Asking For Forever

By Noell Mosco

Nora Rookwood thinks that she has her life in order and figured out. Of course, that's before her best friend surprises her with press passes to 36 Kings, where she will come face-to-face with her former flame West MacKinnon. It's been two years since she last saw him, broke his heart, and she's not sure if she's ready for him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Noell Mosco
• Release date: Dec 22, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311313027

Noell Mosco

I'm a 30-something woman who works a full-time job in the physical therapy field. I've loved writing for enjoyment since I was 11 years old but never considered it as anything more than a hobby. I live in southwestern Pennsylvania, born and raised, with my husband and furbabies. I enjoy travelling and would love to be able to do it professionally :)

Book preview

Asking for Forever

Book #3 in the Unexpected Series

a novel

By Noell Mosco

Copyright 2015 Noell Mosco

Smashwords Edition

ISBN: 9781311313027

Cover Art by Crystal Souls

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this eBook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed, reproduced, scanned, or copied to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. Please do not participate in piracy of copyrighted material. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. All characters and storylines are the property of the author. Thank you for your support and thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Disclaimer

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Let it be known - this novel is written as fiction. Copper Crossfire, 36 Kings and The Fingers of Fish are bands that I created in my mind, as is CloseUp! Other products/services/brand names in the book may resemble real ones.

Dedication

To Music:

You have been my therapist,

my confidant,

my love,

my inspiration.

May the world always have music.

More books by Noell Mosco

Novels:

Unfamiliar Faces

These Walls

The Unexpected Series:

The Unexpected Beautiful

Falling Deeper

Prologue

Are you ready yet? Ashna called into Nora’s room of their shared apartment. Nora stood on the scale in the bathroom and let out an exasperated sigh. When had she managed to put on ten pounds? And how hadn’t she realized it?

Probably because you wear coveralls to work every day, then you come upstairs and change into yoga pants, which are very forgiving with their ability to stretch, Nora told herself.

No! she yelled back to Ashna. With a towel wrapped around her body, she hurried into her bedroom and flung open the closet doors. Hands on her hips, she bit her lower lip as she scoured the possibilities as to what she should decide to wear. My God, it felt like it had been ages since she’d been out. As her eyes glazed over her clothing options, she couldn’t help but look at herself in the full-length mirror on the back of her bedroom door. All she could see were those ten extra pounds. She saw them in her face and in her ass, even though it was covered with a towel.

Her door crashed open, tearing her eyes away from her reflection and she found herself standing face to face with Ashna. Really, Nora, you have time management issues. Find something to wear and for the love of God, put on some makeup. You should make an effort to look hot tonight. You’re going to be seeing West MacKinnon, after all.

Stupid girly butterflies formed inside of Nora’s stomach and she hated the fact that the mere name West MacKinnon made her feel like a nervous little teenager. Yes, she was going to see West tonight. They had tickets to 36 Kings, somehow managing to score third row seats of the center area in the floor section. Ashna’s boy-toy of the moment worked for the local Columbus newspaper, The Columbus Dispatch, so she’d been able to weasel press-passes from him, which were essentially as good as all-access passes. She’d also posed as a reporter, using her boy-toy’s connections from the newspaper, and contacted 36 Kings’ team and arranged an interview with them, taking the press-pass perks to the max. She was determined to get West and Nora together, even if it meant lying and scheming.

It was late June; a week after Nora’s twenty-third birthday, and the weather in Columbus was hot. They had plans on walking to the venue, being only ten blocks away – there was no reason to drive and have to pay for parking. Nora kept the humidity in mind when she reached into her closet to pull out a shirt. Her hesitation was too much for Ashna.

Jesus, Ashna mumbled. I’ll pick your outfit. Please go and do something with yourself. Add gel to those hot fucking curls and at least put on some mascara. We need to leave in twenty minutes. I’ve got an interview to do before the show!

Nora couldn’t help but laugh at Ashna’s overly dramatic flair. Ha, interview!

Ashna couldn’t hide her sly grin. Interview, flirt-session, same thing! Nora laughed at her friend as she stumbled into a pair of underwear underneath her towel.

There will be no flirting going on, missy, Nora scolded Ashna, because you’ve been seeing Seth for too long to think about ‘flirting’ with anyone else.

Nora referred to Ashna’s current flame as boy-toy but in all honesty, the two have been a pair for the last five months. It started as casual sex, but turned into more than that. They met at Monday’s, of all places, and he was pretty damn cute. Cute was the wrong word – sexy was more like it. Sexy in that older man kind of way. He was thirty. At first Nora made fun of Ashna for dating a thirty-year-old, but once things started getting more serious, and Ashna told Nora about all of the hot sex they had, Nora soon changed her tune. She felt bad about calling him a boy-toy, but Ashna had so many short and meaningless relationships, Nora felt perplexed at trying to remember actual names. Boy-toy was much easier.

I wasn’t talking about me, ya know, Ashna inferred. I’m expecting to see you and West having sex tonight, or at the very least participating in some major flirting.

Far be it from me to disappoint you, but that’s highly unlikely, Nora said, as she walked out of her room and into the bathroom. Ashna quickly selected a top and bottoms for Nora to wear. Her eye for fashion was impeccable and Nora hated that she could so easily find incredible combinations in mere seconds when Nora could stare at the same thing for hours and not figure out how to make trendy decisions. After she tossed the outfit onto Nora’s bed, Ashna followed her into the bathroom to approve of her makeup selections.

