Page 25 of Infatuation (The Josh & Kat Trilogy #1)
Seventeen
Kat
When Josh and I walk through the door of Reed’s penthouse suite, along with Reed, Will, and Carmen, we join a raging party already in progress in the most magnificent hotel suite I could ever imagine.
The interior is fit for a sheik—twice the size of Jonas and Sarah’s suite—plus, French doors at the far side of the massive main room reveal a private terrace and swimming pool outside.
I glance around, my heart racing. Insanely attractive people are milling around, lounging, laughing, swigging drinks, smoking pot, making out—and I’d say half of them are at least vaguely recognizable to me from my near-constant consumption of celebrity gossip .
Reed motions to two young guys on the couch smoking pot—a strawberry blondie with piercings and tattoos and a dark-haired hottie with striking, cobalt blue eyes—and they stride over to Reed and bro-hug him.
“Hey, man,” the dark-haired hottie says to Reed, hugging him.
“How was Dallas?” Reed asks.
“Fucking awesome,” dark-haired-hottie says. “Great crowd. It still gives me chills every time an entire arena sings along to a song I wrote.” He grins adorably.
Reed pats his cheek. “Get used to it, Baby Dino. Where are the other guys?”
“Around here somewhere. Probably passed out. It’s been a long-ass day.”
Reed addresses our small group. “Everyone, this is Dean Masterson and C-Bomb from Red Card Riot. RCR is playing tomorrow night at the MGM Grand—lemme know if any of you want tickets to the show. ”
Will and Carmen instantly leap at the offer, thanking Reed profusely, while I jump up and down, tugging on Josh’s arm.
Josh laughs at my exuberance. “Looks like Kat’s in for sure. But I’m not sure what the fuck we’ve got going on tomorrow night—I’m in town for this thing with my brother.” Josh looks at Will and Carmen. “If it turns out I can’t go, can Kat go with you guys?”
Oh. It didn’t occur to me we might be tied up tomorrow night with our mission to take down The Club, whatever the heck that means. “Oh, no, Josh, that’s okay,” I mumble. “I wouldn’t go without you.”
“Of course, you would. You can’t miss seeing RCR—and from the VIP section, no less.”
“Fuck the VIP section,” Reed says. “I’ll take you backstage, Kat. You can watch the show from there.”
“Really?” I say. “Wow.”
“Thanks, man,” Josh says.
“No problem, bro. Just text me when you know who’s going tomorrow,” Reed says. “Jonas, Henn, whoever’s in your group. Just lemme know. Speaking of which, where’s Henn? I miss that little fucker.”
“I called him. He’s still working,” Josh says. “He said he might be able to break free tomorrow night, depending on how the work thing goes. It’s all really up in the air.”
“Okay, lemme know. So, Dean,” Reed says to the dark-haired hottie, “2Real’s been writing songs for his debut album.
Wait ’til you hear what this guy writes.
Fucking brilliant. Game-changing. I’m not exaggerating.
You’re gonna wanna get in on this. I was thinking you two might set up a writing sesh when you’re back in L.A.
after the tour? I have a feeling if you guys lock yourselves into a room together for a day, a number one hit’s gonna come out of it. ”
“Sure,” Dean says. “I’d love to.”
“Sick,” Will says, his face bursting with excitement. “Looking forward to it.”
The two guys exchange numbers.
“You guys just did SNL, right?” Will asks.
“Yeah. Last week. Surreal,” Dean says.
“Were you shitting your pants the whole time?”
Dean laughs. “Totally.”
Everyone laughs .
“I’d totally shit my pants, too, no doubt about it,” Will says.
“Well, then, you’d better invest in some fucking Depends, 2Real,” Reed says. “Because you’ll be doing SNL one of these days, too—sooner rather than later, I predict.”
Will pulls Carmen into him. “That’d be so fucking insane.” His face is on fire.
“There’s no doubt in my mind,” Carmen says, nuzzling into him.
Josh begins chatting comfortably with the RCR boys and Will about music and the tour, but I’m completely mute.
It’s totally out of character for me, but I can’t seem to think of anything witty to say, so I figure I’d better not talk at all.
How did I get here? Red Card Riot’s hit “Shaynee” was playing in the taxi on the way to Reed’s club, and now two members of the band are standing here, swigging beers and chatting amiably with Josh about their show in Dallas earlier tonight?
It takes a lot to make me speechless, but, by God, I am.
Josh puts his arm around me. “Are you okay, PG?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“You’re awfully quiet.”
“I’m just... stunned.”
He laughs. “How ’bout a drink?”
I nod, though I’m already feeling extremely buzzed, truth be told.
“A martini?”
I shake my head. “Surprise me,” I say. “I love surprises.”
He winks. “My kinda girl.”
After Josh leaves, I unabashedly eavesdrop on Will’s conversation with Dean and C-Bomb. They’re talking about their musical influences with incredible passion. God, I wish my youngest brother, Dax, were here. Listening to these guys talk would be his dream come true.
After a moment, my eyes drift to Carmen and I notice she looks a little bit lost.
I move to her and put my arm around her shoulder. “Hey, Carmen. Is this party as overwhelming to you as it is to me?”
Carmen twists her mouth adorably. “I feel like a deer in headlights,” she admits. “It wasn’t too long ago I was watching Will perform at a local club for fifty people.”
“Have you and Will been together a long time?”
She nods. “About two years. What about you and Josh? ”
“Oh, we’re not a couple. This is just our first night out.”
“Seriously? Wow. I would have guessed you’ve been together forever.”
I laugh. “That’s funny.”
I glance across the suite at Josh—he’s deep in concentration, making some sort of complicated concoction at the bar—and my skin buzzes at the mere sight of him.
Carmen rests her cheek on my shoulder in the most adorably affectionate way, making me think of Sarah again.
“Carmen, you remind me so much of my best friend, Sarah, it’s uncanny.”
“I do?”
I nod. “She’s the best. Gorgeous, funny, super-duper smart. Weird.” I laugh. “The sweetest girl you’ll ever meet.”
“Well, thanks. It sounds like you’ve just given me a huge compliment.”
“Definitely.”
Josh returns with two glasses and hands me a red-colored drink.
“What is it?” I ask, sniffing it. “You looked like you were busy building an atomic bomb over there.”
“It’s an original creation. I call it a Kiss,” he says, a cocky grin spreading across his face.
“Oh, really? I’ve never had one of those—at least not from you,” I say.
“I figured you were dying to taste a Kiss from me, though.” He winks. “So I decided to make your dreams come true.”
I smirk. “Gee, thanks. What’s exactly in a Kiss from Josh Faraday?”
“All sorts of stuff to make your toes tingle and your face go numb. Try it.”
I take a long, slow sip. “Whoa, it’s strong,” I say. “And delicious. Kinda curls my toes, actually.”
“That about sums up a Kiss from Josh Faraday: toe-curling.”
I motion to his cup. “Is that what you’re having, too?”
“No, I made myself something totally different—I call it The Terrorist.” He takes a sip from his cup. “It really socks a punch. Honestly, it’ll probably knock me off my feet—might even be the death of me. But something tells me it’s gonna be well worth the pain.”