

The Unexpected Beautiful

Book #1 in the Unexpected Series

a novel

### By Noell Mosco

Copyright 2015 Noell Mosco

Smashwords Edition

Cover Art by Crystal Soles

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this eBook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed, reproduced, scanned, or copied to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. Please do not participate in piracy of copyrighted material. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. All characters and storylines are the property of the author. Thank you for your support and thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Disclaimer

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.  
Let it be known - this novel is written as fiction. Copper Crossfire and The Fingers of Fish are bands that I created in my mind, as is _CloseUp!_ Other products/services/brand names in the book may resemble real ones.

Dedication

To Wendy

my manager for everything

### Chapter 1

West MacKinnon ran a hand through his wavy brown hair. It was soaking wet from sweat and beads of perspiration flung themselves violently through the air with wild abandon. He smiled as he slid down the railing to the stairs that led away from the stage and he heard his bandmates following close behind him.

A menacing chant began from the audience. "Encore, encore, encore..." The crowd was relentless tonight and it didn't stop West from wanting to give them everything they asked for. Well, almost everything. He was, in fact, just a newly turned 18-year-old boy man guy, so it was not within his power to give all of his fans everything they wanted.

"Jesus-effing-Christ." Smith Lawson said aloud the words all the guys were thinking in the backs of their minds. The crowd tonight seemed to be extra raucous and loud, and it didn't go unnoticed by any of them.

"Think if we go back out there right now, instead of in the mandatory three-minute-wait, they'll quiet down?" Brax Lawson, the third of the trio, and twin brother to Smith, asked innocently.

"Who do you think you're kidding?" West clapped his buddy on the shoulder, feeling his sweat leaking through the fabric of his shirt. "That's seriously got to be some kind of record for being the absolute loudest crowd in the history of all time."

The backstage manager hurriedly approached the guys and gave them the go-ahead to re-emerge onto the stage for their two song encore set. West smiled in spite of the noise from all of the screaming. He was living his dream and no one was going to rain on his parade.

* * *

Screaming girls filled the room. West loved interacting with fans of his band Copper Crossfire, but sometimes it plain sucked the life right out of him. He had no idea where teenage girls got all of their energy. They screamed so loud and so much that he thought for sure they'd be hoarse by now.

West would never admit to his buddies that he kind of secretly disliked all of the screaming. They'd never let him hear the end of it. Don't get him wrong, though - West loved the cheering during the concerts when he, Brax and Smith were on stage, but during the meet and greet sessions their label insisted on hosting, the screaming really needed to be downscaled. Big time.

Girls filled West's vision as far as he could see. The room was huge, with a long zig-zag patterned queue that looked as though it would never end. He smiled as genuinely as possible, but after smiling nonstop for an undetermined amount of time, he had a feeling that his cheeriness started to look forced.

Brax and Smith ate up all of the attention from the girls. And if West was totally being honest with himself, the opposite sex adoration didn't entirely suck, but there was no way he could capitalize on any of it. Being an 18-year-old boy man guy meant his head was filled with naughty thoughts that revolved around all things related to sex, and included, but was not limited to sex, boobs, girls, porn, skirts, thongs, bras, sex, no panties, kissing, touching, porn, boobs, sucking, licking, boobs, sex, lingerie, porn, models, boobs, tight shirts, cleavage, boobs, boobs...

A perky girl positioned herself directly in front of West, which tore him away from the current distraction of boobs and sex that was taking place in his filthy mind. _Well, hello there,_ he thought as he drank in the girls features: boobs. Big boobs with very deep cleavage. He stared momentarily before he looked up to her face.

"Weston MacKinnon," she said his name with delight, "I can die happy now that I'm officially meeting you." West smiled at her, not at her cleavage, and shook her hand. She quivered slightly at his polite handshake. Putty. Girls were nothing but putty in his hands. He glanced down the table to Smith and Brax. More putty. These girls were simply puddles of hormones standing upright that would do anything to get alone time with any of the guys in the band. West instantly dismissed the thought from his head until it reappeared again immediately. Sex.

"Thanks, darling. What's your name?" West asked the girl. He was the first one at the long table set up for autographs. He initiated his signature on an 8x10 photo from their label Gearworks Records and the fan carried it down the table, next to Smith and then last to Brax, where they each added their autographs as well. No photos or selfies were allowed with the guys because it slowed down the line.

"Ashna," she responded. It felt like it took her a few seconds to actually comprehend his question. "A-S-H-N-A."

He was glad she supplied the spelling of her unique name. That was definitely one he hadn't remembered encountering before. He finished with her name and then looped his signature near himself on the photo. West handed Ashna her photo and thanked her for attending the concert and he remembered to smile at her, not her cleavage, again. She looked at her photo in her hands and beamed.

West scratched his head before the next fan approached the table. A brief glance at his watch told him that even though it felt like the meet and greet had been going on forever, in reality, it had only been 45 minutes. Crying in frustration would probably be frowned upon.

He looked up to the next girl to stand in front of him at the table. He stopped for a moment before he reached for a photo from the pile to sign. Dark blue eyes stared back at him. Dark blue eyes that took up her entire face. Ok, so not her entire face. But damn, the chick had some awesome big blue eyes. She looked so innocent and young. West zoomed out his focus and observed the rest of this blue-eyed-beauty.

A tiny little package stood before him, with a pale complexion and light brown hair with curls, which was worn off to the side in a braid that reminded him of Katniss from _The Hunger Games_ movie. Katniss was hot and so was anything that resembled her. He'd never admit it out loud to Brax or Smith, but he read all the books and very much enjoyed the first movie. They'd have his balls forever if they knew he had a crush on Katniss. West turned his easily distracted mind back to Blue Eyes in front of him. The best thing about this girl was that she looked...bored.

"Who can I make this photo out to?" West asked her. She seemed shocked that he acknowledged her.

"Nora," she answered him quietly.

"So, Nora," he said her name slowly so he'd remember it. Those eyes. Damn. He felt like he needed to remember those eyes. "Did you enjoy the concert?"

"It was okay," Nora shrugged her shoulders. West laughed as he coiled his signature on her photo and he looked up to her to get an explanation. She immediately realized her faux-pas and started to backtrack. "I mean, it was entertaining. I can see how a huge fan would've loved it. I just came with my friend because she won tickets from the radio station."

"So, you're not a fan?" West asked, just to clarify. The girl next in line behind Nora cleared her throat in obvious disapproval and impatience at the length of the conversation that was taking place between Nora and West. He shot her a smile, which satisfied her and she looked ecstatic.

"Um," Nora appeared slightly nervous as she looked down at her wringing fingers, "no, not exactly."

"Really." It wasn't a question. It was a simple statement. Blue Eyes sure was a breath of fresh air. _Nora._ She returned her gaze to West without a shred of sympathy in her stare.

"Really," she confirmed his word. After a moment of silent eye contact, Nora pointed toward Smith. "Should I keep going?"

West jumped a little at her suggestion. For a second, he forgot that they were in the middle of a meet and greet session and there were still tons of people waiting patiently in line behind Nora.

"Yes, of course," he told her. She smiled slightly at his distraction. She left his station at the long table and approached the next member of the band she really didn't care about. Just before she handed her photo to Smith in the middle of the table, Nora looked over her shoulder back to West. He was watching her. He jumped when she caught him looking at her. She suppressed a smile.

As Brax signed Nora's photo, West glanced nervously at the other end of the table. Nora was just about to walk away from the table and out of his life forever. _What the hell, dude,_ he thought to himself. He'd never felt so mixed up or out of his element as he did after he met Nora. He jumped up from his seat and rushed to the opposite end of the table in the nick of time. Nora had turned her back and started to step away from the table.

"Nora!" he called her name, and didn't it just sound like absolute perfection rolling off of his lips. She stopped abruptly and turned toward his voice.

West looked all around him. Hundreds of people were staring at him, which meant double the amount of eyes were focused on him and his odd disruption. He was sure that all the girls that still remained in the zig-zagged line were wondering what on earth he was doing. Why was he chasing after this girl? He himself didn't even know the answer to those questions.

When West's eyes met with Nora's, though, nothing else mattered. Not the weird looks from his buddies, or the jealous stares from his fans, or even the "what the hell" expressions from the backstage manager of Copper Crossfire's tour, their manager, or West's own mother, who liked to lurk around at all times.

Nora looked at West expectedly. He'd just called her name, right? Why did he look out of breath? Why was he suddenly at the end of the table, his chair abandoned and the fan who was supposed to be getting his autograph deserted? Only then did he realize that too much time elapsed from his exclamation to now and he needed to force his brain to tell his mouth to form coherent words; words that weren't "boobs." Or "sex."

"What - what's your last name?" he finally stammered out.

Nora stared without answering. She simply shook her head slightly, as if she hadn't even heard him and turned her back to him again. West felt foolish for his outburst and his audacity to even entertain the idea that Nora would be remotely interested in sharing such an intimate piece of information with him.

West's heart sank into his stomach when he realized that she really wasn't going to answer him. With a last name he could look her up on Facebook. _Look her up on Facebook? Get a grip, man,_ he told himself. He hung his head and turned to go back to his chair. Admitting defeat was tough, even more so with fame.

"Rookwood!" a voice shouted from the corner of the room, above the hushed quiet that dissipated the previous roar of excited fans. West's head snapped in the direction of the voice and could faintly see an embarrassed Nora, trying without avail to shield Ashna from jumping into the air again. "Her last name is Rookwood!"

_Nora Rookwood._ West committed the name to memory.

### Chapter 2

Two cities on the tour later and West was still totally taken with Blue Eyes. _Nora,_ he reminded himself of her name. Nora Rookwood. Too bad he hadn't been able to find her online. Not anywhere.

Feeling like a stalker, West searched Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and even the dark corners of Myspace. Nothing came up with an accurate description of his Nora. _His Nora?_ He shook his head to try to grasp himself a little more realistically. She probably had über privacy settings because she seemed like a smart, rational girl. Of course she had über privacy settings. To protect herself from freaks like him.

"Dude," Brax landed a heavy hand on West's shoulder and shook him roughly. "You look like your fucking dog just got ran over."

West shrugged out from under Brax's touch and tried to play off his weird mood.

"Are you still going nutso over that chick from Chicago?" Smith interjected himself into the conversation. Then he imitated West, "What-what-what's your last name?"

"Shut the fuck up, I didn't sound like that!" West shoved Smith away and joined in the ribbing laughter from his buddies. Too bad they've all known one another since first grade and have been best friends since fourth grade, so it was difficult to hide things from the others.

"Weston Adam MacKinnon! I will not tolerate such language coming out of your mouth, young man," West's mom, Claire, exclaimed from the front of the tour bus. His cheeks turned a deep red hue and he sank to the couch in the rear of the tour bus. After she sufficiently scolded him, she resumed chatting amiably with whoever she had on her cell phone, more than likely West's stepfather.

West's mom was the "band mom" for the mid-western leg of the tour, including Oklahoma and Texas. Since all the guys were still minors when the tour arrangements were made, and West had just turned 18 a few weeks ago, the label required parental supervision and there needed to be one parental supervisor present at all times throughout the tour, to which the other non-present parental units signed over approval for all supervisory duties. West's mother was, by far, the stricter out of the two mothers. Brax and Smith were paternal twins, God bless their mother, who oversaw the northeast and southeast leg of the tour. She would take over again for the Rocky Mountain portion of the US tour, along with Arizona and New Mexico. West's mother returned to control when the tour wrapped up on the Pacific coast.

Brax sank low on the couch next to West. "Your mom, man. She's so hot." His eyes lingered toward the front of the bus and he watched Claire.

"What the fuck?!" West countered to his friend in a voice low enough that his mother wouldn't hear him. "Don't ever say that again." Brax laughed.

"Whatever, West. You can't see it 'cause she's your mom. But really. Holy MILF." Brax continued to drool.

West looked to his mother again. She was young, almost too young to be the mother of an 18-year-old boy man guy. She had a natural color of dark blonde hair and brown eyes, with milky skin that always had a motherly glow to it. He knew the story of his conception was one she didn't like to discuss - prom night knock up - and the absent father story was a close second of things she refused to talk about. West felt lucky, though. His grandparents were awesome and his mother met and married a great guy, his stepdad, Paul. Together, they had a son, West's stepbrother, who was four years old, named Easton. West laughed at his mother's choice of names for her sons: Weston and Easton, both of which were called West and East for short. Crazy.

Brax's eyes still hovered at Ms. MacKinnon and he licked his lips seductively, as if she'd know he secretly wanted her. West elbowed him and he conceded his attention over the married young mother to his best friend. "Back to embarrassing you."

"No," Smith piped up. "We just all need to get some action. Like right now. That will clear up any nutso ideas that any of us," he referred to West, "have in our crazy minds about trying to stalk down some innocent little blue-eyed honey."

"Action? Yeah fucking right, bro," Brax all but laughed in Smith's face. "Momma MacKinnon has our Goddam chastity belts buckled so tight that I might pop a load just thinking about the tightness." He gestured a sensual humping motion against the arm of the leather couch.

"You are so..." West paused a moment to find the right word but the only thing he could visualize was boobs. And lace panties. And a shapely hourglass figure, strutting around wearing the lace panties. Sex. Sex. Sex. Boobs. Sex. "Right."

"I am?" Smith asked incredulously. He was not expecting West to agree with him. Brax's humping motions ended and he stopped to listen. The twins knew when West got an idea.

"Like I said; we need some action," Smith reiterated.

"How? Momma MacKinnon got our curfews on lockdown." Brax looked positively heartbroken. West never knew why his mother never changed her name when she married his stepfather, but he was glad because it gave them a tie. Her election to keep her maiden name made him proud.

"You leave my mom to me. I'll get it taken care of. We might have to go out incognito, but that might be fun..." West promised.

* * *

"You are such a freaking party pooper!" Ashna called after Nora as they walked to Ashna's car at the mall. Nora didn't look back to her best friend because she knew exactly what she would see. Disappointment and what's that? More disappointment? Check.

"No, I'm a realist, Ash," Nora corrected her.

"Those guys were totally hitting on us and it could've been fun to hang out with them!" Ashna half whined as she struggled to unlock her car door. Nora waited patiently on the passenger side, but it was difficult since it was freezing outside and she forgot gloves. The cold settled into her bones as it crept through her black wool pea-coat. Finally, Ashna popped the lock to her ancient Ford Taurus and she slid across the front seat and unlatched the passenger door. No automatic locks on this relic.

Immediately, Ashna triggered the ignition to her baby of a car and it purred to life. She adjusted the controls on the dashboard to get the defrosters blowing the hottest setting of heat possible. She blew on her hands to warm them. After a few moments of frigid silence, Nora couldn't help but feel slightly bad.

"I'm sorry, but those guys were only into us because you were showing off your boobs."

"I can't help that they're there," Ashna referred to her breasts. "And it's not like I asked for them! I have no idea where they came from! My mom ain't no DD!"

Nora laughed at her friend's description of her best assets. Ashna had a body to kill for: she stood 5'9" and while she always had a somewhat stocky and chubby frame while growing up, she now boasted luscious curves, a voluptuous waistline and was the proud owner of the aforementioned DD breasts. Add in her shoulder length dark brown hair, caramel colored eyes and pretty features and she was classified in their class as a SILF - Senior I'd Like to F***.

"So, you're not mad at me for dragging you away from those lowlife scums who didn't even know you had a face?" Nora asked, hoping for forgiveness.

"Of course I'm not mad at you, Nor, but damn. I'm not gonna lie. It would've been kind of fun to hook up. It's been three months since Murph and I broke up..." Ashna insinuated she was feeling lonely.

"And the fact that you miss Murph is reason enough that those guys were scum," Nora reminded her friend. Ashna and Murphy Fitzpatrick were the hottest couple in the school at the beginning of the school year. Then Murph, captain of the football team, and leader of all things "jock," thought he could screw anything that walked, including other guys. He disrespected Ashna and their six-month courtship, only to jump into a new reputation of manwhore, which, unfortunately, did nothing to lessen his desirability or popularity.

Ashna took a deep breath. "You're right."

"Of course I'm right," Nora smiled.

The Taurus had enough time to warm up and it didn't feel like an igloo anymore. Ashna put the dinosaur in reverse and backed out of her parking spot. Nora reached forward to turn on the radio. The newest song by Copper Crossfire started after a commercial break. Ashna bounced in her seat happily.

"Turn it up! Nor, you should know this song now! They played it at the concert!" Ashna encouraged Nora. Nora only shook her head, but did as her friend asked and turned up the volume.

"You're such a dork," Nora commented to Ashna as she shamelessly belted out the lyrics to the song, completely off key.

"Come on. Admit it. You had fun at the concert, right?"

"It was okay," Nora said, just like she had told West at the meet and greet afterward.

"Just okay?" Ashna egged her on to admit more.

"The guys were hot," Nora admitted.

"I knew it! I knew you thought they were hot! Which one do you think is the hottest?" Ashna exclaimed.

"You act like I know their names!" Nora felt overwhelmed at trying to remember the names of the boys men guys she met during the autograph session. Another memory that she'd been trying to repress included the staring, smiling and panty-melting smolder that Weston MacKinnon sent her way when he'd chased after her.

### Chapter 3

"Tell me again how you did it, West," Brax drawled out while the guys got rather cozy in the backseat of a chartered town car. The car was speeding at a million miles per hour for all West cared, as long as it was taking them away from the tour bus, away from the hotel and away from their fame. For once, he just wanted them to feel like three boys men guys for a night out on the town, looking for some very casual and meaningless sex ass boobs.

"I told my mom that we wanted to go Christmas shopping," West said simply.

"Christmas shopping!" Smith nearly shrieked. "Can you fucking believe it? Something as simple as Christmas shopping!"

"You do realize that we'll have to come back with evidence, right?" West countered. He didn't think that his idea was so brilliant, especially since he had to promise to his mom that the guys needed to go shopping for their families and wanted to do it unsupervised. He also couldn't get away from the presence of their body guards, who were following them in the car behind them.

"We could tell her we got the gifts shipped home," Brax suggested. He was right. West smiled broadly at his idea and knew that was the loophole he hadn't been able to think up himself.

"Perfect," West agreed. He had told the driver to take them to a club he'd found on his phone. After a couple of text messages and one call, he'd secured them admittance and a private VIP area of the club, no questions asked. He knew their two security guards would keep their secret.

The car pulled up to the rear entrance of the club. Even though the guys decided to wear clothes that were very unlike their usual style, they wanted to be cautious. The security guards approached the door first and spoke with a bouncer. The guards pointed to their town car and the bouncer nodded. In less than two minutes, the band was inside the club and escorted to their private VIP area.

