Earlier after he’d left her in the front of the Big Deal PR building, Jasper had decided to go back to the hotel. After pacing out his unspent energy, he had sat down in front of his table. He stared at the tattered notebook in front of him, his hand clenching a pencil. His creativity had halted when he first saw the naked pictures of him and Tara all over his social media accounts. Being with Hailey today had jarred something inside of his brain, and he wanted to get it down on paper.
His notebooks were for him and him alone now that the band was no longer in his control. Jasper sighed as he lightly fingered the bent edges, his thoughts swirling around. When the record label handed the band their first pre-written song, Jasper had the urge to quit right where he stood. As soon as he accepted the annoyingly catchy lyrics as his own, he was officially selling out. If he wasn't responsible for the whole band he most likely would have ran out of the room throwing obscenities and punches.
But the band counted on him. They played shitty venues with rowdy crowds that weren’t paying attention to them onstage, remaining loyal to Jasper even after they started to make a name for themselves. The venues became less shitty, and the audience paid attention; they even sang along to the songs he had helped create. Jasper missed those days, but he couldn't stop the band from launching into stardom. It wouldn't have been fair to the other members if he didn't stay by them after sticking with him through the beginning.
Now the old days of struggling to get anyone to hear your songs and knowing exactly where your mind was when you wrote it were only remembered in his ratty old notebook. He jotted down a couple of lines wanting to capture the essence of the day. Hailey's tiny body drowning in clothes came to mind and the pencil froze over the paper. He frowned as he tried to come up with different scenarios as to why she hid herself so completely. He told himself he shouldn't care, but it didn't matter, he was going to find out. And he had a sneaking suspicion it had to do with the charities she was so involved in.
He worked on a new song until Carl texted him letting him know he was downstairs waiting for him in the car. Jasper tucked his notebook under his mattress and went to go get the confusing little bird.
Jasper stared at the top of her head. Her red hair curling all around, he wondered how long it would take her to figure him out completely.
“Are you ready to go?” Jasper asked when she continued to have her eyes glued to her desk.
“Yep, let me shut everything down.”
He watched as she grabbed her enormous purse that appeared to weigh more than his guitar case.
Jasper gently took the purse off her and slung it over his shoulder. He was wrong, it weighed more than his guitar case. “What do you have in here?”
“Everything. I can carry it if it's too heavy for you.”
“Little Bird, did you just make a joke?” he asked, as they made their way toward the elevator.
“Maybe.”
Jasper laughed. She kept catching him off-guard and he was enjoying it. She made him feel normal, and it was addicting.
They were silent as they made their way toward Carl. Once inside the car Jasper made a last minute decision and told Carl to head to one of his favorite restaurants.
“I thought we were going to practice,” she said finally looking at him.
A weird thrill twisted through him as he gained her attention. He couldn't stop himself from reaching out. Jasper's hand shook as he touched her soft cheek brushing away a stray curl. Energy surged through him, and it shocked him. Hailey was even more dangerous than he thought.
“I'm hungry. And by the frantic action I walked in on when I came to pick you up, I'm going to guess you haven't had anything to eat since we had chicken and waffles.”
Her face turned a slight shade of red as she pushed her hair behind her ears. Her finger going over the same path his finger just traveled. “I wanted to get as much done as I could just in case you did show up. I'm glad I did, because if I’d have stopped for dinner I would have been even further behind.”
Jasper understood her words were practical and made complete sense, but he couldn't wrap his head around the anger he felt. He didn't like that Hailey was working herself ragged and spending time with him seemed to be a hindrance to her profession. She’d enjoyed their time this morning. The idea of showing her more of himself lodged in his brain. He took out his phone and texted the band that he was canceling practice for the night.
Jasper took Hailey's hand as they made their way into the tiny restaurant. From the outside, it looked like a dingy door connected to a condemned building. Hailey gasped and squeezed Jasper's hand after they were inside. He never took Tara to Mamma Mechie's. She would have complained and insulting Mamma Mechie, which was something even he was scared of doing.
