by Brigid Coady
She pulled up the list of tweets that Maple Groove and Si had signed off. She copied the first one, pasted it and pressed publish.
@WedPelley4Evah: Have you seen Ed and Frankie are supposed to be dating. I ship #Freddie
Within seconds, #Freddie started trending.
Emma double checked all of the band’s social media accounts. Although the team had access to post from them, they encouraged the boys to also engage. She frowned. Will had gone very quiet online, which was odd. He was usually tweeting abuse at football results at the very least. Maybe Si had managed to get him to see the light? Unlikely but she could dream.
But too quiet wasn’t good for promo. She quickly looked through the approved tweets she had for Will’s Twitter account. Why not solve two problems, seed something about him and Tina as well as getting him visible online.
Also, it would counteract the eye rolls he’d been indulging in every time the celebrity crush questions had been asked. Although she supposed he had done well claiming he wanted to be private when anyone had asked about the mystery brunette he’d been spotted with in blurry photos. And now they were in America, about to start their tour, she could probably use the one about missing someone. Vague enough but… give fans and the media enough and they would tell the story for you.
@Will_Poulson: Missing home more than I thought I would #missyou
Ah, nothing like feeding the fan frenzy, she thought as most of the fan update accounts fell on it within seconds. And a few Twitter trends started:
#WedIsDead
#TillaLives
#FreddieIsBetterThanWed
#EdComeBackToBedWillMissesYou
Where the hell did the last one come from?
She refreshed the page and saw that Will’s account had tweeted something different already.
@Will_Poulson: Ed stole my duvet and now won’t give me pancakes #brekkieinbed
Oh for… her finger hovered over the delete button. No. That would be playing into it. Will was obviously done with playing nice.
Her phone rang.
It was Si.
‘We’ve got a problem, get your arse on the next plane to LA,’ he barked through the phone.
Surely one tweet wasn’t enough to be dragged halfway round the world? But knowing these guys it was probably only the tip of the iceberg.
See, this was why it was always easier to have plans when there were no people involved, she thought as she pressed the phone to her ear and started taking down details.
***
Emma threw a handful of T-shirts at her open suitcase and hoped they’d magically fold themselves when they fell in.
They didn’t.
‘So why are you going to LA again?’ Gee said from where he lounged on her bed.
He was lying on the one dress she’d laid out and was crumpling it. Giving it a tug, she pulled it out from under him. She tried to smooth out the creases, but did she really need a dress? She hated not having time to think.
He sat up, picked up one of T-shirts from the suitcase and started folding it idly as he waited for her to answer.
‘Because Ed is refusing to go on a pap walk with Frankie. Actually, it is supposed to be THE pap walk. The first one that confirms that they are “seeing” each other. Admittedly it is also the first time they will actually meet in real life but no one needs to know that. McKee told Si he wants me there, he seems to think I can magically change his mind. And that if I’m in situ, I can make any fast changes they need to make with the story.’
‘So, what you are saying is they need you there to make sure they keep all the lies straight and spin more of them?’
Why couldn’t Gee just be supportive? Why couldn’t he understand that this was her job, one she loved. Okay, so occasionally there were aspects she didn’t like either but what job was perfect?
‘Gee, a bit of support, yeah?’
‘Hey, I’m here to help.’ He dropped the top he’d finished folding into the case, rolled onto his back, grabbed one of her pillows and hugged it to his chest.
Well, at least she wouldn’t be tormented having to go to sleep with Gee’s smell all over her sheets and pillow. Her flight left in, hell, four hours, and she still had to get from the east side of London to Heathrow.
‘Being helpful would be grabbing my wash stuff from the bathroom.’
‘I’m comfy,’ Gee complained, but he rolled off the bed onto the floor almost taking the suitcase with him.
‘Gee,’ she warned. He might be annoying but she was going to miss him.
