“Atlantic City, baby!” Colton said as he, Roman and Trevor sat in Trevor’s hotel suite overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

“Las Vegas is better,” Trevor muttered as he threw a guitar pick up in the air and catching it.

“Las Vegas doesn’t have the coast,” Colton countered.

Trevor shrugged. “Touché.”

He glanced out the window. The sea was a dark green color today. The waves foamed and crested as they reached the shore, crashing down onto the yellow sand.

“Both places have the casinos,” Roman offered with enthusiasm. “We’re staying at one of the top resorts on the entire East Coast. We should totally hit the slots tonight.”

Trevor raised his eyebrows and glanced over at Colton. “We do have the night off.”

He needed a distraction — big time. He hadn’t seen Emelia in the few days since they’d left Atlanta and it was almost like he was having withdrawals. He stopped himself from texting her a million times. He refused to seek her out. Refused to think about how Grant probably acted toward her when she’d left the party and returned to the hotel. His blood started to boil even now just thinking about it.

“Yeah...” Colton trailed off with a grin. “That’s true. We should try to get into some trouble.”

He didn’t need or want trouble, but hitting the casino sounded like a great idea. He had spent way too much time in bed this morning, watching television and eating breakfast in bed. There were days he used to dream about little luxuries like that, but it came so frequently now, it was easy to get bored with it. No, he was restless. He needed to be surrounded by lights and people and noise without any responsibilities but to have a good time.

“You know we’ll get free food, free women, free drinks.” Colton clapped his hands together. “Let’s go.”

Half an hour later, the five of them were ready to go. Trevor didn’t do anything besides brush his teeth. His faded, worn jeans, snug black tee-shirt and beat up old work boots were just fine by him. No need to get fancy when he was about to lose a shit ton of his hard-earned cash. They headed downstairs, Trevor aware of the two bodyguards who followed a reasonable distance behind. He was getting so used to having them around now, he barely noticed them.

Roman punched the elevator button as they waited in the breezeway for it to open. Trevor held his breath as the doors opened. He wasn’t sure getting mobbed by an adoring crowd was high on his list for tonight. Thankfully, there were no other people on board, and they once again got lucky to have the place to themselves. It would be a different story when they emerged downstairs in the casino. They had groupies that followed them from city to city, and their numbers grew with each show. They appreciated these super fans’ dedication to their success. But sometimes, their enthusiasm got a little over the top. Trevor recognized some of them, although he didn’t know their names. He thought it was best to keep his distance because he didn’t know how far some of these crazy, wilder fans would take their love and affection for the band.

Just as he expected, as soon as the elevator dumped them into the lobby of the casino, a small crowd was waiting to get in. A woman in a sparkly, short dress spun with a cry.

“Holy shit!” She shrieked and pointed directly at Trevor. “That’s Trevor Jameson. Honey...look!” She demanded her male counterpart, squeezing his arm and shaking him. The man appeared less than enthusiastic.

“Step aside, folks.” One of their security men skirted to the front.

The disappointed woman begrudgingly stepped onto the elevator and disappeared behind the doors as they slid closed.

“Keep security close, just in case.” Trevor signaled to the two men and asked them to step up their proximity. He wasn’t nervous by nature, but this fame was new to him, to all of them, and this casino was packed. Anything could happen.

They scoped out a few tables and landed on blackjack. They sat down and waited for the dealer to hand out the cards. Trevor ran the game through his mind, trying to recall the rules. It had been a long time since he’d gambled. His friends, however, dove right in like they’d been doing this for years.

“Excuse me?” A timid voice cooed from behind them.

They all turned at the same time.

“Yes?” Colton asked as the security guard shifted his weight uncomfortably beside them. A sheepish, mousy brunette woman stood there with a small notepad in her hand. She looked like she might pass out.

“Do you mind posing for a selfie with my friend and me over there?” The woman pointed a shaky finger off to the right where her friend gave an insecure wave.

Trevor gave a small smile. “Sure.” He looked over at Colton and Roman. “Come on guys. Let’s give this nice lady a smile.”

The other friend rushed over, the movement behind her drawing Trevor’s attention. He squinted, hoping to get a better look. It couldn’t be, could it?

“Trev, look at the camera.”

He stood for the picture, pulled again to look across the room. The man he’d seen there had looked a hell of a lot like Grant. And he had been all over one of the waitresses.

