Tryouts had been held for two solid weeks now, which meant that I was getting up at the ass-crack of dawn and getting home late as fuck!
So far we had narrowed down thousands of hopefuls to about a hundred, most of them guys. The few females that had made it through had been exceptionally good and even made me snap out of my funk to take notice. The three of us all had to agree before a hopeful got to go on to the next round, which didn’t take place until September. I only gave my yes if they really made me take notice of them. If they didn’t have what it took to make me look twice at them, then they weren’t worth my time.
Axton was a little easier to appease, but it was Cole who was the real hard ass. He had been in the business for more than half his life, and he knew what to really look for in a rock star. More than once he had made grown men burst into tears because he had told them exactly what he thought of them and their talent.
To say I was tired of spending every free moment at the studio was the understatement of the decade. I hated every second of it, regretted ever agreeing to do this stupid thing in the first place. The only reason I had done so was because it had given me the chance to come to New York. I had a reason to be closer to Lana and I had jumped in feet first. Of course I hadn’t known that I wouldn’t have five fucking minutes to breathe, let alone plan how I was going to win my angel back.
Today, the producers were letting some fans in as a kind of audience. I had ignored each set of them because they changed every two hours or so. All I wanted was to get through this day and get home at a decent hour for once. I had even brought Shane along today in hopes of making the producers annoyed enough to call an end to the auditions early.
At the moment, the producer’s assistants were showing in another group of fans. I didn’t bother to look over at them as I sketched a pair of angel wings on the edge of my itinerary. Axton was surfing the web on his phone, glancing up with a grin every now and then when one of the female fans called out that she loved him.
“Holy Fuck!” he muttered next to me. “How do I get that in my bed?”
Curious, I followed his gaze. There was a blonde sitting in the back. She was gorgeous; I’d give her that. Tall, sitting higher than any of the other females and even some of the guys, she wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on around her. Instead, she was playing with something on her phone. There was an empty seat beside her, but I didn’t really pay attention to it.
“She’s hot,” I agreed.
“Dude, seriously. She’s beyond hot. Me want. Me want bad.”
I laughed for the first time that day, maybe even the first time in weeks. “Then tell the producer prick you want a break and go get her number.”
“Hey!” Axton waved his hand until the blonde raised her head. “Hey, you! What’s your name?”
I snorted, my stomach hurting from holding in my laughter. “Smooth,” I muttered.
The girl frowned. “Me?” she called back.
“Yes, of course you!” Axton shouted. “What’s your name, hotness?”
“None of your fucking business! If you can’t come talk to me like a decent human being would, then you don’t need to know.” She shot him the finger and turned her attention back to her phone.
I was still laughing when the next hopeful stepped inside. Poor kid was nervous as hell and didn’t last more than two minutes before Cole was thanking him for his time. I went back to my sketch…
A door shutting just behind the fans caught my attention and I glanced up, expecting to see one of them going in search of a bathroom. The sight that greeted me made me feel as if I had been punched in the gut, the oxygen leaving my lungs so fast.
She was here! Oh fuck, she was beautiful!
Lana stood at the back of the group. Her hair, longer than I remembered it, was flowing freely down her slender back. She was wearing jean shorts and a Demon’s Wings shirt that I had given her when we had first met. As I watched, she dropped down into the chair next to the blonde. The other girl whispered something to her, shooting Axton evil glances.
“Hotness’ friend looks familiar,” Axton commented.
“Keep your fucking eyes to yourself,” I bit out, keeping my eyes locked on Lana. “If you look at her the wrong way I will hit you so hard you will puke out your balls.”
Axton snorted, not intimidated by my threat in the least. “Chill out, man…Oh, shit. That’s Lana!”
He said it loud enough that her head snapped around. Whiskey colored eyes locked with mine, and I was defenseless to look away. After a long moment, her lips tilted ever so slightly and she gave me a small smile. Not one of my hard to perfect on paper Angel smiles, but I would take what I could get. She raised a hand, giving a tiny wave.
“If you two are done eye-fucking the ho-club,” Cole commented from the end of the table, “I think the next loser is about to come in.”
Lana
I must have had a moment of insanity.
When Shane had texted me that morning saying the studio was allowing fans to watch the auditions for the show, I should have just turned over and gone back to sleep. But what had I done? I had jumped into the shower and was ready in less than half an hour!
Somehow, I had conned Dallas into going with me. My first choice would have been Harper, but she had to work this morning. Freelance photographers never knew when they were going to get a call, and right now Harper was pretty popular with some of the more respectable magazines. Still, I was happy that Dallas had taken the time from pissing her mother off to come with me.
We waited in a long line with other fans to get in. They were taking everyone back in groups of twenty-five to thirty at a time for two hour time intervals. Dallas and I had been pretty far back in the line, but I had texted Shane and he had sent someone to take us with the next group.
I was nervous. My hands were sweaty and my heart was racing. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to see Drake again after so many months. Seeing a bathroom as we followed the others toward the auditioning room, I ducked inside. “Lana!” Dallas whined.
“You go on,” I told her. “I just…I need a minute.”
“Fine.” She sighed and kept on walking.
It took me a while to get my nerves under control. I stood in front of the sink, staring at myself in the mirror. Play it cool. Act as if you haven’t been dying inside without him. He’s still the same Drake. You can do this.
The mental pep talk I gave myself calmed me for the most part. When Dallas sent me an annoyed text, I knew I couldn’t hide any longer. I entered the audition room, keeping my eyes down so I didn’t look at Drake before I was ready. He had always had this way of making me lose my mind with just a look, and I needed some more prep time before that happened.