Linc laughed. “Sounds perfect to me.”

Chapter 19

Drake

I frowned down at my phone for what felt like the millionth time.

It was just after six and I had finally gotten a break from listening to wannabe rockers. I was actually surprised today because I had actually liked a few of the hopefuls, and even said yes to a few that I had been only half sure of. I was in a good mood today, especially after the day and night before.

But Lana hadn’t called or texted me all day. She wasn’t answering when I called and my five texts had already gone unanswered. That never happened with my angel. She couldn’t stand to not look at her cell when it chimed. So she either didn’t have it with her…or she was avoiding me.

My stomach knotted up as the night before played in my mind. I had confessed my love to her, but she hadn’t returned the words. At the time, I had been okay with that. Fuck, it had only been five weeks. She was probably still learning to trust me. But with each passing minute, each unanswered message I left, I started to second guess it all.

Maybe the incredible night we had shared the night before was her way of letting me down easily? She didn’t love me after all…

“Dude, you okay?” Axton asked beside me. The producers were letting us out earlier than normal tonight, and tomorrow we actually had the day off. It was a welcome reprieve after nearly two months of long hours and no time off. I was pretty sure that Emmie had something to do with it after the last time I had complained to her, but it could also be because the producers were getting close to the number of hopefuls that they wanted for the show.

I shrugged. “Lana’s not picking up her phone.”

“Maybe it’s dead.” He was punching in something on his phone and seconds later it chimed with an incoming text. “Dallas says that she’s with her, that Lana is okay, but unable to answer her phone right now.”

I jerked the phone from my friend’s hands and stared down at the screen. Seconds later, I typed in a message asking Dallas if Lana was coming over tonight. In the last month we hadn’t spent one night apart. It chimed and I felt my heart move to my throat. “She’s too busy to come over,” I read aloud.

So it was true. Lana was avoiding me. What was I going to do if she broke up with me? But even as the thought left my mind, my emotions switched gears and the hurt and grief were pushed to the back as anger tried to consume me. She was too young, something I had known all along. Our relationship was too much for a little girl like her. Proof of which was her childishness in avoiding the issue instead of facing it full on.

The need for a drink nearly consumed me, and I pulled out my own phone once more to call Shane. He picked up after five rings. “Hey.” He sounded distracted.

“I…” The sound of several females laughing in the background alerted me to the fact that my brother was probably off doing only God knew what. He had been really good the last few weeks so I decided to let him have his fun. “Never mind. See you later.”

“Okay. See ya, bro.” And he hung up.

“Want to grab some dinner?” Axton asked from my left. “I’m starving.”

I shook my head, still lost in my emotions and the overwhelming need for a bottle of Jack. “I think I’m going to just head home.” To an empty apartment, to lie on a bed that would smell like Lana, to memories that would drive me up the wall because I was sure that she was giving me the boot.

Axton gave me a strange look. “Are you okay? Want to come over to my place? Liam is in town and staying with me.”

The thought of seeing Liam Bryant, lead bassist of OtherWorld, actually distracted me from some of the hurricane force emotions raging inside of me. I hadn’t seen my friend in months, maybe as long as a year. The man was a crazy bastard that liked to live hard and partied harder.

Which was why I wasn’t surprised when the penthouse was full of people when Axton and I arrived a while later. It was only after seven but the party was in full swing and I doubted that there was an end in sight. Axton took a look around his living room, taking in the girls on the sofa practically having sex with some guy that looked high as fuck. Across the room a group of people were playing strip beer pong. Music was blaring so loud that the walls vibrated and the booze was flowing like water.

The urge for a drink, which had been hitting me hard all evening, punched me in the gut. I knew that if I didn’t leave right now I wasn’t going to be able to fight the temptation for long. Axton shot me an apologetic grimace. “Sorry. I had no idea he was going to pull this shit.”

“It’s okay.” But I wasn’t so sure if it was. My gaze kept going to the bottles of whiskey just a few feet away.

“Let me find Liam and tell him to get these people the fuck out of my house and we can go grab something to eat.” He turned and disappeared into the crowd of partiers.

I stood there, nearly frozen in my attempt to keep my feet from carrying me toward the bottles of liquor. That voice, the one that was my need for the alcohol, screamed that we needed to grab a bottle and start chugging. The one that normally said that I couldn’t was so quiet I couldn’t even hear it over the noise of the party…

Someone bumped into me and I turned my head to find Gabriella Moreitti standing next to me, looking just a little unsteady on her feet. I reached out to keep her from falling over and she fell against my chest. “It’s a Demon,” she murmured. “Oh, good, it’s the fun one… No wait. It’s the drunk one.” She sighed. “I was hoping it would be the fun one. I really need to get laid!”

I wasn’t sure if she was talking to me or herself. “I don’t think my brother would take you up on the offer,” I told her, stepping back and releasing her once I knew she wasn’t going to fall over. “He knows that Emmie would cut off his balls.”

Gabriella grimaced. “Ah, yes, the sainted Emmie.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t want to upset her.” Laughing, she stumbled away.

I watched her go then looked around for Axton, but there was no sign of my friend. Muttering a curse, I pulled out my phone and punched in Lana’s number. It went straight to voicemail, and I threw my phone across the room. It bounced a few times then disappeared into the crowd.

Two more minutes and still no Axton. The smart thing to do would be just to leave, get myself out of the way of temptation…

Lana

I didn’t get home until late. After the afternoon spent with all my friends as they watched my back turn into a work of art, we had all decided to grab a late dinner and then we split up. Dallas and Linc had gone clubbing, a typical Saturday night for those two. As much as they bickered and picked at each other, Linc and Dallas loved each other, and Linc couldn’t relax at the club unless Dallas was with him. I wasn’t sure, because I hadn’t ever gone with them, but I thought that maybe Dallas helped Linc find suitable guys.