I hide my face against Alexis’s shoulder. How much more embarrassing can this get?
“Get out, Mike, so we can at least get dressed!” Alexis rants at his friend.
“Go on out, shoo,” Ms. Cunnings chimes in and pushes Mike from the room.
When the door has closed, I can hear the laughter of the rest of the Downstairs Alley guys.
“Let’s get dressed quickly. We can go upstairs through the kitchen. Then at least we won’t have to face them now,” he urges me in a low voice.
I stand and pick up my clothes, slipping into them as quickly as I can. As soon as I’m done, there’s a knock on the door.
“No!” Alexis calls.
“Alexis, it’s me, Linden. Can I please come in?”
“No, man!” he repeats angrily. He looks at me and points to one corner. “If you go this way, there is a hallway leading to the kitchen, and then there’s a door behind the tall sideboard. They are the old service stairs and will take you up to the second floor, straight across from your room. Go!”
I nod hastily, grab my sheet music and disappear into the hallway. The last thing I notice is the living room door opening, but I’m already invisible.
“Are you out of your mind? Why are you screwing the new background singer?” Linden asks, his voice betraying his outrage.
I pause and strain my ears to listen.
Alexis chuckles. “Are you jealous?”
“Alright, you definitely are out of your mind. You know damn well how happy I am with Thalia, or else I wouldn’t have asked her to marry me,” Linden points out. “So, what has gotten into you, making a move on Honor as soon as you’re alone with her?”
“Dude, it just happened.”
“Yeah, twice,” I mumble to myself as I continue to listen.
“Oh, really? Your pants slipped down, and hers as well, and then you somehow stumbled into each other, you putting your dick into her by accident?”
Uh-oh, Linden sounds pissed-off.
“Jesus Christ, calm your tits. What’s so bad about her and me having a good time?”
“Don’t let Joel hear that, and don’t ever fuck her on the grand piano again, do you hear me? If you must do this, do it in your own rooms, not in the common areas, you dumbass!”
“I didn’t think you would be this uptight, man. We’ve known each other for more than half our lives,” Alexis counters.
“That’s not the point! The point is that we keep losing singers, because they can’t handle the fact that you fuck them and then dump them. I don’t want to keep looking for new background singers, just because you can’t keep your dick in your pants, Lex!”
Alexis growls. “It’s different with Honor. I fucked her twice already.”
“Oh, this is getting better by the minute.”
“Guys, can you tone it down a little? Joel can hear you, and he’s about to blow a fuse,” another voice chimes in.
“You try and tell Alexis to keep his paws off our employees, Gavin.”
“Why? As long as he doesn’t screw Ms. Cunnings, I have no complaints. My problems begin when she isn’t here anymore, since neither Madeleine nor I are capable of frying an egg,” he points out laughing.
I clamp my hand over my mouth to keep myself from giggling.
“Where is Honor anyway?” Linden asks.
“I sent her upstairs through the service hall, so she doesn’t have to deal with you vultures, especially Azer.”
“Well, what do I hear about my patient? You know that you’re supposed to relax, not screw around, right?” That’s Jayden.
I rest my head against the wall. They all know what happened. Fuck! Why does this happen to me? Why not somebody else?
“I thought sex was a relaxing activity? Plus, I feel much better. I can work,” Alexis replies grumpily. “And it’s also none of your fucking business who I sleep with … which sounds weird when I say it, but anyway … Honor and I are both adults, and neither one of us wants anything serious, so we’re having a little fun. It’s not going to interfere with her job, don’t worry about it,” he goes on to argue.
“Sit down and let me take your blood pressure,” Jayden demands. “And you guys can go upstairs and unpack.” He turns back to Alexis. “Lots of traffic, long drive.”
I hasten up the service stairs, because I don’t want to run into any of them in the upstairs hallway. Once I reach my room, I don’t want to ever come out again.
“Who do we have here?” the redhead asks when I step from the service door. I think his name was Azer.
