Title: Midnight Shift: Chapter Five, Tinted Crazy, part b
Rating: R [language, alcohol and drug use]

Summary: Robert and Summer spend time with the band. Bonzo causes trouble. A lot of trouble.

Posted in two parts due to length.




As the cute blond girl walked by, Robert pulled her into his lap. He nuzzled her neck as she settled in his embrace. His hand moved up from her stomach to cup a breast, not really caring who watched. It wasn’t a foreign activity for one or all of the band members to play with their girlfriends after a concert. In fact it wasn’t all that odd for them all to have sex on the plane or at the after party, without regard to who was around; sometimes it was even a competition. But he wasn’t thinking about that in the moment. All he was thinking about was how adorable it was when Summer slipped out onto the stage in the darkness while the crowd was focused on Bonzo drumming and swapped out his microphone.

“You know,” he nibbled on her ear gently, “I think I rather liked you hurrying out onto stage for me.”

“That was Benji’s idea,” she declared, glancing down the plane at Robert’s assistant. “I think I’ll be spending shows with him.”

Surprisingly jealousy didn’t flash in Robert’s eyes before he nibbled her ear again, “Why’s that?”

“Fucking whore,” Cole muttered as he passed by Robert and Summer.

The girl in the singer’s lap instantly tensed up. Robert’s warning bells sounded loudly in his head and his gaze snapped up, quickly enough to catch Cole glaring at Summer before he continued back to the office. Had the girl not been in his lap, he would have jumped up and stalked after the tour manager. Instead he looked at Summer’s face, noting an expression he couldn’t quite explain.

“Baby, what was that all about?” he asked gently.

Shaking her head, Summer instantly hid her face on his shoulder. Frowning Robert’s arms tightened around her. He glanced in the direction of the tour manager, but he had already disappeared into the room. Questioning eyes cast in the opposite direction, focusing on Benji. He too paid no mind to Robert.

“Baby, what happened?” he asked softly.

She shook her head again, keeping her face buried on his shoulder.

“Summer, tell me, please,” Robert pleaded.

“He probably tried to fuck her,” Jimmy, who was seated on the couch near them drinking Jack Daniels, spoke up. “And my guess would be that she said no.”

The singer looked to the guitarist before returning to Summer, “Is that true, baby?”

She shrugged, still avoiding looking up. Eyes narrowing, Robert once more looked in the manager’s direction. Never before had he any issues with Cole, at least not any that made him want to beat him up. Of course Robert probably couldn’t best the beast of a man but that was immaterial. The point was Cole had slighted his woman in some way or another and something had to be done about it. He could always suggest something to Bonzo and he would probably—

“No,” Jimmy spoke up.

“What?” he looked back at the guitarist.

“Whatever you’re thinking, drop the thought, Percy. He’s our tour manager. He can make our lives a living hell if he so chooses to,” he declared.

“How did you know I was—”

“I know you, Percy,” Jimmy interrupted. “Summer is fine. We’ll all just be a little more observant.”

“But—”

“No, Percy. Just no.”

He turned his attention back to Summer, kissing her forehead, “Baby, everything is going to be fine. Jimmy’s going to watch out for you too, okay? And I’m sure Bonzo and Jonesy will too. You don’t have to worry about a thing.”

She nodded, but didn’t look up. It didn’t matter if the band was going to watch out for her, because it was when they weren’t around that she worried. But maybe if she had the band and Benji around, she would be safe from Cole. Maybe.



Jimmy rode in the limo with Summer, Robert and Bonzo, almost as if he was proving the incident prior to the concert was forgiven and forgotten. As she had been on the short up and down flight, Summer remained quiet, cuddled in Robert’s lap. Bonzo had acquired a bottle of whiskey but hadn’t been drinking it nearly as fast as Jimmy had his Jack Daniels, mainly because he kept looking at the blond couple, concerned at Summer’s quietness as much as Robert. With enough booze in his blood to loosen up whatever it was that was holding him back, Bonzo capped his bottle and set it on the seat beside him.