"Gentlemen, welcome to The Orange Diamond. I am James, the owner. Is there anything I can get for you?" a man entered the VIP suite and offered his club to the guys. The guys ordered some food and drinks and the man didn't bother to request identification. "Anything else you're craving just let me know. I insist that you do not hesitate to ask." James held a look in his expression that seemed to know exactly what the boys men guys were after.

"Actually, now that you mention it," Smith spoke up, "how about the company from some ladies."

The man gave them a knowing look. "Of course. Let me see what I can find for you."

* * *

Nora pinched her eyes shut in pure frustration. She had no idea what else she could do to fix her current problem. As she reopened her eyes, trying to see things with a fresh outlook, she still couldn't see a solution.

"Damn it," she cursed and pushed herself away from the car. She crossed her arms over her chest and angrily glared at the old '61 Bonneville.

"For the love of God, if you're not wearing an apron or overalls and your greasy hands are touching your clothes, I'm going to scream," Nora's mother yelled in her direction. Nora spotted her mother on the opposite side of the 2-car garage, switching clothes from the washing machine to the dryer.

"I have on one of Dad's old shirts," Nora explained. She moseyed over to join her mother.

"It's bad enough that I have to scrub your father's clothes until my fingers bleed. I can't tell you how excited I was to have a baby girl because I thought that meant less scrubbing with the dirty clothes. Thanks for completely proving me wrong," her mother said as she leaned over to kiss the top of Nora's head.

"I like cars, Mom. I like making them work again. I like fixing them."

"I know, sweetheart." Nora's mother stroked the hair on the top of her ponytail. "It's starting to get late, though. You need to get to sleep."

"Yeah, I'm done here anyway. I might scream if I can't get this thing to actually turn over tonight so I might just quit and wait until tomorrow or the weekend to look at it again." Nora rarely liked to admit defeat. She wasn't accepting defeat yet. She knew she'd be able to get the old Bonneville running again.

"Ask your dad to help?" her mother suggested.

Nora took a deep breath and released it heavily. "No. I need to figure out how to do it myself. I can't always ask Dad for help every time I get stuck -- especially if I open my own shop one day. How else will my mechanics respect me if I can't show them that I know my shit?"

"Language," her mother scolded and she quickly grabbed ahold of Nora's mouth, squeezing her lips together in a reprimanding, yet gentle, way. She released quickly and then lovingly patted Nora's cheek. "Come get cleaned up. I'll dish you out some ice cream for a bedtime snack, okay?"

"You had me ice cream," Nora admitted with a smile.

Nora took her shower and used the small scrub brush against her fingertips and nails in hopes to rid the grease that liked to collect there. She sighed as she got almost all of it, which was the norm and decided she might as well shave her legs. She was still a girl, after all. Even though she liked to hang out under the hoods of cars, on her garage floor on a mechanic creeper and spent almost all of her allowance money in the auto supermarket instead of the mall, she still liked to present herself as a normal girl.

Few people at school knew about her fascination and vast knowledge of cars. Her father taught her everything he knew. She could be bet on to win any trivial game if the questions dealt with cars, mechanics, engines, or the process of building or dissembling a vehicle. She was proud of her knowledge, if not somewhat embarrassed about it. She wasn't into a lot of makeup, the color pink, fashion, or dating. Boys at her high school seemed so immature. The guys that worked at her father's garage didn't seem much better, either.

Nora walked into her bedroom after her scalding shower, her look complete with fuzzy bathrobe and towel turban. She sat at her small vanity and put on her favorite toe socks and then applied some special lotion her dad insisted she use on her hands, which was made just for mechanics, so their hands won't get all dried out. It prevented skin cracking, which could be extremely painful and the last thing he wanted his little girl to get was cracked hands.

Just as she was about to get her dish of ice cream, the e-tablet on her desk chirped a noise, signaling she had an alert of some kind. It wasn't the usual email notification sound, so she swiped the screen to check it out. "New friend request on Facebook," the alert read.

Curious as to who would be sending her a friend request, she activated the Facebook app. She was already friends with people at her school and most of the guys that she worked with at her father's garage, so she had no idea who might want to get in contact with her.

"Who the heck is Gray West?" she wondered aloud. The profile picture revealed nothing that would help her in terms of identifying this mysterious person. There was very little information in the "about me" section of the profile. Nora's finger hovered over the "deny" button, but she didn't push it. She let it go unaccepted. She grabbed her cell phone and typed out a quick text message to Ashna.

"Got weird friend request. Assistance needed."

Nora set her phone down and shoved her feet into her favorite pair of slippers. Before she had a chance to walk away, her phone buzzed.

"Info?"

"Gray West. Age 18. Nothing else in info," Nora typed back. Instantly, her phone buzzed again, but not as a text message. Ashna was calling her.

"You're joking, right?" she quipped as soon as Nora answered the line. No greeting, only inquisition.

"No." Nora still felt confused. Who was Gray West? "Should I know this person?"

"Well, you wouldn't know, but anyone who is a mega-fan of Copper Crossfire would know! Omg, I can't believe this is happening..." Ashna was utterly flabbergasted.

"Then tell me!" Nora demanded. Enough with the suspense!

"I've only heard rumors, but that name is supposedly Weston MacKinnon's personal Facebook account. He has super strict privacy settings, for obvious reasons. He's unsearchable and if you're friends with him, he won't show up in your friends list for other people to see. It's almost like he's a ghost, hence the "Gray." That, and his eyes are gray, too." Ashna revealed.

"You can do that to your account?" Nora asked, incredulous. She had no idea privacy settings like that even existed.

Ashna laughed at her friend's total lack of enthusiasm. "Of course only you would take away the privacy settings information out of that. Do you realize that millions of girls would literally kill to be you right now? And, since he's famous, I'm sure he can get whatever kind of Facebook privacy settings he wants, you know?"

"I haven't accepted his friend request yet. And why does Weston MacKinnon want to be friends with me anyway?"

"You are impossible," Ashna sounded irritated. "If memory serves correctly, he basically chased after you at the meet and greet. You obviously got his attention."

"I didn't mean to," Nora said quietly.

"And that's probably exactly _why_ you got his attention. Because you really don't give a shit. About any of it. Their concert, the band, the fame... He's said in many interviews that he would only date girls that weren't fans of the band." Ashna had to explain it all out.

"You think he wants to date me?"

Ashna sighed. "I don't know, Nor. I bet if you accepted his friend request, you'd find out a lot more from him than speculating about it with me."

"So what should I do?" Nora asked for advice.

"You're really asking?" Ashna retorted.

"Picking up your sarcasm," Nora laughed.

"Good. Cause I'm laying in on pretty thick," Ashna quoted the movie _Tommy Boy_. Without further questioning, Nora tapped the "accept" button to Gray West's friend request. She wore a secret smile as she ended her conversation with Ashna and finally went to get her ice cream. She only hoped it wasn't entirely melted.

### Chapter 4

Friend request accepted by Nora Ann. Those might have been the sweetest six words West would read for the entire day. He couldn't repress the smile as he rode back to the hotel with Brax and Smith after their "shopping" trip.

"Man, that chick really must've left you feeling high as a kite if you're still smiling like that," Smith commented to West as he noticed him staring goofily at his phone. He disengaged the Facebook app and would have to properly scan Nora's profile in the privacy of his own hotel room. He didn't need the twins snooping over his shoulder.

"Uh, yeah," West agreed to placate him. He knew Smith referred to the girl he'd hooked up with, but the only girl on his mind was Nora.

"That was just what we needed," Brax chimed in. He stretched out his legs and pulled his arms behind his head. "Our boy James really delivered on the ladies tonight."

"Yes, he did not disappoint. Damn, those girls were nasty...and I use the term nasty in the best way possible. We had a couple of little freaks, man." Smith and Brax pounded fists, obviously proud of their performances.

West's brain replayed the scene even though he didn't really want it to. Sex. Boobs. He had no control. Who was he kidding?

_James returned to their VIP suite with an entourage. There were two waitresses, one to deliver their drinks, another had their snacks and James had three very lovely ladies with him, all who looked like they knew their way around a_ boy's man's _guy's body._

" _If you would like anything else, there's a call light near the door. Just flip the switch and someone will be here to wait on you," James explained and pointed toward the door. The waitresses delivered the requested drinks and food to their recipients and then exited the VIP suite, along with James._

The two brunettes sidled up to the twins while the blonde sauntered to West. His eyes drank in her perfect figure and revealing clothing. Such gorgeous cleavage and ripe breasts were right in front of him. He licked his lips in anticipation for the upcoming events.

At first, the blonde played coy. She sat beside him, looped her arm around his and cuddled up against him while he threw back several shots of Knob Creek. West definitely wasn't a player or a robot so it was going to take some liquid courage for him to get instantly friendly with a stranger.

" _Honey, are you nervous?" Blondie asked West, purring directly in his ear. Truth be told, West was still a technical virgin and he certainly never hooked up with a_ prostitute hooker stripper _escort before. He'd participated in heavy petting, lots of dry humping, oral sex, second base and received plenty of handys, but he'd never "scored" the ultimate homerun. The feeling of her lips so damn close to his ear nearly sent West into overdrive._

" _A little," he admitted in a coarse whisper. Blondie took that as her cue to command control. She threw one of her legs across his lap and straddled him. She leaned down and kissed West with a passion he surely believed felt like true love._

_West looked into Blondie's eyes. They were blue, but fake. He could tell she wore colored contact lenses. His mind immediately retropulsed back to his little Blue Eyes from the Chicago meet and greet._ Those were real blue eyes, _he thought. Nora. He still couldn't get her out of his brain, even with Blondie grinding against his groin. West instinctively placed his hands on Blondie's waist and back, keeping her in place while she veered her lips from his and targeted his neck and jaw._

He glanced to his left, where Brax and Smith were all but having a four-way gangbang with their women, bending and contorting over the arms of the couch. The moaning that started to radiate from that side of the room wasn't a distraction, though. If anything, it kind of (shamefully) turned West on even more.

West couldn't tear his eyes away from the show. It was like real-life porn. Blondie immediately noticed his arousal since she was sitting on his lap.

" _Hello," she purred again, referring to his hard-on. Wasting no time, West shoved his hand under her skirt, near-expertly brushed her thong (thong!) to the side and let his fingers go to work. He let a low sigh gurgle as he felt her warmth on his fingers. Blondie was back to kissing his mouth again, her tongue dominant. West couldn't help but pull away slightly from her kiss to turn his head to check out the action across the room._

Blondie noticed. "You want to join your friends?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow. Her face told him that she'd be willing to make it a six-way if he wanted. But he shook his head no. The twins were freaks and he wasn't about to enter their freaky-deaky atmosphere. Blondie kissed him again and continued to ride his fingers. After a short time of toying, she slid herself away from West, unbuttoned his jeans and yanked his pants and boxers down in one experienced swoop.

West watched with hooded eyes as Blondie kneeled in front of him and parted her red lipped mouth. He felt torn, though. He really wanted to watch every single second of Blondie and that dirty little mouth of hers, but he also really wanted to watch his buddies and the other women on the opposite side of the room. Did that make him weird?

He cautioned a glance and saw that the situation with the twins had changed. He wasn't quite sure of all the dynamics in action, but all West could see was lots of women nakedness and two hot chicks making out.

West started to feel goooood as Blondie continued with her blowjob and soon his voice joined in with the others as the moan-fest carried on in their suite. The entire time, his mind kept Nora within reach. God, he couldn't think of anything else, even as his sexy time with Blondie came to an end.

* * *

Two weeks since Nora accepted West's friend request and the boy had been relentless. He'd sent her several private messages, to which she never replied. She was having a hard time trying to figure out his angle. What did he want? Why her?

She knew for a fact, courtesy of Ashna, that tons of other girls would be begging to be in her situation. Hottie rock star West MacKinnon was all but begging her for friendship but she kept him at arm's length because... because... Because why? She still wasn't able to give a completely honest answer to the question. The fact that he was a rock star alone was reason enough in her book. She did not want to become "one of those girls" who fell for someone so totally out of her league only to be heartbroken and devastated. Besides, heartbroken and devastated weren't in her vocabulary. She didn't have time for boys and their silliness.

She pushed back from her Bonneville and wiped her forehead. A knock to the side door in her garage distracted her from her line of thought.

"Shit," Nora swore under her breath as her eyes caught sight of the old clock that hung on the wall. "Shit," she repeated.

Ashna stood all bundled up and her face positively fell when she saw Nora, all greasy and not ready for their Friday night ritual. "Are you kidding me, Nora?" she whined.

"Sorry! I lost track of time! It will only take me ten minutes to get ready if I skip washing my hair," Nora consoled her. Ashna followed her through the garage and through the house. She plopped down on Nora's bed, unwinding her scarf from her neck and setting it aside. Nora rushed to grab her robe.

"Pick out something for me to wear. I'll be back. Ten minutes. Promise!" she called to Ashna as she rushed out of her room and to the bathroom. Ashna followed her scarf with her coat and snooped in Nora's closet. She pulled a shirt from a hanger and then a pair of jeans. Nothing special was needed for their Friday night ritual. Ever since 9th grade, the girls have made it to the movie theater to see the newest release. They really relished in these Friday nights now since it was their senior year of high school and all too soon they'd be, more than likely, at different colleges. _If_ Nora even went to college...

Ashna became distracted when Nora's e-tablet chirped a noise and lit up. Curiosity overtook her and she swiped it on before the screen had a chance to dim itself. "New private message on Facebook."

Being the nosy best friend, Ashna honored her title. She accessed Nora's Facebook and opened up the private message inbox. "Gray West has sent you a message."

Ashna's eyes widened at what she read on the screen. What?! Nora never mentioned that West MacKinnon had messaged her! What a little... Wait a second. She's received several messages from him. But she's never written back. _Oh, that girl,_ Ashna thought. She took it upon herself to type back a message. Nora would thank her later. After all, West sounded kind of pathetic.

### Chapter 5

Gray West: Nora, this is West MacKinnon. We met at a meet and greet in Chicago...

Gray West: Maybe you don't remember. I basically made a fool out of myself.

Gray West: Cold shoulder, huh? That's ok. I'll keep messaging you til you cave.

Gray West: Can't stop thinking about you. Or your blue eyes.

Gray West: Have I annoyed you to the point of caving yet?

Gray West: tap tap tap, is this thing on?

Gray West: Still can't stop thinking about you. Hence all of my messages.

Gray West: *insert puppy dog eyes here*

Nora Ann: Stop, you're embarrassing yourself.

Gray West: Finally, a response! I was starting to think the worst case scenario...

Nora Ann: ...which is?

Gray West: I'd rather not go there.

Nora Ann: That's respectable.

Gray West: What made you decide to break your silence?

Nora Ann: I have to figure out a way to get you to leave me alone.

Gray West: Ouch.

Gray West: ;)

Nora Ann: Why are you internet stalking me?

Gray West: You say it like it's a bad thing!

Nora Ann: Can I get a real answer?

Gray West: Ever hear of love at first sight?

Nora Ann: Nope.

Gray West: Ouch. Again.

Nora returned to her room, wrapped in her robe and noticed Ashna playing on her tablet. She heard the familiar chime of the messaging program and her heart leapt into her throat.

"What are you doing?" she asked immediately.

"Chatting with West MacKinnon, pretending to be you," Ashna answered like it was no big deal.

"No! Stop!" Nora raced to grab the tablet out of Ashna's hands. "Oh no! What did you say to him?" Nora scrolled through the last few minutes of their chatting and realized that it was meaningless and she really had nothing to get upset about.

"The real question here is why have you been ignoring him?" Ashna asked.

Nora disregarded the question and reread the messages sent between her and West. Ashna did a pretty good job of portraying her. She typed out a quick message, half eager to see his response and half anxious to just leave and get to the movie theater.

Nora Ann: I don't have time for games or boys. You appear to be both.

Gray West: What do you have time for then?

Gray West: and ouch x 3.

Nora Ann: Sorry, that sounded harsher than I intended. I only mean that

She paused as she typed. What, exactly, did she mean?

Nora Ann: Sorry, that sounded harsher than I intended. I only mean that, well, you seem to be living a dream and I don't see how I could possibly fit in that dream, in any respect.

Gray West: You never answered my question...what do you have time for then, if you don't have time for games or boys?

Nora contemplated her answer. Why was he interested?

Nora Ann: Winter finals. Studying. Something you know nothing about since you're traipsing around the country, making music, making girls swoon, etc.

Gray West: Ah, you assume too many things, Blue Eyes.

Nora Ann: Why did you call me that?

Gray West: What? Blue Eyes?

Nora Ann: How do you know my eyes are blue?

Gray West: Because I remember. They were the first thing I noticed about you, followed closely by your I-don't-give-a-shit attitude.

Nora Ann: You think you know me West. But you don't know shit.

Gray West: Ah, there's the attitude! :)

Nora Ann: Happy to oblige.

Gray West: I'm glad you wrote back. I was starting to get a complex.

Nora Ann: Please. Like there aren't millions of other chicks messaging you...

Gray West: No.

Nora Ann: Yeah right.

Gray West: Want to know how many friends I have on here?

Nora Ann: Enlighten me.

The reply bubbles didn't appear immediately and Nora figured she had him backed into a corner. She didn't think he would outright lie, but what the heck did she know. Ashna cleared her throat. For the first time since she became engulfed in this ridiculous messaging conversation, Nora noticed that she'd been ignoring Ashna.

"Honey, you can message him from your phone. Now, get in my car right now or else we're going to miss this movie. I refuse to let our ritual be interrupted for a guy. Even if it is West MacKinnon."

* * *

My God, she was feisty! West cradled his phone in his palms, waiting with baited breath for Nora's latest response. He didn't know why she suddenly decided to start writing back to his pathetic messages, but he wasn't going to complain. She was a firecracker and he liked it.

Gray West: Want to know how many friends I have on here?

Nora Ann: Enlighten me.

West paused a moment before immediately replying. He accessed his home page and took a screen shot of his friends list. He then posted the picture as his reply.

Gray West: 20 friends.

Gray West: and 7 of those are family members, 2 are the other guys in the band, 1 is my manager and so that leaves 10 more. 1 is you. The others are people I can trust, old friends from home.

Nora Ann: So I'm the only girl you're chatting with?

Gray West: Yes.

Nora Ann: Tell me then, West, why?

Gray West: Like I said, I felt something when I looked into your big blue eyes, Blue Eyes. And your attitude really set me straight. You have to understand, I'm not used to meeting people who treat me like I'm normal. And I liked that.

Nora Ann: I guess you're welcome

Nora Ann: And can you even hear yourself? Completely narcissistic.

Gray West: I wish I could hear you so I physically enjoy the sass in your voice.