‘They could’ve waited a few days before they threw a hissy fit, then we could’ve flown out together on Wednesday,’ he called from the bathroom.
Yeah, she’d forgotten one of his clients wanted him in LA for meetings.
‘I’ll probably still be there if I can’t get this sorted out.’
‘Then you and I are going to at least go out on the town one night we are there. Have to show you the sights.’ He came in with her washbag and make-up bag packed.
‘When did you last do LA properly?’ she asked as she stuffed the bags down the side of the case. She knew he’d never liked the city and avoided it as much as possible.
‘Teen Choice Awards 2006,’ he mused. ‘Or was it the MTV Music Awards? All I remember was Jessica Simpson was one of the hosts and that I got to hang out with Fall Out Boy. Good times. Good times.’ He flopped back on the bed again.
‘Is your shadow going with you?’ he asked.
‘Shadow? You mean, Jamie.’ Emma paused briefly. ‘No, Jamie is holding the fort back here. I’m a bit worried about him as Dan is being a pain in the arse.’
It seemed that Dan now wanted to be involved in the BOTP account. And she hadn’t worked out a way to keep him off it. At least not without having to rehash the whole Jamie and Dan fiasco, which the office seemed to have mercifully forgotten.
But Dan, by sleight of hand or some other chicanery, had taken it upon himself to look after Tina Churchill whenever she happened to be in the office. This seemed to be more frequently than was absolutely necessary. McKee might have been her godfather but she spent most of the time with Dan. He said it was because Tina had wanted professional help with her social media. Tina had decided that she would become a fashion blogger. But as the general plan for her social media was that it echoed Will’s, and Dan and Tina’s collective fashion sense was limited, Emma wasn’t really sure what they were doing.
She supposed it kept them busy and Starbucks in business from the number of cups they went through. But Jamie, she bit on her thumbnail… She didn’t like the thought of leaving him in the office without support.
Crap, she didn’t have time to sort out any plans. This wasn’t how she liked to travel. No time for a proper handover either.
She looked at her bulging and messy suitcase. She hated this. She hadn’t had a chance to plan her wardrobe. When she packed she wanted a spreadsheet, so she could work out what she was doing day by day and work out the best combinations. Now she’d just had to throw outfits at it and hope they worked.
She looked towards her wardrobe, maybe she did need that third jacket. She didn’t realise she’d spoken out loud.
‘Emma, you’ll be fine. If you’ve forgotten to pack something you can always buy it there. They do have shops.’ Gee reached a hand out and grasped hers as it fluttered over the shoes she’d packed. ‘Or I can bring it with me.’
All the noise and twirliness in her head calmed down. The warmth of his hand grounded her. Of course she could buy something when she was out there or wait for him. She turned her hand to grip his.
So familiar. The light callouses from all his guitar playing. His thumb stroked the back of her hand.
‘Come on Woodhouse, you’ve got time to lie down for a cuddle before you go,’ Gee pulled her down onto him.
Why didn’t they do this more often, she wondered, as he enveloped her in a hug. His long, hard body solid underneath hers, making a foundation.
S
he tucked her face into his neck and took a deep breath.
He smelt like home.
Could you be homesick before you even left?
His arms wrapped round hers and stroked her back, each sweep brushing away the tension and making her warm.
‘Can’t you leave now? Why do you have to wait till Wednesday?’ she murmured, her lips touching his skin.
He tightened his arms.
‘Much as I want to, I’ve got Lewis booked in all of Monday. I might be able to make it on Tuesday at the earliest?’
Hmm, she thought. It was still two days without him.
When did they get so co-dependent?
But… Emma did some calculations in her head, when was the last time they had spent more than a night apart? She wracked her brain.
Was it last year when Gee had been dating whatsherface, the woman he’d met at the gym, and they’d gone away for that long weekend in Lisbon? Oh no, that was right. Gee only did one night before cutting it short. He said it was a work emergency, but when did music engineers have that kind of emergency. And then about a fortnight later the girlfriend had been history.