His eyes flicked to Robert’s every so briefly, enough to set the singer on edge. Before he could do anything, Bonzo reached for Summer’s right foot. Her eyes suddenly snapped to his, a brief flicker of fear shooting through her sapphire orbs. He ran his finger down the center of her foot once, making her toes curl and her calf tense to pull her foot away. Shaking his head, Bonzo grinned, holding her foot with one hand, his other reaching for her pinkie toe.

“This little piggie went to market,” he wiggled the toe, “This little piggie stayed home,” he wiggled the next one, “This little piggie had roast beast,” his fingers danced on her middle toe, “This little piggie had none,” he wiggled the last small toe, “And THIS little piggie went ‘wee wee wee wee’ all the way home.”

After wiggling her last toe, something that had her giggling softly by then, Bonzo’s fingers danced over the rest of her foot. Summer erupted into loud giggles and thrashed about in Robert’s lap, trying to free her foot from Bonzo’s grasp. Both Jimmy and Robert smiled as she squealed, unable to escape the exuberant drummer. 

As she wiggled in Robert’s lap, he couldn’t help but get aroused, which instantly tempered his smile. While he could certainly do whatever he wanted to her with the other guys present in the car, he certainly didn’t want them to be privy to any more of her than they already were. Taking a deep breath, his arm slipped around Summer’s waist, holding her still. His eyes went to Bonzo, wordlessly asking the drummer to relent. Enjoying her giggles, the drummer didn’t even notice that Robert was looking at him, much less holding Summer more tightly than before. He just wanted to hear her giggle.

“Bonzo, leave her be,” Jimmy finally spoke up, though he too was still smiling.

The car came to a halt in front of the hotel. Bonzo was still tickling the squealing girl when the door opened.

“BONZO!” both Jimmy and Robert shouted.

The drummed froze mid-tickle. His eyes went to Robert’s and he registered that Jimmy was climbing out of the car. He then looked at Summer, who was panting, trying to recover from the giggling. The flush in her cheeks and the light in her eyes tempted him to tickle her once more. As soon as he had paused, she had tucked her feet underneath herself. With little thought, Bonzo reached for her again.

“BONZO!” Robert yelled. “Get out of the bloody car!”

He hesitated for a moment until a hand reached in and tugged on his shirt. With a frown he grabbed his bottle of booze and backed out of the car. Before he walked away, he poked his head back into the car, winking at the young girl.

“We’re not done with this, missie,” he proclaimed, grinning at her. “Not at all.”

“Bonzo,” Robert warned.

“No worries, mate. No worries,” the drummer then ducked out of the car.

“Baby?” Robert turned his full attention to the girl in his lap. “Do you want to stay here awhile or should we go back home?”

Her eyes fluttered to his, “Can we stay a bit? I don’t like that Lori was forced to stay here on account of me.”

He brushed hair from her eyes, kissing her briefly, “I don’t know what you want or expect to accomplish by staying here, but we will if that’s what you want.”

Nodding, Summer crawled off of his lap, her skirt flipping up briefly baring her assets to Robert. Groaning he closed his eyes and looked away as she smoothed her skirt down as her feet hit the pavement. Sliding over himself a moment, Robert sat there for a moment, looking up at Summer. Smiling at him, she leaned down and kissed him before moving out of the way.

Hand slipping over hers a moment later, Robert lead her up to the door, ignoring squeals of nearby girlie fans. Part of him was ever so thankful of the meaty guards hired for this tour. Part of him wanted to watch Summer push the girls away again. But instead the guards kept unwanted mobs from surrounding them outside and inside the hotel. It allowed them to slip into the elevator a few moments later, completely alone.

Turning to her, he spoke gently, “Summer, baby, what happened tonight?”

For a moment she hesitated, wanting to tell him that nothing had happened, everything was all right. But he knew it wasn’t and she couldn’t bring herself to lie to him. Instead she looked away briefly, bit her bottom lip, and searched for the words to tell him.

Eyes going back to his, Summer inhaled deeply, “Mr. Cole tried to make me suck his dick. Said if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to see you anymore.”

