Page 86 of Kind of Famous
“The come on.” He pulled out his phone and checked the screen. “I think we’ve been here long enough. I’m gonna go grab your carry-on out of the bus. We can get an Uber to the hotel. Wait here.”
I continued watching Noah who said something to the girl before striding directly toward the bar. When he saw me, he veered and made a beeline for me. He put an arm around my shoulder.
I drew away from him and backed up against the tent wall. “What the hell, Noah?”
He stepped closer and put one hand on a pole beside my head. “Layla, I’m sorry I was being a total dick to you before.”
“You’re kind of being a dick now. What are you doing?”
“Look. I just need your help for a minute.”
“What are you talking about?”
He leaned close, whispering in my ear. “Did you see that girl earlier?”
I nodded.
“She’s someone I got involved with once, and she will not leave me alone.”
“So, why don’t you just leave?”
“She’ll follow us to the hotel.”
“And? How’s this my problem?”
“If she thinks I’m leaving with you, she’ll find someone else to harass.”
“There are perhaps a dozen other girls here who would happily leave with you. Why me?”
He looked into my eyes. His were bloodshot. “I’m completely exhausted. I haven’t slept well in weeks, and I just want to get out of here without having to deal with any drama.”
“Noah, what’s Shane going to think if I walk out of here like that with you?”
Noah ran a finger through my hair. “Maybe I was wrong about you.”
I was a microsecond away from slapping him. “Noah,” I growled.
“I guess you think I’m a jackass. For what it’s worth, the other day, I was aiming my anger at Shane and Micah because they’re my brothers, and they have to put up with me. I didn’t mean to get my assery all over you. Apologies?”
“I think Shane could use the apology more than me.”
He nodded once. Whether he agreed or was just taking the unsolicited advice with a grain of salt, I had no idea.
“Will you just come with me? We’ll find Shane and then we can all go to the hotel together. That’s all. Okay?”
“Fine. But don’t ever touch me again.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
We caught up to Shane and grabbed an Uber to the hotel. Noah hooked a left for the bar as Shane and I waited side by side for the elevator.
Shane whispered, “I’ve got some very definite ideas about how to spend the rest of the night.”
Going up to a hotel room with a rock musician felt like the ultimate cliché. I’d spent a decade deleting stories of hookups with these guys only to find myself on the cusp of becoming a groupie.
When the elevator doors opened, I grabbed both his hands and pulled him after me. Without even waiting for the door to close, he tangled his fingers in my hair and kissed me hard.
He drew back, one hand against the wall behind me, and it reminded me of the way Noah had pinned me at the afterparty. Until that moment, I hadn’t even thought about how I’d reacted to Noah Kennedy’s face inches from my own. He was a heartthrob I’d once crushed on, but the reality of Noah did nothing for me. He’d shown me a level of self-centered disrespect I couldn’t unsee. My response to him had been revulsion rather than attraction.