A large, robust woman in a stained apron ran out from behind the kitchen door. Jasper let go of Hailey just in time to be enveloped by her. Mamma Mechie was a short, plump, Italian woman that cooked like it was art. Jasper swore she sold her soul to get her gravy to taste like it did.
“My boy. I haven't seen you in forever. Where are the others?” she asked, pulling herself away from Jasper and getting her first look at Hailey. “Ah, I see you brought a girl.” Mamma wiggled her brows at Jasper before pulling Hailey in for a hug.
Jasper laughed when Hailey's eyes went wide as the woman engulfed her, before releasing her and grabbing Carl.
Dinner was a loud, boisterous affair. Mamma Mechie ran in and out of the kitchen bringing heaping plates of delicious food. The three of them dug in leaving them little time to talk. After many goodbyes and a promise that the next time he came back he would bring Hailey and the rest of the band, they finally waddled out of the restaurant.
“That was fantastic.” Hailey rubbed her stomach over her large blouse.
“Mamma Mechie is the best,” Jasper said, grabbing Hailey's hand as Carl opened the door for them.
“Thank you, Carl,” Hailey said before sliding into the backseat.
Carl nodded his head at her, but by the smile he had on his face, Jasper knew that he approved of Hailey and her lady-like manners.
He gave Carl the directions of their next destination and leaned back in his seat trying to relieve some of the tension in his stomach.
“What is this place?” Hailey whispered as Jasper held out his hand to help her out of the car.
“It's a surprise,” he told her pulling her along. “And you don't have to whisper.”
Jasper led them down a dark alley toward a large metal door with a green light hanging above it. Jasper pounded on the door four times, paused, and then hit it three more times. He winked at Hailey who was looking at him as if he had lost his mind. Not a second later, the metal door was swinging open soundlessly.
Jasper nodded toward the bouncer and walked into the building pulling Hailey behind him. Hailey’s head bounced back and forth, as if she tried to see everything at once, when they walked into the main room. The room was a big open space with concrete floors. On the left side was a bar managed by four busy bartenders. In front of them was a stage with equipment already set up for a show.
“What is this place?” Hailey asked again, staring up at the high metal rafters.
“It's an underground club. There is a band playing tonight, and I thought it would be fun.”
“I thought we were going to watch your band play?” she asked, her eyebrows pinched in the middle, as she scanned the crowd.
He reached over and smoothed her forehead. She sucked in a breath, her eyes opening wide. Jasper needed to stop touching her, but what he knew and did were not on the same page.
“Change of plans, Little Bird.” he whispered, as he took her hand, and they pushed and crammed their way to the front of the stage. He realized he kept doing that, taking her by the hand, that and the touching became a comfortable habit. He wasn’t even sure when that had become a normal thing to do, and she didn’t seem to think it was odd. Or if she did, she wasn't saying anything to him.
/> “Are they any good?” she yelled over the noise as the band started tuning their instruments.
“I don't know. I've never heard of them.”
Hailey threw back her head and laughed. Something jumped around in his stomach as she let loose. Jasper watched her slim throat dance with laughter and smiled to himself. Tara was a horrible sport when he would drag her along to these things. So far, Hailey hadn't complained once, and she seemed to be truly enjoying herself.
The band started and after two songs both Jasper and Hailey looked at each other with horror on their faces. Jasper motioned toward the bar. They once again pushed and clawed their way out of the crowd.
“They are awful,” Hailey said, cupping her hands around her lips so she could be heard over the out of tune singer and instruments.
“Yeah, they are pretty bad,” Jasper admitted. He laughed as Hailey winced when the lead singer butchered a high note.
“Why do you come to these things?” she asked as he ordered a round.
“I don't know. I like to hear bad music.”
“Really?” Hailey asked.