Anger instantly filled his eyes, his hands clenching, “Baby, you know—”

“So I punched him in the gut, not that it did anything, and ran away from him. I don’t know what would have happened had I not run into Benji,” she interrupted.

“Thank god for Benji,” Robert sighed, eyes flicking to the elevator’s floor indicator, before looking back into hers. “I’ll talk with the bastard, but regardless I don’t want you to be alone whenever he’s around, okay?”

She nodded, “I don’t want to be anyways.”

He kissed her as the lift chimed and the door opened. Hand enveloping hers once more, Robert lead her into the chaotic corridor. As before the concert, groupies and roadies littered the hallway, though this time they were all far more intoxicated than before, and far more naked as well. Summer seemed a bit more thrown by it this time, moving closer to Robert as they moved further down the hallway. Her wide eyes cast about for awhile, before apparently seeing something she didn’t want to. A gasp hid her face against his upper arm. Chuckling he glanced at her but said nothing, continuing down to Jimmy’s suite. Stepping to the side when a half naked girl bolted out of the suite followed promptly by some random roadie, Robert counted to ten before stepping across the threshold, just to make certain they didn’t run into anyone involved in the chase.

As he entered the room, Summer once again looked around. Her eyes instantly went to Lori, who sat in a chair, arms folded across her chest, glaring at Jimmy. The guitarist however wasn’t paying her any attention at all. Instead he stepped out of the bathroom, toweling his hair off. Summer quickly looked away when he looked to her, not wanting him nor Lori to think she was thinking anything untoward about him.

With a kiss, Robert released Summer to seek out something to drink, for both of them. He didn’t even consider the reason she had wanted to remain as he headed towards one of Jimmy’s two fridges. As he moved away from her, Summer turned and made a beeline to Lori. Most everyone who lounged about on the floor and furniture was too wasted to pay much attention to the impending clash.

That is until Lori jumped up, screeching, and slapped Summer. All eyes instantly snapped to the two young girls. Robert instantly set down the beer he hadn’t yet opened as Jimmy hurried past him to interject. Turning to join the two girls, he couldn’t understand a word the dark-haired girl was screaming, but it didn’t matter a moment later. She slapped Summer again and ran out of the room. Jimmy took a step towards the door, shrugged, and turned back to Summer. Her blue eyes were wide with shock, her cheek filled with a red, hand-shaped mark, her mouth slightly agape. Jimmy reached out to comfort her, but Robert quickly swept her into his arms.

Summer did not tremble or cry. Shock at what had happened dominated her emotions, her mind not wrapping around what had happened at all. By the fact that Robert was holding her, shielding her, and the silence in the room quickly ended, Summer surmised Lori having an outburst was not unexpected. Wiggling in Robert’s embrace, her hands found his chest and she pushed away. Concern flitted in his eyes as he looked down into hers, before focusing on the hand print on her cheek.

“Summer, sweetie, Lori is—”

“It’s fine,” she declared, pulling fully out of his arms. 

“She was probably drinking the entire time we were gone,” Jimmy offered, holding out a beer to Summer after handing Robert his. “Besides she isn’t supposed to be here anyways.”

Summer’s eyes flicked to Jimmy, “Why’s that?”

“I dumped her last year,” he answered before heading to sit down in the chair Lori had occupied.

Looking up to Robert, confusion filled her eyes, “Then why is she around?”

“Um, well,” Robert rubbed the back of his neck and took a drink of his beer. “We can’t seem to get rid of her.”

“Why don’t you just tell her to leave and tell the guards to not let her in?” she asked, handing the beer off to a nearby someone. “You have security for a reason, Robert.”

“It’s never as simple as that,” he proclaimed, glancing around for some place to sit, giving in to sitting on Jimmy’s bed.

“Sure it is,” she followed him, but didn’t sit down, remaining standing in front of him.

“Not when she sucks off the guards,” Jimmy spoke up, having followed the entire conversation, even though Bebe Buell had slid into his lap.

“That’s all it takes?” her eyes flicked to Jimmy. “Suck some dick and get to up to you guys?”

He smirked, “Sometimes.”

