The mood shifted after Kelly Evers left to take the stage. The guys all huddled around Xander, but judging by his expression, he didn’t want to listen to anything they had to say. He stomped off to their private greenroom and after a moment my brother followed him.
I wanted to talk to my brother, find out what was going on with Shay—who hadn’t answered any of my calls—but I knew when guys needed space.
Most of the area was empty since the opening act was on, but a few women lingered, trying to get close to Jesse. Maybe my brilliant social media post wasn’t such a great idea after all. I’d turned my crush into the it guy of the moment.
“Hey!” Harper grabbed my attention away from all the women fawning all over Jesse. She crossed the room to me and gave me a hug. “I just wanted to congratulate you on your amazing first few days. You are blazing a trail like I hoped you would.”
“Oh, uh, thanks.” I never knew how to accept compliments. Criticism I was used to; compliments were weird.
“I mean it. The easy thing to do would’ve been to put Chase and Shay’s song all over social. It took real creativity to see those moments with Jesse and make him shine.”
“Literally.”
Harper giggled. “Gotta say that closeup at the end might’ve been my favorite moment. I can’t wait to see what you do next.”
“Me too.”
Finally annoyed with all the attention, Jesse escaped to their private greenroom, leaving Noah to bound over to our corner.
“Thought any more about my offer, pretty lady?” Noah beamed down at Harper.
Harper rolled her eyes and stomped off.
I tried to cover my giggle with a cough, but Noah’s raised eyebrows told me I’d failed.
“Was it something I said?” Noah blinked exaggeratingly at me.
I just shook my head and ignored the obvious. “How’s Xander doing?”
Noah lifted a shoulder. “About like you’d expect. You’re coming out with us after the show, by the way.”
“What the hell are you talking about? We’ve been up since five AM. We won’t get out of here until after midnight. The only place I’m going after the show is to sleep.”
“As the fifth member of the Tin Gods, it’s really important that you’re there for every member in their time of need.”
“I thought Jesse’s abs were the fifth member,” I muttered. Was it too early to have another shot?
Noah snickered. “That was epic, by the way. Can’t wait to see what you do to make me go viral.”
I loved the way everyone now had these sky high expectations of me. Like it was easy to go viral. And now I had to do it for every member of the band? Fuck my life.
“Come on, little-R. Say you’ll come out with us. It’s been a fucked-up start to Vegas. First that shit with Chase and now Xander.” He batted his eyelashes at me and pouted. “It’s the least you could do since Wes threw Xander under the bus. He needs you.”
Wes stepped up from literally nowhere and patted Noah on the back. “I’d just like it to be known that I didn’t throw anyone under the bus. We had a vacancy in our lineup and a microscopic amount of time to fill it. I did what I had to do.”
“At the expense of Xander. It was fucked up and you know it. Just be glad that he has three nights to calm down before you guys have to be on the bus again. He might be over it by then.”
Noah didn’t give Wes a chance to respond. He took two steps back and called out, “Don’t flake out on us, little-R.”
Then he turned and disappeared into the band’s private greenroom where the rest of the band was holed up.
“Acting like we’re in high school. Fucking rock stars,” Wes muttered before heading over to check on a roadie.
Leaving me standing alone in a room full of people.
“Come on tour they said. We’ll all be together and have some laughs they said,” I muttered to myself sarcastically. “Fun times.”
Jesse was determined to stay clothed their entire set. He hadn’t said it, but it was clear from his wardrobe choice and the expression on his face before taking the stage. But between the lights, his exertion, and his long-sleeved shirt, he was fighting a losing battle.
My patience paid off about two-thirds of the way through their set.
Chase was addressing the audience, “So for this next song I want—”
“I need to interrupt you there, brother,” Jesse cut him off. “Can someone come grab my bass?”
The women in the audience cat called as an instrument tech ran out and held Jesse’s bass guitar.
“What’s going on, Jess?” Chase asked.
