by J. Bengtsson
I laughed. “You have a bit of a potty mouth, don’t you Mr. McKallister?”
“I travel with like 50 dudes year round. There is no swear jar.”
“I’m going to start fining you but instead of putting money in a swear jar for every f-bomb, you’ll owe me a foot rub!” I giggled.
“The punishment needs to fit the crime, Casey.”
I laughed. “So what’s it like on tour with all those dudes?”
“It’s fun and loud and crazy and smelly.”
“I can only imagine. Are there any females that travel with you?”
“There are always wives and girlfriends that travel but the only women I actually pay are two backup singers and Marcy. She’s the wife of one of the drivers.”
“What’s her job?”
“Her job title is ‘mom’.”
“Mom?” I laughed.
“Yeah. She just kind of does everything a mom would do. She keeps the household running smoothly. She takes care of anything that has to do with the band and preparing us to go on stage. And then after the show she takes care of all that too. She’s older and her kids are grown and she likes travelling with her husband so it works out perfectly.”
“Damn that sounds like an awesome job!”
“She likes it,” Jake shrugged. “Personally I wouldn’t want to be picking up all our sweaty clothes and washing them but Marcy doesn’t seem to mind.”
“How many people does it take to run a tour?”
“Um…I have my crew of between 50 and 60 and then we have local crew who are hired by the stadiums.”
I nodded but I didn’t really know what he was talking about. “That’s a lot.”
“Not really. Some tours have 100 to 200 people working on them.”
“Seriously? Why would you need that many people?”
“If you have elaborate stage sets or have a lot of backup dancers, or costumes changes, or if you have assistants for your assistants. That kind of thing.”
I smiled. “How many assistants do you have?”
“Um…none really. I guess Marcy is as close as I have to an assistant. I also have a tour manager but I don’t have people who wait on me or anything.”
“Why is that?”
“I don’t know. It’s just not my thing. I would rather do stuff on my own.”
“Yeah, I can see that about you. You don’t seem like a spoiled brat.”
Jake laughed. “Wow, thanks.”
I nodded, grinning at Jake. He stared into my eyes for a few seconds before placing his hand on my knee and then tracing my skin. I shuddered. He grinned. He knew exactly what he was doing to me.
“You have nice legs,” he commented absently.
“Thank you. Too bad for you that they are attached to my stinky feet.”
“I know. That part of it sucks.”
I smiled then made the mistake of glancing over to the dance floor and saw Sarah throwing me daggers with her eyes.
“God, she’s glaring at me,” I groaned.
Jake turned his head to look.
“Don’t look!” I squealed as I grabbed his hand.
“Who? Sarah?”
“Yes. She really hates me now.”
“So what?” Jake replied matter-a-factly. “You weren’t friends to begin with, were you?”
“No. I’ve only met her a few times. She’s Kate’s friend not mine.”
“Then don’t worry what she thinks.”
“I already know what she thinks. According to Sarah I’m a conniving slut.”
“Ouch…she seriously said that to you?”
“Yep.”
“Bitch. You want me to go rough her up for you?”
“Hmm…that is such a sweet offer,” I joked. “But she’d probably just like it.”
Jake laughed and continued to rub my feet.
Sarah wasn’t the only one watching. Several groups of wedding guests were staring at us…or staring at Jake, to be more exact.
“Does it bother you when people stare at you?”
“Someone’s staring at me?” Jake replied jokingly.
I giggled. “Seriously, do you not even notice it?”
Jake’s smile faded a bit. “No. I notice it. I just choose to ignore it.”
“You choose to ignore it?” I laughed. “That’s an interesting strategy.”
“There’s not a lot I can do about it. If I stare them down or ask them to stop then I look like a douche.”
“True. You’d look like a whiny, ungrateful celebrity.”
“Exactly. Nothing worse than those sniveling assholes,” Jake grinned.
“No doubt,” I laughed.
“I don’t think most gawkers are trying to be rude, though. People are just mesmerized by fame. They lose their common sense and forget their manners. It’s a strange phenomenon. I mean I’m just a normal guy but people don’t want to see me that way. It doesn’t really sell records, you know?”
I nodded.
“So you have to give the public what they want,” Jake shrugged.
“And what do they want from you?”
“Well see, with me, it gets a little complicated because I’ve got two personas going on. The wild, brooding, sex-crazed rockstar…that’s standard protocol…but then I’ve got the whole deranged, doomed victim thing going on too.”
I shook my head. “Again, overachiever.”
Jake nodded, amused.
“So how do you decide which persona to be?”
“I don’t. They do.”
“And how do they decide?”
“Usually by whether they are fans or not. My fans, who buy my records and go to my concerts, they perceive me to be the cool rockstar. And then there are those who aren’t fans, but who think they know who I am because of media reports. Those are the ones who consider me to be a victim.”
“Huh. Wow.” I exhaled. “Being you is so complicated.”
“You have no idea,” Jake smiled but there some melancholy attached to it.
“And you’re okay with people thinking you’re someone that you’re not?”
