I had to stalk Sadie to make sure she didn’t have a boyfriend. Even though she doesn’t mention one in her diary, I needed that validation. I needed to see it with my own eyes because women lie all the time, and they’re good at cheating and hiding it. My ex was good at hiding her cheating, and if I hadn’t left one of my suitcases at our place, then I wouldn’t have caught her.
“I’m having a party tonight, you’re rolling through?” Azrael asks me. It’s tradition for him to throw a party after we come home from tour.
“Yeah, but I’ll be there a little later. I got a fish to fry.”
That fish is Sadie and my tongue kissing her lips between her legs.
Sadie
“How was it touring with The Wakening of Gods?” Jasper, my best friend and roommate, asks. His smile is as infectious as a disease, and his voice is as rich as dark chocolate. He hides his baby blues behind Chanel sunglasses, and the salmon button-down shirt and black plaid shorts are fitted too tight around his bulky frame. His pecan hair is tangled and unruly, and his honey-brown skin is supple and slick with sweat.
We sit outside at the patio at Starbucks. The air is humid and hot, and pollen coats cars and litters the sidewalks. People buzz with conversation like a busy bee. Tall skyscrapers and trees decorate the vibrant city, and the scent of sweet flowers lingers in the air. Atlanta, Georgia is as beautiful as a batch of fresh hand-picked roses, sweeter than pecan pie, greener than collard greens.
I chew on my green straw, then slurp my chocolate Frappuccino; the cool beverage chills my throat as I watch people stroll in and out of the building.
“For the most part, it was an electrifying experience. I got to see them perform every night, and I didn’t get tired of it. Endless hotels and eating junk food. The highlight of a rock star’s life.” Those grown men act like children. Playing pranks on each other, breaking shit in their hotel rooms, but I wasn’t alone, though, I had Aurora to help me get through it.
“Did you manage to see Felix’s dick?” His tone is more hopeful than a kid waiting to see Santa Claus on Christmas Day, and he leans back in his chair and sips his sweet tea.
“No.” Heat melts my neck, creeps up to the crown of my hairline. He knows about my obsession in wanting to lose my virginity to Felix. We’ve been friends since our sophomore year in college.
“Pity. You spent six months with the biggest band on the planet and not once did you get to see their dicks nor fuck one of them. I think I need a new friend.” Amusement jolts his oval face, and he shakes his head.
I roll my eyes. “Shut up. I don’t even like Azrael or Easton in that way.” I lean back in the chair, grab the end of my hair, and chew on it. Sweat makes my cream blouse cling to my torso, and my black silk shorts showcase my long legs. “What have you been up to since I’ve been gone?”
His eyes trail to a woman with dark skin and pink hair. He watches her breasts and checks out her ass, then his eyes trail back to mine and narrow. Jasper’s attention span is as short as a goldfish’s.
“Nothing, really. Anthony wants me to give up Stacey, he doesn’t enjoy our open relationship.”
He sighs and shrugs, then place his sunglasses in his hair. I’ve never understood why he was so hung up on having open relationships. I mean, I know why. He doesn’t believe in monogamy and thinks that it’s a way to keep people conformed to society. But I can’t imagine being with multiple men at one time. The thought thrills me, though. I would have a hard time trying to please each man. As long as I’ve known him, he always dipped his sausage in different varieties of mustard.
I tilt my head to the side. “Are you?”
He looks at me as if I told him that I was an elf with superpowers, and he straightens his spine like an ironing board. “Hell. No. I told him if he’s not happy with our arrangement then there’s the door.”
“You’re such a man whore,” I tease. “Why am I your friend?” I cross my arms across my chest.
He flashes his pearly whites and the lines on his forehead deepen, “Because I’m charming, sexy, and I have a killer smile. And I put up with your shit.”
“You also snore loud, hog the TV, and eat up all the food.” Jasp is a free spirit and always has been. He doesn’t let society conform him into a box. He always made his own rules and doesn’t give a crap what people think. I admire that about him. His bravery. Not many people have that type of bravery—not even me. That’s why I like having him around. He accepts people no matter how they are.
I peer at my watch. I have to sit in a board meeting with my brother and dad in twenty minutes.
“But my cooking and cleaning skills makes up for my flaws.”
That is one of the joys of living with him. After I come home from an exhausting day of work, I’ll have a full-course meal, and I never have to pick up a brush to clean the toilet or wash any dishes.
“Maybe. If you learn to pay your half of the rent on time, then we can talk.”
“Touché.” His smirk is blinding as the sun. “ I read the article that Business Magazine did on your old man,” he says, grabbing his cup, and I toss my empty one in
