by Moody, Diane
“Be nice, JMac,” Jackson warned.
“Well, first of all, Hannah,” JT began, “Liza is a party girl, okay? Let’s just say the girl never met a bottle she didn’t love.”
“Whoa, baby, you’re being way too kind,” Tracey admonished. “Hannah, to put it bluntly, she’s a lush.”
“A drunk?” Hannah asked. “So does Sergio drink a lot too?”
“No, that’s just it,” JT piped in. “Serg rarely takes a drink. So we can’t figure out why he puts up with her. We’ve all tried to talk to him about her, but he just blows us off. Which is not like Serg at all.”
“So is she drop-dead gorgeous? Is that it?”
Alli laughed. “I guess that depends on your taste. The deal is, we’re really not being mean. We all love Sergio. But we’re concerned about him because she’s obviously got some kind of major voodoo spell on him or something.”
“Yeah, unfortunately she tries to cast that voodoo on the rest of us,” Gevin said.
“What do you mean?
“It means she puts the moves on all the guys behind Sergio’s back,” Alli answered. “You wouldn’t believe it.”
“And Sergio refuses to see it,” Jason continued. “He all but goes postal if you approach him about it. Won’t talk about it. I’m sure it sounds like we’re exaggerating, but we’re not. She’s unbelievable, Hannah. You’ve never seen anything like her. She’s so—”
“Slick. That girl is downright slick.” Marissa shook her head. “I’ve never seen anyone so blatant about it, and believe me—I’ve seen it all in this business.”
Hannah took a sip of her Coke. “So what does Sergio see in her?”
“Beats me,” JT answered. “I guess she’s attractive enough, but that’s not it. We’re hardly naive, but let me tell you, she is one hot little number.”
“You mean she’s a hoochy-mama?” Hannah asked.
“A ‘hoochy-mama’?” Jason laughed. “A hoochy mama? Where do you get this stuff?”
“Hey, it’s not exactly Greek, Jason,” Alli added. “And it certainly describes Liza.”
Hannah felt something akin to dread drifting through her. “So how do you handle her when she’s around?”
“It’s not much fun,” Jackson said. “We don’t want to be rude for Sergio’s sake.
But man, you sure have to watch out for her. You can’t give her the time of day or she’ll give you a little . . . hooch, is it?” he said, looking at Hannah.
“She gives you any hooch and I’ll wrap your tonsils around your ears, Jackson Greer” Alli wrapped her slender fingers around his throat.
“Hey! What did I do? Can I help it if she thinks I’m sexy?”
Tracey and Marissa pelted him with throw pillows. Alli whacked him over the head with one of them, then narrowed her eyes. “One word, babe: Tonsils.”
Jason leaned into Hannah who still sat on his lap. “Jackson and Alli have been together since they had side-by-side incubators in the hospital nursery.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No, and he never ever looks at another woman because she’s got this tight leash on him. The kind of leash you’d see on a rottweiler, y’know?” He continued, his words animated. “So it doesn’t matter where we are—anywhere in the world—he never even thinks of window shopping, if you know what I mean. He’s hopelessly smitten.” Jason paused, then faux-whispered, “Not to mention scared.”
“Very funny, Jason,” Alli chided. “Thing is, Hannah, I don’t need a leash on this guy. He loves me. Don’tcha, Jax?”
Jackson pretended to tremble. “Yes, ma’am. I mean, yes, dear. I mean—”
She whacked him again.
“See what I mean?” Jason whispered.
“Ah, Hannah, don’t listen to Jason,” JT said. “We all love Alli. She’s like one of the family. When we got Jax, we got Alli. Package deal. They go way back and what they’ve got is the kind of love that lasts a lifetime. And it goes both ways, so don’t you let Jason mess you up on that. Jackson’s crazy about her.”
Alli smiled. “Well, thanks, JT.”
Jackson stood up and pumped his chest out. “Yeah, there’s broken hearts all over the world because of this woman.”
“Yeah, and they’re all twelve years old,” Gevin quipped.
The jabs kept flying. Finally, Jackson asked an innocent question. “So Gevin, when did you say the wedding is?”
