Stereo

by Trevion Burns

  She smiled into her lap, but the smile immediately fell when her eyes landed back on the screen. They had only been away from each other for a few hours and he was already calling her. It was now official. Rule #1 was golden.

  “So tonight was interesting.” Adam’s voice was quieter than she was used to.

  Shaun was now drumming her fingers against the keyboard and she deleted the words:

  Rule #1: Do Everything a Glamour Girl Wouldn’t

  Replacing them with:

  Rule #1: When In Doubt, Tell him “No”

  “It was fun,” she said, continuing to drum her fingers.

  “It was fun,” Adam agreed. “But…”

  Her eyes narrowed away from the screen, curiosity peaked. “But…”

  “I think we aren’t on the same page about a lot of things we should be on the same page on.”

  “Like what?” Shaun asked.

  “Not over the phone. Meet me for lunch tomorrow.”

  Shaun had never noticed the way Adam rarely made requests, only demands, until that moment. She decided to test her rule. “No,” she said.

  Another long silence passed. “No?”

  She almost smiled at the shock evident in his voice. “No. Tomorrow’s not good for me.”

  “Fine. Friday.”

  “No.” She tried to keep a serious tone around the smile on her face. This was fun.

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “No!” she yelled. This time her ‘no’ was genuine. “What is this? Only rock stars are allowed to have a life? I’m not free on Friday okay?”

  Adam sighed. ”What day is good for you, then?”

  Shaun didn’t have a damn thing to do for the rest of the week except a little bit of schoolwork, but she wanted to test the waters. “I’m not available until Sunday.” She checked her computer’s calendar. Sunday was four days away.

  “Fair enough, Miss Popular. I’ll plan something for us and get back to you with the details.” He paused. “You must have some big plans this week.”

  “Maybe I do.”

  “Got a hot date, or what?”

  She eyed the phone. “Just spending some time with a friend.”

  “Ah. Celia?”

  “No.”

  The silence on Adam’s end was louder than a hurricane.

  Her heart pounded as she recalled the rules she and Celia had discussed earlier. She checked the clock on her computer. She and Adam had been on the phone for a little over ten minutes. “I have to go. I’m right in the middle of something.”

  “Uhm—“

  “Okay, bye.” She hung up the phone before he could finish and had to hold back a chuckle of disbelief when her phone chimed with a text from him just a few minutes later.

  ‘Goodnight Miss Popular’, was all the text said.

  “Don’t respond,” Celia said sternly. Shaun had immediately called her with all of the details, looking for guidance.

  “Isn’t that rude?” Shaun asked.

  “No,” Celia said, “that’s your Rule #1. You haven’t even been off of the phone for five minutes and he’s already texting you. He’s confused about why you’re not chasing him. This is a test and you’re going to pass with flying colors by not responding. Saying nothing is just as powerful as saying ‘no”…”

  “You should be writing this damn article,” Shaun muttered. Her mind racing as she typed the first paragraph of her first rule. Her fingers raced across the keys.

  A rock star is surrounded by “yes men.” Yes men are people that will agree with everything he says, do everything he does and worship every inch of the ground he walks on without a moment’s hesitation. The word ‘yes’ is something that a rock star is expecting before it is even bestowed upon him. This gives the word “no” the kind of power that has no equal in the rock star’s world. If you are the only person in his life who doesn’t give him the “yes” he’s become so accustomed to, you will become the only person in his life that he is willing to go that extra mile for. He will work harder for your yes than he will for anything else. You will become a person of value to him—more valuable than everyone else in his life with the exception of his mother—and that’s only because she’s been telling him ‘no’ since the day he was born.

  Shaun read the passage out loud to Celia.

  “It’s perfect,” Celia breathed, in awe. “And I have an idea for your Rule #2.”

  --

  “I have to tell you something,” Adam said, pounding away on an Xbox controller, shoulder to shoulder with Katie, who was giving the controller in her hand a very similar beating. “But you have to swear you’re not going to tell anyone.”