“No,” Robert countered. “They just already know her, Summer. That’s all.”

Her eyes went back to his, “Then you tell them to not let her back in. You’re the ones paying them.”

“It’s not that simple,” he declared.

“Fine, whatever. I’m going back to San Francisco,” she declared, turning about and heading to the door.

Robert instantly jumped up, grabbing her hand, “Wait, no, Summer.”

She snapped her hand out of his, “Why would I stay? You have given permission for the crazy girls to come right on in, one of whom just told me that she wants me dead. Why would I stay?”

“Wait, what?” Jimmy perked up, pushing Bebe aside. “She threatened you?”

Summer looked at the guitarist, “It doesn’t matter. She’s has reign over this hotel and over you. I’ll just be on my way.”

Robert’s hand tightened on hers, “No. Don’t go.”

“I’m not a rock star. I shouldn’t have to stay around some place where I’ve been threatened,” she proclaimed. “I’m going home.”

He pulled her abruptly to him, pressing the beer bottle to her back to bring her in close. His mouth covered hers, kissing her gently at first before pushing it deeper. Her hands balled up on his chest, Summer resisted his charms. Even though it had been a brash decision, she stood behind it. She might have great affection for Robert, even for the rest of the band, but that did not mean she had to always be looking over her shoulder. With Cole already out for her, it was bad enough. She did not need Lori on top of it all. His lips against hers, his tongue teasing hers did not change that. Her hands never unclenched, she never relaxed in his arms at all. Part of her wanted to slap him when he pulled out of the kiss, for being so presumptuous to think her mind would change with a kiss.

“I’m going home,” she declared, pushing away from him.

“No need,” Jimmy spoke up, setting the phone receiver back on the cradle. “Lori will no longer be an issue.”

Summer looked over at the dark, shirtless man. She said nothing, waiting for him to explain himself. Robert released her long enough to set his beer down, his free hand still holding onto hers. Aching to turn her back to him, to shower her with kisses, he resisted. The fact she hadn’t relaxed in their kiss before was surely not a good sign. But why did he care? They had only known each other for nearly three days. His heart should not feel like it was hanging on by a gossamer thread, completely dependent on whether or not she was going to walk out the door, out of his life. He prayed internally that Jimmy would be able to get her to stay.

“What do you mean?” Summer questioned, trying to pull her hand free from Robert’s.

“As long as you are with us, Lori cannot get near you. She will not be allowed in any hotel, in any venue, anywhere,” he proclaimed. “You will be safe.”

“From her maybe,” Summer clarified.

“Cole won’t touch you either,” Robert added. “I will personally see to that, baby.”

Her eyes flitted to his, holding his gaze for a long few minutes. Her gaze wavered slightly and she stopped trying to tug her hand free. Slowly she nodded, acquiescing to his unspoken request. Robert released her hand and cupped her cheek, kissing her gently to seal the agreement.

Suddenly Bonzo appeared in the doorway, “THERE YOU ARE!”

Summer’s eyes instantly went to the drummer and she squealed, jumping behind Robert. Just as before in the limo, Bonzo had instantly shifted the entire atmosphere surrounding the room. Before too long, Bonzo lunged after Summer, sending her in a giggling flight around Jimmy’s room. While it did make him a bit jealous, Robert returned to sitting on the bed, beer back in hand. He watched the two run about the room, wondering what Bonzo intended if he caught the girl and when he should step in to stop things. But she was giggling as she jumped over people and skirted round and round the room, and that meant more to him than fighting the drummer off. So he merely sat there and drank, keeping an eye on the two of them.

It was Jimmy who reached out and grabbed Summer, stopping her flight. Had Bebe not returned to his lap, he probably would have pulled Summer in her place. Instead his intense eyes looked into hers, his mouth opening to speak. Before he could mutter a thing, Bonzo’s arms circled her waist and hoisted the girl onto his shoulder. Again the room went quiet, though not entirely shocked at Bonzo’s antics. Summer wiggled, trying to get free, but all that accomplished was flipping her skirt up. That instantly made Robert jump up, poised to free Summer from the drummer’s grasp. Bonzo merely reached up, turned Summer so that she draped over his shoulder, his free hand holding her skirt in place. His eyes, tinted crazy, glanced around the room and without a word, he bounded out.

