by King, C. M
“She’s not my girlfriend, she’s my fiancée,” Joel bit out.
“Hmm, speaking of which, I gave a few interviews and I may have told them that you are single.” She bit her lip waiting for Joel’s response. She didn’t have to wait long.
“What?” Joel and I said together in surprise.
She rolled her eyes at our response. “It helps to sell you more if the fans think they have a chance of getting with you. You’ll have to take your ring off before you perform though as they’ll notice something like that.”
“No way,” Joel snapped and I swallowed hard trying to bite back my reaction.
“Joel, if you can trust me on this, we will be able to market the band better if you are single. You are the eye candy that everyone wants to bed.”
I was about to throw up.
“Chantel—”
“Let’s just do it for now, okay? You know I have good experience in this. I’ve been doing it for years. I know all the tricks of the trade.” She winked in delight.
“Izzy, are you okay with this?” Joel asked hesitantly.
NO!
“I—well-—
“She’ll be fine, you don’t want to hinder Joel and the band’s success over being jealous, now do you?” She gave me a smug look, and I wanted to punch her hard.
“If it helps the band, then it’s okay.” I was not going back to being the jealous girlfriend that got in the way. I would just suck it up and smile, even though right now I was seriously fighting back the tears.
“Iz, are you sure you’re okay with this? We don’t have to—”
“Joel, she’s fine. Right, we need to get you in the back to warm up. You’re on in an hour. I’m sure Izzy will be fine here. Dom at the bar will get you a drink.” She dragged Joel off before I even had chance to reply, leaving me stood there like a lemon. It was a good job Elijah and Kara were on their way else I would have been on my own. I walked over to a smiling Dom.
“Hey what can I get you?” he asked, grabbing a glass.
“A Coke, thanks.”
“You look a little stunned there, something wrong?” His eyes stayed fixed on me as he filled the glass.
“Oh I just met Chantel.”
He smiled at my stunned reaction. “Ahh, she is a little full on.”
“Only a little?”
“In her job she has to have the gift of the gab to steam roll people into her way of thinking. Don’t take offence, she’s good, if a little tactless at times.”
“Yeah, she doesn’t mince her words, that’s for sure,” I added bitterly.
“Here, it’s on me. Which band are you here to see?”
“Phoenix. The lead singer is my fiancé.”
“Oh he is hot, I will be totally checking him out on stage.” He winked and I rolled my eyes.
“I think the whole room will be checking him out,” I huffed. I could guarantee he’d be the centre of everyone’s attention.
“When a singer is as sexy as that, it would be rude not to.” Dom grinned before heading off to serve the next customer.
I sipped on my Coke and smiled when my text chimed, Kara and Elijah were here. I headed towards the door.
“Hey Iz, looking cute in your little outfit,” Kara remarked, giving me a hug. I was dressed in grey skinny jeans and a stripy vest teamed with a red leather jacket.
“See, this outfit all me, I’m her personal stylist. I live to shop.” Elijah beamed, taking all the glory for it.
Kara’s eyes widened in excitement. “Oh my god, Elijah, you need to style me. I’m in a rut at the moment. I’m trying to be more adventurous.”
“That I can do. I’m hitting the shops tomorrow. If you fancy tagging along, I can get a feel for the things you like, but if you want to be more adventurous and trust me that I will push you into trying trends that you’ve maybe ignored before.”
“Seriously, I’m bored. I need a revamp, but don’t tell Mike, he will go ape shit at the thought of me spending. Having a home together, most of the money goes to pay the bills, but he still goes to football matches and nights out so I’m buying some clothes.”
“It’s only right. It’s going to be a fun day, you fancy coming, Iz?” Elijah asked, grinning.
“Yeah, righto.” I snorted.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Izzy avoids shopping like the plague.” He laughed looking thoroughly amused by my reaction.
“Well, it’s a good job I have you then.” I stuck my tongue out playfully.
“Anyway what time is sex god on?” he asked, suddenly changing the conversation.
“In forty-five minutes. Oh by the way I met Chantel.” Yeah, that caught their attention.
“Oooh, what was she like?” Elijah asked, looking intrigued.
“A bitch.”
“No!” they both replied together.
“Yep, she cut me off all the time. Basically said Joel has to pretend he’s single and to remove his ring to keep the fans happy, and that I should suck it up because it’s the least I could do for Joel.”
“What a cow,” Elijah exclaimed.
“Yeah.”
“So you’re not going to do it, right? Because that’s a joke to make out he’s on the market,” Kara asked, looking equally as pissed.
“I’m going to have to.” I sighed. Despite the fact it broke my heart.
“And Joel, what did he say?” Elijah urged.
“He asked me if it was okay. What else could I say?” I trailed off.
“Err no, for starters,” Elijah barked.
“I don’t want to be that person again. I don’t want to be jealous, and I definitely don’t want to hold Joel back. You see how good he is performing. He loves being on stage. I don’t want to take all of that away from him.” I would bite my tongue if I had to if it meant Joel could be happy, enjoying his success.
“But, Iz, he should be able to do all that and still say he’s engaged. Girls will think they can hit on him and fuck him if they think he’s single.”
