Phone Calls from a Rock Star

by JL Paul

  “Take me home,” I mumbled, dry-eyed for once. “Just take me home.”

  I was disappointed, but not surprised, to find my house empty. I called my dad’s cell phone, and he told me they were in New York at a convention. I sobbed my story to him and he threatened to sue the restaurant. That cheered me, making me feel that there were some good people on my side and ready to fight—but I told him not to do it. It wasn’t the restaurant’s fault that my face was plastered all over tabloids, and it wasn’t the restaurant’s fault that Jake had such…loyal…fans. I assured him I was okay and told him I was just going to hang out at home with Annie and Cammy and return to school the next day.

  After talking to my father, I decided to shower and get the sticky mess out of my hair. I was climbing the stairs to my bedroom when my phone rang. My heart danced when Jake’s number came up on the ID.

  “Where are you?” he demanded.

  “Home,” I whispered, a tiny sob blocking my throat. “And I need you.”

  “I’m on my way,” he said and hung up his phone.

  After my shower, me and the girls curled up on the sofa and watched movies. None of us spoke, though every once in a while, a whimper would escape my lips.

  Annie leapt off the sofa when the doorbell rang and returned a second later with Jake. He rushed to my side and took me in his arms, dropping kisses on my head. I closed my eyes and inhaled his scent, comforted by his mere presence.

  He loosened his hold to peer down in my face. “What happened? I was on my way to your school to surprise you when I got your message.”

  I shook my head, not able to retell the nasty day. Annie spoke for me. She explained to him about the tabloid article, the reporters in the parking lot, and the nasty girl at Burger Kastle. His body tensed and he held me securely to his side.

  “Are you okay, Iz?” he asked. His blue eyes were laced with concern and anger.

  “I’m fine,” I promised. And I was. Everything was perfect when he was around.

  He kissed my forehead. “I’ll drive you back to school tomorrow. If those reporters are hanging around, maybe I can get them off your back.”

  ***

  He stayed with us that night with me situated comfortably in his lap. We watched television and ordered pizza and when I woke the next morning, I was safely encased in Jake’s arms on the sofa. The girls must have thrown a blanket over us and slept in my room for I couldn’t find them anywhere.

  Jake’s eyes were closed but a tiny smile appeared on his lips. I snuggled under his chin, content to be with him.

  “I missed you, Iz,” he murmured.

  ***

  I rode with him in his car as we drove back to school. Annie and Cammy were in front of us in Annie’s car. Jake held my hand the whole way, glancing at me often. He was so handsome to me in his jeans, t-shirt and bandana. He wore dark sunglasses over his eyes and my heart thumped each time I looked at him.

  He released my hand to turn down the radio’s volume. He cleared his throat and I stared at him, nervous butterflies beginning to flutter in my stomach.

  “Iz, I’m really sorry about this whole Monique mess. I never intended for you to get caught up in the middle of it.”

  “You couldn’t possibly know what those tabloids would do,” I said.

  “I figured they’d spot me and Monique, but I thought I’d have a chance to explain the whole thing to you before it blew up into something it’s not. It never occurred to me that they’d camp out at your school. I’m really sorry, angel.”

  “It’s not your fault,” I whispered.

  “Yeah it is,” he said, his voice agitated. “I really didn’t want to get mixed up in Monique’s affairs again, but she called, and I felt guilty. She doesn’t have many friends and none she can count on to help her out in situations like this. I asked Nick to come with as sort of a chaperone, you know, so that you wouldn’t suspect anything. I love only you, I swear. I don’t ever want to lose you, Iz. Monique is nothing to me.”

  My heart fluttered.

  “I trust you, Jake,” I whispered.

  I did trust him. Before I met him, I would have been ready to stereotype him as a partying womanizer, ready to jump from bed to bed. But he wasn’t like that—none of them were. Jake had character and a strong respect for life he’d learned from his father.

  “Good,” he said, eyes on the road again. He relaxed and squeezed my hand. “Because from the moment I met you, I knew I loved you. No one else could ever come close to replacing you.”

