by Ali Parker
It was the punishment I deserved, I supposed.
Desperate for a distraction from my own face, I called Janie. She answered right away, as always, but she asked me to hold on a minute. In the background, I heard her ordering food at a drive-thru. While I waited, I applied face primer. It smelled like roses.
“Hey, Pipes,” Janie chimed into the phone. “Sorry, I was putting in a food order. Gotta be nice to the people making your food, or they’ll spit in it, right?”
“Sure,” I said, vigorously rubbing the primer into my T-zone. “Do you have a couple of minutes to chat?”
“For you? I have all the time in the world. What’s new?”
“Tell me what’s new with you first. I feel like we’re always talking about my drama.”
Janie laughed. “Yes, well, if I was the one on the other side of the world dating royalty, we’d be talking about me. But I’m not. I’m home doing my same old shit.”
“But you’re good?”
“Of course, I’m good,” Janie said. “I’m keeping busy, working lots, and I bought a couple of house plants to take care of so I’m not so lonely when you’re not there.”
I laughed. “Please tell me you only bought a cactus or two. You and I both know you’re incapable of taking care of any living thing besides yourself. And me.”
“Never fear. They are cacti indeed.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Did you call me just to pick on me?”
“No,” I said, moving on to apply a low coverage foundation that worked more as a skin toner than anything. “I wanted to talk. I need a distraction.”
“From what?”
“Asher and I had sex.”
“Fuck yeah, you did! Was it in a four-poster bed? Did he call you my lady? Please tell me the bedding was threaded in gold and you had a servant come in afterward with refreshments.”
I frowned as I set my foundation with powder. “I think you’re getting Asher confused with royalty from—I don’t know—three hundred years ago?”
Janie laughed. “Okay, you’re right. Maybe I’m being a little idealistic, but still! How was it? Was it different than having sex with a normal guy? Was he huge? Or little? I mean, lots of money can make up for that but—”
“It was more than exceptional. And then I woke up the next day with a pit in my stomach that won’t go away. Food has no taste. My heart feels like it’s fallen right out of my chest and it’s lost somewhere. Like I can’t remember where I’ve left it.” I sighed and slumped in my chair, daring not to look up into the mirror. “What’s wrong with me, Janie?”
“Hold on,” Janie said, and then she proceeded to talk to the employee working the drive-thru window as she picked up her food. I sat sipping my beer and made it almost halfway through the can before she came back on the line. “Sorry. I’m back. And nothing is wrong with you, Pipes. Maybe you’re just confused. I mean, how many men can one girl fall for in a matter of a year before her heart gets all confused?”
“I don’t think that’s what it is,” I whispered.
Janie was silent for a moment. “Is it him?”
“I think so.”
“Damn. That rock star sure did a number on you. I definitely didn’t expect him to leave such a lasting impression.”
“Believe me. Neither did I.”
“So you were thinking about Levi while you were fucking Asher?” Janie asked.
“What? No! God no. I didn’t start thinking about him until the next day and Asher was gone and I was alone.”
“And the feeling hasn’t gone away?”
“No,” I whispered. “And not for lack of trying. I feel so torn up about the whole thing. Like I’ve driven a knife into Levi’s back, moving on so quickly.”
“But you haven’t moved on. You’re simply testing the merchandise.”
“Ew.”
Janie laughed. “There’s nothing ‘ew’ about it. You knew full well going into this that you’d be dating twelve dudes. And you know what? Those twelve dudes also knew you were dating twelve dudes. Do you see where I’m going with this?”
“I think so,” I mumbled. I tipped my head back and poured more beer down my throat like it was prescription medication.
“What I’m trying to say is this Casanova Club is full transparency. Levi knew when his time ended with you that your time with the next man would begin. He also knew that if you were going to make an educated decision at the end of this that you would have to, you know, rub shoulders with all parties involved.”
“I guess.”
Janie sighed wearily. I could hear her exasperation through the line. “You’re a good person, Piper. You’re not betraying anyone. You’re participating in this club the exact way you’re supposed to. Levi would understand. They all would. None of them went into this blind. They signed contracts, for crying out loud. You have nothing to feel badly about.”
I lifted my chin and stared at my own reflection again. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Of course, I’m right. I’m always right. You just needed a little dose of reality to bring you back down to earth. You’re not breaking rules. You’re not betraying anyone. And hell, if the sex was so good, I think you should get back in there and do it again. You know, just to make sure. And who knows? Maybe round two will knock some sense into you. Or knock some Levi out of you.”
That didn’t sound half bad.
If there was something I could do to feel less shitty about myself right now, I was more than willing to give it a try.
“What are your plans tonight?” Janie asked.
“You’re going to hate me.”
“Spill it, Pipes.”
“Asher is taking me to see Elton John.”
“You bitch.”
“I warned you!” I cried into the line. A smile tugged at my lips, and I soaked in the moment of joy with my best friend. I’d needed this. A suspended moment where Janie and I could be ourselves and I could get lost in conversation with her.
“I’m so fucking jealous right now. I’m happy for you. Kind of. But mostly jealous.”