Nora's heart fluttered in ways it hasn't in...forever. Why was she feeling this way about a boy man guy she didn't even know? She looked up from her phone to see Ashna steering her old Taurus through town. Traffic was heavy, but then she reminded herself that Christmas was in three weeks and it was Friday night. Plus, they got a later start than they normally did.

"What?" Ashna asked, glancing over to her briefly. She noticed the pause in Nora's typing.

"He's flirting with me," Nora declared.

"Rub it in. Harder, please." Ashna swatted at Nora jokingly. They both laughed. "My advice?"

"Please."

"See where this goes," Ashna said.

"See where what goes?" Nora questioned.

"This!" Ashna pointed to Nora's phone. "He's obviously into you. He chased after you at the meet and greet. He went out of his way to track you down on Facebook because you have freakishly high privacy settings--"

"Which should frighten me," Nora interjected.

Ashna continued without missing a beat, "He's hot. He's articulate. Bonus: he's rich. Bonus #2: he seems sweet. Sweet can get you a long a way. All I'm asking is that you don't dismiss him before you even give him a chance to woo you."

"Woo?" Nora asked, disbelief ringing in her voice that her friend actually used that terminology.

"Yes, woo," Ashna repeated and then sighed heavily. "Just do it so I can live vicariously through you, okay?"

Nora laughed. "Okay. Only so you can live vicariously through me."

At that, Ashna pulled her boat into a parking spot at the theater and they climbed out of the oversized car. Nora slammed her door shut, wrapped her scarf more securely around her neck and typed back a super-fast reply to West.

Gray West: I wish I could hear you so I physically enjoy the sass in your voice.

Nora Ann: 312-555-6863. Use it if you want to hear my voice. Not now though, because I'm literally walking into the movie theater with Ashna.

### Chapter 6

"Thank you, Omaha!" West yelled into his microphone at the end of their set. "Goodnight!" He ran off stage with Smith and Brax close on his heels. Of course the crowd knew there was going to be an encore and their applause was nearly deafening.

"Just when I thought the last city was the loudest, the current city has to one-up it!" Smith yelled over the noise. The other guys agreed. Instead of waiting for the go-ahead from their tour manager, the guys ran back onto the stage, only to be greeted with an insane eruption of screaming, cheering, whistling and clapping.

West strapped the guitar around his chest and looked back to Brax as he climbed behind his drum set. Smith lifted his guitar over his head and nodded back to West. Brax clicked his drumsticks together and started to beat out a rhythm. West and Smith started jumping in sync and then their guitars kicked into the song.

West spun his guitar behind him as he roughly grabbed his microphone and brought it to his lips. He started singing the lyrics to the second single from Copper Crossfire's debut album "Sugarcoated Nails." It was their second most popular song, aside from their first single, which was what launched them into stardom. The audience was obviously ecstatic with the song selection because the place was rocking.

By the time West hit the middle of the song and Smith slayed his guitar solo, he took notice to the front row. Filled with chicks, of course, that was nothing out of the ordinary. The peculiar thing was that one of the girls appeared to have her shirt pulled down and her breasts were on full display. He looked back at Brax, who noticed her as well, because he merely stuck his tongue out at West, signaling his approval of the girl's actions. West shook his head, not believing what some people would do just for attention.

They finished the song and dicked around on stage for a few more minutes. Smith started strumming on his guitar again. The screaming never died down.

"Fucking A, Omaha!" Smith yelled into the mic. Louder screaming. "You've been so good to us that we hate to leave you, but one glance to the side of the stage and you'd see our tour manager telling us to wrap things up."

Loud booing emanated from the audience. Brax laughed into his mic and said, "Come see us next tour! And sweetheart, front row with the awesome rack," he acknowledged the boob girl, "I'm sending security for you 'cause I want to see you backstage as soon as this song is over." Squealing from the front row replaced the previous booing.

The guys started their last song. Of course they saved their first hit single for the end of the concert. West belted out the lyrics to the harsh song and couldn't believe it actually was as popular as it'd become. The music made it catchy and slightly grunge-alt-pop, but the lyrics, when interpreted correctly, were very mean and abusive. Brax had written the song about an ex-girlfriend, who cheated on him and broke his poor little heart when they were sophomores in high school, but Dreamworks Records fibbed around with it a bit to desensitize it and make it more likeable.

The song ended and West looked out at the crowd and waved to them. All three boys men guys ran off the stage and entered their backstage kingdom. One of the venue staff security guards surrounded them and cornered Brax.

"Shall I go collect the girl you pointed out earlier, sir?" he asked Brax. Knowing he was only half joking when he said it on stage, West was stunned that the guard was asking permission to get the boob girl. Brax nodded emphatically.

"Do you even need to be asking me that question? Yes! Get her!" The security guy rushed off toward the stage, as if the chick would've left her seat yet, with the small fraction of a chance she was really going to get called backstage. Brax looked too smug and braggy as he smacked Smith with a high-five. "Oh yeah. Imma gonna be getting some tonight!"

West laughed at his buddy's antics because he was expected to, but he had a hard time wrapping his head around the constant sex issue. Between Brax and Smith, they've banged countless chicks. West was content with...less than that. A lot less than that. He tried explaining it to the twins but they were very one-track-minded.

He started to duck away, to escape from the craziness that was sure to take place. He wanted to get into the dressing room, collect his things and high-tail it out to the tour bus. As he exited the dressing room and started to get away unnoticed, Smith came around the corner and saw him.

"Yo, West!" Smith called in his direction. West turned back to his bandmate. There were three girls with the security guard. He pointed toward the girls, "She has friends. You want in?"

"No man, I'm good. I'm gonna head out to the bus and just chill. Got a bit of a headache," West lied. Sure, he was going to the bus but he didn't have a headache. He had other motives, the biggest of them being getting out of the way before the orgy started, and a close second being he wanted to check his phone to see if he could catch up with Nora on Facebook messenger.

"Your loss is my gain!" Smith shrugged his shoulders. Brax joined the girls and wrapped his arms around them.

"Our gain!" he corrected his brother. "So, ladies..." he continued sweet talking to the girls but West couldn't hear what he said because they turned in the opposite direction and his voice sounded muffled.

West couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he walked away. He shook his head as he thought about his friends. Was he just being a pussy? Should he join in on more offers for sex? He didn't feel like he was "missing out" as Smith once put it when he declined to join them, but he definitely felt like a loser, spending time alone on the bus.

It's not that he couldn't do the same thing as Smith and Brax. He was a boy man guy, after all, and his thought process included sex probably 97% of the day, or anything pertaining to sex. Boobs. Sex. And he was easily distracted. Thongs. Lace. Bra. No panties. Boobs. He could, in fact, have sex with tons of girls because he was Weston MacKinnon, lead singer to Copper Crossfire. He just didn't have the freaking emotional capacity, or lack thereof, for it.

When they all still attended high school, West was always the sensitive one. He was outspoken for being a sophomore, which tended to get him into the occasional after school detention, but he was never a bad kid or a trouble maker. He played piano, wrote music, and liked to connect with people. He finally gave the piano lessons a break at the start of sophomore year and picked up a guitar because Smith couldn't stop talking about "starting a band." West was a born natural, though he liked to think it was the years of piano lessons giving him the fast-track to learning guitar.

It's not that West wanted to wait until he was married to have sex, but he at least wanted to like the person. He didn't just want to do it because it was convenient or for the sake of doing it. Part of West wanted it to feel special about the first time he had sex.

His mother waited on the bus as he walked up the steps. She had been reading on her e-reader but smiled when she saw him and then she yawned. "You're early, aren't you?"

"Nice to see you, too, Mom," he teased her.

"Sorry. How was the show?" she asked. Claire tucked her hair behind her ears and stood so she could give West a quick hug.

"Loud."

"You're drenched," Claire observed after their quick hug. She observed West for a minute before she asked, "You okay, honey?"

West and his mom were pretty close, as far as mothers and sons usually went. They had the type of relationship where he could pretty much talk with her about anything and she'd give him advice, or just listen, if that's what he needed. He contemplated his next moves because he didn't want to cross the unspoken line of their relationship and ask for advice if it meant making things weird between them.

"Brax and Smith are still backstage," he told her when he noticed she was peering out the windows, as if she was looking for the other boys men guys to be making their way to the bus as well.

"Oh?" she asked. She gave him an inquisitive look, silently asking him why he wasn't still backstage with them.

"Yeah. Brax called some girl to come backstage. She was in the front row and flashed her boobs, so of course he wanted her to come backstage. I guess she had a couple of friends for Smith," West explained. Claire nodded but mentally had a hard time accepting some of the things she knew about her son's career. Girls flashing themselves to the boys men guys on stage? Really - what would that girl's mother think if she knew what she was doing?!

"Why did Brax call her to come backstage?" Claire asked tentatively.

"I'm sure he's fucking her right now," West answered, seemingly forgetting that he was talking with his mother. "I mean, um..."

"Jesus, Weston. You know I hate it when you use that kind of language. Is it so hard for you to remember... Wait. Why aren't you backstage with them?"

"You want me to be having sex with strange women?" West questioned, a small heat creeping into his face. He looked away from his mother for a moment and opened the refrigerator to snatch up a can of Coke.

Claire's arms flew around West before he even had time to turn around from the fridge. She startled him in the hug, but once he realized why she was hugging him, he relaxed into his mother's arms and reached his free hand up to return the hug. She squeezed him tight for a few seconds before she released him and then quickly kissed the side of his face in only a way that feels good when a mother does it.

"I'm glad you're not backstage right now." Claire backed away from her son and took a moment to admire his morals. She knew that he'd be presented with beaucoup opportunities for women, sex, alcohol and drugs. Her pride in his decision making skills beamed. She guessed she did something right when she raised him.

"Do you think it's weird that I'm not backstage with them?" West asked.

Claire was quiet, looking for the right way to answer the question. "Honestly?"

West nodded. God, if his mom thought he was weird for not having pointless and meaningless sex with chicks, he'd kill himself...

"In my experience, 18-year-old guys like to have as much sex as possible. I mean, that's how I got pregnant with you, you know? Is it weird that you're passing up the chance? Not weird, West, just different. It's good, though."

"You're making me feel like a loser, Mom," West lamented.

"You," Claire iterated, "are not a loser. You're my son and I love you. Even if you're making weird choices about not having sex." She winked at him, letting him know that she was teasing him.

"Mom!"

"Sorry, bad joke," she admitted. "Just so we're on the same page...have you always passed up the chance to have sex...?"

"Um. Well. I'm not sure exactly what you're asking me so I'll just try to cover everything because I want this conversation to end as soon as possible," West said quickly. He started to feel awkward. Too much sex-talk with his mom. Time to end it. "I'm not gay. I like women. I've never had sex but, uh, I'm far from being a prude. Does that answer everything?"

His mom didn't reply verbally. She seemed sort of shell-shocked by his openness and blatant answer to her question. She guessed she shouldn't have asked if she didn't want to know. She only nodded.

"Okay, now I have a headache. I'm just going to shower and then go to bed early. I don't feel like talking anymore. I don't feel like going out afterward," West told her. He knew when the twins got back on the bus, they'd mention going out because that was their usual thing.

"Okay. I'll make sure the twins know you don't want to do anything. Tonight was the last concert before Christmas break. Remember?" his mom reminded him.

"Yeah, I remembered. Tell me again why Gearworks won't fly us back home?" West asked.

"We already talked about this. The bus needs to be returned to a parent company so it can get checked out, maintenance and cleaned before we start up the next leg of the tour. It's a long ride but it's not like you're driving. Why don't you read something to help pass time?" Claire explained his question.

"Uh...I'll probably just watch TV. Okay, I'm going to get in the shower. Goodnight."

### Chapter 7

"What are you doing tonight?" Ashna asked Nora. It was Thursday night and Nora had no intentions of telling Ashna about her real plans, which might include exchanging pleasant, if not flirty, messages with West MacKinnon via Facebook messenger. She shrugged her shoulders instead.

"Probably studying," she lied. Ashna believed her, though, because winter finals were next week and then it was Christmas break. Neither one of the girls could wait until break. Two and a half weeks of nothing awaited them. They were on their way home from school in Ashna's car. The winter honed around them, snowflakes flying out of control, and the sky lurked with darkness and the threat of more snow.

"Not working on the Bonneville?" Ashna asked curiously. She always secretly loved the fact that Nora was good with cars, impressed even, but never told her. She didn't know why Nora didn't flaunt her knowledge, figuring it would help her on the guy front.

"Nah, I'll save it for the weekend. I just bought a new part that I think will get it fixed. I've never installed an ignitor with blaster coils that have 45,000 volts so I'm pretty excited--"

"Blah, blah blah," Ashna interrupted her. "Car talk means nothing to me."

"You know I'll save your ass one day, right?" Nora joked to Ashna.

"Yeah, I know." Ashna smiled at the thought.

"Thanks for the ride," Nora thanked her friend for the ride home. Ashna waved as Nora let herself in through the door of the garage on the side of her house. She was glad she'd be home alone for a little while so she could have time to think.

Nora hadn't told Ashna about the continued chatting sessions that she and West MacKinnon have exchanged over the last week. Nora felt like a smitten kitten when she thought about West. And then immediately hated herself for feeling that way. That _so_ wasn't her.

Their conversations have rattled late into the night, even to the point of Nora needing to plug in her tablet so that the battery wouldn't die. Snuggled deep under the blankets of her bed, she comfortably started to get to know West...or at least she thought she was getting to know West.

Was it real? Was she really talking to West? If it truly was West, was he being honest with her? She guarded herself at first because she had to play it safe. The more they chatted, though, the more she opened up. She'd given him her phone number, but he hadn't used it yet. She was kind of glad. And hurt. And scared. If it was all a prank, and the person she was talking to wasn't West, then a total freak of a stranger had her phone number. Maybe he hadn't called because it wasn't West and the imposter knew the façade would be over if they actually talked.

So many thoughts ran through Nora's mind.

She played some music from her computer and her favorite band, The Fingers of Fish, filled the air. She danced a little to the song and wondered if West had ever met The Fingers? Feeling silly, she brought up the internet and searched for West to find a good picture of him so she could remember what he looked like.

Tons of photos appeared on the search site and she had no idea which one to stare at. Suddenly filled with rage, she slammed her laptop shut and pushed away from her desk. Nora wasn't that kind of girl. She never swooned over boys. She never got boy crazy ideas in her head. She didn't search the internet for a cute picture of a boy man guy she may or may not be starting to get feelings for. The need to do something consumed her. She ripped her clothes off and threw them in a messy heap in the middle of her bedroom floor. She pulled on a pair of old jeans and a stained t-shirt. So much for waiting for the weekend to install that new ignition. She prepared herself for not getting any sleep until she got that car working.

Just as she lowered herself onto her creeper and was about to roll under the car, she heard her phone chime. West texted her.

* * *

West gripped ahold of his phone as he waited patiently for Nora to respond to his newest text message. Since last week, when she'd surprisingly given him her cell phone number, their conversations had been daily and with a respectable increased length. He'd wanted to call her as soon as he saw the numbers on the screen but heeded the warning that she was unavailable because she was going to see a movie. He sent his first text message to her last night and they spent most of the late hours of the night, or early hours of the morning, exchanging text messages.

"Sorry didn't see your text. I was working." Nora's response sounded his phone. West smiled.

"No worries. Didn't know you had a job. First you've mentioned it," he wrote back. He took in his surroundings as he waited for another reply. He sat in the backseat of a cab, the leather seat cool against his backside. The cold temperatures from the winter were brutal. He wore a leather coat but it offered little protection to his rear end.

"It's not a job but it's kind of a long story..." came her answer. Vague. Her usual.

West knew she wouldn't ask him many questions. He's gotten to know her personality over the last week. Nora seemed very disinterested in his job, rarely asked him about the other guys in the band or anything that related to his fame. West didn't mind, though, in fact he welcomed it. He didn't take her lack of interest as disinterest at all - he knew she didn't care about that stuff and she didn't hide it.

"Last night was our last show before our winter break." West typed out the message not quite sure where he was taking it. Ok, that was a lie. He knew exactly where he wanted to take the conversation. Friday night plans were never really his thing, especially since he became famous when he was too young to care about Friday night plans.

"It will be nice to have to some time off. I have finals next week before school lets out for Christmas vacation so I'll be studying all weekend." Nora wrote back to him. All weekend?

"Can I ask you something?" he inquired.

"What's stopping you? ;)" she responded immediately. He loved the fact that they both had iPhones because he could see the reply bubbles when she was writing back to him.

"If I wasn't famous and knew you, like went to your school or something, would you go out with me?"

It took a few seconds for the reply bubbles to show up and West realized that he was holding his breath while she typed back.

"I guess that all depends."

"On?"

"Whether or not you were a douche bag."

West laughed at her response. He really enjoyed her sassiness and wished with all of his heart that he could witness it in person. "Let's assume that I'm not a douche bag..."

Reply bubbles on the screen. "If you weren't a douche bag, then yes, I suppose I'd go out with you."

West smiled. Perfect.

* * *

Ashna reclined back on Nora's bed as she waited for her friend to finish getting ready. Another Friday night ritual, another time she came to pick up Nora, except she didn't find her under the hood of her car covered in grease; she'd been plugging away on her tablet, completely engrossed in something. Ashna assumed it was car related, research or something uninteresting. She'd never change a thing, though, especially not about her best friend. Since it was the Friday before finals, they wanted to make sure they enjoyed this week's movie because it meant Christmas was right around the corner, which also meant so was New Years, and then the second half of their senior year...which also meant graduation loomed in the all-too-soon future.

"So, is it okay if I just wear a hoodie and yoga pants?" Nora asked Ashna. She side glanced at Nora.

"Have you seen what I'm wearing?" Ashna retorted. Nora laughed as she realized that Ashna, too, wore an oversized sweatshirt with lounge pants. She didn't look sloppy in her appearance, but she definitely was dressed in "let's stay at home" clothes. "Besides, who do we have to impress? We go out on Friday nights for us, not to try to impress some assholes."

"Okay, awesome." Nora smiled because she was not in the mood to put effort into her appearance. She twisted her unruly brown curls into a messy bun on top of her head and shoved her feet into Bearpaw boots. As she grabbed her coat and scarf, Ashna joined her and together they bounded down the stairs so they could pile into Ashna's Taurus and get to the theater.

Before entering the winter wonderland outside, both girls bundled up in their coats, boots and scarves. Nora fished her keys out of her purse so that she could lock the front door. Ashna opened the door and stopped dead in her tracks. Nora, not looking in front of her, slammed into Ashna's frozen body, thinking that she'd continued out the door to start her car.

"What's wrong?" Nora asked as she backtracked slightly to regain her footing. Cold air blew in at them and Nora shoved her hands in her pockets so she could pull out her gloves. Instead of answering, Ashna opened the door wider and side-stepped a bit. Nora peered around her and saw a figure standing in the open door way.

