Drax belts out one more impossibly long note and the band finishes with a bang. The kids go absolutely crazy. They're ecstatic to have seen one of the hottest new bands on the 'I Hate Daddy' rock scene for free, yet they still want more. The earth vibrates under the thick-soled boots Drax bought me today from the stomping and clapping, urging the band to do an encore. I can't really blame them. I have to admit that, by the end of the concert, even I found myself moving with the music. They're really quite talented.

The guys wave, turn around and pretend they're packing up. Only when the crowd is in a frenzy does Drax turn back to their screaming faces. He holds a hand up to one ear, as if he can't quite make out what their saying. Wiggling his other fingers in a 'Come on, I can't hear ya' gesture, he gets them worked up to a fever pitch. Then, when my eardrums are about to burst from the noise, he grabs his guitar and strums an ugly note.

The kids start cheering, but before he starts singing again, he introduces each band member. They all get such a huge round of applause, Drax has to wait about a minute between each introduction to be heard. Then he points in my direction.

Uh oh.

I look around me, wondering what the hell he's pointing at, because I know it can't be me. There's nothing but empty boxes.

"And don't forget to tell Lola how you feel when you go buy our special edition signed CD at the end of the show," he shouts. "Ain't she fuckin' sexy as hell?!"

The crowd -- led by Drax -- starts chanting "Lo-la! Lo-la! Lo-la!" Thank God it's dark because my cheeks are flaming. I want to die, right here and right now. But then again, it's better than getting spit at.

I'm standing there stiff as a statue, clueless as to what to do. Drax gives me a wink and a nod, and it hits me. I'm supposed to camp it up a bit to encourage the kids to buy out the rest of our stock. A ball of bile roils around in my stomach at being in the spotlight like this, but then I remember the predatory look in Marco's eyes.

Grabbing a fistful of CDs, I thrust them in the air and start jumping in time with the chant. It's about all I can do since all sideways movement is prevented by the corset.

But it's enough. The kids are screaming even louder now, applauding at my silliness. I feel like an idiot but it's a small price to pay if we can sell out the rest of the merch. I'm vaguely aware that Drax has stopped chanting. And why is he staring at me like that? Naturally, my gaze flicks over to Shelby. She's covered her mouth with one hand and is clearly trying not to laugh.

Yeah, yuk it up, bitch. 

Then I notice a few people pointing, and more than a couple guys hooting in a way that makes me even more nervous than I already am. When a girl waves and points at her own chest, I take the hint and look down.

Perfect.

Yup, one of my boobs has popped out of the corset and is bouncing around for half of Las Vegas to see. I spin around, completely mortified, and tuck myself back in, but that's it. I'm done.

I'm about to burst into tears and sprint all the way back to San Francisco when Drax shouts, "Don't you guys go gettin' any ideas! You can look but you can't touch. If a single one of you horny little fuckers lays a finger on her, I'll break it off and shove it up your ass. Lola's all mine!"

The next second, he launches into the encore and the fans forget about me. I hope. But Shelby hasn't. I'm still in shock from what just happened -- you know, the whole boob thing followed by Drax telling a huge crowd that I'm his, whatever that means -- but my spidey-sense tells me to look up.

Shelby is shoving her way through the mass of stinky, sweaty teenage bodies and I almost feel sorry for her. Sure, I feel like crying out of embarrassment, but she looks like she's about to cry from something much deeper. I felt the same way when I caught Taggart kissing that other girl...

I shake away the memory and focus on the now. Drax basically just told Shelby that whatever she was hoping for wasn't gonna happen. My chest fills with the heat of absolute joy, and I can't stop the smile that tweaks my lips upward. She doesn't even glance my way as she practically runs off the quad.

What had she been hoping for anyway? According to Jake, she dumped Drax. And how long ago did he say? Three years? If she still had feelings, she could have called him up or at least 'poked' him on Facebook. My sympathy fades pretty quickly.

Besides, I have other things to think about. Like what Drax said, for one. And for another, the horde of kids swarming up to my table like a plague of hungry locusts. Oh yeah, and what Drax said.

I'm his?

"So? How'd we do?" I can't blame Frank for chewing on his nails because it's exactly what I do when I'm anxious. If my fingers weren't busy, I'd probably be doing the same. Marco was right that I understood perfectly what the consequences would be if he wasn't paid on time. Whatever he has planned in that smarmy little brain of his, it almost certainly isn't a massage and a mani-pedi.

"Shh! I'm still counting."

Piles of cash are laid out neatly on the RV's table and my fingers fly on my phone's calculator app. If I lose track of where I am on my list of numbers, I'll have to start over.

"Shelby looked tight, man," Jake says to Drax, cracking open another beer.

My finger wavers, and I almost hit the Clear button accidentally. I slow down but listen hard -- pretending the exact opposite, of course. I can't see Drax because he's standing over my shoulder, watching me work, but I sense he motions for Jake to shut the hell up.

"Whatever," Drax finally mutters.

"I still can't believe she's here, can you? I mean, what are the odds?" Jake is cute and funny, even with the stupid spiky hair, but he's totally clueless.

No sane guy wants to have his gorgeous ex discussed in front of his new...whatever I am, so I decide to have mercy on Drax -- and me -- by shutting down this whole discussion.

"Can you all please shut up so I can finish counting? Trust me, your knee caps will thank me later."

"Knee caps? I don't get it." See? Clueless.

I punch in the final set of numbers and look up at them. "Ready?"

No one breathes, much less replies. I hit the 'equal' sign and want to vomit and squeal at the same time.

"A hair under $11,000!"

Drax drags me out of the little dinette and hugs me tight while the boys...oh, heck, I'm pressed up tight against Drax. I have no clue what the boys are doing!

"You're brilliant, Lola."

He's beaming at me and, I swear, tears spring up in my eyes at the pride and admiration he's showering on me. Sure, my dads have always been proud of me. They're my dads, after all. But I've never had a guy look at me the way Drax is now. Like I saved him or something. It turns my insides into jelly.

"Me? Those kids didn't come to see me. I just took their money."

"Uh uh, no way. We wouldn't have got that gig without you. And if you don't think that outfit didn't help sales, I'll just have to take you over my knee and give you a spanking." He lowers his voice so only I can hear him. "But don't worry, you'll beg me for more."

Giggles burst out of me, not only at the naughty suggestion but at our success. He's not wrong. They were all ready to turn around when they were fired from that other show. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm downright giddy.

"Lauren?" Frank taps my shoulder and Drax reluctantly lets me go to face him. He's relieved but it's easy to see the shame and guilt swimming around underneath. "I really want to thank you. Drax is right. If it wasn't for you...well, I don't know what would have happened."