Free Hawk and Dove (Rock Star Romance Novel) by Amanada Lawless Page B

too,” he finishes, pathetically.
    Ellie stares at him, her mouth hanging open prettily. I
suddenly wish that I were a mile away from this scene. I pick up my booze and
take a drink, trying not to visibly show how thrilled I am to see this kid’s
heart getting shattered.
    “Mitch,” Ellie says, “If you can’t be happy just being my
friend, my partner...If the only reason you’re hanging around is in hopes of
scoring with me...then, yeah. You should really go.”
    “Is that what you want?” he asks.
    “She said get the hell out of here,” I can’t resist saying.
    Mitch glares at me in the gathering darkness. His angry eyes
flit back and forth between Ellie and I, suspicion seething from his every
pore. To his credit, Mitch doesn’t voice his jealous thoughts. He doesn’t say
anything. Without a word, he turns on his heel and stalks away from us, his
narrow shoulders up high around his ears. Ellie and I stand side-by-side,
watching him disappear down the hill, losing himself among the gathering
crowds.
    “He’ll be back,” I tell her.
    “Yeah,” she says sadly.
    “That doesn’t mean you have to let him back in,” I say.
    “I know,” she says, turning to look at me, “I wish I could.
But...I think that’s it. We’re through, me and him. Jesus...we’ve only played
one real show.”
    I offer her my bottle. “You need a drink,” I tell her.
    She laughs hollowly and accepts the offer. I watch her bring
the bottle to her lips like an old pro. God, to be the mouth of that bottle at
this very moment... Stop it! I chide myself silently. Don’t be that
guy, Trent . I shove my hands into my pockets, trying to keep Ellie from
noticing my growing erection.
    “Thanks for stepping in,” she says, “I really would have
been able to take him, but I’m glad I didn’t have to.”
    “Has that happened before?” I ask cautiously.
    “Never,” she breathes, “I have no idea what got into him...”
    “He really loves you, I guess, and he can't deal with it,” I
say.
    “No,” Ellie sighs, “You can’t love someone and act that way.
Mitch doesn’t even know me. He can’t possibly love me like he thinks he does.”
    “I don’t know how you can write music like that together and
not know each other,” I say honestly.
    “Well,” Ellie says, “We divvy it up. He takes the music. I
take the words. I mean, took...”
    “You’re damned good at the words,” I tell her, resting a
palm against my bus.
    “Oh yeah,” she says with a little smile, “You were there...”
    “I was curious,” I tell her. “I wanted to hear what you
sounded like.”
    “So?” she says, leaning her tanned shoulder against the bus,
not a foot away from my hand, “What did you think?”
    “Honestly?” I ask.
    “Honestly.”
    I level my gaze at her. “You’re unbelievable,” I say,
“You’re absolutely amazing.”
    “Really?” she asks, her eyes growing wide.
    “Really,” I say, “Trust me, I’m not one for sugar coating,
either. You’ve really got something, Ellie. Or do you prefer Eleanor?”
    “It’s just Ellie,” she says with a happy laugh. I’m glad to
distract her from Mitch’s bullshit for a minute, if I can.
    “Let me guess,” I say, “Your parents were Beatles fans?”
    She grins at me in her comfortable, unpracticed way. “That’s
right. My name is Eleanor Rigby Jackson. A mouthful, right? But how did you
know?”
    “Oh please,” I say, “You can tell from a mile off that you
were named after that song.”
    “What do you mean?” she asks.
    “There’s a...sadness about you,” I say slowly.
    “...Oh,” she replies, her smile falling.
    “Not like, a morose thing,” I tell her quickly, “It’s more
complicated than that. It’s not like you’re a sad person...at least, that’s not
how it seems. It just looks like you’re longing for something. I don’t know.
I’m probably just a rambling drunk.”
    “I don’t think so,” she says softly. She’s looking up at me
like