“It's ironic, really. Liking bad music, being who I am and all. To me it shows that people are still trying. They aren't allowing a label to shape them. It also makes me grateful to have the talent I have. It keeps me humble.”
The side of Hailey's mouth tipped up. The sparkle in her eyes showed she understood what he was saying. He found it far too easy to talk to her, and he needed to reign it in again.
Hailey's phone rang and Jasper saw her eyes light up when she answered. It was intriguing to him. She didn't seem to let go very often. He had only seen her be truly free of concern when she interacted with the less fortunate. He tried listening to her, but the band made it impossibly hard to hear. When she hung up, he couldn’t help but ask. “Who was that, Little Bird?”
“Matthew,” she answered, pulling a curl down only to have it bounce back up when she let it go.
“The guy who tried to kiss my ass yesterday?”
Hailey's face flamed red as she snorted. “That would be the one.”
“What did he want? Did I get you in trouble at work for stealing you again? If I did, I will talk to your boss. They assigned you to me. I don't want you getting in trouble for doing your job.”
Hailey smiled and some of Jasper's reservations about the phone call went away. At least until she started talking.
“Thank you for that. I appreciate you recognizing how much my job means to me. I worked hard to get where I am. Actually, Matthew's phone call wasn't about work at all. He asked me out. I told him I was with you and so he wanted to schedule a rain check. I don't know how many more excursions you have planned, so I told him I would let him know.”
With that simple explanation, Jasper's crumbling wall hardened back up. “Did he talk dirty to you, Little Bird?” he asked turning on his defense.
“Excuse me?” Hailey said, her voice higher than he had heard it before.
“Did he say all the things he wanted to do to you when you got together? I'm a boob man myself. I like to rub my face in the middle of them. I can't tell what you have hidden behind your clothes. Does Matthew know?”
“Stop, Jasper. I don't know why you are acting like this. We haven't been on a date if you must know. And you’re the only one crude enough to talk to me like this. I told him I was here with you. We can still have a nice night, and you can show me what you are determined to show me. You just need to stop acting like a jerk.”
“You don't have to worry about me, Little Bird. I have plenty of company if you want to go find Mr. Brown-nose.” Jasper winked at the two pretty girls who had been eyeing him since he walked in.
“Why are you being like this?” Hailey grew angrier, but the girls Jasper winked at had used this as an invitation and made their way over.
He winked at her and turned to ask the girls what they wanted to drink.
Hailey stood with a huff. “Really mature, Jasper.”
He didn’t turn around, but he heard her walk off as he smiled at the ladies. They were all over him like most women that spotted him out and knew who he was. He sat with them for about an hour drinking and entertaining them as they told him everything from their aspiring model careers to that one time they were in a hot tub in Vegas.
“Let’s go somewhere more private ladies,” Jasper said, putting his arms around them and leading them to the door. He saw a girl turn around from watching the band and snap a picture. He’d hear about that tomorrow from someone. Hailey was going to be pissed. Hopefully Matthew wouldn't mind a grumpy bird. Giggling, the girls were more than happy to go with him.
Jasper stopped to ask the bouncer, “You see a girl leave here in a giant shirt with curly red hair?”
“She got into a cab safely. Your driver made sure of it,” he said to Jasper, as he pointed to the security screens showing the outside of the bar.
The girls weighing down each side of his body were clueless as their hands roamed all over his body.
“Thanks, mate,” Jasper said over the teased and hair-sprayed hair on his right side. The girls tittered around him, their perfume mixing in his nostrils turning the alcohol he had in his stomach sour.
“You guys stay here and wait for a cab. I'm going to take a leak,” Jasper said, prying the red-hot fingernails from his waist.
“Hurry up,” one of them cooed, as he made his way to the side of the building.
He made eye contact with the security camera knowing the bouncer was watching and made his way toward Carl.
“Can you go hail those two a cab and tell them I changed my mind?” Jasper asked, closing his eyes and leaning his head back on the seat.
