Out of Chances Read online

  Now Lisa was friends with his sister and his mother. He would be willing to bet his last hundred that they didn’t know the truth. He was going to have to see his mother soon and grovel for a hand-out. His bank account had dwindled and paying rent on Mike’s flat was sucking it clean. He needed to get his name off the lease on the place he’d shared with Lisa and stop paying for that. That would make it final. That would mean speaking to her.

  He closed his eyes. He’d rather be dragged over hot coals then sprinkled with salt and vinegar. He’d worry about it tomorrow. Today he had somehow managed to get a groupie to land in his lap without even trying.

  That should be a good thing.

  However he wasn’t sure he wanted her to come around to Mike’s flat. While it wasn’t as messy as it had been, it wasn’t exactly clean either. And then she’d know where he was living. His driver’s licence still listed the house he’d shared with Lisa. He still had stuff there.

  Unless she’d thrown it out.

  It had been almost six months since they’d split up, but in that time he’d seen her at his parents’ place a few times and they’d been forced to be civil. She’d apologised and said that maybe they needed some time apart. He’d agreed because that was easy.

  Dan finished his beer and caught Indigo’s eye. He pointed to the empty glass. If nothing else he’d scored a free beer today. That had to be a win.

  And possibly sex.

  If she showed up.

  It had been fun to flirt with her, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to sleep with her. She wasn’t what he usually chased. If he was after something fast, she seemed a bit too together—and too sober. She was nothing like career-driven Lisa. And Indigo would be lucky to get past the first letter of the alphabet when it came to filling her bra … he liked more.

  She walked over, hips swaying, and placed the glass down. Her lips curved and there was a glint in her eyes. She was trouble and she wanted to play with him.

  He swallowed, too aware of the heat rising in his blood and making his jeans tight in the wrong place. Maybe there was a bit of attraction, but only because it had been a few weeks and she was making all the moves.

  ‘I’m going to head off after this one.’ He needed to clean up the flat. Put fresh sheets on the bed. Drunk chicks didn’t care about that stuff. Indigo would and he didn’t want her telling everyone what a pig he was on social media. Ed would have kittens. Mike would probably kick him out.

  ‘I’ll see you there.’ She touched the address on her hand.

  There were so many questions he wanted to ask. Did she make a habit of picking up random guys? Favourite band members … maybe he wasn’t her favourite, he was just convenient? It was one fuck, why did he care?

  He obviously hadn’t had enough to drink yet.

  ‘I look forward to it,’ he said with a smile he didn’t have to force. Maybe he needed the shake-up.

  As she walked away, he looked down at his notebook. It wasn’t drinking alone in the middle of the afternoon when he was working. He was working. However he also remembered a time when he hadn’t had a beer in his hand. When he could sit for hours and concentrate.

  He shook his head. It was free, he couldn’t let it go to waste.

  Forty minutes later Dan was throwing clothes into a box that was working as a laundry hamper, binning empty beer cans and attempting to make the one-bedroom flat look like something slightly above a one-star dive. When Mike had lived here the place had never looked this bad.

  Dan didn’t remember ever being quite this messy. It pissed him off when he couldn’t find clean clothes. It pissed him off more when he remembered that his favourite pair of boots were still in Lisa’s possession, along with his game consoles, a couple of guitars and speakers he no longer used. Selling them would be a quick buck. He could do with that money.

  He brushed his teeth and ran his fingers through his hair and added a spray of deodorant. When was the last time he’d gone to this much effort for a one-night stand? He didn’t need to impress her. His name had done that.

  If only his name meant there were a few more zeroes after what was in his bank account.

  His phone buzzed. He checked it thinking it might be Indigo, before remembering that she didn’t have his number.

  It was from Mike. Are you home? Good time to stop around?

  Got company … later. Bring dinner.

  Leech.

