Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(116)

As we got to a large room filled with people, I felt like we’d stepped back into Pete’s bar. It was smaller than the bar, but the alcohol was flowing, girls were giggling, and the music from the stage was being piped through some speakers, filling the room with noise. I suddenly felt like I should have a tray and a bag full of lollipops.

I looked around the clusters of people, but didn’t see my D-Bag anywhere. Chairs and couches were tossed around the space, seemingly at random, with small tables holding stacks of empty cups. I wasn’t sure how long ago the show had started, but this party seemed to already be in full effect.

Girls clamored over boys I didn’t know; I figured they were some of the other band’s members. As I watched a girl lean up and tug on a boy’s earlobe, I wondered if any of these guys had girls waiting back home. It sort of made me nauseous to think about it. Anna grabbed my hand, leading us through the throngs, and my stomach tightened with every step.

Maybe coming here was a bad idea. If I caught Kellan in the act with another girl…I think my heart would explode right then and there. I don’t think I could take it. While I’d always felt bad about Denny having seen our moment, I had a newfound appreciation for his pain. No wonder he’d flown off the handle. I wanted to already as I watched boys openly flirting with loose girls, and I hadn’t even found Kellan yet.

I found him a few moments later. He was standing with his back to me, luckily with no girls hanging off him, chuckling over something in front of him. Women next to me mimicked pinching his ass and giggled.

Other women around looked about ready to sling their drunk arms around him and kiss him. Ignoring them, I concentrated on the messy head of sandy-brown hair that I’d missed so much. As he leaned over to laughingly whisper something to the man beside him, who I finally 324



realized was Griffin, my eyes were transfixed to the strong jaw line, the full lips speaking words through his smile.

He was so impossibly attractive, it was nearly unfair. But that wasn’t all he was, and my heart swelled with the love I felt for him, love that was only growing since we’d been forced apart.





Then I noticed what had his and Griffin’s rapt attention.

As Anna sidestepped us around some girls that she couldn’t plow through, I got a full shot of what Kellan and Griffin were watching and laughing about. Draped over the makeshift bar that someone had set up back here, a blonde, buxom bimbo was spread out. Wearing impractically tiny shorts and only a bra for a top, she was having shots of liquor poured over her while other, equally skanky women, sucked the liquid off. One girl even poured some in the blonde’s mouth, then immediately dived in to retrieve it.

I watched them for a second, disgusted by the obvious ploy to get the rock star’s attentions, then I twisted my head over to stare at Kellan. He was still watching them, chewing on his bottom lip as he twisted a bottle of beer in his hands. Narrowing my eyes, I stared at his jeans. I knew it was wrong, a guy couldn’t help being aroused by beautiful girls acting overtly sexual, but I had to know if he was getting turned on by this. I didn’t see any telltale signs…yet.

I was still staring at his jeans when Anna finally pulled us close enough that Kellan and Griffin noticed. When the view of his hips went from a side angle to a front angle, my heart started beating ten times faster and I looked up to his face. Embarrassed that he’d caught me staring at his privates, I blushed.

He didn’t look embarrassed, though, not that he would ever be embarrassed about me staring at his body. No, instead, he looked completely floored. Mouth wide open, he stared at me like he’d just wished me into existence. Griffin beside him looked equally shocked as he stared at Anna.

Griffin surprisingly snapped out of it first. “Hell yeah!” he exclaimed, pushing past Kellan to scoop up a giggling Anna. His tongue was deep 325



down her throat in seconds. A moment after that, her legs were around his waist and he was walking out of the room with her, bullying aside anyone who wasn’t quick enough to move.

I blinked at how quickly they got down to business, then twisted back to Kellan. Recovering slowly, he shook his head, a smile replacing his shocked expression. “You’re here?” he said, stepping towards me.

I nodded, a smile on my own lips. I accidently flicked a glance at the making-out coeds and Kellan followed my eye sight. Bunching his brows, he looked back at me and shrugged. Looking a little sheepish, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into him. “Sorry about that.” Running his other hand back through my hair, his eyes lovingly washed over my face. “Some girls will do anything to get noticed,” he whispered.

Feeling the heat in my belly fading as those indigo eyes absorbed me, I nodded. I didn’t point out that they’d succeed in getting his attention.

He’d definitely been invested until I’d walked up. But men were men…you couldn’t expect them to not look at something like that. Even Denny would have watched.

Smiling warmly at me, he cupped my cheek, the heat of it traveled all the way down my body. “I can’t believe you’re here.” He glanced around at where he was. “How did you get back here?” I sighed morosely. “You would not believe what I had to do.” I raised an eyebrow. “Make sure you say bye to Anna…because I’m killing her when we get home.”

He chuckled at me, his smile glorious. “Ah, I can’t wait to hear this story.”