by Rob Jones
“Where…where am I?” Zoe raised her head up, eyes squinting, trying to clear her vision. “Oh no, I’m late for my recital!” she yelled, still disoriented from fainting.
“No, no, no, everything’s fine, sweetie. You had a little dizzy spell and fainted,” Charles said calmly, bending over her. Abby, Roman, Ethan, and Tori were back in the rehearsal room with her, along with the on-call school nurse who was there just for situations like this.
The nurse checked her blood pressure and vital signs. She assured them all that Zoe was fine, that her fainting spell may have been caused by a cocktail of stress, nerves, and a lack of food. She encouraged Zoe and her parents to follow up with her doctor for a more thorough examination.
“Son, I need to have a word with you,” Charles addressed Ethan impatiently as they exited from the university.
“Absolutely, sir,” Ethan complied.
“Listen, I know about your and my daughter’s indiscretion, and I must say that I am not happy about it, to say the least.” The bass in his voice deepened. “I am very disappointed in you, but I should have known. You were only being consistent with your nature.” He shifted his weight. “I’m going to be frank with you. I like you, you have a good heart, and you are a good guy, but you’re not good for my daughter.”
Ethan bit his lip and nodded his head. “Mr. Edwards, I know that I made a huge mistake, and I am truly sorry, sir, but I promise you that it wasn’t my plan for us to go that far. I promise.” His eyes augmented. “I love Zoe, Mr. Edwards.”
“Well, Ethan, if you truly love her you would let her go, and I’m serious about that.” He looked up and sighed. “I am hoping against hope that there are no life-changing consequences from your and Zoe’s actions. If that’s the case, my family and I will handle it. I don’t need you jeopardizing her faith, her future, and her life any further.” He looked him directly in the eyes. “Do the right thing here, son.”
“Sir, again with all due respect, being in her life is the right thing to do. She makes me a better person, a better man. She brings out the best in me. What I feel for her is not fabricated or artificial, it’s the real thing, and I can’t let go. I don’t know how to let go, sir. I don’t have the leg strength to walk away.” Ethan talked with his hands. “Please just give me a chance and I promise you that I will prove you wrong.”
“Charles, we need to get Zoe home, honey,” Abby urged him on.
“Ethan, just do the right thing. I will be telling Zoe to do the same.”
***
Ligon walked into the restaurant with a brunette draped on his shoulder. Ethan stood and waved them over to where he and Zoe were sitting.
“What’s up, losers? Sorry we’re late. I had to fulfill a promise to a new friend of mine. Ethan, you remember Becky from downtown.” Ligon turned to her.
“Wait a minute. You’re the girl that ran into Ligon’s lips while on your way to get married?” Ethan crinkled his brow.
“Yes, that would be me.” She blushed.
“Well, I guess we know how that turned out,” Ethan replied.
“Yeah, his sister busted her out and told him about our encounter, so for now they are putting things on hold. So to help her through this transition I called and invited her out tonight. She was very impressed that I remembered her number when she shouted it out to me that night.” Ligon pulled out a seat for her to sit down.
“That was considerate and responsible of you, Lig, considering that you ruined someone’s life, marriage, and future happiness,” Ethan said sarcastically. “It’s a pleasure to officially meet you. This is Zoe.” They exchanged greetings.
“Wow, you are truly stunning, but of course you would be. I mean look at him. You both look like you just stepped out of a magazine,” Becky said. Ligon yielded an objectionable glare at her.
“Thank you so much. You are beautiful as well,” Zoe responded.
“Here’s your phone, you left it in the van.” Ligon handed it to Ethan when he sat down at the table.
“Good looking out, man. I had no idea what happened to it,” Ethan replied.
“Hi, my name is Shelby. I will be your server this evening. Can I get you something to drink?” A cute, tiny, ebony toned lady took their orders and asked for their I.D.
“I didn’t know that you were a blonde,” Ligon said to Becky when he glanced at her I.D.
“I used to be a lot of things, baby,” she responded.
“I’ll be right back with your drink orders.”
“Our waitress smells and looks delicious,” Ligon commented.
“Our first real tour was one for the ages. It was the most exciting, the most fun, and craziest time that we ever had as a band, and the parties were groundbreaking. We got kicked out of hotels, midgets—I mean small people—were thrown out of windows, women were just throwing themselves and what they were wearing at us, revealing Victoria’s dirty little secret. There were—”
“Oh now it wasn’t near that crazy, Lig. He gets a little carried away with his active imagination. Plus I’m sure that they don’t want to hear about our nonsense,” Ethan said and gave him a please-shut-up look. He couldn’t believe how Ligon was being so careless and free about broadcasting things he knew that Zoe would not approve of. He didn’t know if Ligon was trying to impress Becky or if he was deliberately trying to sabotage his and Zoe’s relationship. Either way, what he was doing was not cool. He knew that there was an unwritten rule in the rock-n-roll fraternity that what happened on the road stayed on the road. Even though Ethan knew he didn’t do anything wrong, the perception that Ligon was painting for them was not an accurate reality. He knew that he had to control the narrative and the conversation from here.
