One More Time - Ali Parker Page 0,28
the time came.
“Sure. What’s up?” Lifting my head after securing the Cort in its case, I found Dominic standing over me, brow furrowed. The guy was always worried about something. Sometimes, I envied how much he cared, but mostly, it just looked exhausting.
“We had an interview with Kelly Diamond earlier.” Just the mention of her name made my dick stir, though hearing it from his lips sent a stab of annoyance through my gut. I pushed it down. I didn’t have time for that shit. Besides, my gut had no business feeling a damn thing about this.
“I know. I was told you were meeting with her. How’d it go?” I straightened up once I was done with the guitar, equal in height with Dom now that I was up.
“It was fine. Same shit, different day. It’s not the interview I wanted to talk to you about. It’s her. Kelly.”
“What about her?”
Dom studied me carefully, eyes searching mine suspiciously before he sighed and hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans. “I think she’s into you.”
“What?” She wasn’t into me really. She was into my cock and what I could do to her with it, but Dom didn’t need to know that.
“She asked about you in the interview, and I got this vibe. She’s crushing on you, man.”
“Okay, let’s say you’re right. So what if she is? I’m a rock star, and a hot one at that. Half the fucking world’s crushing on one of us.” I tried to keep the amusement out of my voice.
Dom prided himself on his read of people and vibes as much as he did his music. That he couldn’t tell that Kelly and I had already slept together was funny as fuck. Especially since he was about to lecture me about not doing it. I could see the speech coming from a mile away.
“Half the world doesn’t have a sister who’s about to marry your brother. You should tread lightly here, Caleb.”
“Yeah? And why’s that?” Even though I’d seen the lecture coming, the tone he’d taken and the way he was looking at me was still pissing me off. It was bad enough being Jared’s biological younger brother. It was another thing when Dom pulled his “father figure of the band” shit.
“Because if you go after her and you fuck her around, Alicia will be pissed as hell, which means Jared gets pissed at you, which means actual trouble for the band.”
Trouble for the band, my ass. Jared might be a little annoyed, and Alicia might scowl and call me a jerk, but Kelly and I were both consenting adults in this. My blood was starting to run hot in my veins, the familiar itch to punch someone surfacing fast. My business was my business. Dom’s nose had no place in it.
“I can handle my brother,” I said curtly.
Dom’s frown deepened. “Yeah, I know. The two of you can handle each other all the way to the fuckin’ emergency room, and where’s that leave the tour then?”
“Whatever happens between me and Jared stays between us. There’s nothing going on with me and Kelly, and it’s not like I’m fucking Jared’s girl. So calm down, would you?”
“I am calm, asshat. What I’m trying to tell you is that if you’re actually interested in Kelly, go for it. She’s hot, and she’s smart. I get it. Seriously, I do. But if this is about nothing but the tail, then move on. Leave the poor girl be.”
“This isn’t about anything because there is no this,” I told him, staring daggers into equally hostile eyes. I appreciated what Dom was trying to say, understood it even, but it was none of his goddamned business. I already had one older brother busting my ass about this kind of shit. I didn’t need another one. “There’s nothing going on that’s going to influence the band or the tour.”
“I know what I saw in that interview, and I know what I’m seeing right now. You better know what you’re doing if you go after her just to tap that. I’m warning you, Caleb. I don’t give a fuck who you think you are. You better not fuck this tour up for all of us.” Dom got in my face as he was talking, jabbing his index finger into my chest.
I grabbed his hand and shoved it down. “Fuck you, Dominic. I’m not fucking anything up, and I don’t take orders from anyone about who I do or do not sleep with.”
Dom’s