by Ali Parker
Caleb chuckled and crushed up his own containers. “Looks like I’m the one who’s never wrong.”
I was about to flip him off when my phone rang, an old classic from one of my favorite bands blaring from the pocket of my shorts. Gerry’s face scowled at me from the screen when I pulled my phone out, a picture I’d snapped of him once during a rant about how irresponsible we all were.
Of course, taking that picture at that exact moment had only pissed him off more, and we’d ended up having to listen to him yell for thirty extra minutes. Sliding my thumb across the green bar, I pressed the phone to my ear.
“Manager, mighty manager,” I answered. “What can I do you for?”
“Not a single thing in the world, Jared.” Gerry joked laughingly. “There’s nothing you have that could ever convince me to let you do me.”
“Fair enough.” I cracked a grin. Surprisingly, everyone seemed to be getting along well for a change, and with even Gerry still cheery after the dinner fiasco the other night, it was hard not to get caught up in the good vibes all around. “What’s up, then?”
“You ready for the trip?”
“Getting there,” I told him honestly. “I’m almost packed. Rest of the guys are probably already at the airport waiting ‘cause they’re that excited.”
“Wouldn’t be surprised.” Papers ruffled at his end, followed by faint mumbling I couldn’t make out, and then he was back. “Listen, I’d love to chat but don’t have the time right now. I wanted to ask you if you could come by the office to sign a couple of things later.”
“Can do.” I didn’t have plans, and Caleb and I were done with lunch. Besides, I was riding those good vibes, and doing what he asked without arguing for once felt like the right thing to do. “What time?”
“Soon as you can would be good.”
“I’ll be there in an hour,” I promised.
“Good.” Gerry hung up without waiting for another word from me.
“I gotta go,” I told Caleb, standing up and ducking my head so I didn’t hit it against the umbrella over our table. “Gerry needs me to sign shit at the office.”
“Want me to drop you off?” Caleb offered, walking with me to the plastic trash cans beside an opening in the wooden fence that separated the sidewalk from the restaurant.
“Nah, you wanted to stop by the studio on the way back, and I don’t know how long this is gonna take. I’ll just call for a car.” I preferred to drive myself, but I’d caught a lift to the beach with Caleb since we’d both been at my place this morning.
Texting our driver with one hand, I slid my trash away with the other and said goodbye to Caleb. I pulled the baseball cap I was wearing down over my forehead and headed out to wait for the driver.
Less than hour after taking Gerry’s call, I strode into his office building. Early for once. Who would’ve thought?
People here were used to us coming and going in whatever we happened to be wearing, so my shorts and flip flops didn’t draw too much attention. My shoes slapped against the marble floor of the lobby as I made my way to the floating staircase, almost turning toward Alicia’s office when I reached the top instead of Gerry’s.
Making a hard turn, I corrected my course. I wasn’t here to see Alicia. We didn’t have a meeting scheduled, and the last time I went to her office without one, she made it clear to me she didn’t want to see me there unless we did.
Gerry was behind his desk when I entered without knocking, barking into the phone. He rummaged through a stack of papers on his desk, pulling out a sheaf of paper and pushing it across to me. Offering me a pen from the holder he had on his desk, he held out a finger to show me he’d be a minute.
I nodded and sank into the leather chair across from his. Scanning through the paperwork before I signed it, I saw it was a bunch of legal crap from the network who would be airing the New York interview.
Ted, our lawyer, had already signed it. I still didn’t really understand how I’d gotten stuck being the one who had to co-sign this kind of stuff with him, but I’d been doing it for years. Adding my signature on the lines next to his, I made sure I didn’t miss a spot. Once I was done, I gathered the stack back up and returned it to Gerry just as he dropped his phone back onto his desk.
“Things are looking up for the band, Jared. That was a contact of mine at Billboard. He assures me your name is being mentioned there almost daily, which is great news. I just hope this trip to New York doesn’t screw it all up.”
“You and me both.” I smirked, but then I saw how serious Gerry’s expression was and dropped it. “It shouldn’t. Things are great. I don’t see this trip changing that.”
Gerry’s phone rang again, and he sighed, giving me a small smile. “I hope you’re right. I have to take this. That was all I needed you to sign for now. See you on the plane.”
“See you on the plane.” I pushed up out of my chair and left his office, shutting his door and cutting off the rant he was launching into with whoever was at the other end of the line.
The driver was waiting for me downstairs. Sliding onto the buttery soft leather seats of the limo, I leaned back and relaxed. The engine was completely silent as the driver navigated us out of the covered parking structure, a feat considering the weight the thing carted around.
My pointless thoughts of the limo’s engine and weight disappeared when we entered the open parking in front of the building. Caleb and I had grabbed a late lunch, and the sun was already sinking low, but there was enough light to see Alicia standing next to her car at the side of the road.
Punching my index finger down on the intercom button, I spoke to the driver. “Pull over, would you?”
6
Alicia
The sun was setting by the time I was ready to leave the office. The parking lot was mostly empty, and my little Audi was lonely where she sat near the exit.
