Euphoria (Book Boyfriend Series 3)

  Euphoria

  By Erin Noelle

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval systems, copied in any form or by any means. Electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the author/ publisher, except by a reviewer that may quote brief passages for review purposes only. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each participant.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, is entirely coincidental.

  All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

  First Edition ©2014 Erin Noelle

  Second Edition ©2020 Erin Noelle

  Cover Design by Jill Sava, Love Affair With Fiction

  Cover Photography by Lindee Robinson

  Editing by Kayla Robichaux

  Formatting by Jill Sava, Love Affair With Fiction

  Table of Contents

  Front Matter

  Euphoria Playlist

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Other Books By Erin Noelle

  Euphoria Playlist

  Reminder—Mumford & Sons

  Lips of an Angel—Hinder

  Stubborn Love—The Lumineers

  I Try—Macy Gray

  BulletProofAngel—Goo Goo Dolls

  I Won’t Let Go—Rascal Flatts

  Come Home—One Republic

  Chasing Pavements—Adele

  She is Love—Parachute

  When the Lights Go Down—Jason Walker

  Stay Close, Don’t Go—Secondhand Serenade

  Three Little Birds—Bob Marley

  The Last Time—Taylor Swift/ Gary Lightbody

  Leader of the Broken Hearts—Papa Roach

  Where Are You Now—Mumford & Sons

  Demons—Imagine Dragons

  Wherever You Will Go—The Calling

  I Got You—Jack Johnson

  Secret—Maroon Five

  February Seven—The Avett Brothers

  Stomach Tied In Knots—Sleeping With Sirens

  Where Did You Sleep Last Night—Nirvana

  By Your Side—Tenth Avenue North

  Nothing Fancy—Dave Barnes

  Burn—Ellie Goulding

  Together—Demi Lovato (feat. Jason Derulo)

  Wake Me Up—Avicci

  The Forgotten—Green Day

  The Story of My Life—Kristian Leontiou

  Bittersweet—Ellie Goulding

  Can’t Stand Me Now—The Libertines

  Over You—Miranda Lambert

  All of Me—John Legend

  Down In the Valley—The Head and the Heart

  Can’t Stop Lovin’ You—Aerosmith (feat Carrie Underwood)

  Hesitate—Stone Sour

  Let Her Go—Passenger

  Beneath Your Beautiful—Labrinth (feat. Emeli Sandi)

  It Won’t Stop—Sevyn Streeter (feat Chris Brown)

  Say Something—A Great Big World (feat Christina Aguilara)

  Can’t Help Falling in Love—Ingrid Michaelson

  Which Way Your Heart Will Go—Mason Jennings

  Come Away With Me—Norah Jones

  Unbroken—Demi Lovato

  Where I Come From—Passion Pit

  Awake My Soul—Mumford & Sons

  Seabreeze—Tyrone Wells

  I Can’t Stop—Flux Pavilion

  Counting Stars—One Republic

  Chemistry of a Car Crash—Shiny Toy Guns

  Slipped Away—Avril Lavigne

  Autumn Leaves—Ed Sheeran

  Time of Our Lives—Tyrone Wells

  Cover Your Tracks—A Boy and His Kite

  Chasing Cars—Snow Patrol

  For Carly Simon—I bet you think this book is about you

  Prologue

  Christmas Night

  Reminder—Mumford & Sons

  Lips of an Angel—Hinder

  Ash

  Frustrated. That summed up my mood in one word. I was frustrated with Scarlett for bailing on our Christmas dinner, really frustrated with my sister for standing up for her, and extremely fucking frustrated with Mason for being such a stupid ass to get himself in this mess. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought he did it on purpose just to see if she would come running to him. Which of course she did. Fucking always. I wasn’t a violent person, but I really wanted to beat the shit out of someone that night. It was a good thing he was in a different state, ‘cause if he’d been close, I may have finished the job for him.

  The frustration was eating me from the inside out as I sat alone in my house after the awkward holiday dinner with my family. My mom hadn’t said much except she understood why Scarlett left. Will commented the situation was jacked up, which led to Crys getting mad at him and telling him he was an insensitive ass. He shut up shortly after that. Oscar and Evan were oblivious to it all—they ate as quickly as possible so they could get back to playing the Xbox. I sat silently eating the food she and I prepared the night before, trying not to think of the reminder fuck I had given her at the kitchen sink. Obviously, it wasn’t a reminder enough.

  I decided I needed to do something besides lie in bed alone thinking about what could possibly be happening in Florida. The frustration was quickly turning into anger, and I needed to cool off. I got up and threw on some jeans and a long-sleeved Henley, ran my fingers through my hair, and slipped my feet into some flip-flops. Grabbing my keys, wallet, and phone, I called Nicholas as I headed out to my car.