“Thanks for pointing that out, Elijah. I am quite aware that as I’m at the other end of the country he’ll have girls throwing themselves at him, but I know Joel. He wouldn’t do that to me, not now, not after all we’ve been through.” He’d never cheat on me with something so meaningless as a quick shag. Those days were far behind us now. Not that girls wouldn’t constantly make it there mission to prove me wrong.
“Joel loves you with every bone in his body, anyone can see that,” Kara soothed, trying to make me feel better, but Elijah had planted the seed and now my mind was going ten million times an hour.
“Come here, Iz, I’m sorry.”
I walked into his arms as he kissed my hair. I breathed in his delicious scent and closed my eyes trying to shut my mind off from all the insecurities that were raging in my head.
“Let’s grab a table and you can get me up to speed on all the Josh and Corinne goss,” he said, trying to turn my attention elsewhere.
I nodded and we made our way over to the last empty table. Forty minutes later, the act announcer came on stage to intro Joel’s band Phoenix. We all whooped and screamed, Elijah more than the rest as Joel winked over at me before launching into the first song.
“I think that wink was intended for me,” Elijah joked as I gave him a playful shove.
Joel sang his heart out, losing himself in the moment and I sighed at his words. They were breathtaking, straight from the heart. I knew every girl in the room was secretly wishing he was singing about them. A smile crept over my face as I realised just how lucky I was. He was doing something he loved best, and I knew I couldn’t be the one to take it away from him. I would just have to grin and bear it while Joel’s popularity climbed, after all, we’d be getting married soon and you couldn’t hide that fact.
Thirty minutes later I excused myself to go to the bathroom, Joel was on a break so I was hoping to slip in and see him too, well if I could get past his bodyguard Chantel.
I walked into the
toilet cubicle, clicking the door shut behind me, only to hear the door open and a gaggle of women walk in.
“Fuck, the things that I could do to that singer, he is fucking hot,” one of them exclaimed loudly.
“I know, right. I hit the freaking jackpot.”
Fuck. I recognized that voice it was Chantel’s.
“Not only is he bringing in lots of gigs, I know pretty soon with that face and body, we’ll hit the big time, commercials, deals.”
“So what does his girlfriend think about this?”
“What girlfriend?” Chantel snorted.
“Oh you are so bad.” The other girl giggled.
“You should have seen her face before I cut her off mid-sentence and then told her she had to like it and lump it for Joel’s sake. She looked like she was going to cry, she’s fucking pathetic. While she’s busy shaking her stuff on stage, I’ll be busy worming my way into Joel’s bed. All those long lonely nights are bound to get him down, he’ll definitely appreciate the company.”
“Well, he fucked half of Camden before she got her claws into him,” another retorted.
“She doesn’t deserve him, the uptight little bitch. I could eat her for breakfast. Joel will soon come to his senses. He already tells me enough times how invaluable I am. It will only be a matter of time before he takes that ring off her finger and puts it on mine. Unlike that silly bitch I intend to sink my claws into him and never let go.”
My heart was pounding, my head spinning. The evil cow. I wanted to go out and slap the smile I already knew would be spread across her face, but I had been around enough bitches like this to know how calculating they could be. Joel was oblivious to it all and would look at me as being unreasonable. She would look like the innocent party. I knew how these things worked. I had to bide my time, to devise a plan. I had to bite my tongue for the time being.
“Good luck with that one, and if you ever like to share, I know he’s up for threesomes.” They all cackled hard walking out the door as I turned and promptly threw up. Their words only sparking the reminder of Joel’s betrayal. A tear rolled down my cheek, but I quickly swiped it away along with the others that followed. I gave myself a few minutes to compose myself before exiting the toilets. I decided against seeing Joel. He’d be able to see through me. I didn’t need him screwing up his set out of concern for me. So I headed back to Elijah and Kara who were deep in conversation. I slipped onto my seat hoping to go unnoticed. I thought my plan was working till Elijah’s eyes fell upon my face.
“Iz, what’s up? Have you and Joel been having words?”
“No, I’m fine.”
He grabbed me pulling me close. “You’re clearly not, tell me what’s wrong?”
“I’m okay.” I tried to shrug out of his hold.
“No, you’re not, tell me.”
“Just drop it will you.” I pushed myself away and flounced off heading for the exit. The room was suffocating. I could barely breathe. I just needed to escape, to be on my own.
“Izzy.” Elijah came up behind me. “You are going to tell me what’s wrong. Something has happened since you went to the toilet. I’m your best friend, tell me before I start freaking the hell out, and I confront Joel, because it’s got to be him behind it all.”
“No.” I spun around and grabbed him, then burst into tears.
“Iz, tell me please,” he begged.
“I overheard Chantel in the toilets. She was saying how she’s going to sink her claws into Joel, and that I’ll be oblivious to it all. And that she’ll soon be in his bed, wearing my ring.”
“The fucking bitch, I am going to slap her silly,” Elijah growled
“Elijah, don’t—”
“Give me one good reason.” His eyes flashed in rage.
