Dante
Eleven Months Later
Outside the limo the crowd was going nuts, my name being screamed so loudly they probably could hear it all the way back in New Zealand. We were in Sydney, arriving for a concert, my opening show in Australia sold out. Clara shifted about next to me nervously. She was dressed in a floral baby-doll dress, the type she’d taken to wearing during her pregnancy. Though, she didn’t need to hide her belly anymore. She’d lost all of her pregnancy weight almost as soon as our child had popped out. She’d given birth to our son just over two months ago. The nanny was babysitting Tyson for the night so that Clara could sing backup for me. My li’l bro had been ecstatic when we’d named our boy after him, Sledge’s birth name being Tyson.
I gave Clara a kiss on the head, her new lilac locks suiting her even better than her previous pink hair.
She smiled at me, her gunmetal eyes surrounded by black-eyeliner, making them stand out even more. “Who would’ve thought you’d get your own show in such a big venue this quick? It’s crazy!”
Jade chuckled almost haughtily, looking well-pleased with himself. He was sitting across from us, dressed to the nines in one of his favourite Armani suits. “I knew,” he said. “I may not have expected it to happen so fast, but I knew it eventually would. After all, you are fucking hot.” He gave me a slow eye-fuck, not even being subtle about it. “Every woman and girl wants a piece of you,” the unspoken me too left unsaid. Though, he also wanted a piece of my dad, the idiot still paying my old man to fuck him, just on the sly so that Murderer and his entourage of Killer and Pain, didn’t find out. Jade was terrified of Murderer after the psycho had stuck a gun in his mouth, threatening to pull the trigger if he didn’t stop phoning my dad. Jade had done what he was told, keeping away from my dad, until my dad had turned up on his doorstep, begging for cash. He’d offered Jade a wild night of sex if he bailed him out of some gambling debt. And the bloody stupid bugger had said yes, getting reeled in by my old man once more, who was now doing his best to drain Jade’s bank account, not caring that the poor bastard was falling for him. All my dad saw when he looked at Jade was a job, his cock getting hard for cash.
Grossed out by the thought, I looked out the window at the crowd, preferring not to think about my dad’s fucked up life. Or the fact he couldn’t be here tonight, his convictions stopping him from entering Australia.
“You sure you have enough security guards this time?” I asked Jade. “The crowd in Auckland tried to tear my fuckin’ clothes off.”
“They didn’t just try,” Clara interrupted. “They literally ripped your shirt right off your back. One woman even tried to take some of your hair.”
“Yes,” Jade said, looking guilty. “I’m sorry about that, I won’t make the same mistake twice. I just didn’t expect that level of hysteria.”
“It’s your job to expect it,” Clara said in her teacher voice, sounding like she was giving him a dressing-down.
“Not at this level,” he replied. “I have some popular artists on my book, and nothing like this has ever happened to them. It’s you,” he said, pointing at me. “You make women lose their minds. And those porn leaks quadrupled the hysteria.”
I grunted, more than a little pissed about that. It might not have damaged my career, if anything it was probably the reason why I was sitting here right now. The thirsty bitches outside were no doubt wanting to see me in person after frigging themselves raw to all the images of me fucking on the internet.
“Dante’s not getting out unless there’s enough guards this time,” Clara piped up. “Because if any harm—”
Jade cut her off, “I have three times the guards out there, so no one will get near Dante. I also have fencing.”
“You still need to get Dante a personal bodyguard.”
“I’ve arranged that already. I’ve decided to go with Ash’s recommendation of his friend. I’ll get Mr. Daniels to sign a contract when we return to New Zealand.”
“Good,” I jumped back into the convo, “and what ’bout Ash?”
“What about Ash?”
“Have you given him guards tonight?” I asked, not happy that my bro was getting chased by females. People were constantly mistaking him for me, the stupid bitches not caring that we had different tattoos. If anything, they probably thought they were fake, painted on just for show.
Jade nodded. “Yes, I have guards covering him as well as your other siblings, and of course Corey,” he said, mentioning Sledge’s now famous boyfriend. Corey had somehow managed to get a major modelling contract, the skinny li’l bastard thinking he was Kate freaking Moss with the way he trounced about.
“They’ll also be safe up in the box seats,” Jade added.
“Tiana, too,” I said, Jade forgetting to mention Ash’s partner.
He shook his head. “She’s not coming.”
