by JL Paul
“There you are, Mel.”
Rob.
What is he doing here?
“Hey,” Melanie greeted in a warm voice. “I almost forgot that we were doing lunch today!”
“I’m sure my cousin had something to do with that,” Rob laughed. “How you doing, Lex?”
Sidney quickly threw on her t-shirt and slid into her flip-flops, her head tilted toward the door. Crossing her fingers, she hoped that Melanie and Rob would leave for their lunch date and not wait for Sidney to emerge.
“I’m helping Sid pick out a dress for the studio party,” Lexie said.
Sidney’s heart sank.
“Sidney’s here?” Rob asked in a strained voice.
No longer able to hide, Sidney took that as a cue to leave the sanctity of the dressing room.
“Hey,” she smiled, the dress hanging over her arm.
“Hey, yourself,” he said, his eyes flashing something strange. “I didn’t know you were shopping today.”
“Oh, relax,” Lexie said. “I have Moe driving us around. She’s perfectly safe.”
“Oh, yeah,” Rob said. “I know. Good. So, you, um, bought a dress?”
“Yeah,” Sidney said, holding up her arm. “Well, I haven’t exactly paid for it yet.”
He nodded as Melanie’s glance skimmed off of Rob and fell on Sidney. “Let’s get you rung up, Sidney,” she said. She turned to Rob. “And then you and I can go eat.”
“All right,” he said, smiling at Melanie.
The group headed toward the registers where Sidney quickly paid for her dress. Once Sidney collected her bag, they all walked out of the boutique.
“Oh,” Rob said, his eyes flicking on Sidney’s face. “Chad’s been scouting locations for a video shoot for you. When you go in the office on Monday, hunt him down and he’ll go over it with you.”
“Okay,” Sidney said with a weak smile. She dropped her eyes to the shopping bag dangling from her fingers.
“Ready to go?” Melanie asked as she wrapped her hand around Rob’s. “I thought we could hit the bistro down the street.”
“Sure,” he said, giving her arm a gentle yank. He glanced at Sidney and Lexie. “Talk to you girls later.”
“Have fun you two!” Lexie called with a three-finger wave. She slipped her arm into Sidney’s and led her to the waiting car. “Come on. We still have to find shoes.”
Groaning, Sidney allowed Lexie to drag her to the car, her heart in her throat and her stomach at her feet.
***
Monday couldn’t come fast enough. Life at Rob’s house had become tense and strained. Rob spent as much time as possible away, not showing up for meals and coming home late at night. His behavior should have upset Sidney, but it was sort of a relief. At least she didn’t have to face him and worse – face the fact that he’d been right. It had been a mistake for them to sleep together.
She couldn’t understand what she’d been thinking that night. All she’d meant to do was tell him what Aliza had said but somehow, she’d turned it into a request for his services. And now he was obviously embarrassed and ashamed and couldn’t even relax in his own home.
She knew what she needed to do – it was just going to be tough to do it. She was going to have to find a new place to live and leave Rob’s house.
She arrived at the studio Monday morning – courtesy of Moe again. Rob had left before she’d even gotten out of bed and had sent Moe to pick her up. It was humiliating, to say the least, not to mention aggravating. She hated feeling like she had a babysitter.
As soon as she put her bag in her locker, she headed to Rob’s office, determined to jump back in and not let anything affect her work.
But the office was empty.
Nonplussed, she sat behind his desk and booted up his computer. She went through his calendar and files, finding plenty to do. Grateful to have something to keep her mind busy, she worked through the morning, hardly aware of how quickly time was passing.
“Sid.”
She jumped, looking up from her work to find Chad grinning in the doorway.
“Oh, hey, Chad,” she said, hand on her heart. “You startled me.”
“I see that. Sorry,” he said. “Um, did Rob forget to tell you to see me about the video shoot?”
“Oh, no,” she cringed. “He told me. I’m the one who forgot.”
Chuckling, Chad pushed away from the doorframe. “Come on down to my office and we’ll go over my ideas.”
