Snake Bandit - YA Rockstar Read online

  “Eliza, no!” Hendrix screamed but it was too late.

  “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” Eliza slapped her hands over her eyes and stood rooted to the spot. “Polly, I’m sorry.”

  “Eliza, fuck off out of my room.” Hendrix scrambled around trying to hide Polly from view and keeping one eye on his sister to make sure she wasn’t looking. He wasn’t bothered, but he knew Polly would be mortified, he just wished he’d checked that he’d slipped the bolt across on the door.

  Still in the middle of her brother’s rooms, Eliza groaned unable to comprehend what she’d just seen. Actually, she knew exactly what she’d just seen, her brother’s naked arse while his girlfriend had her mouth around his—.

  “I’m going,” Eliza gasped walking backwards out of the room. “Sorry, so sorry.”

  She heard the door close and then the bolt pushed across followed by the unmistakable timbre of Hendrix’s deep laugh.

  “It’s not funny,” Polly hissed on the other side of the door.

  “Oh, but it is.”

  Hendrix’s laugh boomed again, followed by a giggle and then a decidedly throaty moan. Eliza decided she’d heard and seen enough for one day and rushed back to her own room, forgetting exactly what it was she’d wanted to borrow from her brother.

  “No way,” Freddie said, holding his sides as he laughed. “So, what did you do?”

  “I just stood there with my hands over my eyes.” Eliza shook her head and took a sip of her coffee.

  Freddie had called her not long after ‘the incident’ to see if she’d like to meet up in town for a coffee at the new café that had opened and seeing as she could hear Hendrix and Polly coming down the stairs, she’d quickly accepted and arranged to pick Freddie up, hoping her mum would let her borrow her car.

  “You idiot.” Freddie sighed and leaning forward dropped a kiss to Eliza’s lips, still wet from drinking her coffee.

  Eliza leaned into the kiss, even though it was only quick it made her feel all warm and happy. She and Freddie had been on one date and it had been wonderful. He’d been the perfect gentleman, had made her scream with laughter and then given her the most beautiful kiss when he dropped her home. Thankfully, her dad was already in bed with a migraine, otherwise she was in no doubt that he’d have been waiting on the doorstep with a shotgun. He’d grilled her the next morning, but when her mum told him to shut up and leave Eliza alone, he’d finally shuffled off to his study to work i.e., to play Patience on his computer.

  As she watched Freddie spoon some of the froth from his coffee, Eliza realised that how she’d felt about Rocco all those years really had been just a stupid crush. Not that she loved Freddie or anything like that, but she was always excited to see him and wanted to spend time with him whenever possible, it was so much more than just thinking he was hot like she’d done Rocco. Rocco was one of her best friends, but she was always on edge around him wondering whether he’d turn up when he said he would, or whether he’d leave her alone at a party to hook up with someone. He never made her feel good about herself and over the last few years the only time she’d ever felt normal around him had been a couple of days before in the studio, when they’d played for the first time as Snake Bandit. Freddie always made her feel special though, even when they were just friends and now that they were dating she felt butterflies the whole time, it was lovely and she wanted the feeling to last forever.

  “Can I ask you something?” she said, taking a deep breath.

  Freddie looked up at her with expressive eyes and a small smile twitching his lips. “Of course.”

  In that moment Eliza wondered if she was doing the right thing, but she had to know, and she had to let Freddie know.

  Why?

  Well, Eliza knew his reaction would show her how he really felt about her because as much as she liked him, if he didn’t handle this well or said the wrong thing that would have to be it between them. She’d spent years pining after Rocco when she wasn’t what he wanted, and she wasn’t going to do the same again with Freddie because Eliza was pretty sure that their relationship could go to good places.

  “Would it bother you if I told you I was a virgin?”

  Freddie jerked back into his seat, letting his arms fall to his sides and Eliza’s heart sank as she waited for him to start laughing and call her a freak, so when he smiled gently, she was surprised.

  “No, of course not,” Freddie said, reaching for her hand. “Please tell me you’re not embarrassed by it, if you are one.”

