Muse: ( Groupie Volume 2 of 2)

by Susan Daugherty

  The whole gang settled quickly. Ready to get out of the concrete garage of the arena, they dispersed within a few hours.

  Jack searched on his phone for a fancy restaurant in the city and pulled strings to get reservations at the Hot and Hot Fish Club. White linen covered the tables, and fancy lighting kept the room dim, which made me self-conscious in my sundress. We ordered a glass of wine and scanned the menu quietly. I was dying inside. I could barely pronounce anything on the menu, and it was forty to fifty dollars a plate. My lips pressed together anxiously. I must be silly not to appreciate a fine meal. Roasted duck or braised lamb? No thanks!

  I chanced a glance up at Jackson to see him peering at me over his menu. “You should see your face!” He laughed and then added, “What the hell is gnocchi and crepinette? I can’t interpret the damn menu.”

  I exhaled with relief. “Oh good, I thought it was just me! I have no idea what to order.” We watched food arrive at the table next to us and saw sparsely covered dishes. We recognized baby-sized portions of fancy foods with pretty garnishes and presentation, but there was no way we would leave full. My eyes grew wider, and I glanced back at him while the waiter brought our wine and said he would be back for our order in a moment.

  Jack let out a snort. “Is that supposed to be a meal? I’m obviously rusty at this dating thing, but I thought an elegant place would be the way to go. I mean, I wanted you to know that you deserve the best.” The skin on his cheeks turned pink with a rare blush. He put his menu down, thinking he’d blown the date.

  A giggle escaped me. “I think you know by now I’m a pretty low maintenance girl. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  He burst into a grin, threw a few bills on the table, and we made a discreet beeline for the door. Once in the Jeep, we couldn’t stop laughing.

  We drove until we found a charming café with huge portions of normal food and talked the night away at our patio table. A young duo with guitars set up to play songs after nine o’clock, and we sat close, holding hands and listening to good music for hours. Not a soul noticed my date was a celebrity all night, and it was refreshing.

  When we parked the Jeep behind the bus, Jackson took my hand and said, “Let me walk you to your door.” I rolled my eyes at him but smiled as he escorted me in and we got ready for sleep. I desperately needed to shop for cute pajamas and lingerie.

  He pulled me close in our bed, and it struck me how natural it felt to sleep in there, even after all of my weeks in the bunk. We worked toward another romantic make out session, where we would end up frustrated, and someone would have to call time out.

  “So, you said you want to go slow, that you want me to fall in love before we take that step. What about you, Mr. Morgan?”

  “Yeah, me too, baby. I mean, I feel like what we have must be love … I just don’t want to be cavalier about it. I take it very serious. I’ve never said it to anyone before.” He glanced away and rubbed his jaw line.

  “Never? You’ve never told a girl you love her?”

  He shook his head. “Think about it, Lexie. I’ve not stayed with anyone long enough. If one of my dates with a girl in college led to them saying that, it was my cue to get the hell out. Since Nashville, I’ve literally not dated anyone more than once, so, no, love has never been mentioned.”

  My eyes blinked rapidly, and I knew he was embarrassed, so I tried to act nonchalant. “Well, it’s better than someone like me, who just said it to reciprocate the words when I had no idea if it was true. It just seemed like you had to say it back, and then once you’ve said it, it has to be real, right?” I gave a sarcastic laugh. “Both boyfriends wound up causing me a lot of hurt, and when I look back, it was obviously never love. I wish I’d been self-aware enough back then to call it like it was.”

  He stroked my face. “But, don’t you think you had to go through that so you’d learn? I missed that part, which is why I’m so slow to say the words. And, I think we need a rule that whoever does say it first, the other is not allowed to automatically say it back.”

  I snorted. “What? Like a twenty-four hour waiting period so you’re sure you aren’t just saying it because it would be awkward not to say it in return?”

  “Yes, exactly. A minimum of a full day. But even then, we have to promise not to say it back until we’re certain. No pressure on the other person, like you felt before.” He nodded vigorously, and I cracked up that we were making rules.

