by Kira Blakely
The door to Andy’s bedroom was still closed. Like he was still asleep in there, even though his bed was covered in dust. Mom never went in there. She kept the door shut on that part of our lives because it was the only place left behind that was Andy’s. My fingers itched to open it like I had done so many years ago, but I couldn’t bear it, either. I couldn’t bear looking into a room full of dust and cobwebs because that was all that was left.
I took a long hot shower before slipping into a modest black skirt and a cream-colored blouse with black ballet flats. I was going to meet my parents for lunch after church, as usual. The walk from our house to the restaurant was only five minutes in the afternoon summer heat as I walked along the cracked sidewalks of quiet neighborhoods to a lazy Main Street. None of the local stores were open, besides the restaurant. Church bells echoed in the air while I waited for my parents to join me in a booth. I watched their faces anxiously as they approached, but it appeared that no one had mentioned the kiss last night to them.
“I’m sorry that I missed service,” I said as they sat down in the booth in front of me. “It was a bit of a late night for me.”
My mother smiled at me. “We didn’t want to wake you. You rarely get to sleep anymore it seems.”
“I’m just stressed, is all,” I replied, cradling my cup of coffee with a sigh. “I have to come up with a few interesting pieces this afternoon to pitch to my editor tomorrow morning.”
“That’s why I’m not sure being a freelance writer is the best job for you,” my father said, adding sugar to his own coffee. “It’s an unreliable source of income, in my opinion. Dean said that he could put in a good word for you at the high school as an English teacher.”
“We’ve been over this before, Dad,” I said. “I can’t see myself as a teacher. I see myself as a writer. That’s it.”
“I understand that, but sometimes, you have to do things in life that you don’t want to do. All I’m saying is—”
A tap on the window startled the three of us. I looked over to find the last person I wanted to see this morning on the other side of the window. Jude stood in front of me, dressed in a pair of tattered jeans and a muscle tank that showed off all the tattoos on his arms that weren’t visible last night. He still had that ruined pompadour, showing off the fact that he had yet to shower. He motioned for me to come outside, ignoring the glares that were being sent in his direction. Including my own glare, because he knew it put me in a bad position.
“What does he want?” my father growled, setting his coffee cup down. “I swear. I’m going to—”
My mother placed a warning hand on his forearm. “Don’t do this, Mark. It’s not going to bring Andy back to us.”
“Andy would be here if it weren’t for him. Please tell me you aren’t going to talk to him, Ava.”
“He’ll just stand there until I do,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”
I slid out of the booth before the conversation could go any further. I didn’t want to hear the blame game because I had gone through it already. Pushing through the front doors, I waited for Jude to walk away from where he had been standing. I crossed my arms as he grinned at me in a predatory way that instantly set off alarm bells in my head.
“What do you want?” I asked. “I’m sure there’s a reason you’re here.”
“I have a job proposition for you,” Jude said, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “Actually, my manager Chuck and I have a once in a lifetime opportunity for you.”
I arched an eyebrow at him. “Such as?”
“Well, I have a tour coming up after leaving here tomorrow morning. Six cities with plenty of cameras and endorsements. I mentioned to my manager that you were a freelance writer. He wanted to extend a deal to you.”
“A deal?” I repeated skeptically. “What sort of deal?”
“A personal piece on me,” Jude said. “We’ve already turned down several high-ranking journalists over the years because I didn’t trust them. I trust you, so here’s your opportunity. It would put you on the map for many magazines around the United States.”
There was no doubt that Jude was about to explode. I had done my research on him the past year out of sheer curiosity. He was signing with a few major retailers as well. Journalists were drooling over the opportunity to interview him.
I chewed on my lower lip while I searched Jude’s face for any sign of deception. I couldn’t spot any signs, but I also couldn’t shake the feeling that he had his double motives. It meant traveling closely with him. It meant being too close to him for the first time in years.
“You have bills to pay,” Jude continued, sensing my hesitation. “I’ll pay you for it. A hefty check, in fact. No strings attached, either, but I won’t complain if it goes that way.”
“It won’t go that way,” I said. “I’m a professional, Jude. I don’t sleep with the people I’m interviewing.”
He held up his hands. “Fine. I’ll keep my hands to myself. What do you think?”
I knew that getting close to Jude meant getting close to trouble and danger all over again but he had a point. I had bills to pay, and my editor would jump at this. This was my ticket to get where I wanted to go.
“I’ll do it,” I said and met Jude’s eyes. “No funny business, though. This is a professional relationship. Got it?”
“Got it,” he said.
Chapter 5
Jude
Bright and early sunlight streamed through the hotel room’s windows. I hadn’t even bothered closing them the night before after stumbling in drunk from the wedding reception. Groaning, I buried my face deep into my pillow to avoid the light. A headache pounded in my temples furiously.
I had spent the previous night at the bar because I didn’t want to go back to my hotel room alone. No one at the bar cared who I was. All they had cared about was the fancy American Express that I tossed at them to open a tab. Drinking the night before had been a mistake. It meant that I had a hangover.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
“Fuck,” I snapped, lifting my head to glare at the hotel phone before picking it up. “Who the hell is calling me this fucking early?”