Nodding, she saved her work and followed.
She was mildly surprised at how fun it was to plan a video shoot. Chad had some amazing, creative ideas that got her excited all over again. They broke briefly for lunch, grabbing a sandwich from a nearby deli, and then got back to work, nailing down ideas and matching them to locations.
“I should be able to get a crew together quickly,” Chad said. “And then we’ll get whatever permits and permissions we need this week. Hopefully we can begin shooting next week.”
She opened her mouth to agree when Rob popped into the office.
“Oh, sorry,” he said, his eyes flicking to Sidney before returning to Chad. “Didn’t realize you were busy. How’s it going?”
“Excellent,” Chad smiled. “I think we’re pretty much set. Just need to get a crew and stuff. We’re going to try to start shooting next week.”
“Great,” Rob said, avoiding Sidney’s eyes. “I can’t wait to get this video released and gauge the reactions.”
“Me, either,” Chad said.
“Keep me up to speed,” Rob said. With a quick wave, he was gone.
“Hm,” Chad said.
“What?”
He took a breath, his eyes on the empty doorframe. “Did he seem off to you?”
“I don’t know,” she said, trembling inside. “Maybe.”
“How’s he been at home?” Chad asked.
Sidney shrugged. “He hasn’t been around much. Why?”
“I don’t know,” Chad said, sinking into his chair. “He’s been a little strange lately. I thought maybe things weren’t going so great with Melanie but Lexie said it’s actually going quite well. She thinks that they might be reconciling soon.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good,” Sidney said, hoping Chad was too preoccupied to notice the shakiness of her voice.
“Yeah,” Chad said, eyes still distant. “I guess she’s talked him into taking some sort of couples cruise.”
“That’s sounds fun,” Sidney said, sliding to the edge of her seat, anxious to make an excuse and leave.
Chad snorted. “You know Rob. That’s not his sort of thing. Besides, he’ll go nuts being away from the office for that long.”
“Probably,” she said. “If we’re done here, I need to finish a few things before getting out of here.”
With a slight shake of the head, Chad’s eyes fell on her, clear and in the present. “Oh, yeah. We’ll talk more later once I get a crew.”
“Okay, thanks,” she said, practically fleeing the room. She headed towards Rob’s office but stopped short. What if he was in there? She couldn’t face him, not now. Where was she supposed to go?
She wasn’t going to be able to avoid him. She worked in his office. She lived in his house. She had nowhere to hide.
With a swift turn, she headed to the locker room to gather her things. She’d grab a taxi and go back to his house. Once there, she could lock herself up in her room and figure out what to do – and how to fix the mess she’d made.
Fifteen
The video shoot was more fun than Sidney ever imagined it would be – and more work. Chad and Rob had selected one of the more upbeat songs that she’d written – something to slowly introduce her to the world. With Chad’s creativity, they’d managed to put together a fun, summery song that would hopefully make people turn up the volume when the song played on the radio. Although summer was already upon them, it was still early with the sun just beginning to rev up for the season. They put a rush on the editing, hoping t
o get the video released by mid-July and have people playing it at their outdoor barbecues and beach parties.
After they wrapped up on the final day, Rob corralled Sidney to his car, ordering her to get in and buckle up.
“What are you up to now?” she asked, relaxed in his presence for the first time since their night together. She had work to thank for that. They’d been too busy shooting and arguing and brainstorming to focus on anything personal. But now, cooped up in the confines of his car, she hoped that they’d finally cleared the awkward, tense hurdle.
“I’m not up to anything,” he said with a crooked grin. “Just, you know, tired from this shoot. And hungry. Want to stop for a bite?”
“You know me,” she grinned back. “I’m always hungry.”
“Must have forgotten who I was talking to for a second,” he teased.
Her heart lifted. If they could slip back into their usual, bantering relationship, maybe things would be all right.