A full moon was rising in the sky, lighting my way, and I was coming up to my car when I realized something was off about it. Upon closer examination, I saw that my rims were sitting on the ground, and my tires were slashed.
What the fuck? Walking all the way around the car, I realized that whoever had done it wasn’t playing around. They’d slashed all four of my tires.
“Crap,” I muttered and then released a string of curses into the night that would have made a sailor proud enough to present me with a medal. “Give me a break.”
I looked over to the car parked nearest to me and noted that its tires were fine.
Just my luck.
Dropping to my haunches on the ground, I set my tote bag down on the gravel between my feet and started digging for my phone. Its light was blinking from the bottom of my bag to alert me that I had unread messages and notifications, but those could wait. The light made finding the phone easily in the darkness of the bag, and I rose to my feet to call for a tow truck, eager for this day to finally end.
Getting everything ready and, more importantly, everyone prepped for New York was a never-ending challenge. Just this morning, I’d spent an hour each with Nick and Matt, but they weren’t taking the coaching seriously.
The towing company told me it would take them at least half an hour to get to my office when I got through to them. I sighed, irritation buzzing in me like a living thing. But it wasn’t like I could move the office closer to theirs to have them there faster, so I thanked the woman and ended the call.
I just stood there for a couple of minutes after, looking up at the moon, and silently cursed my bad luck. Stuck in a darkened parking lot for half an hour, at least, was not how I’d planned my night to go. A bubble bath, a glass of wine, and my e-reader, that was my plan.
But it didn’t look like that was happening any time soon. Running my hands through my hair in frustration, I came up with a new plan. I would read all those unread messages and notifications on my phone, reply to the emails that needed my attention, and get some work done while I waited. Then, when I finally got home, I could relax guilt free.
Headlights from a car pulling out of the VIP lot adjacent to this one hit my eyes when it turned the corner to get out, and I quickly shielded them, wondering what a strange scene this must be. A woman standing alone in the darkening lot, staring at the moon with her hands in her hair next to a car that couldn’t go anywhere.
To my surprise, the car slowed when it neared me, and I could make out now that it was a limo behind those headlights. The window rolled down to reveal Jared’s slightly confused face. He had a baseball cap back on his head, and only the hair at the nape of his neck curled slightly out from under its edges.
His eyes glittered almost black from inside the limo as he leaned with his elbows on the window, his head slightly to the side.
“What are you still doing here?” I asked him. I’d thought the members of Destitute had all left hours ago. In fact, I didn’t even know Jared would be at the office today. I’d seen only the others, minus Caleb.
His gaze flickered to my car and then back to me. “Meeting with Gerry. What happened to your car?”
“Someone slashed my tires. I’ve called for a tow, but they said it was going to take at least half an hour for them to get here.”
Looking back at my car, he lifted one tattooed arm with his index finger out, pointing toward my car, and a half smile spread on his lips. “For the record, I didn’t do that.”
I laughed, remembering how I’d chewed him out when I thought he’d egged my car. “I know. I didn’t think it was you.”
An easy smile lit up his dark eyes. “For once.” He opened the door to the limo, slid across the long back seat, and patted the space he’d vacated. “Come on. I’ll give you a ride home. You can let the towing people know they can just pick up your car and let you know when it’s ready. Or I can call my people. Your choice.”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll just let them know I won’t be here, but I’ll take you up on the ride.”
Jared smirked but then patted the seat again. “There are so many things I can do with that line about you taking me up on the ride, but since you just had your tires slashed, I’ll let it slide for now.”
“Thank you,” I said, sliding in beside him. “I appreciate the pass. I know it must be killing you to hold back on all the innuendo running through your head right now.”
I closed the door and laid my head back onto the headrest. Jared laughed, gave the driver my address, and then scooted closer to me, his arm around my shoulders and mischief in his eyes when he looked into mine. “No problem. I’ll let you make it up to me next time. Fair warning, you’re going to sit through double the number of comments, and you can’t shush me.”
I groaned, lifting my head as I shook it. He nodded his at the same time as I looked away from him. This was my first time in a limo, and it was as luxurious as I’d always imagined it would be.
“Why aren’t you driving your Rock Star Special or that other sports car you told me about the other day?”
“Rock Star Special? I know for a fact that pop stars and actors have Rovers too.”
I smiled. I loved it when Jared was playful. No. Nope. I stopped that thought in its tracks. Not loved, I corrected myself. I liked it when Jared was playful. It wasn’t a side of him I got to see too often, and I didn’t know if it was a side anyone else ever got to see.
It was also something I’d missed about him these last couple of weeks that we’d been apart or at each other’s throats. Since it seemed my slashed tires had him hitting pause on our own issues, I followed suit and relaxed into his side. Dangerous, but so very comforting after the day I’d had and the weeks not knowing where we stood.
“Point taken. The question remains the same, though. Why the limo when you have your own fancy cars?”
“Truth?”
I rolled my eyes, giving him a teasing smile. “No, I want you to lie to me.”
