“What the fuck is your deal today, man?” Jasper finally snapped as he roughly dropped a ten-thousand-dollar speaker to the floor.

I scowled at him.

Truthfully, I was surprised it’d taken this long for him to ask. He’d endured me acting like a prick all day.

A whole ton of shit had been grating on me today; I couldn’t get a verse of a new song quite right… the media had been up my ass when I’d left home this morning… and then I’d been mobbed by a group of fans when I’d made the stupid decision to go and buy myself a coffee… but mainly, it was Charlotte that had me in this mood.

That first week with her had been like a dream. I’d promised her I’d be there every night to do the dishes, since it was my fault. And I was. If scrubbing a few pots and pans gave me an excuse to see her, then it was worth it.

By some small miracle, we’d both had clear schedules in the evenings, and we’d been free to eat, hang out and watch movies together. Well, actually it wasn’t entirely true… I never had a free schedule, but I’d lived up to the ‘bad-boy’ rep I’d unjustifiably earned, and skipped out on any prior commitments I had. I’d brought takeout a couple of times, and other nights Charlotte had cooked for us. She wasn’t as good as my Nona, but she certainly wasn’t bad.

I’d relished the time I’d spent with her. It was the first time in the past five years that I’d felt somewhat normal. I was just a guy, courting a girl that he was interested in. We’d talked and talked, I’d made her blush on more than one occasion, and she’d kept me in line with her quick wit and smart mouth.

I knew things about that girl that she didn’t even know about herself.

We’d spent so much time together that I’d easily slipped into a routine that consisted of seeing Charlotte, talking to Charlotte, and thinking about when I could see Charlotte again.

By Monday night I’d done my time with the dish brush and I couldn’t help but feel disappointed that I’d have to give her and Hannah some space.

Tuesday I’d been fine – I was still high on seeing Charlotte.

I could picture her perfect body sprawled out on the sheets beneath me, and even though I was dying to have her again, that memory alone could have lasted me a lifetime.

I’d pumped out more lyrics for her song and perfected a section that had been sitting flat. That was the first day since I’d first laid eyes on her, that I hadn’t gotten to see her in person.

Wednesday, I’d finished the song entirely and recorded an acoustic demo in the studio to give to her.

It was still in my pocket.

That was the real problem.

Seeing Charlotte.

Or lack thereof…

We’d talked for hours on the phone Tuesday night and messaged most of the day Wednesday and Thursday, but I’d quickly realised it wasn’t enough.

I’d spent those days in and out of meetings and interviews. Charlotte was working. I couldn’t find the time to see her, and she assured me that she didn’t have the time either. As much as I wanted to sulk, Jasper had given me the hard word – or as much of a hard word as he was capable of, and told me to get on with my work. So, we’d made dinner plans for the end of the week.

Today was Friday and I’d been carrying around this damn USB stick for too long. It was burning a hole in my pocket, and the deep-seated desire I had to see her was overwhelming me more and more with each passing hour.

I was dying to give this song to her. I wanted to see her face as she listened to the words. My plan had been to give it to her after I took her out tonight.

But now I can’t.

Charlotte and Hannah had been called in at the last minute to do a big shoot that they couldn’t turn down. It was three hours’ drive away and they’d had to drop everything and run. They wouldn’t be back until tomorrow afternoon and I had a sold-out gig here in town to play tomorrow night.

That’s what was up my ass.

I miss my girl.

I couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment I’d started referring to her as ‘my girl’. I hadn’t said it out loud yet, and I certainly hadn’t earned the right to claim her... but I’d thought it. And we’d be having that talk… real soon.

I growled at Jasper, but didn’t give him an answer.

“You sound like a wolf when you do that.” He chuckled.

I shot him a ‘don’t push me’ look.

“Women trouble?” he offered.

“Woman. Singular,” I corrected him.

“Oh, man.” He whistled low. “She’s under your skin real good,” he stated, and for once his tone wasn’t mocking.

“Yeah,” I grumbled as I messed around with the guitar in my lap.

I felt Jasper sit down next to me but I still didn’t look up. I was embarrassed for snapping at him all day and I really didn’t appreciate feeling like a precious little pussy.

“Is everything all good with you two?” he asked, seeming genuinely concerned. I knew he liked Charlotte, and I also knew he really didn’t want me to fuck this up.

“Yeah…” I nodded. “No… fuck… I dunno, man.” I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. “I’m all messed up… this isn’t me, J. I don’t get all worked up over shit. I don’t care if I have to go three weeks without a woman, let alone three days.”

“She’s not just any woman,” Jasper pointed out.

“I don’t even know if we have something yet. We’ve only had one real fucking date, and I’m over here obsessing about her… dying to see her again… writing songs about her…”

“Songs, as in plural?” he asked in surprise.

I nodded. “Drafted three more. But none as good as that first one.”

“Shit, Park.” He blew out a breath. “That’s some serious inspo.”

He was right. There had never been anything in my life that had been as inspiring as Charlotte was proving to be.

“You think I’ve lost it over this girl?” I blurted out without thinking. I wasn’t really one for heart to hearts, but here I was, growing a vagina and sharing my feelings…

“Judging by that bottle of raspberry shampoo in your shower, I’d say yeah… maybe.”

My head snapped up at his statement. “Jesus,” I muttered. “What the fuck has a guy gotta do to get some damn privacy around here?”

Jasper shrugged, not in the least bit sorry; in fact, his gold eyes were amused. “My plumbing was out.”

“Dude, you know I’ve got a guest bathroom, right?”

He shrugged again, still not giving a single fuck. “Your shower has that big double jet.” He gave an appreciative moan.

I mumbled a string of curse words that had him grinning like a loon.

Jasper lived in the house next door. When we weren’t touring, we needed to be able to meet without the inconvenience of press, media and fans hounding us. We’d tried living together, but I needed the space. J had rented a place across town, but it was just a pain in the ass. In the end, I’d brought the house next to mine, and told him it was a perk of the job. It made it easier for security too. These days, Jasper was nearly as much of a hot commodity as I was. He had his own stream of loyal followers that were as bat-shit crazy and unpredictable as mine. Sammy lived downstairs in my house – I’d had it set up as a self-contained unit, and he was able to keep a pretty good eye on Jasper’s property too.

Jasper wasn’t exactly known for his self-preservation skills, and he’d refused to have live-in security – so having Sammy close and monitoring his security system was the best I could do.

Jasper had tried to buy his place from me numerous times, but I’d ignored him. It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford it; I just had more money than I could spend and he was the closest thing to a brother that I had; I didn’t want his money.

We’d had a gate put in between the houses, and it was perfect – except when Jasper decided to use my shower.

“So, do you jerk off with that shit or what?” he asked so casually you’d think he was asking about the weather.

Christ.

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it.

I stood up and sat my guitar in its stand with a little more force than was necessary. “I’m done with this conversation.” I announced.

Jasper just chuckled.

“Get me two side stage, V.I.P. passes, J,” I called over my shoulder, my plan spurring into life in my head again.

If I couldn’t go to Charlotte, I was gonna bring her to me.

“Too easy,” he drawled.

“And call a fucking plumber,” I added with a growl.