“Wait, are you telling me that Lucas Masterson asked you out to dinner in a liquor store parking lot today?” She starts cracking up laughing and I really don’t see what’s so funny. “Becca, I’m sure it was just someone who looked like him.”
I pull out my phone and click on the picture he snapped of himself earlier. I hold the phone up to her and watch as realization crosses her face.
“Ahhhhhhhhhh!” She throws her arms around me and hugs me. “Lucas Masterson asked you out to dinner in a liquor store parking lot today! This is amazing, Becca! You’re going out with one of the most famous and hottest singers!”
“No, I’m not.”
“What do you mean you’re not?”
“Jen, I can’t go out with him now! I was stressing about it when I thought he was just a regular guy! I mean, he said he wanted to take me somewhere nice earlier. What am I going to do? Have him pick me up at the house but forbid him to come in so he can’t see my crazy mother? Then go to a nice dinner in my Wal-Mart tank top and shorts?” I’m getting anxious just thinking about it.
“You’ll come over my house—I can lend you something to wear—and the Hollywood hunk can pick you up there.”
Can I really do this? I’m not the girl who likes a lot of attention and that’s all Luke’s life is.
“Stop over analyzing it, Becca, it’s just one dinner.”
“I guess so.”
When the lights go off I know Luke is coming out. He starts singing and his voice sounds even better in person. When he steps onto the stage he’s in ripped, faded jeans, and a fitted white t-shirt. He’s just as gorgeous as he was earlier and I can’t believe this is all real.
Halfway into the second song, he’s in front of me and Jen. When he looks down and sees me I know he recognizes me. Throughout the rest of the concert I feel as if he’s almost singing to me. He keeps looking at me out of the corner of his eye and smiling. I think I’m just imagining it until Jen leans over and yells, “He looks like he has it bad, girl! You have to go to dinner with him now!
I look back at Luke and feel like he can either be my savior or my destruction.
Lucas
Performing is definitely what I love most about my job. Being able to go out in front of thousands of people and connect with them is what keeps me sane sometimes. I’m not in it for the attention or the girls, because let’s face it, I can get the girls on my own. I’m in this business for the music and the people that listen to it.
I’ve just started the second song in my set when I look down into the crowd and see those eyes I haven’t been able to get out of my head. She’s here? I could’ve sworn earlier that she didn’t know who I was, especially when she suggested we go to a diner. Most of the time, if I ask someone where they want to go they pick the most expensive place in town.
I find myself constantly looking for her in the crowd. She looks surprised half the time so maybe she didn’t know about me. I’m definitely going to text her tonight and make sure we’re still on for our date. I didn’t tell her about myself earlier because I thought it might scare her off, and judging by the look on her face, I think I was right.
I’m almost at the end of the set and the song I recorded with Samantha is up next. The label insisted that we do something together because it would be good for the tour. It’s definitely my least favorite song. There’s supposed to be a lot of pain and emotion behind it, which usually I would thrive on, but all she knows how to do is shake her hips, so I feel like it comes off as some bi-polar love song.
The song is also supposed to be the next single we release, which means I’m going to have to shoot a video with her. Lucky me. The music starts to play, and judging by the crowd’s reaction, Samantha has come on stage. I’m sitting at the piano, when out of nowhere she jumps on top of it and starts grinding. Does she not have any sense? This is a slow song about a love that went wrong, not porn music you hear in the strip club.
I immerse myself in the music and completely tune her out because it’s the only way I can get through this song. Once I play the last chords I look up and she’s inches away from my face. Before I can move, she grabs me and kisses me. What the fuck? I pull away nicely, when all I want to do is push her ass off the piano, and I peer out into the crowd. They all love it except for the girl in the second row and her friend, who is now shooting me a look that says she wants to castrate me.
Samantha leaves the stage and I finish the final three songs in the set list, noticing the whole time that Rebecca doesn’t even look my way. I don’t know why I feel so guilty—it’s not like we’ve even gone out before—but I didn’t want the kiss to happen, either.
When I exit the stage I head straight for the dressing room and find Samantha waiting for me. “What are you doing in here?” I seethe, the disgust evident in my tone.
“I was waiting for you; that kiss was seriously hot, Lucas.” She saunters over to me. “Want to pick up where we left off?” She leans in and I turn my head away from her.
“No, I don’t. I just want you to leave right now and never try to pull that shit again. I’ll see you in a week.”
“In a week? Did you forget about the extra show they added tomorrow?” Shit, I did forget. “See you tomorrow, Lucas.”
Once she leaves, I immediately check my phone, hoping for a message from Becca, but all I have are missed calls and messages from no one of greater importance at the moment. Why do I feel like I owe Becca an explanation? This is not normal for me; I never worry about how girls feel when I’m with them.
Me: Hey, so I just realized I have another show tomorrow. I still want to do dinner, though. Can we change it to five?
Rebecca: Maybe we should just forget about it.
I knew this was going to happen after Samantha’s little stunt; it’s scaring her off. I can’t say that I blame her, though. Who wants competition before anything even starts?
Me: Come on, give me a chance to thank you for the jump in person.
