****
The middle school gym looked cool in its beach theme decorations: crepe paper, shells, cut-outs of sea creatures, and beach balls strewn about. The fluorescent lights left on in the daytime were out, and the only illumination came from strobe lights, imbuing a blue shade over everything. It was crowded in the gym when they got there, and Kayla nearly bounced right out of her skin, she was so excited. Was there some boy Rebecca didn’t know about? A new crush who Kayla hope would show up there?
A surprisingly inordinate amount of people came to the dance. Not just the teens, but their parents as well. When Rebecca looked around, there seemed to be as many parents as kids. Since when did teens ask their parents to school dances? Except under duress?
A roar of applause inundated the gym as the lights dimmed. The vast crowd stared towards the stage as the curtains were swept back. There was a sign, a giant banner in glittery paint, that read Zenith. Zenith? Rebecca didn’t get it at first. Then her heart stopped. And she nearly dipped. Zenith? What the hell? There was no way. Absolutely none. Her breathing became irregular. Then it stopped. Could it be possible?
Was that why Kayla kept acting so weird? And why she insisted on dressing Rebecca? And the reason for the huge crowd at the dance? Her mind fogged in, and she couldn’t believe it. Was this real? Could it be real? Was Rob actually here? But how? Why? Why would he come here to her daughter’s school? In a middle school gym? It could not possibly be.
And then it was.
Rob came striding out and Spencer walked over to the instruments already set up there. They were here. Rob was here. He picked up his guitar, putting the strap over his head before adjusting it across his shoulder.
Rebecca strove to concentrate on shutting her mouth and not looking like she just swallowed a bird. Rob was here. She felt everything: confusion, shock, and what? What did she feel? Why didn’t he call her? Or tell her he was going to play there? How could it be possible he was here? How could his band arrive without her knowing? Kayla. Somehow, it had to be Kayla’s doing. But how? When? And most of all, why?
Rob came to the microphone and smiled at the clapping, cheering crowd. His smile was so familiar now: slightly crooked, off center, and capable of melting a frigid iceberg with its charm and warmth. He raised a hand as if to quiet the crowd, and looked so at ease, and so comfortable with himself. Effortlessly, he could stand there with hundreds of eyes staring at him, never ill at ease or awkward being the complete focus of the room. “Hey, Huntington Middle School! Thanks for letting us play for you tonight.” Rob’s voice bellowed through the amplifiers and the entire gym. Rebecca’s arms got chills over the surrealism of the moment. She was near the back, hidden in the shadows of lowered lights. There was no way Rob could pick her out of the crowd. A cheer roared from the students.
“So, we have a few songs to play, but first, there’s a request I have to fulfill for a close friend of mine. So I’m going to start off tonight with that. This one’s for you, Kayla.”
Rob winked out into the audience, and Rebecca’s eyes followed his to where Kayla stood surrounded by her friends. They all started jumping, giggling and squealing with unrestrained excitement all around her. Kayla had just become the “it” girl at school.
Rob turned, making eye contact with Spencer and the drummer. The drummer tapped his sticks together before all three began playing at once. The notes to the song Rob first played for Rebecca filled the air: “Losing my Religion,” from REM. When Rob’s voice came over the amplifiers, more chills ran through Rebecca’s body. He was singing this song for her. And to her. He had to be; why wouldn’t they be playing their own hits? Their most recent, original, chart-topping hits?
Rebecca felt her heart rising and swelling with emotion in her chest. She felt dizzy with the overwhelming sensation. She didn’t know exactly what was going on, or why Rob was here, and playing that song. She just knew that his presence meant something. And to Rebecca, it meant everything.
She could’ve stood there for days listening to Rob sing, on stage, doing everything he was meant to do. He was sexy as hell to watch. And that seemed to be the general consensus of every woman’s face who was watching him. But it wasn’t like that for Rebecca. She felt a suffocating, breath-stealing, stomach-churning kind of love. She knew she was still very much in love with this man.
