#1 Fan

by Hess, Andrew

  “I was thinking an October wedding would be nice.”

  “Okay, that gives us a year and a month to plan.”

  “I was thinking this October, as in a little over a month from now.” Sara’s fork dropped to the table. “I know it’s a bit soon, but I figured it would fall in line with the end of the book tour which is in California. You were planning to come out and see me during the time anyway. I figured we could find a nice vineyard or a place off the beach where we could have the ceremony.”

  Everything was happening too fast. Sara came out to Arizona to surprise Evan, but she was the one caught off guard. In one night, she was treated to a perfect day, proposed to, and was now planning a wedding sooner than she expected.

  “Can we talk about it later? I’d really like to take some time to weigh out our options of getting married next month or waiting a little while longer.”

  She felt Evan grab her hand and saw him looking lovingly into her eyes. “We can wait as long as you want. I just can’t wait to make you my wife.”

  Shit, how could I say no to that? Sara was seconds from agreeing to the October wedding, but didn’t want to give up her say that easily. Knowing the words were on the tip of her tongue, Sara quickly removed her hand from Evan’s and focused on her dessert.

  Silence took over the table throughout the remainder of dessert, continuing until Evan paid the bill and escorted her to the limo. She slid in first taking a seat off to the side while Evan sat against the back. The big romantic night out on the town was ending much differently than it did the last time they were in a limo.

  “What’s the matter,” Evan asked as he moved closer to Sara. He placed a hand on her knee, sending an electric current through her body.

  “It’s just a lot to take in.” She placed her hand on top of his, using the pad of her thumb to rub Evan’s fingers. “I mean everything’s happening so fast.”

  “If this is about next month, we can hold off as long as you want. There’s no rush.”

  “It’s not just that. Evan, we’ve known each other for six months. We went from meeting at a bar, to having one amazing night. The next thing I knew you were asking me to move in with you, and now we’re engaged.”

  “Are you saying you don’t want to marry me?”

  “No, that’s not what I’m saying. It’s just everything happened so fast, I need some time to process it all.”

  “I get that. I just don’t want you hiding yourself from me. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much you mean to me.”

  Sara leaned in, closing the gap between them. Her lips gently touched Evan’s, igniting the fire burning inside them. She could feel his arms wrap around her body, drawing her close. She felt his tongue glide across her bottom lip, knowing her strawberry lip gloss would make Evan go wild. The tingling of her core craved his attention.

  His hands moved slowly down her arm, creating goosebumps along the way. Sara needed Evan to touch her, to give her everything she needed. She gripped the edge of the seat as Evan’s hand landed on her thigh and inched its way up her skirt.

  The smirk on his face when he touched her soaked panties was priceless. “Someone seems ready.” His finger rubbed the outside a little more, eliciting a moan.

  “Evan, I don’t think…”

  The panties were pulled aside as a finger dipped between her lips. “It’ll be just like our first date.” He plunged the finger deeper inside. Sara wanted nothing more than to rip off Evan’s clothes and take him in the limo.

  Bringing her hand to Evan’s lap, Sara could feel how hard he was. Slowly, she pulled down the zipper, freeing Evan from his restriction. Her fingers wrapped around his shaft, stroking him gently. Sara was becoming overwhelmed. She wanted to get Evan back to the hotel and have her way with him there. Instead, she was losing focus as the pad of Evan’s thumb brushed against her sensitive clit. She arched her back as her arm ceased to move.

  A hand cupped the back of her head, lowering her to the seat. Evan’s lips kissed her neckline while he moved the dress up around her waist.

  “No, not here,” Sara whispered.

  “I want you.” Evan’s eyes had a look of determination and hunger in them, not loving and romantic, not like they were in the restaurant. “I want you right here; right now baby.”

  Sara tried to protest, but felt her lace panties sliding down her legs. Evan’s head disappeared under her skirt. His fingers toyed with Sara, bringing her close to climaxing twice before they were removed. There was a void, an aching within Sara, begging for the release. Her heels dug into the seat, thrusting her hips into the air.

