Page 16 of A Way Out (Rock Star #2)

Chapter Fifteen

O z was just sliding the last of the French toast slices off the griddle when Cash and Parker stepped inside from the deck.

“Hey, man, we’re going for a jog. Want to join us?” Parker asked.

Oz wasn’t usually a jogger; he preferred working out on the ancient weight set resting in the corner of his mother’s living room. But this morning was the perfect opportunity to change his ways. Especially since it would ensure he got the hell out of the lodge before Maria came downstairs.

“Yeah, let me just go up and change. Three minutes.”

He hustled upstairs, passing Holly as she headed down. The first thing he noticed in his bedroom was Maria’s bra, hanging from the armchair in the corner.

It took him a moment to wrestle back the swarm of images from last night that apparently wanted to drown him. Christ, he was actually having a hard time breathing.

God, he’d been such an ass to her. And after such a perfect night, too. Like, literally, every single aspect had been nothing short of utter perfection.

He wanted to do it again and again and again, for infinity. Which was just plain dangerous.

So he’d done the wussy thing and treated her like shit until she climbed out of his bed and hurried away without a backward glance.

And now he felt like an animal for two reasons. One, for letting last night happen in the first place. And two, for nipping it in the bud the way he had this morning.

Shit.

He finally realized the shower was on in the bathroom he and Maria shared. And now that he knew what her glorious body looked like naked, it wasn’t much of a stretch to imagine what it would look like with soapy water streaming down it, and son of a bitch, now he was getting hard.

For a woman who, not three hours ago, he’d unceremoniously kicked out of his bed.

Shaking his head at his own idiocy, he quickly switched from pajama bottoms to shorts and dug his gym shoes out of his bag. He hurried from the room before his imagination convinced him to walk into that bathroom and apologize for his terrible behavior.

Because if he did that, assuming she forgave him, he’d end up climbing in that shower with her. Which would undoubtedly be glorious, but then they’d be right back where they had been when they woke up.

No, it would be worse. Because Parker would most likely come looking for him, and then he’d figure out what was going on, and Oz and Maria’s indiscretions would be exposed.

Holly would probably be mad. Travis would definitely be pissed. And Maria’s reputation would be shredded.

Nope. Not going there. Not doing that to her.

Oz jogged down the stairs. Parker and Cash had been joined by Travis and Sam.

“You guys are like a gang of sexy, tattooed, half-dressed rock stars,” Holly said, laughing.

“Come on, let’s go out on the porch. I want to snap a picture.

” Her laugh fizzled into a frown. “I wish Dahlia were here. This is her forte. She’d have this picture up on our socials and drawing attention in two seconds flat. ”

“Well, we don’t want anyone to know where we are, so that’s not a bad thing,” Sam pointed out.

“I’m not going to reveal our location,” Holly insisted. “But this sort of publicity isn’t bad for either of our bands.” She was back to chuckling as she snapped pictures with her phone.

“What’s up with your publicist?” Oz asked, obligingly flinging his arm across Travis’s shoulders.

“Don’t know,” Sam responded for Holly, who was busy trying to get the perfect shot. “She was supposed to be here yesterday, but something came up with another band and she couldn’t get out of it. She’s hoping to be here for the wedding.”

Holly was right. Demigoddess Revival needed all the publicity they could get.

Maria had convinced them to let her sponsor them, with an assumption that their eventual success was going to pay back her investment with interest. The sooner the better, in Oz’s opinion.

He hated this idea of being beholden to her, especially after what happened last night.

“ As weird as it sounds, this feels like I’m fulfilling my own dream. Even though I don’t even know what that dream is yet. So let me do it .”

He understood that she needed to feel like she was doing something, making a difference. Helping. She had no intention of being a silent partner.

“I’m sure if you asked Maria, she’d be happy to do whatever documenting you need,” Oz found himself saying.

“That is an excellent idea,” Holly enthused before making a shooing motion. “Now, jog away so I can grab a shot of all of your perfect rock star asses.”

“Hey,” Sam protested. “You’re only supposed to want one rock star ass.”

“And I do,” Holly assured him. “The rest are for the fans.”

Sam snorted, and the guys took off at a slow jog down the steep driveway.

Oz’s muscles began to loosen and relax as he fell into the steady rhythm.

Sam and Parker were serious joggers, doing it damn near every day, regardless of the weather.

