Free So I Married a Rockstar by Marina Maddix Page B

shoving me into the bathroom with his waxing kit.) Drax knows I'm incapable of breaking eye contact with him so he stares hard as he licks his way up, wracking my body with more torturous, delicious shudders.  
    I want to reach for him, to touch him, but my arms are Jello and all I'm capable of is keeping my head high enough to look at him. A tear slides down the side of my face and I vaguely wonder why I'm crying. But I'm not, really. I've just never experienced anything so raw, so powerful. It's sort of like staring at the sun while riding a roller coaster through a hurricane.  
    Drax stands and tears his T-shirt over his head, his biceps and triceps and all his other '-eps' bulging out as if to say, 'Lick me.' I'm slack-jawed at his physique. Is he for real? I've heard of six-packs before but I never knew someone could have an eight-pack. When he reaches for his belt, I suck in my breath. I'm almost afraid to find out what he's packing down there. On the other hand, I can't wait.
    "Um, Drax?"
    That's not me. We look at each other, then at the flimsy accordion door. Drax's lip curls up in a snarl.  
    "Not now," he snaps, turning back to me with a look that lights me on fire.
    Yeah, what he said!
    "Sorry, man, but it's important."  
    "Savory, trust me, it can wait."  
    He pops open the first button of his jeans and steps closer. If we were anywhere but the bedroom, the look on his face would be menacing, maybe even terrifying. But right now, it's a promise of what's to come.
    "It can't. We just got shitcanned."

"Fuckin' assholes!" Drax is raging mad, stomping up and down the bus's tiny aisle, ready to tear someone from limb to limb. "What the hell happened?"
    I'm frantically reading the contract the band signed for tonight's show, looking for something -- anything -- to explain why the promoters fired them so abruptly. I'm also keenly aware that the shapeless robe I'm wearing barely begins to cover my curves, and that I'm one big pothole away from popping out all over the place. I've always been good at multi-tasking, but this is pushing my comfort zone. Needless to say, my fingernails are raw nubs.
    "I dunno, dude," Savory says for the umpteenth time. "The email just said they were 'terminating our contract due to unforeseen circumstances'."
    "Can they do that?" Jake's wide awake now, having slept off much of the previous evening's drinks.  
    All eyes turn to me. Me, who's only ever seen the most simple of contracts. Me, who just got fired on the very first day of her very first promotor job. Me, who's barely keeping herself covered in this stupid stolen hotel robe.
    "I don't see any language saying they can't cancel," I mumble as I skim the document. It's really not much more complicated than the ones we used for signings at my dads' store.  
    "Ah, here it is. 'Cancellation may be made by operator before two days prior to the time of show, in which case operator's fifty percent deposit of fee is non-refundable, but operator will not have to pay the remaining fifty percent of fee. If show is cancelled within two days of show, operator must pay band's full fee.'"
    I smile up at them but they just scowl back at me.
    "Fuck!" Drax slams his hand on the dinette table.  
    "Assholes," Savory mutters, his kohl-rimmed eyes staring bleakly out the dark window.
    "No, you don't understand," I object. "They didn't cancel two days in advance. That means they have to pay you the full amount, whether you play or not."
    Frank chuffs and shakes his head, as if I'm the dumbest person ever born. They all look supremely pissed off and no one is telling me why.
    "Guys, what am I missing?"
    "Good luck collecting the rest of the fee, Lola ." Frank's surliness is really starting to get on my nerves.
    "Besides," Jake adds, "merch is where the money's at."
    "Merch?"
    "Merchandise," Drax explains. "T-shirts, hats, do-rags, panties--"
    "Panties?!" I can't stop myself from laughing, despite the dour mood on the bus. It's the first time in an