Risky Rockstar: A Hero Club Novel, стр. 47

I reach for a raspberry truffle and pop it into my mouth. I miss Hayley so much that I’ve resorted to eating her favorite snacks just to be close to her. I realize she isn’t mine to miss and this is fucking stupid, but it is what it is.

“What the fuck are you eating?”

I show Keller the half-eaten truffle.

“Are you eating chocolate in bed? Fuck, man, you’re turning into a chick.”

“Maddie hears you say that and you’re going to be flying solo for a while.”

Maddie’s voice drifts in from out of sight. “No, I’m with Keller. You are turning into a chick.”

Keller looks in the direction of Maddie. “Sweets, you just earned yourself a reward for that.”

Maddie giggles, and that’s my cue to get offline. “I’ll forward you the other two files. Glad you like it, man.”

“Later,” Keller says, but he’s already distracted. I hang up and lie on my bed, wondering how long to wait until I shoot off a message to Hayley. I give it thirty seconds before I cave. I miss her, I miss her voice, her laugh. I miss being in the same room with her when we make music. I fucking miss everything about her.

ME: You nailed it again. I’m going to have to up my game ;-)

Five minutes goes past before I hear my message tone go off.

HAYLEY: Are you kidding me, I just listened to yours and I’m feeling the same.

I grin, fucking grin, and pop another chocolate.

ME: Anything fun happening today?

That’s the best I can come up with?

HAYLEY: Well since I just got reamed by Elisha, my makeup artist, for not drinking enough water, I’m going to go with ‘no’.

There’s a laughing face emoticon behind the words, so I take it she’s not feeling too bad about it.

ME: She knows how much water you drink?

HAYLEY: Apparently she can tell by my skin. So now I get to wear a gorgeous charcoal mask. Wanna see?

ME: How can I refuse when you sell the prospect so well?

HAYLEY: You sure? This mask brings out my natural hotness. I don’t want you getting all turned on and shit, especially since we’re 6,000 miles away.

Hayley and I have been flirting back and forth for a while now. Small things, teasing, joking. I’ve referred to the lip balm, and she has sent me pics of her using it. I’ve sent her ones back of me groaning and biting my knuckles. It’s all in good fun, and I let her take the lead. Looks like things have amped up a notch.

ME: It’s a risk I’m willing to take.

HAYLEY: Wait for it.

HAYLEY: You waiting?

HAYLEY: You ready?

I chuckle, lying back on my bed, my arm behind my head. We should be video calling, but somehow I think it’s easier for her to do this via text.

A pic of Hayley pops up. Her face is covered in black gunk, and it looks like it’s bubbling.

ME: Is that shit activated? It looks like a chemistry experiment.

HAYLEY: It’s just the ingredients reacting to the oxygen in the air. It’s safe. I hope. LOL

ME: I hope I’m getting an after photo.

HAYLEY: I’ll think about it.

She adds a thinking face and a wink emoticon, and I think it’s a done deal.

An hour later my phone pings again, and I nearly dislocate something to get to it. When I open the unread image from Hayley, I’m instantly hard. Fuuuck!

Hayley’s standing in front of a full-length mirror taking the pic. She’s wearing a shimmering silver jumpsuit with the front cut so deep it’s open to her navel. I’m having trouble swallowing here and thinking and fucking blinking. I realize it’s been a while since she sent the message, and I don’t want to give her the wrong impression, so I shoot off a quick…

ME: Now that’s what I’m talking about.

HAYLEY: Your turn.

ME: My turn for what?

I know what she’s talking about, but I want her to say it.

HAYLEY: To send a pic

I grin at the screen like an idiot and shoot off another quick text.

ME: Give me five.

I run to my fridge and grab some of the chocolate mousse Maddie sent home with me a couple of nights ago. Grabbing a cucumber, I cut two slices then smear the mousse all over my face and position the camera before I place the cucumbers over my eyes. I take a pic. The cucumber on my left eye is sliding down a little, but it’ll do. I hit Send and wash the gunk off my face while I wait.

HAYLEY: LMFAO, I nearly herniated myself, Kade.

HAYLEY: But that’s not what I meant and you know it.

HAYLEY: Shit on a candy cane stick, they’re calling me on set.

HAYLEY: DAMN YOU UNIVERSE

I burst out laughing. Hayley is complaining of herniating herself, but I’m definitely going to break something if she keeps this up.

ME: Watch out for music videos. They can be dangerous. Remember what happened to me?

HAYLEY: LOL. I don’t think there’s any danger here.

 The next text is a pic of a boy-next-door kind of guy, all blond hair and blue eyes.

HAYLEY: See? Harmless. There’s no fear of him suffocating me with his fun parts.

She’s referring to the video that caused all the shit with the label. The one where the lab technician got really into her act. Really into it.

Hayley’s sense of humor is just another one of the awesome things about her.

HAYLEY: Okay, gotta go. Chat later?

ME: Absolutely.

I lean back and reach for another truffle. Scrolling through the chat I stop when I get to the pic of Hayley in the silver jumpsuit. I wonder if I can get her to show me what it looks like in person.

Fuck, the next two months are going to feel like a lifetime.