  My heart sang as I scooted as close to him as the seat belt would allow. I let his hand go to wrap mine around his bicep. “One good thing came out of this. At least all those women out there know you’re mine.”

  He flashed a wide grin and dropped a quick kiss on my head. “That I am.”

  When we finally reached my school, my stomach lurched, and not just because I knew he’d be leaving me again, soon. I think even Jake was taken aback by what greeted us.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Jake whipped his Mustang into a spot next to Annie and cursed loudly, making me wince. He yanked my cell out of my pocket and handed it to me.

  “Call the girls and tell them to stay in the car until I say so.”

  I did, eyes wide and frightened. He yelled at his attorney in his cell phone while I watched the circus that had erupted in the parking lot overnight. Once Jake finished his call, he shoved his phone in his pocket and gave me a weak smile. “Are you up for this?”

  “Do you think something’s happened?” I whimpered, fear gripping my heart.

  “No. They saw you leave yesterday and never return. They probably think there’s a story in it.”

  I massaged my forehead in frustration. So what if I left school for the night? As long as I had parental permission, why should they care? It was no concern of theirs.

  “Let’s get this over with,” I murmured. I knew I couldn’t stall much longer.

  “Wait until I get your door.” He jumped out of the car and raced around to my side, yanking open my door. He motioned for Annie and Cammy to get out and get behind him. He wrapped his arm around my waist and tucked me neatly into his side. We’d only managed a few steps before we were hounded.

  “Jake, I take it the rumors about Monique are false – that you’re not really going to marry Monique?”

  Jake’s snort vibrated down to me and I smiled a little bit.

  “Jake, are you and Isabella back together?”

  “Isabella, what do you think of Jake’s relationship with Monique?”

  Jake paused and placed his lips near my ear. “Hang on, angel.”

  He straightened and stared at the horde surrounding us. “Leave her alone, okay? Monique and I are not a couple. I never broke things off with Isabella, end of story. Now go away. Back off. There are kids trying to study here.”

  He gave my waist a quick squeeze and pushed his way through the crowd, ignoring their continued questions. Annie and Cammy were right behind us and I hardly took a breath until we were safely on the other side of the gates.

  He released me and took my hand. “Are you alright?”

  “Jake,” I said, panic creeping up my throat. “They had video cameras. Did you see that?”

  He ran his hand through his hair before pinching the bridge of his nose. “Yeah, I saw that. But maybe they’ll leave you alone now that they know there’s nothing going on with me and Monique.”

  He sounded as doubtful as I felt.

  Dean Fletcher met us in front of the Admin building. He asked if we were okay and offered Jake one of the guest dorms for the night. Jake declined and disappointment flooded my heart. I wanted him to stay.

  He walked us to our dorm but pulled me aside as the girls scampered in the building. “I have to get home, but I’ll see you next weekend.”

  “Yeah, bright and early Sunday morning,” I chirped with false happiness. It still hurt a bit that I wouldn’t be part of his birthday celebration. But if I just said the wo
rd, he’d arrange it.

  He grabbed my face and smiled. “You know all I want for my birthday is for you to spend that entire week with me. And you could throw in one of those little nighties – maybe in black.”

  “I’ll see if they have one in your size,” I teased.

  He grinned, crinkling his eyes, and captured my lips with his. I wrapped my arms around his neck and melted into him.

  All too soon, he pulled away. “I have to go, Iz. I’ll call you later, okay?”

  “If you can fight the mob,” I muttered.

  “I’ll be fine,” he said with a kiss. “But you, please, don’t leave campus. If you absolutely have to, don’t leave alone.”

  “What about when I leave to come to your place?” I asked.

  “Maybe Annie’s boyfriend can walk you out,” he suggested.

  “I can handle myself,” I said. He frowned. “But if it will make you feel better…”

  He kissed my nose. “It will. Bye, angel. I love you.”

  He kissed me once more and sprinted down the sidewalk.