“Because this bitch is cunning. She will turn on the little miss innocent act and I’ll be left to look like the jealous whiny girlfriend who doesn’t trust her fiancé. He’ll believe her. He thinks the sun shines out of her backside. He obviously hasn’t seen her evil side. I need to think about this, how to go about it all and not look like I’m imagining things.”
He sighed heavily before speaking. “You’re right, I guess. We know how calculating these bitches can be. We have to play her at her own game.”
“It’s going to kill me though leaving him Monday knowing she’s trying to worm her way in.” I felt sick just at the thought of it.
He pulled me into a hug, kissing my hair. “I will try to be there when I can.”
“I trust him, Elijah, I just don’t trust her. She’s a manipulator. I’m scared that she’ll get him drunk and force herself on him. Joel wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt, and I couldn’t live knowing he’d been with her, even if he was intoxicated,” I mumbled into his chest before sobbing again.
“Calm down, Iz, it’s not going to go that far,” Elijah pleaded, but the demons were taking over and right now all I could think was the worst.
“How do you know?”
“Because Joel doesn’t drink to get pissed. He wouldn’t put himself in that position again. He won’t lose you, he loves you too much,” he soothed.
“I hope so,” I hiccupped.
“I know so.”
“Thanks for being here during my mini meltdown.” I hugged him harder.
“That’s what best friends are for. Now, no more freaking out. We’ll get through this and that bitch will get her just desserts, agreed?” he asked, pulling away, staring deep into my eyes
“Agreed.” I nodded.
“Now fix a smile on that pretty face else Joel will start asking questions, and we don’t want Chantel clocking on that you heard her.”
“I don’t feel like smiling,” I grumbled.
“I know, but do it for Joel. He has probably been looking forward to having you here while he performs. He’s missed you so much.”
I frowned at his words. “I’ve missed him too.”
“Come on then, chin up and let’s get back inside while the man you love serenades you. You’re all he sees, I can promise you that.”
I shook my head and smiled weakly.
“That’s my girl.”
We headed back inside to hear the rest of the act while I put on the performance of my life.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I lay staring at the ceiling for hours. Joel was flat out beside me. His arms around me with his nose nuzzled into my hair. After his performance, I had smiled in all the right places, trying not to bring the mood down. Every now and then Elijah would smile and nod silently reassuring me I was doing well.
When we returned home, Joel had showered, then despite my best efforts of feigning sleep, he roused me in his usual way kissing my whole body senseless till I caved and let him make sweet love to me. It was soft and tender and everything about this moment should have been breathtaking, apart from the fact every time he rocked into me, all I thought about was how I could lose him and moments like these could soon become a distant memory.
After finishing, we snuggled and he stroked my fingers down my back until they eventually stilled and I knew he had fallen asleep. The war raging inside my head was too much for me ever to sleep myself, so I headed downstairs. Ruby was in the kitchen, her head sprung up and she quickly wandered over wagging her tail as I made myself a drink. After giving her a few treats, we settled on the sofa together. As I tenderly stroked her soft golden fur, she slowly fell asleep beside me once again leaving me all alone.
* * *
I nuzzled my nose into what I thought was Joel’s hair only to find it was Ruby’s. We’d fallen asleep together. As my eyes slowly came into focus, I noticed a worried looking Joel hovering over us.
“What are you doing sleeping down here?” he asked, frowning in concern.
“I couldn’t sleep and I just wanted to be with Ruby. I’ve missed her so much since I’ve been gone. I just wanted her to know how much I love her.” Plus, she was the only thing keeping me calm. She always was good at keeping secrets. S
he’d sit there and listen to me talk for hours on end, if she could speak she’d probably tell me to shut up.
“I don’t like waking up to find you gone, especially now that I rarely get to sleep in the same bed as you anyway.”
“Sorry, what time is it?” I yawned.
“Only six, shuffle up and let me on the sofa.”
I budged forward and he crawled in behind, pulling the cover back over us as we all snuggled in together. Ruby let out a contented sigh as I kissed her head as we all fell into a dreamless sleep.
* * *
Sunday was filled with a roast dinner at my mother’s, where she fussed over us all. Kara and Mike came over but headed off once dinner was over. Kara said she’s give me an update on her shopping trip with Elijah. I could only imagine the chaos on Oxford Street.
We headed out after my mother’s for a drive stopping off for a drink before followed by a meal. When we got home, I was ready for a long soak in the tub and to get my pyjamas on. Monday was looming, and I could feel my mood become darker at the prospect of leaving Joel especially with the present situation.
I slipped beneath the bubbles and sighed. Joel joined me shortly after with some drinks. he maneuvered himself in behind me so I was lying back on his hard, wet chest.
“I miss taking baths with you. It’s not the same when you’re not here.” His arms encircled me tighter.
“So you take bubble baths without me, huh?” I giggled.
“It’s something I’ve become accustomed to, just me and the bubbles.”
“We’d better enjoy this while it lasts then.” I turned and kissed him, and he held me there, taking it deeper. I eventually pulled away feeling slightly breathless by it all.
“The next four weeks are going to drag,” he groaned, his eyes looking sad.
“I know but we have busy schedules. We’ll soon be counting down the days till I’m back.” That’s if I had a relationship to come back to.