Stone Cold Notes: A Rock Star Romance (The Seasons Change)

BY FRIDAY, I had made up my mind. That didn’t mean I wasn’t nervous, but I was determined enough to override it. I was twenty-two. I could go to a party without guilt. I would. I might not have fun, but that was beside the point. Life was for experiencing, not hiding.

Callum arrived at Good Music before Adam. I thought he was going to stride right by my desk, but when I offered him a quiet good morning, he stopped and stared, holding me in his jeweled gaze.

His jaw was tight. Tense. Working at grinding his teeth to dust. That couldn’t have been a good habit.

I held up the little plant Adam gave me earlier in the week. “Do you know anything about succulents? I don’t, but I really don’t want this one to die. It’s cute, right?” He wasn’t reacting in any way, so I forged on. “It’s against my instincts not to water it. You water plants, don’t you? That’s just what you do. But not succulents. They hold water in their leaves. That’s why they’re so plump. And I just—”

He lowered his head, and without a backward glance, walked away. Not even a blink or a middle finger. Callum Rose walked away in the middle of my sentence.

At first, I was stunned, my jaw flapping like a fish on dry land.

Then, a giggle burst out of me at the absurdity of the entire situation. What kind of person walked away in the middle of a sentence? Without saying a single word? Who did that?

My eyes burned and my nose tingled as my laughter died down, but I refused to acknowledge that feeling.

A cold blast of air and Adam Wainwright’s cheerful gait distracted me from my rude dismissal. He was smiling before he got to my desk. Before I could even greet him.

“Good morning, cutie,” he cooed at me. “Are you gonna say yes to me today, or are you gonna break my heart?”

“I’m going to say yes.”

I was even more determined to go now. Spite was a powerful motivator. Callum Rose didn’t want me at his fancy party, so I’d show up and stay until the last straggler left. I’d shut the damn thing down to show him he didn’t get a say in what I did.

Adam pumped his fist. “I thought I’d have to do some more coaxing and sweet-talking.” He nodded a few times and grinned down at me. “Holy shit, this is gonna be lit.”

“No coaxing necessary.” I straightened my spine. “I have to go home after work, so I guess I’ll meet you—”

He smacked his forehead. “Of course you do. I’ll send a car for you.” He slid his phone across the counter. “Type in your address and phone number. I’ll make the arrangements.”

I felt slightly guilty for getting Adam’s hopes up. I wasn’t interested in him romantically, and that wouldn’t change. I wasn’t even going to the party because I wanted to spend more time with him, although I certainly wouldn’t hate it. But I typed in my number and address like a good little girl and bit my lip when he winked at me.

After years of hiding away, being flirted with by a rock star didn’t feel so bad. Even if he was the wrong rock star.

The drive from my great-aunt Jenny’s townhouse in Queens to the sleek, modern high-rise in Manhattan went faster than I expected. Faster than I wanted. Too caught up in all the scenarios that could happen tonight, I’d barely watched the scenery.

I took a deep breath when the driver opened the door and then placed my hand in his so he could help me step out of the SUV. That was a good thing too. I’d worn heels tonight, and I was more of a ballet flat kind of girl.

I’d bought a sexy dress during my lunch break on Wednesday, so heels were necessary. And even I could admit the extra three inches they gave me boosted my confidence. So had the Veronica Lake finger waves in my hair and perfect wings of eyeliner at the corners of each lid. Great-Aunt Jenny had said I looked va-va-voom, and well…maybe I did feel a little of that.

Adam was waiting for me just inside the lobby doors. When he saw me, he pushed outside to meet me. His eyes swept over me, stalling on my bare legs for a beat before he ended on my face.

“Why do I know for certain there’s something delicious under your coat, cutie?”

If only he knew every time he called me cutie, I thought of the brand of clementines I bought at the grocery store. Then again, I was round and small, so maybe it was purposeful. I almost giggled at the thought.

I tucked my hand in his offered elbow, and in the pool of light spilling from the lobby, plucked up a little bravery.

“That’s because there is,” I replied.

He chuckled and tugged me a little closer to his side. “Oh, we’re going to have fun.”

All that bravery came crashing to the floor when we entered the lobby and a tall, glowering man stepped from the shadows. Callum fell into step with us on the way to the elevator, flanking me on the opposite side. He didn’t greet me verbally, but I guessed his scowl said it all.

“Tell me whose party this is again.” The silence between the three of us was too much, even for me.

“Benson Martin.” Adam leaned back on the wall beside the elevator, watching me from under hooded eyes. “He’s…uh, rich. I’m not really clear on what he does to make his money, but he has a lot of it. He’s generous with it too. Always throwing the best parties with the best weed.”

