THE BIGGEST STAGE (A Brothers of Rock - WILLOW SON - novel) (11 page)

Colby put his forehead to hers.

His lips fluttered, like he had
something to say.

That
’
s
when the bathroom door opened.

Christie stood there.
“
Tessa
…
I think I
’
m
going to be sick again.
”

(11)

The water rushed over Colby
’
s body. The smile hadn
’
t left his face yet. It was
impossible not to smile right now. Right outside the shower, Tessa was taking
care of Christie. The sound of her getting sick was like an animal dying. And
each time she was done, she cried and apologized to Tessa. Kept saying she
hated herself and she was never going to drink again.

Colby shook his head. He figured
everyone made themselves that promise when they drank too much.

“
Okay,
time for bed again,
”
Tessa
said.

She had managed to get a towel on
her body
…
right after she
pushed Colby away. He had jumped into the shower and just stayed there to get
cleaned up.

Something had been brewing in his
mind and Christie had fucked it up.

Then again, what was he about to
say?

How good Tessa was? How perfect
that had been? How he didn
’
t
want it to be a one night fling?

Colby buried his face in the water
with the hopes it would chase away all the thoughts.

It didn
’
t work.

But at least the shower felt great.
Wash away the sand and the smell of the ocean. Not to mention the smell of
Tessa. Her body. Her desire. Everything that was sweet and sultry, an addiction
to his senses. That was something he couldn
’
t
take along tomorrow.

Colby opened the shower door to
find Tessa standing there in a towel.

“
How
’
d that go?
”
he asked.

Tessa grinned.
“
She keeps asking if there
’
s a guy here. And that if she
slept with him. And that if he
’
s
hot.
”

“
She
end up in bed with strangers a lot?
”

“
Probably
more times than I care to know.
”

“
At
least tonight she
’
s okay.
”
Colby nodded to the shower.
“
Shower is still hot.
”

He moved toward her and Tessa put a
hand to his chest.
“
Thank
you for tonight. But we should probably
…
I mean
…
what
’
s done is
…”

“
Done,
”
Colby said.
“
No worries, pretty eyes. I
’
m not going to propose to you or
anything crazy. Enjoy your shower.
”

Colby hated leaving the bathroom.
He hated that he didn
’
t
sneak a quick peck to Tessa
’
s
cheek. And he hated that she didn
’
t
drop the towel before he left either. Just to see her body, again.

If only there was more time. Or
maybe a little more of fate that Tessa had been talking about.

In the room, with Tessa
’
s friend passed out again on the
bed, Colby looked around. He couldn
’
t
make more time, but he could make the best of the time they had.

The second he saw the balcony, an
idea struck him.

Yeah, he was about to cross some
fragile lines, but who cared? That
’
s
what he did. He was a rockstar
…
and rules were meant to be broken.

So were hearts
…
be careful, man
…

**

Tessa enjoyed the shower, but she
didn
’
t want to be in it
alone. But she knew she couldn
’
t
let the night turn into a free-for-all, right? She wasn
’
t that kind of woman.

Colby somehow left her teetering on
being that kind of woman though. If they had some more time together then
things would be different. Very different. But that wasn
’
t the case right now.

Turning the shower off, Tessa
grabbed her hair and squeezed it, letting the water fall out of it. She then ran
her hands down her body, feeling her own touch. Colby unleashed something deep
within her. He made her feel good.
Really good.
He made her feel sexy
and alive.

Outside the shower, Tessa wiped the
mirror.
“
At least for one
night.
”

She knew tomorrow would be back to normal.

Christie would be drinking water
and taking pills to try and kill off her headache. She
’
d wear big sunglasses and complain about feeling
like shit. Tessa would have to deal with Wendy
’
s
landlord, again, and then at some point get in touch with Anna. All that with a
day of traveling, too.

That
’
s
the reality that waited.

Tessa dressed and opened the
bathroom door to find Colby standing there.

It wasn
’
t fair.

How the hell could he look so good?

His hair damp, his eyes like
gorgeous stone. No shirt on, muscles in all the right spots. Wearing a pair of
black jeans with a tear in the knee.

Tessa was instantly turned on,
quivering between her thighs, her body tempting her to go for more of what
Colby had to offer.

She knew all she had to do was grab
at him. Touch him. Kiss him. He was a rockstar
…
he
’
d take complete charge
of it all, again.

“
You
ready to catch some sleep?
”
he asked.

“
Yeah.
I, uh, I can crawl into bed with Christie. If you want the second bed
…”

Colby grinned.
“
Now that
’
s quite the offer. Seeing you in bed with another
woman.
”

Tessa rolled her eyes and swatted
at Colby
’
s shoulder.

Stop touching him
…

“
But
…
did you hear her yet?
”

Before Tessa could respond Christie
let out a long snore. Her head then thrashed left to right. Her lips smacked
together, hard, and she sucked in a breath with another snore.