  “Okay, it makes sense. It’s a deal. But, once we’ve both come to the conclusion that it really is love, we can get rid of clothes?” I gave him my best sultry look and ran a hand under his t-shirt, feeling his hard abs. I could count the ridges, and it made my jaw clench tight.

  He whispered, “Yes. Oh man, it’s going to be so worth the wait.”

  He grabbed me by the shoulders then and kissed me until I shivered from head to toe, and then we finally drifted off to sleep.

  Our time in Birmingham flew by with another successful show under our belt. Jackson surprised me with the select song of the night again. He and the band had secretly worked on “Strong Woman,” and they premiered it. He called it a rough draft, but I thought it was already amazing.

  Amos called the next day, as we drove back toward Nashville, to let Jackson know the reviews for the new song were excellent, and the blogs were buzzing again with the significant change in both Jack and his music. Amos was on speakerphone when he said, “Just so you know, you’re going to get a lot of pressure for questions about these changes and who the woman in your life is.”

  Jackson glanced over at me, where I was emailing my latest PT notes to Dr. Gray, and said, “I guess at some point I’ll need to introduce my girlfriend, huh? Good thing I like talking about her so much.”

  He hung up the phone while I tried to pick my jaw off the floor and to slow the blood rushing to my cheeks.

  “I wasn’t sure if we had a title yet.” I sputtered, completely discomposed.

  “Well, I better ask you before I introduce you that way.” He gave his best mock-serious expression and put his hands together as if pleading with me. “Lexie Travis, would you go steady with me?”

  “I don’t even know what that means in this day and age, but you can call me your girlfriend any ol’ time you want.” I batted my lashes playfully and added, “As long as you’re okay with being my boyfriend.”

  His sly smile grew into a huge one, and he nodded. “I like the sound of that a whole lot.”

  My phone rang, jolting me out of our moment, and I answered Dr. Gray. He wanted to plan a time to come to Nashville over our weeklong stay and examine Jackson. It would hopefully be a final examination and discharge. I fumbled with the schedule on the wall and my Google calendar, trying to find time that we weren’t booked.

  I sounded like some Hollywood manager as I mumbled, “Well, let’s see, Jackson is playing a private show Sunday night and will be at XM studios Wednesday night. He has studio time Monday and Thursday and meetings Friday. Tuesday would be good, but, oh no, I actually have to be on set all day for a commercial. Maybe Wednesday. Nope, that’s when I’m having tryouts for Kenny’s tour dancers. Let me call you back, Dr. Gray.” I could hear him sigh loudly, and I knew my priorities sounded horribly askew.

  “Oh crap, help me look through the schedule!” I pleaded with Jackson, who watched me with amusement. After initially returning calls to my new clients, Andy took over scheduling for me, since he knew the tour schedule better than anyone did.

  Finally, Jack and I figured that Thursday morning first thing, before his studio time started, would be best for the appointment, and I called Dr. Gray back. He mentioned how full my scheduled seemed to be, so I interrupted with a ramble of information about how well Jackson had progressed and that he’d nearly met all of his long-term goals already.

  I could picture him nodding his head thoughtfully as he said, “Yes, good. I will see you both on Thursday at his home.”

  The thought hit me then. “Oh no, Jackson! If he disch
arges you, will they pull me off the home health contract and back to Knoxville?”

  The idea suddenly terrified me now, when getting home used to be all I wanted.

  Chapter 36

  He shook his head firmly. “No, they can’t. The contract was for four months, and the option to continue month to month after that. It was made to get me through the whole tour, not through the surgeon’s discharge.”

  I sighed and slumped back in the chair. “Whew. That scared me. You know, I’m not sure we need to go announcing our boyfriend/girlfriend status since I still technically work for you. It could definitely be viewed as a conflict of interest.”

  After a moment of pondering, he had composed an excellent answer. “You know what? I’ve made it very clear that you have down time separate from work time on this contract. I’m paying for the therapy out of pocket now, not going through my insurance, so we don’t have to follow any insurance rules. It would only be a rule within UT, and I doubt they will pick a fight with me again. We can easily say that no relationship formed until the tail end of the tour, and by then, it would have been ridiculous for you to step down when we have come so far in my rehab.”

