One More Time - Ali Parker Page 0,2

was radiating suddenly.

“The tour’s going to be sick,” he mused, accepting a quick high five from Matt. “Worldwide baby. It’s finally happening.”

Another round of shots was ordered and downed as each of us briefly thought about the months ahead of us. In only a few weeks, we were kicking off the Imperial Inspection Tour. It was set to be our first true world tour and would take us places that five guys like us never would have dreamed of being able to see before the band took off.

The way Nick and Matt were talking about it, I would’ve sworn that they’d been part of the team that won the World Series or something. I was excited about the tour, about bringing our music to different people, different countries. I simply would’ve preferred if it was slated to be just a little bit smaller.

“From L.A. to the world, we made it happen,” Matt said, once again lifting his glass to ours. “Dom and Jared should’ve been here to celebrate with us.”

Nick clinked with him, sipped at his drink, and smiled wickedly. “This night is going to get out of hand. I can tell. I fucking love it. And yes, they should’ve been.”

“You do realize we’ve been celebrating for weeks, right?” I asked them, wondering if it was possible that they’d had so much to drink since the album dropped that they’d forgotten all the parties we’d been to. And thrown.

“Yeah, but we should celebrate every night until it kicks off,” Nick insisted, flashing a lopsided grin. “And then for each stop we make.”

“Alicia will kick your ass if you try that,” Matt warned laughingly, his eyes starting to roam around the room. Then they snapped back to mine. “Your future sister-in-law is going to bust our balls on this tour. No doubt, she’s not going to have us doing whatever the fuck we wanted like Brad used to.”

“Sister-in-law,” I muttered. “I hope Jared knows what he’s doing.”

“What?” Nick asked, distracted by a redheaded woman wearing practically nothing who was grinding the air on the dance floor like it was the best lover she’d ever had. Poor girl.

I signaled for another drink and waited for it before I carried on. “Fool think he’s in love. That’s what.”

Matt’s eyes slid from the drink he was nursing to mine. “You don’t think he’s in love? Please. Have you seen those two together?”

“Unfortunately,” I mumbled. My brother and his fiancée couldn’t keep their hands off each other, and the way they doted on each other was slightly sickening. “Doesn’t mean it’s going to last.”

“What are you going on about?” Nick asked, attention back to the conversation now that a guy had stepped up to dance with the redheaded girl.

“I’m not ‘going on’ about anything. I’m only stating the facts. They may be oh so in love right now, but love is for suckers and fools. It doesn’t last. They won’t last.”

“They won’t?” Matt cocked an eyebrow. “Because it seems to me that they’re both in this for the long run. They’re getting married in a couple of months’ time, for Chrissake.”

“And have you seen the divorce rate in this country?” I countered. “That piece of paper the state issues to you after you put the shiny diamond ring on is torn up more often than not.”

“You honestly think Jared will ever let her go? Cause if you do, you need to get your head checked.” Nick glanced down at my tumbler. “Or stop drinking so much because the alcohol is starting to fuck with your perception of reality.”

I shot him a look and downed my drink for good measure, savoring the warmth of the scotch as it traveled down my throat. “He may not let her go, but it’s not only up to him, is it?”

Matt and Nick both shifted their angles just enough that they were literally cornering me. “You think she’s going to leave him?”

Eventually? Yes. “Maybe. I’m just saying that Jared’s not the only one who can wake up one morning bored to death of monogamy and romantic walks on the beach.”

“Fair enough,” Matt said, tilting his head slightly. “Of course she could leave. But Alicia’s a one-in-a-million kind of girl, and she loves that man more than life itself.”

“For some fucking reason none of us will ever understand.” Nick smirked, relieving the tension in the air some. “Although I don’t get why he would trade the lifestyle for just one woman either.”

“If it’s the right woman,” Matt started, but I held