I wasn’t too sure that constituted generosity, but whatever.

“No weed,” Callum declared. I turned my head, finding him closer than I thought. Right beside me, his forehead creased with consternation. Why did he always seem so angry with me? It was maddening. Yet, I was tempted to drag my thumb over the line between his brows to smooth it out.

Adam’s vicious chuckle caught my attention. “Oh? Dad’s laying down the law, huh? I think sweet Wren gets to make that call.”

They exchanged a long look, and I was more than relieved when the elevators slid open. But then I was trapped between them in a small box, so that wasn’t much fun either. I fiddled with the buttons on my coat while my heart sat firmly in the center of my throat, pulsing madly. Adam had placed his hand on my shoulder while Callum was a foot away, his arms crossed, glaring with heated intensity.

If he was psychic and could reach inside my mind, he’d know I was thinking about how different he was to his emails. He wasn’t the person I’d gotten to know over the year and a half I’d been so deeply devoted to his words on my screen, I couldn’t even look at another boy. I didn’t crush, but I did fall in love. One moment, he was Callum Rose, quirky, shy rock star. The next, he was threatening to hunt down whoever hurt me on prom night. And I was his. I thought irrevocably, but I’d been wrong. Nothing lasted forever.

The elevator opened directly into the penthouse. Security checked our names at the entrance. An opaque, black curtain that looked like it had been installed for the party divided the entry from the rest of the apartment.

Adam rested his hands on my shoulders. “Ready to take this off?”

“Oh.” My hand rushed to a button. “Yes. I guess I shouldn’t walk around in my coat all night.” I shrugged it off into Adam’s waiting hands while Callum stood in front of me watching. Always watching.

I tipped my chin up, and he brought his down, raking his gaze over me. My black, sleeveless wrap dress dipped low on my cleavage, gathered in the center, and draped over my legs. The length would have been obscenely short on a taller woman, but it stopped just past mid-thigh on me. Daring, for sure, but I wasn’t in danger of flashing my lacy red panties. Not unless I wanted to.

Adam hung up my coat on a discreet, tucked away rack, then he placed his hand on my lower back and guided me through the curtain. Once on the other side, I wondered if he was the white rabbit and I’d followed him down a rabbit hole. It certainly felt like an entirely different world. Wonderland, except more debauched.

The smell of incense and spice hit me first. Sultry music filtered through the air. Below that was a din of conversation and clinking glasses. There were performers on mini platforms. Barely dressed women rolling their bodies like waves. One woman wore leather straps for clothes and slowly and sensually swallowed an impossibly long sword.

“Oh. Holy granola.” My face was hot. My chest too. Even my toes were on fire.

Adam leaned in, brushing my hair from my ear. “Not what you were expecting?”

“I don’t know what I was expecting.”

“We’ll have fun,” he promised.

Through this, Callum observed me carefully, his arms folded across his chest like a bodyguard. He’d left his leather jacket with my coat. He wore a close-fitting, pale blue button down, the sleeves rolled to his elbows, and dark blue jeans with a chain hanging at his hip. Tonight, his normally unkempt hair was tucked neatly in a bun at the base of his head.

He looked nice, but I didn’t think he’d care for me to tell him. He certainly hadn’t said anything about my appearance.

“Did I mention how utterly delectable you look?” Adam placed his hand on the small of my back, guiding me deeper into the party. “I don’t think I can keep calling you cutie. Hottie is more like it.”

“Her name is Wren,” Callum muttered from my other side.

Adam rolled his eyes. “Dude, no kidding. This is called charm. Girls like when you compliment them and shit. Maybe try it sometime.”

I snorted at the two of them. “Wren is good. Hottie is weird.”

A man in a leather mask with a zipper over his mouth carried a tray of drinks by us. Adam scooped two up and handed one to me.

“I have no idea what this is, but…” he took a sip of the pale pink cocktail, “it tastes like lowered inhibitions and good times. Cheers, Wren.”

I clinked my glass with his and turned to Callum. He only stared at me, not making a move to tap my glass, so I took a step closer and did it myself.

His mouth flattened. His eyes danced over my face.

“Cheers, Callum,” I whispered.

He sucked in a deep breath, his nostrils flaring. “You should go home, Wren.”

A ridiculous laugh burst free. “I’m not familiar with that toast. Is it one that was passed down as a family tradition?”

His eyelid twitched, and the very corners of his mouth curved slightly. “The night is young. It’s only goin’ to get crazier here.”

“Who says I don’t like crazy?”

We were in a room filled with people, but our tones were so low, it was like it was only the two of us. This party didn’t seem to be anything like I had been expecting, but I wasn’t running scared. I may have been pretty inexperienced, but I wasn’t a prude. Once I’d gotten over the surprise of the sword swallowing and skimpy outfits, it became background noise.

