Rock Stars Don't Like Ugly Bras

by Ashton, Nikki

  “Miss Mahoney.”

  “Oh, hi Andre.” Amber smiled. “Is everything okay?”

  “Mr Hughes has just left. He asked me to give you this and to see that you got safely into a taxi.” Andre passed over the wad of notes that Jake had given to him.

  Amber frowned and stared at the money in her hand. “He’s gone?” she repeated, her voice filled with panic.

  Andre nodded apologetically. “He left about five minutes ago.”

  Amber didn’t wait to hear anymore. Gripping Jake’s money tightly, she turned around and headed for the exit. Weaving her way through the host of elegantly dressed people she finally got to the edge of the club. As she rushed into the foyer, Lana looked up at Amber and smiled.

  “Did Jake… I mean did Mr Hughes come this way?” Amber asked with tears brimming in her eyes, unable to believe that he’d left her there alone.

  “Yes, Miss Mahoney. He left just a couple of minutes ago. He did wait a short time.”

  Without thanking Lana for the information, Amber ran out of the building into the cool night. The line of people was still quite long, and Brett was still holding guard. As Amber reached the thick purple rope which cordoned off the entrance to the club from the street, she looked around frantically.

  “Are you okay?” Brett asked, appearing beside her. Amber shot around to face him. “Brett, have you seen Jake?”

  Brett smiled and pointed in the direction of the black limo parked a few feet away. Without any thought, Amber swung her leg over the rope and launched herself into the street. Despite the pain in her feet she ran towards the car and reached it just as it was about to pull out.

  “Jake,” she cried, banging on the darkened rear window. “Stop the car!” As the limo continued to edge forward, Amber slammed harder on the window with the palm of her hand.

  “Jake, please.”

  Suddenly the car stopped. Amber was breathing heavily as the door opened and Jake leaned out.

  “Get in,” he said, his voice quiet and emotionless.

  Jake moved along the seat and as Amber stooped to get in he took her hand and guided her in. As soon as she had pulled the door closed, Jake leaned forward and pressed a button on the intercom.

  “You can go now, Harry,” he said.

  As the car moved off, neither Jake nor Amber spoke but instead eyed each other warily, aware of the elephant sized cloud of anger that was hanging in the air. Finally, Jake sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

  “Where the fuck were you?” he asked, turning his gaze away from Amber.

  “I was talking to Daniel, you know that.” Amber’s voice faltered. “But never mind that you were going to leave me stranded in there, you shit,” she cried, thrusting the wad of money against Jake’s chest.

  Jake looked down at the money as it fell to his lap. He sighed, gathered it all together and shoved it into his pocket.

  “I thought that you were with him,” Jake said, turning to face her. “You said you’d be five minutes, but after half an hour you still weren’t back, so what else was I supposed to think?”

  “I couldn’t get away,” she cried, throwing her hands in the air. “I can’t believe you were going to leave me. You’re just as much a prick as him.”

  “Hardly,” Jake snapped. “You were the one who abandoned me, remember.”

  Amber sighed and banged her hand down between them, making a slapping sound on the leather seat. “I didn’t, I wouldn’t, and you should have realised that.”

  Amber started to cry, her silent tears creating sticky tracks down her cheeks.

  Jake’s face softened.

  “Look,” he said, reaching up to wipe them away. “Please don’t cry. We can talk about it when we get back.”

  Amber heaved a sob and pushed Jake’s hand away. She turned to stare through the window as late night London whizzed past them.

  Jake walked wearily back into their suite, headed straight for the mini bar, and pulled out a bottle of beer. He flopped down onto the sofa, and laid his head back against the plump, soft cushion. Amber had stayed downstairs in the lobby, saying that she needed some time to cool off. Jake had tried to convince her to come up to their suite so they could talk but she was having none of it.

  Jake sighed heavily and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his bottle of beer dangling from his fingers between his legs. He hadn’t meant to fall so hard, he hadn’t wanted to, but somehow Freckles had wormed her way into his head and his heart. Freckles, had taken him by surprise. She was like some love Ninja or something.

