Risking It All (Kingston Brothers #4) - Isabel Lucero Page 0,3
front for people. But it’s become second nature to be what everyone expects me to be, that I’m not entirely sure who I am.
Going back home will be good for me. However, every time I think about coming clean to everyone, I think about how I risk jeopardizing not only my career, but the career of my bandmates if I come out.
“Hey, man. You ready to go on? We’re up in seven,” Sky tells me, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
He grins, mischief sparkling in his eyes as he runs a hand through his dark hair. “I got four girls ready to meet us after the show. Dude, I’m telling you these girls are fucking hot! Their bodies.” His eyes bulge. “Even hotter than the girls in London. These Parisian girls are no joke.”
I force a smile. “Okay, cool. Let’s get the show started, so we can hurry and be done.”
He slaps my shoulder as I walk by, grinning from ear to ear. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about. I’ll even let you pick first.”
Skyler’s insatiable. I may be photographed with women in every city, but he’s definitely banging one. . .or two in every city. Hell, maybe more. I don’t know. I just throw condoms at him and hope he’s using them.
I’m not saying I haven’t slept with any women. I’d be an even bigger liar if I said that, because I’ve done it. Lord knows I’ve tried to enjoy myself, too. I drink enough to loosen up and then I go for it.
Sometimes it’s just a blowjob. Sometimes it’s sex. There’s been a lot of making out and a lot of touching, but there’s never been passion. There’s never been lust.
Not since Ali.
Alejandro Barrera.
He was my friend in school, and my sexual awakening happened with him. We haven’t seen each other in years. He came to our performance in King’s Tavern—my brother, Royce’s bar, and then I was able to get him to visit me at my brother Elijah’s house when we had a going away party before the band departed to New York right before our first album came out.
Things were weird between us then, but I’d take weird over radio silence in a second. He’s been ignoring me for ages, and I need to find him and tell him how sorry I am. I just don’t know if he’ll ever forgive me.
Would you forgive someone who lied to you and kept things from you? I sure as fuck wouldn’t, but I’m hoping Ali is a better person than I am.
3
Alejandro
Present Day
“Who ordered the Toucan Sam?” the waiter asks the table.
“I did,” Jordy says, raising his hand.
“What the hell is a Toucan Sam, anyway?” I ask, drinking my beer.
“It’s Gin, pineapple juice, simple syrup, and maybe something else. And Froot Loops, of course,” he answers, grabbing a loop and popping it into his mouth.
“Sounds gross.”
“Yeah, well, you’re gross.”
I roll my eyes. Jordy’s been one of my closest friends for the last few years. We met at the very first gay bar I ever went to. He came over to me and said, “First time?” I nodded and he grinned. “Knew it. You can always spot the newbies. You look both frightened and excited. Come with me.”
He introduced me to a couple of his friends, and we hit it off right away.
“Hey, turn that up,” Charlie tells the bartender.
I glance up at the TV screen hoisted up in the corner of the bar. They’re talking about The Unwanted, a band that was formed in my hometown of Gaspar. I try not to pay attention, but my ears perk up when I hear his name.
“Merrick Kingston along with Sky Montgomery of the rock band, The Unwanted, were photographed in Paris with a couple of women. . .each. Don’t worry, ladies, doesn’t look like these two are settling down any time soon. The band is on the last leg of their tour and will soon be heading home for a well-deserved vacation. The band comes from a small town in Ohio, but I don’t think small-town life is enough for these rock stars. You can. . .”
“All right, turn that off. It’s just stupid tabloid gossip.”
“What?” Charlie spins in my direction but points his finger at the TV. “Those are facts.”
“Nobody cares.”
“I think a lot of people care,” AJ says. “Especially the people of Gaspar. That’s not that far away from us. What is it? Like an hour?”