“You don’t want this kinda crazy,” he promised. “Go home like a good little girl.”

I shook my head. “Not a little girl.”

Adam slid his hand around my waist from behind. “Stop trying to steal my date away, Rose. Next time, bring your own.”

The three of us skirted the edge of the vast room, stopping in front of each performer. There were others doing the same, couples and small groups. Adam greeted a few of them with a nod or handshake. The men were friendly enough to all three of us, but I flushed under the extra attention I was paid. Like I was Adam’s prized pony or something. I wasn’t Adam’s anything.

My pink drink was just ice when another man in a leather mask—or maybe the same one—passed by again. Adam grabbed us both a new one, and I sipped while a man in a leather thong and motorcycle hat spun perfect pirouettes in front of me. We didn’t stay there long. I got the strong sense Adam wasn’t so into his performance. Although, he did proclaim he’d look just as good in that costume, and I kind of believed him.

Before we got to the next platform, a man with silver hair and arms covered in tattoos held his hand out to Adam. “Wainwright, pleasure to have you again.” He nodded to Callum. “Rose, long time no see.” Then his eyes lit on me. “And who have you brought tonight? A ripe little peach by the looks of it.”

Subconsciously, I shifted closer to Callum. I felt his gaze on me as Adam greeted the man whose eyes traveled over me like a road he planned on driving down very soon.

“This is sweet Wren. Her first time at one of your parties, but I think she’s gonna like it,” Adam said. “Wren, this is Benson, our host.”

“Ah, a virgin.” Benson Martin rubbed his hands together. “My favorite. It’s my absolute pleasure to have you here, Wren. If Adam and Callum don’t tire you out, come find me. I’d love to get to know you better.”

I didn’t know what to say, but Adam was good at the whole small talk thing. He and Benson traded stories while I glanced around the party. If we were in a normal living room, the furniture had been cleared for tonight. There were several leather settees and benches, but no couches or coffee tables.

A pair of chains with leather cuffs attached hung from the wall above one bench. A man in a sleek suit and woman in a bright red body-con dress were checking them out, tugging to test their sturdiness, I guessed. She rubbed his chest, and his hand slid to her ass, giving it a squeeze followed by a firm slap.

I jumped, and beside me, Callum chuckled.

I was pretty sure I hadn’t stopped blushing since walking into this place, but my cheeks had worked up a furious heat imagining what they were talking about. The plans they might be making. Fighting for the hottest part of my body was the place between my thighs, though.

“Ready to go home yet?” he drawled.

My eyes flicked to his. “I’ll let you know when that time comes.” I shook my head. “You don’t have to stay with me.”

“I know I don’t.” But he was going to, if only to make me uncomfortable.

Adam broke away from Benson, and we continued our path around the room. The next platform contained two performers, a man and woman, both in tiny thongs. They were dancing and touching, no parts were off limits. His hands skimmed her breasts and cupped between her thighs. She dipped back, and he dragged his tongue from her belly button to her throat.

I liked this one. I liked it a lot.

I must’ve squirmed because Adam’s hold on my waist tightened, and he tugged me into his side, brushing his lips along my cheek. “It’s hot, right? Do you like watching, Wren?”

“I-I don’t know. Maybe I do,” I stammered.

“Callum likes watching too.” He pressed his lips to my temple. “I’m more of a man of action, but I don’t mind letting other people watch.”

“Oh.” I pressed my lips together. They felt like I had just rubbed peppers all over them. Tingly and hot, almost unbearably so. All of me felt that way.

He laughed. “Yeah, oh. You still good, cutie?”

I forced a grin. “Back to cutie again?”

He booped my nose. “You banned hottie.”

Callum groaned right behind me. His chest skimmed the back of my head, and beneath the sultry incense, I could just barely pick up his clean, pine scent. It was such a contrast to the stronger smell, there was no doubt it was coming from him.

Wow, after all this time, I knew what Callum Rose smelled like. My eighteen-year-old heart would have exploded if I’d found out back then. It was hard to separate myself from those old feelings when it came to him, but I was trying. And he was helping me along by being a stone-cold asshole.

The man on the stage lifted the woman into his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist. He cradled her on one forearm while his hand molded to her breast. Her spine bowed, and he slowly rotated them in a circle. Her eyes were closed, and her lips were parted in rapture. They weren’t having sex, but they were doing something close to it.

My breasts felt swollen inside my bra, and my panties were shamefully damp. I’d watched porn before, but it was nothing like this. Two beautiful people lost in each other, their desire a dance of writhing bodies and tangled limbs.