I laughed. “I get it.”
“Well, you go get ready for your concert. Try to unwind. Suck Asher’s face off in the middle of the show and let the music take care of the rest. Yeah?”
I nodded. “Yeah. You’re right. I’ll have a good time.”
Things would be easier when Asher was with me. When I could hold his hand and feel his skin against mine. The time apart was what made it hard. It made me forget how good I felt when I was with him, and that made me pine for Levi. I couldn’t forget how good things were when I was with him.
“One request before I let you go, Pipes.”
“Anything,” I said.
“You’d better get me a goddamn concert tee, or so help me God, I will come out to London and smother you in your sleep.”
I laughed so hard I snorted. Janie laughed because of the pig sound, and we both lost ourselves to a fit of giggles that made my sides and cheeks hurt.
“Thanks, Janie. I needed this.”
“You’re welcome. But I wasn’t kidding about the concert tee. I want one.”
“I’ll buy us matching ones. Deal?”
“Deal. Now slap some red lipstick on, and dress hot. And have fun. Maybe your royal connection will make a royal introduction and you’ll meet Sir Elton.”
I bit my bottom lip and grinned at myself in the mirror. “Don’t get my hopes up, Janie.”
“Hey, it would probably make you forget about Levi.”
“Yeah, it just might.”
Not likely.
Chapter 17
Asher
The smile I wore as I rode the elevator up to Piper’s floor had been on my face for the last two hours. I was eagerly anticipating our evening together at the concert. It had been a few days since I’d seen her last, and I was craving some one-on-one Piper time.
I needed her.
After what we’d shared the other night, I coul
dn’t get her out of my mind, and after talking with Antoni, it became distinctly clear how much I was really starting to care for her.
Tonight would be one for the books.
When the elevator doors slid open, I found myself face to face with the same scowling, perm-haired woman who’d caught Piper and I nearly undressing each other on the ride up the other night. She blinked dubiously at me, clearly recognizing me but unable to place it, and I offered her a friendly hello that she returned with subpar enthusiasm. Then I slipped past her and hurried down the hall to Piper’s suite.
When I knocked on the door, I was vibrating with excitement.
The air was stolen from my lungs when Piper opened the door. She stood on the threshold looking like a rock-star goddess, and it took me a moment to remember I had a tongue, and another moment to remember how to use it.
“Wow,” was all I managed to say as I looked up and down the length of her sexy body.
She was wearing a black mini skirt, black thigh-high boots, and a black crop top that showed about two inches of lean midriff. Her hair was pulled back in a loose, messy braid, and giant gold hoops hung from her ears. She wore the same vibrant red lipstick I remembered from the first night I saw her back in December.
Piper flashed me a white smile. “Ready to go?”
I nodded. “Just give me another minute. I need to look at you.”
She laughed lightly and shook her head at me as she stepped out into the hall and pulled the door closed behind her. “You have all night to look.”
“I’m a lucky bastard.”
She walked up ahead of me back to the elevator. I loved the way her hips swayed and the way the muscles in the back of her legs flexed with every step. She looked over her shoulder at me, and her red lips curled up. “Should I have worn something less distracting?”
I shook my head. “No. This is good. This is more than good.”
Piper and I got on the elevator, and she punched the button for the first floor. Then she bounced on the balls of her feet. “I’ve never been to a show like this. I’m so excited. And Elton John is my favorite artist of all time.”
“Really?” I asked, watching her out of the corner of my eye.
Piper nodded. “Don’t judge me if I cry, okay?”
“Cross my heart.”
She reached down and threaded her fingers through mine. She held my hand until we got in the back of my Levante. Antoni greeted her and waited for us to buckle up. Then he checked his mirrors, pulled out into traffic, and set out to the concert venue.
When we arrived, the city block was alive with Elton John fans who were out to party. Brightly colored outfits dazzled everywhere you looked. Everyone had a pair of funky sunglasses on to pay tribute to the singer, and Piper voiced aloud how she wished she’d thought ahead and done something like that.
“I’m sure they sell them somewhere inside,” I said. “Come on. Follow me. We’ll find a pair before the show starts.”
She took my hand and followed me through the ever-thickening throngs of people. We made it through security and wandered the congested halls outside the amphitheater. Piper was on my back like glue as we squeezed between tightly packed bodies to make our way to a merchandise table.
We broke free of the crowd and found ourselves looking at a collection of T-shirts, jackets, and, lo and behold, sunglasses.
There were even single pairs of earrings being sold.
Piper picked up at a pair of massive, multicolored sunglasses that sparkled when the light caught them. She slid them on and turned to me. “What do you think?”
I grinned. “I think we’ll take them.”
She giggled and pushed them up into her hair. Then she set her sights on the tees and asked the lady working the stall to grab her two of the tour shirts with a picture of Elton on the front and his dates and venues listed down the back. She opened her wallet, but I pushed her hand down.
“Let me,” I said.
“No, it’s all right. One of these is for Janie. You don’t have to—”
“Please?”
She pressed her lips together before she conceded with a nod. “Thank you, Asher.”
