Player of Life (Perception Book 4) Read online

  Player

  of

  Life

  Perception Book 4

  Written by

  Shandi Boyes

  © Shandi Boyes 2016

  No part of this eBook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Editing: Carolyn Wallace

  Cover: Shandi Boyes

  Photograph: Bigstockphotos

  Stock Photo ID: 116165888

  Copyright: Svyatoslava Vladzimirska

  Release: Signed model release filed with Bigstock

  Some photo edits were made May 2016

  Contents

  Dedicated:

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Dedicated:

  To my one and only, my inspiration and my rock.

  My husband Chris.

  XX

  Chapter 1

  Nick

  I slowly glide my hand down over the generous curves of her body, causing her to release a deep and throaty moan. The calluses on my fingertips from playing guitar for years makes the smoothness of her skin even more noticeable.

  “Oh god yes, right there” she quivers as her body starts to shake in anticipation of her next orgasm. I adjust her leg so it sits higher on my shoulder while continuing with the rhythm that she seems to be appreciating. I can feel my balls starting to constrict as they prepare for their release.

  “Oh god, oh god” she starts to pant. I’m nearly tempted to tell her that god can’t help her right now, but decide to stay quiet. Just as she is about to reach a sound barrier breaking scream, her bedroom door shoots open.

  “What the fuck” gets angrily screamed into the room, instantly making me freeze and my dick to soften.

  Nikki’s eyes shoot across to look at Slater who has just barrelled into the room. Her cries of ecstasy had obviously awoken him from his slumbering state. I quickly dart out of his bed and stand in front of Slater in nothing but a pair of socks and a condom. His jaw is ticking and he clenches his fists open and closed. My eyes dart around the room, trying to seek an exit. Slater is standing in the doorway with his arms crossed, knowing that it is my only viable exit. My only other option is the window to my right, but I’m currently stark naked. I flick my eyes down to my jeans and shirt that are sprawled on the floor in front of Slater. His eyes follow my movements and he cocks his eyebrow, daring me to even attempt to move near them.

  “Get out” he states roughly looking towards the bed I had just exited. I commence taking a step towards him, forcing his stern and furious brown eyes to look back at me.

  “Not you” he whispers harshly, his eyes narrowing even more.

  “Her” he states angrily as he looks back towards a naked Nikki lying in the bed watching our exchange. Her head flicking back and forth between us like she is at a tennis match.

  She hesitantly starts moving off the bed and slowly tiptoes towards Slater. Once she is close to him, she leans up and looks him in the eyes. Pleading with him while she is naked… could she be anymore stupid?

  “I’m sorry baby, I was just…”

  “Get out” Slater interrupts, not allowing her the opportunity to give him a pathetic excuse. She quickly bobs down and grabs her lace dress off the floor and bolts past Slater. Not long later, I hear the front door slam.

  “Look man, I was doing you a favor, I told you those rumours…”

  “Shut the fuck up Nick” he interrupts while taking another step closer to me.

  Ok I’ll admit it, I fucked Nikki because I was horny and she was available, but at the end of the day I was also helping Slater. That girl is as slutty as they come, he is just blinded by her big tits and hoover lips. I have seen her several times the past few weeks wandering off with guys halfway through our performances at Mavericks. When she would come back, her hair was always ruffled and her lips looked swollen. It didn’t take a genius to work out what she was doing in the back alleyway.

  “I just wanted to prove to you what I was telling you was true” I explain, trying to weasel my way out of a pretty fucked up situation.

  I had told Slater a few times what I had witnessed, but never once did he listen. When he invited me back to his house for a beer after our performance at Mavericks tonight, I decided to finally accept his offer. Normally, I would make any excuse to leave after our gig. The band mates are simply that, band mates, I don’t really see them as friends. We have a kick ass group that is going to make me fucking millions one day, but that doesn’t mean I need to be their best buddies to achieve that. My pickings after tonight’s performance were slim since Noah, Marcus and Jacob beat me to the pick of the bunch as I was stuck on the phone talking to my brother Isaac. When Slater asked me over, Nikki’s eyes roamed appreciatively over my body as she bite down on her bottom lip. That is when I decided to prove to him that he needed to start listening to me more often.

  “You proved your point, now I get to prove mine” Slater replies as the smirk on his face turns dangerous.

  “What point?” I question, while watching him take another step into the room.