  ***

  The week before Spring Break crept by slowly, as if taunting me. I saw my face a dozen times on TV that week and let me tell you, my fifteen minutes of fame was definitely running over time. It was not fun—not in the least.

  Seth thought it was hilarious and called me often, asking for my autograph. I hung up on him.

  Annie snuck into town to buy all the latest tabloids instead of waiting for her subscription to be delivered on Saturday. She went through each one, reading aloud the bits of information on me and Jake—especially the big story on how he came to my rescue and valiantly escorted me back to school. The photo accompanying that article was actually very good. It was of me leaning into his body, and his arm wrapped possessively around me. I cut it out and put it in a frame.

  Cammy, bless her heart, started a scrapbook.

  Things at school began to change. Instead of whispering behind my back, everyone seemed to be taking up my cause. They cursed the reporters lurking outside the school grounds and warned me whenever one was too close to the fence.

  Well, nearly everyone supported me. Kimberly and her band ignored me, and Alicia sneered anytime she caught my eye. Lance and his group totally avoided any kind of eye contact, but Krysti offered me small smiles from time to time. I didn’t let any of it bother me, though. The high school drama I’d fretted over seemed trivial compared to what was happening outside those gates.

  Jake called constantly to check on me. He told me he hired a contractor who was fencing in his entire estate, including the lake. He said he wanted me to feel comfortable when I was there with him for the week and not feel like eyes were constantly on me.

  Every single time I thought about the week I would spend with him, all alone, I wondered if he would finally agree to consummate our relationship. Little spasms would shoot up my spine and tickle my stomach when I imagined it happening but I wasn’t entirely sure Jake would relent. I could try to seduce him but I had no experience in the matter.

  My parents knew of my plans to stay with Jake. My mother told me I was a legal adult, and she hoped I would be smart. My father, though, was not as easily placated. I explained to him awkwardly, grateful it was over the phone, how Jake felt about the whole sex matter. I told him of our talk and how Jake wanted us to wait, that he thought I was too young and that we hadn’t been together long enough to develop the emotional part of our relationship. My father was speechless for a moment but after that, he, too, gave me his blessing. He did mention that he hoped I would use my head and realize that Jake was right. He told me that he agreed with Jake and that if Jake and I truly loved one another, we could wait a while before allowing our relationship to become physical. I almost told him every father hoped the very same thing for his daughter but I decided against it. No need to bring on premature aging.

  I thought things would die down but apparently inquiring minds really wanted to know every aspect of Jake’s love life because there were always a few reporters hanging out near the parking lot. It frustrated me to no end and I slammed the door to my room Friday afternoon. I threw my books on my bed and plopped down in a huff.

  Annie stopped filing her nails to raise a brow at me.

  “Why do they stick around? How interesting can I be? All I do is go to class,” I fumed.

  Annie’s face puckered into a wry grin. “They’re waiting for you to screw up.”

  I fell back on my bed, knocking my head on a textbook. “They should have been here at the beginning of the year.”

  Annie dropped next to me and grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to sit up. “Don’t ever say anything like that around them or anyone else for that matter!”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Why?”

  “Because,” she groaned. “If they get wind of your…bad judgment…of earlier this year, they’ll turn it into some kind of sordid story.”

  I dropped my head and slumped my shoulders. “I see your point.”

  She gave my shoulders a quick squeeze and dug the remote out from under my pillow. She turned on our tiny TV and scooted up to the head of my bed. “Let’s see what the gossip mongers are saying about you today.”

  “Wonderful,” I moaned. “Can’t wait.”

  She tuned into Entertainment This Week. I watched with little interest as Ms. Silicone droned on and on about some big star’s revealing vacation pictures. We even got a glance at the blurry images. She moved on to the next star’s unfortunate love life before playing footage of the front of Jake’s house. I grabbed Annie’s arm.

  “That’s Jake’s house!”

  “Shhh,” she shushed me.

