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attitude enough to snag a girl for himself, but from what I could tell, his flirting was barely better than his rudeness. But, considering how the willowy brunette hung all over him, it must have worked for her. And Dex, of course, was the social butterfly, offering everyone a wink or a pat on the arm, flitting around gleefully as he drank his weight in whiskey.
    He’d arrived after most of the others, toting a group of five or six people he introduced to me as “family-types.” But they must not have been close because within an hour all but one had disappeared, and she was the latest girl in line to try and drag Matthew out of his shell.
    Mia sipped martinis and managed to snap a few photos while Ryan was there, but by the time he left she’d disappeared down to the dance floor, leaving her camera behind. I rolled my eyes and tucked it away for her.
    As I nursed a glass of wine and wondered if I’d spend my entire six months with the band feeling like a babysitter, a familiar arm slid around my shoulder.
    “Hi, Dex,” I said, hoping to sound casual and hide the flash of fear and excitement that went through me at his touch.
    “Hello, love. What are you doing over here all alone?”
    “Nothing. Just watching.”
    “It’s a party. Not a film, you know.”
    “I know. I’m having fun right here.”
    “Liar. Join in. Get wild. You must be off duty by now. I don’t see your little book. That’s a good sign.”
    “I am, yes. But it’s your party, not mine.”
    “Nonsense. You’re part of the family now. What’s ours is yours.”
    “That’s very kind.”
    “Not at all. I’m always willing to share a party and booze I didn’t pay for.”
    I laughed. “Good to know. So, is it nice being home?”
    He plopped down next to me on a stool. “I don’t know if this is home to me. It’s familiar and friendly, no doubt. But I think now my home is wherever the road takes us.”
    I groaned and looked at him.
    “Fuck, that was trite.”
    “Yeah, it was.”
    “Obviously I’m not drunk enough.” He took a long drink. “Or you bring out the thoughtfulness in me. What little bit there is.”
    “Is that a bad thing?”
    “Not always. But it is right now.”
    “Then maybe you should leave me and go talk to someone more fun.” What I wanted to tell him was that I couldn’t believe he was wasting time with me, but I couldn’t admit to being that pathetic.
    “Certainly not. I’ve missed you terribly, Becca. I was miserable all day.”
    I snorted. “Yeah, right. I bet you were asleep all day.”
    “Perhaps.” He shook his head and stared at me. “You never let me get away with anything.”
    I shrugged. “Sorry.”
    “Don’t be. I like it.”
    “Dex, don’t start.”
    “I’m not. I swear. Just being friendly. That’s allowed, right?”
    “Of course.”
    “Well then, friend.” He slung his arm over my shoulder again. “Shall we get drunk?”
    I couldn’t help but smile. “Sure.”
    “Fantastic. I hope you like liquor, I don’t believe in getting pissed on wine.”
    “I can drink pretty much anything.” And I had. Growing up around rock stars meant I learned to party hard very early. I may have left that behind, but I figured I could pick it back up again for one night. The rest of the tour would be hectic with few breaks. I deserved a little bit of fun, even though a part of me knew it wasn’t safe to let down my guard around Dex.
    “Anything? Be still my heart.”
    We shared a laugh and made our way over to the bar; sharing stories of the most hideous alcohol-filled concoctions we’d each tried and recounting epic nights of drunken excess. He seemed genuinely pleased to see my stories matched his in outrageousness.

Chapter Five
    In the next few hours I felt like another person, and yet more myself than I’d been in years. It seemed ridiculous that I’d actually made a list of things to talk to each of the band members about to get friendly with them.
    For Joe it had been tattoos. He had