  Katie rolled her eyes while still trying to focus on Call of Duty. “You’re such a girl,” she scoffed, before nudging his shoulder. “Go ahead, Sally. Spill it.”

  “You’re such a…” Adam began abusing the controller to an even larger degree, biting his tongue because he would never speak ill to Katie.

  “Just spit it out, Tiffany,” she said with a smirk, holding back a laugh.

  “Forget it,” Adam pouted.

  Katie paused the game and turned to him, shoving him softly. “Oh, come on! Don’t be a baby.”

  “No, forget it. I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”

  “Come on!”

  “No.” Adam’s lip continued to hang as he motioned to the TV. “Get back in the game. Let’s go.”

  Katie crossed her arms over her chest, game forgotten. “No way. You’re not getting out of this. You soliciting a conversation from anyone is way too rare for me to let this pass.”

  “Did you just use the word ‘solicit’? Are you actually… learning things in that private school of yours?”

  Katie’s face lit up. “Yeah. Last time I checked that’s what school was for.”

  Adam eyed the paused game before him, unable to make eye contact with Katie. “I think I met this girl.”

  Katie gasped, the controller dropping from her hand as she reached up and wrapped both of them around Adam’s upper arm. “You what?”

  She had never in her life heard Adam talk about a girl besides that awful Victoria’s Secret model. Ever since that relationship had crashed and burned, Katie knew that many women had come in and out of Adam’s life, but none that he cared enough about to ever bring up in a serious way.

  “But…”

  Katie’s grip immediately loosened at the word ‘but’. “Oh no, what did you do?”

  “Nothing, it’s just… It’s so fucked up. There’s not even anything to tell. In fact—can we just forget that I said anything, please? Just forget I brought it up. Seriously, it’s stupid.”

  Katie released his arms with disappointment. “You’re so going to die alone, Adam.”

  “I’m fine with that,” he said, motioning to the TV with his controller. “Come on, back in the game.”

  Katie watched him for a few seconds longer before sighing and snatching up her controller. As she restarted the game she nudged him with her shoulder, again. “You’re not going to die alone. That was a shitty thing to say.”

  “I’d expect nothing less from my loving sister,” he said, a smile crossing his face at the sound of her laughter. It was truly music to his ears.

  --

  Adam and Shaun met up for tacos at a small stand on Venice Beach that Sunday afternoon. Their table was tucked along the side of the stand, slightly hidden away from the beach’s passerby. That didn’t stop Shaun from noticing the one photographer who had spotted them. She did her best not to look at him.

  The large red umbrella was doing a great job of keeping their table shaded and cool, but Adam still wore those jet black Ray Bans of his.

  “Do you ever take those off?” Shaun teased from where she sat across from him. She stood from her seat and reached for the glasses on his face, laughing softly when he quickly dodged her hands.

  She plopped back down, not missing the way she could feel his knees brushing hers under the table. S
he didn’t move her legs out of the way. Neither did he.

  “I asked you to meet me for business purposes.”

  “Ah…” She took a sip of her soda. “And here I thought you couldn’t stand another day without the glory of my presence.”

  Adam didn’t laugh. Instead he held up a small red spiral notebook. “This is stupid.”

  Shaun immediately recognized it as the pad she’d busted out on him during their first dinner at Sushi Samba. “You kept that?” she beamed, a smile crossing her face.

  Adam was already flipping through the pages. “Yeah I did, I bust it out whenever I’m looking for a good laugh.”

  “Haha,” Shaun laughed dryly, tossing her curls over the top of her head. “And it’s not stupid. It’s sensible.”

  Adam wasn’t listening as he began reading from the notebook. “No intimacy. No families. No talking about our personal lives. How the hell are we supposed to pull any of this off with this ridiculousness?” he asked, waving around the pad.