  “Construction continues at the house of Jake Johnson, lead singer of Controlled Environment.” I was surprised, and pleased, that Ms. Silicone dropped the ‘bad boy’ label. “Sources say he’s preparing his home for when his current love, Isabella Ames (cue video of Jake escorting me to school), graduates high school this June.”

  “Oh, please,” I snorted. Annie giggled.

  “Other sources, however, say Jake is having the property fenced so he can continue to hide Monique DuVois, who hasn’t been seen in public since Johnson left L.A. last weekend.” The evil silicone woman grinned. “I wonder what Miss Ames thinks of that.”

  I gawked at Annie, utterly speechless. “Can you believe this?”

  Annie was beside herself. “I wonder who else he’s hiding. Elvis? Jimi Hendrix?”

  I froze suddenly, startling her out of her hilarious rant. “Annie, how am I going to sneak off campus and pick up Jake’s puppy?”

  “Cammy and I will pick up the puppy,” she said and we plotted my escape the rest of the evening.

  Saturday afternoon, Cammy and Annie left to pick up the puppy while Zach escorted me to my car. The horde of reporters had grown, and I expected they must have gotten wind of Jake’s birthday party. I tried to take a page out of Jake’s book and tucked my blonde ponytail under a baseball cap but I’d left my sunglasses in my car. I was definitely a very inexperienced paparazzi dodger.

  We’d almost made it to my car when one of the reporters, a man I recognized as one who’d taken to walking the perimeter of the school grounds, noticed me. “Hey, Isabella, are you going to Jake’s birthday bash?”

  I opened my mouth to shout something rude enough to make my mother blush but Zach yanked on my arm and dragged me toward my car.

  “Come on, Isabella,” the reporter pleaded. “Are you part of the party they planned in Chicago? I heard Monique is going to be there.”

  I stumbled but Zach kept a firm hold on my arm. “She’s even staying at his place. I have photos.”

  I stopped that time but we’d reached the car and Zach took that opportunity to shove me inside. He calmly walked around and climbed in the driver’s seat, slammed the door and locked it.

  “He was trying to get a rise out of you, Bella,” Zach said quietly. “You did a good job keeping your mouth shut.”

  A sudde
n surge of affection swelled inside of me. I was so glad Annie found such a nice guy like Zach. I nodded in agreement but my mind was whirring, wondering if those photos actually existed.

  ***

  We successfully dodged all reporters and camped out in a couple hotel rooms in another town. My father arranged the rooms and ordered us to keep inside and not peek our noses out for anything that wasn’t an emergency. So we ordered room service and pay-per-view and took turns playing with the puppy. Annie and Cammy were in charge of sneaking him out for potty breaks.

  It was fun—almost like a slumber party except for the fact that Zach was there. Jealousy clenched my heart when Annie kissed him goodnight and sent him to the adjoining room when we all decided to retire. But I reminded myself that I would be with Jake the next day and excitement would chase away all the gloom.

  I had tried to call him all day to wish him a happy birthday but my calls went directly to voice mail. I decided he must have started on the birthday bash early. That frightened me. I prayed they’d be careful and take a cab. It was bad enough they’d be drinking, I didn’t want them driving, too.

  Jake’s new puppy was an adorable ball of soft, black fur. I set off the next day with him, a crate and a box full of fun puppy things. Halfway to Jake’s house, that adorable fur ball turned into an annoying, carsick mutt. I had to stop to let the puppy out while I cleaned out the crate and aired out the car. I gave him a drink of cool water and started out again.

  By the time I turned off the interstate and onto the two lane highway, I began to tremble. I couldn’t wait to spend an entire week with Jake. And the puppy, who was starting to grow on me again even after the carsick incident.

  I turned into his drive and approached the brand new gates. And a horde of hungry reporters. They grinned when they figured out who I was.

  I pulled slowly to an intercom attached to a steel post, afraid to lower my window and push the buzzer. I did, anyway, and the questions began.

  “Did you go to the party?”

  “Are you moving in after graduation?”