Chapter 21

Mick

Band meetings are never in my top favorite things. It usually ended up with someone fighting and after what happened this morning—today is going to be exceptionally bad.

“Okay, so where shall we start?” Rick says as he looks at the five of us. Him and Caroline were sitting opposite to us. I’m jammed in between Kane and Tommy, a move that didn’t feel unintentional. I stay quiet.

“Our morale is shit,” Kane says.

“Extreme shit,” Tommy agrees.

I glance over at Brandon who’s as quiet as I am. His lip looks painful, and I felt an odd emotion turn in my stomach. If there’s anything I cared about other than Violet and Candice, it’s this band and I’m letting them down. I stand up and face the guys.

“I’m sorry,” I mumble while playing with the ring on my index finger.

“What?” Kane says.

Brandon stands up and comes over to me. He stares at me before narrowing his eyes.

“After all the shit this guy has done, we’re just supposed to sit here and take his apology and say everything is good? Everything is grand? No fucking way. He hasn’t got a care for anything. Not this band. Not himself. Anything.” Brandon’s veins are popping out his neck.

“Brandon!” Caroline says.

“I don’t expect you to believe me but I’m serious.” I meet his stare.

“What brought on this big change? What has made you see the light? You just woke up and decided you’re not going to be a dick anymore?” He crosses his arms.

Candice. I want to be better for her and that means getting everything back together.

“No reason.” I shrug. “I just want to continue the success we have with all of us. Maybe you don’t believe me and that’s fine. After the past few years, I get it but you out of everyone here, you were like my brother in the beginning.”

“Your brother that you beat the shit out of this morning for no reason.” He glares.

“I can never take it back—nor can I take back anything that’s happened in the past, but I can promise to try and be better,” I say. I want my best friend back, but I’ll never come right out and say it. Brandon looks at me as if he’s trying to find a hidden plan. He comes closer to me, and I brace myself for another punch to the face. He grabs me and pulls me in for a hug and the tension leaves my body.

“I’ve missed you, Mickey,” he says so only I can hear.

“I’ve missed you too, Brando.” I smile at him as he releases me.

“Now this is all out of the way.” Rick wipes a tear away from his eye. “Let’s really get started.”

“Rick! Are you crying mate?” Conner laughs.

“No. Shut up,” he laughs and wipes his eyes again. I notice Caroline is smiling broadly at me. I sit beside Brandon and try to listen to what Rick is explaining but all I want to do is run and tell Candice.

A few hours later I’m sitting across from Violet at a sushi restaurant. The press conference had gone off rather well and I was feeling content listening to my sister babble about some argument she had with some girl at her school. I grab my phone and want to Google Candice, but I stop myself.

“Mickey?” I look up at my sister, “You were not paying attention!”

“I was to,” I say.

“No you weren’t! Tell me the last thing I said.” She crosses her arms.

“Uhm. Ah. You—were mad.” I struggle to recall in my memory the exact content of the conversation. She narrows her eyes at me.

“Okay, maybe you were listening,” she says, and I breathe out a sigh of relief.

“You only have two more years left and then you’re done there. Then Uni! In Uni you can be anyone you want.”

“What if I don’t want to go to Uni?” Her voice is quiet, and the restaurant has a lot of ambient noise. I almost miss what she says.

“You’re going to Uni,” I say.

“But—” she says.

“Hi, sorry. Are you Mick Davies?” A woman says as she approaches our table.

“Uh yeah,” I say.

“Can I get your autograph? You’re my favorite singer!” she says.

“Sure,” I say and sign her napkin. “What’s your name, love?”

“Alicia.” She smiles. I sign the napkin and hand it back to her.

“There you go,” I say, and she leaves us to rejoin her friends. I turn back to Violet. “What were we talking about?”

“Nothing.” Violet changes the subject quick. “What’s going on with Candice?”

“We’re friends.”

“She said the same thing earlier.”

“She did?” I ask. I look down at my phone again. Maybe I should just text her? “I think she’s mad at me.”

“What did you do?” Violet asks.

“It’s a long story I don’t think you’re old enough for.” I take a bite of my tempura.

“Mickey, you treat me as though I’m still ten. I’m fifteen almost sixteen in two months. I do know some things.”