"Have I come at a bad time?"

Nora couldn't believe her eyes. West.

### Chapter 8

Nora stood in front of him, her blue eyes wide, taking up even more of her adorable face. She looked shocked to see him. His lips twitched a bit at the corners, almost turning upward into a smile but he pressed down the urge.

"West!" she said, her voice coming out in a whooshing sound. Mission accomplished. He took in her features, drinking them with his eyes because it'd been far too long since he'd physically seen her.

"How about that date?" West asked her. His voiced inflected a little and he hoped to God that he didn't come off sounding like the aforementioned douche bag she forbade him to be in earlier text messages. Nora shifted her weight from one leg to the other and she still looked at him with surprise in her expression.

"Date?" Ashna questioned. For the first time since the door opened, West took notice that a third person was part of their exchange. He remembered her from the meet and greet, too. She quirked an eyebrow in West's direction before she looked over her shoulder to Nora.

"Hypothetical date," Nora filled in a bit of silence. More staring. "Well don't just stand there, for crying out loud, West. Get in here or else we'll all freeze."

West shuffled forward, squeezing past Ashna, who held the door open a bit farther, and the three of them stood for a few seconds, not talking. In that instant, West knew he was a goner for Nora Rookwood.

She looked gorgeous without even trying. Her beauty was effortless. Those pants. That hair. Those big blue eyes. The raw features about her innocence called to him and he wanted so badly to touch her, hold her, adore her.

"What are you doing here?" Nora asked West. She hunched up her shoulders in a gestured way that politely asked with body language "WTF?" Ashna stood to the side and became witness to their conversation. The glow from the Christmas tree lights leaked from the living room and landed on Nora's face, giving it an illuminating glow and it was all West could do to stop himself from rushing to her and kissing her.

_Get control, man,_ he told himself.

"Surprise?" was the only word West could manage to say.

"Yeah. Surprise. Jesus, how did you even find me?" Nora managed to choke out the creepy words that lurked in the back of her mind. Was West some kind of scary stalker? Was he going to kill her?!

"It's kind of a long story and I don't really feel like--"

"Oh, you're going to tell me because this is just weird." Nora didn't even flinch at interrupting West. She really didn't care that he was famous, standing in the entrance to her house, or that he showed up to surprise her. And he thought he was being sweet...

"It's going to have to wait until later because we're going to be late to our movie," Ashna inserted herself into the conversation. West looked at Ashna and then to Nora.

"What movie are you going to see?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter because you're not coming," Nora said quickly. Ashna gave her a look and then turned her attention back to West.

"It's okay. I get it. I'm sorry. I showed up unannounced. I'll call a cab..." and he pulled his cell phone from his coat pocket.

"No, he can come with us," Ashna said before Nora had a chance to reply.

"But our rule--"

"We can bend the rules once. It's West-freaking-MacKinnon," Ashna veiled in her voice.

West watched the silent conversation take place between Nora and Ashna. He was amazed at the rationalization that the two girls had without needing to actually speak words. He was also amazed when he could physically see the resolve in Nora's face and he felt relieved when he realized Ashna won their wordless argument.

"Fine," Nora conceded, but then looked straight at West, "but there's no way we can go anywhere with you looking like...you. Let me grab something from my room. I'll be right back."

* * *

Nora yanked open the small drawer in the night stand next to her bed. She knew she had a pair of retro tortoise shell rimmed glasses with fake lenses from when she went through her "nerd" phase. She'd simply bought the frames to wear every now and then. They were fairly unisex and she was sure West could pull them off. She also snatched a black ski cap for him to wear over his "Hi, I'm West MacKinnon" hair.

Her heart pumped inside her chest at what felt like a million beats a second. What the heck was West MacKinnon doing at her house?! How did he even find her address? She guessed she should feel flattered, and she kind of did, but she also felt creeped-the-hell out because she never gave him her address. And he just showed up! Unannounced and uninvited! Who does that?!

When she returned down the stairs, she found West and Ashna standing awkwardly in silence waiting for her to get back. She was shocked. Ashna was such a big fan that she was sure she'd have tons to talk about with West given this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Nora approached West and he seemed surprised at how closely she stood in front of him. "Here, put these on," she said while she slipped the glasses onto his face. If anything, the glasses made him look even hotter, in Nora's opinion. _Don't blush, don't think about how much cuter he looks with dorky glasses on, don't blow this..._ Nora told herself. "And this." She shoved the hat into his hands.

West looked at it skeptically. "A hat? Really?"

"Do you want to come with us or not?" Nora snapped. West nodded. "Wear the hat. You've got to cover up your hair. It will give you away."

"I highly doubt that my hair--"

"She's right. Dead giveaway. Wear the hat," Ashna spoke up. West sighed and pulled the hat over his head at a slight angle and pushed it around until it felt comfortable.

"Better?" he asked, awaiting Nora's approval. She nodded.

"Great. I'm going to start the car so she can get warmed up." Ashna was great at picking up on things. She could easily see that Nora needed to speak privately with West and while she really wanted to eavesdrop, she knew Nora would tell her later.

"Just so you know, this is the first time in four years that Ashna and I are breaking our Friday night ritual and allowing a boy to come with us," Nora said as she took a step closer to West. She couldn't believe how different he looked in a hat and a pair of fake glasses. Different. Hotter. Sexier. Dorkier. Dreamier. She took a moment to absorb the enormity of the situation.

West MacKinnon came to visit her.

Holy. Shit.

As she ushered him through the front door, she pulled it shut behind her. Nora could literally feel his eyes as her back was toward him while she locked the door. _Those eyes,_ she thought, _those gray eyes seemed piercing._ Her skin prickled on the back of her neck as she realized West was staring at her in the darkness of her front porch. In the near distance, she could hear the faint hum of the engine of Ashna's old Taurus. After she dropped her keys back into her purse, Nora turned to face West again.

"So since we're totally bending the rules and letting you come with us," she said as she took another step closer, "don't mess it up." She was close enough to West that she could almost feel the heat pouring off of his body. She felt very bold at this point and even touched him. She fisted some of his leather coat into her hand and pulled him closer, close enough that she could've kissed him if she wanted to. "And you will tell me how you found out where I live."

Her voice was a raspy whisper and West's eyes widened at her statement. She released her hold of his jacket and walked past him. West turned and watched her walk down the small path to where Ashna's car was parked along the street. She dropped into the passenger seat and Ashna looked at her questioningly.

"He was checking you out, girl. Yoga pants and all," Ashna told her with a knowing, yet jealous, smile. Nora looked out her window and watched as West walked toward Ashna's car. He opened the back door slid into the backseat. Nora slightly shook her head at Ashna's previous comment. "Are we ready?"

"Yeah, let's go," Nora confirmed, but she had a sneaky suspicion that nothing could prepare her for a movie with West MacKinnon.

### Chapter 9

"Man, I can't believe you found her, you lucky mother fucker." Brax's text message glowed on West's cell phone screen. He sat in the darkened movie theater, saving two seats for Nora and her friend Ashna, because they "had to go to the bathroom together" before the movie started. Girls. Crazy fuckers.

_Why do they always have to go to the bathroom together?_ West thought. He had a suspicion that they wanted to gossip before the movie started.

"Yeah, found her. Thanks for the help on tracking her cell phone number. I won't tell anyone that you know how to hack," West wrote back to his buddy.

"You gonna tap that tonight? Then you can get your ass to Pittsburgh and meet up with us and the old gang." Brax was such a pig sometimes. His mind thought about one thing and one thing only, and it rhymed with Rex.

"It's not like that. I don't know when I'll be coming back to Pittsburgh. Maybe tomorrow, maybe not. Depends on how tonight goes..."

"You freaky mother fucker." Brax's favorite phrase was currently "mother fucker" in case there was any doubt.

West decided to ignore the latest response from Brax, not only because it was completely inaccurate, but also for the fact that he spotted Nora and Ashna at the bottom of the stadium seating and they appeared to be looking for him. He waved his arm to get their attention. Ashna spotted him and she pointed toward him. Nora took the lead and headed in the direction of the seats he was saving for them. Just as he'd hoped, she sat next to him, with Ashna on her other side. Ashna carried a gigantic bucket of popcorn and Nora had a cup of what he assumed was Coke in each hand. She handed one to him wordlessly, which he took from her.

"I hope Coke is okay?" she offered.

"It's great. Thanks," West graciously accepted the drink. He watched her sit down and carefully take off her winter coat. She slid her arms from the sleeves and shaped her jacket into a cocoon-esque form before she relaxed back into the seat. Once she was comfortable, she pulled her cell phone from her purse and she powered it down. It really was a ritual, West thought, as he noticed Ashna doing pretty much the same thing on the other side of Nora.

The theater was dimly lit, enough light emitting from the house lights to allow people to see safely to find seats. Annoying music played and useless trivia facts showed in the screen as the preshow.

"I know I just showed up at your house and kind of ruined your Friday night. I'm sorry. My decision to stop by was very spontaneous and last minute," West half-whispered to Nora. She turned her head toward him. West felt his insides squeeze tight as he looked at her. Her face was clean without a slightest hint of make-up, except maybe for some of that shit girls put on their eyelashes to make them look longer. Her skin looked almost like porcelain, it was so smooth. And mother fucker. Those eyes of hers. Could they fucking get any bluer?

"It's okay," she consoled him. "Can you elaborate, though, on very spontaneous and last minute?"

It was obvious that Ashna heard everything said between West and Nora. She peered over Nora's shoulder so she could hear his explanation.

He suddenly had a very dry mouth. Nervous. What the hell? He took a sip of his Coke and then said, "Remember I told you that last night was our last show and then we started our quote-unquote Christmas vacation?" West used air quotes when he said the words "Christmas vacation."

"I do," Nora agreed.

"Well, we were driving from Omaha, Nebraska, back home to Pittsburgh. I knew we'd be driving right past Chicago. So, I got off the bus and got a cab. It was very unplanned." West tried to explain the story so that it made him sound as least like a creeper as possible.

"Explain how you found out where she lives," Ashna demanded from the sidelines.

"Fair enough. Please don't take this the wrong way or get freaked out..."

"Wrong gateway into that part of the story..." Nora half chuckled.

"I know a guy who can trace cell phone numbers," West said simply and matter-of-factly with a slight shrug to his shoulders. He hoped it would sound legit without getting too creepy. He really didn't want to out his buddy by telling Nora that Brax knew how to hack into cell phones and then proceed to track them.

Nora turned to face Ashna. West could see them conferring. He was unable to see Nora's face, but he could read Ashna's lips as she said "that's not that bad..." and he started to get the feeling that Nora wasn't going to hate him forever. She turned back to face him.

"Isn't your mom going to worry when you don't get off the tour bus in Pittsburgh?" Nora asked, a slight joking tone hidden in her perfect voice. There was the sass that West has been longing to physically hear.

"Actually, no. She was on the tour bus with me when I made this decision. She wasn't happy about it, but what choice did she have? I'm 18," West answered truthfully. Nora's jaw slacked slightly at his answer, her surprise evident.

The house lights dimmed farther and the theater was near total darkness. West felt Nora snuggle deep into her seat and he felt a little disappointed that their conversation was, for now, over. He turned his focus from Nora, since he couldn't see her anymore, and he faced forward. The screen played some stupid commercial for the theater's snack bar, encouraging people to go buy popcorn and Coke. He felt Nora lean sideways, in his direction. Without warning, she brought her face very close to his.

"Since this was such a spontaneous and last minute idea of yours, where do you plan on sleeping tonight?" she whispered close to his ear.

Tingles and shots of pure adrenaline rushed immediately to his dick. Her voice, in its raspy whisper, felt like naughty velvet against his ear. His mind immediately went straight to the gutter. Sex. Sex. Sex. Fuck, stop it. Sex.

_With you,_ he thought silently. A smile toyed at the corner of his lips at the mere thought.

"Uh," he whispered in conflict. "I haven't made sleeping arrangements yet. I mean, we're near Chicago. I'm sure I can find somewhere to sleep."

Nora said nothing in reply, almost as if she'd been able to hear his internal response to her question. A little smile played on her mouth, and even though the theater was dark, West could faintly make out the slight blush in her cheeks.

She relaxed back into her seat and faced the screen. The previews had started and she pretended to pay attention for a few minutes. After the first preview ended and the next one began, she whispered back, "No, I don't think that will be a problem," and she had a knowing smirk plastered on her lips.

### Chapter 10

Omg.

OMG.

O.M.G.

What the hell was going on? Was Nora really sitting next to West MacKinnon, in a darkened movie theater and semi-flirting with him? Basically inviting him to spend the night in her bedroom?

And how the hell was she reacting to the previous statement? Was she fan-girling over that bit of extreme craziness? Wait a second...fan-girling?! She felt as though she reached a new level of pathetic. She was _not_ a fan. And she was a young woman, _not_ a girl. And she refused to act like a crazed teenybopper who all but fainted in the presence of one of the Copper Crossfire guys.

Nora distracted herself momentarily by grabbing a handful of popcorn from the huge bucket in Ashna's lap and shoved it haphazardly into her mouth. She tried not to notice that West was catching glimpses of her every few seconds from the corner of his eyes. Nora chewed the salty kernels methodically, hoping that bit of normalcy would help her get a freaking grip over the fact that West was sitting next to her. In the dark. Couldn't forget about the dark.

Her pulse, she swore, stayed in a hypertensive state throughout the entire movie. Don't even bother asking her what the main plot line of the movie was about because all Nora could concentrate on were the mere inches that separated her from West for two whole hours.

Wait, had the movie been playing for two hours? Or had it only been 20 minutes? Nora lost all sense of time and relativity. So unlike her. She could literally feel the increased patter of her heart beating wildly inside her chest when she caught scent of West's cologne.

Nora shifted her position on the uncomfortable reclining chair in order to distribute her body weight onto her opposite butt cheek. It sounded about as graceful as it felt. In doing so, her left knee grazed West's leg. In that moment of pure accidental bliss, West quickly turned his head in her direction. Their eyes locked and Nora would be lying if she said she didn't want to jump onto his lap and straddle him.

"Sorry," she whispered in his direction instead and pulled her leg from the contact.

Not looking away, West shrugged his shoulders easily, "It's okay. You can leave it there if you want."

He was flirting with her and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. Nora felt oblivious at times, but she could easily pick up what he was laying down. Part of her wanted to change her sitting position again, to lean away from West and more toward Ashna. But there was a bigger part, a much needier and perhaps lonelier part, of her that slowly allowed her knee to return to resting against West's.

The shots of adrenaline that ricocheted up her thigh and centered directly between her legs almost caused Nora to quiver. She was unsure what those feelings meant. Having never, in her entire life, felt anything quite like that before, she decided to allow herself to feel excited. For many different reasons.

As if West could read her mind, he subtly pushed his leg against hers a little harder. Nora had to clench her thighs together to keep her urges to jump West at bay. Without realizing it, Nora's lips parted and her eyes slowly rolled back in delight. Her reaction to him did not go unnoticed by West.

Sweet. Mother. Of. God.

And then the movie ended. The screen faded to black and the credits started. On Nora's other side, Ashna stood and stretched, her usual body language after their Friday night ritual. She yawned as she looked at Nora, who still sat in her seat, her knee pressed against West's. Nora wasn't sure if Ashna noticed their contact or not so she swiftly stood and their connection was severed.

The movie was already over? Nora honestly could not recall one smidgen of information about it. Why was she reacting that way in West's presence? She was _not_ one of those girls.

West followed suit and joined the girls in standing. Nora gazed at him in wonderment. People shuffled out of the theater and didn't even notice West. Was the guise of fake nerd glasses and a ski cap all it took to go under the radar? Nora pondered, though, "How can these girls be whisking past West and not even notice how hot he is? Forget the fact that they're not realizing its West MacKinnon - they're totally missing the fact that he's downright sexy."

At that realization, Nora immediately blushed. Hot. Sexy. Drool worthy. Those adjectives didn't even begin to touch the level of attraction she felt toward him when her knee was pressed against his. Especially when they walked down the stairs of the stadium seating in the theater and West allowed his hand to hover over the small of her back as they turned the corner to walk through the hallway. He awkwardly removed his hand from her back, embarrassed that she caught him.

"You're being awfully quiet," Ashna observed as they milled out of the packed lobby. People swarmed around the snack bar as they waited for the late show times to start. The buzz of the people, the hint of holiday music playing in the background and twinkling of festive lights gave Nora a cozy feeling.

"What?" Nora asked, distracted.

"I think I know why..." Ashna hinted and she brushed up against Nora's shoulder. West tagged directly behind them, close on their heels. Nora glanced nonchalantly over her shoulder and noticed that West seemed to be looking around at all of the people in the lobby with nervousness to him. Nora was still shocked that no one recognized him, but was also grateful about that fact.

Nora leaned closed to Ashna and whispered, "I still can't believe--"

"I know," Ashna agreed, interrupting her, her voice hushed. Nora knew Ashna didn't interrupt her to be rude; she did it because she already knew what Nora wanted to say. They'd been best friends for years. They could pretty much communicate without words.

Ashna looped her arm through Nora's as they approached the exit doors and braced themselves for the harsh winter cold that awaited them outside. They both sucked in their breath when hit with the frigid temperature. Nora heard West also gasp at the chill.

Nora said, almost grudgingly, "Well, another Friday night in the books." The girls exchanged semi-sad looks because another Friday night meant one less until the end of their Friday night ritual.

The trio reached the car, the rest of their trek through the parking lot in odd silence.

"Can I tell you again how sorry I am that I've intruded--"

Nora cut West off by turning on her heels and she held up a finger to stop him. "We wouldn't have invited you to come if we weren't okay with it. Stop apologizing, please."

Ashna held a small all-too-well knowing smirk on her lip-glossed lips as she started her old Taurus. She absolutely loved seeing Nora a little flustered by a guy, especially when said guy was West MacKinnon. She couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Why Nora? Why not her? She thought she was prettier than Nora in the obvious way - better figure, bigger boobs, straighter teeth, cuter nose, pinker lips... And she wasn't a virgin, which she thought would give her a leg-up on her prudent and I've-never-even-seen-a-penis-and-wouldn't-know-what-to-do-with-one best friend. But she could totally see an attraction between West and Nora. She thought it was cute. Surreal, but cute.

The ride back to Nora's house was a little on the quiet side, mostly with Ashna rattling on and on about the movie they'd just seen. Nora had a hard time coming up with her own answers since all she could remember about the movie theater was West's knee touching her own, so she found herself agreeing to pretty much whatever Ashna talked about.

