But what Noel did broke our brotherly bond. It’ll be hard to forgive him for that, but Trip’s right. We can’t keep going like this.

“I think I need to learn to let it go, for the sake of the band, and quit being a total fucking dick to him all the time. He’s apologized to me several times—still claims he was too wasted to remember sleeping with her though. It’s hard to let it go. Every time I see him, I think about it.”

“I’ve been friends with you a long time, man. You’ve been through a ton of shit with your family, and I know it’s hard for you to trust people. Hell, if this had been anyone other than Noel, I would’ve helped you beat his ass myself. It was a dick move on his part—he knows that—and now he has to deal with the fucking mess he’s gotten himself into by knocking Sophie up. Be the bigger man, and let it go. It’s what’s best for this band. We’ve worked too damn hard to get here to flush our careers down the toilet over some skanky hoe.” Trip gives me a pointed look and then drinks down the remaining milk in his cereal bowl.

For the guy that’s the goofiest motherfucker in the band, he’s sure making sense out of this fucked up situation.

When he gets up to go to the sink, I open Aubrey’s last message. The thought of exactly what I’ll be willing to give her when she cashes in that ticket makes me smile. It’s nice to think about her and get my mind off all the other shit I’m going through.

Wild Cat,

Why don’t you come use it and find out for yourself? ;)

Riff

I press send and then stuff my phone back into my pocket. She’ll either be intrigued or tell me to go to hell. More than likely it’ll be the latter, but that won’t stop me. It’ll only push me harder to get what I want—a night with her tangled up in some sheets.

AUBREY

My phone chirps with a new message as I help Lanie pack her bags to get ready to go on the road with Black Falcon.

“Do you need to get that?” Lanie asks.

I shake my head. “Nah. It’s probably just Mom. I’ll call her back when we’re done.” I fold one of her shirts and stuff it into her suitcase. “Are you excited?”

She sighs and her green eyes drift across the room. “Yes and no. I’m scared more than anything, but at the same time I am grateful for the opportunity to work on such a large account.”

My heart sinks a little. What Diana is doing to her is completely wrong, and as I open my mouth to explain everything to her, she gets another text on her cell. The excitement in her eyes is evident as she reads the message. It’s obviously another one from Noel. That guy has been texting her non-stop since she went on a ‘business dinner’ with him, but she refuses to tell me any details about it, which leads me to believe it was more pleasure than business.

No matter if I think telling her about Diana’s plan is the right thing to do, I can’t rob my friend of the happiness I know she’ll have once she admits to herself that she’s still madly in love with Noel.

After we have her pretty well packed, we get comfy and decide to veg out and watch a movie together. I load up a bowl of my favorite double brownie ice cream and head into the living room just in time to hear Lanie’s cell ring with yet another text message.

She definitely has the most attentive Black Falcon band member chasing her. It’s been days since I’ve heard from Riff, not that I honestly believe that we’ll ever be anything other than pen pals, but I do feel a twinge of jealously at all the attention she’s getting from Noel.

I roll my eyes as she grabs her phone off the coffee table. “Mr. Wonderful, again? You still owe me some juicy details about your dinner date, you know.”

She shakes her head. “A lady never kisses and tells. Besides you already know nothing happened. It was strictly business.”

That’s rich. I wish she would quit kidding herself. I plop down on the couch beside her. “You, missy, are no lady. So, dish.”

She shrugs. “Nothing happened the other night. I swear.”

I fold my legs under my butt, take a bite of my ice cream, deciding I need to force her to try to see the bigger picture here. “Bull. You expect me to believe Noel Falcon makes a romantic date with you and after a couple of hours together nothing happens? He’s texted you at least fifty times over the past few days, and there was no sex involved? I say bull. No man gets that sprung unless he gets a little somethin’-somethin’ if you know what I mean.”

She gives me a pointed look. “Getting romantic with Noel is the last thing on my mind.”

Just as I thought: she’s in complete denial. I lick my spoon and push for a little more details. “So he’s PG-13, huh? That’s kind of disappointing. Not much of a ‘Sex-god’ is he? I figured as much as you talked about him he’d have you out of your panties within the hour.”

“Aubrey!” She smacks my bare leg. “I can’t believe you just called him that.”

“What? A ‘Sex-god’?” I say around my spoon. “I got the name from you. That’s how you always referred to him, but I’m thinkin’ of revoking his title after the boring business date story you just told me.”

She’s quiet for a few minutes, and I fidget in my seat. I know that look on her face. It’s the same look she used to get back in college when she was about ready to drop one of her brilliant ideas on me.

She sighs. “Well, there are other single guys in the band…Why don’t you meet us at a show or something?”