Rebecca: I don’t know, Luke.
Me: I already made reservations. You’re not going to make me look like some loser who has to cancel cause his date ditched him are you?
She doesn’t respond for at least five minutes, and I’m about to give up that she will…
Rebecca: Ok you win. I’ll text you my address later.
I find myself sporting a goofy grin. When Mike walks in he gives me a questioning look. “What’s going on with you?”
“I’m going out to dinner tomorrow before the show. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that I’m here on time.”
“You’re finally giving in to Samantha? Thank God! The label has been waiting for this.” He looks thrilled and grabs his phone to text someone.
“No, it’s not her. I’ve told you before that I can’t stand her.” He just doesn’t want to hear it. They all want us together so that we can be the new “power couple” in the music industry, but I refuse to let my career run my personal life.
“If it isn’t her, then who are you going out with?”
“Just a girl, Mike, don’t worry about it.”
I don’t want to give him a lot of details about her because I know he won’t approve of me dating someone who isn’t in the industry. I know Mike only wants the best for me, but this time I’m doing something I want to do.
Rebecca
As we’re pulling up to my house I can’t stop thinking about Luke. Jen said she heard he was involved with that Samantha girl, so why is he still asking me out?
“Alright, I’ll come get you tomorrow around twelve and we’ll have a girls’ day, okay?”
Jen said she wants to take me out to get my hair and nails done tomorrow, her treat. She wants me to be able to feel and look my best. I thank God every day for a friend like her. Most of my childhood I wished I could be a part of her family instead of mine. “Okay, I’ll see you then.” I give her a hug and go inside.
While lying in bed, I decide to text Jen’s address to Luke so he’ll have it for tomor
row evening. I still can’t believe that this is all happening to me. I definitely have no idea why he wants to have dinner with me so badly when he can have any girl he wants. I feel my phone vibrate and look down at the screen.
Luke: So, I’ll see you tomorrow at five?
Me: Yeah, that sounds good.
Luke: Ok, goodnight beautiful.
Me: Goodnight.
I know I’m setting myself up for trouble with this whole thing, but there’s something keeping me from saying no to him.
I wake up around ten o’clock and get dressed quickly, not caring what I’m wearing because Jen is planning on turning me into her own personal Barbie doll tonight. When I walk downstairs I have every intention of grabbing something to eat, but then I see Mom’s “sometimes boyfriend”, Wyatt. He comes around once in a while and usually stays for a week or two at a time. He’s always staring at me and making weird comments so I try to avoid him as much as possible.
“Hey there, if it isn’t Becca Chase lookin’ all sexy.”
Now, most normal mothers, at this point, would tell their boyfriends that they’re an asshole and to get the hell out. My mother does nothing like that, but she does turn to me with a look of disgust in her eyes. “Can’t you dress a little less like a slut, Rebecca?” her voice drips with disdain.
I look down at what I’m wearing; a V-neck t-shirt and a pair of denim shorts. I know it’s no use to even respond, so I go upstairs, grab my phone and purse and leave. I drive over to Jen’s and when she answers the door, she’s still in her pj’s.
“Hey, I thought I was picking you up at twelve?”
“I know, but Wyatt was there when I woke up and I had to get out.” She steps to the side to let me in. “Thanks, Jen.”
“It’s no problem, Becs, but why won’t you reconsider letting me talk to my mom?”
Jen has been trying to convince me to let her talk to her mom about me moving in. I’m not comfortable with that, though. I don’t want to be anyone’s burden and I feel like I spend so much time here already. “No, I’m fine…I promise.”
“Ugh! Whatever. Maybe Lucas will be your prince charming and take you away from all this bullshit.”
“I wouldn’t count on that, Jen, he’s only in town for a week.”
“Hey, a lot can happen in a week.”
Lucas
“What do you mean you are thinking of staying in town next week?!”
I knew that telling Mike about my change in plans wasn’t going to go over well, but the shade of red he’s turning is just unnatural. “I mean that I’m going to take my vacation here instead of back in LA. I’ve never been to the city before and I wanna see what it’s all about.”
“Does this have something to do with this date you were telling me about?”
“Mike, I appreciate the concern, but I can handle myself. I am completely committed to my career and I’m not going to let anything jeopardize it. Speaking of which, what the hell is Jackson Stone doing on the tour?”
Jackson has been a thorn in my side ever since he released his first single a couple months ago. He’s one of those artists that can’t let anyone else shine. While I obviously strive for success, I’m also happy to see other artists being recognized for their talent. He even tried to start a “twitter war” with me at one point. After I had someone explain to me what the hell a twitter war was, I decided to ignore him. I’m not here to please anyone but my family, friends, and fans so I can care less how he feels about me.
“Lucas, Jackson is really getting big and having him on the tour will only help increase the buzz.”
I turn away from him because I’m so pissed off. I’m sick of everyone making decisions for me. I think that’s part of the reason I decided not to go back to LA. Yeah, I wanna get to know Rebecca better, but I also want some freedom. “It would be nice if you would ask me next time you decide you think you know what’s best for me.”
