Questionable Love (A Love Beyond Labels #2)

by Danielle Rocco

  A deep voice comes over the line. “Hello.”

  “Collect call…”

  “Yeah, I accept it.”

  “Hey, Jace.”

  “What’s up, Tristan?”

  “Not much.”

  “Where’s my girl?” I ask. He starts laughing into the phone.

  “Umm…I heard your girl got a little tipsy last night.”

  “What do you mean ‘tipsy’?”

  “Beau took Shay and Jules out to a club, and they had a little too much fun. I heard him tell my mom they got really drunk.”

  “She’s not there?” I close my eyes and swallow down my worry.

  “No.”

  “Is she at the condo?”

  “I really don’t know where she is.”

  “Is Beau there?”

  “No, he just stopped by this morning to give my mom Shay’s dress to wash.” He laughs. “I guess she threw up all over it.”

  What the hell?

  “If she comes over, will you tell her I called?”

  “Yeah, bro, I’ll tell her.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Do you want to talk to my dad?”

  “I have to get off the phone. Tell him I said hi, though.”

  “Okay.” He hangs up, and I can’t help it. I slam the phone onto the receiver, hard.

  What the hell did Shay do last night?

  As I walk back to my fucking cell, the guy that keeps Shay away gives me a smug look. I snap, “What the fuck are you looking at? Stop fucking with me, bro.” He laughs, and I just keep walking. When I get to my cell, I knock my hand against the cold concrete.

  What the hell was she doing drinking at a club? My girl doesn’t drink.

  WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?

  I PEEL MY EYES OPEN and see perfectly French manicured feet against my face.

  “Did someone kiss the porcelain god last night?” Jules laughs.

  I slowly push myself off the floor and sit up. “At least I made it to the toilet, lap girl,” I say with a thick voice. She slides down next to me with her back against the vanity.

  “Okay, I can remember little bits and pieces, but please tell me I’m totally imagining that your brother took my dress off me.”

  “Sorry, but he saw you in your bra and panties.”

  “Oh God, kill me now.”

  “He was a perfect gentleman, Jules. And, neither one of us was in any condition to help ourselves very well, so you should be nicer to my brother next time you see him.”

  “He practically saw me naked, Shay.”

  “So what? Bra, underwear… It’s like a bathing suit.”

  “Whatever. My head hurts. Make me coffee.” She gets up. I pull my hair out of my ponytail holder, run my fingers through it, and put it back up.

  “What the hell was I thinking drinking like that?”

  “We weren’t thinking,” she says, stomping out of the bathroom like a herd of cattle. “Wasn’t it nice not to be so caught up in your head for a few minutes, Shay?”

  “No, it wasn’t nice. It freakin’ sucks to feel like this. This right here is exactly why I don’t drink. I feel horrible,” I call out.

  I gently stand up and look in the mirror. My hair is everywhere, and my eyes look like a raccoon from all the smudged mascara. I look as bad as I feel. I wipe the dark black makeup from under my eyes. Jace would be upset if he saw me this way.

  “Jace!” I run out of my bathroom and into the kitchen. “What time is it?” Jules looks up from the coffee pot, oblivious.

  “Why are you in such a tiff? I have a freakin’ headache, Shay, and you’re screaming.”

  I look over at the clock on the coffee pot. “Oh God.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I was supposed to be waiting for his call at nine o’clock this morning, and it’s already noon.”

  “Calm down, Shay. He’ll call you later.”

  I look around and throw my hands up. “You do realize I’m not in the same house he calls me in, right? I was supposed to be at my parents’ house. Now, I have no way of knowing if he can call me back. We schedule our call times together, Jules.”

  “So, you missed one call.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. Those phone calls mean everything to me.”

  “I know they do. Let’s make coffee, then we’ll go over to your parents’ house, lounge by the pool, and have Mama Stark nurse these hangovers for us. Maybe Jace will call back while we’re there.”

  “That sounds great, but I’m not really too excited for my mom knowing I was drunk last night.”

  “She probably doesn’t even know.”

  DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE YOU COULD GO

  CRAZY WITHOUT SOMETHING?

  I PACE THE YARD ALL morning. Reno asks me to work out with him, but I’m so fucking upset and worried about Shay that I can’t concentrate on working out. And that says a lot. My hand throbs from hitting the wall earlier, and I keep making a fist to ease the pain. I shouldn’t have hit it—again, I reacted, and I can’t react that way anymore. But, just the thought of the girl that belongs to me drunk in a club for guys to take advantage of makes me crazy. I’m isolated, and in my heart, I know she would never betray me, but that doesn’t stop every fucker in the room from trying to take advantage of what is mine. I shake my hand. “Fuck!” I yell through the pain.

  “What’s wrong, bro?” Reno asks, walking up to me.

  “Do you ever feel like you’re going to go crazy without something?”

  He laughs. “Yeah, I’ve been without pussy for two years.” He points at my hand. “You just fucked up your hand.”

  “Yeah, I know.” I glance down at it.

  “What’s got you crazy?”

  “My girl went out last night.”

  “So? Can’t she go out?”

  “Yeah, she can go out.” I throw my hair back. “I’m not like that, but she went to a club and got drunk.”