  Eliza shrugged. “Not embarrassed as such, but it is a bit odd don’t you think. An eighteen-year-old virgin.”

  Freddie shook his head. “No not at all. I have a few friends, both lads and girls, who are still virgins.”

  “What? You talk to each other about that sort of stuff?” Eliza asked, totally shocked. “I could never tell Ethan and Rocco stuff like that. They think I’ve had sex.”

  “Why?” Freddie asked, as his finger rubbed circles on the back of Eliza’s hand.

  Eliza grimaced. “Because I told them I had. I thought they might hang out with me more if I was a little bit cooler.”

  Freddie laughed and shook his head. “And you thought having sex would make you cooler?”

  Eliza shrugged. “I suppose so.”

  “You really are an idiot.” He leaned in again and gave her another kiss but made it last longer and introduced a little tongue.

  He couldn’t believe how lacking in confidence she was when she was so fucking beautiful, funny and sweet. Rocco and Ethan didn’t deserve her friendship if they made her feel being a virgin was stupid and not cool enough for them. Although Freddie had a suspicion that was more Eliza’s issue than theirs. It was probably Eliza wanting Rocco to think she was his sort of girl; well thank fuck he hadn’t because Freddie really, really liked her and still couldn’t believe he was getting a chance with her. He was not going to mess it up, that was for sure.

  When he pulled away from the kiss, Freddie’s ego was happy to see Eliza’s eyes were still closed and she had a little smile on her lips. She’d evidently enjoyed it.

  “You want to know a secret,” Freddie said when Eliza finally looked at him. “Hmm, what?”

  “I’ve only had sex with two girls.”

  Eliza’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates and her mouth dropped open. “But I thought...”

  “What, that I slept around?” Freddie was a little shocked because he’d never set out to give that impression to anyone, it wasn’t even as though he’d had a lot of girlfriends, because he hadn’t.

  “No, I... I just thought...well, yeah I suppose.” Eliza grimaced realising how unfair it was to think that about him without any evidence. “I suppose I measure every boy by Rocco and Ethan’s standards. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine, but now you know. And just so you’re not wondering and over thinking things, the first was a girl I met on holiday last summer and it was over so quickly I can barely remember it, and the second time was the next day and we were in the sea with both sets of parents lying on the beach and waving to us.”

  Eliza gasped and then burst out laughing. “No way!”

  “Yeah,” Freddie groaned. “She’d been a virgin too, until our first time, but was already on the pill so we didn’t use a condom and I ended up getting a water infection for the last three days of the holiday.”

  Eliza tried to school her face into something more serious, but she couldn’t help but explode with laughter.

  “I’m sorry,” she cried, “but that is pretty funny.”

  Freddie grimaced. “It wasn’t at the time, I thought I was peeing razor blades and my knob was going to drop off.”

  “But that’s all it was?” Eliza suddenly felt her heart jump because if Freddie had had an STI how would that affect their relationship going forward. She then gasped at the idea she was even thinking about sex with him after just two dates.

  “Yeah, Mum took me to our doctor when we got home, and I told him what had happe
ned.”

  “With your mum there?”

  “Fuck no, she stayed in the waiting room.” Freddie laughed and shook his head. “I promise you it was just a water infection.”

  Eliza felt her cheeks get hot as Freddie watched her carefully.

  “Well, that’s good to know. So, what about the second girl, was that a long-term thing?”

  Eliza picked up her drink and eyed Freddie over the rim, not sure how she’d feel if it had been a serious relationship.

  Freddie cleared his throat. “No, it was just a hook-up. And I learned my lesson and used a condom that time.”

  Eliza nodded. “Okay. Well, good to know.”

  Freddie gave a tentative smile and picked up his mug. He wasn’t proud of having a hook-up, particularly that he hadn’t exactly acted like Prince Charming afterwards. He just hoped that was the end of that particular conversation. As they continued to drink their coffee the bell over the door rang out and they both turned to it.

  “Oh my God,” Eliza gasped.

  “What are they doing together?” Freddie asked, sounding equally as shocked.