  Dan shrugged. Unlike Mike, he didn’t have a trade to fall back on and fill his pockets in the lean times. His degree in music and history wasn’t going to get him far and he was not doing an extra year of study to become a teacher. Hell no. He knew exactly how bad kids could be; he’d been one of them. There was no private school in Perth that would touch him in the end. He grinned at the memory of his father’s purple-faced apoplexy after another expulsion. The shame of sending his only son to public school …

  Since nothing Dan ever did was good enough, he’d done his best to be bad. He’d been very good at that.

  Dan straightened the cover on the bed, then decided that it looked too much like he gave a damn so he messed it up a bit. He did not want Indigo thinking that this meant anything or that he’d gone to any trouble. She wanted it, he was obliging.

  That was all.

  Someone knocked on the door.

  His heart immediately swelled and stopped as nerves took hold. He breathed out and they were almost gone. He preferred an audience of thousands to just one. One was intimate, personal, and he wasn’t ready for anyone to get beneath his skin again.

  He opened up the door. ‘Hey.’

  Her lips flicked up in a grin. ‘Hey, yourself.’ Her hair was out now, tumbling over her shoulders in messy curls. ‘Gonna invite me in?’

  Dan stepped aside. Truthfully, he wasn’t quite sure what to do next. This wasn’t post-concert drunk sex where he could obliterate the hurt until the hangover kicked in. This was kinda odd.

  She came in and looked around. He shut the door with a solid thunk, and followed it up by locking the door.

  ‘So, this is where you live.’

  ‘For the moment. It’s temporary.’ If she turned out to be a stalker fan he might have to move sooner than he planned, not that he’d actually planned on going anywhere.

  Indigo dropped her hot pink handbag on the sofa and stripped off her shirt. Her shoes came off just as fast. She obviously knew what she was doing. The buzz from the beers he’d drunk earlier was still in his blood and watching her shimmy out of those skin tight jeans was doing all the right things.

  She was also fucking fit. She had more abs than him. Christ, that was going to be embarrassing. He wished he’d had another drink while cleaning up so he wasn’t thinking. He wasn’t going to let any of his doubts show. He knew what was expected and this time he was happy to play along.

  Then she crooked her finger and beckoned him closer.

  He wasn’t sure he wanted to be closer. She was … dangerous … exciting … this was going to bite him on the ass later, he knew it. He’d been in trouble enough times for his gut to have an accurate read on when things would go from fun to pear-shaped. But he was halfway down the hill already so he’d better make the most of it before he hit the bottom.

  He undid his shirt as he walked over. This was feeling cold and too planned. Where was the heat? The lust? Or was he too used to drunk, desperate sex?

  Her grin widened. ‘I totally did not expect you to say yes.’

  ‘What did you expect?’

  ‘An autograph? A photo?’

  He stepped back. ‘Well, I can still do that.’

  She closed the distance and grabbed the front of his shirt. ‘Nope. This. Is. Way. Better,’ she said, punctuating each word with kisses.

  Somehow her tongue ended up in his mouth, and then his hands were on her ass pulling her closer as blood rushed down. This thing that was happening started to feel better. Her hand slid lower and stroked the length of his dick. He was definitely up for whatever she wanted. He need
ed to stop thinking so hard.

  His clothes were peeled away and shrugged out of as fast as hers had been. Her skin was smooth and warm beneath his hands. He missed that. The touching. The caress with a kiss that didn’t include alcohol.

  He did not miss the way his ex had tried to organise his life. He had to get Lisa out of his head or he wouldn’t be able to do this sober. He refused to let Lisa into his head or his pants anymore.

  He grabbed Indigo’s hand and drew her toward the bedroom. Condoms were in there anyway, he’d double-checked.

  The bedroom wasn’t huge, but the bed was plenty big enough.

  She undid her bra and dropped it on the floor. Her breasts were small and perky—did she even need a bra? He palmed one and her nipple tightened against his skin. They’d looked bigger with the bra on.

  Indigo claimed his lips again. He gave in and let her take control. She seemed to know exactly what she wanted.

  ‘You aren’t worried about rushing,’ he said between kisses.

  ‘We want the same thing. Why muck around?’

  True but … stop thinking and get on with it. She wants you, dumbass.