  She could feel the heat from Evan’s breath inches from her body. “Please baby.” She didn’t have to wait long to feel his tongue dance along her clit. Sara ran her fingers through Evan’s hair, grabbing a handful as she demanded more from him with her body.

  She could feel his tongue massage her nub, but found him plunging a finger in and out quickly. Her eyes focused on the front of the limo. Thankfully, the divider was up, preventing the driver from seeing what was going on. She just hoped it was soundproof, as Sara could no longer contain her orgasmic shouts. Her body tightly tensed as she let out a high pitched whimper before collapsing against the seat.

  “I love when you come for me,” Evan whispered as he leaned over Sara. He kissed her lips tenderly. Tasting herself wasn’t bad. It wasn’t like it never happened before. But in that moment, Sara felt the heat rise up her neck and flush her cheeks a bright shade of pink. They were still in the limo, and were nearing the hotel.

  Sara sat up, pushing Evan away. He was as hard as a rock as the driver brought the limo to a stop. “Shit, we’re back.” Sara raced to grab her panties from the floor and slipped them on while fixing the bottom of her dress. She glanced from side to side, noting the light scratch marks on the leather interior, the sweaty mess her hair became, and Evan tucking himself back into his pants.

  “Sorry to bother you, sir,” the driver’s voice said from a speaker. “Do you want me to drive around a bit more?”

  Fuck, he knew. Sara’s horrified thoughts that ran through her head were confirmed. The driver knew they were messing around, probably got his kick out of it too.

  “No, I don’t think that will be necessary.” Sara watched as Evan smoothed his hair back and sat on the backseat. “Are you ready to go in?”

  “I can’t walk around the hotel looking like this.”

  She watched him inch closer to her. He looked her in the eyes as he cupped her chin with his hand. “You are absolutely beautiful, and I am so lucky to have you in my life.” His hand dropped from her chin and hovered above hers with his palm towards the roof. Sara smiled and took Evan’s hand, allowing him to escort her from the limo and hurried into the hotel.

  Chapter 28-Evan

  Life on the road wasn’t easy for Evan. He loved the life. He visited a different town or city each day, met people that recently heard of him or happened to be in the store while he was doing a signing and turned them into a fan. At night, he was back in his room, typing away at the love story he was working on, one that saw a scrawny twenty-two-year old fall in love with a woman that seemed way out of his league. The story mimicked his own life except the male character was an artist who loved to draw, paint, and build things with his hands. The woman he was infatuated with fell in love with his art, allowing him to get closer to her. It wasn’t a far stretch from the way he met Sara and how they began their relationship, but then again, she was the one who told him to write what he knew.

  Being on the road inevitably took its toll on Evan, even more on the nights he focused on his writing. It made him remember what he was missing back in New York. Writing about her seemed to make it worse. It felt like he was being torn in half. He enjoyed life on the road, but none of it mattered without Sara being right there with him to enjoy it.

  It had only been two weeks since Sara returned to New York. He hated to see her leave, but knew they had t
o get back to their lives. She needed to go back to work in New York, and he had to continue his tour through Texas before heading up north. The first week was used to generate some buzz, mostly doing a few radio appearances, showing up at book stores to meet the owners, and met a few journalists so they could write an article on him. The second week had him traveling around for a few signings at book stores.

  That Monday, Evan was brought in for a brief meeting at the hotel. Audrey and Mr. Waters were waiting downstairs with their luggage. The limo driver brought their bags out to the car, allowing Mr. Waters to pull Evan into a small conference room.

  “Evan, there’s been a slight change of plans to our tour. We are heading to Vegas for the next couple of days and then up to Seattle.”

  “Why Vegas?”

  “I found out about a convention yesterday that I think would be perfect for you. I made some calls and got you in.”

  “That’s great. Which Convention?”