When they arrived at Nora's house, Ashna let the engine idle. "So, West, am I dropping you off at the airport or the bus station or...?" She let her question hang in the air.

### Chapter 11

"No, he's going to find somewhere to stay," Nora spoke up before West even had a chance to think of a clever answer. West heard the hidden agenda tone in Nora's voice that he was sure was undetected by Ashna. His dick twinged at the idea of sharing a bed with Nora, but he quickly dismissed the idea because he was not that kind of guy.

Okay, he could be that kind of guy, and he'd hooked up with chicks that he'd known for less time than he's known Nora... But she made him want to be better. He didn't want to be that kind of guy with Nora.

If Ashna picked up on anything, she didn't let on. She simply smiled and waved to her friend as she drove away. Nora stared intensely at West for a moment before she unlocked the front door to her house.

"Mom, I'm home!" Nora called out as both she and West stepped through the front door.

"I'm in my office!" came the reply from an older woman's voice, who West assumed to be Nora's mother.

She turned quickly to face West, which threw him for a slight loop because she was instantly within touching distance from him. He could easily wrap his arms around her waist if he wanted to. And, my God, did he want to...

"My parents will skin you alive if they find out you're sleeping in my room tonight..." she said quickly, quietly. Twinge x 2.

"That would be bad," West stated, matching her hushed tone. "Wait, what?" Had he heard her correctly? She'd been flirting in the movie theater, but was she serious?

Nora didn't miss a beat, "So that means we need to go upstairs right now." West couldn't help it; a devilish grin snuck across his lips and one of his eyebrows rose in intrigue. She instinctively and naturally swatted him in the chest. "No funny business, mister."

"Relax. I wouldn't even dream of funny business," West offered his arms up as a defense. Lie. It was a total lie because he would definitely dream of funny business with Nora.

He followed her up the stairs, keeping up with her fast speed. Either he was completely misinterpreting her body language or Nora was acting like there was going to be no tomorrow. She pushed him into her bedroom and slammed the door shut behind them.

"I noticed you showed up at my door empty handed..." Nora observed. "No overnight bag?"

West shrugged his shoulders. "I had no idea what to expect when I showed up at your house. I didn't pack anything because I was sure I'd be heading to the airport tonight and just flying home to Pittsburgh."

"You honestly thought I would not let you into my house?" Nora asked, almost incredulous.

"Like I said, I had no idea what to expect," West replied. "I mean, you barely know me. We've only been chatting on messenger for a little over a week and texting a day..."

"Good point," Nora agreed with West. She gave him a smirky smile and she sat down on the chair that completed her desk set. West took it upon himself to slump down in the bean bag chair that was pretty much in the middle of the floor. "But we have chatted on messenger for hours each night, and texted until I thought my thumbs would fall off last night. If you're the same guy I've been talking to, then I think I know you decently enough to know you're not going to kill me."

"Right, I'm _so_ not going to kill you." West immediately realized that his response actually sounded kind of killer-ish. Nora laughed, though, and it made West want to make her laugh again. The sound was like bell; it was shiny and light, melodic and lyrical. At that moment, West wished he had lined paper so he could try to capture the faerie-esque tune that rang in Nora's laugh. He wondered how many times he'd actually made her laugh during their previous chatting and texting sessions. The times that she'd written "haha" or "lol" had she really laughed like that? Or had she simply wrote those terms out of habit?

"What are your plans for tomorrow?" Nora asked, seeming genuinely interested.

West shrugged his shoulders. "I guess that kind of depends."

"On?"

"You."

He stared at Nora and she fearlessly held his gaze for a long time. She really wasn't flustered by him and he freaking loved it. It was very rare that he was able to stare at a girl and not have the girl freak out. She didn't react to his comment, though, and it left West feeling a bit unnerved.

"You can take those glasses off now, you know..." Nora said as she walked over toward West and held out her hand to collect the nerdy frames.

"I almost forgot I had them on," he admitted. He removed them from his face and placed them in Nora's waiting hand.

"You wore them well," she commented. West didn't get flustered easily, but Nora's compliment made him blush a little bit.

Looking at his feet West returned the question to Nora. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Depends," she shrugged.

"On?"

"You," she used West's answer against him. He felt another twitch in his boxers at the casual flirt and implication Nora held in her voice.

He stood from the bean bag chair and wanted to be close to her. She still hadn't moved from when he'd given her the glasses. Now facing her, West standing a good distance taller than she, he looked down into her gorgeous face.

All at once, he wanted nothing more than to cup her jaw in his hands and pull her in for a soul searching kiss. Her eyes were locked on his. Nora had the bluest eyes he'd ever seen and he never wanted the moment to end because looking into them made him feel good. He did, though, tear his eyes away from hers momentarily so he could take in some of her other features. West remembered her hair, when he first met her at the concert, reminded him of Katniss, pulled toward the side, long curls tamed by a braid. There was no braid today, but it was pulled up in one of those sexy-as-hell sloppy buns. Even though it was sexy, all West could do was imagine her hair being all wild and all he wanted to do was run his hands through her brown curls while he kissed her pink lips.

Nora took a sharp inhale as West took a small step closer to her. "West," she murmured.

"Hmm?" he asked.

She looked up to his face and it seemed like she needed a second to properly collect her thoughts. "You're so tall."

"That wasn't really what you were doing to say, was it?" West asked as a smile played at the corner of his mouth.

"No," she admitted and a sheepish quality hung in her voice. When she offered nothing more, West felt like he'd been left dangling.

He couldn't help but get sucked into Nora's deep blue sapphires. They shone with an excited brilliance that he was sure he'd never seen before. Her eyes flicked back and forth slightly, she took turns looking into his eyes, one at a time, and he desperately wanted to touch her. His fingertips tingled at the thought, so West could only imagine what the actual act would do to him.

West was no longer able to resist temptation and his hand slowly and tentatively reached behind Nora and he touched the small of her back. She didn't flinch or back away, so his hand, the deviant had a mind of its own, trekked up her back, over her shoulder, and nestled around the side of her neck, where his fingers got tangled into small curls that had fallen out of her bun. His thumb slowly moved over the soft skin of her nape. Nora's only reaction was a light hitch in her breathing, and West noticed it.

"I like you," West confessed to Nora.

"I didn't think you hated me," she commented quickly. There was that sass of hers. He fucking loved it. West almost laughed at her response.

Nora's hand curled around the one West had tucked behind her neck. Their skin to skin contact nearly caused a fire because of the viscous sparks that flew. She slowly removed his hand from her neck and let her fingers linger on his a few seconds longer than she'd planned. When she finally broke contact, Nora stepped away and looked toward her door.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. I have to talk to my mom for a second because I always tell her about the movie after my Friday night ritual with Ashna. If I don't go to her, she'll wander in here and neither of us needs that to happen," Nora explained.

### Chapter 12

Nora spent the next few minutes distractedly talking with her mom about the movie. She pretty much lied, saying it was really boring and she dozed off and on throughout the whole thing. Her mother believed her, thank goodness, and Nora excused herself from her mom's office to get a snack and told her that she would be retiring to her room for the rest of the night.

Her mother was a photographer, so she often spent evenings and sometimes the better part of the nights editing photos for her clients. She also ran and designed her own website, having taken classes in web design a few years ago at the local community college near their home in the outskirts of Chicago. Christmas meant it was a busy season because of family portraits and children's Christmas sessions.

She grabbed a couple of apples, some sliced cheese and a bag of M&M's from the pantry before she headed back to her room. It was a decent variety and she remembered from one of their past chatting sessions that West had confessed his favorite snack as a child was apples and cheese. Weird kid, right?

When Nora opened the door to her room again, West had returned to sitting on the bean bag chair and he was looking at his phone. As soon as he saw her, he shoved his phone in his pocket and smiled at her. She shook her head, partly in disbelief and partly in shock as she carried the snacks to her desk to set them down. West MacKinnon. In her bedroom.

"Apples and cheese?" she offered. West shot up from the bean bag chair faster than Nora could ever imagine. The boy man guy must be hungry! He stood next to her at the desk and selected the golden delicious apple and pulled a couple slices of the provolone from the package. She watched him, a little awe struck, but then she quickly turned her attention to her own red delicious apple. She was not one of his little fan girls. She refused to get sucked into his depths of...freaking hotness.

"I think you can read my mind," West finally said after a few bites of his apple. Nora laughed.

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Because, when you were gone, I was trying to figure out how I could order a pizza and have it delivered to your room without it attracting attention to your parents," he answered.

"Yeah, Slick, I think our cover would be blown if you would've done that," Nora told him. She noticed West's body stiffen a little after she said the word "blown." She knew he was attracted to her because of his behavior in the movie theater and the fact that she kept catching him looking at her was a definite tell. She almost felt powerful knowing that she could stir a reaction in him with just her words.

"Pizza would've been awesome, though, right?" West said, not missing a beat. His one split second of pure inappropriate fantasy passed and he yanked his mind out of the gutter.

Nora laughed and admitted, "Yes, pizza would've been great."

They finished their apples in companionable quiet. Nora could hear the clock on her desk ticking away the seconds and for once it wasn't a consoling sound. She loved her clock, the old fashioned kind that needed to be turned to keep time, and the second hand ticked quietly, and it soothed her. Tonight, though, because she knew her time with West was going to be limited, the fact that time was passing made her feel slightly panicked.

"Hey Blue Eyes, you gonna get that, or what?" West asked Nora. She distractedly looked to him, confused by his question.

"What?"

"Your phone is buzzing," West said and pointed to her bed. There was her phone, sitting in the middle of her mattress, lighting up and vibrating. She grabbed it and saw that it was Ashna. She hit the button to ignore the call.

"It was Ashna. I'll talk to her tomorrow."

"You shouldn't ignore her."

"I'm not. I can talk to her anytime. It's not every day that I get a chance to see you."

Chapter 13

Nora's answer felt like music to West's ears. He fought the urge to accost her and kiss her until they were both breathless. He'd been attracted to other girls before, even to the point of arousal, especially since his bandmates / best friends were sexaholics and basically forced him to partake in their shenanigans, but he's never really actually genuinely _liked_ anyone before.

He knew God must've been truly testing him. If he could resist taking Nora in his arms at that very moment, he knew he could resist pretty much any fucking temptation that might stand in his way and look at him right in the face.

"I'm not going to lie – I'd like to see you every day," West said and was surprised that his voice was just above a whisper. He did not intend to sound so wimpy, but maybe he sounded sensitive instead. Yeah. Girls took sensitive over wimpy seven days a week.

"Don't get your hopes up," Nora replied, the look on her face a little wistful. "After your break is over, you'll be back on tour and then it'll be a different city every single day."

"Don't remind me," West blanched at the thought. He loved his job. He loved performing. He loved the fame. He loved the music. What he didn't love? Missing out on opportunities like this. Nora gave him a questioning look but didn't push his comment. She didn't pry, didn't investigate further; she simply took his response and accepted it.

"Want to watch a movie?" Nora suggested and almost laughed at the notion. West couldn't hold back and he laughed. Considering they just were at the movies and neither of them could really recall the plot, it seemed like a silly idea. In Nora's bedroom. More than likely lying on Nora's bed. Together.

Twinge.

"Sure. What do you have?" West played along. Together, they looked at the shelf near Nora's television and he had to admit that he absolutely loved every single movie she owned. Ok, not every. single. movie. because she had quite the chick flick collection, but other than those ones, her taste in movies was impeccable. He finally picked up her copy of _The Hunger Games: Catching Fire_ because he hadn't seen it yet. He realized the irony.

"Oh, I see," Nora said with a chastising voice, "you have a thing for Katniss..."

Sweet mother of parsnips. Hearing the name Katniss roll out of Nora's mouth was like getting attacked with a napalm bomb.

"No, I mean, I just haven't seen this one yet," West stammered. Shit. Maybe she really could read his mind? She smiled at him and gave a playful nudge with her shoulder into his taller stature. West could literally feel the heat filling his face with embarrassment. If Nora noticed, she didn't acknowledge it. She grabbed the DVD from his hands and walked to her TV, where he assumed there was also a DVD player.

"Whatever, it's fine. Jennifer Lawrence is pretty hot," Nora said while her back was toward him. Twinge x 10. West sat down on the foot of Nora's bed, which directly faced the TV. "I'll be right back. I'm going to change into something more comfortable."

West watched Nora grab something out of her dresser drawer and disappear behind the door to her bedroom, to go, he assumed, to the bathroom to change. The door clicked so West knew it was safe to let out a "whoosh" of breath he was holding at her comment. _Something more comfortable._ If he thought his dick twinged at Nora admitting Jennifer Lawrence was hot, then it was on the verge of setting fucking sail at the mention of changing into "something more comfortable." "Something more comfortable" usually meant lingerie.

Bra. Boobs. Panties. Thong. Boobs. Cleavage. Garters. Boobs. Sex. Boobs. Skin. Boobs. Sex. Boobs.

_Stopppppp,_ West told himself silently. He did not want to be a douche with Nora. He wanted to be normal. He wanted to be chill. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to have sex with her. Fuck her. Wait. No. Yes. But he wasn't going to do that. He wasn't a jerk. Only a jerk would want to fuck her. But fuuuuuck. What the hell was he supposed to do? Supposed _to try_ to do? His mind flew in a billion different directions – well, more like five, but it felt like a billion. He didn't think his brain was capable of thinking so many thoughts all at the same time.

Nora basically told him to spend the night with her. Her subtle flirting style was so unlike anything he was used to because most chicks were so openly obvious about their attraction or their availability or their desire to hook up... He really didn't know if he should try anything or not. Cuddle? Kiss? Make out? More?

West knew he couldn't ask one of the twins for advice in a quick text message because he already knew what both of their responses would be. Since Smith and Brax were obsessed with getting as much pussy as walked the planet, he knew they would tell him to go for it, all the way. And since West didn't want to presume anything with Nora since he actually liked her, he wanted to be patient. Especially because, well, he wasn't a douche who only wanted to sleep with chicks. Finally, West decided to let Nora make all of the decisions. Yeah. That sounded like a good plan.

The bedroom door reopened and for a split second, West held his breath because there was the possibility that it wouldn't be Nora opening her door and he mentally prepared to be skinned alive. When he saw that it was, in fact, Nora coming back into her room, he relaxed, but only for another split second because then he saw what Nora meant by "something more comfortable."

"Something more comfortable" meant exactly "something more comfortable." Nora wore a pair of dark gray semi-fitted sweat pants and oversized lighter gray sweatshirt. The shirt also had an oversized neck hole because it hung off one of her shoulders, revealing smooth bare skin, with no visible bra strap. Mega dick twinge.

Nora seemed a bit self-conscious at her initial approach back into her room, looking timid. Her hair, West noticed, remained in a sloppy bun, but it looked looser than before, as more tendrils of her curls seemed to have come from the hair tie and they framed around her face in the most natural of ways. He could tell that she hadn't just spent the last few minutes looking in the mirror, in attempts to make her hair look perfectly not-perfect.

"Ready for the movie?" she asked. She climbed onto her bed, propped up a pillow against the headboard and leaned against it, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. She positioned the other pillow against her headboard as well and she looked at West expectantly and he realized that she was waiting for him to join her. Her chin rested on one of her knees as West clumsily made his way to the head of her bed and sat down next to her.

Nora pushed play on the DVD player remote which set on the small night stand next to her bed. As the opening credits of the movie started, West could only think, _Holy shit. I'm in a girl's bedroom. With a girl. Alone. On her bed._

### Chapter 14

Heart attack. Nora thought for sure she was having a heart attack. There was no other logical explanation to the unnatural rapid beating of her heart. It was hammering away at 1,500 beats per second – at least.

Since the movie started, Nora allowed the vast distance of three or four inches between her and West to diminish. She had nonchalantly fidgeted, stretched and scooted her way into a slouched half-lying position, and also making herself conveniently closer to West. She wanted to touch him. She had the indescribable urge to rest her head on his shoulder. She wanted him to put his arm around her and pull her close.

She stared obligingly at the television and watched as Katniss and Peeta got engaged and needed to commence on the tour to all of the Districts. It was the type of movie that really needed to be paid attention to, but with West sitting so close to her on the bed, she was sure he wasn't able to fully understand the story line. Surely he felt like he was going to have a heart attack, too, right?

At the half way point through the movie, it was evident that West was going to be a total gentleman. When he agreed to no funny business, he must've meant it. Nora now wished she never would've said those words earlier. She didn't want to be the one to make the moves because that was something she assumed the guy should do. Especially when said guy had just admitted to liking her. However, she respected West's decision to be respectful.

In one swift motion, Nora grabbed West's hand and pulled it around her to allow herself to snuggle in close to him. West seemed surprised at her actions, but he obviously didn't protest to it and he actually seemed gracious to her boldness. Nora allowed her boldness to continue by nestling her head on his chest and put her arms in a hugging manner across his abs.

They silently watched the movie for a few more minutes.

"Can I make a confession?" West asked. His voice boomed from inside his chest and sounded extra loud since Nora's ear was pressed against him.

"Sure," she said. She waited patient for his admission, letting him take his time to say whatever he wanted to say.

"I'm uh, not really paying attention to this movie," he finally said.

Nora pulled herself away from her snuggled position to look up at West. Her blue eyes were wide with innocence and West nearly grunted in frustration. Frustration because he wanted more. Frustration because he wanted to kiss her. Frustration because he was holding back. Frustration because he didn't want to hold back.

"Why?"

"Because all I can do is fucking think about is you," West answered truthfully. Nora's heart attack status upgraded to a full-blown code. She forced herself to remain calm.

"What about me?" she asked.

"Shit," he threw his head back against the headboard and looked at her ceiling. "Don't ask me that."

"Why not?" Nora posed another question. Deep down, she felt secretly thrilled to know West must be experiencing the heart attack feeling as well.

West kept his eyes on the ceiling while he answered her, "Because I'm a guy."

She chewed the inside of her mouth in thought. She needed to be completely cool about this. It wasn't every day that she had a boy man guy in her room, without her parents' knowledge, who she intended to have spend the night with her. Hell, who was she kidding? She never had a boy man guy in her room, period. She chose her next words very carefully.

"Does that mean you want to have sex with me?"

"What? No!" West almost shouted too quickly while his head snapped in her direction.

Nora reacted hurtfully about a second. His too-fast response meant that he did, in fact, want to have sex with her, and that alone gave Nora a very satisfied feeling. "Good, because that's not going to happen anyway."

His previous tension seemed to ease a little as he realized Nora was giving him more of her sass. "What if I would've said yes?"

Nora returned her head to the cuddled position against West's chest. "I guess we'll never know." She worked hard at suppressing a smile from erupting on her face. They pretended to watch the movie again for another couple of minutes. The arm that West had wrapped around Nora's back rested around her shoulder and he allowed it to start rubbing her upper arm. She snuggled a little closer to him. "All I can think about is you, too, so I guess we're even."