  Her hand pushed into his briefs and her fingers wrapped around his dick. He groaned as she stroked. So much better than drunk sex.

  ‘Best be getting the rest of these clothes off.’ His words were smothered by her kisses. He liked that too. She wasn’t a starfish waiting for him to act. Until six months ago, he’d thought the starfish position was normal for chicks. He hooked his thumbs into her panties and tugged them down.

  She wiggled her hips until they slid the rest of the way down her very toned legs. ‘Your turn.’

  He had no idea how she got them off while seemingly having her hands everywhere and her body moving against him. There was a level of familiarity, as if she knew him, that he hadn’t had in a while. There shouldn’t be any. He didn’t give himself time to think about how much online stalking she may or may not have done.

  He slid his fingers between her thighs. Short hair brushed his fingers and it was damp. When he pressed in she was slick. His dick jumped at the knowledge. He wanted her. He’d deal with the headfuck later, or not, as there was half a bottle of rum with his name on it for tonight. No. He had to make it last because he couldn’t afford more.

  Indigo caressed his cock as though she was enjoying the feel, and looking forward to getting more of it. Sex with Lisa had been safe and familiar and they knew what they liked. Drunk sex with a stranger was almost a race to get off while not really giving a shit about the other person—he was certain that it didn’t really count as an intimate experience; there were no feelings involved.

  This was something else. He wanted Indigo to have a good time. He wanted her to walk away satisfied and thinking he was awesome. One out of seven billion, he had a lot of work to do. It had been a long time since he’d really been with anyone new, he wasn’t quite sure how to find out what she needed.

  Just ask.

  ‘Got a preference? Top, bottom …’ He lifted an eyebrow as his fingers teased her clit. His tongue could do a better job. As tempting as the idea was, he didn’t go down the first time. ‘On your knees?’

  ‘Such a gentleman. I’ll take top.’ She was smiling.

  Sweet.

  He fell back onto the bed and reached up under the pillow to grab the condom packet. She didn’t wait. She knelt over his thighs, her hands moving over him as though he was her new favourite toy. He could get used to that. Being wanted. She wasn’t hiding the lust in her eyes or playing coy as though she didn’t usually do this kind of thing. He knew in that moment he was just a conquest to her. A name …

  He didn’t actually care.

  He tossed her the rubber.

  She caught it with one hand and dressed his dick for the occasion before moving forward. Her lips met his as her hips lowered. She ground against him without letting him enter.

  He gripped her hips, wanting to thrust into her and watch her ride him all the way to the end.

  ‘Now who’s rushing?’ she murmured.

  ‘I want you.’ One hundred per cent true. That hadn’t been true with anyone for close to a year. Habit wasn’t desire no matter how much he’d wanted it to be. Wanting sex wasn’t the same as wanting the person.

  She lifted her hips and sank onto him.

  At this point, as long as they both got off he didn’t care what happened after.

  One of her favourite rock stars was beneath her, naked. He had that whole too-good-to-be-true look about him on stage. She’d been to every concert Selling the Sun had performed at in Western Australia.

  She’d never imagined getting this close; okay, she had imagined getting this close plenty of times, but she’d never expected it to actually happen.

  Her body hummed with lust and excitement that wound tighter with each move. His fingertips were rough on her skin, and his eyes were firmly on her. Being on top meant that she made the most of what breasts she had. When she’d saved up a bit more money, she’d be doing something about that.

  She slid her hand between her legs, determined to get there first. It didn’t take much and he wasn’t far behind, gripping her tighter as he came.

  For a moment they didn’t do anything but catch their breath. She’d needed that. Needed to see the heat in someone’s eyes. Sometimes she made a mistake and they only wanted sex, not her.

  Not this time. Even though he’d been cautious in the bar, he’d proven that wasn’t really the case once she’d got him alone. He’d wanted her, she’d seen it. Felt it.

  She smiled and sighed. ‘Well, that was a good way to finish a Friday afternoon.’

  ‘Any afternoon.’