  Waters shifted his eyes before placing his hand on Evan’s shoulder. “We don’t have time right now. We have to get going or we’ll miss our flight. I’ll explain more on the way.”

  Evan took Waters on his word and hurried out to the limo. He entered first, taking his spot off to the side. Light scratch marks could still be seen on the leather interior, reminding him of the night he spent with Sara. The night he proposed was forever engrained in his mind. Seeing the scratches reinforced those thoughts. He could visualize every moment they shared from the moment they entered the limo, causing him to miss Sara more than he already did.

  Audrey and Waters entered the limo. They huddled together in the back of the limo whispering something low enough so Evan couldn’t hear. He didn’t mind at first. Evan was too busy thinking about Sara to care what Audrey and Mr. Waters were talking about. It wasn’t until he turned to look at either of them that he noticed they were up to something. The moment his eyes turned towards their direction, they stopped talking and stared straight at him.

  “Is everything all right,” Evan asked.

  “Why wouldn’t it be,” Waters replied.

  “I don’t know, maybe it’s because you guys keep whispering and then act like you weren’t talking when I look at you.”

  “We were just discussing…” Waters appeared to be caught off guard with Evan’s accusation. He may have been an agent, but coming up with a lie unexpectedly did not come easy to him.

  Audrey crossed her legs and folded her hands over her knee, sitting in a proper lady-like position. “We were discussing possible strategies for next year.” Unlike Mr. Waters, Audrey was used to fielding questions on the fly whether they were truthful or not. “That reminds me; how are you doing with your next book?”

  A quick topic change was more than enough to shut Evan up. The guilty look in his eyes was a dead giveaway to his progress. “It’s um, it’s coming along.”

  “How far along are you,” Mr. Waters asked.

  “I’m about halfway done with the first draft.”

  “What happened to almost done?”

  “I had a big mess just thrown together. Now I have something solid; something concrete.”

  “When do you think it will be finished?”

  “I’ll have the first draft done by the end of the tour.” Evan didn’t know why he was being so defensive about the book. Maybe it was because Waters had taken a chance on him and didn’t want to let him down.

  Waters sat there with his hands folded. “Okay then,” Waters said. There was no anger or disappointment in his voice like Evan expected. “We only have about a month or so left on this tour. I think we can wait till then to read it.”

  Evan breathed a sigh of relief. He knew all of his remaining free time on tour would need to be devoted to the book and planning out the wedding.

  *******************************************************

  Sara

  Weeks had passed since Sara took the journey out to Arizona. What was supposed to be a surprise for Evan; turned out to be a bigger surprise for her. A cab waited to pick Sara up from the airport and took her back home. The dark, quiet apartment felt much different than it had before she left. It was once filled with loneliness and uncertainty, but now was filled with hope and a future. That’s when it finally dawned on her, Evan proposed. He wanted to marry her and spend the rest of his life with her.

  The first week back, she had a flock of co-workers ogling her ring. They congratulated her several times before the hype around the engagement and the ring died down. Sara enjoyed the attention for a while. She was used to getting noticed by guys, mostly finding them checking her out or doing their best to hook up with her, but she never had a group of women staring at her.

  By the second week, barely anyone mentioned the ring or her engagement. She was back in her same boring routine. It was lacking the excitement she had become accustomed to, and desperately needed a change of pace. She whipped out her phone and sent a text to Julie.

  S: Dinner and drinks tonight?

  J: Sure. What’s the occasion?

  S: I’m bored and need to get out of this place.

  J: Works for me. See you tonight.

  The countdown was on. Sara watched the clock like a hawk, checking the time every ten minutes hoping to get through the next hour quicker than the last. When five o’clock hit, she already had her coat on, and was out the door before anyone had a chance to say goodbye to her.

  After hurrying home to shower and change, Sara quickly jumped in the car and drove to Jersey to meet with Julie. The house appeared to be pitch black inside, but the front door was open. She expected Julie to walk out dressed in her party clothes, ready to spend the night at some bar getting trashed. Instead, the tall blond exiting the house in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt.