“Oh, damn it. I’m out guys.” Colton groaned. A few seconds later, Roman, Colton, and Asher followed suit. They were out too.

“I’m moving to slots.”

There was chatter from the group before the went their separate ways, but Trevor stayed put. The dealer added him to the next round. He wasn’t paying attention, instead, homed in on the man and the waitress. He needed the guy to move, to give him a better look. Frustrated when that didn’t happen, Trevor, burst from his seat and walked across the room. Closer, but carefully so the man wouldn’t catch sight of him. Just in case it was Grant. If so, fuck, he was going to bust his ass.

He took a seat next to Roman at the slots.

“I have a great feeling about this.” Roman chimed.

“Good.”

“Can I offer you, gentlemen, anything to drink?” A hotel server wearing a red hat and a spiffy looking casino suit approached with a gleeful smile.

“Draft beer,” Trevor said. “Hey, move to the left a little.”

The man held up a tray of lavish drinks, probably made with top shelf alcohol in his crooked elbow. “Only mixed drinks here, fellas,” he crooned. “It’s on the house. The hotel and casino thanks you for your stay and welcomes you to anything you might require.”

He didn’t care about the damn drinks. Frustrated that he couldn’t see his target, he rose from his stool and peered around the server. The man was gone.

“Damn it!”

Roman said as he plucked one of the drinks from the tray. It looked like it might have been a gin and tonic.

“What’s wrong?”

“Pretty sure I saw Grant and the woman he was with wasn’t Emelia.”

Roman grabbed one more drink from the tray, thanked the server.

“The pleasure is all mine,” the bar server chimed as he bent his back into a respectful bow.

“Maybe they broke up. That dip in the pool you two took might have created a little tension.”

Trevor didn’t get a chance to ponder that or respond as two beautiful looking women approached them.

“Hi fellas.” A busty blonde one gave them a tantalizing wave.

“You guys are in that band, right?” The red-head swirled a lock of her hair around her finger.

“Which band would that be?” Roman flirted, propping his elbow up against the side of the slot machine.

The girls exchanged a glance and giggled. “Infinity Prism. Am I right?” The blonde answered her own question.

“That’s right.” Colton appeared and extended a hand to shake with the attractive pair. “I’m Colton, the bass player.”

“I’m Roman, the drummer.”  

“Trevor.” He was already bored with this. His mind kept straying to the Grant look alike. And his need to see Emelia.

The pair of women leaned in, swaying hips clad in skimpy dresses. Little was left to the imagination with them. Even the bodyguards stayed back as if they figured this opportunity was too good for the band members to pass up.

“Can we buy you, ladies, a drink?” Colton suggested. He was the vivacious flirt of the group.

“That sounds great,” the girls giggled in unison.

The security guard followed them through the casino as various people began to stare at them on the way to the other side where the VIP lounge was located.

“I’ll get a round of drinks for the table,” Colton said.

“I’ll bring these lovely ladies over,” Roman said and nudged Trevor.

“I’m not stopping you. Have your fun.” Trevor looked across the room again. Damn, why wouldn’t this nagging suspicion leave him alone?

He was thankful to have a distraction from Emelia, but his foiled plan wasn’t working as well as he’d anticipated. His thoughts drifted back to Emelia and her charismatic smile, no matter how hard he tried to shove her mental image away from himself, it was right back.

“So, where are you ladies from?” Roman opened the conversation.

The blonde spoke for them both. “We live around here,” she admitted. “Born and raised.”

“Lucky you.” He glanced at Trevor. Trevor adjusted himself in his seat.

A few seconds later, Colton reappeared with several drinks on a tray. “I hope you ladies like mixed drinks.”

“We love them.” The vibrant red-head breathed. “Thank you so much.”

Trevor knew that both of the women were using their looks to lure in the band members. Even if Colton and Roman brought them back to their hotel rooms, it wouldn’t be anything more than a one-night stand.

Trevor would gladly give up his spot with one of them for either of his buddies. He wasn’t interested in bringing a woman back to his hotel room. He was, but neither of these women was the ones he wanted.

He tried his best to stay engaged in the conversation, stating savvy quips every now and then. But there was a part of him that was missing Emelia. It was like a void or a hole in his gut. He didn’t like the emptiness lingering in his heart.

He pounded down the remainder of his drink and after an hour or so of chatting with the group, he rose from the table. He’d had enough. As long as he was breathing, he was always going to want Emelia and only Emelia.