“I know. I do know you’re growing up. I just want you to not grow up anymore,” I say.

“Sorry to disappoint.” She giggles.

“What do you want for your birthday by the way?” I ask. Violet never asks for anything but this year I want to get her something special.

“I want you to let me come on tour when I’m out for summer break,” she says.

“I’ll think about it.” Even though the answer in my mind is a resounding no. There’s no point getting into it now.

“Thank you thank you thank you!” She screeches.

“That wasn’t a yes,” I say.

“I know. So, what are you going to do about Candice?” Violet dips her spicy tuna roll in her soy sauce-wasabi mixture.

“Back to that are we?”

“Are you itching to see what she’s doing?” Violet can read me like a book. “Google her. I’m sure if she’s out with Conner they’ve caught her doing something.”

“You’re probably right,” I say. I grab my phone and type in her name. The first story pops up and it’s a picture of Conner and her holding hands. She’s laughing. She looks happy.

“What’s wrong?” Violet asks, not realizing there’s a scowl on my face.

“Nothing important.” I say after a moment.

“Show me,” she demands, and I hand her the phone. She looks at the picture. “They’re just friends.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I do. After dinner go to her room and if she’s there then they’re friends. If she’s not there, then maybe you’re right.”

“When did you get so smart?”

“Always have been,” she says, and I laugh.

God, I love my sister.

Rex met Violet and I at the entrance of the restaurant to walk us back to the hotel. These are the times I hate being famous. I can’t enjoy a night out with my sister. The paparazzi feel more intense in New York. They’re screaming questions at us as we tried to walk back to the hotel. When we finally make it back and I look at Violet.

“Maybe being famous isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” she says.

“It’s definitely not.” I nod.

We get in the elevator and head to her hotel room.

“Uhm, have you talked to Mum and Dad lately?” she asks hesitantly as we enter her room.

“Not since I asked them if you could come home—so like two weeks ago via email?” I say. “Have you?”

“A couple days ago—they called me,” she says.

“What did they want?” I ask and she avoids eye contact. “Vi, what did they want?”

“They asked if they could borrow some money—”

“Did you give them any?” I ask.

“Just a bit,” she says and sits down on the couch.

“The money I give you is for you not them! How much did you give them?”

“A thousand pounds.”

“Violet! That’s a lot of money. I give them money every month which should be enough.”

“They said they had some unexpected expenses come up and they didn’t want to bother you,” Violet has direct access to one of my major accounts. How did I not notice 1000 pounds being withdrawn?

“If you ever do that again then I will take away your cards. All of them.” She also has a credit card linked to mine. “Anything else you need to tell me?”

“No,” she says.

“I’m going to call them and tell them if they ever do that again I’ll cut them off,” I reply. They definitely used the cash for drugs.

“Sorry.”

“Me too,” I say. Maybe things would be different if we had parents like Brandon’s.

“Go find Candice,” she says.

“No, you need me.”

“I don’t,” she says.

“If you’re sure,” I reply.

“Yes!” She gives me a quick hug before I leave her room.

When I get outside of Candice’s room, I hesitate for a minute. Should I be doing this? She doesn’t need the chaos of me in her life. If she’s not in my life, then I never have to tell her about the bet. But I’m drawn to her. I knock on the door, ready to barge into her life once more. I don’t hear anything. I wait another minute before I knock again. Nothing. I guess she was still out with Conner. I turn and the door opens.

“Mick?” Candice says.

“Hey.” She is here! “Can I come in?”

She looks at me for a minute then opens the door wider. She’s wearing an oversized jumper and her hair is in a top knot.

“What can I do for you?” she asks and sits on her bed as I join her.

“I just wanted to thank you again for being nice to Violet earlier,” I say. I can’t think of another excuse to be here.

“No problem,” she says.

“It’s a lie. I came to see if you were still with Conner,” I admit.

“I knew it.” Her lips quirk slightly. “Jealous.”

“You should be hanging out with me,” I say.

“That’s a little possessive,” she says. I look up at her and she’s laughing.

“You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”

“I am. Who would have thought Mick Davies would be such a softie?”

“Did Conner tell you about the meeting?” I ask.

“More or less.” She pauses. “I’m proud of you.”

“You are?” I ask.