Rob passed a cute, artfully faded wooden sign announcing that they were entering Woodridge Beach. Sidney had become quite familiar with the quaint little community, including the exclusive shops, pricey restaurants, and the busy pubs. But Sidney was most familiar with Rob’s favorite watering hole: Woody’s Tap.
Rob parked in the back next to Chad’s car and a few others that Sidney recognized from the studio parking garage. Her gut began to slide to her feet. They couldn’t possibly know? But of course they could. Lexie would have all of that info in her personnel files.
“Party or something?” Sidney asked, raising a brow as she unbuckled her belt.
“Just food and beverages,” Rob said, concealing a smile. “Let’s eat. I’m starved.”
Shaking her head, her flip-flops crunched the gravel as she followed him to the entrance. He held open the door, winking when she gave him a questioning look as she passed.
“Happy birthday!”
The bar exploded with roars of good wishes. Chad, Lexie, the guys from the band, as well as a few other Ross Records employees surrounded her, hugging or shaking her hand. Her head began to spin as her eyes, of their own accord, searched the smiling faces for one in particular.
But Melanie wasn’t there.
Relief rushed through Sidney’s body like a tsunami, bringing with it a party mood. She smiled so wide that it hurt her cheeks as she accepted greetings from her friends.
Someone shoved a bunch of singles into the jukebox and upbeat, fast-paced tunes filled the little bar.
Chad and Bruno had managed to commandeer four square tables and had pushed them together, leaving only four more left for the other few patrons.
A chipped bar in bad need of refinishing stretched halfway across the north wall, the usual mirror backdrop behind shelves of dusty liquor bottles. Eight or ten stools sat in front of the bar with old men nursing whiskey and gin and beer, necks craned to the TV anchored in the corner, complaining about this pitcher or that centerfielder, wincing only slightly when the music got loud.
Sidney allowed her friends to hustle her to the clump of tables, accepting the beer that was thrust into her hands.
“Were you surprised?” Lexie asked, her eyes sparkling as bright as the diamond on her finger.
“Yes,” Sidney said.
“Good! I told everyone to pretend like they didn’t know it was your birthday. I wanted you to think that we forgot it.”
“Well, it worked,” Sidney smiled, failing to tell her friend that she herself hadn’t thought much about it. She’d been too busy worrying about her situation with Rob and the whole Grant fiasco to think about anything else. “Thanks, though. I’m sure you’re behind this.”
“Oh, it’s nothing, really,” Lexie said with a wave of her hand. “I wanted to do something really elaborate but Rob said no. He thought it would embarrass you.”
Sidney’s eyes shot to Rob standing on the other side of the table, engaged in conversation with Paulie and Chad. “He was right.”
“Oh, we have gifts,” Lexie said, pointing to the small pile on the table.
Sidney’s cheeks flushed as she sat down and accepted the first gift bag.
“That’s from me and the boys from the band,” Bruno said, leaning down to talk into her ear. “We weren’t sure what to get you.”
She removed a box and opened it. Inside were several custom guitar picks – beautiful colors with her signature etched across them.
“Wow,” she said. “Thanks guys. I love these.”
Bruno beamed, his face turning a pale shade of pink underneath his facial hair.
“Here’s mine and Chad’s,” Lexie said, squirming in her seat like a three year-old.
Sidney opened the long, flat box carefully to reveal a handsome, leather scrapbook. She opened the cover and saw her face – the face that was on her Ross Records ID badge. Flipping the pages, she smiled at the pictures and mementos of her time at Ross Records, including some of the thrown out copies of the songs she’d worked on with Rob.
“I started this thinking that we could chronicle your time here in LA, and add onto it as you rock the music scene.”
“I love it,” Sidney whispered, closing the book and running her hand over the supple leather. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome,” Lexie said, hugging Sidney’s neck. “Oh, Mel sent something. She couldn’t come. She had to fly out to New York for a couple of weeks.”
Sidney’s heart sank as she took the box that Lexie handed her. Guilt filled every crevice of her body as she opened the gift to find silver costume jewelry: A fine chain with a heart pendant and matching bracelet. A note was enclosed, wishing Sidney a happy birthday and saying that the jewelry would complement the dress she’d purchased perfectly.
