I couldn’t help but wonder what Jayson would think of my outfit. No doubt it was tame and unremarkable next to the outfits of the girls was used to hanging out with. I had seen how the girls were dressed the night before at their show. All those groupies had been wearing something that was only a step away from lingerie.
Was I jealous? Did I regret sleeping with him?
For a moment, I paused there in the shower, the soap still clutched in my hand. Did I regret sleeping with him? To be honest, I couldn’t. The sex had been amazing. But whatever had happened between Jayson and me was over.
I shouldn’t be upset about that, anyway. He wasn’t the kind of man I saw myself with long-term, no matter how good the sex had been, and I was pretty sure the feeling was mutual. Still, now that I’d gotten my first LA fling, and indeed my first real fling ever out of the way, maybe I’d be able to focus on the things that really mattered.
Like work and building my connections there. As Piper pulled up out front, I fixed a smile on my face. Maybe we couldn’t talk about work outside of work, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t make friends. I had a feeling Piper was one of those people who knew a little bit of everything that there was to know about our coworkers, and that could make her invaluable as I moved up in the company.
That was what I was here for, after all—not rock stars. I was here for my work, and that was the way things would stay.
11
Jayson
I tried not to be pissed off as I went back to my place. I wasn’t used to having the girl kick me out. I especially wasn’t used to having a girl kick me out so she could get together with another guy. Leah hadn’t told me that that was what she was up to that night, but then again, she hadn’t not told me, either. Besides, it was pretty easy to connect the dots. Why else would she be so vague about her plans?
Not only that, but I couldn’t pretend like I was surprised. Sure, she had been maddeningly close to Carter the night before, and she had said that thing about wanting to be with a rock star. At the end of the day, though, we came from two different worlds. I wasn’t her type. She was too uptight and prissy for me.
I had revised my opinion of her after our initial meeting. Now, I wondered if I had been too hasty on that.
I tried to imagine the type of dude she would normally go for. Or the type of dud she would normally go for, rather. Still, some smart, put-together, career-minded man probably suited her a lot better than I ever could. It was no wonder she rushed me out of there immediately after having sex with her. She probably had a date with her Prince Charming that evening, and she needed to wash my scent off of her.
There was a part of me that wondered if the only reason I was so disgruntled about the whole thing was that I could tell that she didn’t sleep with guys too often and I was pissed to know that she apparently didn’t think too highly of her time with me. Or was it just that I couldn’t get out of my head how good it had been for myself, and I assumed it must have been just as good for her, at least until she kicked me out of there. I knew she’d come at least twice. I had felt it.
I shook my head. Dwelling on this kind of shit wasn’t like me. True, I didn’t go home with that many ladies. I didn’t have many one-night stands. Still, I knew what a one-night stand was, and I knew better than to go mooning after them after things were clearly done.
There was a part of me that couldn’t help but wonder if I had expected something different from this one. I didn’t want to examine that too closely, though.
Once back in my side of the duplex, I shook Carter awake, nothing better to do. Besides, we should get at least a little practice today. Or if practice with the full band was going to be impossible, then I needed to practice my drums alone.
Now, while I had the chance—while Leah was headed out. With some guy.
Carter blinked up at me, bleary-eyed. “You should take a shower,” I grunted, handing him a mug of coffee because I wasn’t a heartless bastard.
Carter took a couple sips of coffee as he woke up, looking around himself in surprise. “What am I doing here?” he asked blankly.
I shrugged. “You showed up this morning,” I explained. “I think you wanted to keep the party going, but I convinced you to crash instead.”