  “That you don’t fuck with me” he snarls angrily.

  I don’t think I have ever seen Slater so pissed. When he takes another step closer to me, I decide drastic action needs to be taken. I bolt towards the only window in the room and pray that it is unlocked. I just manage to pull up the window and dive out onto the ledge as Slater charges for me, narrowly missing my ankle as I scamper out into the freezing cold night.

  “Just think about it, I did you a favor” I inform, while crawling towards the ledge. I swallow harshly when I realise there is no way down other than jumping into a thorny bush below.

  When my gaze looks back and I notice Slater climbing out of the window, I close my eyes and jump, silently praying that the bushes below will help lessen the impact of my fall. The bushes aided in cushioning my fall, but the thorns and prickles were an unpleasant addition to my naked backside and groin. When I peer up at the second floor, Slater is looking down at me before he charges back towards the window. I hastily get up and start bolting out of his driveway and down the street to my truck that is parked a few blocks down. I’m so fucking grateful that I always keep a spare key in my truck. Considering my current set of keys are sitting in my jeans on Slater’s bedroom floor. By
the time I make it to my truck, my balls are nearly in my stomach from the freezing cold winter temperatures. I just hope they don’t get frost bite and end up dropping off.

  I quickly fire up my truck and pull out of the carpark as Slater comes barrelling out of his house. He runs into the middle of the street, holding a baseball bat in his hand. When I quickly speed past him, I have to veer to miss hitting him, but he isn’t even concerned at the fact I could have ran him over. He swings the baseball bat hard and ends up knocking off one of my side mirrors. I hadn’t thoroughly thought my plan through when I decided to sleep with Nikki at Slater’s house. Next time I might have to think through my ideas before putting them into action.

  By the time I make it back to my dad’s house, news of my night’s antics must have already been circulating.

  “You stupid fuck” was the first thing Noah angrily screamed down the phone the instant I answered it.

  “I did him a favor; he should be thanking me” I reply while laughing.

  “For fuck sake Nick, you knew what it took for me to get you into the band and this is how you fucking repay me” Noah replies aggressively.

  That is when the guilt slowly seeps in. I knew it took a lot for Noah to get Slater and Marcus to agree to give me the chance to audition to become a part of their band ‘Rise Up.’ And even when they witnessed my talent first hand, they were still hesitant. I can’t say I didn’t understand their hesitation; they had been the original members of the band for years before Noah stumbled upon me. Even if Noah isn’t a friend, I will be forever grateful for that day….

  “What else can you play?” questioned a deep voice from the doorway of the music room.

  I had just finished playing the introduction to Metallica’s ‘Sandman’. When I turned my gaze, I noticed a dark haired guy wearing a pair of jeans and a dark cotton shirt.

  “Pretty much anything” I replied arrogantly while turning my gaze back to the guitar I was playing in an attempt to tune it since it sounded a little off key.

  Because I didn’t have enough money to purchase my own guitar, I have to borrow one from the school band. That is why I generally only play in the late afternoon, when no one else is around.

  “Are you in a group?” questioned the voice I had assumed left, since I pretty much dismissed his attempt at a conversation.

  “Nope” I replied, not bothering to look up from my guitar. I could hear that he walked into the room further and once his black boots came into my vision, I realised he was standing directly in front of me.

  “Would you be interested in joining a group?” he questioned.

  This caused me to peer up from the guitar to look into his eyes. His eyes were a lot darker than I originally noticed and just from looking at him, I automatically assumed that he wouldn’t be in a band I would have any interest in.

  “Nope” I replied arrogantly, hoping it would give him the indication to leave. But instead of leaving, he started laughing.

  “Your fucking loss then” he laughed as he started to head towards the door. I heard him murmur a few curse words under his breath while he strolled into the hallway.

  It was only once he left the room did I start to wonder what opportunity I had just missed out on. His confidence didn’t even falter when I turned down his request, making me realise he has a lot of confidence in his bands ability to make it big. I quickly placed down the guitar and chased after him down the hallway.

  “Wait up” I called out once I spotted him just about to exit the large double doors.

  He must have heard me as he stopped for a second, before he then pushed open the doors and kept briskly strolling out of the school building.

  “I’m not going to beg” I silently said to myself.

  I moved towards the exit and watched as he strolled down the concrete path. A few girl’s heads turned as he walked past them and they smiled at him while fluttering their eyelashes.