  “And…so?”

  “She’s nineteen, bro. She doesn’t usually drink, and I’m a little fucking worried because she didn’t answer my call this morning.” I roughly run my hand through my hair.

  “How do you know she went out if she didn’t answer your call?”

  “Her younger brother answered and told me. She never showed up at their house for my call this morning.”

  “Okay, I get it. I’d be a little pissed off, too.” He rubs his jaw.

  “If anyone took advantage of her…” I lean my head back and close my eyes. “You don’t realize what this girl means to me. I’m so in love with her. I know this sounds crazy, but I really think she was made for me, and just the damn thought of someone trying to mess with what’s mine is soul crushing.”

  YOU TOLD HIM WHAT?

  “REALLY, GIRLS? I’M VERY disappointed in you,” Mom starts in on us as soon as Jules and I walk into the house.

  “Mom, honestly, I didn’t do it intentionally.”

  “You’re not even old enough to drink.”

  “How did you even know?” I ask.

  “Beau brought Jules’s dress over early this morning to be cleaned.”

  “Don’t be upset with him. It’s mine and Jules’s fault for drinking too much,” I admit.

  Jules looks at my mom with puppy dog eyes. “Sorry, Ms. Melody.”

  “Your mother is not going to be happy you threw up on that beautiful Calvin Klein dress.”

  “Don’t tell her.”

  “Jules, don’t ask that of me.”

  “Fine, then don’t be upset when you see me with a black eye,” Jules says matter-of-factly. Mom starts laughing.

  “You’re so dramatic. I’ve known your mother for twenty-five years, and she would never hit you.”

  “I know. I’m just playing it up.”

  “Only because I love you, I will keep this between us, but you’ll be lucky if last night’s fun times come out of that lovely dress.”

  “Is scolding time over so I can let the sun soak up all this alcohol coming o
ut of my pores?” Jules grins.

  “Yes, it is, young lady,” Mom replies. Jules walks out back to the pool house, where Mom now keeps all the extra bikinis.

  “Mom, did Jace call this morning?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

  “Yeah, he called,” Tristan says, laughing as he walks into the room.

  “Why are you laughing?”

  “I don’t think he was too happy knowing you were drunk last night.”

  My eyes widen, and I swear, they could almost pop out of my head. “You told him that?”

  “Yeah, I kind of did.”

  “Why would you do that, Tristan?”

  “It just kind of came out of my mouth.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He didn’t really say anything, just told me to tell you he called.”

  “Great. That’s just freakin’ great.”

  “Oh, and I kind of told him the dress Beau brought over here to be cleaned was yours.”

  “What?”

  “Sorry. I thought Beau said it was yours.”

  “No, it’s not mine. It’s the blonde beauty’s out there!” I look over at Mom who shrugs her shoulders, keeping silent. “I’m going to stay for the day and see if he calls back.”

  I head out by the pool and lie down. Jules wants to put music on, but I don’t let her because I don’t want to miss hearing the phone.

  My heart breaks a little more with each passing hour that Jace doesn’t call back. I’m sure my boy is worried and upset. I hate this!

  WHILE MY WORLD STOPS, MY GIRL’S KEEPS GOING

  DARK AND COLD, I lie on a pathetic excuse for a mattress and stare at nothing the entire night. While my world stops, my girl’s keeps going. Tears slide down the sides of my face, picturing my everything’s world changing without me. I’m itching to hear her voice, practically coming out of my skin to get out of this damn cell and get to that phone.

  When the clock hits eight thirty, I’m in a zone to have that phone in my hands, and when I walk into the room where my only access to Shay sits waiting, it’s in someone else’s hand. My jaw tightens when I have to get in a line I’m not used to being in. What is this, a fucking holiday I don’t know about? I stand in the line and wait while watching the clock tick past our scheduled time, pulling at the back of my hair. Hurry the fuck up, bro. Get off the damn phone. My girl is waiting.

  I’m just praying she stays by that phone. I need to hear her voice and know she’s okay.

  ARE YOU KICKING ME TO THE CURB?

  “YOU’RE HERE EARLY.” I lift my head off the arm of Mom’s chair when I hear Dad’s voice.

  “I wanted to make sure I was here to answer Jace’s call.”

  He nods and pours some fresh squeezed juice Mom left on the counter. My cell phone beeps, and I look down to see a message.

  Hunter: I’m sorry if I was out of line.

  Me: You were, but I appreciate your apology.

  Hunter: Are you kicking me to the curb?

  Me: I should.

  Hunter: Give me another chance. You’re too nice to throw away this amazing friendship we have going.

  Me: Trying to take advantage of me while I was drunk and disrespecting my relationship with my boyfriend isn’t what I call an amazing friendship.

  Hunter: Can we blame it on me being an entitled superstar?

  I actually crack a smile at that.

  Me: I’m a fair person, Hunter. I’d like to give you the benefit of the doubt, but if you cross the line again, then I know you don’t really genuinely want to be my friend.

  Hunter: Scout’s honor:)

  I set my cell phone down, willing the house phone, the one I want hear from, to ring.

  “So, you had a rough night of celebrating?”