Maybe it was when she’d been on that work trip, a week on a tour bus with some reality TV show band that disintegrated after six months… that was what, two years ago? And she’d spent most of the time texting Gee complaining about them and making horrible jokes up about boybands.
She wasn’t going to survive.
‘Tuesday. Please don’t leave me alone in boyband hell any longer than that. Promise?’
‘Promise.’ As he squeezed her harder. It felt perfect. She refused to give into the longing to sink deeper into his arms, to maybe reach up. Tilt her face…
She distracted herself and Gee by gasping dramatically ‘Can’t. Breath.’ She tried to flail her arms around except he had them trapped.
‘Sorry, can’t hear you.’ He laughed into her hair. ‘What did you say?’
But he relaxed his arms, as he pressed a kiss to her head. She lay there for a moment, why couldn’t time stop? Why couldn’t everything be as perfect as this?
This was ephemeral, she remembered. You couldn’t build a stable life on a series of moments, no matter how wonderful. They melted away and left you bereft.
But sometimes being wedded to a plan sucked.
She rolled out of his arms and lay next to him on the bed. He caught her fingers in his hand and squeezed.
‘Tuesday,’ he said and she believed him because even if she sometimes wanted him too, he never lied.
She could manage two days and a time difference.
Couldn’t she?
Chapter Twenty
The one good thing, Emma thought as she sat in the first-class lounge at Heathrow with a glass of champagne, was that when Mega! had you travelling last minute and in an emergency, they let you travel in style. She took a sip and wrinkled her nose as the bubbles popped up out of the glass.
She should call her mum and dad. She called them individually every Sunday, like clockwork. It was in the calendar, part of her way of dealing with them pre-emptively and she could pretend that she had a normal family. She could remind them that she existed not just when it was convenient for them.
Maybe she could miss calling them this week? She took another sip of champagne and leant her head back in the seat and starred at the ceiling. No, much as it was tempting, if she left it, that was when things started to unravel, when she didn’t stick to the routine, to the schedule. If she left things to fate that was when uncertainty took a foothold.
She scrolled through her contacts and with a sigh pressed the number to talk to her dad.
‘Hi Dad,’ she said. It was the last thing she said except for a few hums and uh huhs until he said goodbye five minutes later. Not that he said much, mostly telling her how wonderful Janice was and how Boopsie, his stepdaughter was such a talented singer, and surely Emma could find someone to sign her. She shivered. Boopsie had been the bane of her life when they’d been kids, always around when she visited her dad. She was still always around when she saw him even though she was a year older than her. Being a music star in the making meant mostly mooching off her mother.
Emma checked the time. Still too much time before boarding. She was exhausted already and she hadn’t even started working yet.
‘Do it, just do it.’ She whispered to herself as she stared at her mother’s number. This was so much easier when she was at home. Gee on the sofa opposite her, sending her good vibes. Being her centre. She thought of how he usually smiled crookedly while she did this, but with his brows all frowny and concerned. She closed her eyes, took a breath and imagined him beside her, the smell of him still on her clothes from where he’d held her. She pressed the call button.
***
‘No, Mum. No. I don’t think the Pyrenees would be a better place for Christmas than the Alps.’
‘But I want to show support for those poor Catalans.’ Her mum sounded as if at any moment she was going to wail in anguish.
‘I’m sure the whole of Catalonia appreciates your support but I’m not sure spending Christmas trying to free political prisoners is quite what they want.’
What was it with her mum’s need to save everyone but the person she should be saving?
‘Look, I have to go. They’re calling my flight,’ she lied. ‘And you and Derek will be spending Christmas with me as we discussed.’
‘But those poor Catalans,’ her mother wailed.
‘Bye Mum.’ Emma hung up.
She got up and poured herself another glass of champagne, knocking it back in one. The bubbles burned their way down her throat. She then poured a third glass.
