I reach over and pull him to me. I get as close as I can to his lips and whisper, “I can’t believe you talked to my brother and his best-friend about us. I also can’t believe they didn’t tell me. Did they help with all the surprises this weekend?”
“Yes and no. I thought up everything myself, but I needed help with the wooing part. I needed to get an invite for Friday night and I knew Finn would be there. I also needed to talk to them so I could prove how serious I am about you.”
“What did they say when you talked to them about me?”
He laughs out loud and throws his head back. “Babe, they told me I was pussy whipped and they’d kick my ass if I ever did anything stupid again. Basically, I now know that all those guys have a concealed license permit.”
I laugh along with him and throw my arms up. He looks back down at me and kisses me hard and deep. I melt into his touch and rub against his body.
“Sparkle, do you want to drink your coffee now, or can we go back to bed for awhile?”
“Bed.”
He picks me up and carries me back to his bedroom. We spend the whole day wrapped up in each other. Even though I mostly lay on top of him, I show him the merits of having an abundance of pillows on the bed. His new bedding is amazing.
This is possibly the best day of my life. I have a question I want to ask him that’s nagging at me. It’s none of my business, but I ask anyway.
“Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Baby, I had my tongue in you about an hour ago. I think we are beyond worrying about personal.”
“Well, this borderlines on rude. It’s really none of my business, but how do you afford all this when your band only plays a few nights a week?”
He shifts uncomfortably under me, but raises his fingers to stroke lightly through my hair. “I don’t have to worry about money, Raven. When my mom died, she left us each a small trust. It wasn’t much, but my dad invested it for us. We also got social security until we turned eighteen. My dad still worked and made a good living so we mostly invested that as well. I bought this place for close to nothing.”
“So you only play with Sayge for fun?”
“Yes and no. I love being in the band, but it also does pretty well. Since our fans are mostly college students, we try to keep the cover charge low, but profitable. For example, we have a deal with The Steamroom. When we play, we get eighty percent of the cover. It isn’t unusual for us to walk out with three to five hundred each.”
“Do you have similar deals with the other bars you play at?”
“Not really. The other places aren’t as generous, but we still do okay.”
I start to giggle.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing really, I just realized my hot rocker boyfriend is also a little bit of a businessman.”
“Don’t tell anyone; it’ll ruin my reputation.” He shuts me up with a kiss.
Chapter 24
The Feeling is Mutual
Abbi and Ella agree to come with me to The Steamroom tonight. Since it’s Thursday, I don’t have class tomorrow. Declan has spent every night with me since Monday. He’s been texting me throughout the day and his last message said to plan on spending the night at his place tonight so I packed a bag. For his surprise, I threw in the nightie I wore to NNN last week. He seemed to like the outfit and I planned on teasing him with it.
We get to The Steamroom at the same time Finn, Jimi, and Gabe do. Abbi smiles and goes straight to Jimi. We all head backstage to hang out. The room is even more packed than normal. I see Declan talking to a man that I don’t know. Cooper is at his side agreeing to whatever they are saying. The man gives Declan a business card and shakes his hand before walking off. Declan sees me and heads straight over.
“Sparkle, you look beautiful. I’ve missed you.” He kisses me hard.
“Baby, you do realize I saw you this morning right?”
“Not really, I haven’t spoken or kissed you since you left for school. I can’t help it if I missed you.”
“Well, when you put it like that…”
“Did you pack a bag?”