I woke up the next morning with a pounding head. I rolled over in my bunk and immediately regretted it. The motion jarred my head, my stomach lurched, and then I was hobbling to the bathroom as fast as my aching head would let me.
The tiny room was thankfully free.
Hunched over in front of the toilet, I lost about a quarter of my body weight in booze and fluids. By the time I finished, my ribs were almost aching as bad as my head. Almost. I was pretty sure nothing could hurt as much as my head. It felt like someone had attempted a lobotomy then shoved their tools into my brain for safe keeping.
What the fuck happened last night?
I flushed for the twentieth time then collapsed on the floor with my back against the wall. No doubt someone would be banging on the door soon, demanding the space, but at that moment I didn’t give a shit. They’d have to wait and let me die in peace.
Shit, it’d been a while since I’d felt this fucked up from the night before. Maybe there was something to that whole teetotaler thing.
Then bits and pieces of the day before came trickling back.
The phone call from my mom.
Her engagement to stepdad number two.
Her accusation of me being just like him.
The bottle of tequila after the concert.
…and Ella?
Shit.
I no doubt had some groveling to do.
Pushing open the bathroom door, I cautiously stuck my head out.
Light blasted my eyeballs in a scorching assault. Pain exploded in my brain again, and my empty stomach tried to lurch, but there was nothing inside it anymore.
I stumbled to my bunk, grabbed my sunglasses, and slid them on before I hobbled to the kitchen for some ibuprofen and a rally pack.
It was about then that the silence in the bus hit me.
I didn’t remember seeing any lumps in the bunks. No one was out here, and the driver’s seat was empty. Bending down to peer through the windshield, I registered the mostly empty parking lot and buildings around us. Shit, were we at the hotel?
The guys had left me on the bus instead of waking me up. Fuckers.
Ella had too, but I wasn’t pissed at her. Given the dread that filled my gut when I thought about her leaving me, she was no doubt justified. What the fuck had I said last night?
Stumbling back to my bunk, I found my phone and looked for a text from someone to tell me what the fuck was going on.
Wes: Guys said you’re pretty out of it. If you come to, your room key is at the front desk under Sev Snape. Media call in the hotel conference room at noon. Car leaves for sound check at 2. Don’t make me send someone to check you for a pulse.
Fuck. We usually checked in under fictional names at hotels to keep our anonymity. Given today’s name, I was guessing I owed more people than just Ella an apology today. Awesome.
At least it was only just after nine, so I had some time to figure out what all I’d done last night.
After grabbing some clothes out of my bunk and shoving them into a backpack, I stumbled around the building and into the lobby. I had my key in hand and had turned to where the girl gestured the elevators were when I heard the distinct ding. The doors slid open and Ella strode out with Harper at her side. The girls laughed about something as they headed to a conference room near the pool exit. Neither noticed me, but I couldn’t help but drool over Ella and her long blonde purple tipped hair and the way her ass jiggled behind her too-fucking-short sundress.
I wanted to palm that ass.
But I had a feeling she wasn’t going to let me anywhere near her or her ass anytime soon. Fucking tequila.
I headed up to my room and tossed my shit on the bed. I needed another eight hours of sleep and a greasy as fuck burger, but I knew I’d only get one of those. After calling room service, I slumped into the shower to wash my sins away.
It didn’t work.
The more I woke up, the more I remembered.
I was pretty sure I called Ella a mooch last night and gave her shit over mooning over me as a teenager. Fuck. Another dim memory where I screamed at the guys about fucking them up came back to me. Goddamn.
Me and tequila were officially on a break.
After toweling off, I grabbed a cig and lit it up. I needed something to calm my nerves, and I wasn’t going near any alcohol anymore.
Someone knocked on the door, so I pulled on some sweatpants, eager for some grease to soak up the remaining liquor.
Only when I opened the door, Noah stood in front of me and not the room service waiter.
“He lives!” Noah cried dramatically, making my splitting headache about a thousand times worse.
