Paper, Scissors, Rock

by Nicole S. Goodin

  I reached for the hem of her shirt and she let me lift it over her head.

  “I can, and I will,” I answered as I shoved my pants down my legs.

  The sight of my hard erection seemed to shut her up.

  She made a hum of appreciation deep in her throat.

  I reached for a condom, but she reached out and grabbed my hand.

  I looked at her in question.

  “I got the pill before we broke up… and you and me…this is forever, right?”

  Oh fuck yes.

  I nodded and tried to downplay just how elated I was. I’d been fantasising about taking Charlotte bareback since I’d first been inside her.

  My right hand and I had got pretty well acquainted these past few months, but that wasn’t going to be nearly enough to stop me blowing my load like a teenage boy losing his virginity right now.

  “I’m not giving you up for anything,” I confirmed as I lined up to push inside her.

  I didn’t need any foreplay and I knew she didn’t either – looking at her creamy skin was all the prep work required today.

  “I’m not enough,” she panted as I pushed deep inside her.

  I groaned loudly. I’d forgotten exactly how tight and perfect she felt, and the lack of barrier between us only magnified that tenfold.

  “You’re everything,” I ground out as I desperately tried to keep my composure.

  She dragged her nails down my back, hard enough that she would leave a mark, and I nearly lost it.

  I was so damn close to falling over the edge.

  “You… need… the… thrill,” she choked out between thrusts and breathy moans.

  She was getting close, I could tell.

  “You’re my biggest thrill,” I argued through clenched teeth.

  I knew what she was doing – she was testing me. If there was ever a time a man was going to say something stupid, it was during sex. Lucky for me, I didn’t have a single thing to lie about – she could grill me about anything she liked.

  “Oh god,” she cried out.

  I thrust harder and deeper.

  “The thrill of the stage or the thrill of—”

  “You,” I growled, interrupting her question with a hard thrust of my hips. “Always you.”

  She fell apart beneath me, her body sagging from the pleasure we’d both created.

  I followed right behind her.

  Charlotte kissed the picture of her, right over my fast-beating heart.

  “You’re not giving it up, Parker,” she whispered as she looked up at me through her long lashes.

  “I promise you I won’t run again because of the fame.”

  I kissed her forehead.

  “But I need you to give us a chance to make this work, please,” she begged.

  I dropped my forehead to hers and sighed. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”

  “I have a surprise for you,” I told Parker as I jumped off his lap.

  He’d been back in my life for two weeks and the fact that he hadn’t yet returned to music or any of the commitments that went with that life, meant that he’d spent every minute he could with me. If I wasn’t working, he was there. He’d even come onto the set of a movie with me one day – but his presence had proved to be too much of a distraction for some of the extras, so he’d had to go home early – albeit kicking and screaming.

  I laughed lightly at the memory.

  That’s Parker for you… always causing a stir…

  I handed him the USB stick and gestured towards the stereo system in the cabinet in front of us.

  “What’s this?” he asked with a frown as he turned the stick over – looking for a sign of what might be on it.

  I’d held onto this thing the entire time we’d been apart. I’d considered mailing it anonymously to him, but I knew he’d never see it that way; he got more fan mail than I’d thought would have been possible.

  I hadn’t even showed this to Hannah – but she was about to hear what her boyfriend was capable of.

  I glanced nervously over at Jasper and Hannah snuggled on the couch.

  Let’s hope J has a good poker face…

  “So… you know how we talked the other night, and you mentioned that you would have loved to be up there alongside someone when you perform? That you wished you had that duo thing going, rather than always being a solo artist…?”

  He nodded, no doubt thinking back to our conversation. We’d been having some serious talks about him returning to his music career, and while he wasn’t dead set on giving it up anymore, he wasn’t exactly jumping at the chance to get back into it either.

  When he’d mentioned the idea to me, I’d pushed him hard for more information on what he wanted.

  Parker wanted to share the spotlight. He’d decided that he was over being the centre of attention – he was tired of it all being solely focused on him. He’d expressed his disappointment at the idea probably never becoming a reality – Parker didn’t trust many people and there was no way he would bring someone into his music career that he didn’t trust.

  That was where Jasper came in – he didn’t know it, but I had the perfect person in mind. This was exactly what Parker needed.

  Now to let his voice do the talking.

  “Yeah… what has that got to do with this?” He held up the stick in question.

  “Plug it in and tell me what you think,” I instructed.

  “But wh—”

  “Oh, for God’s sake, rock star, just do what you’re told for once,” I snapped.

  He chuckled. “Alright, legs, I’ll behave.” He held up his hands in mock surrender.

  I rolled my eyes. “Like hell you will,” I muttered under my breath.

  “What did you say?” he asked over his shoulder as he slid the stick into the port on the sound system in his living room.

  “What did you hear?” I raised my brows at him.

  He chuckled again. “Nevermind.”

  He hit play and sat down on the floor in front of the speaker.

  He held his hand out for mine and tugged me down to sit between his legs.