  “Well, that sounds nice on paper, but I still don’t know that you should come out and name me in public. So, we need to be discreet. Don’t rock the boat, okay?”

  He sighed in resignation, and though he wasn’t happy about it, he nodded his head in agreement. Then, he lifted an eyebrow and cleared his throat. “So, you know, there will come a day when the tour does end …”

  I rubbed my hands together anxiously. “Hmm,” was all I could manage, my thoughts a mess.

  “I’ve been tossing ideas around in my head. First, I’ll tell you- that you won’t have to work at all when things move to the next level for us—”

  I immediately interrupted. “Please! Did you really just say that? I think you should know by now—”

  It was his turn to cut me off. “That you would never want to stop working? Yes, I know, baby. You love your job, you worked hard and learned so much to get where you are. You would never give it up because it means a lot to you. Yes, I knew that’s what your answer would be, I just had to put it on the table.” He was grinning at me with his arrogant I know you better than you know yourself look.

  “I don’t need or want a sugar daddy, Jackson Ellis.” I crossed my arms defiantly.

  He laughed powerfully now. “That’s for sure, Lex. You have tried to turn down every penny I’ve attempted to give you since day one, and you’ve made it abundantly clear that you’re very independent. I love it, truly.”

  “It’s part of my charm, right?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I never have to worry you’re after me for my money. But, I do hope to live in the same city as you before too long.” He chewed on his lip, all arrogance gone. “I mean, in Nashville, we have big name hospitals, and you could also keep up your choreography work on the side. Maybe?”

  It was my turn to chew my lip, while he looked so nervous and hopeful. “I’m not saying I wouldn’t consider moving, but I’m not the kind of girl that’s going to give up her life on a whim.”

  He pouted now. “A whim? Is that what we are?”

  “I’m just saying, when the tour is over, and we’re back to the real world, then we can make some decisions. You’re on the road so much, you could just commute to Nashville from Knoxville, you know.” My tone was a challenge and he took it.

  “If that’s what I have to do, then so be it.” He leaned over to kiss me just as Helen announced our arrival to the RV lot. He stood to grab our bags. I sat in quite a bit of shock before I could follow him. He passed yet another test with flying colors.

  Our week in Nashville ran at record speed. In a way, I felt like we were playing house at his apartment. I slept in the guest room, because it became much too hard to keep our hands to ourselves at night. Waiting was torture. We fixed meals, took turns with laundry and watched a little TV. It was a glimpse into what our life could be, and I liked it. Way too much.

  I held daily PT sessions with more aggressive strengthening and more weight bearing activities now that he was on two feet. I added advanced balance training as soon as he got up to par on the basics. We used his fitness room for cardio activity and weights, but I couldn’t let him box, jump, run, or squat heavy weight yet.

  His private show was at the Bluebird Café on Sunday, which hosted industry people, publicists, managers, and a select group from the fan club. It was amazing to see him in the small atmosphere, giving such an intimate show, and connecting to people in the audience. It was just him and Charlie on guitar, while Charlie’s nephew, Theo, sat with me in the audience. He was beaming because he thought he had a chance of going on the next tour now that he’d graduated. He cracked a joke about buying me a bourbon shot as he headed to the bar, making me groan at the memory from my birthday disaster.

  I returned my attention to Jackson and Charlie when they played a simple version of “Strong Woman,” which received a standing ovation.

  Afterward, he leaned into the mic and said, “I need to thank my friend, Lexie Travis, for inspiring that song, along with my grandma and mom.”

  He winked over to my stool, right next to the low stage. I was thankful for the dim lighting as I turned crimson but smiled back to him. Murmurs spread through the crowd, but my heart soared high, despite all of the attention I would normally shrink from. He hadn’t said girlfriend, but he may as well have.

