Chapter 37

Gage

Bentley’s brother looked seriously pissed when he turned to face me. The only time he’d seen me before had been the day I’d insulted his sister. I had no idea how much of that conversation Bentley had shared with him. If she’d told him everything, he had good reason to be pissed at me.

“What the hell is going on between you and my sister?” he demanded.

“I’m dating her,” I replied.

“That’s what I thought until she said you’re stalking her,” he accused.

When I laughed, Lex’s eyes narrowed. “Sorry,” I began with my hands up in surrender. “I guess I am stalking her, but it’s for a good reason. I respect her.”

“You slept with her before your tour,” he accused. “That could be construed as using her. Before you start trying to defend yourself, I’m not about to kick your ass over that. My sister can take care of herself. She’s been taking care of me and everyone else for years. Bennie has a right to let go and do something spontaneous. That’s the last I’m saying on this subject because I don’t want to think about my sister having sex. The details I already know are bad enough.”

I nodded. “Understood. Care to tell me why you look like you want to kick my ass?”

“You just admitted to stalking her,” he reminded me. “Don’t you think that’s enough reason?”

“Why argue with the truth? I’ve gone to great lengths to make sure I’m everywhere your sister is going to be, whenever possible. I like your sister, but she’s terrified of getting involved with me. She keeps saying she doesn’t want to date me because of the band, but she won’t tell me why.”

“Damn,” Lex muttered as he ran a hand through his hair. “This is just one more thing I fucked up for Bennie.”

“You can’t blame yourself for Bentley’s hang-ups,” I argued.

Lex considered what I’d said before nodding. “You’re right. She’s forever on my case about getting over what happened, but she’s still stuck in the past.”

“What happened?” I asked, hoping he wouldn’t refuse to tell me.

“You know I was in prison, right?” he asked.

I nodded. “On a drug charge.”

“Drugs are what landed me in prison and killed my best friend,” he began with a sigh. “We were both in a band. Things were going great for us. We even had a meeting scheduled with a big record label. I thought I was invincible.”

“I think we all do when we’re younger,” I added.

He nodded. “I was also a complete dumbass. It started with drinking, but soon, we were all using. My favorite was cocaine, but I didn’t mind trying other stuff. One night, I threw a big ass party. Bennie had already gotten on my case about the drinking and the drugs. She kept telling me to get my act together. At the time, I thought she was being too uptight. That’s what I told her. I accused her of having a stick up her ass, and we basically stopped talking. That night, I butt dialed her, and she got to hear some of the party. She threatened to call the cops if I didn’t send everyone home in cabs.”

“Did she call the police?” I asked.

“Nah,” he replied. “She should have, but she believed me when I promised to end the party and get some help. I was lying. Maybe she knew that deep down, but she wanted to believe me, so she let it go. The party was epic—or so I thought at the time. The next morning, when I found my best friend—the drummer for my band—face down on my living room floor, I laughed at him for passing out.” Lex took a deep, shuddering breath before continuing. “Only, he wasn’t passed out. He was dead. He’d overdosed. I still can’t believe I just laughed when I saw him there,” he uttered. “I was so fucking stupid that I didn’t even consider that something could really be wrong with him.”

“That’s terrible,” I said quietly. “I can’t imagine losing a friend like that.”

“And it was my fault,” Lex added with a sigh.

“You can’t blame yourself,” I told him. “I get that it happened at your party, but your friend was an adult. He was responsible for his own mistakes.”

“He was barely an adult,” Lex added with a sigh. “Kyle was five years younger than me, not even old enough to drink yet.” He looked away, and his voice took on a far-off quality when he spoke again. “If I’d listened to Bennie, Kyle would have gone home. He wouldn’t have kept getting more wasted that night. I fucked up. Bennie is still paying the price for my fuck up.”

“Bentley’s a grown woman,” I stated. “I can see how this might have turned her off guys in bands, but that’s on her. You need to stop trying to take the blame for everything. Sure, you made a mistake, but you served your time. As for your sister, she is going to get over her hang-ups. I’m not giving up on her.”

“You really like my sister, don’t you?” he asked.

“I love your sister,” I confessed. “Don’t tell her I said that or she’ll likely run for the hills, but it’s true. I just need to prove to her I won’t hurt her.”

“I’ve read a lot about your band,” Lex began.

“Because of my involvement with your sister?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I still love music. You guys aren’t big partiers. There’s some drinking mentioned, but you stay out of trouble.”

“We try,” I told him.

“If you need any help convincing Bennie to give you a chance, let me know,” he told me, putting out a hand.

I shook his hand. “It would be great if you could help me get Bentley to come see us play.”

“I can get her there,” he told me. “She’s forever trying to convince me to go out. Where are you playing?”

“There’s not much on our schedule, but we have a couple of local club gigs coming up. Our next tour isn’t for months, and we all enjoy playing live,” I replied. A thought occurred to me. “What did you play?”

“Bass,” he replied. “I also played guitar for a short time.”

“Do you still play?” I asked.

“Those days are in my past,” he replied with a sad smile. “From time to time, I play a little when I’m alone.”

“Come play with us,” I urged him.

“You already have a bassist, and I haven’t played guitar in years,” he pointed out.

“Harley was invited to a wedding, so she’ll be out of town for one of our shows. It’s a family member, and she can’t skip it,” I explained. “If you could help out at our smaller show, that would be great. I don’t expect a big crowd since the club hasn’t announced we’re playing that night. They don’t plan to until the week of the show. It should be fun.”

“I don’t know,” he hedged.

“The music isn’t what caused your problems,” I stated. “You and your sister both need to realize that.”

I probably shouldn’t push him so hard, but I hated seeing him give up on something he’d once loved. I certainly wasn’t saying he hadn’t made a mistake, but it was time to move past it.

“I’ll give you my number, and you can send me the details,” he agreed, his tone a mix of wariness and excitement.

“You’ll need to meet with us for practice so you know the songs,” I told him.

“All right,” he agreed. “We’d better head back before Bennie comes looking for us.”