Jesse shook his head. “I swore to myself I wasn’t going to do this, but I’m boiling myself alive here.”
Catching on before anyone else, Noah started to play an impromptu drum solo of Nelly’s ‘Hot in Herre.’ A couple beats later, Xander joined him on guitar as Jesse performed a little striptease. He reached back and pulled the back of his shirt up and off in that sexy way men did.
Once his shirt was clear, Chase grabbed it before Jesse could chuck it off stage like he’d planned. Holding the shirt aloft, Chase let the thunderous applause, whistles, and catcalls roll through the stadium. Jesse shook his head and gestured for the tech to give back his instrument.
Chase turned to the audience. “Now, what can I get for this one of a kind, wetly worn shirt by our own Jesse Mala?”
“A thousand dollars!” A woman in the front row shrieked.
Chase pointed at her. “Jesse Mala sold separately.”
“Oh internet, this is going all over you,” I muttered to myself. The grin curving my lips about ate up my entire face. I couldn’t wait to plaster this all over social media. Thank god, I’d caught it all.
It felt like Jesse had heard me, given the way he was glaring in my direction. I just smiled and sent him a little wave.
After the concert, I tried to escape back to the hotel. I had a whole plan and everything. I’d call up an Uber and wait around the corner while the band was doing their gladhand routine in the greenroom. Sure, I might miss a few moments, but I had more than enough fodder for social media posts.
Unfortunately, Noah was onto me. He wrapped a sweaty arm around me as he bent down to my ear. “I need you to do me a solid and get Harper to come along with us tonight.”
“Oh my god, Noah. Give it up. The girl doesn’t like you. Sorry to hit you with the brutal truth, but everyone knows it. She’s got a hard-on for Tyler. Give it up already.”
“How do you think she’s going to land Tyler if she doesn’t play the game? I’m just trying to help her out.”
“How does you hanging all over her help her out?”
“We’ll just make sure the pictures end up on a few tabloids, and Tyler will see the babe on tour with us that he’s been ignoring all along.”
“More likely, it’s going to land her in hot water with Wes for having an inappropriate relationship with a client.” Then what I’d just said sunk in. “Oh crap. That probably applies to me too.”
“Eh, not necessarily.” Noah patted my back like he knew exactly what I’d been thinking. “I’d argue it’s different for you since you’re family.”
“What? Like incest? You’re disgusting, Noah.” I shoved him away from me.
He held up his palms as he laughed so hard he had to bend over to catch his breath. Everyone in the room was staring at us, and I just knew my face was flaming red.
Once he got himself under control, Noah stood up, shaking his head at me. “One, I didn’t say anything about incest. That was your dirty mind that went there. Nice to know your mind lives way out in the gutter by the way.”
I rolled my eyes.
“And two.” Noah stepped back to my side and wrapped his still damp arm around my shoulders. “The rules are different for nepo babies.”
I elbowed him in the stomach. “I’m not a nepo baby. Chase isn’t my father.”
“Eh, close enough. I’m just saying, it’s one of the perks of being related to one of us. You’re harder to fire. I mean, look at what happened with Liam.”
Liam was Xander’s brother. He had come on tour with the band a few years back as a guitar tech. Everybody loved the guy, but he quickly fell into the party scene. It took the guys longer than it should’ve to step in and say enough. I wasn’t even on tour with them at the time, but I knew shit was going sideways when I saw him backstage all stringy hair and jittery as hell. And it hadn’t ended well—hospital stay, cops, headlines.
“I’m not Liam.”
“I’m not saying you are. I’m just saying family is sticky.”
“I’ve lost the plot. What are we even talking about again?”
“About how you and you-know-who wouldn’t be the worst idea.”
My heart sunk into my stomach. Noah knew. Noah. The guy who was so blitzed out of his mind he didn’t know what city we were in. Noah knew about my crush on Jesse?
“Who else knows?” I asked numbly.
“Does it matter? I’m all for it, by the way. And what better opportunity will you have than tonight at the club? Come with us and shoot your shot.”
