#1 Fan

by Hess, Andrew

  That thought settled in his brain, placing it next to Sara’s admission. He was just as guilty as she was. The women at the club were all over him, rubbing themselves against his body as they tried to get him hard. Knowing he couldn’t remember half the night never set well with him, despite Audrey telling him nothing happened. Her telling him he went back to his room alone was the only piece of mind he had.

  Thinking about how both parties ended, and neither he or Sara could remember what happened, could he really throw away their relationship? He had nothing good in his life until he met Sara. As much as he loved writing, and liked the attention while on tour, she had become the reason for his second book. She was the reason he wrote, and his desire to succeed. She was the love of his life, and couldn’t think what his life would be like if she weren’t in it.

  I gotta get back to the hotel. He looked around and realized for the first time, his walk carried him too far and had no idea where he was. He reached into his pocket, pulling out his cell, and used the GPS to find the route back to the hotel. Taking off at a jog, Evan hoped Sara was still in the room, and that he hadn’t destroyed the best thing that ever happened to him.

  The sliding glass doors to the lobby opened as he approached. Wiping the sweat from his face, he could see two women frantically sweeping their eyes from side to side. Sara’s eyes were bloodshot and glassy. Knowing he made her cry nearly broke Evan. He hated seeing her cry, especially when he was the reason behind it.

  Entering the hotel, he locked eyes with the girls and ran to Sara. His arms wrapped around her body, pulling her tightly to his chest. He could feel her tears dripping onto his shoulders.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have run out on you.”

  Sara picked her head up and stared at Evan through blurry eyes. “What? No. I’m the one that’s sorry. I screwed up. I screwed everything up. You have every right to be pissed at me.”

  “No, no I don’t. We both messed up.”

  Seeing Sara try to wipe away the tears, Evan grabbed a tissue from the front desk and lightly dabbed at her cheeks. “Thanks,” she replied while trying to calm herself. “Can we talk somewhere a little more private?”

  Realizing they were standing in the middle of the hotel, Evan noticed the random patrons staring at them. “Yeah, I think that’s probably a good idea.” He grabbed Sara’s hand and led her back to the elevator.

  “And what am I; chopped liver,” Julie added as she followed them. “I’m as much a part of this as you guys.”

  Evan shot her a dirty look, believing she was the one who bought the private dance for Sara. Then again, Mr. Waters was the one responsible for all of his lap dances.

  “Can we have twenty minutes alone,” Evan asked. “I think Sara and I need some time to deal with this together.”

  “It’s okay, Julie. I’ll call you when we’re done.”

  With the elevator doors closed, Evan and Sara rose to the third floor and walked back to their room. Evan thought about what he wanted to say, and wondered if he should mention what he found in his pocket.

  “Sara, about the strip club…we both went to them. Things got out of hand. Both of us had dancers all over us, but…”

  “Evan, I know I screwed up. I shouldn’t have given him a lap dance, but it wasn’t because I wanted him.” Evan quirked an eyebrow at her. “I found the stripper’s number and called him.” The anger was bubbling back to the surface, but Evan tried to restrain himself. “I called him because I wanted to know what happened. The guy was a complete ass. He was trying to get his rocks off on me, but I wanted nothing to do with him.”

  “Then why did you give him a lap dance.”

  “It was the only way to stop him from shoving his junk at me. Only, it kind of backfired on me. He thought I was into him and pulled me on top of him.” Evan’s hands balled up into fists again. “Nothing happened. He tried, but I got out of there before he could do anything.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes, he told me in his own sick perverted way.”

  “Who the hell is he, and which club?”

  “Evan, you can’t do anything.”

  “I just plan on having a talk with him.”

  “Stop, or you’ll get yourself hurt.”

  Thinking the stripper was probably more muscular and stronger than he was, Evan considered hiring someone or bringing people with him when he decided to “talk” to him.

  “Okay, fine. I won’t do anything,” he lied. Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, Evan looked up at Sara. “Where do we go from here.”