Robert bolted after the drummer, others in Jimmy’s room scrambling to follow. Before long the group trailing the drummer, headed by the singer, gathered more people as it headed down the hall. Despite Robert’s shouts no one was about to jump in front of Bonzo and stop him. Instead they just jumped into the end of the line of pursuit. Bonzo burst into the stairwell, apparently intending to take her to another floor and not waiting for an elevator. Retreating to the stairs weeded out some of the lazier or more stoned followers, who didn’t have any motivation to continue the pursuit.

Kicking the door open a floor above, Bonzo patted Summer’s bottom with a smirk on his face. Having never been to the rooftop terrace, she had no idea what he had in store for her. However with how he had her thrown over his shoulder she could see how close Robert and the retinue were. Her hands reached out for his, their fingers nearly touching. But before Robert could inch closer, Bonzo turned, his hands going back to Summer’s waist, lifting her off of his shoulder. Her eyes went to the drummer’s, widening with realization when the scent of chlorine caressed her nostrils. A moment later she went flying backwards through the air, splashing into the pool loudly.

“BLOODY HELL, BONZO! WHAT IF SHE CAN’T BLOODY SWIM!?” Robert shouted.

“Then you should go rescue her!” Bonzo declared, grabbed the singer’s arm, and pulled him to the pool.

While Robert did fall into the water, he held onto the drummer, bringing him in as well. Quickly extracting himself from the drummer and avoiding whomever else thought it was a good idea, he surfaced, pushing his hair from his eyes to locate his girlfriend. She hadn’t surfaced yet and that instantly jabbed him in the gut. Looking frantically about, he finally spotted her, sinking to the bottom of the pool. Without a second of hesitation, he dove under, swimming towards her quickly. His arms circled her waist and he turned, pushing off from the bottom of the pool.

How he managed to get her out of the pool, he was uncertain, perhaps someone had helped drag her out. Regardless a moment later, Robert knelt on the concrete next to Summer, leaning down towards her mouth. He didn’t know how to do mouth-to-mouth and was fairly certain no one else did. Had she even been under water long enough to need it? Was she breathing? Suddenly the stomach underneath his hand tightened and the waterlogged girl coughed, water sputtering out of her mouth before she gasped. Her arms instantly reached up, circling tightly around his neck. Robert quickly embraced her, kissing her forehead in relief as he rocked her gently in his arms.

Summer coughed again, trying to say something. With a kiss Robert muttered that she didn’t need to speak, assuring her that he would take care of her. Bonzo stepped closer, breaking the halo of people circling the couple in concern. Glaring at the drummer, Robert got to his feet, one arm slipping under Summer’s legs to lift her whilst he stood. Saying nothing he carried the young girl away from the pool. Not wishing to waste a moment waiting for the elevator, he headed to the stairs, quickly descending to the floor below. People looked up as he passed, wondering about his scowl and the fact both he and Summer were dripping wet, but as no one had dared to stop Bonzo earlier, no one dared the same of Robert. 

Face buried on his shoulder, Summer felt when they entered Jimmy’s room rather than saw. Her ears were clogged up from the water, every sound muddied and not entirely intelligible. And she was beginning to tremble from being cold and the shock of pool sucking her in. Her eyes fluttered wildly open when she suddenly realized that Robert’s arms were no longer protectively around her. Realizing she was on Jimmy’s bed didn’t help matters, not until Robert kissed her gently before wrapping a towel around her.

“What happened?” Jimmy asked, hovering nearby.

“Bonzo threw her in the pool,” Robert declared, acid in his voice. “And she can’t swim.”

“Fuck.”

“Can we have something to change into so I can get her out of here?” he asked, glancing at the guitarist.

“Sure,” he nodded, stepping away.