West's hand froze on her arm for a second but then he continued and tried to make it seem like her words hadn't affected him. Conveniently, the arm of Nora that he'd been rubbing was on the side of her sweatshirt where the neck had been pulled over her shoulder. During his movements, he stroked a little higher on her arm to include the curve of her shoulder and let his fingers linger on the bare skin of her clavicle. Nora's skin was searing where his fingertips brushed lightly and just like in the movie theater, she had to squeeze her thighs together to keep herself sane. The urges she felt boiling inside of her, which included, again, straddling West, were nearly making her squirm.

"What have you been thinking about?" West asked her, a teasing tone underlying in his voice.

Nora decided to just do it. She sat up from her snuggled position, leaving West's mind confused because of her quick departure. She took his momentary lapse in awareness to her advantage and continued with her element of surprise. She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him toward her, letting her lips crash into his with wild force.

It took West a second to respond appropriately to Nora's kiss and soon his lips melded against hers. She only allowed the kiss to remain short but it held much significance to it. As Nora pulled her face away, she opened her eyes and looked into West's.

His eyes opened as well. They were gray, just as Ashna had told Nora last week, and she really liked how she felt when she looked into them. There was a darker gray border around the outside of his iris, filled with a foggy gray in the middle and she detected flecks of gold speckled here and there. She smiled.

"Does that answer your question?" she asked.

West smiled back, not feeling shy about touching her after their kiss. He held her in place, cupping her jaw with his hands. She continued to look deep inside of him through his eyes. Nora faintly observed some other characteristics about his appearance, but only because all of her senses were on high-alert. His brown hair, those golden flecks in his eyes, a small freckle just under his right eye – those all paled in comparison to the one thing she truly wanted to concentrate on, and that was to kiss West again.

### Chapter 15

"Can I ask a follow-up question?" West inquired.

"Sure," Nora allowed.

"What if we hang out tomorrow?" West held his breath as he waited for her to answer him. He knew it was kind of a cowardly way to ask her out, but he wasn't sure how he'd deal if she rejected his invitation.

"I think that might be okay," she said. West smiled.

"I really want to kiss you again," he admitted to her. What the hell. Why not just fucking lay it all out there, right on the line? The sweetest shade of pink filled her cheeks as she looked away from him briefly. "What's wrong?" West kept his voice quiet, urging her to open up. Maybe she regretted their first kiss?

"Nothing is wrong, per say. It's just that...well...I'm not very...experienced..." Nora admitted, still not looking at West. What? How is that possible? Nora was a fucking knock-out! How could she not be experienced? If he had to guess, he'd assume that she'd had tons of boys begging to go out with her. Then he remembered that she one time told him that she didn't have time for boys or games.

He tipped her chin to look at him again. "Listen to me, Blue Eyes. You can't do anything wrong. If you don't want to kiss me again, that's fine. I mean, it'll suck because I really really want to kiss you again, but if that's not what you want, then it's not what I want. I only want what you want."

West was impressed with his speech and it seemed like Nora was, too. She began to lean to him again and West used his hands still cupped around her face to pull her toward him. Her lips were like soft little pink pillows and tasted like strawberries. West thanked lip gloss manufacturers for making it taste good.

Their second kiss was another short kiss, but their lips only parted briefly for the pair to tilt their heads slightly. Damn his body for making demands, but West absolutely couldn't stop himself from tentatively licking at Nora's lips, knocking on the door and practically begging for entrance. And she granted it to him. She opened her mouth and accepted his tongue, reciprocating his movements and mimicking his style.

Nora fisted handfuls of West's hair at the base of his neck and she pulled him closer to her, encouraging him to change positions. She started to lie back and he followed, their lips never parting. Still maintaining a portion of control over his body, West remained lying on his side, propped on one elbow, leaning down into Nora as she lie on her back, hands still securely around West's neck.

Sounds of kissing filled the air and it was the only thing West could hear. The movie was completely drowned out in the background and West's concentration on preventing a boner from popping up was his top priority. Kissing. Tongue. Boner. Pussy. Sex. Boner. Kissing. No boner. Fuck.

West did a quick inventory of his body. Lips: kissing Nora. Tongue: dancing with Nora's. Hands: under one of the pillows, propping him up; the other rested politely on Nora's waist. Legs: lightly entwined with Nora's. Dick: impatiently waiting for the green light and wanted to set sail asap. He scolded his dick, silently of course, but it all came to naught because Nora's teeth scraped against his tongue from out of nowhere. Twinge x 1 million.

If West thought that Nora's teeth scraping against his tongue was going to send him over the edge, he surely knew his fucking dick was going to explode when she started making tiny whimpering sounds. Their breathing, he noticed, had gotten heavier. He had to use every ounce of strength in his mind and body to keep himself under control.

Quickly deciding the best thing he could possibly do was lose some stimulation, West steered his lips away from Nora's and kissed her jawline and trailed to her neck. It helped him marginally since he no longer felt her tongue tangled with his. He peppered her sensitive skin with soft kisses, occasionally surprising her with a small nip with his tongue.

"Mmm." Nora's voice was husky as she released a satisfied moan. She wriggled beside him and her hands moved from the back of his neck and rested on his sides. She tried to pull him closer to her body but he resisted. He knew there would be no turning back if he gave in to her.

Everywhere he looked, lust filled the air. Nora's face held a look of pure ecstasy, with her eyes squeezed shut tightly. She continued to wiggle beside him. He tightened his grip on her hip to still her – he wasn't sure he'd be able to handle seeing her squirm without wanting to touch her in more intimate places. And he didn't want to ruin anything with Nora. West moved to the opposite side of her neck and paid attention to it. Her back arched and she released another dick-twinging moan. When she tugged on his sides again, he caved and rolled on top of her.

Quick as a flash, Nora's hands moved from his sides to around his face and steered his lips to hers again. It was Nora's turn to plunge her tongue deep into West's mouth. Jesus effing –

West's thoughts were completely interrupted by Nora's body writhing underneath his. She instinctively hooked her legs around him and her hands ran down the expanse of his back, urging him to get even closer to her. Her hips moved against him and he knew it was purely instinctive. All he could think about was her doing exactly what she was doing - naked.

Nora released another guttural moan from deep in her throat and it was all West could do from busting a nut right then and there. He needed to evacuate immediately or else there was going to be an embarrassing and premature ending to the make out session, which he did not want to happen. At all.

He slowed his kissing and gently pulled away from Nora's grip. As their lips stilled, he opened his eyes and softly kissed the tip of her nose. She smiled at him. The heat that hovered inside his chest came from that smile and those blue eyes of hers. She tried to kiss him again but he slid away and lay beside her on the bed on his back.

Too many thoughts ran through his head to comprehend, let alone figure out something to say to Nora. He needed to say something, though. He didn't want her to think he didn't want to keep kissing her. He needed her to know how he felt, but he also couldn't keep going because he didn't want to do something regrettable.

God, he was such a fucking pussy.

### Chapter 16

West pulled away and settled beside Nora on her bed. They both lay on their backs and stared at her ceiling, letting their breathing slowly return to a normal pace. Nora noticed West wipe his palms on the legs of his jeans for a couple of swipes. Dare she look at him? Why did he stop kissing her? _Oh my God,_ Nora thought _, I must be a horrible kisser. He hates me!_

"Um," West said, breaking the silence, "sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," Nora said. She was thoroughly convinced that she sucked at everything she did. Why else would West stop? She must have been the worst kisser he'd ever kissed. God, she felt like a loser. She kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling and refused to look at West. She knew she'd risk crying if she saw the disappointed look on his face.

"Why are you sorry?" West asked. He sounded genuinely confused.

"That must have been terrible. I sucked at making out with you. You only went along with it for so long because I'm sure you were hoping it would get better and it just – it just didn't. I'm sorry. Damn it. I'm so embarrassed," Nora blurted out the words. She immediately rolled over onto her side and tried like hell to not cry. She really needed to get a freaking grip on her emotions. She was _not_ that girl!

"Terrible?" West asked. His tone remained puzzled.

"Is there some other adjective you'd like to use?" Nora inquired, still on her side, away from West.

"Fantastic? Sexy? Hot as fucking hell?" West made suggestions. Nora snorted, not believing him.

"Yeah, right." She carried a sarcastic tone in her voice, delivering it with her sass. West rolled onto his side and scooted closer to Nora. He wrapped his arm around her and tucked her body against his. He let his nose brush against the back of her neck and then he placed a small tender kiss there as well. He remained silent and still for a few seconds, letting himself feel what it was like to actually hold someone.

"Yes," he said, filling his response with affirmation. He nuzzled against her neck again and she seemed to crane herself a bit, allowing him a bit more access. "I know what you're thinking..."

"What?"

"Blue Eyes, I need you to listen to me," West gruffed into her ear. His voice was low and whispery and it tickled against her ear in one of the most non-ticklish ways she never thought possible. "What just happened between us – oh my freaking God – was so hot. You need to know that the only reason I stopped was because I almost wasn't able to stop. I didn't want to stop. But I had to stop. You hear me?"

"You mean--"

"You were not terrible. You're the exact opposite of terrible. If I had more self-control, I'd kiss you..." he paused to kiss near her ear, "-all-" kiss, "-night-" kiss, "-long," kiss.

Still feeling a smidgen of self-consciousness and letting her inexperience shine through, Nora asked, "What does self-control have to do with anything?"

Nora felt West as he shook a little bit while he let out a small laugh. "Self-control has everything to do with it, Blue Eyes. You have no idea the affect you have on me. It took all the strength in my body to fight off my inner animal."

"Meaning?" Nora felt really stupid for asking such questions. She had a feeling she knew what West meant, but she didn't want to assume anything.

"Meaning my fantasies were nowhere near the PG-13 neighborhood," West admitted. He pulled Nora closer to him. She was spooned right up against him and he nestled his head in the crook of her neck. He inhaled sharply. Being so close to Nora gave him an uninhibited feeling he's never quite experienced. "Do you need me to be more descriptive?"

Nora shook her head no. She couldn't figure out how to assemble her thoughts. She just made out with Weston MacKinnon. Holy-effing-cow.

Her mind gave her a quick recap of their make out session. He said it was hot. He basically said he was turned on. Had Nora ever turned anyone on before? Nope. She'd never made out with anyone before. Lightly kissed, yes, but heavy French kissing with moaning – no. Heat had pooled between her legs and seemed to simmer inside of her. She had yearned for him to touch her, but he didn't. The unfamiliar tingling that settled itself within her only made her crave it more and more until that desire was met.

"Is it okay if we just stay like this," she asked, hoping his answer would be yes, "if you hold me all night?"

Nora felt West's lips caress against her neck again. "I wouldn't be able to fall asleep any other way."

Nora had a warmth surround her heart and she knew it was because of West.

* * *

"Nora," West whispered into her ear. She slowly opened her eyes. A few seconds of disorientation smacked Nora in the face until she remembered it all – West spent the night. West's arms were around her, holding her, in her bed. She turned over onto her back. It was still dark outside so she knew it was the middle of the night.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"Um, I need to use the bathroom, but uh, I don't know where it is and I didn't want to wander around your hallway alone since I don't want your parents to know I'm here. I kind of like my skin," he whispered again. She chuckled lightly at his joke.

She stood up from the bed and stretched; West repeated her actions. She poked her head out from her door and the coast was clear. Nora led West to the bathroom. She didn't bother telling West that her parents had their own bathroom in their master bedroom, so they wouldn't be using the hallway bathroom. She waited in the hallway for him to finish and then they returned to her bedroom.

"I can sleep on the floor if you want me to," West offered, "or in the bean bag chair."

"Shut up," she teased. He smiled at her response because he really hoped she wouldn't agree to him sleeping on the floor. "I might have a pair of baggy men's sweats if you want to wear those instead of your jeans."

Nora's offer was spectacular. "Yeah, thanks," West accepted. She pulled open a drawer on the bottom row of her dresser and rummaged around for a few seconds. She finally stood, holding a pair of black pants. She handed them to him.

"You can just go in the walk-in closet. Pull the door behind you," Nora instructed him. He did as she told him and went into the closet to change his clothes. Nora forced herself to take a few deep breaths in order to calm herself. She still couldn't believe she snuck a boy man guy into her room and he was spending the night.

West emerged from the closet a minute later, wearing the sweats she'd given him and a plain white t-shirt, carrying his jeans and his button-down shirt over his arm. He laid them gingerly over her desk chair and pointed to the bean bag, "I'm not kidding. I'll take the bean bag if you want me to."

Nora got into her bed, first pulling back her quilted comforter. "Get over here," she demanded. West obeyed, slipping into the bed beside her, this time under the covers. She pushed the TV power button to turn off the television, as it was still on from their failed attempt at _Catching Fire._ With the TV off, the room appeared pitch black, but slowly Nora's eyes adjusted and she could faintly make out the lines of West's face.

She turned to face him, touching his chest with her hands and she was impressed at the firmness she felt under his shirt. Her imagination ran wild and she immediately wanted to see him shirtless. Her hands continued to wander around to his back and she pulled herself close to him. His breath hitched a little at their new contact.

"You want to kiss me, don't you?" West asked her. The dark shadows in her room covered West's face and the new lack of lighting made it wildly erotic. To be in the dark. Pressed against a boy man guy she liked. She kind of wanted to lick him.

Instead of answering, Nora simply nodded her head. Since she knew she didn't suck at kissing, her confidence level boosted a little bit.

### Chapter 17

West woke up in his own bed. He hated that. He wished he was still in Chicago, curled around Nora for the third night in a row. He rolled onto his back and let his arms reach above his head in a full-bodied stretch. Under the pillow, his hand brushed against his cell phone, which he grasped and pulled to safety.

He triggered the screen and opened iMessages. He quickly typed out a message to Nora. "Just woke up. Depressed that you're not in my arms. :("

Reply bubbles showed on the screen almost immediately. Was Nora missing him as much as he missed her? "Good morning."

_That's it?_ West's heart sank a little in his chest that Nora didn't share in his achy desperation of missing him. Then again, it was Nora. She didn't really get too descriptive in text messages. At least she _didn't_ get too descriptive in text messages, but that was before they spent the entire weekend together, sharing her bed, kissing, cuddling... He thought maybe that would change? Correction: he hoped that would change.

Being a normal 18-year-old boy man guy, West's dick immediately got semi-hard just thinking about being in bed with Nora. Jesus. He needed to get into the shower immediately so he could take care of a huge load of business. Should he tell Nora that he's going to think about her? No. No. Bad idea. She didn't need to know that he was going to think about her while he jerked himself off in the shower. Fuck.

He waited a few more seconds to see if Nora wrote anything else back. She didn't. A quick glance at the clock and he realized that Nora was probably getting ready for school. She probably wasn't texting back right away because she was more than likely in...the...shower...too. Instant hardness.

West threw his blankets off of him and bolted to the hallway bathroom. Right about now, he wished he had his own private bathroom. His mother and stepfather refused to purchase a new home, even with the money that West earned. They liked their modest home and modest lifestyle. His mom told him that he'd appreciate it when he got older. All West wanted was his own goddam bathroom. He didn't want an $8 million home, for Christ's sake.

He locked the door behind him, knowing that if he didn't, Easton would be in there within a matter of seconds. Sure, West loved his little brother - he was an exact replica of West in a 4-year-old's body, a true mini-me - but he did not want him in the bathroom with him while he masturbated in the shower, daydreaming about Nora touching him and making him come.

West looked in the mirror behind the sink. He proudly admired the small sucker mark hear his collarbone. His fingers traced the mark and he vividly remembered, on Saturday night, Nora's lips sucking his skin into her mouth, her teeth gently nipping at him, her tongue teasing him. And on Friday night she'd been worried that she was "too inexperienced" to be good at anything? Fuuuuuuuck. At those memories, West boasted a boner the size of a vessel. Again, he proudly admired his reflection.

The water started to steam so West stripped off his boxer briefs and tossed them on top of the hamper, not inside. He smirked slightly because he knew his mom would scream at him later about it. "If you make the effort to put your dirty clothes on top of the hamper, make another fraction of effort to put them _in_ the hamper!" He'd heard it a billion times before. He shook his head to rid his thoughts of his mother. He did not want to be thinking about his mother.

The hot water felt delicious against his skin. West stood under the stream for a full minute before he moved. It dripped around his head, getting his hair soaked, which then trickled completely into his face. He closed his eyes and sharply inhaled as his fist closed around his prick.

Mother. Fucker. He was so fucking sensitive. He guessed that was what an entire weekend of blue balls did to him.

Slowly and deliberately, he stroked his length and knew it was only going to take a few seconds before he blew his load. He didn't even have to visualize Nora, or her pert pink lips, or her hot tongue... His dick swelled and got so fucking hard that even he was impressed. Another handful of pumps did it - he jolted, thrusted and shuddered. He spewed cum for what felt like forever. Not that he was complaining. It was best self-induced orgasm he'd ever given himself.

* * *

Nora shook her head as she looked at her cell phone in the cafeteria at lunch time. Ashna eyed her as she simply stuck the phone back into her book bag.

"What's up?" she asked Nora.

"West. He won't stop texting me," Nora rolled her eyes. She couldn't make it look like actually cared about it. She was secretly thrilled.

"Will you stop pretending that you hate him?" Ashna all but shouted to Nora. It caught Nora off guard because she never expected that kind of reaction from Ashna. She looked at her best friend, who sat across from her at their favorite booth in the large cafeteria. Ashna'a face held truth, but it also told the story of regret and hurt.

"I'm not pretending to hate him," Nora said indignantly. "I like him."

"Then act like it, okay?" Ashna's tone was still borderline angry or frustrated, Nora couldn't tell which. Her caramel colored eyes gleamed with passion and her pretty face broke Nora's heart with the disappointment written on it. "I mean, come on, Nora! Do you realize how fucking lucky you are?!"

Nora realized, then, that Ashna was jealous. She had every right to be jealous. Ashna was the mega-fan. Ashna had fantasized about dating one of the guys from Copper Crossfire ever since junior year, when the band released its first single. And Nora never jumped on the wagon. Now, West MacKinnon liked her. In reality, it wasn't fair and Nora kind of felt bad about it.

"Yeah. Lucky," she agreed with semi-sarcasm lining her voice. "Tell me how lucky I am when I never get to see him again. Or when he decides he's over me and moves on to the next girl. Or becomes greedy and starts talking to other girls but doesn't tell me and ends up breaking my heart."

Ashna looked down at her lunch and stabbed the pasta noodles with her plastic fork unnecessarily hard. "You ungrateful little-"

"Ungrateful?!"