  He spent most of the day Monday in the studio, while I stayed at the apartment and worked on Miranda’s moves for the commercial. She—or her assistant, rather—had faxed the script and set details to me two weeks ago. Jackson went with me to the set for the entire day on Tuesday, where he watched us behind the scenes. I was surprised at how successful the day was and how much respect I received after my take-charge personality showed up. The anxiety I’d felt earlier in the morning made me wonder if I was cut out for this, but once I was there, it felt natural to jump right in like I’d done for so many years.

  I spent Wednesday with try-outs for Kenny’s dancers. Very few country acts used dancers on tour, so it was fun to talk to him about what songs he wanted dances for and what the theme for the tour was going to be like. I had the majority of the say, but worked as a team with him and his tour manager to choose six girls. I would work the next month on the choreography and then teach them four songs at the end of July before the tour started in August.

  Jackson had dropped me off, but had to leave for his studio time. Andy picked me up afterward, and we went to SongBird studios. Today, they were getting final recordings of “Wonderful Tonight,” “Cryin’,” and “This Love.” The band had laid their tracks, so Jackson was just singing over them … over and over. The process was terribly long and tedious. I felt sorry for him after just being there an hour, when he’d already been there most of the day.

  After they finally wrapped, he came out, shaking hands with a bunch of people in the booth while I waited near the door. That’s when a tall redhead strode into the room in a skirt suit, carrying a briefcase. She was obviously someone high up in the recording business, reeking of confidence. She gave Jackson the definition of a seductive smile and then pulled him to the corner of the room. My mouth gaped while she whispered in his ear, gripping his muscular arm with her long, fake fingernails.

  My gaze moved to his face, and I saw his look of embarrassment while he tried to pull away. He interrupted her, talking in a whisper, but she smiled and began to talk again. He finally pulled her hand off his arm and took four long steps across the room to my side. She followed close behind like a leech.

  “Kelly, I don’t think you understood me before, but this is my girlfriend, Lexie.” He put an arm around my shoulders while I stood as stiff as a board trying to decide between my emotions.

  She gave me a forced smile with amusement in her eyes. “Really? You have to forgive me, I didn’t realize. You see, I’m used to having my wicked way with this man
every so often when he comes around. We’ve had some really good times.”

  I heard Jackson grind his teeth in frustration over her behavior, and his arm tightened around me, as if he thought I planned to run away.

  I batted my lashes. “Oh, how nice for you to have memories from the past. I am his present and his future, and I am with him every single night instead of being used and dismissed. But, it sure was nice to meet you, Kelly.” I turned on my heel, leaving her shocked face behind me as Jackson escorted me through the door and out of the building. When we got in the Jeep, he finally let out a huge laugh.

  “Damn, baby, that was impressive. You told her off.” He leaned over to kiss me, and I turned my head away abruptly. He sighed, realizing I was none too happy with him, either.

  We sat quietly until I found my words. “Look, there was no way I was going to take that crap from her. I don’t want any of these old lovers getting between us.”

  “But?”

  “But, the thought of you being with her makes me physically sick. The server the other night at the Bluebird who practically attacked you? I saw that, too, and I know she’s someone you slept with before. You obviously explained to her, and she left you alone, so I didn’t say anything. It’s really hard, you know? To see with my own eyes the girls you’ve had sex with? I know in my heart it was the past, and you’re different now, and faithful to me, but it’s a tiny stab of pain each time.” I leaned back into the headrest and squeezed my eyes shut against the images in my mind.

  “Lexie.” He took my hand and kissed it. “I want to say I would take it all back and never be that person just to spare you any bit of pain … but, I can’t say that.”

  I snapped my head to look at him now.

  “Because,” he continued, “the life I led is what got me to you. If I hadn’t been a big player, it would have changed a whole lot of things. Maybe I never would have met you, and maybe you wouldn’t have acted the same way with me, and it would all be different. I hate that it hurts you, baby, but please remember that the man they had a piece of is a completely different person. You will be the only one to have the new and improved Jack Morgan.” He gave a lopsided grin with his last sentence, trying to lighten the mood.