Gevin and Marissa shifted their eyes to Jason, who in turn looked at Hannah.
“There they go again!” JT yelled. “What’s up with you all?”
“What do you mean?” Jackson asked, pulling his Bucs sweatshirt over his head. He wiggled his back side, motioning for Alli to make room for him in the big recliner. In one motion, he plopped down and kicked the foot rest, throwing the chair—and them—back.
“It means, I asked the same question before you got here and all I got was a bunch of goofy looks and no answers.”
“Gevin, maybe this isn’t the best time to get into this,” Jason said quietly.
Marissa squeezed Gevin’s shoulder, then sat up. Gevin followed her motions and hung his arm across her shoulders.
“No, Jason, I think we owe it to JT and Jackson to get this out in the open.”
A moment of silence passed.
“The thing is,” Gevin began, “we haven’t exactly set a date yet, but we have made a decision that’s probably more important.”
Jackson took the bait. “Such as?”
Marissa leaned into Gevin’s shoulder. “Such as calling it quits,” he said. “I want to move on with my life, guys. I need to move on. It’s time.”
Seconds passed. No one said a word. Hannah looked at JT. His jaw dropped at the announcement. She glanced over at Jackson and Alli. They were staring dumbfounded at Gevin.
Jackson finally broke the silence. “Excuse me?”
“I said, it’s time for Out of the Blue to retire, guys. It’s been an unbelievable ride, but it’s time for all of us to move on. At least, I know it’s time for me.”
“Rissa? Is this your doing?” Anger coated JT’s accusation as he lifted himself off the ground.
“Now, stop right there, JT,” Gevin insisted. “That’s not fair.” His tone cut the air like a knife. Hannah felt Jason’s hand tighten around her own.
“Well, what else am I supposed to think?” JT clenched his fists as he started to move around the room spinning a palpable angst. “Everything is great—we have plans and concerts dates and recording contracts . . . and now you tell us you’re marrying Rissa and we’re supposed to all give it up? I don’t think so!” His chest rose and fell rapidly. “No, no, no. This is NOT happening.”
“Okay, okay, wait a minute,” Jackson said. “This is a joke, right Gevin? You’re just putting us on, aren’t you? Rissa?”
“He’s totally serious, guys,” Jason answered, his voice husky.
JT bolted toward Gevin who quickly stood up, towering over him. “NO WAY! You can forget it, man! We didn’t come this far just to let it all go so you can run off and get married! Are you crazy? Rissa travels with us all the time anyway! So you get married! Why does anything have to change? What’s the big deal?”
Gevin shook his head back and forth. “JT, you don’t understand—”
“Well that’s one thing you’ve got right! I don’t understand! It doesn’t make any sense!” A string of expletives flew from his mouth, one on top of the other.
Jason flew out of the chair, almost knocking Hannah on the floor. “Shut up, JT! You’re not going to talk like that in this house. You got that?”
Jason’s anger frightened Hannah. She wished she was anywhere but this room. She and Alli shared disquieting looks while Tracey dropped her head and covered her eyes.
“Guys! Settle down!” Marissa pleaded. “Just calm down. We’ve got to be able to talk this out.”
“No! I have no intention of calming down!” JT blasted. “JMac—why aren’t you backing me up? What’s the matter with y
ou? Are you gonna just stand by and watch everything we’ve accomplished get flushed down the toilet by these two selfish—”
“No, JT, I’m—”
“And what about you, Jax?” He stepped toward the recliner. “You just gonna sit there like this doesn’t affect you?”
Jackson stood up, his face flushed. “JT, I’m as shocked as you are! I just—”
Gevin moved toward JT. JT raised his hands, warning Gevin not to come closer. “No—don’t even try to candy coat this with a bunch of sappy big-brother crap. C’mon, Trace, we’re outta here.”
“C’mon, JT, we have to talk through this,” Jason pressed. “Don’t leave. That won’t solve anything!”
“Fine! So we don’t solve anything. I’m not gonna listen to another word. We are not quitting. And if that doesn’t suit you, Gevin, then you can just stick it—”
“Knock it off, JT!” Jackson warned.
JT grabbed Tracey by the arm, pulling her to her feet. “NOW. Let’s go, Trace.”