“Your alarm clock,” Chuck responded cynically. “I knew you were out last night. I wanted to call and remind you that you have a flight to catch today from Gypsum. Remember?”
“Thank God,” I said, relieved. “I want out of this shithole of a town.”
“I figured that you probably did. You were the one who insisted on flying out on Monday morning. Did Ava take your offer?”
“Yes.” I sat up to rub at the back of my aching neck with a grimace. “She took it. Be prepared to cut a good check for her, too.”
Chuck sighed into the phone. “Are you sure that you want to do this? You’ve turned down every single reporter in and outside of America.”
“They wouldn’t get the facts right,” I said. “I know Ava. She gets me. That’s all I can say about it.”
“It’s your call, boss. I just think this is a lot of work for getting a woman back in your good graces.”
“I can’t do anything less. Besides,” I said, sweeping a hand through my hair with a yawn. “I owe it to the family. I get the sense that money is a bit strained on her end.”
“Always the noble one, you are,” Chuck remarked wryly. “Get up. Get showered. Get Ava to the airport so you can get to Chicago on time. Tight schedule to make up here.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll get there on time.”
I took a long, cold shower to get my body back under control. Six cities. I had at least six cities’ worth of opportunities to get back in Ava’s good graces again. I had six cities to try and express how sorry I felt for what happened to Andy that summer.
The sight of Andy’s body contorted in various directions when the motorbike had fallen onto his chest. Blood. So much blood. Ava’s horrified screams in the distance.
It still felt like a surreal and dark dream that I could never wake up from. It
was sheer habit to pick up my phone at times to scroll through, find Andy’s old number, and start up a text message to realize that he was dead. He was dead because of me. That was what Ava and Andy’s parents had told the sheriff that afternoon at the hospital. “He was the one telling Andy to do the tricks! He should be arrested for murder.”
I should be arrested for a lot of things. That much I was confident about. My entire career was built upon breaking the rules and breaking bones. I lived on the outskirts of danger and trouble because it was better there than anywhere else. I had no home to go back to. My parents had divorced years ago. My father was a homeless, raging drunk prick. My mother refused to have anything to do with me. Except when they needed money. Which was every other month.
I packed up my things from the hotel room before checking out. I stopped short in surprise, though, when I saw Emily, Dean, and Ava all standing by my car in the parking lot.
The three of them appeared to be in a heated discussion, and it looked like Ava was on the losing end of it. I took in the tight cream-colored capris that hugged her hips and legs perfectly with a stab of lust. She wore a simple black tank top pulled taut by a juicy rack. Her dark hair was straight and loose over her back. I made a mental note to have Chuck keep a close on eye on her whenever I wasn’t around. There were too many riders who would try to take advantage of a woman like Ava. Groupies and sluts got old after a while.
“I’m just saying that this might be a bad idea,” Emily was saying when I walked up to them with my duffle bag draped over my shoulder. She stopped when she saw me coming. “JJ, do you honestly think this is a good idea for Ava to come along with you?”
I caught sight of Dean’s exasperated eyes. He shrugged apologetically from behind Emily’s back.
“Why not?” I asked innocently. “Ava’s a grown woman, Emily. She can either come or stay behind to work a shitty ass job. It’s up to her.”
“I’m going,” Ava said. “It’s the only way that I’m going to crack through. I’ve thought about it for a while. Trust me.”
Emily shot me a scathing glare. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I just don’t trust JJ.”
“Do you just read gossip tabloids for a living?” I shot back, irritation swimming in me. “I’m not really in the mood to talk about what people say about me because they have nothing else to do with their life.”
“Hey,” Dean interrupted, placing his hands on Emily’s shoulders. “We’re still your friends here, JJ. There’s no need to bite anyone’s head off.”
Ava picked up her duffle bag from the ground next to the car. “Let’s just go before anything else can be said.”
“Call me if you need anything,” Emily said and embraced Ava quickly as I took the bag from her to toss it in the back seat of the rental. “I’m serious. If he does anything—”
“I’ll be fine,” Ava said assuredly. “Enjoy your honeymoon. Call to tell me when the baby is due.”
Emily smiled at that. “Of course. You.” She turned to look at me when I closed the passenger door after Ava slipped inside. “I’ll break your neck if you break her heart. Got it?”
“Whatever you say,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “Beautiful wedding. Have a good trip to wherever you are going.”
“Hawaii,” Dean said. He clasped my hand with a tight-lipped smile. “Be careful, okay? Remember that Ava is watching you from the stands this time around.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
I hopped in behind the steering wheel to start the car and back it out. Ava clutched the edge of her seat as I picked up speed once we hit the outskirts of Gypsum, heading in the direction of the private airport a few miles out.
“Do you have to be such a dick to everyone?” Ava asked.
I glanced over at her tense figure sitting the passenger seat. “How was I being a dick?”
“You were being one to Emily. She’s my best friend. She’s just concerned about me.” She glanced nervously at the speed limit sign as we blew by it. “Which she has every right to be, with how fast you’re going.”