  I glanced over at Hannah and Jasper again, they weren’t paying one scrap of attention to us right now, but I knew that was about to change – even the uber relaxed Jasper would struggle to stay chilled about this particular experiment.

  Parker ran his hand through my hair, fiddling with the long strands.

  The recording kicked in and the strum of the guitar filled the room. Parker dropped the strand of my hair and turned his attention entirely towards the music.

  “You walked into the room and now my heart has been stolen. You took me back in time to when I was unbroken. Now you're all I want, and I knew it from the very first moment… 'cause a light came on when I heard that song and I want you to sing it again…”

  Jasper’s raspy voice swirled around me, transporting me back to when I’d first heard him.

  Goosebumps covered my skin as I closed my eyes and let myself enjoy the melody.

  I heard Jasper cuss and Hannah shush him.

  Parker hadn’t moved an inch, and without opening my eyes to check, I guessed that he was totally enthralled with what he was hearing.

  “I swear that every word you sing, you wrote them for me, like it was a private show, but I know you never saw me. When the lights come on and I'm on my own… will you be there to sing it again? Could I be the one you talk about in all your stories… can I be him?”

  I’d half expected Jasper to have come over and switched it off by now, but as far as I was aware, he hadn’t moved from his spot on the couch.

  I’ve got your back, J… just trust me.

  The song finished and the recording cut off abruptly – I’d had to chop off the part where I’d busted in and yelled Jasper’s name.

  Might have been a teeny tiny giveaway.

  My eyes fluttered open as I peeked up to look at Parker’s face – his eyes were still shut, his expression serene.

  “Well?”
I prompted with a whisper.

  That voice.

  Have I heard that voice somewhere before?

  I wracked my brain, but came up empty.

  It was good. Hell, it was damn good.

  It was really unique, and whoever owned it knew exactly how to use it. I hadn’t heard control like that in years.

  Whoever that guy was – he deserved to be absolutely killing it in the charts, but I was fairly confident that that tone didn’t belong to any of the artists who were in the top one hundred alongside me.

  This was someone new.

  “I want him,” I blurted out.

  “Excuse me?” Charlotte raised her brows at me, fake outrage written all over her face.

  I chuckled. “Oh c’mon. You knew what I meant… I want to sing with that dude.”

  She grinned gleefully.

  The possibilities raced through my mind.

  “Who is he? How’d you get this? Who do I need to contact? Do you think he’d be interested in jamming with me? Do you know if he writes his own material?” I fired question after question at her without giving her time to answer.

  That rasp would be the perfect accompaniment to my voice.

  I knew a good mesh when I heard one – and if I could get this guy to agree, we could make some seriously good tunes together.

  “Remember to breathe,” Hannah called helpfully from the couch.

  I looked up at her and took a deep breath.

  “But seriously, Lotte, who the hell was that? His voice is HOT.” She shot Jasper an apologetic glance. “Sorry, babe, but it’s true.”

  Jasper didn’t reply, but I couldn’t help but notice the daggers he was shooting at my woman.

  I was about to hit him up about it, but Charlotte spoke first.

  “It’s just someone I stumbled across,” she replied vaguely. ‘He’s kind of… shy… I guess you could say he wasn’t too keen on having someone of your… status hearing him sing.”

  “Why the hell not?” I demanded with a frown.

  What the hell was wrong with this guy?

  I had power in the music industry. Certain record producers would yell ‘how high’ when I told them to jump. I could give this guy the start he would need in such a competitive market.

  Toot toot – blowing your own trumpet much?

  She pointed her finger at me like I was in trouble. “Because… he wants to make it off his talent – not because of your contacts, rock star,” Charlotte explained, almost as though she could read my mind. Actually, at this point I was willing to believe that she could read my mind – she knew me better than I knew myself most days.

  I absorbed her words for a few beats. “Okay… I get that.” I nodded. “I can respect a guy for that… but if his talent wasn’t what it was, then I wouldn’t be willing to put my ass on the line for him, would I?” I shot back, hoping like hell that she’d see where I was coming from.

  Charlotte grinned triumphantly. “That’s exactly what I was hoping you’d say.”

  I furrowed my brow in confusion.

  What is she playing at?

  “So, let me get this straight… you think this guy has what it takes, right?” She jiggled with excitement.

  Her breasts bounced, and for a moment I forgot all about the voice I’d just heard.

  She’s so damn sexy.

  Charlotte cleared her throat, disrupting me from my ogling. “Eyes are up here, rock star.” She pointed to her eyes with a smirk on her lips.

  I shook my head to try and snap out of it.

  Damn Charlotte…

  The voice… think about the voice…

  “If he can nail every track like he did that one? Then yeah, I know he’s got it. This is what I need. I need a guy with a voice like that… but there’s still the fact that I don’t know or trust him, so it wouldn’t be a done deal,” I explained.

  “But if you could trust him?” she prompted.

  I thought about it for a minute. “Then I’d offer him the deal of a lifetime.”

  I wished more than anything that she could magic up someone with a perfect set of lungs that I knew would have my back. That was exactly what I wanted going forward.