I give a violent start and almost drop my sheet music. “Uh … hi. It’s me,” I reply sheepishly and force a smile before rushing past him to get to my room.
“Your name is Honor, right?”
I turn around, my hand already on the door knob. “Yes, that’s right.”
He comes over. “Whatever Alexis told you to get into your pants, please do us all a favor: Don’t fall in love with him, okay? He’s going to hurt you.”
I swallow and look at him, perplexed. “I wasn’t about to fall in love, but thanks for the warning …”
“Azer,” he helps me out.
“Thank you, Azer. I’m going to keep that in mind.”
“That would be great, because I don’t want to have to look for new background singers a fifth time,” he says with a smile.
“Don’t worry, I’m not very good at falling in love anyway … and I wasn’t planning on developing deeper feelings for Alexis. This was a one-time thing.”
He nods. “Atta girl.” Then he pats my shoulder so hard that I feel numb afterwards.
“Why are you guys so interested in what he’s doing anyway?”
“Well, it’s more about who he does, isn’t it?”
I sigh. “Whichever way you want to put it. But still: why?”
“Because Alexis is a charming bastard. They keep telling me I’m instable ever since my ex broke up with me, which was like forever ago, but Alexis … Let’s put it this way: I don’t want him to break yet another heart,” he explains.
“Uh … okay. I’m already regretting it anyway.” That’s a big fat lie. I don’t regret anything. To say it in the words of Edith Piaf: Non, je ne regrette rien.
“It’s not about regret, it’s about allowing him to hurt you. Unfortunately, Alexis is good at hurting people.”
I nod impatiently. “Thank you, Azer … really, thanks for the honest warning.” I clear my throat and point at my door. “I’m going to get out of here before the cavalry comes for me.”
“Nobody’s going to come for you. They’re only grilling Alexis.” He offers me a smile that makes it look as if his white teeth are sparkling and glinting. Wow.
“Guys, shut up. Honor and I were only having a little fun. Don’t turn this into a fucking Greek tragedy!” I can hear Alexis yell angrily. “You’re worse than any mother who doesn’t approve of her son’s latest girlfriend.”
“I wouldn’t care if she was your girlfriend, but she is not; she is an employee of this band. We already lost five of them over the last year, all because you felt you had to screw everything that didn’t run away quickly enough!” Linden replies in a righteous huff.
“Alright, I think you really need to get out of here before anyone else comes up to interrogate you and find out what happened. The way they’re screaming at each other, I wouldn’t want to get caught in the middle.” Azer shakes his head slowly.
“I’m sorry you’re all so upset about this.”
“It’s not your fault. Alexis should have held his fire.” He opens the door for me. “Good night, Honor.”
“Good night, Azer.” I slip into my bedroom and lie down on the bed. I have no idea what time it is. It’s dark outside, but I haven’t looked at a clock in hours. I sigh and grope for my phone, which must be hiding somewhere between the sheets, and when I’ve finally found it I glance at the time. Eleven. That is far too early to fall asleep, especially after everything that happened.
&nbs
p; “Thally, come on, leave her be,” I hear a voice in the hallway.
“Why? I want to get to know her. No normal person under thirty goes to bed before eleven p.m.” another female voice replies, and then there’s a knock on my door.
I don’t react, not even when the knocking becomes more insistent.
“See, she’s asleep,” a third woman says.
“Bullshit, she’s just shy.” The knocking turns into hammering. “Honor, are you awake?”
If I actually had been sleeping, I would be wide awake by now. I take a deep breath to brace myself for whatever is coming, and then I get up and open the door. “Hello?” I recognize the black-haired woman, but I don’t know the other two, though I assume they must have been at Jo’s as well.
“Hi, my name is Thally. This is Amira and Madeleine. We met at the bar in the City, remember?” she introduces them quickly and offers me a charming smile. “Mind if we come in?”
“I was just about to go to bed.”
“But you’re still awake,” she points out.
I swallow. “Of course you can come in.” I step aside to let them in.