"If it wasn't for me, he never would've been able to look you up on Facebook. I'm the one that yelled your last name to him, in case you forgot."

"Listen, I'm sorry that I'm not hiring a sky-writer to tell the entire world that I just spent the weekend with West MacKinnon. You know that's not how I am. Yes, I'm excited about it. He's sweet and I like him. Thank you. But I'm still scared that he's going to rip out my heart and dance all over it without a second thought." Nora kept her voice low so that no one else would overhear. Even if they did, she doubted they'd believe her anyway.

Ashna's hard expression softened. "I'm sorry. Green monster syndrome," she admitted. Then she boasted a smirk. "I still don't know if I believe your story, though."

"What part of it?" Nora asked. She chewed her pasta as she waited for Ashna to answer her.

"The part that you didn't "do" anything."

"It's the truth," Nora reiterated. Ashna's raised eyebrow said that she didn't believe her. "We kissed. A lot. Heavily."

"More details. Remember, I need to live vicariously through you," Ashna encouraged.

Nora laughed and repeated some of the details that she already shared with Ashna over the phone once West left her house on Sunday evening. Then she added, "I probably would've done it, you know. Like, went all the way. I'd never felt so...-"

"Turned on?" Ashna supplied her lack of vocabulary.

"Right. In my entire life! I was just waiting for him to take the next step. But he didn't. He never took the next step with anything. He never went under my shirt, his hand never slipped south of the border, not even over my pants. He was very gentlemanly." Nora felt extremely frustrated at the moment, from just describing the events of the weekend to Ashna.

"Did you...touch...him?" Ashna asked.

"Well, no-"

"Nora!"

"What? You know I'm inexperienced! I don't know what I'm doing!" Nora defended herself. "I gave him a hickey, though."

Ashna looked slightly impressed. "Well, at least you did something. So you two just like, made out all weekend?"

"Eh, pretty much. But we talked a lot. We really learned a lot about each other. Ash, we so could've done it. I mean, my mom was working all weekend and my dad was at his shop, so we were essentially alone. And we slept in my bed. He kept saying that he didn't want to ruin anything with me because he liked me. And I believe him." Nora pulled her phone out of her book bag again. Another text from West. It had a picture attached to it.

The picture was a selfie he'd taken with his phone. They were cuddled together on her bed, looking like an average high school couple. Except, in reality, he wasn't normal - he was famous. There's no way that selfie was going to make its way to Facebook or Instagram. She flipped the phone around to show Ashna.

"Maybe he won't break your heart," Ashna suggested after she looked at the picture for a few seconds.

Nora admired the picture and replied, "Not today, at least."

### Chapter 18

"You need to leave me alone while I'm in school. I've got finals. You're distracting me. :)" Nora's text message made West smile. So, that meant she was thinking about him. He felt slightly bad because he wanted her to do well on her tests.

"West, tell us what happened in Chicago," Brax said, cutting into West's thoughts. He looked across the table at the local diner where they all met up to eat lunch. West wasn't surprised when more of their old gang showed up. He knew it wouldn't take much convincing from Brax and Smith to get the guys to ditch school. Suddenly, he had five pairs of eyes looking at him, waiting for a response.

"Chicaaaago?" asked Christian, imitating his best Chicago accent, failing miserably. The guys chuckled at him.

"Yeah, tell us. We're dying to know," Smith piped up. He winked at West and he never wanted to punch him in the face as hard as he did in that moment.

"Well, I found her," West said.

"Found who?" Jesse asked.

West's eyes connected with Brax's. Green sparkles glistened and he held back a smirk. He had his shoulder length blonde hair pulled back into a man-bun, a look he hated but did out of necessity so as not to be as easily recognized. His expression encouraged West to tell his story. Would his friends get it, though? Or would they all give him a hard time and make fun of him?

"Some chick," Smith piped up again. The guys all made knowing grunts, approving of West searching Chicago to find a chick. Smith's red hair was natural and loose, different than his usual spiked look, again, to disguise himself. If the twins didn't have the same exact green eyes, West could easily forget they were twins...until they smiled. Brax and Smith had the same smile.

"Not just any chick, though," Brax interrupted. "This chick." He slid his cell phone into the middle of their table and it displayed the selfie that West had taken on his own phone, the one he'd texted to Nora earlier in the day. What the hell? How did Brax have it on his phone?

The two bandmates made eye contact again and instantly West knew the answer. Fucking hacked. Goddamn it. Brax hacked his fucking phone. Whatever. It wasn't like he had anything to hide anyway. All the guys peered at the picture.

"Aww yeah. Chick's a hottie!" Jesse affirmed after he caught a glimpse of the picture. He fist bumped West in approval and then he swiped off the ski cap West wore over his head. West grabbed it out of Jesse's hands and replaced it back in place.

"So, tell us," Smith encouraged.

"There's not much to tell," West said, wanting to make this conversation as painless as possible.

"You sing a Disney song with her?" Zeek, the last of the group to join the conversation, asked.

"Did I what?" West asked, completely confused by his buddies question.

"Sex! Did you have sex with her?" Zeek interpreted his weird phrasing.

West paused before he answered. No, he didn't have sex with Nora. What they shared the entire weekend was better than sex. He couldn't tell his friends that, though. They'd label him a pussy for life.

"I spent the whole weekend with her. Slept in her bed. And her parents never knew. What do you think?" West dodged the question. He felt like the biggest fucking asshole for letting the guys assume he had sex with Nora but it didn't matter. He knew what really happened over the weekend and he was more than happy with it. He could tell he was starting to fall in love with Nora and the sex thing wasn't even an issue.

"Ah, my man," Jesse fist bumped West again. "You lucky sons-of-bitches. Gettin' to tap tons of hot chicks who're willingly throwing themselves at you. Tell you what - the 'ole school is starting to run dry of fresh stock. Thank God we're seniors and will have new pools to swim in at college next year."

Christian and Zeek nodded in agreement. The guys continued to harp about high school, the annoying teachers, the date Christian had gone on last weekend, only to end up with a hand job instead of, at the very least, a blow job, and the upcoming Christmas and New Year's Eve parties.

West knew that Brax and Smith would be, without a frigging doubt, at every single party they could during their break from tour. And he was sure he'd join in at least one or two of the parties. He just wished Chicago wasn't so far from Pittsburgh because he really wanted to spend some time with Nora over Christmas, or at the very least, New Year's Eve.

They finished their lunches and parted ways. Smith talked the guys into heading back to his house to get fired up. Smith, of course, had a stash of weed in his basement that would make most drug dealers drool. He didn't smoke a lot, especially when on tour, but when the band had breaks in their schedules, he liked a lot of it. Brax usually partook in the smoke fests, but not West. He didn't want to risk ruining his voice since he was the singer. Smith insisted that weed didn't have those "kinds of affects," but West didn't want to risk it.

"At least come hang with us," Zeek suggested before West flagged a cab.

"Nah, but thanks. We'll hang out some other time," West turned down the offer. Inside his coat pocket, his hand gripped around his phone, which, for now, was his only tie to Nora. He felt fully vested in her and he didn't want to give her up.

"Whipped! Our boy is fucking pussy whipped!" Christian shouted back to West and the other guys all joined in with the jostling. West shook his head and chuckled at them. He knew they'd all tease him, but that's because they just didn't get it.

West was only 18 years old, but he felt way more mature than his years. He craved the singular attention from a girl and didn't feel disappointed that he wasn't going to get high with his friends, or at the fact that he wouldn't be hooking up with other girls at the upcoming parties he'd more than likely be attending. His only disappointment was that he wished Nora could be with him.

### Chapter 19

"Merry Christmas, baby, sure did treat me nice..." West sent Nora a text message on Christmas morning. Little reply bubbles appeared on the screen of his phone so he knew she was writing back to him.

"You're so corny. But I love that song. Merry Christmas to you, too," was her response.

"Wish I was in Chicago," West confessed.

An immediate reply, "Me, too."

The words made West smile. If West had to guess, he'd guess that she missed him. At least he hoped she missed him because he missed her like crazy. Had it only been a week since he last saw her? It felt like lifetime.

"I can't wait until New Year's Day. You're picking me up at the airport, right?" West wrote.

"Please don't wish my winter break over so quickly! But I know what to you mean ;) I'll be at the airport." Nora's response made West's heart beat quicker. The thought of her getting excited about seeing him solidified the feelings he experienced when he thought about her.

* * *

"I love you," West whispered into Nora's ear. She squeezed his arms around her tighter as he held her. They laid in her bed, a place that seemed to be growing more and more of a hot spot for the two of them.

Without pulling away, Nora turned in his arms so she could face him. His gray eyes met with hers and she kissed him. They both left their eyes open for a second during their kiss. There was no way she could say those three little words back to him. Not when she was going to break up with him in the morning.

Over the last week and half, Nora and West had grown increasingly closer, spending all of their free time talking on the phone or texting. Nora had neglected her Bonneville and she hated herself for that. She couldn't keep putting her entire life on hold just so she could share text messages with some guy. She needed to be herself, not someone's girlfriend.

She wasn't even his girlfriend, she thought, so it wasn't like they were really "breaking up," right? She was just going to tell him they needed to stop talking. They spent Christmas and New Year's Eve apart and it killed Nora to think of West going to parties without her. The idea of him + her wasn't convenient. She stressed herself out knowing that there was the possibility that he'd hook up with another girl at one of those parties. And she didn't even want to think about when the tour for Copper Crossfire started up again.

Instantly, their kiss turned heated. West's tongue invaded her mouth and took control. She responded because her body craved him. She needed him. The incredible desire that seemed to constantly live between her legs overtook her rational thoughts and drove her actions.

Nora touched West. She let her hand trace along the zipper of his pants. He moaned into her mouth, which Nora took as a good sign, so she didn't stop. In fact, she added more pressure to her touch until she squeezed the contents firmly.

"Fuck, Nora," West breathed heavily, biting his lip in restraint.

"What?" she asked naughtily.

"Don't do that unless you mean it," West informed her. As a response, Nora very tentatively slid her fingers under the waistline of West's jeans and elastic of his underwear. She was treading in new territory and was unsure of how to proceed. West held his breath at her exploration. He finally exhaled when her hand grasped around his hot prick. His hand found hers and he encouraged her to squeeze him. Harder.

Nora followed West's miming and she marveled in his body's reaction to her touch.

"Wait, stop," he instructed. Her hand froze. Had she done something wrong? Had she hurt him? He allowed a sheepish smile to invade his face. "I need a second."

She kissed him instead. She pulled her hand out from his pants and pressed herself against him as seductively as she could imagine. Nora hooked her leg over West's hip so that she was able to rub herself against his hardness. They both moaned at the new contact.

"West, touch me," Nora practically begged. Before he could respond, she pulled off her shirt and tossed it to the floor, followed closely by her bra. West's eyes dilated at the sight. His hands immediately gravitated to her newly exposed breasts, and his fingers played at her pink nipples. They became hard little nubs between his fingers and Nora squealed in pure delight. "Please, touch me here," Nora guided West's hand to between her legs. She helped him shove his fingers under her pants and he needed no further guidance.

Nora gasped as West's fingers found her entrance and easily slipped inside. She was drenched and it was all she could think about. The sensations that flooded her body, her mind: incomprehensible. His fingers flicked up, down, back and forth inside of her and she wanted to scream. It felt so good. She never, in her wildest dreams, imagined it would feel that good.

While West played her like a fiddle, he also pinched her nipples with his other hand. That was enough. Nora's body jumped, completely leaping over the threshold, and West felt her tighten against his fingers. She couldn't suppress her moans because it would've been torture. He kissed her mouth to absorb her reaction to her orgasm. When she finally returned to earth, she smiled hazily at West.

"Holy shit," she gasped for air. He smiled at her beauty, her innocence, her passion. She then returned her hands to West's pants and said, "Your turn."

* * *

West replayed the last 24 hours in his head. He'd gone to visit Nora on New Year's Day. It was January 2nd, and he was on another plane, flying home.

With a broken heart.

The morning after their intimate encounter, Nora dropped a bomb. She broke up with him.

West felt like crying at the thought. Why? Why did she break up with him? He told her that he loved her, for fuck's sake. He knew she loved him, too. _Goddamn it, Nora,_ he thought.

Nora gave him excuses that she didn't feel like herself anymore. That she spent too much time talking to him and texting him that she didn't have time for herself. She lost track of who she was and she didn't like how she started to center herself around him. She said that she wasn't "breaking up" with him because they were never _really_ boyfriend and girlfriend, so it should be easy-ish for them to quit each other, cold turkey.

"When you're not famous anymore, look me up," she'd told him. WTF? Really? When he wasn't famous? How in the hell was he supposed to know when he wasn't going to be famous anymore? Nora told him that just thinking about his tour starting up again stressed her out because she'd constantly be worried about him. Worried he'd cheat on her. Worried he'd forget about her. Just worried.

West assured her that would never happen because he loved her, but he just couldn't seem to talk any fucking sense in to her.

"How can you love me, West? You've only known me for three weeks!" she'd thrown at him.

God, she was infuriating.

She had plans for her future after graduation. She needed to remain focused if she wanted her dreams to come true. She refused to tell him what those dreams included, and they obviously didn't include West since she was dumping him. Mother. Fucker.

Nora told him that she needed to protect herself from him. She seemed convinced that he was going to hurt her. And she wasn't that kind of girl who went ga-ga over boys men guys.

So many fucking excuses.

He reflected at their whirlwind. The way West fell for Nora was so cliché. He met her backstage at one of his concerts. She wasn't the least bit interested. He fully invested himself in finding her so he could make her interested. Finally and blessedly, she returned one of his messages. In three weeks' time, West was head over heels for Nora. He never intended to fall in love with her. No way. His love for her - the unexpected beautiful kind - ripped at his heart now that it was all over. He knew his broken heart would always belong to Nora Rookwood.

Another thing West knew for sure was that when the tour started back up in three days, he was done being conservative. He'd held back for so long and didn't participate in the sexcapades with the twins because he thought he wanted to wait for the right person, wanted to be in love, wanted a singular relationship. Fuck. That. He'd given Nora his heart but she didn't want it.

He couldn't wait to bang as many chicks as possible. Especially now.

If he couldn't be with Nora, he didn't care about who he was with. He'd hook up with a million chicks. Nora was the right girl, and if he couldn't be with the right girl, he'd be with the "right girl for right now." Once the tour started again, he'd get his fill. Mark his words.

The West MacKinnon who devoted himself to Nora Rookwood was about to make a sudden departure from existence. He was ready to introduce his fans to the new West. Hello, douchebaggery.

And he couldn't wait to tell the guys about his new plan.

Wait. Should he text Nora and ask her to reconsider? Ask her to un-break up with him? Ask her to officially be his girlfriend? Ask? Beg? Grovel?

No. Even though he obviously wasn't over it, he needed to pretend like it.

### Chapter 20

Nora dried tears on the sleeve of her pjs. She didn't bother using tissues anymore because it was beyond her control. _The Notebook_ killed her every single time she watched it and she brought the self-inflicted demise all on her own. The ending was too much for her to take in at the moment, especially since she was wallowing in pity.

Her phone chimed and she answered it without even looking at the caller ID. Of course it was Ashna. Who else would be calling her? She hadn't heard from West since he left her house that morning. That hurt her the most. If he really loved her like he said he did, why wasn't he calling her every five minutes to try to change her mind? "Hello?"

"Nora? Are you crying?" Ashna's voice filled her ear.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I'm watching _The Notebook_ ," Nora said, her voice cracking a little.

There was no hesitation in Ashna's reply. "I'll be right over."

* * *

_The Notebook_ was their go-to "something is wrong" movie. Ashna started the tradition when her then-boyfriend dumped her sophomore year. Nora was there for her and was as supportive as a best friend should be during a break-up. The two of them probably watched _The Notebook_ ten times during Ashna's recovery from the post-Brad era. It was a dark time in their lives, but _The Notebook_ brought them through it. Since then, any time one of them needed help getting through an emotional breakdown, that movie seemed to help.

Ashna had no idea why Nora was watching it. Unless West broke her heart. That slimy no-good asshole. Nora was right. She swore he was going to hurt her. Her prophecy came true. Damn it. Ashna felt like a bitch since she was the one who encouraged Nora to go for it with him.

She let herself into Nora's bedroom without bothering to knock. There sat her best friend, curled up with her oldest stuffed animal, in sweats and a messy bun on top of her head. Nora's tear stained face turned toward Ashna as she joined her on the bed.

"Hun. What's wrong?" she asked Nora.

"I broke up with him," Nora answered.

Ashna shook her head. "What?"

Nora said it again. "I ended things with West."

"You ended it?" Ashna asked, just to make sure she heard Nora correctly. She nodded her head in confirmation. "Then why are you crying?"

"Because I think I was starting to fall in love with him, Ash," Nora sobbed into her stuffed animal.

"Why did you break up with him then?" Ashna had to ask. Nora wasn't making sense. Oh no - she didn't have terminal cancer, or something equally as devastating, did she? What other logical explanation could there possibly be for her breaking up with Weston MacKinnon, especially if she was starting to fall in love with him?!

"Because I was starting to fall for him!" Nora said with another sob.

"Babe, you aren't making any sense." Ashna needed to get some real answers from her or else she was never going to get clued in. Nora sat up and pulled her legs under herself in Indian-style. She still hugged her stuffed animal.

Nora took a couple of deep breaths. And then a couple more. When her blue eyes met with Ashna's, the tears were finally gone. One more set of breaths to steady her nerves and then she laughed.

"We did it," she said after her small bit of hysteria ended. Ashna's expression widened across her entire face. Nora nodded. "Last night. He flew in yesterday, came over, my dad was at the shop and my mom was shooting an engagement session, so it was easy to sneak him into my room."

Ashna nodded her head while listening to Nora's story and then waited patiently for her to continue. She waited for the other shoe to drop. Was Nora going to tell her that West revealed that he had every single STD known to the human race? Was she going to say that West turned into a total asshole afterward because he was after her for one thing and one thing only?

"He told me he loved me."

Ashna waited for a few more seconds and Nora said nothing more. "Um. Nor. I'm waiting for the horrible news here..."

"What do you mean?" Nora's adorable innocence captured her face and the whole deer-in-headlights thing was present in her expression.

"Let me recap things and tell me if I'm missing anything," Ashna stated. "Weston MacKinnon meets you backstage at one of his concerts and chases after you and then proceeds to finds you on Facebook and you guys started chatting. Forget the fact that it was _me_ who first replied back to him for you because that's irrelevant. So, he comes to surprise you and you invite him to spend the night with you. You two make out the whole weekend. You continue to chat and text. He comes to see you again yesterday. You think you're falling for him. You have sex. He tells you that he loves you. Have I got it all?"