  Shaun took in the sight of him across from her, still feeling the soft hair of his knees brushing against hers under the table. She wondered if he was even aware that their legs were touching, or if it had just been so long since a man had been near her that she was now hyper aware of any small contact. If he knew they were touching he would have surely pulled away by now, right? Her mind was racing.

  In that moment Adam shifted in his seat, causing his legs to move even deeper into her space under the table until the sides of both of his legs were leaning against hers. Yep, he definitely knew they were touching. She struggled to focus on the conversation as her eyes searched his face. What were they even talking about? She blinked back to reality at the sound of Adam saying her name.

  He was now staring at her, his mouth hanging open.

  “What?” she asked with a shake of her head.

  “Are you even listening to me?” Adam asked.

  “Of course,” Shaun said. She sat back in her chair, ending their leg contact under the table. “Of course I’m listening. You hate my rules. I totally get it, but I wrote those rules for a reason.”

  “I know you didn’t follow The White Keys before our arrangement started, so you don’t know me very well, but my fans do know me… very well.” Adam removed his sunglasses and let his eyes search her face. “They know that when I’m attracted to a woman I’m not shy about putting my hands all over her. Camera or not, I’m going to look at her when I want to, touch her when I want to, kiss her…” His eyes fell to her lips.

  Shaun immediately licked them.

  “When I want to,” Adam finished. “Look, Shaun—“

  “Order number 73!”

  “Oh!” Shaun cried, holding up the receipt that she hadn’t even realized she’d crushed into a sweaty ball in her hand. “That’s us.”

  Adam seemed agitated when she jumped out of her seat and ran to the front of the hut to collect their order.

  On the way to the stand Shaun quickly dialed Celia, keeping her eye on her and Adam’s table. His back was to her and he was leaning forward, his hands clasped together.

  “Hey bitch,” Celia answered sweetly.

  “I need help. I don’t know what to do. Adam is trying to change the rules we’ve established for our arrangement. No intimacy, no families, no personal lives. I think he wants to be able to kiss me and stuff in front of the cameras. He says it’ll be more authentic. I don’t know what to do-- what do I do?!”

  “First, stop panicking. This is good. Don’t agree to anything he’s saying. When in doubt go back to rule 1—the word ‘no’. Keep saying no and if he continues to pressure you about it tell him that he’s making you uncomfortable. If he still won’t relent tell him that you have to go and just leave. Deuces.”

  Shaun didn’t agree with what she was hearing but reminded herself that she’d promised to follow everything Celia said.

  As if she could sense Shaun’s hesitation, Celia added, “trust me.”

  Shaun sighed. “Okay. Thanks girl.”

  “Call me with all the details.”

  “I will.”

  Shaun walked back to the table and handed Adam his order while tearing into hers. “This looks really good—“

  Adam didn’t even touch his order. “This is stupid, Shaun. If we’re going to put on a show like this it needs to seem real or my fans will see right through it. Hell, everyone is going to see right through it.”

  “Is this about what happened on the red carpet the other day?” she asked.

  Adam searched her eyes for several long moments. Without answering he sat up tall and looked off towards the beach.

  His lack of a response was answer enough. “Look, Adam, I didn’t kiss you that night because it wasn’t a part of our arrangement. Besides, if they want to see us kiss so badly they can just watch that video we shot together. That was a hell of a kiss!”

  He looked back at her, a small smile threatening his lips. He tried to fight it. “Yeah, it was.” His gaze fell to her mouth.

  Shaun swallowed down the taco she’d just taken a huge bite of.

  “And I think it needs to keep happening…” His eyes lingered on her lips, before forcing himself to look back up to her eyes. He cleared his throat. “You know...for consistencies sake. For business purposes.”

  “So you’re asking me to make a public spectacle of myself just so you look like some stud to all of your followers?”

  “Wow. No.” Adam leaned closer. “That’s not what I’m saying.”