I hear the door open and close and assume that Mike has left the room; he isn’t used to me disagreeing with him. I’m sick of being a puppet, though, and I’m going to start letting him know exactly how I feel about everything. I have about an hour to kill before I need to go pick up Rebecca for dinner and I’m actually starting to get nervous. I don’t know what it is about this girl, but she throws me off in a crazy kind of way. I never get nervous or unsure of myself around girls, even before my career took off, but with her it’s different.
When I told the hotel clerk this morning that I would be extending my stay for a week, I thought she was going to faint. It still surprises me how affected people are by me because I don’t see myself as a celebrity. That’s something that drew me to Rebecca that first day; she treated me like a regular guy. To her, I wasn’t Lucas Masterson the celebrity; I was just a guy in a parking lot trying to get a date with her. I can only hope that won’t change now that she knows who I am.
When I pull up to her house it looks like the typical suburban house, which is surprising in the city. The development she lives in is in the nicer part of the city—it’s called The Reserves—and is only about ten minutes away from the stadium where the concert was last night. When I pull up I see “The Carmichaels” is printed above the house. At least now I know her last name.
I walk up to the door and knock. Almost immediately, it flies open and I see the girl she was with last night.
“Hey, I’m here to pick up Rebecca.”
She says nothing, but just continues staring at me. Awkward. Then I hear a voice from inside, “Jen, say something! You’re going to make him think you’re crazy!”
The girl blinks and then blushes a deep red. “Sorry, I uh…I’m um…I’m Jen..”
I have to laugh at how frazzled she is, “Nice to meet you, Jen.”
I see Rebecca come up behind her and have to catch my breath. Her blond hair seems more vibrant; it’s curled and looks so silky that it makes me want to run my fingers through it. When Jen moves to the side, I see Rebecca is wearing a black halter top dress that flares out at the waist and reaches the tops of her knees, and a pair of simple black wedged sandals. She looks absolutely gorgeous, and if I wasn’t nervous before, I sure as hell am now.
Chapter Three
Rebecca
I can’t believe Jen is just standing there babbling—she never gets this way over guys—but I guess she’s never met a celebrity before. When Luke sees me I can feel his gaze looming over me and I break out in goose bumps. Jen took me out today and I don’t think there is a thing I didn’t have done, including waxing, which is so much more painful than I imagined it to be. His gaze is making me nervous and my legs get even shakier than they already were in these damn shoes. I never wear heels, but considering the fact that I’m only five feet tall and Luke is almost six, Jen insisted on it.
“I’m ready if you are.”
He smiles at me and I swear I hear Jen sigh. “Okay, great.” He holds out his hand and leads me to his car. It’s nothing flashy, just a normal model sedan like Jen’s parents drive, which seems strange to me since he’s famous and all. He opens my door for me and I slide into the leather seat. Once I sit down and buckle my seatbelt, I looked up to see Jen still standing in the doorway staring at us. Hopefully she’ll return to the land of the living once we leave.
We back out of the driveway and I’m trying to guess where we’re going by the roads he’s taking. When my phone beeps, I pull it out and let out a laugh before I can stop it.
Jen: OMFG!!!!! He is so gorgeous!
“What’s so funny?”
I glance over at Luke and he’s looking between me and my phone. “It’s just Jen; I think she’s finally regaining consciousness.”
He laughs and I swear it’s the most beautiful laugh I’ve ever heard. “Yeah, I figured I was probably her first celebrity. I’m used to it, but I have to say I’m glad that you aren’t as star struck.”
I can feel myself blushing; he has no idea how much I’m freaking out on the inside. When we pull into a parking lot,
I look up and see we’re at The Chart House. This place is so expensive and I’ve always heard they have amazing food. I’ve never been able to afford to come here and I am so excited.
“Judging by your smile I’m guessing I did good?”
I look over at him, still dumfounded as to why he chose me. “Yeah, I’ve never been here before.”
Luke gets out of the car and starts to walk around the front. I’m just about to open my door when he pulls it open and offers me his hand. I take it, hoping that my hand isn’t all clammy and disgusting. I’ve always heard about paparazzi harassing the stars, and I have to say I’m thrilled that there aren’t any here. We walk into the restaurant still holding hands and when the hostess sees us I think her jaw hits the floor.
We have a booth near the back of the restaurant but still have a great view of the river and city. I can feel her staring at me, silently commenting how unworthy I am to be with him. We sit down and when I open the menu I panic. What’s the rule for ordering food on a first date? I mean, the restaurant is really expensive already; should I just order something small? I don’t want to order the most expensive thing because I don’t want him to think that I’m trying to take advantage of him.
I still have no idea what I want to order when the waiter comes over. Thank God it’s a guy because I really can’t handle any more death stares right now. He starts telling us the specials, one of which is a filet mignon that is making my mouth water and the other special is an order of crab cakes that sound heavenly.
Luke leans closer to me. “Both of those sound amazing; do you want to get both and share?”
I look up at him and our faces are so close that if one of us moves an inch we would be kissing. “Yea, that um…that sounds really good.”
He relays our order to the waiter and then turns back to me. “So tell me about yourself, Rebecca Carmichael.”
Surrender to Me Page 2