Finally, the song ended, and they let the clapping fade before starting in on their own songs. A unanimous cheer echoed throughout the gym when their most popular song came on. After several more songs, the ecstatic kids got over Zenith actually being there, and began to dance, as well as mingle, giggle and gossip. It soon became less of a concert and more of a dance. All except for the parents, who mostly stood around just listening. Rebecca was rooted in place. She didn’t know what to do; and couldn’t take her eyes off Rob. He was all she saw.
Finally, Kayla disentangled herself from the crowds of friends. “Are you surprised, Mom?”
“Surprised? I can’t even speak! How did you manage to do this?”
“I’m not a little kid anymore.”
“What does that mean?”
“I saw your face at dance class when he called. You looked so happy.”
“I’m usually happy, Kayla.”
“Well, you’re a different kind of happy with him.”
“So you called Rob for me?”
“No. I had no idea how to get through to him. I mean he’s like Zenith now and all; so I called Uncle Nick.”
“Uncle Nick called Rob?” Of course, Kayla knew nothing about why Rebecca was rendered nearly speechless. Nick knew Rob was coming to town? Nick asked him to come? For her? And per Kayla’s request? Could this really be happening?
“Why is he here, Kayla?”
“For you, Mom.”
The simple, true answer from her twelve-year-old daughter stopped Rebecca abruptly and her breathing hitched. What did she think about that? Why? What did Rob want from her? Why would he drag his band here at Kayla’s request? It seemed like a stretch for him to do it just to leave again for L.A.
“Mom, go up in front, where he can see you.”
Rebecca was frozen, no, terrified. How could she do that? Stand there gawking like some kind of groupie for Rob?
Turning suddenly, she fled the gym. She went outside and around the building to where she could be alone. She heard the music still, but it was muffled now. The night was clear and cold, and the moon was high. A recent rain made the air smell clean.
She couldn’t face Rob with so many strange eyes watching her. But what else could she do? Ignore him? Pretend she wasn’t waiting around for almost a year-and-a-half for his return? Truthfully, she had been waiting for him. And trying to get over him. She never expected to see him back here, and certainly not because of her daughter and brother’s request. Did he come back out of pity? Did he see her as the lost, lonely, little housewife that he once knew?
The music stopped, and Rebecca heard muffled talking, but couldn’t make out what was being said. Then the music resumed again. The crunching of gravel behind her alerted Rebecca that someone was approaching.
“Was I so bad you had to leave the building?”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Rebecca froze at the sound of Rob’s voice. Then, she slowly turned towards him. And there he was. Right there. Her eyes grew wide with disbelief.
“Hello Rebecca,” he said, after she stared at him. Her mouth nearly hung open since nothing coherent came into her mind to say.
“Wh…What are you doing here?” she finally asked.
“Your daughter invited me. Your brother called me.”
“Nick really called you?”
“Yeah, he really did,” Rob said in an even tone as he stared back at her.
She studied the face she found so dark and sexy, she often dreamt about it at night. She peered into the eyes that were so compelling, she could not look away. This man who was now so famous and well known who was headed for wonderful places. Why would he
come back now? Or do this? Just to leave her again? He could never stay with her, and she wasn’t sure she could handle another departure from him. But then again, there was no way that he intended to come back for her! Not for an ordinary, mousey, mother of three. There was just no way.
“Any reason you’re acting so weird with me?”
“Don’t you have to be in there? Singing?”
“Nah, we’re done. They have a DJ for the rest of the dance. We did an hour. You couldn’t stand even that long, could you? You just had to get outside.”
“You saw me? How could you through the lights and that crowd?”
“Who do you think I went up there for? A bunch of teeny-boppers? You, Rebecca. I’m here strictly for you.”
She froze and thought it could not be true. “I can’t do this again.”