  “Fuck!” Jake sat up straight and shook his head. “I did not just think the word love,” he muttered to himself.

  “First sign of craziness.”

  Jake turned around to see Amber standing in the doorway.

  “Well, did you manage to cool off?” Jake asked, his tone gentle.

  Amber nodded. “I’m sorry, Jake. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. But you should have waited for me.”

  “You disappeared for almost half an hour without even a text, so I assumed that you were staying with DD.”

  Amber frowned. “DD?”

  Jake allowed a small smile to play at his lips. “Douchebag Daniel. DD isn’t such a mouthful.”

  Amber sucked on her bottom lip, attempting to hide her smile. “I never had any intention of staying with him.”

  Jake placed his beer bottle on the floor and sat back, eyeing Amber warily. “You were gone bloody ages. Did he try anything?”

  Amber shrugged. “What do you think?”

  “I don’t want to think, but I’m guessing he did,” Jake said, trying to keep his temper under control. “Did he touch you, or kiss you?”

  “He tried to kiss me, but I told him I wasn’t interested.”

  Jake let out a sigh of relief. He watched as Amber moved into the room, and stood in front of him. The lamplight, behind her, casting a glow around her beautiful blonde hair that was pulled to one side, cascading over one shoulder. She stood with her hands in front of her, nervously knotting her fingers together.

  “Why did you leave me?” she asked, dropping her gaze from Jake. “Why didn’t you trust me to come back?”

  Jake snorted out a laugh. “Because Freckles like I said, you were gone for at least twenty-five minutes longer than you’d said you’d be. I didn’t know how long I’d have to sit there alone, like a dick.”

  “I admit I should have come back sooner, and I’m sorry about that, but you should have waited, Jake.” Amber sat down in the wing backed chair opposite Jake. Their knees touched, and immediately her body fizzed with excitement despite the anger still swelling in her chest. “God knows what Andre thought. Probably that I’d been off shagging someone and then just came back for the lift home.”

  Jake shook his head and frowned. “Don’t be so ridiculous. No one could ever think that of you.”

  “You’re joking, right?” she cried. “You gave him money for me, Jake, do you know how that made me feel?” Amber’s face flushed as she recalled the embarrassment she felt when Andre handed her the wad of cash.

  “I was trying to make sure you got to wherever you were going safely.”

  “Yes, well I felt like a prostitute,” Amber said, her eyes brimming with tears at her humiliation. “It was awful.”

  “Did Andre say something?” Jake asked, leaning forward. “Because if he did, I’ll have him sacked.”

  Amber hit the arm of the chair. “No, Andre didn’t say anything. It was you; you upset me, no one else.”

  “Yeah well, you upset me too,” Jake replied with a heavy sigh. “It wasn’t much fun sitting there waiting, not knowing if you were coming back.”

  “I wouldn’t have done that to you.”

  “Well I didn’t know that.” Jake growled

  Amber sighed and leaned back in the chair, turning her gaze away from Jake’s.

  “So, what happens now?” she asked, still not looking at him.

  Jake leaned forward and to
ok Amber’s hand from her lap. “What do you want to happen?” he whispered, a little afraid of what her reply might be.

  Amber now turned to look at him. Jake’s eyes were full of hurt and his usual grin was missing. “I want to forget about him and what happened,” Amber whispered eventually. She gave Jake’s hand a squeeze and looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

  Jake gazed back at her, and his heart jumped in his chest. “I’m sorry, Freckles,” he replied. “I was a bit angry, a bit jealous and a whole lot stupid. I should’ve just come and looked for you.”

  “So, why didn’t you?”

  “I was scared of what I’d find,” Jake said, running his thumb over her palm.

  Amber gasped. “Jake, I wouldn’t disrespect you like that. Even if I had wanted to get back with Daniel, I’d have told you first.” Amber tried to pull her hand away from Jake’s, but he held it tight.

  “I know you would.” He lifted her hand and kissed it gently. “I’m sorry. I was blinded by jealousy.”

  Amber heaved a sigh. “And I’m sorry too,” she replied. “I should’ve come back sooner. It was rude of me not to.”

