in on how the guys were treating me?”
He raised his palms. “I plead the fifth.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“You love me anyway.”
“Clearly a mistake.” I let the door shut behind him.
Brothers. Ugh.
An hour later I’d bounced around my ginormous suite, taken a shower, and dressed in something resembling professional attire, considering I was following a rock band around. Ripped jeans, a black camisole, and a blue-gray flannel. We might’ve been in Vegas, but all these air-conditioned buildings made me cold, so I needed layers. I grabbed my camera, backpack, and room key then headed for the elevator…where I found Jesse standing in front of the elevator doors.
Great.
I hadn’t talked to him since before the concert. And definitely not since I saw him and Rowan getting all cozy in the greenroom last night. I was surprised he could stand upright; I’d assumed she’d sucked all his bodily fluids dry.
Okay, that might’ve been a little mean.
I gave him a vacant smile as I pressed the already lit elevator button.
Jesse looked at me, then the lit button, then at me again.
“What?”
“Seriously? You know I’ve already pressed it.”
“I don’t know that. Maybe it’s always lit up. Maybe you’re waiting for everyone else before you head downstairs. I don’t want to assume anything.”
Jesse shook his head.
The elevator dinged, and I all but leapt at the still-closed doors.
“Eager much?” Jesse drawled as he stepped onto the elevator after me.
“I just don’t want to be late. Contrary to what everyone thinks, this job is important to me. I want to do well. It’s important that people like Wes and Tyler and others at the label see me working hard.”
Jesse slouched against the back of the elevator. “I can see how much you want this. We wouldn’t have picked you if we didn’t believe in you.”
I snorted. “That’s a load of bullshit.”
“What the fuck?”
“Come on. You guys hired me because I’m Chase’s little sister. I know exactly why I’m here. Your girlfriend told me this job didn’t even exist before this tour.”
Jesse straightened and stared intently at me. “Who the fuck are you talking about?”
“The wardrobe chick? Rowan?” I don’t know why I phrased it as a question. But something about Jesse’s intensity had me shrinking away from him.
“Rowan told you that?”
“Well, she didn’t call herself your girlfriend, but…”
“But she said that shit about your job?”
I nodded.
A muscle flexed in Jesse’s jaw, then he leaned back against the rail. Where before he’d been relaxed, now he looked like a panther waiting to strike. “She has not now or ever been my girlfriend. And I can guarantee my dick isn’t going anywhere near her again.”
I had to blink. I was wide eyed with shock.
“And as for her bullshit about your job, she doesn’t know what the fuck she’s talking about. We’ve talked about needing a social media manager and photographer for years. It’s always been one of Harper’s jobs while we’re on tour, but it’s getting too much for her to handle alone. We didn’t create this job for you. We created it because we needed it. We hired you because you’re good at what you do. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you don’t belong here. You belong more than most.”
I nodded numbly.
A few seconds of mostly awkward tension passed between us, Jesse’s panting and Muzak the only sounds to break the silence.
Why was that so hot?
It was a relief when the elevator pinged and the doors glided open.
Jesse jerked his chin for me to go ahead, and I all but ran out into the lobby.
I was this weird mix of freaked out and turned on. Pissed-off Jesse Mala was crazy hot and did absolutely nothing to alleviate my crush.
But I had to remind myself that was all this was. Despite his rejection of Rowan’s claim, Jesse had never felt the same way about me.