  I wasn’t sure when the loneliness had set in – it was probably around the time Charlotte had left. I didn’t feel as confident anymore – I’d done some harmonies with Pete lately and it was the most fun I’d had with music since before my hiatus, and while he wasn’t too bad of a singer, he didn’t hold a flame to the talent I’d need to make this duo idea work.

  Talent like I just heard.

  Raw talent.

  I needed raw talent that I could trust.

  “You’d want him to be your wing man?” Charlotte pressed, anticipation building in her eyes.

  I nodded, unsure of where she was going with this. Trust took time to build; there was nothing she could say that was going to make me trust this guy in an instant.

  “Hell yeah I would, in a perfect world, if someone would offer me a guy with a voice like that, that was down to earth and could be trusted in my life, then I’d offer him whatever he wanted.”

  “Well then you’re in luck.” She grinned, her excitement palpable.

  “Charlotte…” Jasper warned.

  Charlotte snapped her head around to look at him.

  I frowned in confusion as I looked between the two of them – locked in a silent standoff.

  Hannah must have picked up on the tension too. “Alright, which one of you two is going to tell me what the hell is going on here?”

  “C’mon, J…” Charlotte begged.

  Jasper stared hard at her, and I could tell he was debating internally with himself. What he was debating, I had no idea, but it was clear he was struggling with it.

  “Pleeease, Jasper,” she whispered into the tense silence.

  J balled his fists tight and groaned. He threw his head back onto the back of the couch and muttered a string of curse words. “Fine,” he mumbled more coherently.

  Charlotte squeaked out some type of ecstatic noise that I’d never heard her make before.

  “But if it all turns to shit, it’s on you, Little Red,” Jasper added in warning.

  Charlotte nodded furiously in agreement. “I’ll keep him under control, I promise.”

  I didn’t know what was going on here, but I was starting to think that my girlfriend and my best mate had been doing some type of scheming together behind my back.

  “Oh fill us in already,” Hannah snapped, looking between the two of them. She nudged Jasper in the ribs. “You know I hate secrets.”

  “Well you’re going to be thrilled with me…” he muttered.

  “You know who it is, don’t you?” Hannah replied in a pissy voice. “You better tell me, Jasper Jones, or I swear I’ll—”

  “It’s me,” he interrupted her with a resigned sigh.

  My jaw dropped.

  It’s him?

  He turned to face me, his expression guilty as hell. “Charlotte snapped me having a jam in your studio,” he explained.

  Jasper?

  Jasper can sing?

  Jasper can play?

  I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. Even Hannah was silent – and that was a fucking never-before-seen event.

  Charlotte took my hand in hers. “I know what’s going through your head, rock star, and yes, he can sing… and play the guitar, and who knows what else… I’ve heard him in person, and he’s really that good.”

  It didn’t matter which way I swung it in my head, I just couldn’t make this information fit with what I knew about Jasper.

  We’d been friends forever – since we were kids.

  He’d been by my side, supporting my music career for years, and he’d never shown any inclination towards singing.

  “Are you serious?” Hannah shrieked.

  I winced.

  Jasper was in for it now. Hannah was bound to rip him a new one for keeping this a secret from her.

  “This. I
s... AWESOME!” She cried.

  What the hell?

  Did I just hear that right?

  Charlotte giggled – at Han’s reaction, or my bewildered expression, I wasn’t sure.

  “My boyfriend is sweet, sexy, tattooed and can sing like a God. Oh you wait till the girls hear about this!” She bragged, clearly thrilled with herself. “It’s like a girl’s wet dream,” she added with a content sigh.

  I couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on Jasper’s face. He looked like someone had just crowned him king of the world.

  Proud as punch.

  He was smitten as hell with that crazy-ass girl, and it was clear as day that her praise was worth everything to him.

  “He’s pretty incredible, right?” Charlotte whispered to me.

  I looked down at her and nodded in agreement. “How long have you known he had that in him?”

  She grimaced sheepishly and screwed up her nose. “Since before we broke up… I always planned to tell you – even though Jasper asked me not to… but then, you know…” She shrugged. “Life got in the way.”

  “Why didn’t he want to tell me?” I asked her, surprised by the hurt in my own voice.

  Jasper and I were like brothers, and for whatever reason, he hadn’t wanted to share this side of himself with me. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t wound me a little bit.

  We could have had so many jam sessions together; we could have made new music... I would have put him in front of the producers that gave me my big break… he would be a signed artist by now…

  Reality hit me.

  That’s why he didn’t tell me…

  He didn’t want a free ride.

  It didn’t explain how I never knew he had that voice when we were kids, but it sure explained why he hadn’t told me since I’d made it big.

  Jasper was so relaxed he was basically horizontal. We were different like that. I loved the attention – or at least I did for the first few years. I was all about the big parties and events, where J had always preferred to have a few quiet beers at home with a good group of mates.

  He’d come out of his shell since he’d agreed to become my manager, but he’d been forced into that for the most part. These days he was comfortable in clubs, on the stage doing the intro and dealing with his own fans.