She started to pass him, but he caught her arm and pressed his fingers into her elbow to stop her. “Can’t do what again? From what I’ve heard, you’re not even married anymore.”
“But you’re not here anymore. And I can’t leave. I can’t go through this argument again. I can’t get over you again,” she said louder than she meant to, and her emotions cracked her voice. She jerked her arm from him.
He was quiet as he looked her over. “So you already got over me?”
No. Never. “Of course. You’ve been gone a long time.”
“Liar. Why are you lying to me?”
“I’m just…”
“Why didn’t it work out with Doug?”
She looked everywhere, but at him; and he looked nowhere, but at her. “I didn’t feel the same anymore. I couldn’t make it come back.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you… when? We’ve talked once in almost a year-and-a-half. You’re a celebrity now. You have Vivi Tayler, you’re on TV every night, you’re on the news that flashes across my computer. You’re a different man now.”
“I’m really important now?”
“Yes.”
“So now you can’t even look at me? You liked it better when I was a nothing? You were more comfortable with me when I was just an aimless drunk?”
“It’s nothing like that and you know it.”
“Then what is it, Rebecca? You’re going to have to tell me why you refuse to even look at me.”
“Because, I…”
“You what?” he asked softly as he stepped closer. She couldn’t breathe. His arms came around her waist, and his hands held her as he pulled her towards him. “Why do you act like you’ve never seen me before? And never been with me before? What happened to the woman I left, who knows exactly why I came and what I want?”
Rebecca felt sure she was about to swoon when her legs became unsteady. All she could think about were his strong hands on her waist. And how close his face was to hers. The way his voice thrilled her. Finally, nearly in tears, and filled with insecurity and fear, she whispered, “She was left behind one too many times.”
His forehead came down and gently rested on hers as his arms tightened around her. “She was, wasn’t she? What if it never happens to her again?”
Rebecca’s breath stopped, and tears slipped over her eyelids. It seemed too good to be true. Too unreal. How could she believe that? This man would give up everything to stay in Nowheresville with her? She was not exciting, or even sexy. She was fully settled and quite boring. The truth was: she’d always been settled and boring.
She didn’t have the charisma or allure to hold the attention of someone like Rob. She stiffened in his arms and tried to push him away. He brought his hands up to her wrists, and held her so she couldn’t twist him away. His grip was firm, but gentle.
“What is it? You don’t want me here?”
“I just don’t think for a second you’ll stay. I saw your entire career take off. I know everything. There is nothing here left for you.”
“What about you? You’re still here for me. And you know nothing about what my career is like. Sure, you saw I didn’t bomb at it for once. Do you know how it feels to come home all alone, feeling forgotten, with no one to tell anything to? Do you know how I ached for you? You, Rebecca. Not my career. Not the groupies who materialized from nowhere. I wanted you. I thought I couldn’t have you. And as it turns out, I can have you. This time, I’m not leaving again, not without a fight. And not because of Doug. And not because of your kids.”
She jerked her wrists from him until he let go. “You don’t mean it.”
“I mean it more than I’ve meant anything. I decided it long before your brother called me. I decided that when I called you.”
“But you didn’t say anything.”
“I was feeling you out, and I wanted to know where you stood. I was already coming back. Nick just gave me cause for a dramatic entrance.”
She shook her head and couldn’t believe him. It was too dangerous to relive. There was too much pain in store for her. “How? I still can’t leave, Rob. Now, it’s because Doug is here. The girls have accepted our split-up, but they need to see their father, weekly, and he lives just down the road.”
“I know you can’t leave. And they can’t leave.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I love you, Rebecca. That’s what you don’t understand. I love you, and leaving you isn’t an option anymore. I shouldn’t have left the first time. I guess you had to try to save your family, but not anymore. We put the girls ahead of us last time, but we won’t this time. I don’t care who has a problem with us: your kids, your siblings, your mother, Doug… I don’t care, whoever it is will just have to deal with us, and get over us. Because this time, sweetheart, I’m not leaving.”