“Yep,” Jake replied, dismissively.
“I would hate that.”
Jake shrugged. “Because you care what people think of you.”
“And you don’t?”
“Nope.”
“Really? Not at all?” I asked skeptically. I didn’t believe him for a second.
Jake sighed, “I used to when I was younger but then I grew a very tough, impenetrable skin. Now I don’t give a shit what people say about me.”
I looked at him in surprise. “Wow. I want one of those skins.”
Jake shook his head. “No you don’t.”
We sat there quietly for a minute before I whispered, “Do you care what I think?”
Jake seemed surprised by my question. After a few seconds he replied, “Yeah.”
I smiled. “So then you aren’t as bulletproof as you think you are.”
Jake smiled back but didn’t answer.
God, he was incredible. I found him so intriguing…a play in contrasts. There were so many layers to him…so many things I wanted to know about him; but instinctively I knew that Jake was the type of person that needed his layers peeled back slowly, and with the upmost care. He seemed so strong and in control but there was a vulnerability to him that took my breath away. What surprised me most about Jake was his willingness to allow me tiny little glimpses into his innermost thoughts. I hadn’t expected those small morsels of honesty from him, certainly not after knowing him for such a short time. He trusted me. Why, I had no idea. But he did. And I intended to earn every bit of that trust.
I ran my finger down his arm. Now it was his turn to shudder. He looked me in the eyes with a smoldering expression then trailed a finger up my leg. I shivered as wetness formed between my legs. It didn’t take much with this guy. We sat there gently caressing each others skin, not talking, for several minutes until Keith came bounding up to us. We quickly removed our ha
nds.
“Hey, sorry to disturb you two,” he said with a smirk, as he looked between us. “But JimSuey are leaving and they wanted to say bye to you.”
“Oh okay. Where are they?”
“Over at the table.”
“Sorry, but the foot rub is now over,” Jake grinned.
“Damn,” I giggled as I swung my legs back down and set him free.
Jake stood up and said, “I’ll be back soon.”
Keith watched him walk away then turned back to me with a shit-eating grin on his face, “Sooo, how is everything?”
“Good. And you?”
“Great.” Keith smiled knowingly at me. “Are you enjoying my little brother?”
“I am,” I grinned. “Very much so. Thanks for asking.”
“He’s dreamy isn’t he?” Keith rolled his eyes and had a dopey look on his face.
I laughed out loud.
“You two…” Keith paused, “I’m liking it.”
“Yeah?” I smiled.
Keith nodded and grinned. “I gotta go but I still want to introduce you to Sam. I’ll find you later.”
I nodded as he walked away. I glanced over to see Jake with his grandparents. He asked me to wait here so that was what I intended to do. I’d wait here all night if I had to.
Chapter Nine
Jake
All I wanted was to get back to Casey. After saying goodbye to my grandparents I had every intention to hurry back over to her. But my mom was by my side before I could make my escape.
“Are you having fun?” She asked.
I could hear the edge in her voice.
“Yeah,” I said then looked in Casey’s direction, distracted.
“Jake?”
“What?” I said turning my full attention on her.
“How long has it been since we’ve seen you?”
“I don’t know. Since the start of the tour?”
“That’s right. It’s been more than four months.”
“I guess. Why?” I asked but I already knew where she was going with this. Cue the guilt trip.
“Jake, you know this is our only chance to spend time together as a family but I feel like you’ve been preoccupied with other things,” mom said with a sour look on her face. “You do your own thing all year round but right now is family time and I’m asking you to honor that.”
“I have been spending time with family…what are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about that girl hanging all over you. Every time I turn around you’ve gone off with her somewhere. Does she not even care that this is your brother’s wedding?”
“She’s not doing anything mom,” I said shaking my head, annoyed. “You always do that.”
“Do what?”
“You always have that accusatory tone.”
“I don’t have a tone, Jake.”
“Yeah, you do, mom, and the underlying message is that any girl who hangs out with me is a gold digger.”
Mom shook her head, “That’s not what I meant.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it is. But it doesn’t matter because I don’t need you to tell me who I can and can’t hang out with.”
Mom sighed. “Look Jake. I’ve seen how you operate. This girl, she will be here today, gone tomorrow. This is Mitch’s wedding day…it only happens once. All I’m asking is that you prioritize your family and not some girl you’re never going to see again.”
Of course that was how my mom would view this. That really was how I normally operated. Casey wasn’t just my average hook up but there was no way in hell I was going to admit that to my mom. I looked over at Casey sitting there alone waiting for me. Then I turned back to my mom. God Dammit! She was making me choose. I didn’t want to choose. I wanted time with both.
“Please Jake,” my mom begged.
I hesitated a second before reluctantly replying, “Okay.”
And so I stayed with my family and talked with them. Every once in a while I would glance over to see Casey still sitting there, expecting me to return. Shit. I had to let her know what was going on before she thought I was ignoring her again. So the next time she looked my way I pointed towards the bathrooms and held three fingers up. She didn’t understand my reference at first but, after I repeated it again, Casey looked toward the bathrooms and nodded, raising her own three fingers.
