CupidRocks Read Online Free Page B

wolves are possessive bastards,
Mands. He hates thinking you and I are lovers.”
    “We aren’t.”
    “But we have been.”
    “That wasn’t being lovers. We’ve been fuck buddies. Well, heat buddies.”
    “But he doesn’t know that. You’ve got to tell him. Now.”
    She sighed. “He went outside.”
    “Go find him.”
    “Yeah. Okay.”
    “But you might want to fix your face first.”
    “Why?”
    “Your makeup is all smeared.”
    “Crap.”
    * * * * *
    Joe leaned against the side of the building, watching his
breath form clouds in the chilly air. He wanted to pound on something. He
wanted to shout and swear and stomp around like a little kid in the midst of a
tantrum. Instead, he leaned against the cold brick wall and stared at the
stars.
    What the hell was wrong with him? Why did he always pick
women or wolf bitches who cheated on him? True, Mandy didn’t cheat on him .
This time. But if she could cheat on Zach she could cheat on him someday and it
would kill him. He knew it would be because she was special. He wasn’t about to
take that chance—it would be better to walk away now. Heart whole. Except his
heart wasn’t whole. It was shredded like a piece of bloody meat in his chest.
    You’d think he would have learned his lesson with Valerie.
He’d given her five years of his life. Five faithful years—which was not easy when you were on the road in a rock band. But he’d done it. Then she told
him she was pregnant and that he was going to be a father. Shit, she was human.
What did he know about human pregnancy? He believed her. Swallowed her
story—hook, line and sinker.
    He stayed off the road during her last three months. Took
Lamaze classes with her. Coached her through delivery and held her son in his
arms. Her red-haired son. Red hair—just like the band’s drummer. There was no
way two black-haired people produced a carrot top. No fucking way. When he
finally confronted her, she admitted it. She swore it was just once, but she
wanted the boy to be his. The truth was her boy wasn’t his son. Joe had
made sure the drummer paid child support then he walked away. From Valerie and
from the band. Joe heard the door slam and prayed it wasn’t Mandy.
    “Hey, Joe. You’re acting flaky as hell tonight. What’s up?”
Eddie asked, leaning against the building beside him.
    Joe looked at the man who was growing to be a close friend.
He didn’t want to tell Eddie, well man, your daughter just stabbed me in the
heart so I’m a little pissy right now .
    “Turning forty isn’t a walk in the park. That’s all.”
    “Yeah, I remember. Sixty is a little better, but not much.
Rockers shouldn’t turn sixty.”
    “Better sixty than dead, my friend.”
    “Better forty than dead.” Eddie nudged his arm.
    Joe laughed wryly. “Right.”
    “Hey, look at it this way. You don’t have a strand of gray
and you’re lucky as hell because you can still nail the chicks. Carly would
castrate me if I banged a groupie between sets at a concert.”
    “And you’d deserve it. You don’t screw around on your mate. Ever. ”
    Eddie grinned. “Yeah. I guess I’ll keep her.”
    “Hey, man, you’re lucky she keeps you .” Joe took a
deep breath. “Time for the third set?”
    “Yeah. Let’s go.”
    “Hey, are you cool with changing up the set a bit?”
    “Sure. It was kinda chick oriented and we have a good mixed
crowd tonight.”
    “Great.”
    Mandy came out of the bathroom with freshly reapplied makeup
just as the band started to play. She adjusted her panties under her skirt,
desperately wishing Joe still had them in his pocket. She’d find a way to talk
to him before the night was over. She had to convince him that he had her all
wrong. She wasn’t a cheater. Not at all.
    She returned to the stage and dance floor area and winced
when she heard the song they played. A cheating song. She’d sneaked a peek at
the set list before they started playing and there wasn’t a cheating song in
the entire thing.