Cover Me: A Rock Star Romance by Carrie Elliott Read Free Book Online Page A

strange ways. Last night she and I spent time together for the first time in forever and today I was opening the front door of her parents’ house and stepping inside like I belong here.
    I didn’t belong here, and not just inside The Halprin’s house. Mom was right. I should have a place of my own. Now that I was no longer living in hotel rooms across the globe, I’d find a place. As soon as possible.
    Unlike my parents’ house, The Halprin’s wasn’t anything like I remembered. Everything was different. The furniture, the carpet, the wallpaper. Nothing was the same. I couldn’t help it. I had to know if Bess’s room had been made into an exercise room or something.
    I darted down the hall on the balls of my feet, like I was going to get busted by someone. Ridiculous. The door was closed. I turned the knob and pushed it open and was assaulted by the flower and vanilla scent of Bess that made every muscle in my body tighten. If I closed my eyes, it was last night again and she was on my lap, her soft breasts pressed against my chest, her eager tongue teasing mine.
    I walked into a time warp. The Barbie house that had sat in the corner was gone, probably to her nieces, but the strands of beads her older sister, Emmy, brought back from Marti Gras still hung on the corner of the mirror above the dresser. I took a strand down and wound it around my hand. I remembered telling Bess that girls got beads for flashing their tits, so that was probably how Emmy got them. She was horrified.
    I sat on the end of the bed, smiling. Bess was such a prude. Was she now? I couldn’t count last night as proof of anything, our situation being different than if we’d met that night. And we didn’t have sex. Would she have sex with a man she just met? I had no idea.
    I laid back on her pillow and looked up at the ceiling where the glow-in-the-dark stars used to be. Now there were only sticky marks where they’d been peeled off. I didn’t remember her taking them down. Maybe she did it during our senior year, sometime before she left for college.
    I unwound the gold beads from my hand and dropped them beside me on the bed. I didn’t want to get up. I was exhausted and comfortable. How long could I stay there before Mom came looking for me? Jesus, I could only guess what she’d say if she found me napping in Bess’s bed. What a nightmare that would be.
    I rolled onto my side and came face-to-face with a small framed photo of Bess and I. We were about twelve, maybe thirteen and sitting on her front porch. I remembered her mom taking the picture. The frame said best friends. Why hadn’t I seen it before? Without thinking about why I was doing it, I picked up the photo frame and left Bess’s room. If I couldn’t have her, I’d at least have a parting gift.
Bess
    I turned down my old street in Santa Cruz at eight-thirty that night, wide awake from sleeping so late and guzzling an energy drink while I drove. I gripped the steering wheel and trained my eyes on the right side of the road where halfway up, I’d see The Bast’s house first, then mine.
    One block away, I started to get a sinking feeling as their driveway came into view. Mr. Bast’s car sat in the driveway. Their garage was open, but there wasn’t an Aston Martin parked inside.
    I pulled into my parents’ driveway and turned off my car. How could I have been so wrong about him coming home? I was so certain I’d find him here. Glancing over at his old house, disappointment stirred inside me. I wanted to prove to myself that there was a small part of him I still knew. I was wrong. Or, I suppose, I was right. I didn’t know Derek Bast anymore.
    I took my house key out of my bag and let myself inside. It was strange being there without my mom and dad home. Even if there was no reason to be here, I’d stay overnight and head back into the city in the morning. Driving another five or six hours tonight wasn’t going to happen.
    In the kitchen, I dropped my bag and found a