Sweet Renegade (24 page)

Coming Soon…

Ace Vaughn and Nicole Gionelli’s story:

Wild Renegade

Nicole

I knock on the front door of my best friend’s house. I haven’t seen her in a couple of weeks and I have big news to share with her. I only wait a few moments before one of the most gorgeous men I’ve ever laid eyes on answers the door. Of course, he is my bestie’s husband and completely off limits.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Nicole Gionelli, so nice of you to finally come and visit us again,” he says sarcastically. He is the king of sarcasm.

“Dude, I was just here a couple of weeks ago,” I mutter as I push past his huge six foot four inch frame.

“Weeks schmeeks, Mikey has doubled in size in those two weeks!”

I roll my eyes at the man following me from over my shoulder. “I’ve been really busy, Sebastian, give me a break,” I say.

Sebastian gives me a bored look. “Doing what?”

“I’ve had an audition and about a million and one call backs,” I say, shoving my hands on my hips in defiance.

“Sebastian, leave her alone,” I hear my best friend, Raelynn, say as she comes down the stairs with her son Michael in her arms.

Holy shit! He did grow over the last two weeks! Raelynn smiles and gives me a one armed hug.

“Hi!” She says.

“Hey.”

“Your hair is getting long,” Raelynn notices.

I touch my dark hair that has now grown down to my shoulders. It used to be short, like up to my chin, short. “Yeah, I felt like letting it grow out. I’ve had it short for so long, I needed a change,” I reply and put my arms out for Mikey - who is two years old now - but he shies away and hugs Raelynn tighter.

“See, he doesn’t even know who you are anymore,” Sebastian huffs.

Raelynn and I both shoot him a dirty look.

“Oh, what? You think looking at me like that hurts my feelings or something?” He scoffs and crosses his muscled arms over his chest.

Raelynn shakes her head at her husband then starts for the kitchen. I follow, and unfortunately, so does Sebastian. No matter how good looking the man is, there is no way in hell that I could or would ever live with him. I don’t know how Raelynn does it. I’m not going to lie, when I had first met him, I had hoped that I would get the chance to get him into bed, because
DAMN!
The man is just…WOW…with his blonde hair and bright green eyes, his scruffy jaw and bang-able body. Now that I know him, though? No thanks! Raelynn can have him. Sebastian and I just don’t mesh well.

“So how did the audition go? I heard you say that you got some call backs?” Raelynn says as she sticks Michael in his booster chair.

“Yeah, and I got the job!” I exclaim.

Raelynn’s blonde head whips around to stare at me in shock. She knew what job I was going for. Her mouth drops open and her eyes widen. “You got the job?” She breathes.

I grin and nod.

Raelynn squeals and comes running to me. She throws her arms around my neck, which makes me have to bend down because she’s a lot shorter than I am. I hug her back and laugh.

“Oh my god, I’m so happy for you!” She cries.

“Someone wanna tell me what job you’re talking about?” Sebastian asks dryly.

Raelynn lets me go and turns to her husband. “Nicole is going to be a backup dancer for Renegade!”

Sebastian blinks at her, not having a clue what she is talking about.

“They are
the
biggest boy band out there right now. I’m gonna be going on tour with them and dancing on stage during the concerts,” I inform him.

“Oooh!” Sebastian replies, finally understanding who I’m talking about. “Ahhhh! Like OMG! They are like so effing hot! They make me want to like throw my panties at them!” Sebastian shrieks in a valley girl voice that he does way too well and runs around the kitchen table like a girl, arms flailing.

Michael, of course, thinks it’s hysterical and is cracking up as he watches his father running around like a complete dumbass. I send Raelynn a sideways glance and she just shakes her head at me. She knows her husband is a weirdo.

“So when are you leaving?” Raelynn asks, ignoring Sebastian who is now actually singing one of Renegade’s most popular songs and doing the dance moves from the music video.

I gape at him. “How the hell does he know that?” I whisper to Raelynn.

“Adalyn likes them and watches their music videos. So whenever we go to Henry and Claire’s house, it’s usually on.” Raelynn chuckles.

Henry is Sebastian’s older brother, and Adalyn is his daughter. Raelynn and Henry’s wife, Claire, were pregnant at the same time and actually had their babies on the same day. Although, Michael’s birth was completely insane! Raelynn couldn’t make it to the hospital in time and had Mikey in the car with Sebastian playing catcher.

“But Adalyn is only two years old,” I say in confusion.

Raelynn shrugs. “I know.”

I shake my head and focus back on Raelynn. “I’m leaving tonight.” I frown, knowing that it’s really short notice.

Raelynn frowns also. “How long will you be gone for?”

“We have to rehearse for a month before the tour. The U.S. tour is six months, we then have a month break before the World tour, which is another six months,” I tell her.

“Oh man, that’s really long!” Raelynn pouts.

“I know, but it’s going to be so worth it, and awesome for building my resume,” I remind her.

“I’m gonna miss you,” Raelynn sniffs and hugs me.

I stay for about an hour, talking some more about the tour, and then say our goodbyes before I head home to do some packing. I’ve already talked to my landlord about my being gone and he’s pretty cool, so he didn’t have any problem with it and he said that he would even keep an eye on my apartment for me. I set up my rent to come right out of my checking account every month, so I don’t have to worry about it being late. My mom is going to take care of all of my other mail, which I am having forwarded to her house.

That night, my parents, Elena and Gaetano – who everyone calls Guy – and my younger sister, Gina, drive me to the train station where I am going to catch the train up to New York. That is where the month of rehearsals are taking place. That is where I’m going to be living out of a hotel room for a month, ugh, so not looking forward to that! I check into my hotel room by 11:00 pm and get settled in. I take a shower, dry my hair, and go to bed. I need to be well rested for tomorrow.

Rehearsal starts at 8:00 am. I’m nervous and excited at the same time. The choreographer, Kara, emailed me all of the info I need regarding where to go and what studio number to meet in. I wear my standard black leggings, tank top, and a baggy t-shirt that hangs off one shoulder. I put my dance shoes in a small duffle bag along with a towel and a water bottle then head out the door.

About the Author

Andria is married and a stay at home mother with two crazy little girls and two psychotic cats. She doesn't go anywhere without her precious iPhone and a purse full of animal crackers. She used to be completely obsessed with the Backstreet Boys, but now is only mildly obsessed (still goes to every concert when they are in town). She loves cartoons and Disney movies, and can probably recite every line from Dumb and Dumber. Humor is a must in her life; otherwise, it would be completely boring. Pepsi is her weakness, along with anything chocolate. She can’t sing to save her life, but she pretends she can when she is alone in her car with the music blasting so that she can’t hear herself. And don’t mess with her family because she will fuck you up.

She loves to read Romance. Paranormal, Scottish, Military, Police, Firefighters, Athletes, Cowboys and M/M are her favorite. She is not so much a fan of YA, though. If you haven’t been able to tell from reading her books, she likes - whether she is reading them or writing them - lots of hot steamy sex.

Andria loves her fans and is always willing to chat. She works hard on her books, does not get offended easily, and has a pretty thick skin when it comes to negativity toward her work. She welcomes constructive criticism because she feels that is how one betters themselves, by taking that constructive criticism and using it.