“I drive fast for a living,” I said, grinning. “You think I don’t know how to handle a fast car?”
Ava didn’t bother responding as she sat thin-lipped, with her hands clutching the seat uneasily. We drove in awkward silence for the next ten minutes along a flat stretch of road until I pulled into the private drive for the small and privately-owned airport. I parked in front of the hangar near the center of the runway.
“I’m confused,” Ava said, glancing at the small airplane that was being fueled up. “Do you actually make enough money to own a small airplane?”
I reached across the center console to open the glovebox. My fingers brushed against Ava’s outer thigh in the process. Sparks went through my fingers in response to the touch. Ava jerked her leg out of the way as I tossed the car keys in there before closing it.
“Does it surprise you that I own a plane?”
“Just a little,” she said. “I didn’t think you made that much money.”
“And you wonder why my parents are always begging me to send them money?” I asked darkly.
Ava pushed the door open without a reply. The pilot, Kevin Charles, came up to shake my hand with a grin. He took Ava’s bag after introducing himself before she climbed up into the plane without sparing either one of us a glance. Cold shoulder treatment was back on because of her nerves.
“I didn’t realize we were taking an extra passenger,” Kevin remarked curiously. “Is this an old friend or—”
“Friend. Sort of.” I set my bag down on the ground. “We’re landing in Chicago, right? That’s where Chuck is waiting with the bus and trailer.”
“Yes, sir. We will be landing there in two hours.”
“I’m ready to get the fuck out of this flatland,” I said. “Let’s get going. I don’t want to waste any more time in this shithole.”
I climbed up the plane steps to find Ava already buckled in her seat. I took a seat across from her to buckle up as well, while Kevin loaded up the luggage down below.
“You aren’t nervous about flying, are you?” I asked.
Ava didn’t tear her gaze away from the plane window. “If I were, why would I be on here with you?”
“Because you find me sexy and charming?”
“Don’t kid yourself, JJ. I’m here for a business deal. That’s it.”
I refused to let those chilly words dampen my spirits. There was plenty of time to win Ava’s heart. I didn’t expect it to happen over the course of two hours.
I waited until we were up in the air before trying to broach conversation again.
“How do your parents feel about all of this?” I asked, even though I already suspected the answer. They hated my guts. They wanted me in the ground, not their son.
Ava shifted in her seat as she glanced coldly at me. “What are we now? Friends? What the hell do you think?”
“I imagine they aren’t very happy about it,” I replied, shrugging. “Do they think you’re still some sweet, innocent virgin?”
“Shut up,” Ava snapped, glaring at me. “Don’t start on that, okay? What’s in the past is in the past. Nothing is going to happen between us. Got it?”
“Sure,” I said simply.
Ava opened her mouth to reply, but she clicked it shut after a few seconds. She turned to look back out the airplane window.
Fifteen hours from Chicago to Boston. That was plenty of time to get Ava’s defenses lowered a bit. I broke the stretch of pointed silence an hour later after listening to music.
“I’m glad you’re coming along with me,” I said. “I don’t trust people doing this type of interview because they don’t get me. You get me, though.”
“Hmm.”
“Are you going to ignore me the entire flight?” I asked, exasperated. “What’s the point of doing this interview thing if you aren’t going to talk to me?”
“Is this the interview?” Ava asked. “Has it already starte
d?”
“No,” I said, glum.
The second the plane touched down on the tarmac of Chicago, I knew it was not going to be easy winning Ava’s trust back. I was up for a challenge, though. It would give me some entertainment, at least, for the next few weeks on the road. I led Ava through the private part of the Chicago airport that only the wealthy and celebrities used to keep their privacy, before spotting Chuck outside in the parking lot with the bus and trailer.
Ava looked at the bus and trailer in confusion as I saluted to Chuck with a grin. “I thought we were going to fly to Boston tonight.”
“I like to drive with my gear and bikes,” I said.
“So we’re driving to Boston, then?”
I arched an eyebrow at the dread in her voice. “Is that going to be a problem for you?”
“Do I have a choice about any of this?” Ava muttered, adjusting the strap of her purse in visible agitation. “If I would’ve known you were going to trick me into coming on a bus with you for fifteen hours, I would’ve told you no in Gypsum.”
“Maybe you should start asking the right sort of questions,” I said. “Fifteen hours with you on the bus is no problem to me.”
I could be patient. I could wait it out. Even if I was already wanting to burst from the tension mounting in me.
Chuck stuck out a hand to Ava when we finally reached him. “Pleasure to meet you, Ava James. I’m Chuck Ambrose. We spoke on the phone briefly the other day.”
“Yes,” she said, shaking his hand. “About what you wanted to talk about in the piece. Thank you for forwarding the invoice to my boss.”
“Of course. This is a business deal.” Chuck gave me a pointed look as I pulled out my phone to check through messages and voicemails. “Have we talked about what we want to do yet?”
“We could do the interview in the room,” I said. “It’s private and—”
“I better talk to your manager first,” Ava cut in harshly. “This is a business deal. Not a personal deal. Remember?”