  Shaun held her breath. Their knees were touching, again. Had he just made a concentrated effort to move closer to her? He must have realized the effect their subtle leg brushing was having on her composure. Out of sheer annoyance, Shaun moved farther back in her seat so their legs weren’t touching. This time, Adam noticed the movement, and it showed in his eyes. She was suddenly wishing he would put those sunglasses back on.

  “I’m saying that people are going to know this isn’t real if I make a complete 180 from the way I usually treat my girlfriends.”

  “So it’ll be easier for people to accept that we’re dating if they think that I’m an easy lay? That will really solidify everything you said in that magazine article, wouldn’t it? God forbid a woman like me has any morals or control over her thoughts or her body, she’s standing next to Adam Brand for Christ’s sake!”

  Adam struggled to find the right words. “How many times do I have to apologize for that article before you’ll finally forgive me for it? How the hell are we going to get through this if you keep holding that over my head? I’m fucking sorry. Okay? I’m sorry! I didn’t mean what I said. I don’t think you’re easy—I think you’re incredib...” He jammed his eyes shut, then opened them. “I think you’re a cool girl.”

  Shaun’s heart stopped.

  He leaned deeper into the table, his arms open, as if reaching for her. “And when I think a woman is…cool… I’m…” He faltered. “I’m touching her. I’m near her… and if I’m not it comes off false. It comes off like a farce and that’s not our goal is it? Our goal is to be believable.”

  Shaun didn’t know what to say. He had just been in the middle of calling her incredible and stopped himself. She hadn’t missed that. Her eyes narrowed and her brain went a mile a minute. How the hell was this actually happening? She looked over her shoulder where the photographer behind her was still snapping away, rolled her eyes and looked back at Adam.

  “Adam we don’t even know each other.” She couldn’t handle the way he was looking at her, and struggled to even remember the conversation she’d just had with Celia. After taking several moments and racking her brain, she finally managed to say, “this conversation is making me uncomfortable.”

  “What?!”

  Shaun went on. “I thought you and I were on the same page about this whole thing. If you don’t think that I deserve to be treated like a lady in public, even when the public thinks we’ve only been dating for a little over a week, then maybe I’m not
the right girl for this job.”

  “No,” Adam immediately spat, appearing completely appalled at the insinuation. “What? No… there isn’t going to be another girl. You’re it. You’re the girl.”

  “You know what,” she said, gathering her things, “I have to go.” She stood from the table and Adam stood with her, looking completely lost, still holding his hands out to her, palms up.

  “You have to go?”

  “Yeah, I need some time to think. Don’t follow me.” She put her purse on her shoulder. “And get that look off of your face there’s a camera right behind us.”

  Adam’s eyes jumped to the paparazzi over Shaun’s shoulder, snapping away. He seemed shocked at his presence, as if he hadn’t even noticed he was there.

  Shaun walked away from a bewildered Adam and tried to fight the smile on her face when her phone began vibrating in her pocket. She knew it was him, but she didn’t look back.

  She bit her lip as she turned a corner, shaking her head.

  Celia was a genius.

  --

  “He’s going to think I’m crazy, Celia. The way I just walked off at the beach today… it was so bizarre.”

  Celia curled her legs under her butt on the couch and took a sip of her red wine. She and Shaun had planned on having a movie night and even though a movie was playing on the TV in her living room they had yet to look at it. The two friends were now facing each other on the couch, movie forgotten.

  Celia swallowed her wine and rolled her eyes. “It just feels bizarre to you because you know that you weren’t really mad. All he knows is that you’re not some pushover and it’s important that he know that.”

  Shaun sighed. “I guess so. I just feel so stupid acting that way with him when he was being so nice. You should have seen him, Celia. It’s the most agreeable I’ve ever seen him.”

  “Of course he’s agreeable. He’s agreeable because he knows he has to give you respect. And why does he know that? Because you keep telling him no. You are not blindly following everything he says. He doesn’t understand what the hell is going on so he has no choice but to be agreeable.”