Redeeming You (Before You #2)(19)

The band stopped playing and the crowd screamed even louder, making any further conversation impossible. A cloud of smoke exploded from the ceiling and the guys faded from view. Taylor stared at the crowd riding high on adrenaline from the performance, throwing their hands into the air screaming for more.

“Kind of surreal,” Bre whispered.

“I understand why people think fame can be addictive,” Taylor said shaking her head.

“I know,” Bre said, twisting her bracelet. “The guys will be in the dressing room. Are you ready to go or do you want to watch the crowd a little longer?

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Taylor followed Bre into the dressing room. Taking in the room, she realized the party had already started. Bottles of alcohol lined an improvised, unmanned bar in the corner and the guys were surrounded by partially clothed women. She couldn’t believe that many people could fit in such a comparatively small space.

“The after party can get crazy fast,” Bre said. “I could barely believe my eyes the first time I came to one of the post-performance gatherings.”

“Yeah, it’s like another world that most of the population never gets to experience,” Taylor commented as she scanned the scene unfolding in front of her.

A half-naked Marcus sat on the sofa with each arm draped over a woman. Her brother stood in the corner drinking a beer and laughing with some guys she didn’t recognize, but at least he was laughing.

Scanning the room for Cam, she spotted him in the corner surrounded by two women who brushed their bodies against him at every opportunity. Uncertain and apprehensive, she paused, not sure what to do. Her job required her to join the conversation, but her stomach twisted at the thought of watching him flirt with other women while she pasted a fake smile on her face. They agreed they were only having fun, but in her mind, fun didn’t include watching him being groped by other women, especially if he was enjoying it.

Before she could decide what to do, Jax approached Bre. “Hey,” he said tenderly as he wrapped his arms around Bre, smiling at her as if she were the only person in the world. Lifting on to her tiptoes, Bre whispered something in his ear and he laughed.

Suddenly feeling a little like a voyeur and very lonely, Taylor decided to get a drink or two before she approached Cam. She didn’t think he realized that she was in the room, so she didn’t have to talk to him yet. At the bar, which was really a small table with an assortment of beer and liquor, Taylor inspected a few bottles trying to make a selection. Noticing a bottle of tequila, she tilted it to the side so she could read the label when her phone vibrated in her back pocket. It was from Cam.



Cam: No tequila. It impairs your judgment.



Taylor chuckled as she opened the lid and poured a small amount into a plastic cup even though she didn’t intend to drink it. She looked across the room and she saw Cam shaking his head at her. She typed a quick response.



Taylor: I think you stole my line.



Smiling, she lifted the drink to her lips taunting him, when her phone buzzed again.



Cam: I need to go to the bathroom.



Turning her back to Cam, she laughed as she texted him.



Taylor: Do you need my help?



His one word response was instantaneous.



Cam: Urgently.



And just like that, she didn’t feel lonely anymore. A warm body brushed against her back, pressing into her, and then she heard Cam’s voice. “Let’s stick to wine or beer tonight.”

“Definitely wine.” She didn’t like beer. It reminded her of her mother’s loser boyfriends, all barely employed, badly dressed, and bitter. She always came home to find the same guy, different face, drinking beer on their worn brown sofa every day after school. They were indistinguishable in her mind.

Cam reached around her and snagged a bottle of white wine.

“Pinot Grigio?” Cam whispered next to her ear and her body leaned into him of its own volition, enjoying the feel of his muscular chest brushing against her back.

“Sure,” she responded weakly, her mind too preoccupied with the electricity ping ponging between their bodies to think properly.

As he poured her a glass, Cam’s free hand snaked around her front and dipped below the bottom of her jeans. Flames raced through her veins, stoking that insidious heat that always simmered between them. When his calloused fingers began moving slowly across her smooth, sensitive skin, she bit her lower lip to stifle the whimper on the tip of her tongue.

Her eyes flew around the room, searching for her brother. She couldn’t believe Cam was doing this right here with her brother and the rest of the band in the same room. Fortunately, she didn’t see Alec and no one cared about them.

“Alec left,” Cam mumbled as he handed her a glass of wine and slipped his hand from the top of her jeans.

She exhaled loudly. A confrontation with him wasn’t high on her list of wants at this second. Her personal life wasn’t Alec’s business, but that wouldn’t stop him from interfering. It never did, not with her ex or anyone else she dated in the past.

“Are you ready to escort me to the bathroom?” he whispered suggestively next to her ear.

“Yes.”

He placed his hand on the center of her lower back, propelling her forward as they exited the dressing room.