  “I guess you could say that.”

  “Your brother felt bad.”

  “He shouldn’t.”

  “That’s what I told him.” Dad takes a drink and looks at me. “You’re going to have to learn how to manage fame, Shay.”

  “I went to the café around the corner from the condo early this morning, and three people asked to take pictures with me.”

  “Did they bother you?”

  “No, they didn’t bother me.” I pull on a loose thread on the throw pillow I’m holding. “I’ve seen pictures online linking me romantically to Hunter.”

  “Unfortunately, that stuff is going to happen.”

  “It’s not fair to Jace.”

  “It’s not, but he’s going to have to learn to deal with it. And, if he starts working with you, he will become a public figure, too, and you will have to deal with ridiculous rumors about him. He could go pick up take-out for the two of you, and the tabloids will have him having an affair with the girl handing him the food that he just politely smiled at. The tabloids will find anything to sell a story for people to buy into.”

  “Jace couldn’t handle that.”

  “You two will have to learn how important trust is in this business.”

  “How did you feel when Mom was modeling with half-naked guys on top of her?”

  “I hated it, but so did she, and she stopped soon after we got married.”

  “Do you think she ever regretted giving up something she loved doing?”

  “No, I don’t. She loved me more than a modeling career. I would’ve supported her if she wanted to continue, but her heart wasn’t in it. Her heart belonged to me once we fell in love,” he says, smiling.

  “My heart has belonged to Jace since Mom took me to volunteer at the community center.”

  “You two were so young, Shay. Sometimes, when you grow up together like you and Jace have, experiencing things on your own is healthy. When people fall in love when they’re a little bit older, they have had time to find who they are and what they want out of life. They can make mistakes without hurting another person.”

  “What about when you find the person you were meant to be with when you were twelve, and you know with all your heart that nothing will ever mean anything without them?”

  “Then I’d say you found your soul mate,” he says, smiling again.

  The phone rings. I jump up out of the chair to answer it.

  “There’s my soul mate,” I blurt out to Dad. He chuckles and walks out of the kitchen. “Hello,” I say hurriedly.

  “Collect call—”

  “I accept,” I interrupt, wiping at a tear dropping out of my eye. “I love you.”

  SHE JUST GOT CAUGHT UP

  “I LOVE YOU, TOO, BABY.”

  “I’m sorry I missed your call.”

  “It’s okay.” I lean back in the chair.

  “No, it’s not. I was really irresponsible, and I slept in.”

  I rub my forehead and let out a big sigh. “You went out and had fun. You don’t have to apologize for having fun, Shay.”

  “I wouldn’t call throwing up all night fun.”

  “No, I know it’s not.”

  “How would you know? You’ve never been drunk.”

  I chuckle. “Shay, I can’t tell you how many nights, even the middle of the day, I had to clean up puke when my mom was drunk.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she says. “I guess I just got caught up, a little too much dancing, and too much to drink.”

  She just got caught up.

  “Who were you out with?”

  “Jules, Beau, and…Hunter.”

  “You were drunk with Hunter Daniels?” I want to take it back as soon as I say it.

  “Technically, yes, I was.”

  “Did you dance with him?” I grind my teeth together, picturing everything that could have gone wrong, and I can’t fucking help it. I’m jealous as hell and ready to scale that damn wall.

  “Jace, are you upset with me?”

  “Should I be?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Did he touch you?” I scoot to the edge of the metal chair.

  “What do you mean did he touch me?”

  Sleep-deprived
and thoughts running rampant in my mind, I wait for her answer. She’s young, breathtakingly beautiful, a new recording artist, drunk to the point of throwing up on her dress, I want to know if that fucker tried to touch my girl.

  “Jace?”

  “Did he try to touch you, Shay?” I repeat.

  “I can’t believe you would ask me that,” she says quietly. I stand up quickly.

  “It’s a simple question.”

  I DON’T LIKE FEELING LIKE THIS

  MY FOREVER EARTHQUAKE just gave me unsettled tremors.

  “I’ll let you go, Jace.”

  “Answer me, Shay.”

  “I don’t like to be questioned.”

  “And I don’t like to wonder,” he says harshly, the words prompting my tears.

  “You shouldn’t ever wonder about that.” There’s silence on his end.

  “I’m sorry, baby.” He sighs into the phone. “I’m sorry… I’m just going crazy over here.”

  “How could you ever question my commitment to you? That really hurts. The only person I ever want to touch me is you,” I cry softly. “I’m going to hang up the phone.”

  “No, don’t you dare leave us like this. We don’t fight, baby. That’s not us. I’m sorry. Please, don’t cry. I just can’t stand the thought of anyone near you, especially when you’ve been drinking.”

  “I would never do anything to hurt us.”

  “I know you wouldn’t. I’m just crazy jealous right now.”

  “I need you to hold me, Jace. We need to see each other. I don’t like feeling like this.”

  PROMISE ME YOU KNOW THAT

  “THE SECOND I’M released, I’m going to wrap you so tight around me it would take an army to pull me away from you,” I say, yanking my hair.

  “I just miss you so much. Everything is changing, and I want to know that we are okay through all of it.”