"I thought were going." The words came out with a small sob.
“You ran off before I finished talking. Like I said, Dazza got it all wrong. I’m not leaving Trouble, not like that.”
"You turned down the best offer of your life to play here? Are you fucking crazy?"
He shrugged. "You shoulda known I'd never be the kind of guy to turn my back on my friends. I couldn't leave you in the shit, Violet. That would be a ratbag thing to do. This club is my life, it's been everything to me. You guys needed the competition to survive. Friends do for friends. Anyway, with my talent and good looks, plenty of other chances will come along. Chances for me and my own band, not being a tag-along on someone else's shirttails."
Loyalty is as sexy as hell and Razer never looked sexier than he did at that moment.
“So, you’re going to play?” Carlie threw a cloth in the sink. “I should get upstairs then.”
“Just a minute,” he said to Carlie, then he turned to me. “You’re the crazy one, Violet. You rushed off without listening to me. I meant what I said. There’s no way in hell I’d date you if all you want is to save the club. There’s no way in hell I’m going to date you even if I win tonight. The only way I’m going to date you is if you want it with your entire heart.”
I gulped.
I had things I wanted to say to Razer but I wanted my words to come outright. I wanted him to know that it was him that matter to me. Sure, the club mattered and all that I couldn't devote my entire life to this club. It might not even be here for me soon. It was a job, a job I loved, but it'd never love me back. I had my priorities all mixed up.
I thought life with Razer would be chaos but, until today, I’d never realized what chaos my life would be without him.
I had to tell him, even with everyone in the bar listening.
“I want you,” I said, not daring to look up at Razer. “I want you with my entire heart.”
I wanted to say more but Razer swept me up in his arms, his lips smothering the words.
Chapter 38 VIOLET
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" Alex’s eyes flashed with anger as he pulled Razer away from me.
“I told you, Alex, the deal is off. No competition. No me.”
Razer grinned but Alex folded his arms and glared, his eyebrows knitting together. I didn't care. Nothing in the world would make me date anyone else now. They could have their pissing competition and prove which was the best band but that had nothing to do with me.
You can't win a heart with rock. Well, not my heart. I've known too many rock stars.
"A deal's a deal."
"You can't force me to date you," I said. "Even if Razer loses. It was a stupid deal."
Maybe, just maybe, the club wouldn’t fold. Not with Razer here. That made a huge difference to the things I’d said to Alex earlier but I knew, in my heart, it made no difference at all. Alex could go to hell. Once this competition was over, I’d probably never see the jerk again. He’d move on to bigger and better things.
“Why would you want to force me to date you anyway?” I asked. “I’d hate every minute of it.”
“Yeah, man. The lady’s made her decision,” Jackson added in. He gave me the thumbs up, then kept drinking.
"And I'm not going lose." Razer seemed certain of that. If only that crowd had stuck around. He put his arm around me and I leaned against him.
"Don't be too sure of that," Alex said.
The smirk on his face made me want to hit him. The arrogance I'd found sexy now seemed overdone and contrived, an act he put on to cover up his selfish nature. Alex was the kind of guy who only thought of himself and, for some reason, he wanted me. Not love, maybe not even lust. More like a desire to possess something he couldn’t have.
"Holy shit, Violet. I have to get upstairs," Razer said.
"But everyone's gone. There were people here before. Loads of them."
As I said it, I realized I could hear noise. Coming from upstairs. A band played up there? I guess some people had hung around for the opener.
"No worries, Violet. Some of us stuck around and worked even while you were more concerned about your love life." Carlie smirked at me. "The support band are playing right now. I got Sally to set them up and then Razer got here so it’s all sorted out. Some of us have faith. "