As their eyes met in the reflection of the mirror, Ashna gave Nora a Girl, please, look and she immediately recognized it.

What? she asked. She tore her attention to lining her top lashes with dark blue eye liner.

You really think West will not flirt with you when he sees you?

I don’t know what to expect, Ash. For all I know, he hates me because I’ve turned him down a million times. Or he’s just totally lost interest in me. Or he’s involved with someone. There’re tons of reasons why he might not want to jump on the train to Flirtsville tonight. Nora tried to stay calm. She didn’t want to get too worked up. She was, in fact, thrilled that she was going to see West MacKinnon in a matter of minutes.

Uh-huh, Ashna said, keeping her voice completely sarcastic. She came to stand next to Nora. When Nora finished applying her makeup, the two girls looked at one another in the mirror. Damn, we are two sexy bitches.

* * *

"There are two women coming to interview you for The Columbus Dispatch before the show and then there’s a short Meet and Greet after it’s over," the tour manager, Carmina, briefed West and Brax on the tour bus before they headed into the venue to perform a sound check.

Another interview? West whined.

Another Meet and Greet? Brax echoed.

Carmina sighed. Yes. Don’t act so ungrateful. You two are selling out these venues and are fortunate to be in your positions. These are your fans. Without them, you’d be nothing. I swear, you boys are starting to act like little babies. Her Latin accent warned the guys to shape up. She was in no mood to put up with their whining.

Yes, Carmina, West conceded. They were lucky to get her as their tour manager. Her other clients included The Fingers of Fish, so West knew she was the right woman to lead up their tour crew for 36 Kings. Hell, if she could keep The Fingers in line during all of their tours, she could pretty much do anything. In all honesty, he was kind of scared of Carmina. She was tiny but she didn’t take shit from anyone and was very intimidating.

The reporters from the newspaper will be here in about forty-five minutes. I’ll tell them to just meet you here? Carmina suggested the tour bus as the place for the interview. Give them a taste of what life on the road is like, yes?

Good idea, Brax nodded.

Wait, what’s the name of the newspaper again? West asked.

"The Columbus Dispatch. Carmina answered as she glanced at her tablet, then gave West a questioning look. Why?"

He shrugged his shoulders at her. No reason. West’s gaze met with Brax’s. Columbus. West knew that Brax knew what, or about whom, he was thinking.

Nora.

West couldn’t help but wonder if Nora would be in attendance of tonight’s show.

* * *

With the sound check out of the way, West and Brax were back on their tour bus, prepping for the interview and the show. They both had a bottle of beer open as they sat at the rear of the bus, their eyes glued to the flat-screen, and they battled against some zombies in an apoctolyptic-esque game. A small knock resonated from the door of the bus and the guys both looked at each other in an ugh fashion.

Let’s get this fucking interview over with, Brax mumbled under his breath as they both watched Carmina open the door. They heard a woman’s voice speaking with Carmina and continued to hear Carmina direct her to the back of the tour bus.

I’m going inside to make sure everything is ready. Girls, you have thirty minutes. And with that, Carmina walked down the steps of the bus and shut the door behind her.

West leaned forward a bit to watch the ladies from The Columbus Dispatch make their way, slowly and tentatively, toward the back of the bus. A tall beauty, with chestnut colored hair and an hourglass figure caught his eye. His gray eyes caught with her caramel ones and he immediately recognized her – Ashna.

Jesus-effing-Christ, Brax murmured beside him. He turned to look at his best friend, who was all but drooling at the sight of Ashna. Dibs. West almost smiled at Brax’s current obsession until he caught sight of the wild curls and blue eyes behind her. His heart stopped. Nora.

She paused ever-so-slightly as their eyes connected but she recovered well, fighting a smile from curling the edges of her red lips. Red! West’s dick twinged as he drank in Nora’s features – her blue eyes looked even bluer than he remembered. Her frame looked more luscious; her curves were curvier, her boobs were breast-ier, her hair was crazier. God, those curls. He wanted to let his fingers get lost in that mess that seemed even longer than ever – at least half way down her back – and his dick seemed to come to life at the thought of what that lengthier hair might look like as she rode him…

Brax, being the total oblivious prick, stood to greet them. "Ladies, you must be from The Dispatch. We were told very little about your interview, but would very much like to give you a firsthand experience of what life on a tour bus is like." He politely shook hands with each of them.

Ashna giggled and accepted his greeting. Thanks. I’m Ashna Marche, and this is–

Brax’s eyes expanded when he finally realized who it was. Nora, he said, looking to West for a reaction. He nodded when Brax looked at him.

Hey, Brax, Nora greeted him, looking a bit withheld, her hands in her back pockets as she stood awkwardly.

Hi, he responded. He looked back to West and then back to Nora. Ashna, perhaps we should make our way to the front of the bus and we can give these two some privacy. The two slipped past Nora, who still stood near the small hallway that separated the front and back of the bus. As Brax exited, he pulled shut a privacy curtain behind him. Nora watched as he pulled the curtain and then turned back to face West.

Hey, she said to him, unsure of what else to say or how to greet