“I’m not a stalker! I was hoping to ask for an autograph, or a photo, or something.”
“You want my autograph?”
“No, not now.”
“Why not?” He pulled a sad face and took another drag on his cancer stick.
“Because you’re not ‘Jasper Ryan Superstar’ to me now.”
“Oh yeah, so what am I?”
“I don’t know… a normal person.”
“Ha, thanks.”
“You shouldn’t be smoking you know.”
“You got me to quit drinking for the night, don’t push it with the smoking.”
I shrugged. “Your dad’s got cancer, that’s all I’m saying.”
He looked at me for a moment and I wasn’t sure if he was going to get annoyed. A little voice inside me told me I’d gone too far; let the man enjoy his cigarette when he was probably stressed out and in desperate need of it.
“You’re right,” he said to my surprise and stubbed it out.
Delighted with myself, I opened the back door and we snuck back through the kitchen. The staff didn’t even look up, they were obviously well trained to ignore celebrities sneaking through.
“I really want to kiss you again,” Jasper said as the elevator doors closed behind us.
“Oh yeah?” I said, leaning towards him.
“Yeah, but you know, what? I’m not going to.”
I stepped back, disappointed.
“Why not?”
“Aw, are you disappointed?”
“Yes,” I said, “if I’m honest.”
“Which you always are, it seems.”
I laughed. “Not always.”
“I’ve never met a girl like you. You admit you’re a fan. You say you won’t sleep with me. Then you let me kiss you. You let me cry. You convinced me to stop drinking and smoking, for tonight at least.”
“I think you should stop forever, but you know, it’s your liver, your lungs.”
He laughed.
“I’m not going to kiss you because that’ll lead to my bed.”
“And? What’s wrong with that?” I asked, ashamed at how quickly I’d turned my decision around.
“And, I like you. I think we should be friends. I mean, if you want to – I’d like to keep in touch.”
“Seriously?”
I was gobsmacked. Friends with Jasper Ryan? But no sex? Just friends?
“I think we should be friends, and maybe sometime I’ll take you on a date. What do you say to that?”
He looked vulnerable; he really didn’t know what I’d say.
“Of course. I mean… yes, of course we can be friends.”
“And I won’t tease you about being a fan, and stalking me, or accuse you of only being my friend because you adored Four Apes, if you promise not to tell anyone about all this.”
“I wouldn’t anyway.”
“I know.”
The doors opened and we passed the security guard once more. I nodded and he smiled at me. Back in the penthouse, Jasper poured us both some orange juice and once again, we sat, legs entwined, facing each other.
“Can I just state for the record,” I said, gaining bravery once more, “that the thirteen year old inside of me is totally excited about being your friend.”
Jasper laughed.
“Well, for the record, the twenty six year old sitting right here with you thinks being friends sucks. He thinks we should scrap the friendship and be lovers.”
“We’ve only been friends for ten minutes!”
He looked at his watch. “I’d say several hours actually.”
I smiled at him. I didn’t know what to make of any of this, but I was enjoying it while it lasted.
“You have to admit,” he said, “there’s chemistry between us. More chemistry than most of the groupies I’ve spent the night with.”
“Firstly, I’m not a groupie.”
“How many times have you seen me live?”
“Well, eleven with Four Apes. Five solo,” I said, embarrassed.
He pulled a face. “Sounds like a groupie to me!”
“Okay, maybe I was, once, but now I’m just a normal girl. A normal girl you can totally be friends with. And secondly, yes of course I’ve noticed the chemistry.”
He picked up my hand and started playing with my fingers.
“So, if I kissed you again…”
“That’d ruin our friendship, surely?”
He sighed. “This is going to sound daft but I honestly do want you as a friend.”
“That does sound daft. Why me?”
“Because I could see a future with you. And I think friends first is best.”
Whoa.
A future?
As in, I could be the girl to tame his wild ways and be his girlfriend? Long term?
Play it cool, Ellen. Do not mess this up.
“Well, screw that friendship and the future,” I told him. “I’m horny as hell.”
He laughed, but he didn’t make a move. We sat in silence for a while, looking at each other, but eventually he looked away and glanced at his phone on the coffee table.
“So you’re booked on a flight in the morning?”
“Yes… flying on a private yet. So long as the storm has passed of course.”
I nodded. “I’m sure you’ll get there in time. He’ll wait for you.”
He squeezed my knee. “You want to come with me?”
“What?! No, I couldn’t possibly come with you. It’s a family time.”
“Sorry, you’re right, yes. And you have your friend downstairs.”
“Exactly.”
He picked up his phone and passed it to me.
“Put your number in,” he said. “Please?”
I created a new contact and entered my mobile number, then handed it back. He pressed a few buttons and put his phone to his ear.
One of his songs started blaring out from my bag, and I quickly rummaged around and bought out my phone. It said “number withheld.”
“You have one of my songs as your ringtone?!” he asked as I answered.
“Yes, so?” I said, feeling myself blush worse than ever. I hung up the call.
“I’m not sure whether to be flattered or to make fun of you.”
“It’s a great song.”
“Well, thanks.”
“Why do you withhold your number?”