“
I
’
ve slept on a tour bus for a
long time, pretty eyes,
”
Colby said.
“
With the band,
some of the crew
…”

“
Groupies?
”

Colby grinned.
“
It is what it is.
”

“
Is
that what I am right now?
”

Colby put a hand out.
“
Wait a second here. I
’
m making a point. I
’
ve spent a lot of nights on a
tour bus
…
but that sound
your friend is making scares the hell out of me.
”

“
Well,
what do you suggest?
”

Tessa thought she was calling Colby
’
s bluff for once. Putting him on
the spot and seeing what he would do.

What he did do was take Tessa by
the hand and lead the way to the balcony door. She then realized that Colby had
stripped the other bed in the room and put the sheets, blankets, and pillows on
the balcony.

“
Not
bad,
”
Tessa said.

“
You
’
re welcome.
”

“
One
question.
”

“
Shoot.
”

“
Where
are you going to sleep?
”
Tessa asked.

Colby frowned. He looked taken
back. He looked down at the makeshift bed and then to the door.

“
Fair
enough,
”
Colby said.
“
I guess I
’
ll just cuddle up with your snoring best friend.
Wonder what she
’
ll do when
she wakes up and finds a rockstar in bed with her
…”

Colby stepped and Tessa shot her
arm out. Her hand felt comfort at Colby
’
s
stomach, feeling his strong muscles. He turned his head and looked right at
her. Their eyes locked tight, again.

“
I
was just kidding,
”
Tessa
whispered.

“
I
know,
”
Colby said.
“
I just wanted to see what you
’
d do. You
’
d get jealous, wouldn
’
t
you?
”

Tessa shook her head.

Liar
.

Of could she
’
s get jealous. There had been a lot of times when
Christie was the life of the party and the wild one of the night who would take
the hottest guy back to her room. Now it was Tessa
’
s turn, for once, to have a guy who was as sexy as
Colby looking at her. The memory of their bathroom fun was still so fresh in
her mind and making her body tingle.

“
Don
’
t make a move on me,
”
Tessa warned.

“
Like
you
’
d stop me,
”
Colby said.
“
Want to go back to the bathroom
again?
”

Tessa
’
s
hand curled around his pants. She pulled, wanting him close.

Colby came at her, taking command,
again. His hands slipped around to her back, pulling her close, planting a kiss
on the top of her head.

“
You
’
re special, pretty eyes,
”
he whispered.
“
Come on, let
’
s get under the covers.
”

The hottest moment of Tessa
’
s life had occurred that night
in the bathroom. That was a complete no brainer. But the moment Colby gently
helped her down, pulled the covers up to her shoulders, touched her cheek, her
hair, smiled at her, that was the most romantic moment of Tessa
’
s life.

Yet it was a one night thing.
Nothing else. How could that be romantic?

Tessa forced the thoughts away.
This was just her and Colby enjoying each other
’
s
company. He
’
d bolt in the
morning and so would she.

That
’
s
how this thing would work.

Tessa shut her eyes.

“
Hey,
Tessa
…”

She opened her eyes.
“
Yeah?
”

“
The
answer to your question is
No
.
”

“
No?
”

Colby nodded.
“
You asked if you were a groupie.
The answer is
No
. You
’
re
not a groupie. I
’
m not
exactly sure
…”

“
That
’
s good enough for now,
”
Tessa said.
“
Don
’
t fuck up the night.
”

Colby laughed.
“
Oh, pretty eyes, you already
fucked up my night. Maybe even more.
”

Tessa smiled back and wanted to ask
what that meant. But her eyes were so damn heavy. She just needed a little
sleep.

The waves crashed to the shore as a
soothing soundtrack to the entire night.

Tessa reached out and touched Colby
’
s shoulder. It was comfortable.
But the truth
…
would
Colby be there in the morning?

**

Tessa opened her eyes.

“
No.
”

She had her hand out across the
bed.

Colby wasn
’
t next to her.

The sun was up, blaring and
blazing. It felt like it was way too early to be awake. Reaching for the other
pillow, Tessa had full intentions of hugging it and trying to smell it for
anything that reminded her of Colby. The next time she
’
d see the rockstar would be online in some kind of
article
…
or maybe in
concert
…
or
…

“
No
way. That one was complete bullshit.
”

Tessa rolled to her right and
popped up.

She had seen some strange things
after hanging out with Christie for the night. Many awkward goodbyes. Many
silent and smiling breakfasts. Hell, if she had a dollar for each time a fake
phone number was given out following one of Christie
’
s wild nights, she
’
d
be a rich woman.

Tessa wiped her eyes, forcing her
mind to make sense of what she was witnessing.

Christie sat at the small breakfast
table with Colby across from her.

Christie and Colby.

Christie
…
her friend who had gotten piss drunk last night.
Who threw up how many times? And Colby
…
the lead singer of Willow Son. The rockstar.
The bathroom scene.

Tessa shivered with a wicked warmth
and pushed herself up.

Colby was still here, obviously.

She opened the balcony door and
entered the air conditioned hotel room.

All eyes were on her as she hugged
herself against the chill the of the room.

“
Good
morning,
”
Christie said.

“
Hey
there, pretty eyes,
”
Colby
said with a grin.
“
Coffee?
”

“
Wait,
”
Christie said.
“
You call her
pretty eyes
?
What about my eyes.
”