It was the most camaraderie I’d seen out of them since Vin found out that Miller and Sydney were fucking. It was surprising, considering—as far as I knew—Miller and Sydney hadn’t stopped fucking the entire time she was in town on her spring break.

“We’re going to be fucking famous, and we’ll get so much fucking pussy. Get the fuck out of Jersey and fucking make a name for ourselves. You heard them cheering, ‘ContraBand!’ That’s going to be in every fucking city in the nation!”

“Getting a little ahead of yourself,” Miller muttered, “but I like the sentiment.”

“Positive thinking, bro. You think it. It’ll fucking happen.”

I questioningly raised my eyebrows. “You listening to fucking New Age shit?”

Vin flexed his muscles and looked as if he might deck me for even suggesting it. He opened his mouth to throw some lame-ass comeback at me when the backstage door burst open, and the girls filtered in. One for each of us.

Cheyenne bounced in, her flaming red hair announcing her entrance before she opened her big mouth. She didn’t even look at Vin. I hadn’t asked what the fuck was going on between them, and I didn’t fucking care as long as he stayed in this good of a mood.

Gabi and Shelby followed behind Cheyenne, both seeking out their respective guys. McAvoy immediately tugged Gabi down the hallway and into the back room. It would likely be occupied for a while. Shelby uncertainly walked up to Miller, which made me think she knew about Sydney. My fucking cousin really was the root cause of all the problems in this band.

When I turned back to the door, in the place of a princess in a cardigan stood a rocker in a leather jacket. My dog tags hung loose between her breasts. She looked fucking hot as hell. She didn’t feel comfortable in her skin, but this version of my girlfriend at least showcased how much of a badass, no-nonsense chick she was.

We met halfway across the small room. She had a sad look in her eyes despite the smile on her face.

“You didn’t like the show?”

She shook her head. “It was the best it’s ever been.”

“You going to tell me what’s wrong then?”

“I’m just going to miss you.”

I leaned down and kissed the breath out of her. She had no fucking idea how much I was going to miss her. But I knew this was a good thing. It would put me on the right path to make the kind of money I needed to take care of her.

But it didn’t stop me from beating myself up about leaving her all alone in Princeton, knowing my dad was going to be in town. I’d sent her away on spring break because I hadn’t wanted her to be here to deal with that shit. Now, I was leaving her all alone.

I’d thought he would have made his move already. Where are you, old man?

“Don’t be sad. I’m not gone yet, Princess.”

“I know. I just want to steal you away from all your adoring fans and the annoying groupies. It’s a madhouse out there. I could barely get through.”

“Then, let’s get out of here.”

“Grant, it’s your last show.”

She looked up at me, her big hurricane-blue eyes saying something completely different than her words. She wanted to leave with me and spend every second together until I’d board the plane in Newark. But she was too proud not let me be around all the other people I’d be leaving in my life.

She still didn’t realize she was the only person who mattered.

She was my life raft.

She’d saved me from a downward spiral I’d fallen so far into that I couldn’t even see light through the darkness. I wasn’t going to lose her because of this.

“And you’re my love. I can have a drink with strangers anytime.”

Her smile was electric, practically knocking me over with its warmth.

“Okay. Slip out the back door?”

I nodded, and she walked that way as Gabi burst out of the back room, running straight toward Ari.

Up until that moment, I’d never seen the chick have anything on her face but a dopey smile. Now, her face was contorted in pain as tears ran down her cheeks, and she was hiccuping as she tried to control her breakdown.

She collapsed into Ari’s arms. Ari looked up at me with a question in her eyes. I shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t know what this was about.

“Shh…” Ari whispered. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Cheyenne and Shelby trotted over when they heard the cries.

I instantly felt out of place. What the fuck was going on?

“He…broke…up…with me,” Gabi said brokenly through her tears.

I cringed.

Fuck.

Bad timing, bro.

The girls ventured into a private corner where they could talk. Gabi seemed to be on the edge of hysteria, and no matter how much they tried to talk her down, I wasn’t fucking sure she would recover tonight.

With a frustrated sigh, I stomped down the hallway and into the back room. “What the fuck, man?”

McAvoy looked up at me with a joint in his mouth. He was wringing his hands in front of him, and he looked totally messed up.

“Bro,” he said in acknowledgment.

In silence, I waited for him to say more. McAvoy was a man of few words, but I could tell from his body language that he was fucked up. Miller and Vin showed up a few seconds later. Vin crashed down next to McAvoy and shared his weed. Miller anxiously glanced at me.

After a few tense minutes, McAvoy puffed out a steam of smoke and sighed. “I didn’t want a girlfriend on tour.”

“Right. I fucking got that much.”

“She shouldn’t have to wait around for me.”

Miller rolled his eyes. “And giving her no choice makes sense.”

“Don’t fucking come at me with that shit, Miller. You’re fucking around with Sydney and Shelby. I at least fucking cared enough to end things before shit got worse.”

I held my hand up and shook my head. “I don’t give a fuck whether you date Gabi or not. But all this fucking fighting ends when we get on the fucking road. We cool?”

Vin lounged back and smirked. “I’m good, bro.”

Miller shifted his eyes from Vin and back to me. “Yeah.”

McAvoy nodded but remained silent.

“Good. Not my business where you’re sticking it.”

“That’s right. Just want to get my dick wet,” Vin said.

“Doesn’t that happen all the time when you’re jacking it in the shower?” Miller quipped.

McAvoy snorted and shifted forward on the couch.