Nora shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, that pretty much covers it."

"So _why_ did you break up with him?!"

"I haven't worked on my Bonneville since that first weekend. Did you know that? I mean, I started to work on it, got dressed and ready to work, but then my phone chimed. My dream, my passion, my life - I haven't been a part of my _self_ since that first weekend. Do you know how infuriating that is? Ash, I'm _not_ like that! I've never been like that! Boys? Who cares? And now all I can think about is West. Is he going to text me? Is he thinking about me? How is this going to work?" Nora explained.

Ashna sat back for a second. "Wow, Nor. I had no idea you felt like that. You mean you really haven't worked on the Bonneville?" Ashna was flabbergasted. Nora loved that car and the fact that she'd been neglecting it meant she definitely wasn't herself. "Why?"

"Because I was chatting or texting with West all the time. Like all the time. I don't think you quite understand the amount of "all the time" I'm talking about here," Nora said with an exaggerated tone. "I made the decision to end things with him before he told me he loved me, before we had sex. It doesn't matter that I think I love him, too. None of it matters."

"Look, I know you have this preconceived idea that nothing works out. I mean, my track record with guys sucks. Really sucks."

"Exactly!" Nora agreed with Ashna.

"But that doesn't mean--"

"Doesn't mean what, Ash? Doesn't mean that it won't work? How can it work? If you - _you!_ \- can't make it work with normal guys, how could _I_ make it work with West MacKinnon?!" Nora flared on the dramatic side and leaned forward, burying her face into the comforter of her bed. She sat back up and flipped her hair quickly, the bun almost coming out. "It's not even like he's just locally famous. It's worldwide. It's just - just - it's just so unrealistic. It'll never work out. We'll never see each other. Maybe if he wasn't famous. But he is. So I decided that we shouldn't waste any more time pretending that it'll actually work."

Ashna remained quiet for a few seconds. She hated to admit it, but Nora was right. Things between her and West probably wouldn't work out. The idea of them working out was fantastic. In reality, though, they'd hardly see each other. They'd probably fight a lot because of his fame and all of the attention he got from other girls. Nora would stress out too much. She was so right.

"I'm sorry," she told Nora and leaned forward to hug her. In her arms, Nora started to cry again.

"Me, too," Nora admitted.

After Ashna held Nora for a few moments, she uttered the words she knew she shouldn't even think. "Do you think you should rethink your decision?"

Nora pulled away from Ashna's hug and looked at her with a horrid expression on her face. "What?"

"I mean, do you think this is the right decision? You're so upset and maybe if you just tried--"

"No! Ash, this is the right thing. I can't handle it. I just can't even think about him being on tour and all those girls trying to get with him and--"

"Honey, if he loves you like he says, those other girls won't stand a chance, right?" Ashna tried to justify her reasoning.

Nora just shook her head. "No. It's over. I told him to look me up when he's not famous anymore. We'll see what happens. Let me announce it now that I'm not holding my breath." Her eyes teared again. "Plus, he hasn't even texted me once since he left here this morning. Do you know how much that hurts? He hasn't _tried_ to get me to change my mind, so he must not really want me to do it."

"Maybe he's scared? I mean, it seems like you gave him no choice and so maybe he's hoping that you'll change your mind?" Ashna reasoned.

Nora shook her head no. "I'm letting him go. We'll see if he ever comes back. It will be unexpected if he does. Unexpected, but beautiful."

### Chapter X - Epilogue

Two years later

Nora tore her eyes away from the television set. She absolutely hated when Jonathan watched the news while they ate dinner, but what could she do? She'd told him time and time again, but he insisted on it because it was the only time of the day he could catch up on current events.

Nora and Jonathan lived together in the small apartment that was situated above her garage. Her garage. It was a prideful feeling to know she had followed her dreams of opening up her own car shop after high school. She owned it - well, the bank owned it, but she was making payments so that it would officially be hers in 20 years. Thanks to good ol' Dad and his co-signing on the business loan or else the bank never would have given her the loan.

She moved from Chicago to Columbus, Ohio, where she was able to get away. She didn't want to be in direct competition with her father's car shop, and wanted a chance to spread her own wings. Columbus allowed her the freedom to achieve both goals. The cost of living was easier to handle in Columbus and she really liked the atmosphere.

Ashna attended The Ohio State University, which also happened to be in Columbus, her major still undecided. The girls hung out as often as their schedules allowed and even though Ashna also lived in the two-bedroom apartment with Nora and Jonathan, they didn't see each other as often as they'd like. Between Ashna's classes and Nora's hours at the shop, their schedules conflicted lately.

The news then featured a story about Copper Crossfire, which captured Nora's undivided attention. Her head jerked in the direction of the television, which also caught Jonathan's attention.

"Sorry, babe, I know you hate the TV during dinner. The weather was already on so I'll shut it off." He reached for the remote but she slammed her hand over his to stop him.

"It's okay. I want to hear this story," she said as calmly as she could.

Jonathan gave her a sly smile. "About Copper Crossfire? Really?"

She forced a small smile in response and nodded. She cared for Jonathan. After all, they started dating the autumn after she graduated high school; Jonathan's dad knew Nora's dad and it was a blind date set-up that went unprecedentedly well. It was easy with Jonathan. They got along well, had similar views on life, and just worked well together. Nora knew Jonathan loved her but she wasn't sure she felt the same passion toward him. Part of her held back from truly loving him because of West MacKinnon, who stole her heart eight months before she even met Jonathan.

The news anchor spoke in near monotony. "Fans of the band Copper Crossfire have a lot to mourn today. Band member Smith Lawson was found dead early this morning by his bandmates on their tour bus. Copper Crossfire has had countless hits since their debut over four years ago and has always maintained a clean image, proving to be good idols for teenagers to look up to. The discovery of Lawson's death will, without a doubt, tarnish the image the band has portrayed for so long. Foul play has not been ruled out, but police suspect an accidental drug overdose. Copper Crossfire's rep issued a statement around noon today, saying that the band is heartbroken over the loss of Smith, especially Brax, who was Smith's twin brother. Lead singer West MacKinnon is refusing to speak to anyone about Smith's death. The future of the band and the remainder of their tour is, indefinitely, put on hold due to these unfortunate and very sad circumstances."

Nora's heart sank. Smith was dead? While Nora only met the other members of the band once at the meet and greet, she couldn't believe that Smith was dead. Poor West! She knew how important they all were to one another.

Immediately, selfishly, Nora's thoughts included one of the last things she ever said to West. _When you're not famous anymore, look me up._ Did he even remember she uttered those words to him? Did he even remember _her_? Did it even matter?

What did West's future hold for him now? Was it too soon for Nora to think about West? Should she even be thinking about West when her life currently included her own car shop and a man named Jonathan? Her heart felt squeezed in a vice as she considered dismissing the idea of West.

Nora remembered how heartbroken she was after she ended things with him. Even though it had been her decision, his sudden departure felt like a huge gaping wound left out in the open to heal. She had been tempted so many times to give in, to call him, to text him. She needed to be strong, though. The end result would have been catastrophic, she knew for sure. More heartbreak and misery. Would a perfectly sane person voluntarily bring that upon herself? Slowly but surely, the pain ebbed away, and eight months later, she'd been set up on a blind date with Jonathan.

Jonathan clicked his tongue as the story ended and the sports segment started. "Don't you like that band?"

"No, Ashna does," Nora responded automatically.

"Oh," Jonathan looked down, "that's too bad."

She looked at him; really looked at him, allowing her eyes to take in everything about Jonathan that she could absorb. His clean-cut dirty blonde hair, his averagely handsome face, his brown eyes, his athletic-ish build - it all added up to something nice. Nora appreciated nice. She stood up and cleared her plate from the kitchen table. She reached for Jonathan's too, but he touched her hand, signaling not to take it.

"Why don't you forget about the dishes for now? Let's go to the bedroom," he suggested as he brought Nora's wrist to his lips and he kissed her softly there.

Nora's body didn't react like it should've at his suggestion. She should've been instantly turned on. It'd been over two weeks since they'd had sex, after all. She felt reluctance but she gave in and went along with it.

Their lovemaking was different. All she could think about was West since the stupid news story. West was the first boy man guy to ever touch her, turn her on, explore her body with his, and it was hard - so freaking hard - for her to forget him. Or the way she loved him. Or the way he'd kissed her. Or the way he'd touched her. Or the way her body automatically reacted to him. She didn't even have to urge herself into it. West had been able to reach her on different levels that Jonathan had never yet achieved in nearly two years.

Nora moaned loudly as Jonathan filled her with his manhood. She gripped onto his hair tightly, holding his mouth to her neck while he kissed her. It wasn't that Jonathan was performing any better than his usual par-for-the-course sex, but Nora couldn't shake West from her mind. Her brain gave her foggy play-by-plays of her past intimacies with West, which was the culprit of her increased libido.

"Oh my God," Jonathan muttered when they'd finished. "What got into you?"

Nora blushed, "I don't know, but are you complaining?"

"Hell, no." Jonathan remained on the bed for a few more seconds before he went to the bathroom to shower.

While he was gone, Nora ignited her phone and searched in the archives of her contact list. _Would West even have the same cell phone number?_ she wondered.

"Just heard about Smith. Please accept my deepest condolences." Nora kept the text message short and sweet. Then she pressed send.

The End

###

Keep reading for a sneak peak of Book 2 in the Unexpected Series...

### Chapter Excerpt

Sneak Peak of Chapter 1 from Book 2 of the Unexpected Series

West MacKinnon blinked a few times before he reread his cell phone screen. Was he seeing things correctly? "New text message from Nora Rookwood" appeared on the iPhone. His mind was already numb – the last 12 hour had been absolute hell – so he honestly wasn't sure if he was hallucinating or not. Instead of pushing the button to access the text messages, he simply rolled over onto his side and ignored it.

Since finding his best friend and bandmate, Smith Lawson, dead earlier that morning, the day felt like it had been nonstop. First, the panic and the denial. Then the call to 911. Then dealing with the band's manager, Lionel, spewing shit for Smith's death. Instead of Lionel being considerate and respectful, he was furious and most of it was directed at West. Why? Because it was "his fault" that Smith had overdosed. Why hadn't West been paying attention to him?

Why? Because Smith was his own man. He made decisions on his own and didn't need a fucking babysitter. West felt bad enough that his best friend was dead, so he was furious that his manager was trying to place the blame on him. He fired Lionel on the spot, screaming at him and making it an even bigger scene, not to mention more dramatic, than necessary.

And – lest he forget – he was also trying to get down the pants of a lovely honey named... Named... Shit, what was her name? At the time, West could fully recall the chick's name, but later, in hindsight, and after the total mind fuck of _finding his best friend dead_ , he couldn't really remember the name of the chick he fucked last night. So sue him. It was the first chick he'd banged in months and he blamed the alcohol for the slip in his self-vow of celibacy.

Since he'd binged on booze and babes after Nora Rookwood broke his heart over two years ago and he woke up one morning with not one, not two, not three, but _four_ women in his bed and had no recall of the nights events, he swore to tone things down - big time. After that night, when he had to use his imagination to the immense amounts of sex and alcohol that were consumed, he promised to be more selective about his hook-ups. Smith and Brax didn't understand or comprehend his ability to immediately stop having sex. He quit as quickly as he'd started - in an instant of harsh and rash decision making. Until last night, that was, and he slipped. And then Smith died. Was that his punishment for breaking his vow?

If West was taking Smith's death hard, Brax might as well have been pronounced dead by the coroner, too. Smith's twin brother, Brax seemed lost without him. West almost had to physically tear Brax away from the body when the coroner took it with him. He'd never seen Brax cry before, in all the years of their friendship, and it was gut wrenching to go through. They huddled together for most of the morning, until they were able to board a private jet to take them all, Smith included, home to Pittsburgh so proper arrangements could be made.

At 20 years old, West never officially moved out of his parents' house. What was the point? He was either in L.A. doing work for the record label, Gearworks Records, and they always put him up in a swanky and fully furnished apartment. Or he was on the road with touring or promoting. His childhood bedroom had been commandeered by his little brother, East, so West was stuck with the smallest room of the house, complete with twin-sized bed and silly giraffe blankets. He buried his head under the aforementioned blankets when he heard knocking come through the door.

"Weston," beckoned Claire, his mother.

"Mom, tell them all "no comment." I'm not talking to anyone. Especially not anyone from our management company," West answered automatically. Was he completely insane to think he'd actually be able to get any sleep once he was home? He knew people would be calling, even including his old buddies, who were also friends with Brax and Smith.

"No one is here to talk to you. Please come eat something. You slept through dinner. East wants to spend time with you, too." Claire didn't back down. She knew her son needed time to grieve but she didn't want him to slide down the slippery slope of depression. She knew Smith was his best friend and needed to make sure he was going to be okay.

"Not hungry," West pouted. "Tell East that my best friend just fucking died, okay Mom? I think he'll understand that I don't want to play because my best friend is fucking dead!"

On the other side of West's bedroom door, Claire winced at her oldest son's choice language and looked down at her youngest son. His light brown hair shone brilliantly in the light of the hallway. He looked up to his mother, eagerly holding a handmade card for West.

"What, Mommy?" East asked. Claire couldn't bring herself to say the words without tears coming to her eyes. She couldn't believe that Smith was dead. It hit her hard, considering that she spent years watching him grow up with West, from first grade until she supervised during their tours when they were all still minors.

She cleared her throat before she answered East. "West is still sleepy, honey."

The disappointment in East's face was evident. He hung his little six-year-old head. "But he's been sleeping since he came home. Doesn't he know that I missed him?"

West, still having ninja-level hearing, which was impressive considering all the loud crowds, screaming fans, deafening music and decibel shattering environments he encountered because of his job as lead singer and guitarist for chart-topping band Copper Crossfire, heard the entire interaction between his mom and little brother outside his door. Grumbling to himself that he was being a self-centered prick, West felt selfish for wanting to ignore his family. Sure, he was going through a hard time, but he realized, at hearing Easton's little voice, that he needed to interact. He couldn't recluse himself.

He pulled open the door to his bedroom and stood face to face with his mother. It was apparent that she was surprised. He made silent eye contact with her before he stooped down to eye-level with Easton.

Easton hid no excitement as he looked at his big brother, total and complete admiration plastered all over his face. He couldn't stand still, his feet fidgeted while he tried to remain calm.

"West! I know – I know you're sad so I made this for you 'cause I – I – 'cause I think it will make you happy!" East's childlike voice made West's heart swell for a moment until he realized why Easton wanted to make him feel better. Smith's dead. West forced a smile, took the homemade card from Easton's hands and made a big deal about it.

"Aw, thanks buddy. You know what? It does make me feel a little better," West said, looking at the outside of the card and then the inside. The crayon artwork could be classified as abstract but it was colorful and East beamed with pride as West inspected it. "Hey, why don't you show me what you've done to my old bedroom? Do you know how surprised I was when I found out that you were living in there now?"

West made sure to keep his voice light sounding because he wanted to make East feel like he was the most important kid in the world. Honestly, at that moment in time, West could think of no one more important. His little brother grabbed ahold of his hand and pulled violently down the hallway.

"Mom said that since you were never home anymore, I was allowed to turn your room into my new big boy room! I got to pick out the paint and guess what, West! I used a paint brush and I helped Daddy paint all of the walls! It was so much fun!" East was so excited to be able to show West his new bedroom. West looked over his shoulder to his mother, who gave him a grateful and sympathetic look. The last thing she wanted was West to hold a grudge against her for not letting him grieve. That wasn't going to happen, though.

As West politely listened to East go on and on, babbling excitedly about his new bedroom, he couldn't help but let his mind wander back to a few short minutes ago. His phone. Nora. Text message. Had he been so totally out of it that it didn't even register? Nora sent him a text message?! He didn't read it? Wtf?

East had lugged out his Lego bucket from his closet and had just dumped it all over the floor. West crouched down beside him but couldn't shake the thought from his brain about Nora and the unread text message. "Hey buddy, do me a favor and start pulling out all the red pieces for me. I'm going to build something awesome, but I need to get something out of my room first. I'll be right back."

"Okay, West!" East happily agreed to do anything his big brother asked him. West rubbed the top of East's head affectionately as he stood up and rushed back to his room to grab his phone.

West quickly accessed the messages section and tapped on the text from Nora. His head spun a little at the thought of Nora. It had been awhile since he thought about her because he did almost everything in his power to forget her. He drank, a lot that usually worked. He needed to forget the fact that Nora was the only girl to ever break his heart and he felt foolish when he remembered how quickly he fell in love with her. He never felt bitter toward her, though.

"Just heard about Smith. Please accept my deepest apologies."

### Chapter XX

About the author:

Noell Mosco lives in southwestern Pennsylvania, born and raised. She enjoys her full time job as a physical therapist assistant, but it's been her dream since childhood to become a writer. She lives with her husband, two cats and one dog. This is her third novel. She loves to interact with fans.

Connect with the author:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/noellcakes

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/noellmoscoauthor

Blog: http://noellcakes.tumblr.com

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/noellcakes

Other books by Noell Mosco:

"Unfamiliar Faces" -- published May 2, 2014 \-- ebook format only

"These Walls" -- published August 13, 2014 -- ebook and paperback

### Acknowledgements

Hard word doesn't even begin to describe writing a novel. Blood, sweat and tears would be an exaggeration, but it feels like a good comparison.

I wouldn't be able to finish complete works of literature if I didn't have the help of a lot of people.

Thanking God is the first thing on my list because it's through Him that I am able to imagine, create, write, and exist in this world.

My beta-readers have been rock solid through this book, reading and re-reading different variations, endings and many (many!) edits until we all felt satisfied. I honestly don't know where I'd be without the insight, advice and critiques from my beta-girls. They all give me fresh eyes, new outlooks and honesty with my writing. Thank you Sarah, Melissa, Christina, Chris, Crystal, and Jen!

Music moves me. I've said it before and I'll say it again: music allows me to tap into part of my brain and create this written outlet that otherwise I don't think I'd be able to reach. I'm a huge fan of all music, but a special shout-out needs to be directed to my favorite band (you know who you are!), from whom I've pulled much inspiration, like the title of this book 

Book blogs and the ladies who run them: you are awesome. Really. You all put in so much work, time, effort and oomph to promote books and that's just rad. I've got a couple of blogs who have been effing amazing and I feel as though I owe them much love and appreciation. Just One More Page, Book Fancy Book Blog, Words Turn Me On, Mommy's Naughty Playground, and Two Ordinary Girls and their books - you all rock my world and deserve medals.

My street team, Noell's Rockstars, who pimps, promotes, posts, and supports me! You girls are the best and I love you! Our numbers are small, but I have plans for us and hope for some growth soon!

Thank YOU for reading.

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