“Fuck off, asshole.” I moved to shut the door in his face, but he countered with a well-placed foot.
“Ouch. Fuck!” Noah hopped around, holding his foot. Any other time I would’ve found the sight hilarious as hell, but not when my head was currently trying to split into two.
Fortunately, he’d hopped back into the hallway, making it easy to shut the door this time.
“Goddammit!” Noah yelled in the hallway. “Come on. Let me in, man!”
Knowing he’d just stand out there and yell until I opened the door, I heaved a sigh and opened it, but only a crack. “I’ll let you in, but only if you promise not to be a dick.”
“Fine.” Noah scowled as he entered the room. “You’re the one being a dick.”
I shrugged and closed the door behind him. “Tell me something new.”
“Tyler is seeing the Montoya twins.”
I took a drag of my cig. “I meant tell me something I give a shit about.”
“No, but seriously. He was photographed with Faith Montoya last night in LA. But last week he was out with Ava Montoya. He’s dating twins! That’s like the holy grail of douchery.”
“They’re identical twins. How do you even know he was with both of them?” The Montoya twins were influencers/reality tv stars who had literally built an empire on their whole twin schtick.
“It’s all over social media. He was with Ava last week at the Vine and last night he took Faith to that club Stolly had their party we played at a few months back. What was it called again?” Noah paced back and forth between me and the door.
I really didn’t give a shit. Collapsing into a plush chair, I let my cig dangle in my mouth as I rubbed my aching forehead. Pain throbbed behind my eyeballs. I made a fervent promise to never drink again if it’d just ease up a little bit. When it didn’t, I gave in and called down and asked room service to add a bottle of some extra strength Tylenol to my order. I almost cried when they agreed.
Noah continued to pace back and forth the whole time I was on the phone. When I hung up, he spun around and gave me a wide-eyed look. “Well? What do you think? Officially douchery, right?”
I struggled to remember the topic. “What?”
“Tyler and the Montoya twins.” Noah shook his head like a disappointed papa, or at least what I imagined one looked like. “And how he’s dating both of them?”
“Right. Maybe he’s representing them.”
“They can’t sing.”
“Doesn’t mean they wouldn’t get a recording contract.”
“Can I use your bathroom?” Noah asked as he walked into my bathroom then shut the door behind him.
“You fucker!” I jumped up to follow him when I heard the telltale click of the door lock. “Don’t think you can come into my room and drop a deuce! What the hell is wrong with you?”
Noah groaned dramatically inside the bathroom.
Beyond annoyed, I dropped back into my chair and held my face in my hands. Then something occurred to me. “You better fucking flush!”
More groans answered me.
He always was creative with his revenge plans. I just seriously hoped he wasn’t doing an upper decker. I did not want to have to explain that to management. Or Wes.
A knock at the door interrupted the venom I was about to spew.
Only it wasn’t room service.
Ella stood framed in the doorway with a smug little smirk on her face.
“Ella! What are you—”
Movement down the hallway had me cutting myself off.
The elevator chimed and the doors opened to my room service at the same time as another door down the hall opened and Chase stepped out laughing.
“Come on, it’ll be fun. I want a tour from the sexiest sous chef in Phoenix.”
I grabbed Ella’s arm and yanked her into the room.
“I’m not a sous chef. They’re not even paying me!” Shay exclaimed just before my door shut.
“Fuck me,” I muttered. “You have got like the worst timing ever.”
“Nice to see you too, asshole. Sorry I was concerned about your hangover and wanted to check on you.” Ella pivoted and reached for the door.
“Ella, don’t. I’m sorry, I just—”
Knock, knock, knock
I closed my eyes in defeat. I felt like I was living an episode of Three’s Company. Ella and Chase’s mom loved that stupid show from the 70s. And apparently Mr. Furley was at the door. “Just give me a minute. Please?”
“Fine.” Ella huffed. “But just one.”
I couldn’t even remember what I had to apologize for, but I know I had at least one more thing to add to the list.