  “What the hell happened to you,” Sara asked.

  “You said dinner and drinks. I didn’t think you meant you wanted to go out to party.”

  “I just thought…I mean…since when do you wear sweatshirts? I’ve known you for a long time and never saw you wear one.”

  “It’s cold and I wanted to be comfortable. Can we just leave it at that?” Sara didn’t know why Julie was getting annoyed, but didn’t think her asking about a sweatshirt was the reason.

  “Where do you wanna go?”

  “Anywhere is fine,” Julie snapped.

  “Okay, how about our usual spot? We can get some wings and beer, maybe a few shots.”

  Julie snapped her head towards Sara. Her pale complexion made her seem like a shell of her former self. “I’m really not in the mood to drink. Can we just stop off and get a pizza?”

  “Sure,” Sara replied as she made a right turn. There was no doubt in Sara’s mind that Julie was holding out on her. The sweatshirt, the snapping and having no desire to drink, was a cry for help. Whatever happened to Julie, it was more serious than the Atlantic City incident.

  They placed their order and took the food back to Julie’s house. Other than speaking to the cashier, neither of them uttered a single word until they walked through the front door. It was unlike anything Sara had ever seen. Julie’s house was usually immaculate. Everything was in its place, floors swept, vacuumed and cleaned. Julie’s house looked nothing of the sort. Clothes were strewn across the floor and banister. Dishes were piled high in the sick. Pizza boxes were stuffed in the overflowing garbage, while Chinese food containers littered the counter.

  “Did you forget to pay the maid last week?”

  “If you plan on criticizing how I dress and how my house looks, then you can leave.” The anger was in Julie’s voice, but her eyes were telling Sara a different story.

  She took Julie by the hand and led her to the couch. “Julie, please tell me what’s wrong. I’m your best friend. You can tell me anything.”

  The tears welled up in her eyes. “I’ve been seeing a guy for a little while now, and things have been going great.”

  “Wait, was this the same guy that broke up with you before getting
drunk in Atlantic City.”

  “Hell no! I haven’t heard from him since he broke up with me. This one’s name is Alton. He’s professional trainer I met about a month ago.”

  “So let me guess, he’s tall, dark, handsome and built?” Julie’s eyes lit up as she shook her head in agreement. “So, what’s the problem?”

  “We’ve been dating for a few weeks, and…well..I’m late.”

  Sara held the slice of pizza in the air as she prepared to place it on the plate. “How late?”

  “About a week and a half.”

  “Did you take a test?”

  “No, not yet. I kept hoping I would get it the next day. Now I’m just scared.”

  “Sweetie, you need to make sure. Look at how you’re living. You’re drowning yourself in garbage worrying over something you might not need to worry about.” She finished setting the pizza on the plates and took Julie by the hand. “Do you want me to run out and get you a test?”

  “No, I’ll get one tomorrow on the way home from work.”

  “Okay, but I want you to know I’m here for you no matter what.” Sara watched Julie lean forward and embraced her. When she sat back, Julie had streak marks down her cheeks. “Just do me one favor; stop being a bitch to me and let’s have a fun night in.”

  Chapter 29-Evan

  Evan knew what Las Vegas looked like from pictures, videos, movies and T.V., but nothing prepared him for his trip. Waters ordered a black limo to pick them up from the airport and drive them to the hotel. It was by far the largest hotel Evan stayed in. Mr. Waters led the way to the front desk. Audrey followed closely behind with Evan bringing up the rear. He felt plagued by exhaustion, letting his chin dip until it hit his chest.

  The walk to the front desk was a bit longer than Evan expected. Following the others allowed his thoughts to trail off, wishing Sara was there to enjoy Vegas with him. Knowing how much she loved partying with Julie, it would be a perfect setting for Evan to step out of his comfort zone and show Sara he could be just as much fun.