The sweetheart wasn’t even tender; his voice was cocky, rude, and fuck you. She looked at him carefully. He was suddenly not so much Rob Williams, lead singer of Zenith, but more like the Rob she knew. The Rob she loved and remembered.
“But how? Why? You can’t give it all up.”
“I’m not. You’re going to have to learn to live with my career. It might get in the way. I’ll be gone sometimes, of course, touring. And I’ll have to do interviews occasionally and have pictures taken. The paparazzi are such bitches. I hate them. But they help sell me and my music. So you’ll just have to live with that, because I’m coming back, Rebecca, each and every time.”
Her eyes finally lifted to his face, and she took in his eyes, his mouth, and the dark stubble on chin. He looked as disreputable as always. As he should.
“But what about the women I’ve read about?”
“Who? The groupies? Starlets? Vivi Tayler? Come on, Rebecca! Would I go for a woman with fake tits and makeup all the way to her hairline? She was just a publicity stunt. You, sweetheart… You’re it, just you. I tried to forget you. And get over you. But it didn’t happen. Not even for a second. It just got worse.”
“It did?”
“Why didn’t you tell me Doug was gone?”
“I didn’t think you’d come back. I didn’t think you could. I thought I’d sound desperate and stupid. Like, Doug’s gone, so you can come back now. In reality, I never wanted you to leave. Not even for a day.”
“Spencer and Erica are going to try and have a baby. They’re tired of being gone too. We’re home to stay, sweetheart. And when I say home, I mean your house.”
“What about your drummer?”
“I don’t care what the drummer wants. I’ve already brought him fame and fortune so he can stick with me here or leave. I can always find another one. What I can’t find is another red-headed mother of three who likes to write books about people like me.”
She felt a laugh bubbling in her throat. God, he sounded so serious. So bad-ass. So like the old Rob. Not contrite. Not overly nice.
She licked her lips. “You mean that?”
Instead of answering in words, his mouth suddenly came down on hers. Hot and soft, his lips moved over hers and inside her mouth. His hands held her face still as he pulled back to look into her eyes. “You going t
o quit acting like you don’t know me now?”
She smiled, and her heart beat faster. Her eyes shone with the longing of her heart. “Yes.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“And you love me.”
She grinned. “I love you.”
“And you want me to come home with you tonight.”
She laughed. “More than anything. The only thing is...”
“I know your kids will be there. Next to holding you, I can hardly wait to see them.”
“No, they’re at Doug’s tonight. I was going to say, I’m supposed to chaperone the dance.”
“Ah, yes, parent duty. Well, I can stand next to you and chaperone too, can’t I?”
She nodded as she almost laughed, picturing Rob Williams of Zenith chaperoning the middle school dance with her, and everyone staring at him. “Yes, of course you can help me.”
“I’m going to be doing that a lot, you know. Trading off with you on parent duty.”
Her heart blipped. “You will?”
His eyes held hers. “Oh yeah. I will be. Kayla is so beautiful, Rebecca. I think she’s grown four inches.”
“She’s almost as tall as me now.”
“I missed a lot. Especially them. I missed you. Don’t expect me to do that again. Not for anything. Not even for your kids.”
She stepped away from his embrace and took his hand in hers. “Come inside with me.”
He smiled. “I thought you’d never ask.”
They stood there, leaning against the wall, and held hands, quietly watching the teens. They supervised Kayla, and flirted, and stole meaningful looks at each other. She couldn’t wait for the end of the dance, when they could leave and go home together. And stay there.
Finally, the lights lifted and the parents started cleaning up. For once, Rebecca skipped her volunteering duty and didn’t help. She pulled Rob into the foyer. There were plenty of stares, and people smiling, whispering, and giving them a wide berth, only this time, out of awe over Rob. Not fear.
Zenith Fulfilled (Zenith Trilogy, #3) Page 34