  Five minutes later, I was pulling up to his house, and it appeared I wasn’t the only person looking for a place to hang out for the evening. The driveway and street were packed with cars and the music was flowing from the house. The scene reminded me of the many Saturday nights I had spent there—drinking, playing the guitar, and hooking up with random girls. It also reminded me of the first night I met Scarlett. Fuck, I couldn’t escape thinking about her. I shook my head at my pathetic self as I walked up to the front door. I needed a drink… or twelve.

  As I made my way through the living room to the kitchen, I spotted Nicholas and Jess standing at the island and headed their direction. We exchanged hugs and wished each other Merry Christmas before Jess asked where Scarlett was. I knew it was coming, but I really just didn’t want to talk about it.

  “Something came up,” I answered vaguely. “Now where’s th
e whiskey? I need a shot stat.”

  Jess raised her eyebrows at me and was about to say something else, but Nicholas whispered something in her ear and she closed her mouth. He gave me a knowing look, and I made a mental note to thank him later.

  “The liquor’s at the bar and the beer’s in the fridge, dude. Help yourself. It’s good seeing you here; we’ve missed you coming around,” he replied.

  “Thanks, man.”

  “You gonna play for us tonight?”

  I hadn’t really thought about it, but now that he mentioned it, it sounded like a great idea. Music was always a good prescription for the soul.

  “Yeah, I think I will. Let me get my buzz on and I’ll grab your guitar.”

  Three shots and two beers later, I was sitting on the back deck, acoustic in hand, with most of the houseguests sitting around me. I loved winter nights in Houston. It never got that cold; the air had just enough chill in it to make you feel alive. Couples were cuddled up watching the flame inside the chimenea, and a flicker of jealousy shot through me. Scarlett should have been there with me, not sitting next to Mason’s hospital bed, taking care of him.

  I took a long gulp of my beer and settled the guitar in my lap. I went through my usual favorites, a little Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, and such before taking requests from people. After a couple more songs, a familiar-looking blonde girl who had been trying to catch my eye all night asked me to play “Lips of an Angel.” Not thinking much about it, I began playing the popular Hinder song, but by the time I finished the end of the first chorus, I thought I was going to be sick. It wasn’t that the song’s lyrics really applied to my life or situation exactly; it was just the subject matter of cheating and the fact that I kept having to saying the word angel. Knowing that’s what Rat called Scarlett, I could totally picture him singing it to her, and I suddenly despised the song I had never given a second thought to. As soon as I spat out the last verse, I abruptly rose to my feet, setting the guitar in my chair, and claimed I needed a drink break.

  I walked back in the house to escape everyone for a minute, especially Blondie, who had kept inching closer to me throughout the song, and I poured another shot. Throwing the glass back, the warm liquid tingled my throat and chest as it settled in my gut. After repeating the motion two more times, I heard the back door open and close and assumed Jess had come in to ask me what my problem was and where Scarlett was exactly. I closed my eyes and grabbed the counter to steady myself in the somewhat blurry room. However, the hands that wrapped themselves around my waist from behind and the voice that whispered in my ear didn’t belong to Jess.

  “My lips are soft as an angel’s… especially when they’re wrapped around your cock. Don’t you remember, Ash?”

  Oh fuck.

  One

  Stubborn Love—The Lumineers

  I Try—Macy Gray

  Mason

  Her voice was the first thing I remembered hearing as I pulled through the fogginess that weighed heavy on me, physically and mentally. I could hear the determination in every word and the resolve in each strum of the guitar as she sang to me about keeping me alive and not allowing me to escape. She still loved me. I knew she still fucking loved me. I slowly opened my groggy lids and focused on the beautiful image that sat next to my bed, completely oblivious to where we were or why we were there. All I cared about was that Scarlett was sitting next to me.

  As she finished the song, she opened her dampened brown eyes and looked down at me. The look of relief and sheer joy that spread across her face when she saw me staring back at her filled me with a happiness I hadn’t felt in a long time… since the day she walked back into Empty’s after being gone for eight months.

  “Am I in heaven now, angel?”

  My voice was raspy and strained but my words were clear. She reached out and brushed the pad of her thumb across my cheek, and even though I loved the feel of her skin on mine, I hated the pity in her eyes.

  “Mase, baby, what have you done?” she whispered as the tears began steadily rolling down her cheeks.

  I grabbed the wrist of her lingering hand and brought it to my mouth, kissing her fingertips. She quickly stood up, placing the guitar in the chair she had been sitting in, and crawled into the bed next to me. It wasn’t until that moment I wondered why the fuck I was in a hospital bed. Looking around, I realized I wasn’t just in a hospital bed. I was in an actual hospital with all kinds of wires and tubes and shit hooked up to me.