  “I don’t know,” Eliza replied looking over at Gigi, laughing and joking with Billy Devine. “But I think Gigi and I are going to have a little chat.”

  Chapter 23

  “Oh, my goodness,” Amber sighed as she watched Eliza and Hendrix stand back-to-back as they played their guitars. “I knew they could both play but had no idea that they had so much talent.”

  Martha smiled and squeezed her friend’s shoulder. “You wouldn’t, they’ve never shown any interest in being in a band, any of them, except Eliza of course. I didn’t think Rocco had such natural ability for singing either. He sounds like a foghorn when he sings in the shower.”

  They giggled and turned their eyes back to their kids who were into their second week of rehearsing for the charity gig. It had been Tom who had suggested that they hold an open rehearsal for the family. He felt it would get them used to an audience, even though it would be a fraction of the number who would be at the actual gig, and who else, to tell you the truth, but your loved ones.

  “I wish Ethan would show interest,” Stacey whispered as the music quietened in the last few bars of the song the band were playing. “He’s bloody good at this and it might give him some direction instead of following that of his damn penis all the time.”

  “Mum,” Jackson groaned. “Do we have to talk about Ethan’s penis?” Jackson made a gagging motion and Stacey rolled her eyes.

  “Believe it or not, Jackson, I wiped and powdered that penis for many years – yours too.” She pulled her youngest son to her and gave him a big smack of a kiss on his cheek. “And if you don’t start tidying your room, I may just get the photographs out to prove it.”

  Jackson gasped and stared at Stacey who simply smiled at him.

  As they struck the last chord of the song, Eliza grinned over at Freddie and she had to admit, Uncle Tom had been right, adding the keyboard had given them a whole new sound. Aside from which, having Freddie with her while they rehearsed for hours each day had been brilliant. He made her laugh constantly and his kisses weren’t bad either, not that they’d managed many today as her dad had watched them like a hawk for the whole time.

  The crowd of family and friends clapped loudly, and Eliza looked out from the rickety old stage in the village hall, where the impromptu gig was being held, and smiled. They were all up on their feet clapping and cheering for Snake Bandit and the six songs they’d performed. She moved forward and took Hendrix’s hand to drag him with her but paused to look over her shoulder.

  “Freddie, Ethan, come on,” she cried and nodded toward the front of the stage.

  Once she saw them both move, Eliza walked to stand next Rocco who was already milking the applause.

  As they stood in a line, each of them bowed in turn, then all together and as she looked down the line, Eliza couldn’t help but feel excited that her dream appeared to be about to come true. She knew that this wasn’t what the boys really wanted, but if it got them and her song writing skills noticed, other people might be willing to audition for the band, or even ask her to write for them.

  “That was great, kids,” Tom said as he joined them on stage once the applause died down. “You need to tighten up on a few things, but we’ll go over that tomorrow—your dad recorded it, Ethan, so we’ll take a look at it.”

  Tom looked at them all in turn and let a smile twitch at his lips. They were raw and unfinished, but Snake Bandit really did remind him of Dirty Riches when they first started out. The difference was these kids would have a lot of help should they need it – although they’d all agreed that the kids needed to earn it first. They had also agreed that Tom would be the one to mentor them and possibly manage them as he didn’t have a kid in the band, so wouldn’t show any favouritism to any of them. Plus, he was damn good at getting people to reach their potential, whether it was playing or producing music.

  He knew he’d been right about the keys being introduced to their sound and the mini gig had proved it; Freddie was good, if a little too precise and maybe he needed to dirty his technique up a little, but it added an extra layer to some great songs that Eliza had written.

  “I want you back at the studios at eight tomorrow morning,” Tom called over the top of Snake Bandit’s excited chatter.

  Rocco and Ethan groaned but Eliza, Hendrix and Freddie nodded.

  “You can get a ride with us,” Tom continued. “You okay with that, Freddie?”

  “I can bring him over to you,” Freddie’s dad, who was also called Tom, said as he sidled up to the Dirty Riches guitarist. “Well done guys by the way, that was incredible.”