Sinking back in her seat, she could feel her shoulders relax. That would hold them for another week. And there was no way that they could do too much damage between now and next weekend.
Okay, now back to her life. She shifted her head from side to side, lessening the tension in her neck. She checked her texts.
He’s locked himself in his room and he isn’t coming out was the latest from Amanda, the Mega! management person on the ground in LA.
Surely, we can block room service and he’ll run out of food? she wrote back.
I think they stocked up for the duration.
They?
Yeah, they’re all locked in there with him. They are saying it is all for one, and one for all.
So now they thought they were the four musketeers.
More like the four Mouseketeers. Maybe she should take a quick detour to Disneyland?
I bet Disney never had this much trouble with Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling, she thought. Maybe when she was wandering through the Magic Kingdom she’d buy them those silly hats with ears and their names embroidered on the front. Or maybe just Jackasses One, Two, Three, and Four.
She glanced up at the departure board.
Crap. They were really calling her flight.
Downing the third glass of champagne and coughing as it hit her throat, she grabbed her backpack, stuffed her laptop into it and loped out of the lounge. She ran quickly down the escalators trying to avoid the wheelie suitcases and hoped that the tram to the concourse wasn’t going to be late.
***
‘Where are they?’ Emma croaked twelve hours later, her throat dry from the recycled air on the plane. Her eyes were blurry from lack of sleep. She squinted down at her phone. It was now Monday morning in the UK and she’d been officially up now for over twenty-four hours.
Her phone beeped at her as a handful of texts from Gee suddenly downloaded when her phone decided to finally connect with the local service provider.
Her finger itched to check them, get a taste of home. No, she had to concentrate, it would be her present for when she had this untangled.
Slumped against the registration desk at the hotel, she frowned at Amanda, then squinted. She was so tired, the woman was coming in and out of focus, and it was making Emma feel a little sick.
‘They’re all c
amped out in room twenty-three hundred,’ Amanda continued. ‘And they say they won’t come out if Ed has to do a pap walk at the Frozen Yogurt place we chose. Then he was drowned out because all I could hear was Will singing some song about how they were all lactose intolerant.’
Emma wanted to rest her head on the desk, maybe they’d lend her one of those velvety pillows that were on the sofas strategically placed round the lobby. She should’ve guessed that Will was at the centre of all the problems. Why was he making this so difficult? They only had to put up with this for three to six months, that was it, then it would be done. The band would be better known due to all the extra attention the fauxmances would bring. It was baffling why he kept making problems.
Okay, think Emma. Think. But any ideas seemed to be just out of reach. She stared down at her phone hoping that it would miraculously tell her what to do. Instead it beeped, and flashed up a photo Gee had texted a few hours ago of him sleeping in her bed.
Suddenly all she wanted was to be back there, not curled up next to him, of course, but home. In her own bed. She hoped he’d wash the sheets. These bloody spoiled brats were ruining her life, she could’ve been having a nice lazy weekend but for them. Anger flared up from inside her and burnt away her tiredness. They weren’t taking any more time from her. Not today. Not yesterday. Or tomorrow, or whenever. Time was still fuzzy to her.
‘Okay, Amanda, this is what we’re going to do. They have rehearsal for the concerts tomorrow morning, yes? If we can persuade them to actually turn up, then we can contact Frankie’s team and make sure she is there too. We’ll at least have her and Ed in the same post code which will be something.’ Amanda looked baffled. ‘I mean, zip code. Look, they will be at the same place at the same time. Then by hook or by crook we’ll get them to stand together and get some blurry but suggestive photos, we’ll photoshop if necessary. Then we’ll have some imaginary crew member release them. In fact, let’s set up that imaginary crew member’s social media now, they’ll come in handy later.’ Her mind was pinging round, the last bits of energy making it zip faster.
‘Who’s going to tell them?’ Amanda asked. She looked at Emma hopefully.