Maybe they were onto something, because as his shoes slapped against the gravel and he worked to keep his breathing steady, he felt lighter, more in control.

Like maybe there really was that proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

They didn’t do a whole lot of talking, other than busting each other’s balls—especially Sam’s, since he was about to get married tomorrow. Which was fine with Oz; he wasn’t in the mood to get into deep topics.

“Just you wait,” Sam said after Parker dropped a particularly hilarious burn on his best friend. “Your time is coming. I know you’re gonna propose to my sister any minute.”

“I already have a ring,” Parker said.

Sam stopped running. “Are you serious?”

The rest of them slowed up and started walking.

“Yeah. I told you when you first found out about us that I was going to marry her. Jesus, dude, we’ve known each other since high school. And I’ve been in love with her almost as long as I’ve known her.”

“Don’t tell me that. I don’t want to know you were secretly lusting after my baby sister while we were on family vacations together. Especially when we were at the beach after she hit puberty and started wearing bikinis.” He shuddered dramatically.

Parker snickered.

“That aside,” Sam said, “what are you waiting for?”

Parker pointed at him. “Your wedding. We didn’t want to take away from your big day.”

“Really?”

Parker shrugged.

Sam started jogging again, and the rest of the group kicked up the pace along with him.

For a few moments, the only sounds were of heavy breathing—the non-sexual, workout kind—and nature. Leaves rustling in the wind, bugs buzzing, birds chirping, the occasional vehicle cruising by.

They were in a fairly remote area, so there weren’t many people to witness a cluster of five buff and tattoo-covered guys jogging along, most without their shirts. Panic Station was plenty popular enough that Sam’s presence would draw attention if enough people noticed them.

Oz couldn’t wait until Demigoddess Revival reached that status. He had a massive bucket list of things he wanted to do for his family, but mostly, he just wanted them not to worry about how to pay the next bill.

They did a five-mile loop, and as they slowed to a walk and made their way back up the driveway toward the lodge, Sam said, “Why don’t we make it a double wedding?”

“What are you talking about?” Travis asked.

“Parker and Lacey and me and Holly. I mean, it’s kind of fitting.” He smacked Parker’s chest with the back of his hand. “You’re my best friend; Lacey’s my sister. And as far as Holly is concerned, other than her sisters, we’re her only family. I bet she’d be thrilled with the idea.”

Parker paled until he was practically a ghost in the middle of the driveway, blinking rapidly. “Seriously, man?”

“Seriously,” Sam confirmed. “Although we should probably make sure Holly and Lacey are on board.”

“Fuck me,” Parker said.

“You just said you were ready to go,” Sam said.

Parker swiped his hand over his face. “Yeah, I know. But I didn’t really expect it to happen tomorrow .”

Sam shrugged. “No big deal, we can forget we even?—”

“No, I want to. But are you sure? This is supposed to be your and Holly’s big moment.”

“As long as Holly doesn’t care, I’m game. I mean, you’re already going to be up there with us.” He laughed and clapped Parker on the back before unlatching his phone from its holder on his bicep. “I’ll call her right now.”

Good. If he had to call her, that meant Holly wasn’t here at the lodge. Which meant Maria likely wasn’t either. The more Oz could prolong the time before their next interaction, the better.

He headed inside to take a shower. It didn’t matter to him whether two people or four got married tomorrow. He was there for all of it. Although if they did get hitched tomorrow, Lacey and Parker would be playing in the band at their own reception.

He doubted they’d mind. And if they had someone to video it, they could use the situation to their advantage publicity-wise.

They really needed to get to a point where they could afford to hire a publicist. It was another catch-22.

They could ask Maria to pay for it, but Oz wasn’t about to offer up that idea. She was doing enough—too much, really, with no guarantee that she’d earn her money back.

After showering, the group dove into the leftovers from breakfast. Then somebody broke into the Bloody Mary mix. And the next thing he knew, they were on their way to some nearby golf course. Oz warned them that he was lousy at golf. It was a wealthy man’s game, and Oz was far from that.

Parker laughed. “Dude, me too, but who cares? If Sam wants to waste his money on all the balls we’re gonna lose, who are we to complain?”

Guess that was fair. Hey, at least he was going to be able to put off seeing Maria again for another few hours.

That was a win, right?