“So Becky, what do you do for a living?” Ethan quickly tried to hijack the subject.
“Oh, I’m a freelance photographer,” she said enthusiastically.
“A freelance photographer, that doesn’t sound boring. Do you get many good paying projects?”
“Yes, weddings, graduations, some commercial accounts, they pay quite handsomely. Here is my card if ever you and Zoe want to do some modeling or some headshots.” She handed them two business cards from her purse.
They all conversed amongst themselves, talking about art, music, and about people in the restaurant until Shelby came back with their drinks and took their orders. Zoe didn’t order much, just a side salad to go with her Riesling wine. This concerned Ethan a little more than usual.
“You haven’t had much of an appetite as of late. You definitely need to go to the doctor like the nurse said,” he suggested.
“I have already made an appointment for tomorrow, so don’t worry that pretty little head of yours.” She kissed him.
“Becky, do you think I’m good enough to be a freelance photographer?” Ligon showed her pictures on his phone from the band’s tour.
“Hmm, those are some intriguing pictures that you have there, pal,” Her eyes enlarged. “My, my, my Ethan, you are totally a ladies’ man. Looks like you had a lot of fun in these pics. Zoe, you better keep those pretty eyes on him. These girls look extremely thirsty for him.”
“Is that right? Let me take a look at those, Ligon,” Zoe reached out her hand while looking at Ethan.
“Are you sure that you want to see them? I don’t want you to get bent out of shape about it, Zoe, and give my boy a hard time. It’s all for show.” Ligon handed her the phone with a dubious grin. Ethan’s eyes constricted.
“I’ve dated my fair share of musicians,” Becky said. “My ex-fiancé was a musician. They are my weakness, but trust me they are a freaking challenge. You have women coming at your man because they want him and then they will come at you because you got him. That life is not for the faint of heart. Either you handle it or it will handle you. You just have to figure out if the steak is worth the sizzle,” Becky told Zoe as she gave Ligon a playful wink.
“Are you two trying to play defense against Zoe and me? You better get another game plan becau
se our team right here is solidified. We are as one.” Anxiety and fear knifed through him when Zoe swiped through the pictures on Ligon’s phone. He saw her face contort with each and every swipe.
“So this is what goes on when you guys go out and play on the road, a bunch of drunk girls hovering over you like clouds, kissing and groping you?” she concluded with displeasure.
“Sweetie, it’s not what you think, I mean—”
“Ahem, honey, who is this?” Ethan leaned over to look at the picture. “She has been hanging on you like a cheap suit in nearly every picture I’ve seen.”
“Oh that’s Khloe with a K, she’s a needy groupie. She and her crew were at every show we played. So we had to show her some love,” Ligon chimed in.
“You’re not helping, Lig,” Ethan said. “Listen, all of this is just for show. It’s part of the gig, Zoe. I mean look at me, I’m hazardously hot and it’s virtually impossible for women not to melt toward me. It would be more plausible for me to walk in the rain and not get wet than to keep these impressionable ladies from being intoxicated and overly aggressive with their fandom for not just me, but for the whole band.
“We have to sell an image, a fantasy. We have to come off as dangerous, available, and larger than life in order to compete with a sea of bands that are clawing for notoriety.” Ethan looked intently in her eyes.
“But you need to know this. I will never endanger or carelessly handle what we have, Zoe. I am all in with this relationship. I have never encountered a love like this until I met you. All my heart does is cry out for you constantly. This love that we have is epically beautiful. No one and nothing can ever come between you and me, angel cake, trust me,” Ethan said with a sincere tone.
“Here’s your phone.” Ethan tossed it back to Ligon and shot him a look of derision.
“What’s that look for?” Ligon said, sniffling repeatedly.
“What look?” Fury coursed through Ethan’s veins at a rapid pace that caused him to bite on his bottom lip. He knew that Ligon was pushing his buttons because he was high and drunk, and a high, drunk Ligon was an obnoxious Ligon, one who was a complete arrogant jerk with no filter and no boundaries.
“You know what look you were giving me.” Ligon drove home the point.