“It’s just a setting on my phone, to try and stop the number getting out there.”
I nodded, hoping he wasn’t playing me and that he would actually call me seeing as I didn’t have his number. I didn’t want to actually ask for it. But I liked this friendship idea. I’d have the coolest friend on earth, and he’d have someone sensible to keep him clean. And maybe, like he said, we’d go on a date and something might develop…
Wow.
“So why did you call me just now?”
“To make sure it was the right number.”
“You think I’d input a fake?”
“It’s happened before.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, well, many women I’ve been with just want a one night thing. Then they go to the papers, sell their tale.”
“Whores.”
He laughed. “Yeah, well. I always know what I’m getting myself into. Until now.”
“Until now?”
“I’ve never asked a fan to be my new best friend before.”
“Ooh so I’ve been upgraded to best friend already?”
He just looked at me, his blue eyes burning into mine.
“You want to stay the night?” He asked quietly. “I mean, we could just sleep. As friends. No… touching.”
“Sure,” I said, shrugging and hoping I was nonchalant enough for a ‘friend’ but feeling anything but. This was all too weird, too surreal.
“That’s if you can keep your hands off me?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure I can resist…” I said, rolling my eyes. But, how could I possibly resist?
“Yo
u’ll have to be the strong one, like with the drink and the smokes. You have to tell me off when I can’t keep my hands to myself.”
“Maybe we should tie your hands up.”
“Kinky,” he said, his eyes widening. “I like it.”
I giggled and drank some more orange juice.
“I hate this,” he said, sighing.
“What?”
“Waiting. I mean, I’m having fun with you… but I’m waiting. Waiting for the phone to ring. Waiting for my flight. Waiting for my dad to die.”
“I know. It’s just… well, it’s fucking crap isn’t it?”
He laughed softly. “That seems a pretty good way to describe it, fucking crap.”
I yawned.
“You want to go to bed now? It’s gone midnight.”
I nodded.
“What about your friend?”
“I left her a note.”
He offered his hand to pull me up once again, and we went into his bedroom. He had a huge oak framed bed, with pale gold and green bedding and big fluffy pillows.
“You want to borrow a t-shirt or something?”
“No, I’ll sleep in my clothes.”
He pulled his t-shirt off and I tried not to look at his chest; familiar though it was to me already. He slipped his jeans off and turned around to look at me.
“You’re going to sleep in your boxers?” I asked him.
“Well, I’m usually naked, but seeing as my friend is sleeping over…”
I took him in from head to toe. Was that an erection or was it just my eyes deceiving me? The thought I’d done that to him made me crave taking this friendship to a whole new level, but I just climbed into the bed and slid under the duvet.
He slid in next to me and put his arm out. I moved over until my head was on his shoulder.
“Thank you for being here tonight, Ellen,” he said as he switched off the light.
“No problem,” I told him.
“Good night.”
“Good night.”
Sod it, I couldn’t resist. I swept my arm down his chest and discovered that he did, indeed have an erection. He started kissing me hungrily, and our proposed friendship flew out the window as he rolled over so that he was on top of me.
“Are you sure? This is definitely going to ruin our friendship,” he asked me, stopping for a moment.
“I’ve got lots of friends already,” I told him. I pulled his boxers down and all the anticipation that’d been building up since our first kiss in the elevator lifted as he slid inside of me and covered my mouth and neck in hungry kisses.
Afterwards, we lay there naked for a while, and he told me I was still his new best friend. I smiled and fell asleep in his arms, content and hardly believing who I was with.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The journey to Devon required a Friday morning early start to avoid the traffic. Tom dragged me out of bed and forced me into the shower. I got ready as quickly as I could, fighting back the panicky feeling as the butterflies swirled.
I came down the stairs and smiled as Tom handed me a coffee in a travel mug.
“You all right?” he asked, frowning. “You look a little pale.”
“Just tired,” I said, faking a smile. He squeezed my arm and I followed him through the hall and out to the waiting car. For the first time, I wished he didn’t know me so well. How could I hide that I’d never been so nervous in my entire life? I slid into the car and sipped the coffee. Tom got in and started the engine.
“I do feel a little queasy,” I told him, hoping it’d explain why I didn’t seem myself. It wasn’t a lie; I did feel nauseous.
“You gonna be okay to go?” he asked, looking at me with concern.
He wouldn’t go without me and there was no way I was going to stop a Four Apes reunion from happening after all these years.
“I’m fine, don’t worry.” I forced a smile. “Let’s go!”
Tom put the radio on and we fell into a comfortable silence. I sat back and sipped my coffee, staring out of the window but not really seeing anything.
What would Jasper say when he saw me? Did he really have feelings for me? How could he? He barely knew me. I was just the girl who made him feel better the night before his father died. Perhaps it was natural he felt attracted to that. It didn’t mean anything.
I wondered if he’d given me much thought. Surely this weekend was about getting back together with his mates. Tom had said they’d been like brothers once. I wasn’t going to feature in Jasper’s plans or thoughts.
That night at the villa he’d been in shock. He’d been surprised to see me again. Now, he’d be expecting me. He’d be calmer and more considered. There was nothing to worry about.