  “You tell me. I’m the one who fucked up.”

  He took Sara’s hands, inching her closer. “No, we both had our screw ups. But do we overlook what happened and continue like nothing happened, or do we postpone this wedding?”

  “Evan, I love you. I would do anything to be your wife. If you need to take some time to think things through, I understand. I can wait.”

  Evan looked around the room. “It doesn’t make sense.” He stood up and paced the room. “You flew all the way out here. Julie, and your parents flew out here to watch us get married. Kat spent the last month putting a rush to get everything ready for tomorrow.” He stopped in front of Sara. “And truthfully, I don’t wanna wait any longer than tomorrow to make you my wife.” Seeing the smile on Sara’s pink colored cheeks warmed Evan’s heart. He leaned forward, planting a soft romantic kiss on her lips. “Why don’t you get cleaned up and I’ll see about getting your spa appointment rescheduled?”

  “I doubt they’ll have anything available.”

  “You let me worry about that.”

  A few hours later, Evan and Sara met Mr. Waters, Audrey and Julie in the lobby. “Why is everyone standing around here,” Evan asked. “Come on; the restaurant is this way.”

  “There was a change of plans,” Waters admitted. “I took the liberty of booking us a reservation at Morimoto Napa.”

  Audrey looked excited, but the name didn’t register the same effect for Sara or Julie. “Morimoto is one of the best restaurants in California, and is owned by one of the most known celebrity chefs, Chef Morimoto.”

  Evan remembered hearing the name several times in the past, but was sure Sara and Julie had no clue. Their eyes lit up at the mention of a celebrity chef.

  “What about Sara’s parents,” Evan asked.

  “We will be picking them up on our way.” Waters glanced at his Rolex before focusing on the group. “We must be going if we plan on making our reservation. Everyone ready?”

  After an hour of driving, the limo pulled up in front of the golden brown doors for Morimoto Napa Restaurant. “It looks kind of empty,” Julie said as she peered through a window. “I guess it’s a slow night.”

  “Not quite,” Waters replied. “I rented the restaurant for the night. For the next couple of hours, we have the whole place to ourselves.”

  Sara’s parents seemed to find Mr. Waters fascinating. Evan was used to Waters flaunting his money around. He had seen it more since the book tours began.

  “So you rented the whole restaurant,” Sara’s mother asked.

  “Yes. I figured this would be the first time we all met before the wedding. I wanted to celebrate the momentous occasion in a special way.” Waters held the door open for everyone to enter, and followed behind Sara’s parents.

  “I must say, this is quite a place,” Sara’s father said.

  “You have no idea. Come let us sit and have a drink.” He escorted Sara’s parents to the table and held out their chairs.

  The waiter came to take the drink orders. Audrey ordered a bottle of wine for the table, although Evan knew it was more for her than anyone else. Waters ordered a Glenmorangie ‘Signet’ which was not something Evan was used to hearing.

  “What’s that,” he asked.

  “It’s a scotch. You both should try it.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Sara’s father said as he flipped through the menu. Evan knew Sara’s father was a
scotch drinker, but he himself had never tried it before.

  “I guess I’ll have one too.”

  The waiter made his exit to place the drink orders in while Waters and Sara’s father huddled in close conversation. Evan was slightly uncomfortable with how fast they took to each other. Knowing Kat’s warnings, Evan wondered why Mr. Waters took an interest in Sara’s parents. He inched closer to them, desperately trying to listen in to their conversation, but was cut off by the returning waiter.

  Waters grabbed his rocks glass first and stood. “I’d like to start this evening off with a toast. I have known Evan for close to two years. He started out as a prospect, someone full of potential, but had yet to tap into it. This year, you proved everyone wrong by becoming the man I knew you could be. Your book has been doing incredibly well, you have toured both the east and west coast, and now you are about to marry this lovely woman. I wish you both the same luck and fortune that Evan has had this last year.”