Jason shook his head in frustration. He looked at Hannah, his eyes wild. “You can’t talk to him when he gets this way. He’s so freakin’ stubborn!” he grunted, clenching his fists.
“Yeah, I’m stubborn and you’re a wuss, JMac. You’re lettin’ him roll you over with this just like every other—”
“Shut up! Just SHUT UP!” Alli screamed. “You guys are acting like a bunch of jerks!” Tears tracked down her cheeks.
JT and Tracey thundered down the stairs. The front door slammed behind them.
“Oh my God, what’s happening?” Jason cried. Hannah slowly got to her feet, cautiously reaching out to touch his arm. He turned to her, his eyes searching and moist.
Marissa folded her arms across her chest. “Well, that was . . . fun.”
“He’ll calm down,” Gevin said. “He acted just like we knew he would. He just needs time to chill out.”
Jackson pulled back, wrapping his arm around Alli’s waist. “So . . . seriously, how are we going to handle this?”
Gevin took a deep breath. “We give it time. We talk it through. But we have to wait for JT to get a grip. And—we need to get Sergio back here as soon as possible.”
Jason blew out an exasperated breath. “I’ll try to track him down.”
“And,” Gevin continued, turning to look at Jason, then directly at Hannah. “We make sure this stays in this room.” His serious tone alarmed her.
Jason pulled Hannah toward his side and looked Gevin in the eye. “You have my word. I think Hannah’s already more than proven herself.”
Gevin’s expression softened. He leaned forward to kiss Hannah’s forehead. “Thanks,” he whispered, patting Jason’s shoulder in reassurance. “Hannah, I’m sorry you had to witness this.”
She nodded in silent response.
“Let’s call it a night. I think we all need some sleep.” Jason rubbed his eyes. “Hannah, you can have JT’s room again. Obviously, he isn’t using it tonight.”
“I’ll take Sergio’s room, if that’s okay,” Alli said as she and Jackson picked up their shoes. They headed down the hall toward their rooms.
Hannah started toward the hall when Jason caught her hand and pulled her back. “Second thought,” he began, taking both her hands in his, “I think I need to unwind a little first. Are you tired?”
She remembered Christmas night. They ended up here in this same room on the sofa right behind her. How deeply she had grown to care for this man in such a short amount of time—an incredibly short amount of time, she reminded herself.
She gazed at him, her heart aching for the pain etched on his face. “How about I make us some tea?” He nodded, a tired smile trying to form on his face. “Besides,” she added, “the sun will be up in just a couple of hours. Who needs sleep anyway?”
Chapter 11
The next three days blurred together as they all waited for JT to thaw and Sergio to arrive. From time to time, they talked through every possible solution to the problems between them. But until all five members of Blue could sit down and talk, little could be done.
In the meantime, a unique bond of friendship surfaced as Hannah spent time with Marissa and Alli under the peculiar circumstances. They shared their hearts together as they watched the struggle continue among the guys. New to this odd little cluster of people, Hannah no longer felt like an outsider just along for the ride; she felt part of them now. The realization astounded her.
In the short time they’d known each other, Hannah and Alli became close friends. While Marissa never left Gevin’s side, Alli and Hannah occasionally slipped out for a stop at Hannah’s apartment or a cappuccino at a nearby café. They talked non-stop as if they’d known each other forever. Hannah loved hearing Alli’s stories about the guys, about her life as the “unknown girlfriend”—her preference—and her feelings about what was happening. Alli, on the other hand, assured Hannah constantly of how “refreshing” her presence was, as she put it. And after knowing Jason for so many years, she made sure Hannah knew this was not a relationship that would just run its course and die out after the holidays.
“You’re just what he needed, Hannah. Besides, I love watching the two of you together. If I’d handpicked someone for Jason, she’d be you. Totally.”
On the morning of New Year’s Eve, Laura finished putting away the breakfast dishes and served a fresh pot of coffee to all of them. Jason said he could never bring home too many of his friends. The party that night had been her idea and he’d gladly taken her up on it.
Laura set down her cup of coffee, finalizing the arrangements. “The caterers should arrive around 4:00 and have everything set up before anyone arrives, honey. I padded your number a bit so if a few more show up, we’ll have plenty for everyone.”