Carl got out of the car without another word. Jasper rubbed his temples as the driver’s door closed again alerting him that Carl had returned. Carl kept huffing the whole drive showing Jasper he was not impressed by his behavior tonight. That made two of them. He wanted to go home and get to sleep after the day he’d had, maybe write a little before that. Why did he have to be such a dick?
Jasper jabbed his finger to the number of his floor and brooded as the elevator took him up. When the doors slid open all Jasper wanted to do was fall into his bed and forget about the whole day. He stopped before he turned toward his apartment thinking that wasn't exactly true. Hanging out with Hailey in the morning had been fun until she ruined it by ditching him for work, and he would have liked to think they would have had an amazing night if she hadn’t answered the phone and talked to Matthew. Who was he kidding? That was all his fault; why was he jealous? It didn’t make sense to even him why he’d acted that way toward her.
“Why the angry face?” a voice Jasper wished to have never heard again pierced his eardrums. Her voice grated on his nerves more than the band he listened to tonight with Hailey.
“What are you doing here, Tara?” His voice was harsh. He couldn't believe she had the nerve to show up at his room after she’d plastered their dirty love affair to his underage fans, losing him money and sticking him with Hailey. The same Hailey that had been screwing with his head from the moment she stumbled into his booth.
“Ahhh, baby, don't be like that. I only wanted the world to see how much love there was between us.” Tara sauntered over to him. Her red heels clicked on the marble floor.
Hailey's red hair flashed in his mind and he decided he liked the natural red more than the blood red Tara liked to sport on a regular basis. “What do you want Tara? It has been a long night and I am not in the mood to deal with you.”
“I miss you. You haven't called me in days.” Her bottom painted red lip jumped out so she could properly pout.
That move used to work on Jasper. Seeing her all pouty when they were dating made him instantly hard. There were times he threw her into any available room just to screw her and knock the pout off her face. Some of those times were now posted on his social media. That thought brought all the power that pout used to wield to a standstill.
&
nbsp; “Do you know what your stupid little stunt cost me?”
“Don't talk to me like that, Jasper. I did you a favor, the sponsors you had were boring. You need edgier sponsors. Ones that won't go crazy when you act like the rock star you are.”
Jasper heard everything she said, but comprehending her logic was impossible. He was a rock star, and he kept his image of bad boy out there enough for the world to see. Hearing Tara say anything about his career or what was good for him made him angry. She certainly didn’t know. He brought her to some of his favorite places letting her know that he was two different people. Jasper, the dirty bad boy rocker that didn't give a shit what people thought of him, and the real Jasper, the one that enjoyed watching old people play checkers in the park and finding beauty in the most obscure places.
Even though Hailey hadn't fully understood that he wasn't what the media portrayed, she hit on the thought more times in the two days he knew her than the entire time he was with Tara. He didn't lie to Hailey when he told her Tara was bored within seconds of entering Central Park. If it didn't involve some form of attention, Tara was never interested. Hailey took the time to see the beauty he was trying to show her and she showed him some of her own in return. “You used me, Tara. You weren't doing anything to get attention, so you used me as some sick form of publicity boost. This was all a game to you, wasn't it?” Jasper searched her face for some sign that he came to the wrong conclusion, but Tara gave nothing away.
“Stop being so silly. I didn't use you. This is a good thing. The paparazzi are everywhere. We are going to be so popular. I think I might even get on the cover of a few magazines.”
“Get the hell away from me, Tara. Do not come back around here again. I have people working on fixing the mess you got me into. I refuse to allow you to do anymore damage. Lose my number. I never want to see you again.” Jasper was screaming by the time he finished.
His whole night had gone from bad to worse, and he was done with it.
“Jasper, this is a good thing, stop being like this,” Tara screamed even louder than he had, and Jasper wondered if there were paparazzi nearby or if she was just practicing. It made him laugh a little as he walked past her and slammed his door in her face. Hailey had told him to stop acting like a jerk tonight too. He was finally seeing the difference.
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