I opened the door to the room service waiter and went through the whole song and dance of chit chat and signing the bill. The guys’ eyes wandered over Ella in a way that wasn’t respectful at all. I stepped in front of her and raised my eyebrows at him. The guy was lucky I’d already filled out the tip line.
His eyes widened when they met mine.
I gave him a tight smile then took a long drag of my cig. “Thanks so much. I got it from here.”
“Yeah, sure.” His eye flicked from mine to the cig then back. “Thanks. I mean, you’re welcome.” He crossed the room to the door and tossed a shaky, “Welcome to Phoenix,” over his shoulder.
Ella giggled as the door clicked shut behind the waiter. “I gotta say, that was hella sexy.”
I raised my eyebrows as I grabbed the tiny bottle of Tylenol. “Me or him?”
“You being all territorial was hot as hell.”
My smirk faded as I struggled with all the wrapping keeping me away from those sweet little white pills.
“Here, let me.” Ella held her hand out for the bottle.
“Thanks.” I passed the bottle over and stubbed out my cig before jamming a few fries in my mouth. Holding up a fry, I gave her my best wounded puppy eyes.
Ella snorted. “You can’t seriously think you’re going to seduce me with fries, do you?”
“Uh, no?” Not anymore.
“Smart. But I still want a few fries.”
I laughed and fed her a few before I swallowed down the little white pills she held out.
A muffled thump from the bathroom had us both jumping.
“Shit, I forgot—”
“Is someone in your bathroom?” Ella cut me off as she turned furious eyes my way. “Is that why I have ‘the worst timing ever?’ I can’t believe you’d do this. At least have the balls to own it. Jesus, Jesse. Did you seriously think I wouldn’t find out you were hiding a groupie in your fucking bathroom?”
“Whoa.” I held up my hands in a placating gesture that wasn’t doing a lick of help, judging by the fury darkening Ella’s eyes.
“He’s not really my type.” Noah smiled from the bathroom doorway. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“You’ve got both good and shitty timing, Noah. Literally.” I sagged in relief as Ella stopped in the middle of the room and gaped at my bandmate. Gesturing to the room service setup, I shrugged at the asshole still standing in my bathroom. “Want a fry?”
Noah shook his head with a shit-eating grin. “I think I’m all done here. See you at the media call. Have fun, kids. And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He crossed the room and opened the door. “Which is fuck all by the way, in case you were wondering.”
I rubbed my eyes as the door closed behind him.
Ella turned back to me. “I’m so sorry I jumped to conclusions. I just—”
“Hold that thought?” I headed for the bathroom where I found the room’s in-floor heating blasting away, the steam shower on with the door wide open, and a bowl full that of course Noah hadn’t flushed. “Fuck my life.”
After I took care of Noah’s toxic revenge plan, I headed back to the suite’s main room for some sweet, precious, fresh air.
And where Ella was now agitatedly pacing back and forth.
“Please don’t tell me that you’re here to use the bathroom too.”
“What?” Ella turned to me with a horrified expression.
“Fuck. Sorry. It’s just that—” I gestured to her impatient pacing. “Was literally what Noah did before he…” I tipped my head at the bathroom behind me.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m just going to say it. Boys are gross.”
“Oh, you don’t have to tell me. I’ve lived on the road with those assholes for over a decade. I’m just pissed that I didn’t anticipate it. I should’ve known better. You know, blocked him before he could…”
Ella raised her eyebrows and didn’t say anything.
“Right.” I cleared my throat roughly. “Do you mind if we head over to your room to talk? The air is a little funky in here, and it’s not gonna get better any time soon.”
She made a face before nodding. “Fine. Grab your food though.”
“Done.” I hoisted my room service tray. “Lead the way, sweetheart.”
Ella narrowed her eyes at my endearment, then huffed, and headed for the door.
Despite her obvious annoyance, I enjoyed the view the entire way.
Just how much groveling was I going to have to do before I got to see the nude version of this little show?
I couldn’t fucking wait to find out.