“Of course I am. Being mad at you doesn’t mean I hate you,” she says.

“You’re still mad?” My face drops.

“It wasn’t a little thing to lie about.”

“I know. I’m so sorry.”

“After talking to Violet, I kind of understand why you did though.” She places her hand on mine and our fingers intertwine.

“You do?” I ask.

“They don’t sound like the greatest parents—I forget sometimes not everyone came from the same home life Knox and I did.”

I push some hair back from her face and she closes her eyes at my touch. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Don’t.” She opens her eyes.

“You are.” I scoot closer to her.

“Mick.”

“What?” I say as I lean closer.

“We can’t.” Her beautiful green eyes gaze into mine.

“Just kiss me,” I whisper and tilt my head, so our lips are almost touching. Candice leans in, and our mouths brush. Just that slight touch sends electricity through my body. My animal instincts kick in, and I grab her hips to pull her even closer. I pause for a moment so she can feel the effect she has on me then I kiss her harder this time. She doesn’t fight me as our lips move together.

“Mick,” she moans against my mouth.

“Come to my room.”

“Okay,” she breathes out the word. I grab her hand and we leave her room.

Now for the tricky part, getting her to my room without her changing her mind. We get into the elevator and the doors shut. I pin her up against the wall and kiss her again as she wraps her legs around my waist. She grips the back of my hair as I lift her up. I need her so bad. The doors open and I let her go. I look around to make sure no one is looking.

“Quickly,” I whisper to her as I pull her through the hallway. I open my door as fast as possible and pull her inside.

“Someone’s in a hurry.”

“I don’t want you to change your mind.” My mouth finds hers again.

“I’m not going to,” she says in between kisses.

I pull her jumper over her head. She’s wearing nothing underneath. I suck in a breath as I gaze at her chest. It feels like the first time I saw her naked all over again. “You make me feel like a stupid teenager.”

“You do the same to me,” she says as she grabs for my shirt. We manage to make it to the couch, and she climbs on top so she’s straddling me.

“Mick just promise me you’re not lying about anything else,” she says as I kiss her neck.

“I promise.” The guilt gnaws at me. My intentions from the beginning sit in the back of my mind. If she were ever to find out—she’d leave me. I can’t handle the thought of it.

“Then I’m yours,” she says before her lips meet mine.

Her tongue dances with mine as I grind against her. She lets out a soft moan and it drives me crazy. I gently move her so she’s standing in front of me, and I tug at her yoga pants till they’re around her ankles. She steps out of them and she’s wearing a red thong. I’m hard immediately. I kiss her stomach and then move a hand up to feel her breast. My mouth connects with her nipple, and I gently suck on it as her head falls back. Her hands run down my back, and she holds on like her legs are Jell-O. I move lower and my tongue flicks across her core and she shudders. I slide a finger inside. She grasps the back of my head.

“Mick, can we move to the bed? I might collapse.” She pants.

“Sure babe.” I stand and slide off my shirt as I follow her to the bed.

She lays back and I nudge her legs open. I want to taste her again. My tongue finds its way back to her clit and I suck as she moans. Her eyes close and her hands grip the sheets. I continue to torture her and pump two fingers inside of her as my tongue continues its mission. Her release must be building because her hips start to buck as she grinds against my fingers and mouth. Suddenly, she’s bursting at the seams and her toes curl.

“Mick, I’m going to—” she breathes.

“Come for me,” I say, and she lets go. She calls out my name over and over as I continue to finger her.

When she comes down from the ecstasy spike, I stand up and grab a condom, sliding it over my very erect dick. I let out a deep moan the moment I fill her completely.

“You feel amazing,” I say, finding her lips again.

Her hands wrap around my neck as we keep our mouths together as I slide in and out of me. My hips tilt upward, and I can tell I’ve hit the right spot by the whimper Candice lets out. My hands move to caress as much as her body as I can.

Candice starts to buck again as if her climax is building again. I intensify my thrusts.

“Come with me baby,” I mumble into her mouth.

“Oh God,” she moans.

Her muscles clamp around me and I double my pace. As my own orgasm starts to edge closer, Candice cries out as I spill into her. I hold her to my chest as we both try to catch our breath.

This is what I want for the rest of my life. Candice is what I want. Now I just need to figure out how to tell her.