I wanted to jump up and down, scream, and fist-pump, but I contained myself. Chloe wasn’t with anyone. She hadn’t forgotten about me.

“Thank you.”

I pulled myself back to the present as I threw open my door and walked across the street to her house. If I didn’t do this now, I never would. Before I chickened out, I pounded on the door. I waited a minute or two before knocking again. There were lights on inside, so I knew someone had to be home. If no one would answer, I planned on sitting in my car until someone opened the door.

Just as I was turning to walk away, the door flew open.

“Yes?” Chloe asked grumpily.

I turned to face her and froze for a second. She was as beautiful as I remembered. She had her hair tied back in a messy bun and was in old sweatpants and a simple shirt, but she still took my breath away. It had been like this from the beginning. There was just something about this woman.

“Hi, Chloe.” I gave her a small smile.

Her eyes widened in shock just before she slammed the door in my face. Well, that went as I’d expected, but I wasn’t about to give up that easily. The girl was going to talk to me whether she wanted to or not. I stepped forward and pushed the doorbell that I hadn’t noticed before.

I could hear someone shouting inside, and then it was absolutely quiet. Now, what the hell was I supposed to do? Should I stand on her porch all night and hope that she came out eventually?

My head snapped up as the front door opened again. Instead of seeing Chloe, Amber stepped outside and closed the door quietly.

“Well, if it isn’t Mr. Rock Star himself,” she growled.

It was safe to say that Amber wasn’t a fan of mine.

“Hi, Amber. How have you been?”

“Don’t even. Chloe hasn’t heard from you in months, and then you just show up on our doorstep with no warning! You are the biggest asshole on the planet, Drake Allen!”

“I know I am, okay? You have every right to be mad at me, but I need to talk to Chloe.”

“Why? What could you possibly have to say to her that will fix the past six months of her life? You destroyed her, Drake! Just when I thought she was doing better, you come back and fuck it up all over again. She’s trying to move on!”

“I don’t want her to move on, Amber. I love her, and I can’t stand the thought of her being with someone else.”

“Then, why didn’t you come back before now? You broke her, and Logan and I were left to pick up the pieces!”

“I couldn’t.” I ignored the jealousy I felt about Logan taking care of Chloe.

“Couldn’t? Or didn’t want to?” She glared at me.

“I couldn’t. I wanted to come after her, but I knew she’d never give me the time of day until I got my shit together.”

“And have you? Or are you still using?”

“I’m clean. I went into rehab and sobered up. I spent the last month making sure I could do it, and now, I’m back for what’s mine. I love her, Amber, and I can’t give up on us until I see her one last time. If she doesn’t want me anymore, then so be it, but I have to try.”

Amber looked at me. I knew she was trying to figure out if I was telling the truth. “You two were perfect together. I’ve never seen her as happy as she was with you.”

“Until I fucked it all up,” I said, ashamed to admit the truth.

“Until you fucked everything up. I’ve always liked you, Drake. Really, I have. But I don’t want to see her go through what she’s went through these last few months again.”

“I’ll never hurt her again. Please let me talk to her. I just want to explain everything. I want to spend the rest of my life with her.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You do realize that you’re a rock star now? At least, you’re almost one. You’ll have thousands of women throwing themselves at you. Do you really think you’ll be able to be faithful to Chloe?”

“I couldn’t care less about any other woman out there. Chloe is the only girl I’ve ever cared about.”

She sighed. “I’ll help you, but this doesn’t mean that I don’t think you’re an asshole. Because I do.”

I smiled. “I’ll make it up to you, too. I swear. I’m sure you’d like to see Adam sometime soon.”

Amber’s cheeks turned bright red, but she pretended not to be bothered by my mention of my band mate.

“I couldn’t care less about Adam. Now, come on, I’ll sneak you inside.”

She stepped back into the house, looked around, and then motioned for me to follow. She led me into the living room and pointed to a chair. “Sit there and be quiet. I’ll see if I can get Chloe to come out of her room.”

I watched as she turned and disappeared down the hallway. I heard her open a door and close it. Then, the house was eerily silent, and I strained my ears to hear anything else. After a few minutes, I finally gave up and slouched down into the chair. I was going to get my chance to talk to Chloe, and I didn’t want to mess it up. This was my one shot, my only shot, to prove to her that she mattered to me. No pressure or anything.

Finally, a door opened, and then I heard Amber and Chloe talking as they came down the hallway. This was it—now or never.

Amber and Chloe appeared a second later. Chloe didn’t even glance my way as she walked to the couch and sat down. Amber, on the other hand, stopped right in front of me, trying to block Chloe from seeing me.

“Thanks for being here for me, Amber. I don’t think I would have made it through these last few months without you,” Chloe said as she pressed the play button on the remote.

“Uh, no problem. Listen—” Amber started to say.

Chloe interrupted her. “I’m serious. We both know I was a fucking wreck, and you helped me get my shit together. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all of this, it’s that men are total and complete dicks.”

“Well, see, Chloe—” Amber said, trying to get her to shut up.

“Take my word for it. Men are nothing but coldhearted bastards. Look at Drake. I loved him more than anything, and he just let me go. I hope he’s enjoying the good life out in Los Angeles without me. I hope he finds some nasty groupie who gives him every STD known to man.”

I was the biggest asshole in the world. I’d broken the heart of the only girl who I’d ever loved.

“Chloe, shut up!” Amber shouted.

“No, let her finish. I’m curious as to what else she has to say about me,” I said, unable to stay quiet.

Amber sighed and moved, so Chloe could see me. When she turned around to look at me, her mouth dropped open in shock.

“In my defense, I tried to warn you,” Amber said.

“I thought you said you got rid of him!” Chloe groaned.

“I said, I took care of it. There’s a difference.”

“Whatever. I’m done talking now. Both of you can go jump off a bridge.”

“No, keep talking. I’d love to hear what else you wish upon my poor dick. That kind of hurts, you know. I’m quite fond of that certain body part.” I smirked at her. I couldn’t help but tease her.

“I want him out, Amber. Now,” she growled.

“Just listen to him, please. If not for him, then do it for yourself. You deserve that much,” Amber pleaded.

I watched as Chloe looked back and forth between Amber and me. I could practically hear the wheels spinning in Chloe’s head. I just hoped that she would give me a chance to talk.

“You have five minutes. After that, I’m kicking you out,” she finally said.

“Works for me. I’m late for my party, so I’ll catch you two later.” Amber winked at Chloe.

I waited until Amber walked out the front door before I turned to face Chloe. “Did you really want me to catch a bunch of sexually transmitted diseases?”

“You’re wasting your five minutes. I’m waiting.” Chloe crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me.

I couldn’t help but smile at Chloe’s stubbornness. It was one of my favorite things about her. I knew coming back here was a gamble, but I couldn’t stop myself. I had to know if she still wanted me.