Still, I was going to avoid being alone with him at all costs. Not that I didn’t trust myself; I just didn’t want him repeating the things he said when I told him goodbye at the gate. That just confused me.
And anyway, even if there was no Tom, Jasper Ryan was not the settling down type. There was no way he’d be a good boyfriend. So there was no point in being nervous, or worried, or for any unsettling feelings at all.
I relaxed a little more and glanced at Tom.
“How’re you feeling about the reunion now?” I asked him.
“Good. I’m looking forward to it. I broke the ice with Jasper in France. I think it’ll go well. It’ll be nice to reminisce about old times.”
“Do you ever think you’ll get back together, I mean, as a band?”
“I wouldn’t rule it out.”
“You said once that it’d never happen.”
“Things change.”
The Four Apes fan inside me was excited that he was considering it a possibility. I imagined sitting in a VIP seat at a concert, thousands of fans screaming, knowing I would get to go home with Tom afterwards. That’d be pretty cool, dancing in the crowd, watching him. But Jasper would be on stage with him too. Eugh, why did he have to go and ruin my daydream?
I saw signs for Bath and thought of Gordon and Shane. I wondered what Shane thought about this whole Gran and Gordon moving in together thing. Perhaps I ought to give him a call.
The scenery became more and more pretty, and we passed through some quaint villages. Tom pointed out houses and asked me what I thought of them. The leaves were just starting to change on the trees and I remembered how much I loved autumn.
“Here we are,” said Tom as we turned into a lane marked ‘Hill View House’.
A sweeping driveway brought us to a beautiful white building, with two pillars outside. There was a small gravel car park and Tom parked up next to a Ferrari.
“George is here,” he told me, gesturing to the car. “Looks like the others haven’t arrived yet.”
I felt a little relieved. One step at a time.
We got out and looked up at the hotel.
“Wow, this is nice,” Tom said, grinning at me. He was right. It was very, very nice. Smaller than I’d expected, there were just six windows along the first floor, and four at the bottom, two either side of a grand entrance. At either end of the building were hexagonal turrets and the roof almost made it look like a castle. There were neatly trimmed bushes along the front, and beige gravel stones.
Tom pulled our bags from the car and we walked up to the entrance. A man in a penguin suit opened the door for us.
“Welcome,” he nodded and gestured to the front desk. A smiling receptionist greeted us. I glanced around the room at paintings of deer while she explained to Tom that once we’d settled in, there was a private conference room booked, the Fallow Room, where we would be spending our evening. She suggested we get comfortable and then join our companions there.
Tom thanked her and we went and found our room, which boasted a four poster bed, a small sofa, a bar and an en suite. It was decorated with modern art, white bedding and was simple but elegant.
“You’re quiet today,” Tom said as I touched up my make-up in the bathroom. I peered around the door and looked at
him sitting on the bed. “Anything bothering you?”
“I guess I’m nervous about meeting your friends. This seems like a momentous occasion and I’m just honoured to be here.”
“It is pretty momentous I guess,” he said, leaning back on the bed and putting his feet up.
“Not just for you,” I said, looking back in the mirror. “But for Four Apes fans. If they knew… if the media knew…”
“I guess I hadn’t thought of the fans,” Tom admitted. “I was just thinking about us meeting up for a dinner.”
“Well, I have a friend,” – this was true, I wasn’t lying – “who loves you guys even now. She’d be thrilled.”
I dabbed under my eyes; nerves had kept me awake last night and I didn’t look so hot. “Not that I’d tell her,” I added quickly, “of course.”
“I expect most fans have moved on, they won’t remember us that much.”
“No way!” I said, a little too passionately. “There’s a Facebook group called ‘Bring back Four Apes’ with over fifty thousand members.”
“Bloody hell! You serious?”
I peered around the door again, mascara wand in hand. He sat up again.
“Yeah.”
“You looked it up? I really should get on social media.”
I was, of course, a member. If he was going to join up and become my Facebook friend I really ought to go and clean up my profile pronto.
“No pressure,” I said, returning to the mirror, “but a lot of people want tonight to go well. Even though they don’t know it’s happening.”
There. My face was fixed. Although I still looked like I needed more sleep. I came out and saw Tom on his phone.
“You’re right. Wow.”
“You think Jasper wants to get the band back together?” I sat next to him.
“He said this was just a social get together. But, I don’t know…”
Tom was now looking at a fan site. I’d seen it before.
“I’m going to take a shower, then we’ll go and find the others, yeah?”
“Sounds good.”
I went over to a window seat and looked out at the front of the hotel. A familiar car was pulling in and I sat up a little straighter as I watched Jasper manoeuvre his Bugatti and park up next to Tom’s Porsche. His door opened quickly, and there he was. Six foot of rock god; the fantasy of half the women my age.
He was wearing dark blue jeans and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow. He looked up at the hotel and I moved back a little so he wouldn’t see me. He had a nervous expression and I wondered how long it’d taken him to build up to this moment; to inviting the men he scorned to meet up and talk about the days when they’d been such good friends.
The Truth About Ellen: A feel-good romantic comedy Page 17