“Okay, then, I use the limo for—”
Nudging his shoulder with mine, I stopped him from saying whatever he was about to say, and he grinned. “You drive a tough bargain, always wanting the truth from me. Having the limo is nice when I want to get totally wasted.”
“Is that the Jared Larsen I hear making a responsible decision?” I laughed, widening my eyes and pressing my hand to my heart like he’d shocked me. “Well, I never.”
Jared threw me a look that said Really? But he couldn’t quite contain his own laughter. “Don’t tell anyone I know how to make those. They might expect me to make them more often.”
Crossing my heart, I told him, “It will be our secret, but you know this means I might expect you to make a few every once in a while?”
“The horror.” His pressed a hand to his chest. “No, I don’t think I will. It would deprive you of too many opportunities to yell at me, and we both know that’s one of your favorite pastimes.”
“Possibly. If the limo is nice when you want to get drunk, why is it that you’re sober?”
His eyes widened as if I’d mortally offended him, but I could see he was still playing. “Me, sober? Never. On a more serious note, though, you’re right. We should definitely do something to rectify the situation. I was actually with Gerry, so I could use a few.”
Sliding his delectable body forward, I missed the weight of his arm on my shoulders as soon as he removed it. He tapped a button on a control panel next to him I hadn’t noticed, and a portion of the paneling that I’d thought was simply the side of the vehicle slid back to reveal a bottle of champagne and six crystal flutes. The champagne was even sitting in ice.
“Wow. Being a rock star must be such a tough life. “
Glancing at me over his shoulder, he flashed me a quick grin as he pulled the champagne and two flutes closer. “It is, but someone’s got to do it. Nobody told me how hard it was going to be when I volunteered as tribute.”
I laughed at his expression of mock seriousness and sat back in my seat as I watched him expertly uncork the bottle. It released only a slight popping sound as he drew the cork out of it. He held both flutes in one hand to fill them.
When he was done, he handed one to me, and I gratefully accepted it. After the day I’d had, relaxing in the back of a limo with Jared, sipping champagne, and joking around was like my own personal slice of heaven.
“Thank you,” I said, savoring the cool bubbles of the dry champagne as I sipped it.
“No problem.” He set the champagne back in its bucket and settled back in his seat, champagne in his one hand and my thigh in the other, as if sliding his palm onto my leg was the most natural thing in the world.
The skin on his knuckles was decorated with the word “HOLD.” I knew that the knuckles on his other hand spelled out “FAST.” I’d googled the term. It meant “battle the storm,” among other things. Chunky silver rings sat on two of his fingers, tapping against my leg.
“Some luck you’ve been having with your car lately. First the eggs and now this.”
“I know, my poor baby,” I bemoaned my bad luck. “I wonder how many other cars around here got their tires slashed today.”
Jared nodded. “Yeah, it seems there’s always one idiot around with a streak of vandalism they can’t contain. Sometimes, it’s tagging the walls of concert venues or the management offices. Other times, it’s this, I guess.”
“True.” Jared and I slipped into a comfortable silence as we sipped our champagne.
As I thought back over the events of the day, the last few weeks actually, I realized I owed him something of an apology. “I’m sorry for the way I acted before and for being such a bitch after.”
“You really wanna talk about it now?” He looked down at me, raising a dark eyebrow questioningly.
“No, not really.” All I wanted was to enjoy whatever was left of our ceasefire. I didn’t know how long it was going to last, and bringing up everything that had happened was sure to set both of us off again. “I just want to be civil. Can we do that?”
“We can.�
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The comfortable silence from before fell between us again as I looked around the impressive interior. “Thanks for the ride. This car is awesome.”
His fingers started trailing up and down my thigh, sending awareness of his touch rocketing through my body. Just that slight touch was more than enough to have me wanting him, no matter what had happened between us and how brief our ceasefire might end up being.
The effect he had on my body was something I would never be able to explain. And yet I was completely willing to submit to it, to give myself over to Jared and not think about my failed attempts to reason with and coach the band, the potential disaster this interview could turn out to be if they didn’t start listening, the awful weeks without Jared.
“You know what else is awesome? Limo sex. You had it before?” His eyes darkened in a way that was familiar to me and told me I wasn’t the only one being affected by our skin touching.
“Nope, this is my first time in a limo, actually.”
Squeezing my thigh, he leaned his head closer to me and his lips were so close, I could practically taste them on mine. “You want to have it?”
I glanced at the driver, sitting only a few feet away, and Jared followed my gaze. “Don’t worry about him. He has earphones in, and there’s a privacy shield.” As he said it, he placed his champagne flute in a cup holder next to his leg and hit another button on the control panel. A partition slid up between us and the driver, allowing us complete privacy from him.
“Okay.” I pointed beyond my window. “But even if I wanted to, we’re only about ten minutes away from my place.”
Jared didn’t answer me. Instead, he leaned over and pressed down on a tiny button next to what looked like an intercom. Seriously? Who needed all this stuff in a vehicle?
“Johnny, take the one-hour detour.”
The one-hour detour?
He’s done this before. Of course.