  Everyone raised their hands, clinking their glasses with each other. Evan swirled the liquid around, wondering how it would taste. Closing his eyes, he took a sip, nearly spitting the contents all over his future father-in-law.

  “Sorry sir,” he said hurried with a napkin.

  “First time having scotch,” he asked.

  “Yes sir.”

  “I think you should hand that over to the adults and pick out something that’s a bit more on your level.”

  “I should be fine,” Evan replied with a bit of a snarl. “It just took me a bit by surprise.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  Evan returned to his seat, glaring back at Sara’s father.

  “What the hell’s gotten into you,” Sara asked.

  “Nothing,” Evan replied. “It was just a misunderstanding.”

  Evan caught her switching her attention between him and her father. “Is everything all right between you two?”

  “Everything’s fine,” Evan lied. There was something off about her father that night. Maybe it was the fact that Evan was marrying his daughter in less than twenty-four hours. Although, he figured if there was an issue with that, Sara’s father would never have given his permission. Maybe Evan just had some residual anger built up from earlier and was misreading the situation. His answer came later in the evening when he ran to the men’s room.

  The door opened behind Evan as Sara’s father entered. There was a look of hatred and distain in his eyes as he looked at Evan.

  “Nice place,” Evan said in an attempt to make idle conversation by the sinks.

  Sara’s father grabbed Evan by the arm and swung him around, shoving him against the wall. “Look here you little punk.” The aggressive act and growl caught Evan off guard, making him fearful of what his future father-in-law wanted. “My daughter means everything to me. I think her marrying you is a big mistake, but she seems to love you. If you do anything to hurt her, you will answer to me.”

  Evan understood this was her father’s attempt at putting the fear of god into him before the wedding. “Sir, I love your daughter. I would never dream of doing anything to hurt her.”

  “You better keep it that way.” With the stern warning, Sara’s father exited the men’s room pretending everything was as perfect as Sara believed.

  Sucking in a deep breath, Evan braced himself for the long night of awkward conversations and secret looks of hatred. It would be something he was willing to endure for Sara, and would gladly repeat just to prove how much he loved her.

  Chapter 36-Sara

  The sweet sound of violins surrounded Sara as she approached the entrance with her father’s arm wrapped around her waist. The white silk mermaid dress clung to her body with every step she took in her sparkly Jimmy Choo peep toe shoes. The bright sun bronzed her exposed shoulders as she peaked through an opening.

  “Are you sure you want to do this,” her father asked.

  The bundle of nerves in her stomach screamed for her to run the opposite way, but her heart told her not to look back. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

  They rounded the corner to the floral archway. The ivory runner was placed in the center of the stone walkway with a dozen chairs placed on both sides. Every worry and doubt she had, vanished the moment she locked eyes with Evan.

  The violinists stopped momentarily as they switched to the traditional wedding march. Slowly she walked down the aisle, moving closer to Evan. His smile gave her hope for them, hope for their future. He was everything she wanted in a man.

  Evan stepped off the small stage to greet her when she made it down the aisle. Her father turned towards her, lifting the veil from her face as he bent down to kiss her cheek. Evan extended his hand to him, but was ignored. Sara wanted to say how rude that was, but there was nothing she could do without causing a scene. Instead, she accepted Evan’s hand and stood with him overlooking the vineyard.

  It wasn’t the exact wedding she had in mind. A big part of her wanted a more traditional wedding with her friends, and all of her family there. Evan made sure her parents and Julie were there, but there wasn’t anyone in attendance representing his family. Those that did attend were friends that decided to make the trip to watch them get married, but it wasn’t the same. The wedding was non-traditional, but then again, so was her relationship with Evan.

  Joining hands in front of the small crowd, Evan and Sara declared their love for each other before being announced as husband and wife. With the ring placed around her finger, the weight of the last week had been wiped clear from her mind. She was blissfully content with her life, and couldn’t wait to return to New York as Mrs. Evan Taylor.

  Hand in hand, they walked down the aisle together. The wedding felt nearly perfect for Sara as they rounded the corner of the floral archway.