“That was so nice of her,” Sidney said, resisting the urge to glance at Rob. She shoved the jewelry back into the box, her cheeks so flushed and hot one could broil a steak on them. “I can’t wait to see her again so I can thank her.”
Chad interrupted in order to take Lexie’s hand as a slow tune began. Sidney welcomed the moment to compose herself, but only for a second.
“Want to dance, Sid?”
She glanced up into the sweet, fuzzy face of Bruno. He held out a hopeful hand in which she placed her own with a smile.
“Sure. Thanks.”
He drew her out of her funk as they danced, joking with her, telling her of the outrageous things that he and Paulie had searched for online to give her as a gift.
“We found this place that personalizes boxer shorts. We could have put your picture on the butt but I didn’t know your size. Plus, Paulie didn’t think you’d like it.”
Sidney laughed hard enough to bring tears to her eyes. “I would have loved them!”
“I knew it,” Bruno said with a crazy grin. “Now I know what to get you for Christmas.”
When the song finished, Bruno escorted her back to her chair, thanking her for the dance, and then hurried off to buy her a fresh beer.
“I think he may have a crush,” Tracy, Paulie’s wife whispered as she slid into the chair next to Sidney.
“No,” Sidney said, watching Bruno order beers at the bar. “Nah, he’s just a big flirt.”
“True,” Tracy said, sipping on a glass of white wine. “But I think he does like you.”
“Tracy, don’t say that,” Sidney begged, placing a hand on Tracy’s arm. “I love the guy, but in a friend sort of way.”
“Oh, he knows that,” Tracy said, patting Sidney’s hand. “Don’t start worrying about that.”
Sidney nodded as Bruno returned with drinks. Thanking him with a smile, she was relieved when he moved away to talk to the other men.
She chatted with Tracy and Lexie most of the evening, enjoying herself like she hadn’t in ages, just being out with a bunch of friends, having drinks like a normal person. The only thing marring her good time was the looks she’d frequently catch coming from Rob.
As the evening grew later, another slow, mournful tune fill
ed the air. This time, it was Rob who asked her to dance.
“Um, sure,” she said, taking his hand. He held her close, but not close enough that anyone would perceive them as a couple. It was comfortable – if he’d held her closer, she wasn’t sure how her body would react.
“Are you having a good time?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, a soft smile on her lips. How good it felt to be this near to him again – almost natural. “It’s perfect. Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me,” he chuckled. “It was all Lexie’s doing.”
Sidney rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure. She’s pretty stubborn about these sorts of things, huh?”
“You have no idea,” he said. Glancing over her head, he cleared his throat and released a long breath. “So, how are you doing with things?”
His eyes dropped to hers and she didn’t need to ask him to clarify. “Fine. How about you?”
He lifted a shoulder. “I know we probably should have talked or something but I just didn’t know what to say.”
“Don’t worry about it, Rob,” she said, shaking her head and forcing her smile to stay. “I’m fine, really.”
He leaned back a bit to study her face, brow crinkled, eyes searching. Satisfied, he straightened and held her a little bit closer. “Good. I’m glad. I was worried that maybe I… I don’t know – didn’t treat you right afterwards. I wasn’t thinking clearly that night and I know it was an important thing for you…”
“Rob,” she interrupted. “Stop. Everything is fine.”
“Okay,” he said, his crooked smile in full force.
They danced in silence until he looked at her again. “I forgot. About your birthday present…”
“No, don’t even go there,” she said. “You’ve done way more than enough for me. I don’t want you getting me anything.”
“Too late,” he said with a smirk. “Well, kind of. Do you remember that duet that I wrote and you liked?”
She nodded.
“I want you to record that with me. And since it’s too late to put it on this album, I want to put it on your next one.”
“Rob,” she protested.
“Don’t argue, Rookie,” he said, stern. “It’s a done deal.”