“Why? The Connors are babysitting the kids,” I growled, annoyed with Tiana, “so there’s no excuse for her to skip out. She bloody accepted the flight and concert tickets.”
L piped up, answering for Jade, “She’s not coming because Ash walked out on her last night.”
My eyes snapped to my lead guitarist. L was dressed in red leather pants and one of her trademark flowing blouses, just a see-through version this time, her red bra clearly visible. She looked hot as hell, which was why she was acquiring quite a following of her own, people not caring that she was intersex. If anything, they loved her uniqueness, both females and males clambering for her attention. She also had a massive following in the LGBTQI community. Though, even with all of the attention, she was as celibate as a nun, the poor chick still mooning after my brother.
“I thought Ash and Tiana had worked things out,” I said.
L shook her mane of ginger and golden hair. “They had a massive argument last night.”
“Over Lily?” I asked, mentioning Ash’s baby with Beth. My ex had been taken off life-support months ago, her death inevitable, though no less painful.
L pulled a face. “No, over me. Tiana thinks he’s cheating on her with me.”
“Why would she think that? She knows Ash hates cheats.”
“Kara,” she growled. “Ever since Ash let her move in to help pay the mortgage, she’s been working to split him and Tiana up, using me as a scapegoat.”
“Why the fuck would Kara do that?”
“She said if she can’t have you, she’s going to have Ash.”
I blinked at her, not believing what I was hearing. “You have gotta be pullin’ my tit.”
She grimaced. “I wish I were. Kara thinks she can seduce him if she gets Tiana out of the picture.”
“She said that to you?”
“Yes,” L growled. “And she knows I can’t do a thing about it. She’s got Tiana wrapped around her little finger, believing everything she tells her. Tiana would never believe me if I told her the truth. I did try to tell Ash, but unfortunately Tiana came home right at that moment, painting me as the liar, not Kara. And you know what I’m like around conflict. I bolted, which only made me look worse. I couldn’t face him after that. But when he left the message about the break-up, I had to call him back. He was so upset it broke my heart.” She shook her head. “I still can’t believe Tiana called him that.”
“What did she call him?”
“The one thing he hates the most in the world: a lying cheat, who can’t keep his dick in his pants.”
My eyes widened. “What the fuck is wrong with T? I’m the one who thinks with my dick, not my bro. He’s only been with three women. Three. While I’ve been with hundreds.”
Clara grunted something under her breath.
I gave her a squeeze. “You’re the only one for me now, babe. No chick can compare to you.”
“You’re such a sweetheart,” she said, snuggling into my side, looking happy once more.
“Ash is a sweetheart too,” L said. “Tiana has no right to treat him so badly. It’s her own fault he walked out.”
I nodded. “I would’ve walked too. I really thought T wuz brighter than that, but I guess jealousy makes people stupid as fuck.”
“Very stupid. Everyone knows Ash has no interest in me romantically, that he only sees me as a friend.”
“Yeah, unfortunately,” I said, now wishing Ash would give L a chance, especially since she was the only chick who treated him right. She always had his back, often babysitting his kids whenever he needed help. She also loved him unconditionally. Regardless, Ash’s love life wasn’t my problem, because for once in my life mine was perfect, and I wanted to enjoy being on top of the world without everyone else’s shit bringing me down.
I gave Clara another squeeze, grateful I had a loyal woman by my side, one who’d given me absolutely no issues since we’d decided to make it official. Not official official, we weren’t married... yet, because the possibility of getting hitched to Clara was something I’d been considering lately. I hummed, liking the thought of her wearing my ring. And it wasn’t as if we didn’t act like a married couple. Although we still lived at Jade’s, we slept in the same bed next to Tyson’s cradle. Clara had taken to motherhood well, constantly fussing over our baby. If anything, it was a small miracle that she’d agreed to leave Tyson with a nanny, no matter how excited she was for the big concert.
I kissed her head, unable to keep my hands and mouth off her. Jade had warned me about PDA, that my fans wanted the illusion that I was single, but I couldn’t help myself. Plus, everyone basically knew I was with Clara, the trashy rags, blogsites, and social media following our relationship as though it paid their bills. Actually, it probably did.
“Can we shelve the family dramas for the night?” Jade said, capturing my attention. “Your brother’s issues can wait until tomorrow, because I don’t think your fans will wait another second.”
“Fine,” I said. “Let’s rock and roll, biatches.”
