Page 62 of Hard Rock Fling

I quickly blinked tears away, admonishing myself. I should have known better. Hasn't I been through this once before? I couldn't believe I'd almost make the same mistake twice.

No more. I wasn't going to let myself fall any further. Whatever I had with Ian was supposed to be fun. Exciting. I shouldn't expect anything other than that. I didn'twantanything other than that.

"What do you think's going to happen if she finds out?" Damon continued.

Ian flinched. "She won't." He avoided Damon's eyes, playing with the buckles on his wrist brace and twisting it around in circles.

Damon placed his hands over his brother's, tangling their fingers together to stop the fidgeting. "You think she'll just keep quiet about it?"

Ian pulled away with a jerk.

"We did everything we could to keep it a secret," Damon pressed on. "We went on fucking hiatus, Ian."

"She won't find out!"

I'd known the band had gone on hiatus. They never said why. At first fans thought there had been a falling out between the members. When they got back together, we assumed they wanted a break.

They ended their standoff. Damon let out a frustrated growl and stalked towards the door. I quickly fled around a corner, not wanting to get caught. Damon left the room first. I waited but Ian didn't come out. I tiptoed a few feet down the hallway then made my way back over, shuffling my feet loudly to announce my arrival.

Ian stood in the middle of the room, head bowed, hair falling over his eyes. He was back to fidgeting with his wrist.

"Hey, you still here?" I made my voice purposely cheerful and carefree. I hoped my eyes weren't red-rimmed.

He glanced up with a jolt, his own eyes wide, panicked.

"Sorry!" I said hurriedly. "I didn't mean to startle you. I'm looking for my bag."

He seemed to force himself to relax. "It's okay. I was just lost in thought." He scanned me up and down, a sly grin crossing his lips. "One of your shirt buttons is still undone."

I looked down, horrified to find he was right. How embarrassing. I fumbled to quickly fasten it back up. I hoped no one else had noticed.

He came over and took my hand, squeezing it. "I forgot to tell you. We're doing a small concert tonight. There's a couple other bands who're going to be playing. You want to come and watch backstage?"

Did he really want me there? Or was he hoping to get a good luck blowjob before he performed?

I pushed back the snide thoughts. I'd known exactly what I was getting into.

"Do I have time to change?"

"Gonna put on sexy little number for me?"

I thought about the clothing currently in my closet. I'd have to borrow from Faith again. "Sure. I'll tart myself up like all the other girls."

He wrapped his arms around my waist and swung me around. I let out a soft shriek.

"You're nothing like the other girls." His eyes sparkled with good humor, but there was something deeper in his voice.

We're just having fun.

Despite the smile on my face, Ian's words were sobering.

She's nothing to me.

I tried to shake it off. It didn't matter. Ian was right. We were just having fun.

Besides, I wasn't going to let myself fall for someone who could break my heart without a second thought.

Still, a small part of me couldn't help snarking.