Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(6)

My body answered for me. My stomach growled so loud that even Jenny broke away from her tender moment to laugh. I closed my eyes for a moment while I felt Kellan’s body chuckling softly at me. Cracking just one eye open, I attempted to glare at him. He found that even funnier and laughed a little harder.

Glancing up at Griffin, Kellan shook his head. “I think we’ll get something to eat first.” Smacking Griffin’s back, he added, “We’ll catch up with you later.”

After watching the physically similar cousins walk off, melding into the crowd around them, Kellan smiled down at me. “Should we get some food in you, noisy?”

I smirked and rolled my eyes, but then his lips were on mine and I couldn’t have cared that he’d been teasing me. With his hand brushing over my cheek as he ran his fingers through the hair above my ear, his warm lips expertly leading mine as he forced a small space between our mouths, and the tip of his tongue flicking out to briefly touch mine, I didn’t care about much of anything anymore.

My hand reached up to securely tighten in his hair. I tried to angle him so his gently probing tongue was all over mine. All over my body would be nice too. Chuckling, he broke free from my mouth. Surprisingly, just that brief intimacy had my heart racing and my breath faster. It took so little for him to turn me right on.

Grinning crookedly, he tilted his head. “Do you need a minute?” he whispered, raising an eyebrow.

16



Gathering my senses, I smacked his chest and started to storm off.

Wasn’t I just thinking earlier that I needed to work on not letting Kellan so completely absorb me? Hmmm, I had a feeling I’d be working on that one for a while. Feeling a little dazed, I headed off to where I thought the food was. Laughing a little harder, Kellan grabbed my elbow and twisted me the other way.

Smiling in that seductive, devilish way that he could, he nodded his head up the concrete path, opposite of where I’d been going. “Food’s that way.” His smile widening, he added, “Unless you had something else in mind?” I instantly pictured finding a secluded spot in this massive campus and letting that tongue do…all sorts of marvelous, wondrous things to me. My breath stuttered a bit.

Shaking my head out of my steamy thoughts, I started marching up the path towards the one craving I’d let myself cave into here. I was not about to indulge in public sex with my rock star boyfriend. As much as he would like that, I did have some self control.

Still chuckling, still amused by me, Kellan easily caught up and slung his arm back around my waist. Smiling down at me as Evan and Jenny fell into step behind us, he murmured, “So adorable. What am I going to do with you?”

By the time we’d reached the pizza stands, I’d thought of at least a half dozen things he could do to me.

Once we were all full of food and music, and enough memories to cement this day into our brains forever, we all met back up at the staging area so the guys could get their instruments. Well, not Evan. Drums weren’t as portable as the other instruments, so one set was brought in for all of the bands to use. Except the big acts at the end of the night. They would take the time to bring in their own.

With Matt, Griffin and Kellan all having guitar cases slung over their backs, our group earned a lot more attention than before. They did have a special area for band members to exit the park that wasn’t quite so public, but Griffin, being Griffin, insisted on heading out the main gate.

Out of all of them, Griffin enjoyed the limelight the most. He was already living up his fifteen minutes.

17



Stopping for a few more autographs and pictures, it seemed to take forever to get to the parking lot. But eventually, we did. Jenny gave me a quick hug, telling me that she’d see me tomorrow at work. Evan then gave me a huge bear hug, also jokingly telling me that he’d see me tomorrow at work.

Smiling at them, I waved goodbye as they headed off together in Jenny’s car, probably on their way to Pete’s, since Jenny had to work tonight. I’d gotten the night off, so I could spend the evening with Kellan.

Because of their afternoon gig at Bumbershoot, Kellan and the guys had the evening off from the bar. Not that that would stop the rest of the boys from spending the night there anyway. They could never be peeled away from Pete’s for long.

I congratulated Matt as I gave him a scant, one-armed hug. He wasn’t as overtly affectionate as Evan was and I tried to respect the level that he was comfortable with. Smiling shyly at me, he thanked me for coming.

Rachel smiled and waved goodbye as she and Matt put away Matt and Griffin’s instruments and got into Griffin’s Vanagon.

Griffin, perhaps seeing that I was doling out hugs to D-Bags, decided that he wanted to be a D-Bag, too. Checking his breath in his palm, he started striding over to me. I put my hand out to stop him, but I think it was more Kellan clearing his throat, quite loudly, that finally made him pause. Rolling his eyes, Griffin waved his fingers instead. “We’re going to Pete’s. Catch you guys later.”

Kellan laughed and clapped him on the back before twisting to open the door of his sleek muscle car. A 1969 Chevelle Malibu from what Kellan had repeatedly told me. Shiny black with chrome all over, it was possibly the only possession, aside from his guitars, that Kellan cared about.

He’d found it cheap in L.A. and had spent most of his time that first summer of his newfound freedom fixing it up. It was his pride and joy…and ever since the one time I’d stolen it, he never let me drive it.