  Weakly, I pulled her close to my body, and she cautiously cuddled up to me with her head on my chest. Unable to resist, I lowered my face to her hair, inhaling deeply and gently kissing the top of her head. The longer I was awake, the more my body began to throb with pain, but I didn’t dare say a word about being uncomfortable. I would’ve laid on burning coals if it meant I could have Scarlett in bed with me. Neither of us said a word for several minutes. I wasn’t sure what in the hell she was thinking. I knew whatever I had done had upset her, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember anything past getting ready for a Christmas Eve party.

  “Scarlett?” I croaked. “Can you tell me where the hell I am and how the fuck I got here?”

  She twisted her body so she was looking up at me, and I desperately tried not to wince, but gauging from her reaction, I failed miserably.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said as she attempted to gingerly move away from me, but I wrapped my arms around her and held her close to my body.

  “Shh. Don’t you dare go anywhere and don’t apologize either. I need you next to me.”

  She relaxed back against me but kept her eyes locked on mine. “You really don’t remember what happened?”

  I shook my head and closed my eyes, trying again to recall the events that led me to being there. I knew it must’ve been serious if Scarlett was sitting at my bedside playing music asking me to fight for my life, but I really had no idea.

  “You overdosed, Mason. On Christmas Eve night at some party here in Miami. I’m not sure what all you were on, but from the contents of your hotel room, I have a pretty good idea.” Her voice quickly changed from caring and concerned to disappointed laced with disgust. I groaned as her words cut into me; I was ashamed and embarrassed.

  Just as I was about to apologize and ask her why and how she had gotten there, the door to my private room flew open and my older brother Marcus came barging in with a nurse hot on his trail.

  “You stupid, selfish, fucking little prick!” he roared. “What in God’s name are you doing? Have you lost your fucking mind? You finally get a shot, a chance to make a name for yourself, to get your sorry ass out of Houston, and this is what you do?”

  He looked down at Scarlett, who was still lying in the bed with me. “And what the fuck is she doing here? Hasn’t she done enough?”

  “Shut the fuck up, Marcus! Don’t talk to her like that!” I glared at him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  The nurse finally broke in. “Gentleman, you are going to have to keep your voices down. There are other patients in this hospital who are trying to rest, and this language will not be tolerated,” she said sternly, turning to look at Scarlett. “And you need to get out of that bed, young lady; this isn’t a hotel. You should’ve come to get someone as soon as he woke up.”

  I continued to hold Scarlett close to me, despite her attempts to wiggle out of my arms. I didn’t want either my brother or Nazi Nurse to intimidate her, and the last thing I wanted was her away from me. And if the scene wasn’t chaotic enough with Marcus standing at the foot of the bed with steam coming out of his ears, the nurse looking back and forth between all of us with a massive scowl on her face, and me having to borderline wrestle Scarlett to keep her in the bed, the door opened and yet another person joined the party.

  Walking through the doorway, Smiley—my manager Jag’s girlfriend—took a few steps into the room and then stopped as everyone’s attention turned to her.

  “Hello, I umm, just dropped by to see how Rat was
feeling,” she said in a thick British accent as she tucked a long strand of dark-brown hair behind her ear. She looked around my brother’s large frame and made eye contact with me as a huge smile lit up her face. “Oh good, you’re awake. I’m so happy to see you’re doing better.”

  Scarlett’s body tensed next to me at the sight of a young, very attractive girl coming to check on me, which made me happy. Like I said, she still loved me. Marcus smirked thinking some hookup of mine had stopped by, which he assumed would cause an issue with the girl in my arms. And the nurse rolled her eyes and sighed aloud.

  “Hey, thanks for coming by,” I greeted her. “Yeah, I just got up a bit ago; you’ve made it just in time for the celebration. I hope you brought a twelve-pack.”

  Rolling her eyes playfully, she walked up to the bed and patted my calf. “Jag will be thrilled to hear that not only are you alive, but you haven’t lost your cheeky-arse attitude either.” Stretching her hand out toward Scarlett, she introduced herself, “Hi, I’m Smiley, Jag’s girlfriend and unofficial tour bus mother.”

  Relaxing, no longer seeing her as a threat, Scarlett returned the smile and the handshake and said, “Scarlett, and it’s a pleasure to meet you. I understand we have you to thank for finding Mase the other night. I can’t even begin to express my gratitude.”

  “Not necessary. I’m just glad we got him to the hospital before anything serious happened. We all care about each other quite a bit. We’re like a family.” She turned her dazzling smile and outstretched hand toward Marcus. “Speaking of family, the resemblance is undeniable. You must be Rat’s brother. It’s very nice to meet you as well.”

  Before he could respond, Nazi Nurse decided that was enough pleasantries and interrupted the introductions. “I’m going to get the doctor for an evaluation. You will all need to leave the room when he gets here.” She turned her nose up at all of us and marched out the door.

  The moments of silence that filled the room after was moderately awkward, and then everyone tried to speak at once.

  “I’m gonna grab a cup of coffee.”

  “I need to go to the ladies’ room.”