  “Do you know who that guy is?” I questioned one of the girls that was just flirting with him.

  “Doesn’t everyone?” she replied, making her friend next to her giggle as her cheeks gave off a pink hue.

  “Obviously not” I responded sarcastically while rolling my eyes.

  “That’s because you’re a guy” the pretty brunette stated while giggling, before she started fluttering her eyelashes at me.

  “That I am” I affirm cockily while allowing my eyes to roam over body.

  It was only after exchanging numbers with my new found friend did I find out that the guy who just interrupted me was named Noah Taylor and he was the lead singer and guitarist of the band called ‘Rise Up’. She also informed me that he was going to be playing at a high school party that same Friday night. I decided it was the perfect opportunity to watch his band perform and to see if they are the type of band I may be interested in being a part of.

  That Friday night, I decided to sneakily borrow the school guitar. When I arrived at the party the band was already in the middle of a set. I had to admit I was fucking shocked. I had thought Noah might have been part of a group that was into heavy metal or some rock indie shit. So I was surprised when I walked in and found them playing several of the latest top twenty hits. When they announced they were going to take a quick break, I swiftly made my way over towards Noah.

  “I changed my mind” I informed loudly, since the room was full of drunken teenagers.

  His darks eyes flicked up from the girl he was currently talking to and he looked me sternly in the eyes, before he recommenced talking to the girl, not saying a word to me.

  “Do I need to audition? Or?” I questioned.

  “You lost your chance” he informed, immediately dismissing me. He finished talking to the girl and started to stroll through the swarm of bodies on the dance floor, several people vying for his attention as he walked by. I eagerly followed after him.

  “I can play anything you request” I stated firmly.

  Noah walked over to the keg that was set up in the middle of the kitchen and filled a plastic red cup to the rim, before walking over to a huge guy leaning against the kitchen counter. When I looked at his friend, I swallowed harshly and hesitated in annoying Noah while he was standing next to a guy that looked like he could snap me like a twig. Deciding that I needed to grow some balls, I made my way over towards them.

  “I can play anything you request” I informed again, while seeking his dark gaze.

  He shook his head at me as he smirked, before pushing off the kitchen bench and walking back to the make shift stage. Once the band began performing again, I realised it was my opportunity to show them what talent I had. I quickly bolted back to my car and collected the guitar I had borrowed earlier. Not having enough time to make sure it was correctly tuned, I placed the strap around my neck and headed back into the party.

  When I entered the oversized formal lounge room, the band was playing Fall Out Boy’s ‘Sugar, We’re Goin Down’. I slightly hesitated when I realised I had only practiced that song a handful of times, but figured that this was going to be my only chance. I started strumming the strings of my guitar in rhythm with Noah’s and slowly started walking towards the stage. Several eyes look up at me confused, but one set of dazzling blue eyes nearly made me miss a chord, they were light blue and simply stunning. When her eyes darted nervously away, I chuckled, before recommencing my journey towards the band.

  When the crowd noticed me slowly approaching the stage, they started moving out of my way, giving me a clear path to walk directly to the stage. I noticed Noah’s eyes followed me as I walked towards them, but he never once faltered on his performance. Once I made it to the stage, I moved to the opposite side of his bassists and took my position as if I was already a part of the band. The crowd ate it up, assuming it was all choreographed by the band to introduce their newest member. When I peered over at the drummer, his eyes were narrowed and his nostrils flared in anger. The bassist smiled while shaking his head and Noah just continued to perform while keep
ing his gaze directed at the crowd.

  It was only after my impromptu performance with ‘Rise Up’ did Noah eventually agree to let me audition for the band the following day, against the wishes of both Slater and Marcus. They hammered me with every song you could think was imaginable and after four hours, I was finally accepted into their group.

  Even though that was over a year ago, I still feel like an intruder.

  “I wasn’t thinking” I reply to Noah, realising that I have probably just caused a huge fucking rift in the band.

  “No you weren’t, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to fix this Nick, you fucked up, you might need to start looking for another band” Noah replies angrily.

  I instantly start shaking my head, even though I know Noah can’t see me. I know ‘Rise Up’ is going to be mega successful and I want to be a part of that.

  “I’ll keep it in my pants” I assure. Noah breathes harshly down the phone before he eventually replies “It might be too fucking late for that now”.