Princess Next Door

He gripped her chin and stared into her eyes, seeing that it wasn’t just nothing. There was something wrong, and he intended to find out what the fuck had gone wrong.

“Tell me, Princess. You can tell me anything.”

“Are you falling in love with me?” she asked.

He stopped and stared at her.

“Your friends seem to think that you’re falling in love with me, and that I could break your heart. I don’t want to break your heart, Zane. That’s the last thing I want to do.”

Cupping her face, he forced her to look at him. “I’m not falling in love with you.” It may be the first lie he’d ever uttered to her. “We’re having some fun, right?”

She nodded.

Kissing her lips, which he could never resist, he smiled at her. “I’ve got to head back to get ready. Will you be at the front of the stage? Cheering me on?”

“Yes.”

He hated leaving her, but before he went on stage, he was going to deal with his friends. Riot, Jones, and Silas were waiting for him, and he grabbed Silas. He just knew it had to be him. Slamming him up against the wall, he didn’t feel anything. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“Whoa, Zane,” Jones said.

“Back the fuck off. I brought her along so that she could have a good time, and you go saying shit that you don’t have a right to say.”

“We’re all worried about you, Zane.”

“This is not your fucking business. It never has been.”

“You want me to apologize for pointing out the fucking obvious.”

Zane shoved him against the wall again, wanting to do a whole lot more, but holding himself back. “You had no right.”

“We have every right,” Riot said. “This isn’t just about you.”

“She inspires you,” Silas said. “In the past couple of weeks, you’ve done nothing but spend time with her. When you’re with us, you’re constantly talk about her. You’ve got your own name for her, or don’t you know her real name.”

“It’s Wynter,” he said, snapping the word out. Why were people so hung up on the fact he called her Princess?

“You’re falling for her, Zane. You saw that guy she was talking to. We did some digging, and we know her family.”

“She’s told me about her family. It’s not a big fucking secret!” His anger was building once again.

“What happens when she goes back to them? What happens when the bad boy next door no longer appeals and she wants the marriage and kids? You’re not her forever man, Zane.”

He glared at his friend. The urge to slam his fist against Silas’s face was strong, but he reeled it in. Stepping away from Silas, he stared at his friends.

The need to play was no longer inside him.

“We’re just thinking about you, Zane,” Jones said.

“I may not be her forever man, but I’m her man right now.”

Grabbing his guitar, he turned on his heel and began to walk away.

“Man, what are you doing?”

“Right now, I really can’t play.” For the first time ever, he turned his back on playing and went straight to Princess.

“Zane? What’s going on?”

“Do you want to go for a drive? Just be away from here, away from everything.”

“What about work?” she asked.

“Forget work. Just you and me. No one to interrupt us. No trouble. Nothing.”

“Yes.”

Taking her out of the bar, he rode out of town, not even heading toward their homes.

“What about clothes?”

“This is an adventure, right? You’ve got to trust me, and right now, clothes are the last thing we need.”

She stayed silent for several minutes, and every time he glanced her way, she stared at him. “What? What is it?”

“Have you ever missed a chance to play before?”

“No.”

“What’s going on, Zane?”

“Nothing is going on. The guys and I are having a disagreement. It’s not anything serious. We’ll resolve it when I get back.”

“Is this because of me? Of my parents?”

“No.”

He gripped the steering wheel even tighter, hating the fact he’d lied to her.

“You don’t have to lie. They don’t think I’m the kind of girl that’s staying around, right? They think I’m going to leave?”

He glanced over at her, and sighed. “They have their opinions of your parents, and that you’re not going to stick around.”

“That sucks. I was starting to really like them.”

“They’re worried about me. Let’s not talk about them, okay? Let’s put everything else to the back of our mind and just focus on our drive right now. A little adventure. Is there anything you’ve ever wanted to do?”

“Get a tattoo. Go to a fairground. Eat candy without worrying about the calories. Make love all night underneath the stars.”

He clicked his fingers. “I know exactly what we can do.”

Making a quick turn, he headed toward the mountain. He and the guys had been there several times. There were often kids around that had raves or at least a small bonfire and pretended to be rebels.