“My pleasure,” I said before paying for the merchandise. I added a pair of sunglasses for myself, which I promptly put on before Piper and I went to find our spots in the stadium.
“We have to go down,” I told Piper.
“Oh?”
We swerved right to a staircase to the lower levels. “Usually, we’d go up. I’ve never been to a show where I didn’t sit in my own private VIP box.”
“But we’re not doing that tonight?”
I shook my head as we started down the stairs. “Nope. I didn’t think it would really be your style to be way up there away from all the fun. So I bought us floor tickets.”
Piper stopped walking. I turned to look up at her, where she’d stopped three stairs above me. Then I walked up to her.
“Is that okay?” I asked.
She grabbed the front of my shirt, jerked me toward her, and planted a kiss on my lips. “You’re brilliant, Asher.”
We found the way onto the floor. When we emerged from the long hallway onto the massive concert floor, Piper turned in a slow circle and looked up at the stands where thousands upon thousands of people would soon sit.
“This is incredible,” she breathed.
I turned her around to the stage. “Check that out.”
She clasped her hands together in front of her chest as she stared up in wonder at the set. “I think I might cry already.”
Laughing, I draped an arm around her shoulders and steered her toward the stage. “No tears yet. Now let’s go shoulder our way up to the front. I’m not going to stand back. We’re going to get up close and personal.”
Piper and I managed to make it to the stage. It was a battle, to be sure, but Piper was the one to charm her way through the crowd with her pretty smile and care-free laughter. She made small talk with strangers and bonded over their love for Elton, and before we knew it, we were standing with our elbows on the stage, and the lights were dimming, and the stadium was full.
A roar filled the stadium as the crowd went wild.
Piper spun to me, her face bright with excitement and joy, and I wrapped my arms around her and turned her back to the stage so she didn’t miss the grand entrance. I pressed my cheek to hers and listened to her cheer and laugh.
Elton took the stage.
The world shattered with music, the air splintered, and the crowd came alive. Piper cupped her hands to her mouth and screamed as the rock star took up his seat at his piano. As soon as his voice filled the stadium, Piper crumbled in my arms. She covered her face as tears rolled down her cheeks, and I pressed my lips to her cheek.
She leaned into me as she sang all the words she knew by heart.
Holding her like this and seeing her live this moment made me realize just how different our lives were. Her emotions made sense. She probably didn’t think she’d ever have a moment like this where she would be able to enjoy the live music of her favorite artist—and from this close, too. We swayed together as her tears melted away and the music took an upbeat turn.
The crowd sang around us, and time slipped through our fingers. Our voices rose to the ceiling as Elton belted into the microphone. His dazzling jacket sent fractures of light across the stage, and at one point, he pointed to Piper, who had yet to miss a word in a song, and she threw her arms in the air and started dancing.
And that was when I fell in love with her.
When her braid came half undone and her hair was matted to her cheeks and chest with sweat. When her lipstick was faded and her voice was cracking from singing song after song. When her mascara was smudged under her eyes and her cheeks were rosy and her forehead was beaded in sweat. When she told me her feet were hurting but it was so worth it.
When she accepted the hand of a stranger who was puffing on a joint and danced with him. When he dipped her low and offered her the
joint and she pinched it between her fingers and took a long drag before blowing up a hazy breath of smoke to the ceiling.
When she offered the joint to me.
I shook my head. “I can’t.”
“You can do whatever you want,” she called over the roar of the music. She took another puff. The stranger she was dancing with nodded eagerly, and his sweat-soaked dark hair fell over his eyebrows.
I stared at the smoldering joint and then looked up at Piper.
Then I plucked it from her fingers and took a puff.
I choked and coughed and thumped my chest with my fist as she and the stranger laughed and proceeded to dance. Then he slipped away, and she came to me. She put her back to me, pressed her ass into my crotch, and danced against me.
My mind cleared, and all harsh contrasts of light and sound and emotions faded away. Any and all tension I’d been carrying in my body was now gone and had been replaced by a state of calm joy. Of peace. Of contentment.
I pulled Piper more firmly against me and danced with her. The show raged around us as she turned in my arms and kissed me, forsaking the song she’d been singing and the sight of Elton behind her.
She chose me in that moment.
I breathed her in and held her close and kissed her back and wished the moment would last forever.
But, like the concert, it was over all too soon, and before Piper or I knew it, we were both spilling out into the cold evening air amongst the rest of the crowd, whose voices sounded like they were trapped in tiny tin cans as they gushed about the show.
“That was amazing!” Piper cried, throwing her arms open wide and closing her eyes as she faced the starry London sky. She took a deep breath before her eyes fluttered open and landed on me. “This was the highlight of my year, Asher. Honestly. I never thought I’d see something like this. Thank you.”
I took her hand and spun her into me. “It was the highlight of my year, too.”
Maybe even of my life.
She smiled up at me, and I stroked her cheek. I wanted to tell her everything I was feeling, but I knew it was too soon. I also knew she couldn’t say anything back. I didn’t want to spoil a perfect evening by saying words I couldn’t take back.