I tipped my head to speak to the looming block of ice at my back. Only…he didn’t look so frozen when our eyes connected. Callum’s cheeks were flushed beautifully, and his chest rose and fell just a little bit faster than normal.

“I think I like watching too.”

His eyelids lowered to half-mast. “Turn around, Wren. Look.”

I did as he said. Something had changed on the platform. Intensified. The woman’s hips were writhing against her partners, and he answered her with powerful thrusts.

I gasped, and Adam chuckled. They weren’t dancing anymore. They were fucking, right in front of us. And not just us. At least twenty pairs of eyes were on them.

“They’re having sex,” I pushed out.

Adam laughed again. “Hell yes, they are. It’s hot, right?”

I was hot, like I’d spent the day in the sun. What was happening on stage was volcanic. I was embarrassed even though I knew I had no reason to be. By the way they were focused on each other, it was obvious the couple didn’t care they were being watched.

“Yeah. It’s really hot.” I was surprised by how hot I found it. My thighs pressed together, and I caught myself panting softly.

“Are you okay?” Callum asked from behind me.

“She’s fine.” Adam trailed a finger along my cheek.

Callum shifted to my side, scanning me with detached interest. When he reached my chest, I sucked in a shallow breath. His eyes darted to my face, and I tried to give him a reassuring smile, but I couldn’t hide the tremble in my lips.

“Are you okay?” he asked again.

“Yeah,” I breathed. My hand came to my chest, tracing the heated bare skin of my cleavage. “This is…new to me, but I’m not uncomfortable with watching.”

His eyes narrowed. “You’re not?”

“No. It’s…” I licked my suddenly dry lips. “It’s like really sexy art. And I think they want us to watch.”

His nod was sharp. “They do. They get off on everyone seeing them.”

“Then why do you want me to leave? If they like it and I’m comfortable…?”

“Because, Wren,” he dipped his head closer to mine, “this is only the beginning of the evening. Much more than watching happens.”

The man on stage captured my attention again when he swung his partner around in slow circles, her hair hanging loose down her back. Her hips moved like rolling hills, fluid and smooth, meeting his every thrust.

Adam turned my chin toward him. “Come on, Wren. Let’s sit over there so we can relax and see some of the other performers too.”

He pulled me to a leather bench to the left of the platform and down onto his lap. I sucked in a breath, pulling in my stomach, as if that would make me lighter. His arm banded around my middle and tugged me against him until my back was flush with his chest. My overheated body sank into his like a piece of chocolate melting in the sun.

Callum took a seat on the bench facing ours. In the back of my mind, the part that wasn’t scrambled from the activity happening around me, I thought this seating arrangement was strange. Who put two benches directly across from one another? Neither Adam nor Callum seemed to take an issue with it, so I didn’t bring it up.

Around us, people mingled and drank. The shows on the platforms became more sensual and some outright sexual like the pair we’d been watching.

Some couples and trios had claimed the other seats scattered around the room. Nearby, two women were relieving each other of their clothes while a man seemed to be directing them. Several other partygoers stood around them with drinks in their hands, observing them like they were another show.

“What kind of party did you bring me to?” I breathed.

Adam’s big palms skimmed my stomach and hips. “Whatever kind you want it to be, Wren. You’re in charge.”

“You don’t have to do anything.” Callum’s words should have been reassuring, but he said them with a razor edge, so they sounded more cutting than anything.

“She knows that,” Adam shot back, giving my thigh a squeeze.

Choosing to ignore Callum even though he made it next to impossible, I rested the back of my head on Adam’s shoulder. “Do you usually have sex at these parties?”

“Mmm.” He cupped my jaw, tilting it back. “Yeah, that’s kind of the point. But that’s up to you. It’s all up to you.”

I swallowed hard. This was…not me. It had been ages since I’d had sex, and even then, it was fumbling in the dark. It was one thing to watch others, but it was entirely something else to participate. Even if I was turned on and my core ached with a building need. Callum’s eyes were on me while I began to panic just a little. His fingers dug into his knees until the tips turned white.

I saw why he hadn’t wanted me here. Why he thought this kind of party wasn’t for me. It wasn’t, not really. I wasn’t a girl who could get naked in front of strangers and let a man have his way with me. I didn’t even know why I was still here, except I couldn’t bring myself to leave.

What I did know was Adam’s hands felt good as he stroked the outline of my curves with appreciation, and Callum’s angry eyes felt even better.

If he asked me, I’d be in his lap in a heartbeat.

“I don’t know if I want that, but I’ll stay,” I said.

Adam’s mouth hovered over mine. “We’re going to have so much fun, cutie.”

And then he kissed me.