So I Married A Rockstar - Season 2

Ch. 9: King Takes Queen

I leaned back as Finn drew closer, my heart hammering, my brain twisting itself in knots as it tried to comprehend that this might actually be happening.

Then Finn walked past me and left the room.

My overexcited heart shuddered down to a normal rate, and I slumped on the sofa, deflated.

Talk about misreading the signals. But what had I actually expected – that Finn's idea to pass the time was with hot, steamy sex? Come the fuck on, Tasha.

Even if that had been Finn's intention, was I really stupid enough to go through with it? I was supposed to be finding out article-worthy material about him, though I supposed that investigating his favourite sex position probably fit the bill. Plenty of women would be interested in that.

But more importantly, however desperately I was attracted to Finn, acting on that wouldn't end well.

It couldn't.

No matter how long I stayed here, I couldn't get lost in the fantasy.

Finn returned, carrying a flat board marked with black and white squares, and I laughed before I could stop myself.

"Chess?" I said.

"Yeah." Finn frowned a little. "What's wrong with that?"

"It's just not the sort of thing you imagine a rockstar playing."

"Don't stereotype me," Finn said, grinning.

He set up the game on the coffee table, and I slid off the sofa so I could join him on the floor.

"I'm not very good at this either," I warned.

"I used to play with Rhydian but he's been busy lately so I'm out of practice," Finn said.

"See, I know I shouldn't stereotype, but I can't picture Rhydian Byrne playing chess. It would be like watching Billy Idol knitting."

"I bet Idol knows his way around a needle," Finn muttered. "Once, Rhydian would have laughed in your face if you'd asked him to play chess, but he started getting into it while he was in rehab. It helped him focus on something other than cocaine."

"Did you start playing to help him?" I asked.

Finn moved his knight. "As good as that would make me sound, not exactly. My parents taught me, but I lost interest as soon as I discovered girls. When Darius told me Rhydian had started to play, I dusted off my old skills so he'd have someone to play with."

"Darius doesn't play with him?" I asked, studying the board as I planned my next move.

Finn chuckled. "Darius Keller has many talents, but chess is definitely not one of them."

"He put Rhydian through rehab, didn't he?"

Finn stole my pawn. "Yeah, Rhydian and Darius's friendship goes way back. Rhydian's never been the cuddliest guy but once he developed a coke habit, he turned into a real bastard. He pushed everyone away, but Darius refused to go. No matter what Rhydian said or did, Darius stuck by his side, and eventually got him clean. Rhydian hasn't relapsed once, but I know Darius still keeps a close eye on him. He probably always will."

I moved my rook, realised immediately I'd made a mistake, and could only watch as Finn claimed it with a grin.

"Jude once told me that Darius was the most well-adjusted out of you all. Is that true?" I asked.

"I'd agree with that. Most of us developed one problem or another during our rise to fame, but I guess Darius was too busy cleaning up our messes to get hooked on anything."