Pausing to instruct Bebe to chase everyone out of the suite and to close the door, especially before Bonzo returned, Jimmy quickly gathered some clothes for both Robert and Summer. Depositing the clothing on the bed, he told Robert he and Bebe would step out while the two changed. Leaving with his woman, Jimmy paused in the hallway, searching for the instigator of the night’s drama. Bonzo stood at the back of the crowd, worry on his face, bottle of whiskey in his hand.

Stalking over to the drummer, Jimmy snatched the bottle from his and threw it against the wall, the dark amber liquid running down the wallpaper as it shattered. The drummer swallowed visibly, never really fearing Jimmy until that moment.

“Is she... is she... okay?” he forced out.

“Is she okay? How in bloody hell is that any of your business, Bonzo?” Jimmy retorted. “She could have died because—”

“What’s going on?” Jonesy stepped through the crowd circling Jimmy and Bonzo, his eyes slightly dilated. “Jimmy? Bonzo?”

Jimmy glared at the bassist, “Well had you been here you would know that Bonzo here threw Summer in the pool.”

“So?”

“Summer can’t swim.”

An awkward silence fell in the hallway for a moment.

“Is she okay?” Jonesy asked. “Is Percy okay?”

The door to Jimmy’s suite opened. A moment later Robert appeared, dressed in Jimmy’s ill-fitted clothing, Summer cradled in his arms once more. The crowd parted, allowed the couple through as they stood between the elevator and Jimmy’s suite. Robert did not pause or even look at the drummer, only briefly meeting Jimmy’s eyes as were. Someone pressed quickly pressed the elevator button, calling the lift before the couple were halfway to it.

“Is she okay?” Bonzo asked, eyes focused on the retreating form of Robert and Summer. “Oh god, what have I done?”

“Robert... Robert, stop,” Summer requested, looking up behind his shoulder.

He hesitated, “Why?”

“Please.”

Stopping as she asked, he did not turn to face the sombre crowd at all. She wanted him to stop, that was all he had to do. As she began to wiggle in his arms, trying to get down, Robert resisted. He did not doubt that she could stand on her own, but it was the implication of being back on her own would mean. But she kissed his ear and requested to be released and he could not tell her no.

Wavering slightly on her own two feet, she pulled Jimmy’s robe more tightly about her frame and shakily stepped around Robert. The singer turned as she made her way down the few feet to where the rest of the band stood. Her eyes remained focused on Bonzo and it was he who she stopped in front of, even though Jimmy stepped in between them briefly to protect her or Bonzo, it was difficult to tell. Her hand reached up and for a moment the crowd gasped, expecting her to slap him. Instead she touched his cheek gently.

“I forgive you,” she breathed, her knees buckling a moment later.

His hands quickly darted out to catch her, “I’m so so so sorry, Summer. I didn’t know. I—”

“Get your hands off of her,” Robert’s voice interrupted, his hands reaching out for the young girl.

“Robert, it’s okay,” Summer declared, though she leaned back into his arms a moment later. “Bonzo didn’t mean any harm. He didn’t.”

His arm looped under her legs, lifting her from the carpet again, a glare shot at the drummer before he turned away, “It’s not okay, Summer. It’s not.”

“He didn’t mean any harm, Robert. You know that,” she stated, glancing over Robert’s shoulder back at the drummer and then the rest of the crowd. “Besides I had you to rescue me, didn’t I?”

“That doesn’t make it okay, baby. That doesn’t make it okay.”



Ensconced in one of Robert’s soft shirts, Summer curled her body around his. They had not spoken since leaving the hotel, but then it had been all right with her, considering she felt weak and shaky. Upon arriving back at their beach house, he had carried her to the bedroom, laid her on the bed, kissed her and disappeared. Finding that a bit odd and being uncomfortably clad in Jimmy’s black silk robe, Summer wiggled out of bed, removed the robe, and absconded one of Robert’s shirts before climbing back onto the bed. Her hair felt crunchy and her skin itchy, but she really didn’t want to crawl into a shower either. So she lay there, waiting for Robert, who returned a few minutes later with a tray with hot tea and cookies. While she found that odd at two or three in the morning, she also had absolutely no desire to refuse his tempting offer. While she sipped on tea and nibbled on a cookie, he too changed out of Jimmy’s borrowed wardrobe, skipping the shower just as she had. And now that both of their teacups were set aside, they lay silently in the bed, Robert staring at the ceiling, Summer wondering how long it would be before they spoke again.