  Jake tugged at Amber’s arm and dragged her across to him, pulling her onto his lap. As she landed with a bump, Amber giggled and kissed the tip of Jake’s nose.

  “We’re really stupid aren’t we?” she said cuddling into his chest.

  “Yeah, maybe we need to start being a bit more honest with each other.” Jake held his breath, wondering whether he actually had the nerve to be honest.

  “Yes, maybe,” Amber replied. She coughed nervously, as the words ‘I think I love you’ hung off the edge of her tongue. She swallowed and took a deep breath, but nothing would come out.

  “So,” Jake said breaking the silence. “Do you fancy a drink, or you could kick your shoes off and we could carry on dancing here.”

  Amber smiled. “You want me to be honest?” she asked.

  Jake nodded. “Yeah, I do.”

  “Your dancing needs a little work.”

  Jake put a hand to his chest and pulled an outraged face. “Shit, Freckles, I’m wounded by that comment.”

  Amber laughed and pinched his cheek gently. “I’m sorry baby, but it does. Can we just go to bed instead, I’m shattered?”

  Jake laughed and, standing up with Amber in his arms, made his way to the bedroom, with their unspoken words hanging in the air.

  Chapter 17

  Jake smiled and rolled over. Amber was still snoring softly next to him, her blonde hair half covering her face. Jake allowed his gaze to roam down her body, which was uncovered to the waist.

  “Shit, Freckles,” he muttered. “What the hell are you doing to me?”

  Amber stirred and rolled onto her side, throwing an arm across Jake. She pulled herself closer to him and sighed.

  Jake’s grin widened as he pushed her hair back from her face, causing Amber’s nose to twitch. Her hand came up and gently swatted Jake’s. He chuckled quietly and then dropped a kiss on her slightly parted lips. Jake was hoping that she’d wake up so that they he could make love to her, but Amber simply snuggled closer to his chest and continued to sleep.

  Jake reached down and pulled the covers up over her shoulders. The room was warm enough, but the more he looked at those beautiful naked breasts of hers, the more his early morning erection grew, and it was painful enough as it was. With a sigh, Jake moved onto his back and put his hands behind his head. He stared up at the ceiling and smiled. The feelings that he had for Freckles were so intense and had just crept up on him. When she’d said that they were just going to have fun, Jake had to admit he’d been disappointed. However, a relationship was kind of scary, so he’d decided he could go with that; but now…now Jake knew he wanted much more than fun. There were three problems though: how did he get Freckles to see he was serious about her? What was he going to tell Luke? Luke was one of his best friends, but Jake was still scared. The man was half Italian and was pretty intense at the best of times, but when family were involved he was prone to turning nuclear. The third, well the third was the fact that he needed to go back to LA. He hadn’t had to think about it for the last few weeks, but the recent phone calls and texts had brought it to the forefront of his thoughts again.

  Jake sighed and realised that he needed some advice. He quietly lowered his legs from the bed, pulled on his boxers, picked his mobile up and went into the bathroom. Sitting on the edge of the bath, Jake dialled Skins’ number. After a few rings, Skins answered.

  “This better be good dick head. It’s not even eight o’clock and I’ve been up all night,” Skins growled.

  “Sorry I just needed to speak to you. And for the record, I don’t want to know what you and Stace have been getting up to,” Jake laughed.

  “Ethan was puking all night, if you must know.” Skins’ yawned. “So spill, what do you want?”

  “Are you okay to talk?” Jake asked.

  Skins sighed. “Seeing as Stace is in with Ethan, then yes. But I repeat, it better be good.”

  “Sorry man, but I need some advice.”

  “From me? Why haven’t you called Tom?”

  “Because it’s kinda sensitive.”

  “Ah right,” Skins said. “So, what is it, crabs or herpes?”

  “Neither!” Jake cried. He scratched at his bare chest and took a deep breath. “Freckles and I have kinda got it on.”

  “Really, is that so,” Skins replied, inevitability weighing heavy in his tone. “Does Luke know?”