I excused myself to use the bathroom a couple minutes later. Casey was no longer at the table. I turned the corner and she was there smiling at me. I felt my heart start racing. She was so frickin’ hot.
“Hey,” I grinned.
“Hey you,” she smiled back. “Why the secret rendezvous?”
“Because my mom is pissed that I’m not spending enough time with the family. She basically gave me the guilt trip. I just didn’t want you to think I ditched you or was ignoring you.”
“I didn’t think that,” Casey said with scrunched eyebrows. “But Jake, I don’t want to keep you from your family.”
“You’re not. Look, I’m going to try to sneak away once things start wrapping up. I’ll tell them I have jetlag or something like that. I was thinking we could hang out a little later,” Jake smiled at me then leaned down and whispered in my ear, “that is if our deal is still on?”
“Of course.”
“Can I get your number? I’ll text you once I slip away.”
Casey gave me her number. And for some reason I text her back so she would have my contact information. I never did that with women. If they’d ask for my number I would just tell them to give me theirs and I would text them. I never did. With Casey I was worried that if I didn’t get the right number I might not see her again. Jesus. I was so fucked.
She text me back. “Room 442.”
I smiled up at her. “I would invite you to my room but I’m sharing with Kyle.”
“You couldn’t afford your own room?”
“I didn’t think I was going to need my own room. I wasn’t planning on meeting Casey Caldwell.”
She smiled up at me like she was happy with my response then she touched my arm and said, “Text me when you can break away.”
“I will. How late is too late?”
“For you, no time is too late,” she replied. “Now get back to your family.”
Chapter Ten
Casey
We parted ways. I actually slipped into the bathroom since I was already there and when I rejoined the party I saw Jake surrounded by at least ten women. He must have been cornered on his way back from our secret meeting. I smiled. Damn he had his hands full. He couldn’t go anywhere without women throwing themselves at his feet, present company included. Jake looked up, as if he sensed me staring, and upon seeing my amused reaction, he grinned. My heart fluttered. Now that I’d gotten to know him as a person, I found him even more attractive than when I first laid eyes on him…if that was even possible. He turned his attention back to his adoring crowd. The ladies were all giggling and batting their eyes and outright flirting with him. And Jake was playing the part of the cool, lady-killing rockstar like a champ. Ever the expert with worshiping women, Jake knew exactly how to conduct himself in a way that would make them swoon. He was affable but not overly so. Confident but not cocky. Sexy without being off-putting. He was the epitome of the enigmatic, unattainable guy that girls could only dream of getting.
Unfortunately, Sarah and a few other bridesmaids saw Jake free from my evil clutches and joined the group of women. She inched her way closer and closer until her breasts were in his line of vision. I watched her give it the old college try one more time. Jake shut her down immediately and she backed off. I knew it was petty but I couldn’t help but smile. Jake glanced at me again, gave me the quickest little knowing grin, like he wanted me to recognize he’d done that for me, and then turned his attention back to the women. Oh God, he was so flippin’ awesome. I wanted to throw my arms around him and hug him. Who would have thought that only a day after meeting him, Jake McKallister and I would have our own nonverbal c
ommunication going on? I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
The little flower girl who was promised a picture earlier in the day tentatively broke through the circle of women to ask Jake for the photo she’d been promised. Jake rewarded her with his undivided attention and a photographic memory to last a lifetime. She seemed even more smitten after her brief encounter with him. In fact, everyone was smitten with him. He really did appear to be the genuine guy that he’d presented to me. After awhile Jake’s family pulled him away from the crowds and took him over to their table.
I was standing there by myself for a minute or two before Kate came up to me. We hugged and I said, “Oh Kate it was an amazing wedding and you’re the most beautiful bride.”
“Yeah, yeah, enough about me,” she joked then took my arm, led me away from everyone and whispered, ”What the hell is going on between you and Jake?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Casey, the entire wedding party is following Jake’s every move and you seem to have his undivided attention.”
I looked at my friend for any sign of accusation. Suddenly I felt terrible that I had been part of diverting focus away from her and Mitch on their big day. I should have toned it down with Jake. “Oh my God, Kate, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to take away from your wedding…I swear to God.”
“Relax Casey. No one was looking at you anyway,” Kate laughed.
“You got that right,” I smiled.
“We knew Jake would draw a lot of attention no matter what he did at the wedding. But we don’t mind. Mitch and I are just glad he came,” Kate said.
“And you aren’t mad at me?” I asked.
“No. I mean who can blame you? Jake’s gorgeous. Anyone in here would trade places with you in an instant.”
“Except you, of course,” I smiled mischievously at her.
“Oh yeah, right, except me,” she winked, then held up her finger, “Because I’m married.”
“To his brother,” I added.
“Right, to his brother,” she repeated then whispered, “He’s hot though.”
I grinned. “Mitch or Jake?”
“Shut up!” Kate giggled. “I’m a little tipsy right now so you better not say anything.”