Clara laughed, looking just as excited as I felt. The Sydney concert was my first solo gig outside of New Zealand, and in a massive venue at that.
Jade opened the door, letting in a wail of screams, the crowd going even more insane. He got out, his suit and tie in stark contrast to my leather pants and black singlet. From where I was sitting, I could see numerous guards making sure the fans didn’t break through the fencing, Jade not lying about the beefed-up security. Which was good, otherwise I wouldn’t have let Clara out of the limo.
L sucked in a breath and climbed out next, getting her own screams. Even a few of the guards turned to look at her. Then the crowd started chanting my name. Jade had been right—people loved me. It didn’t matter that I had a cunt of a personality, or a rotten past, all that mattered was my voice and looks, propelling me to superstardom. Though, pity it was having a ricochet effect on Ash, who was getting the same hysteria wherever he went. My bro was no longer able to drop his kid off at school without the other kids’ mothers going nuts. They had swarmed him to the point where he’d decided to stay at home with Lily, only coming out to do his labouring jobs. Jade hadn’t given up on trying to get Ash to sign a music contract, saying he might as well get paid for his troubles. I agreed, stating that he should give new-age reggae a try, his tastes more laid back than mine.
I weaved my fingers through Clara’s. “You ready?”
She gave me the sweetest smile in return. “As long as you’re with me.”
“I’ll always be with you, babe. Always.”
Grinning, I climbed out of the car, pulling her along with me. The screams became hysterical once people saw me. The crowd surged forward, putting an immense amount of pressure on the fence and security crew, but the big motherfuckers managed to keep them back.
My happy mood quickly soured as I noticed a familiar reporter amongst the paparazzi. The cow had printed an article about Clara’s conviction, doing her best to paint my woman as a child molester. I refrained from giving the small brunette the finger, instead slinging an arm around Clara’s shoulders, not letting the reporter ruin our moment.
The other paparazzi yelled for my attention, trying to get me to smile for them, to turn this way and that way, posing for them like some sort of diva. Fuck that, all they were going to get was a smile at best, because this was my show, not theirs.
I headed up the red carpet with Clara, who looked a mix of happy and nervous, probably because she never knew how people would react to her. Some loved her, thinking our past was romantic, while others hated her, calling her names on social media. I’d gotten into a couple of arguments online, biting back at them, before Jade told me off, saying I couldn’t speak to fans like that. I didn’t fucking care, because no one said shit about my woman and got away with it.
Someone shouted out Clara’s name, but instead of insults, this fan appeared to like her. They reached between the guards, holding out a pen and paper. Clara pointed at her chest, looking surprised she was being asked for an autograph. The girl started jumping up and down, nodding her head like a loon, obviously ecstatic that Clara had noticed her. Smiling, I steered Clara towards the girl, wanting to encourage people to be nice to my missus. The girl’s eyes bugged out when she saw me coming over with Clara. She appeared to be between sixteen and eighteen, my guessing of ages lousy.
I indicated for the guard to step aside so I could take the pen and paper. “What’s your name, love?” I asked.
“Lucy,” she squeaked, still staring at me with star-struck eyes, the people around her doing the same. Some reached for me, while others told me they loved me, one woman even crying hysterically.
I wrote, To Lucy, cheers for coming to see me and my missus, then signed my name, handing it to Clara to sign as well.
A girl next to Lucy, a tiny redhead, squealed at me, “We ship you and Clara so hard!”
I had no idea what the fuck that meant, other than it was obviously good, because Clara laughed with happiness, thanking the girl.
Clara handed the pad back, getting a loud, “Thank you! I love you!” from Lucy. Clara took a pad from the redhead, also signing for her, passing it to me next.
Jade came up behind us as I signed my name. “We better head in,” he said, giving the crowd a worried look, this side surging a bit too much.
“’Kay,” I answered, handing the pad back to the redhead. “Give these two backstage passes, along with their mums.” I saluted the two women behind the girls, the birds looking too much like the teenagers not to be related. The chubbier of the two giggled nervously, while the other one stared at me as though she wanted to superglue my image to her retinas.
I laughed and walked off while Jade dealt with my request. Clara and I continued up the red carpet, L already having disappeared inside. The paparazzi yelled at us to look at them, to smile and pose. I ignored them until I got to the entrance of the stadium. I turned to face everyone with Clara and gave them one of my biggest smiles. Camera flashes went off, everything so fucking bright...
Including mine and Clara’s future together.