  “No, but he’s not going to like it, is he?” Jake moaned. “He’s probably going to kick my arse isn’t he?”

  “I think he might my friend,” Skins replied, chuckling quietly. “And if you ever thought otherwise, then you really are more stupid than I gave you credit for.”

  “I didn’t. I know he’s seriously going to spit his dummy?”

  “Maybe he won’t? Skins paused. “If you’re making her happy then he’ll be fine. But, if you mess it up and hurt her, we will definitely be looking for a new lead guitarist.”

  Jake blew out a long breath. “That’s what I figured,” he replied.

  “So, is that all you wanted to know, whether Luke would be happy with the fact that you’re having sex with his cousin?”

  Jake paused and scratched his head. “No, not really.”

  “What then?” Skins asked impatiently.

  “When you met Stace, how did you know that she was the one?”

  “Sheesh, it’s that serious?”

  “I don’t know!” Jake cried. “That’s my problem, I have no idea. I don’t have any experience of a relationship that lasts longer than twenty-four hours.”

  “Okay, ask yourself do you want more than just a regular hook up for the summer?”

  Jake didn’t hesitate. “Yes I do.”

  Skins gasped. “Wow, that’s big coming from you, Jake. Okay, so tell me how she makes you feel.

  Jake hung his head and rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. “Well, I want to be with her all the time, I want to do things that make her happy, she makes me hard when she’s mad at me, she makes me hard when she’s happy, and the sex is just…shit, it’s unbelievable.”

  “Damn, did you hear that?” Skins asked.

  Jake furrowed his brow. “What?”

  “Hearts breaking all over the world. The great lover man, Jake Hughes is finally off the market.” Skins laugh was loud and deep on the other end.

  “Do you think so?” Jake asked hesitantly. “Do you think that she’s it for me?”

  “Buddy, I can’t answer that for you. Only you know that, but I’d say you’re pretty much on the way to being in love with her.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah,” Skins answered with a chuckle. “How the hell did that happen?”

  “I have no bloody idea,” Jake groaned but with a huge grin on his face.

  “Does she feel the same, that’s the big question?”

  “I don’t know,” Jake replied with
a shrug. “I think so, but she said at the beginning she only wanted fun.”

  “Well I guess you need to have that conversation with her then.”

  “Yeah I guess so.” Jake sighed. “Don’t say anything to anyone else will you, not until Freckles and I have worked out where this is going?”

  “Too late mate,” Skins laughed. “Do you not remember drunk dialling Martha last week?”

  “Jake groaned, suddenly remembering. “So you knew all along.”

  Skins laughed. “Yeah, just waiting for you to ‘fess up.”

  “Oh shit, Luke knows already then, why didn’t you say?”

  “Because he doesn’t. Martha knows what Luke’s like, she doesn’t want him stressing out for the rest of the holiday, so hasn’t told him.”

  “She will though. All it will take is for Luke to do some extra special sexy thing on her and she’ll sing like a canary. That woman is a gibbering wreck when he turns it up a notch.” Jake heard a noise and chinked open the bathroom door. Amber was leaving the bedroom, tying the belt of a white towelling robe. “Shit, Freckles is awake. I’ve gotta go,” he whispered. “Please get the girls to promise not to tell Luke.”

  “Okay, but you know what those two are like when they drink wine.” Skins replied. “Listen, just be sure this is what you really want before you talk to Amber, okay?”

  Jake bit at the side of his cheek. “I have something to sort out in L.A., but once that’s done I’m totally committed,” he replied.

  “Jake, what the hell does that mean? You’re either committed or you’re not.” Skins sighed heavily, worried that Luke was going to kill Jake. “What’s so important that you can’t commit now if that’s what you want?”

  “Just something I need to do,” Jake hissed worry etched over his face. “I need to go. Enjoy the rest of your holiday and I hope Ethan feels better soon.”

  When Jake wandered into the lounge, Amber was curled up on the sofa.

  “Hey, you okay?” she asked, looking up with sleepy eyes at Jake.

  Jake sat beside her and leaned over to kiss her. “Yes I was just having a pee.”