Page 91 of Second Sets Omnibus

My fists curl at his visible discomfort. You know, strange men make my skin crawl with anxiety in situations such as this. Whenever they touch without permission and take, take, take. So, what’s so different about a woman making a man uncomfortable? The band has repeatedly told her to fuck off and leave them be and that they aren’t interested. Yet, Tessa doesn’t get the hint and keeps coming around like a desperate hussy looking for dick any way she can.

“We have a rad-diculous new song called, Fuck You,” Rad deadpans, taking a long sip of his beer to cover up his disgust. His dark eyes lock on me when I raise a brow, and he shrugs in response.

Tessa beams, looking smugly at me. “Oh, my god. We can’t wait to hear it! You guys are so good!”

Ugh. Sometimes I wish I had a remote so I could mute people. Like, click—you’re muted now, bitch. Then she’d flap her gums, and no one would hear the shit she spews.

“Yeah,” Asher says through a tight smile, trying to pry her hand off him. “I can’t either. Are you ready?” he begs Rad with furrowed brows, stepping away from the harasser. Tessa swoons, staring at his tall form with hearts in her eyes.

“Fuck off, now,” I snarl in Tessa’s direction, watching with glee when she rears back with disgust.

For some reason, Tessa doesn’t utter a word when the boys wave goodbye, heading for the stage. Instead, she watches them like a fucking predator about to pounce on her prey.

“See ya backstage, Pretty Girl!” Rad hollers as the crowd swallows them whole, and they disappear behind the tall bodies of their fans.

“Are you guys doing anything after? We’re having a party!” Tessa screams after them as they walk away, completely ignoring her stupid ass.

She stares after them with such hope. Lust practically pools around her. But I have news for her. They’re mine. And the sooner she gets it through her thick, bitchy skull—the better we’ll all be. Maybe I should kick her out and never let her come back. Hmm. Manager status does have its perks.

“I’m getting the impression they aren’t fond of her,” Ode stage-whispers into my ear, loud enough for the perky blonde to hear.

Tessa turns on her toes with a frown, marching up to the bar. Her scathing eyes rake up and down my body, giving me her best stink eye.

“I need four mojitos right now.” The venom in her voice makes me want to take her into the alleyway and let my fists have their way with her face. Or maybe I could grab our trusty baseball bat from behind the bar and shove it down her throat…

Nah. She’s not worth it. She’s a try-hard, trying to get into the good graces of the boys who I have no doubt will be famous in a year. I can’t wait to sink my toes into the sands of the beach and wallow in the sun. Ah. Never in a million years did I think I’d be doing something like this. Helping them and potentially meeting some of my family. Not that I’m holding any expectations on that end, but still. I’m allowed to dream of a future that might not be...

“Of course,” Marcus replies in a deep, professional voice, turning to mix the drinks even though he’s muttering under his breath about her attitude.

“So, what exactly do you do around here?” Tessa asks me haughtily, lifting her nose in the air.

I blow out a breath. Sheesh. People don’t have enough respect to read the word Manager on my tit. It’s big and bold in red letters, but no one seems to notice. So, I point to the word with a raised brow, laying it all out for her.

“I run the show.” Simple but effective.

Her perfectly sculpted eyebrows pop up, and she rolls her eyes with disgust. Lifting her lip, she leans against the bar getting as close to my face as possible. If I were anywhere else, she and I would have major problems.

“By the way, Central Trash. I see how you look at them,” she says, pointing to the empty stage. “And I just wanted to warn you; they’re mine,” she snarls the word mine possessively.

I nod with a smirk. She could piss on them, and they still wouldn’t be hers.

“Sure, Tess. Whatever you say,” I hum when Marcus slides over her drinks more forcefully than necessary, spilling liquid over the rims of the glasses. “But I swear we had this discussion already. Do my words go in one ear and out the other? Have you choked on too much cock to understand? Has it damaged your hearing? Let me repeat myself. They’re mine. You'll find yourselfmissing fingers if you lay your hands on what’s mine again.” I raise a brow when her eyes go wide, and she sputters.

“You’re… you’re threatening me! Did you hear?” No one pays her a lick of attention, and she huffs, turning on her heel.

“Unclench that jaw, bestie,” Ode snickers, pinching my cheek and pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Ode,” I groan, swatting her away.

“Don’t worry, baby girl,” Leon says from my side, watching Tessa make her way back through the crowd. She bounces off a few people giving them the stink eye and yells something in their faces. “Guys like that don’t want a girl like that. That’s who their parents wish they had. Hell, I bet all their parents want some stuck-up rich bitch for a daughter-in-law. But those Lakeview boys always have a weakness for one thing,” he says, side-eyeing me with a smirk.

“Yeah? And what’s that? Oh, genius,” I snark back when he laughs.

“The magical Central pussy.” He cackles when I slug him in the arm with a heavy punch.

“You’re such a dick,” I grumble as the lights dim and the crowd lets out a collective whoop of excitement.

More people pack the place than ever before. Even Sorcha’s concert didn’t garner this much attention. All my hard work from their social media platforms has finally paid off, and we’re about to reap what we’ve sowed all the way to California.