“Mom, honestly—we kept it small on purpose. Only a few of the guys in the band, some of the roadies . . . and a couple of the management folks who were gonna be in the area. Shouldn’t be more than fifty at the most.”
“Fifty?” Alli mouthed to Hannah. She rolled her eyes then slapped a fake smile back on her face. Hannah laughed silently.
“What?” Jason asked, noticing the exchange. “Alli, someone else you’re wanting to invite?” he teased.
“Yeah,” Jackson interrupted. “She invited some of the Bucs cheerleaders, but I said, ‘Alli? No—no cheerleaders allowed. This is Jason’s party!’ She pouted, she whined, but—I stood my ground, JMac. No problem.”
“Yeah right, big guy,” Alli begrudged. “Like I would invite cheerleaders. In your dreams.”
“Well, Jackson, if you want to invite the cheerleaders or the entire team for that matter, you just tell ’em to come on,” Laura said. “I’d be happy to meet your friends. And don’t you let Jason give you a hard time,” she finished with a wink.
Laura started to turn, then stopped, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a cell phone. “Oh, Hannah, is this yours?”
“I’ve looked everywhere for it!” Laura handed it to her. “Where’d you find it?”
“It was under the sofa. I found it when Frank moved the furniture out of the way for the party.”
Hannah hit her forehead with the heel of her hand. “Oh, now I remember. When Jackson and Alli arrived the other day, I—oh, never mind. I’m just glad you found it.” She pressed the side button and found six missed calls, twelve text messages, and five voice mails. Kylie. She’s gonna kill me. She brushed off the thought and looked up. “Thanks, Laura.”
“No problem, sweetheart. I’m just glad—”
“Thought you might like to see who I found at the front door,” Frank interrupted, as he entered the kitchen, a funny expression on his face.
A head full of bouncing black curls atop a short, 5’2” frame came bustling through the door. “Hi everybody! We’re here! We’re here!” she squealed, her dark Italian eyes wide with excitement. “Did you miss us?” An exaggerated high-pitched laugh trilled across the room.
Liza. Has to be. Exactly as I’d pictured h
er.
Sergio appeared behind her, his huge grin expectant as he faced the roomful. “Hey guys, how’s it goin’?”
Jackson and Jason jumped up to greet them. Hannah watched closely as they lightly embraced Sergio’s girlfriend. She didn’t miss the heated hug they received in response as Liza pressed her body against each of them.
She stole a look at Alli, that same fake smile plastered on her friend’s face. “Liza. Nice to see you,” she said, her tone flat. “Sergio, welcome home.”
Sergio gave Laura a hug, which she returned warmly. “Sergio, we thought you’d never get here. What’s Hawaii got that North Carolina doesn’t, huh?”
Liza stepped between Jason’s mother and her boyfriend. “Why, me, of course! Isn’t that right, Sergi?”
Baby talk. I hate baby talk. Hannah’s eyes locked with Alli’s, communicating her disdain.
Alli’s expression spoke volumes. See what we mean?
Laura made a valiant effort at remaining cordial as she stepped away. “Well, there you go,” she remarked.
Hannah glanced up to notice Sergio looking straight at her. “And who is this?” he asked, the broad smile warming his face as he moved toward her with his outstretched hand. He was far more handsome than she’d imagined, his dark eyes the kind you could get lost in. Forever. He’d clearly spent a lot of time working out in a gym just like the rest of the guys. A lot of time.
Jason rested his hands on her shoulders. “Sergio Cruz, meet Hannah Brooks. Hannah, this is Sergio.”
She took hold of his hand, surprised how firmly he gripped her hand. He leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Hannah, nice to meet you. This is great! It’s about time someone took pity en este pobre perdedor!”
“Now, Sergio, Jason’s not a loser,” she laughed.
“Very funny, Sergio,” Jason anguished in a sing-song response.
“¡Ah! Ella habla espanol. ¡Qué inteligente chica!” Sergio continued, praising Hannah’s Spanish. “Inteligente y hermosa,” he added, his eyes dancing.
“What did he say?” Jason asked her.