They file into my room and walk over to the bed. “Is it okay if we sit down?” the woman named Amira asks.
I nod and gesture towards the bed, while I take a seat in the office chair. “Are they still fighting down there?”
Thally shakes her head. “No need to worry; that happens all the time. Alexis keeps sticking his dick into women that should be off limits.”
I give her a wide-eyed look, while the other two gasp “Thally!” in unison.
She looks at them with an innocent expression. “What?”
“You’re being way too crude and straightforward,” Madeleine states.
I clear my throat. “Alexis and I both agreed that we don’t want anything serious … we just had this chemistry going, so I don’t see why it’s such a problem that I slept with him.” Why am I explaining this at all? Oh right, my sex life is the bone of contention right now. Holy shit, who would have thought that I’d end up in such an awkward, stupid situation? But of course, nobody would have thought I’d get screwed by a rock star either. Twice!
“Yeah, that’s what Alexis has been trying to tell Linden,” Thally replies with a nod. “I don’t think it is such a big deal either, but I wanted to meet you. Linden and the others kept gushing about you and your voice. We missed your little stint in the bar, because we were outside smoking when you did it.”
“Oh, okay.”
“We’re simply curious and eager to meet you, because we don’t get to meet a lot of women with the potential to stick around for a while,” Madeleine chimes in.
“I’d like to stick around, yes,” I profess, feeling overwhelmed by their scrutiny and attention. “It’s not a chance you get every day. I don’t want to blow it just because I had sex with Alexis. I’m capable of separating my private life from my professional life.” I think, I add in my head.
“Well, then everything’s fine, isn’t it?”, Amira smirks. “I don’t even know why Thally and Lane dragged me along. I live next door, and I was actually about to bake a birthday cake for Cedric, together with Quinn.”
Thally sighs. “You didn’t mention a word about any of that.”
“Because I can never convince you I might have other plans, no matter what I say. The moment you get here, you’re so excited to see me that you simply insist I have to do something with you,” Amira counters, teasing her friend.
“I don’t want to keep you from anything. I’m going to bed if you have other plans,” I pipe up.
“Not in the mood for a chat?” Madeleine asks. Is her nickname really Lane?
“After Ms. Cunnings caught Alexis and me in the living room, all I want to do is crawl under the sheets and hide,” I admit sheepishly.
“But Ms. Cunnings is the one who keeps lamenting that Alexis has no girlfriend! And you know what? She barged in on me and Gavin as well, marching into his bedroom in the middle of the day,” she says conspiratorially.
Thally laughs. “Same here. She saw me and Linden doing it, too. The woman should learn to knock.”
Madeleine nods. “She’s used to the guys being here without girlfriends. Or being alone, since they haven’t been spending a lot of time out here over the last few months.”
“I’m just glad she hasn’t walked in on me and Draven. Knock on wood.”
“Right, that distinction was earned by Porter,” Madeleine reminds her with a grin.
“Okay, sorry, but we’ve reached a point where I don’t know what’s going on anymore. Too many names I don’t know,” I intervene.
They explain the couple constellations, including the ones of yet another band, who reside in the second mansion down the road. I also find out that Gavin has rented the small cottage that belongs to this property, in order to live there with Madeleine. She’s from around here, while Amira’s from California and Thally from Texas. She’s currently living in Florida though, since she is still in college. I tell them a little bit about myself, but leave out a lot of details, since I don’t want to get too friendly with them. I have the sinking feeling that I’m going to lose my new job tomorrow, just because I surrendered to Alexis’s charm.
There’s yet another knock on the door. “Come in,” I call out.
The door opens, and Linden steps into the room. He looks more than pissed-off. “Ladies,” he greets us. “Babe, I’m ready for bed. Are you coming or do you want to stay?”
Thally glances at her watch. “I think I’m coming. We’ve kept Honor awake for long enough.”
I’ve got to admit that by now I really am tired, and I’d like to fall asleep and forget all of this for a few hours. But I didn’t want to tell them to leave either.