  Jake appeared at Tom Price’s side and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m still watching you, Price.” Freddie’s cheeks blushed and as he dropped his gaze to the floor, he heard his dad laugh.

  “Come on Jake,” Tom Price said. “We were young once.”

  “I know and that’s what fucking worries me.” Jake narrowed his eyes at Freddie and then gave a dazzling smile to his daughter. “That was great, Princess. I’m really proud of you. You too, Hen, you’ve got great talent, son.”

  Eliza grinned back at her dad and felt pride swell up inside of her. She hadn’t realised how much she’d wanted to please him. “Thanks, Dad.”

  “Yeah, thanks, Dad,” Hendrix added. “But I still don’t want to be in a band.”

  Jake laughed and slapped Hendrix on the shoulder. “No worries, I hear you. Right, I’m gonna grab your mum and see if she fancies going out for dinner. You guys want to join?”

  Hendrix nodded. “Can I bring Polly?” he asked, his eyes searching the group of family and friends for his girlfriend.

  “No problem. Go get her. What about you, Princess, you want to come?”

  Eliza’s eyes darted toward Freddie and then back to Jake who sighed heavily.

  “Okay bring him too, but no funny business in the back of my car, sunshine.”

  Eliza beamed and jumped forward to give Jake a hug. “Thank you, Daddy.”

  “You little minx,” Jake muttered as he let her go. “Every time the eyes and the ‘daddy’ get me. Every-fucking-time.”

  As their parents all gathered around, discussing how well their kids had done and friends slowly drifted away, Rocco and Ethan propped themselves against the stage.

  “I quite enjoyed that,” Ethan said. “What about you?”

  “Yeah, I did.” Rocco sounded distracted and when Ethan looked at him, he saw that his eyes were firmly on Eliza and Freddie who were laughing together and had their fingers linked behind their backs and away from Jake’s view.

  “She seems really into him,” Ethan said, as he nudged Rocco with a sharp elbow.

  “Yeah, she does,” he replied, his gaze still on his friend. “You think he’s serious about her too?”

  Ethan shrugged. “Why wouldn’t he. She’s hot, she’s talented, she’s funny and if she wasn’t like a siste
r to me, I’d definitely go there.”

  Ethan looked at Rocco and shook his head, he’d seen that look on his best friend’s face before. It was the look he had when he saw a girl he liked and had every intention of getting.

  “You’re not are you.” he said, eyeing Rocco. “For fuck’s sake, Roc.”

  Rocco’s head swung around so he was facing Ethan. “What?” he snapped.

  “You know what. You fucking like her, don’t you?”

  “Of course, I do. It’s like you said, she’s like a sister.”

  Ethan let out a loud burst of laughter, attracting everyone’s attention for a few seconds. “Fuck off, I know you and I know that look,” he replied. “You want her, and you’re pissed that she’s with Freddie.”

  “No, I’m not.” Rocco frowned and punched Ethan. “That’s fucking disgusting.”

  “Oww, that hurt, you dick.” Ethan rubbed his side and moved himself a few inches away. “And yes, you do. You’re jealous.”

  Rocco wanted to protest, but he was aware that Ethan knew him better than anyone, probably better than his own parents.

  “I fucking hate that he’s all over her,” Rocco growled. “I saw him slap her arse yesterday and she never even flinched, just giggled like some stupid girl.”

  “Yeah, well maybe that’s because she is a girl, which it appears you’ve suddenly noticed.” Ethan sighed. “Listen Roc, I love you like a brother, but don’t spoil this for her. She likes him and he likes her, you’d play with her and then get bored.”

  “Who says I would?” Rocco asked, flashing a dark stare at Ethan.

  “I do, because I know you and if you fuck her around just think about the shit that will cause with the family. Uncle Jake will have your damn balls for starters.”

  Rocco sighed and looked back over at Eliza and Freddie who were now stealing a kiss as Jake had disappeared.

  “What if I don’t think I’d get bored though, Ethan? What if I think she could be the one?”

  “Well, if that’s the case my friend,” Ethan said blowing out a breath. “You are in fucking trouble.”