Hate Me

Cooper, who doesn’t miss anything, keeps his hand firmly in place, but starts caressing my ass with his thumb.

I give a cute little shiver and kiss him on the neck. “Cooper is one of Tommy’s stunt men. So, thanks for the drink. It was great seeing you, Sander, and meeting you all. We’re going to head out. I’m taking him dancing tonight.”

“We were thinking of hitting Plague. Where are you going?”

“To a place that doesn’t have a name,” I laugh.

“I’ve heard rumors about that place,” Da

I glance at Cooper. He gives my butt a single tap of his finger. “Sure, why not? Can we meet up at your house, Sander?” I look down at my clothes. “Obviously, I need to change.”

“Sounds good. Ten o’clock? We can get there before the crowds.”

“Sander,” I tease. “I’m not going to let you drink with the crowds. We’ll be in the VIP section.”

Da

Cooper puts his arm around me as we stroll out of the bar.

“That went surprisingly well,” he states.

“Hopefully, breaking into my house will go equally well.”

“Breaking in?”

“Not breaking in, exactly, but we don’t have a car for a reason. Come on.”

I take my shoes off and drag him across the street, down the beach, and through the fence delineating the start of the Malibu Colony properties.

“Are we going to get in trouble for trespassing?” Cooper asks after reading the warning signs.

“I live here,” I say, then I take off ru

I stop two houses before mine and point. “That one is ours.”

“It’s pretty here. I can see why you like it.”

I nod, looking out at the ocean. “You can sightsee later. We have work to do. No one’s around, so let’s go.”

I take off ru

Cooper tries to open the door into the house. “Shit, it’s locked.”

“I know. Hang on.” I walk around Tommy’s Ferrari to a shelving unit where he keeps all the car cleaning supplies, pop open a cigar box hidden under a stack of diapers, pull out a key, and let us in.

The house security alarm beeps, wanting me to enter my code. I press in one of Tommy’s instead, quickly stopping the beeping.

“Whew,” I blow out a breath. “I wasn’t sure if they changed all the codes or not.”

“Why would they change your code?”

“I didn’t enter my code. We don’t exactly want to broadcast to Garrett that we’re here.”

“Won’t they know Tommy isn’t here?”

“I used the code he gave to the guy who details his cars. He has to come inside to get the keys,” I say, stepping into the kitchen.

I thought that when I got here I would be able to see all the good times I’ve had here.

But I don’t.

Instead, I’m reliving that night. The photos dropping out of a manila envelope onto the kitchen island. 

I shake my head to clear my thoughts, and move toward Tommy’s closet, sticking to the mission at hand. “We need to find you something to wear.”

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“Nothing, it’s just not club appropriate. Hmm, Tommy’s a little taller than you.”

I open Tommy’s closet and step in.

“Whoa,” Cooper says. “This is like a store.”

“Tommy loves clothes.” I move to a section of long-sleeved shirts, pulling out a bright blue one with the kind of sheen you only get from fine cotton. “Try this on.”

Cooper strips off his long-sleeved t-shirt and, well, I can’t help but enjoy the view. Specifically, the sexy tattoo ru

He buttons up the shirt and tucks it into his cargo shorts. “Whatcha think?”

“Hmm. The sleeves are just a little long.” I unbutton his sleeves and roll them up. “Yeah, that will work. Okay, now we need pants. What size is your waist?”

“Thirty-four.”

I move to the wall of pants, find a black pair with a subtle blue pinstripe, and check the label, quickly translating the European size to an American one. “Let’s try these.”

“Dress pants? Can’t I wear jeans?”

“That depends. What size shoe do you wear?”

“Eleven.”

I smile. “Yes, if you’ll wear a great pair of shoes, I’ll let you wear jeans.”

“I can live with that.”

I throw him a pair of dark jeans and even though I’d like to turn around and watch, I give him privacy and focus on choosing a pair of shoes. One pair immediately catches my eye. I pull the black Pradas off the rack and study the pattern of perforations and the blue undertones, remembering Aiden in the same shoe at Homecoming.

Luck, I think.

Or maybe fate.

Either way, it couldn’t hurt to have a little of each on my side tonight.

I look at Cooper. “Hmm, something is missing . . . I know.” I grab a large, expensive watch, strap it on Cooper’s thick wrist, and nod. “Perfect.”

“Okay, now my turn.” I head toward my room, still feeling odd.

I thought I’d walk in here and feel like I was finally home, but I don’t.

I feel . . . tense. Nervous. Bad memories keep surfacing.

I wonder if I can even do this.

If it’s this bad here, what’s it going to be like at The Side Door?

But once I get into my closet, I feel better. It’s a happy place, and I’ve missed my clothes.

I open a drawer and dig through it until I find the pair of shiny black Lurex shorts I want to wear.

Normally, I wouldn’t dress quite this skimpy, but if I’m going to do what I want to do, I have to look the part.

I pair it with a neon bra top, fishnet hose, and black patent leather platform boots.

I shoo Cooper out of my closet so I can get dressed.

I also call Troy, but he doesn’t answer, so I call Damian.

Thankfully, he answers.

“Hey, it’s me. What are you doing tonight?”

“We’ve been recording all day. Troy’s heading out to DJ. I’m probably going home.”

“I just tried to call Troy. He didn’t answer.”

“Why are you calling Troy?”

“Um, you can’t tell, but I’m home. Just for the night. Vincent is going to be at The Side Door tonight, and so am I.”

“What? Are you nuts?”

“Please just let me talk to Troy.”

Damian sighs. “Here’s Troy.”

“Keatyn, long time no talk,” Troy says. “Are you coming to the club tonight?”

“I am and I have a huge, huge favor.”

“Whatcha need?”

I make a snap decision to tell Troy the truth. Some of it, anyway.

“I know you've been gone touring, but did you know that I'm not living in Malibu anymore?”

“Uh, no. Where’d you go?”

“An all-girls boarding school out in the middle of nowhere.”

“Sounds incredibly boring.”

“It is. So, what I was wondering is if you could get me two all-access passes. Something that will allow us to go backstage, get behind all the closed doors.”

“Why do you need that?”

I give him a quick version of what happened while he was touring.

“Is that why we had so much security?”

“Yeah, he knows I toured with you last summer.”

“What's his name?”

I tell him.

“Seriously? He's a VIP. Crazy big spender.”

“I know. He comes every Thursday looking for me. He followed me there, you know, before.”

“So why would you want to be anywhere near him. Isn't that dangerous?”

“Not if you help me.” I tell him the two other things I need.

“Keats, shit. I don't know if I can swing that. The first part is easy. The second part . . .” He trails off, then he says, “Our club security is outstanding.”

“And probably easily swayed by a big-spender VIP.”

“Hmm, yeah, you’re probably right. You’ll have to dress skimpy, sexy hot, and a little cheap.” He laughs. “That’s like a four letter word to you, isn’t it? You never look cheap.”