Then Gavin sticks his head in. “Lane, are you coming? I’ve had enough for one day.”
“I’m on my way,” she replies and gets up. “Good night, Honor.”
“Night.”
Amira rises as well. “I should be going back as well, or Draven will send out a search party.” She leaves as well.
Thally clears her throat. “Sleep well, Honor.”
“Thanks. You, too.”
She leaves the room, but Linden doesn’t budge. The gaze of his turquoise eyes bores into mine. “I’ll be out in a minute, babe.”
I feel as if I’m shrinking under his assessing glare. “I’m not going to sleep with Alexis again. I don’t even know what got into me in the first place – apart from him, I mean. It won’t happen again.”
He comes closer. “I don’t want to tell you what to do, Honor. I’ve known Alexis since we were both kids, and I know that he loathes anything that has even remotely to do with love. Maybe he’s yearning for connection and closeness at the moment, but tomorrow that can all change again. And besides, he really doesn’t have the energy to focus on anyone but himself right now. Believe me, I would like to see him finally find a woman who can keep him grounded, provide some stability. But I doubt that you are the one.”
I raise an eyebrow. “It’s really not necessary that you into Alexis’s and my business.”
“I don’t want to interfere; all I want is to keep you from becoming obsessed with something that’s not gonna work out. Alexis is not the type of guy for a long-term relationship.”
“I know, he told me as much. I guess neither am I, so our little tête-à-tête is not going to mess with anyone else’s business. That’s a promise.”
His lips curve into a smile. “Fine, if that is the case, we shouldn’t have a problem. I’m going to bed now; the drive was longer than any of us expected. Sleep well, Honor.”
“You, too, and sorry for the commotion.”
“No big deal, I needed to blow off steam anyway, and Alexis can take it. He’s used to my shitty moods.” He stands up and leaves my room, closing the door behind him.
I fall back onto my bed. Men. Especially those that live together. They meddle in other people’s business worse than any
woman would ever do. Micah is just the same.
When I leave my bedroom the next morning, I run into none other than Jayden. “Oh, hey. Good morning.”
“Morning, Honor,” he replies grumpily.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you, otherwise I would have tried to avoid you.”
“It’s okay. The night was just too short, after Alexis suffered a breakdown,” he explains with a yawn.
“Is it bad?” I inquire, suddenly worried.
“No, he just fainted with extremely low blood pressure. They insisted on keeping him in the hospital overnight. I think he’ll be back here with us today, or tomorrow at the latest,” he informs me.
I clear my throat and rub the back of my neck. “I guess that doesn’t come as a big surprise then, since he already fainted two nights ago.”
Jayden’s eyes widen, and his expression skips between anger and outrage. “Why didn’t you let any of us know?” He sounds angry, too.
“I totally forgot, I’m sorry. I managed to wake him up and get him going quickly, so I thought it wasn’t a big deal,” I explain, unsure of what to think now.
“Honor.” He puts a hand on my shoulder. “Alexis is experiencing a severe burnout. Any breakdown is bad. He pretends that he’s fine, but deep inside he’s fighting a battle that he’s going to lose if he keeps denying his actual condition. You should have told me immediately. I know Joel told you to inform someone if anything happened!”
“I said I’m sorry, okay? Are you angry about me failing to call you, or about my hookup with Alexis?” I want to know.
He snorts. “Just promise it won’t happen again.”
“Which one exactly?” I probe.
“The fact that you didn’t tell anyone he fainted.”
I nod. “What hospital is he in?”
“The local one.”
“Is there only one hospital in this town?”
“He’s at Southampton Hospital. No need to go there.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s supposed to get some rest,” he explains. “I’d advise you to focus on not getting too close to him anymore.”
All I can do is nod once again.
“Okay. Now go and have breakfast. Ms. Cunnings prepared food for an entire football team, but when those guys are hungry, you have to scramble to get your share.”
Alexis: In love with a rockstar (The Hamptons Series Book 2) Page 11