  She had to agree with him about that. She also knew not to outstay her welcome, nor did she want after sex weirdness. Ew. Screw and run. She should be moving …

  Indigo looked at him for a little longer, trying to burn the memory into her mind forever. With his hair all messed up, naked on the bed, he wasn’t as far out of reach as he seemed when on stage. She ran her fingertips down his chest. ‘I’m looking forward to your next album.’

  His smile faltered for a moment. ‘Yeah. It should be good. A little darker.’

  ‘Got any special gigs coming up for the launch?’ That sounded a bit too much like she’d fucked him for freebies—which she would’ve if he’d been offering. ‘I want to make sure I don’t miss out.’

  ‘Big fan, are you?’ He didn’t seem to believe her. Where there had been heat there was now scepticism.

  ‘I’m always on your side of the stage and I know you do a lot of the writing.’ It would probably be weird if she mentioned she also knew that he was single. ‘You know where I work so …’ She eased off him. ‘If you ever want to hook up …’ She took a few steps back then pointed at the door behind her on the other side of the corridor. ‘Bathroom, toilet?’

  ‘Toilet to the left.’ He had his hand on his dick, holding on to the rubber.

  He needed a moment alone.

  She went into the toilet and closed the door. The rest of the flat might have been tidy-ish. This was not. There were also only about three squares of paper left and no sign of a new roll.

  She shook her head and did the hover, as she didn’t want to risk sitting on the seat. Her heart was still pounding. There was something exhilarating about a good pick-up. Her body glowed from the attention. She was desirable.

  If Dan walked into the bar again, where she supplemented her personal trainer income, then she might give him another go. Who was she kidding, of course she would. He was Dan Clarke. The apparently not so squeaky clean bass player.

  She carefully used up what was left of the toilet paper and flushed. There was no hand towel at the sink. Men! Was she supposed to wipe her hands on her clothes? If she’d been wearing any she would’ve. She settled for the flick and shake.

  When she emerged he was wearing only jeans.

  Hmmm. He could do with a few hard work-outs. Too much time on the r
oad eating junk? But then, he was a guy and people didn’t expect him to be perfect. When she looked at him he seemed comfortable in his skin. As much as she tried to make her skin comfortable, it wasn’t.

  For a few moments it hadn’t mattered; he’d only been thinking of her. Or at least it had seemed that way. His gaze skimmed over her naked body and he didn’t bother to hide the lust in his eyes. God, they were blue. Let me drown in them deep blues.

  ‘What do you do, when not at the bar?’ he said.

  Indigo tried to keep her stroll past him calm as she scooped up her underwear and started dressing. ‘Personal trainer. Why?’

  She knew why he was asking. Most women didn’t have the muscle definition that she did. Many of the guys she’d been with found it unnerving. Which side would Dan fall on?

  Don’t be a jerk and ruin this. I don’t want to have to wipe you from my playlist.

  ‘Ah. So you have two jobs.’

  Nice save.

  ‘Got to make ends meet.’

  His smile faded. ‘Yeah. Thanks for coming around. It was … um …’ he ruffled his dark hair and glanced away.

  She placed her hands on his chest and kissed him. ‘It was good. When you are so famous Freo is no longer home, I’ll be able to say I picked you up and screwed you silly.’

  He laughed. ‘Fingers crossed we all get what we want.’

  His lips brushed hers again, but it was only a gentle kiss. That was goodbye. It was a nice goodbye though.

  ‘Maybe I’ll see you around.’ She didn’t look back. In the living room she pulled on her jeans and shirt, shoved her feet into her shoes, then walked out of the flat.

  The sun was setting and the breeze was in. It was a beautiful evening. She inhaled, and then released the breath before trotting toward her car with a smile on her face.

  That had been more fun than she’d expected. She hadn’t really been sure what to expect from him. He usually seemed so prim compared to the others, but maybe that was just his onstage persona.

  Her grin widened as she unlocked her car.

  She’d just slept with a rock star.

  The guy she’d had a crush on since she’d first seen Selling the Sun play in the pub where she now worked. Unbelievable. She wanted to tell someone, but no one would be impressed with her conquest. Her sister would freak out.