Blow My Fuse - Kickstart Trilogy

I cast a stink-eye Chaser’s way, but he doesn’t seem to notice.

“That’s what you should do next.” Jacob leers at me. “Playboy. You’d make a great centerfold—”

“She’s not doing Playboy. Shut the fuck up,” Chaser growls.

While I have no interest in posing nude, for some reason, Chaser’s proclamation rubs me wrong.

There’s no time to protest it, though. The five of us are waved over to a roomy booth in the back of the club where we have privacy but still have a great view of the stage.

Chaser pulls me into his lap and kisses my neck. “You okay?”

I’m not spilling all my insecurities in the middle of our celebratory night, but I need to get one thing off my chest. “I find it amusing she made fun of me for being in Kickstart’s video, then eyed you like you were a hamburger.”

Chaser tips his head back. One corner of his mouth pulls up. “I’m at least a T-bone steak, don’t you think?”

I bare my teeth at him and let out a growly noise. He swoops in and captures my lips in a kiss. The club’s loud, but our heavy breathing and beating hearts are the only sounds I’m aware of for a few precious minutes. Chaser slides one of his hands over my bare thigh, stopping to play with the hem of my dress.

“Mind if we join you?”

Slightly dazed from Chaser’s drugging kiss, I slowly open my eyes and lift my gaze.

Andrew’s grinning face stares down at us. Pamela’s less enthusiastic expression makes me sit up straighter and yank my dress over my thighs.

“Yeah, totally,” Jacob says, sliding over on the opposite side.

Andrew and Pamela don’t move.

“Uh, sure.” Chaser nudges me out of his lap and stands to let them slide into the booth. Somehow, I end up wedged between Andrew and Chaser.

“So, Pammy says you’re both up for the same part?” Andrew asks me.

Surprised he cares, I shrug. “I guess.”

Alvin reaches over to shake Andrew’s hand. “Really cool to hang with you, man. Chaser and I used our last couple bucks to see Vicious Vandals when we moved out here.”

Andrew chuckles. “He mentioned it. That’s rad. I’m so stoked your band’s like headed right to the top.” He shoots his fist high in the air, in case we’re not sure where the top is located.

He has to be the first rocker I’ve met out here who doesn’t seem threatened by his “competition.” In fact, he spends a lot of time talking with the guys about different concerts, managers to avoid, and lots of other general business advice. It turns out Andrew Lane can talk. A lot.

The guys eat up every word. Even Chaser, who usually seems indifferent in these settings.

Pamela and I sort of look at each other and sigh.

Andrew takes a breath and glances over. “You two should sit closer, so we’re not boring you to death.”

Maybe with our seating arrangements, it’s the most logical move, but I’m totally unprepared for Andrew to put his hands on my hips, lift me up, and physically move me into the empty space next to him.

Nervous, I laugh and try to ignore the way he briefly stops long enough for my butt to brush over his lap.

Please dear God let that be a tree trunk in his pants and not his dick grazing my ass cheeks.

I land on the seat next to Pamela with a bounce. She flashes an almost apologetic smile and pats my leg. “Lord help us when they start talking music. Andrew never shuts up.”

Since I could listen to Chaser talk about music all day, I can’t help asking her, “How long have you guys been together?”

“A year?” She wrinkles her nose. “Maybe longer? It was after my Playboy spread for sure.”

“Eighteen months,” Andrew corrects without looking at us. He leans over the table toward Jacob. “The second I saw her in Playboy, I called my manager and begged him to track her down. That’s what Playboy and Penthouse are for.” He thrusts his hands in front of him and mimes flipping through a magazine or phone book. “Girlfriend catalog for rock stars.”

Gross.

While Garrett, Jacob, and even Alvin hang on every word, I cast a look Chaser’s way. His less-than-impressed expression is probably the only thing stopping me from crawling under the table to get away from this conversation.

“Dude!” Andrew’s eyes widen, and he sits back with a dramatic thump against the booth. “Kickstart needs to go on the road with us! It would be totally rad to have you open for us on our next tour.”

“Oh shit, we’d be down for that,” Jacob says without so much as flicking a glance to any of his bandmates.

I glance over at Pamela. “Guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.”

Chaser

Conflicted doesn’t cover what I’m feeling tonight.

I wasn’t lying about being a fan of Vicious Vandals. In fact, Alvin and I spent a lot of time studying their rise to success when we first moved out here. I have mad respect for their dedication and business sense. Hanging with Andrew Lane in the middle of The Palace like it’s no big deal is probably one of the cooler things to happen to Kickstart.