I didn’t even know what to say to that. About a million thoughts raced through my mind. Did Jesse know? Did Chase? I couldn’t go to a club dressed like this. Had I even packed anything club worthy?
“And bring Harper along.”
I shook my head dazedly. “I’m pretty sure she already left for her hotel.”
“Call her. Have her meet you at your hotel room. You guys could do that whole girly thing where you get ready together.”
“But I don’t even know where we’re going,” I protested weakly.
Noah smirked. “We’re going to Tidal at the Desert Island. Your brother is all nostalgic since apparently that was where he was supposed to go the night he met Shay. We’re hitting the Tiki Bar at that hotel first—apparently it’s where they met.”
“Have you talked to him about it? Do you know what’s going on? I can’t get ahold of Shay. I’ve been trying all day.”
“Last I heard she had to shut down all her social media and turned off her phone. Chase hired some local muscle to look out for her and was getting her a burner just to be safe. I guess his answers at that first interview only fed the trolls.”
I’d seen a few of the headlines. Poor Shay. “Maybe he shouldn’t go out then. It can’t be good optics for him to be seen partying tonight.”
“It’s Vegas,” Noah protested. “You are constitutionally obligated to party when you’re in Vegas. We gotta cheer him and Xander up somehow. In the name of band unity, you know? And I don’t have to tell you that’s kinda important right now. Solidarity, sister.”
I stared back at him in bewilderment. None of that made a lick of sense, and yet I couldn’t put any words together for a convincing comeback.
Noah slapped my back and stepped away. “Make it happen. Desert Island Tiki Bar in an hour. Be there. I’ll make sure your names are on the list.”
Forty minutes later, I was shaking as I looked at my reflection in my suite’s mirror. I’d spent the last twenty perfecting my eyeshadow and trying out different lip stains. They all looked wrong. Too dark. Too purple. Too red. Thank god I didn’t have the same indecision when it came to what I was going to wear. Although that was down more to lack of options than anything else. I hadn’t exactly packed a ton of outfits that were club appropriate. I was here to work not to party.
I was regretting that now.
“I think you’ve got it. You look amazing.” Harper kicked her legs out from the vanity she was sitting on, inspecting her toenail polish and her killer nude heels. Her dress was just as deadly—the bronze sequin sheath dress covered everything in the front but dipped dangerously low in the back and had a slit up to her right thigh that was going to make Noah whimper like a baby. I couldn’t wait to see it.
I just wish I had a chance to make Jesse whimper too. But something told me tonight was not going to be that night.
I was doubting every decision I’d made. From my black and silver sequined mini dress with spaghetti straps and feather trimmed skirt to my black strappy heeled sandals. I’d wanted to look good, but I was starting to suspect I just looked desperate.
“I don’t know.” I stood back and inspected my dress in the mirror again. “Maybe I should go with that sequined tank with the wide legged pants.”
“Nope.” Harper jumped down from the counter and grabbed my shoulders, pushing me out of the bathroom. “You’re dressed and look hot as fuck. I’m ready and thirsty. Let’s go.”
“Wait!” I called out as Harper hustled me toward the door.
“No. You need to calm down, Ella. Nothing is going to happen if you stay in your room, and you clearly want something to happen, so let’s go see what the night’s gonna bring. I’m not wasting this number in your hotel room. We’re in Vegas. Let’s do this!”
I dug my heels in as she ripped open the door. “I need my purse and my room key.”
“Oh.” Harper paused. “Right.”
I laughed as I grabbed my little clutch, shoved some bills, my phone, and room key inside. Then I held it to my chest and took a deep breath. I could do this. I wanted to do this. And nothing had to happen. I was just going to a bar and then the club with my friends. I’d done that a million times before.
But for some reason the stakes seemed so much higher. Now I was an adult and on semi-equal ground with Jesse. He couldn’t look at me tonight and not see a woman. I turned to where my new friend stood in the doorway.
“Let’s go party.”