“He didn’t mean any harm, Robert,” she finally muttered. “None of the times he messed up today.”

He sighed, “I know, Summer. I know Bonzo acts without thinking. I’ve been playing with him for... fuck, a long time. But even knowing that doesn’t change the fact that tonight I nearly lost you.”

“You can’t blame John for that,” Summer stated, her face pivoting to look up into his eyes. “Blame me for never getting deep enough into water to know what to do with myself besides drown. You guys are best friends. You can’t let this get between you.”

“But you could have died,” Robert emphasized. “And then what? It’s taken me this long to find you. I can’t lose you now.”

“We haven’t even known each other a week. How can I mean that much to you already?”

His eyes held hers, “I knew the moment I saw you standing in the empty hallway in your white blouse and dirty feet.”

“Knew what?”

“That I loved you.”

Summer gasped softly, “No, Robert.”

“What?” he sat up, clicking on the bedside light so he could see her better. “No what?”

“You can’t love me. You don’t even know me.”

“You don’t believe in love at first sight?”

“I...” she looked away from him as she sat up fully. “I...”

“Do you?”

Summer met his gaze, “Yes.”

“So why can I not love you already? Why can I not love you the moment I saw you?” he queried.

“Because I’m just a child. I’m just a groupie. I’m just—”

“No,” Robert interrupted. “You’re not a child and you’re certainly not just a groupie.”

“Sure I am. You’ll discard me just like Jimmy did Lori. You’ll—”

“No. Not only am I not Jimmy but you’re not Lori. I don’t care about your physical age, it’s your soul that speaks to me. Who gives a bloody fuck that your birth certificate claims you to be? You are the kindest, most level-headed woman I have ever known. Anygroupie would have fucked any one who looked her way already. Any groupie would have fought Lori back, not try to smooth things over with her. Any groupie would have loved to come in between the band, would twist everything that happened today for her own benefit. But you’re not at all like that, Summer. At all,” he argued.

“I’m not a woman. I’m just a little gi—”

“Being a woman is not something determined by how many birthday candles you blow out on your candle. Being a woman is determined by maturity level. And yours is light years beyond any of those LA Queens back at the hotel. You know that.”

“Okay, let’s say I concede the age factor,” Summer began, “I’m still just a groupie, just a girl, or woman, you’re playing with.”

“Summer,” he picked up both of her hands in his, “do you honestly think that you’re some nameless, soulless, pussy to me?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because I love you,” Robert declared. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

Her eyes searched his, still finding it difficult to believe his words. It was too fast, much too fast. It hadn’t been in her plans to come south and fall in love with a rock star, certainly less to have him fall in love with her. She merely had wanted to meet him, tell him how his voice touched her. But had that really been all that she intended? Is that really why she had practiced fellatio on Quincy and other willing boys and men for months? She had more or less a groupie mindset when she came to LA. Was that why she couldn’t see herself as more to Robert, because she didn’t see herself any differently than the LA Queens? Could she possibly mean more to him than the other girls? He was looking at her in a manner she had never experienced before, not from any of the boys or men whose cocks she practiced on. There was true affection in his expression, in his touch, in his kiss. Could she believe his declaration? How could she not?

But if he loved her, she should love him back, right? That was only fair. If she accepted his love, she needed to be prepared to return it, to embrace him with her whole heart. Hadn’t she? Was that not the reason she cared not if anyone else desired her, flirted with her? She belonged to Robert and never once did she mean that as a piece of property.

She did love him.

He noticed the light in her eyes change a moment before she pressed up on her knees and kissed him. Her hands pulled out of his, sliding over his shoulders. Summer did not deepen the kiss as she wrapped her arms around him. Instead she showered little kisses across his mouth, cheeks, forehead before settling in his lap.

“I love you too,” she softly proclaimed. “I love you too.”