  Evan leaned in close, kissing Sara’s shoulder. “I can’t believe you are finally my wife.” His guttural growl sent a chill throughout her body. “I kinda can’t wait to get you back to the hotel room.”

  “Keep talking like that, and we won’t make it to the reception.” Her cheeks reddened as her parents rounded the corner. They greeted their daughter with glassy eyes. Her mother lingered a little longer than expected, refusing to break away from Sara.

  Her father briefly wished her congratulations with a hug and kiss on the cheek. When he moved to Evan, his expression changed.

  “Remember what I said. You do anything to hurt her, and you’ll have to answer to me.”

  Sara waited until her father was out of earshot. “Don’t worry about him. He’s just being over-protective.”

  Mr. Waters and Audrey were the next ones to greet the newlyweds. Audrey quickly embraced Sara before turning to Evan, giving her the impression Audrey didn’t care too much for her. This didn’t sit well with Sara, and needed to make a mental note to speak to Evan about it later. She continued to watch Audrey from the corner of her eye as she greeted Evan. Sara wanted to listen in, but found Mr. Waters pulling her into a hug.

  “My dear, you look absolutely breathtaking.” His hands rubbed the top of her back causing goose bumps to appear. “I’m sure you know how happy you have made Evan.” Once Audrey moved, Waters released the embrace and slid over.

  After a few more people, Kat cautiously walked over, stealing Sara away for a moment. “What happened between you and Waters?”

  “I don’t know. I guess he was incredibly happy for Evan and me. He also commented on the dress, saying I looked breathtaking.”

  Kat’s eyebrow rose with suspicion. “I don’t trust him.”

  “What are your thoughts on Audrey?”

  Kat seemed taken aback by Sara’s question. Her hands darted to her hips while anger filled her eyes. “That bitch is a snake in the grass. Do not trust her under any circumstance.”

  That summed up exactly how Sara felt. She was already weary around Audrey, but Kat’s reaction just confirmed her trustworthiness.

  “Well thankfully he’s coming back home for a while.”

  “Just keep an eye on
her, and don’t let your guard down.”

  Sara excused herself and stood by Evan’s side as they said hello to the final few guests. The staff at the vineyard directed them to go inside as the cocktail hour was about to begin.

  It wasn’t a large venue, but then again, there wasn’t many people in attendance. It felt more like a social gathering than a wedding, which made it increasingly difficult for Sara to enjoy herself. Kat thankfully ensured there would be a D.J. and room for the guests to dance. Sara was quick to grab Julie and kicked off the party. Soon they dragged Evan and Kat to the dance floor, which made her feel better.

  The hours ticked away, letting the night sky hover over the vineyard. It was time for everyone to leave, including the bride and groom. Sara approached the limo as her parents entered, but felt Evan’s hand hold her back.

  “We have our own ride,” he informed her.

  Kat appeared next to them, watching as Waters and Audrey entered the limo and looked back with confused expressions. After they pulled away, a Town car pulled in. “I believe your ride is here.” Kat took a few steps to the rear of the vehicle and held the door open for Evan and Sara.

  “I don’t understand,” Sara said. “Why aren’t we going back with the others to the hotel?”

  “Because we’re not going back to that hotel. Kat and I arranged a little getaway before we leave for our honeymoon.”

  This was the guy Sara fell in love with. This was the Evan she decided to go out with after he put his phone number in her signed copy of his book. Maybe now with the tour behind him, Sara was going to get her Evan back and things would finally settle down.

  Chapter 37-Evan

  Nearly two months of sitting at home was driving Evan Taylor stir crazy. He had not tried to seek employment, but remained at the apartment, pouring his every thought into his new book. It wasn’t the life he was used to living. For the better half of a year, he was on the road touring the east and west coast. It was thrilling to visit a new city every day, meeting new or potential fans, and dining at some of the nicest restaurants the country had to offer. However, all that changed two months ago. All of it changed the day he got married.