“I think you may have had a little too much of everything tonight. You seem a little chatty and jumpy, you’re…” Ethan stopped his assessment of him once he realized that Ligon was coked out of his mind. “You’re all over the place tonight.”
“Aw, I’m just excited to have this little lovely flower with me here tonight.” Ligon sniffed, smiled, and kissed Becky like a soldier returning from war. “Mm, those lips taste sweeter with each and every kiss. I can’t wait until the next one.”
Zoe’s face was etched with disgust as she sipped on her glass of wine.
Ligon and Becky kept their lips and hands occupying each other all throughout the dinner, annoying Ethan to no end. He also was a little unsettled because Zoe was noticeably quiet and distant, and he was sure it had to do with more than the pics that were on Ligon’s phone. She had been like this ever since the incident at her recital. It had to have been a scary, embarrassing moment for her.
“You know, Ethan, you shouldn’t talk with your mouth full.” Ligon muttered this with a mouth full of food. He laughed so hard that the chewed-up meat rocketed out from his mouth.
“Man, you are so extra tonight. Will you please get it together?” Ethan said. “You’re acting like you were raised in a basement, jeez!” Ethan’s gaze tightened.
“Our server needs to be a little more available, my whistle gets dry pretty quick.” Ligon raised his hand to get her attention. He and Becky kept ordering a parade of drinks, then they suspiciously kept disappearing into the bathroom in between the drinks, then they would return broad-eyed, loud, and unsavory, to the point that Zoe looked uncomfortable and agitated.
“If you are ready to go, I’m good with it,” Zoe whispered into Ethan’s ear. He responded with a nod of affirmation.
“I think we are going to call it a night,” Ethan said.
“What, why? It’s too early to be folding it in. Come on, you two,” Ligon pleaded. “For heaven’s sake, it’s only seven-thirty.”
“It’s nine-thirty, Lig,” Ethan corrected him.
“Whatever, it’s still early. Plus I thought we were here to celebrate our first successful tour. Why don’t we have a couple more drinks before we punt the night away?” Ligon offered up his hand to get the server’s attention again. “Nurse, nurse!” Ligon garbled his words as Becky let out a throaty laugh.
“I think that you’ve had and done enough tonight. It’s time to shut it down.” Ethan grabbed his hand.
“No, no, no, no, we haven’t even toasted to finishing our first major tour.”
“We toasted several times, Lig. Now we’re either going to drop you two off or call an Uber,” Ethan suggested.
“No, just let me get the nurse to give us just one more drink. Nurse, nurse.” He slid to the floor and laughed. “I mean waitress.” Becky laughed so hard that her eyes were drenched with tears. The scene that they made brought looks of pity and repulsion from the people at the tables around them.
“Sorry, but we have to ask you to leave now. Here are your checks,” Shelby said in an official manner.
“You want me, don’t you? I can tell that you want me. I’m flattered but my new girlfriend is with me, so sorry, nurse.” Ligon tried to stand up. Ethan apologized to their waitress, and left her a more than adequate tip.
“Sorry about tonight, Zoe. I am so embarrassed by their behavior. Ligon has always been the rowdy type, and pushes the envelope, but lately he has been amped up more than usual. He and I are going to have a come-to-Jesus talk,” Ethan said with aggravation.
“Speaking of Jesus, what are your feelings about Him? Do you really believe in Him, do you love Him, or are you indifferent toward Him?” she asked.
“I love Jesus. I know that my behavior may not suggest it and that there are some things in my life that I need to shun, but at least I do go to church and read the Bible from time to time.” He looked at her with suspicion. “Why do you ask?”
“Because we hardly ever discuss Him or pray together, and that is a very important part of my life. I’ve always wanted to share that part of my life with the one I would fall in love with, and I am in love with you. Sharing this will most definitely deepen our relationship and enrich it.” She must have felt his frustration because she suddenly fell silent for a moment. “Maybe we can get into this more tomorrow.”
They pulled up to her house, gave each other lingering kisses, hugged, then she got out of the car. “Oh Ethan, do you want to take me to my doctor’s appointment, then afterwards get an early lunch?”
“Absolutely, angel cake. What time do I need to be here?”
“Ten-fifteen.”
“Gotcha, I love you.”
“Love you more.” She leaned in and kissed him as the night clouds began to roll in.
Chapter
Twenty-Four
Ethan
“Hey boy, did you miss me?” Sue welcomed Ethan with a wagging of the tail and a flurry of licks to his face. “I love you too, buddy.” Sue started to move all around, pacing back and forth, whimpering with excitement. “You are on a ten tonight. Why are you so excited, boy? You can’t be that excited to see me.” Ethan laughed. “Do you have to go take a poo?” Sue barked.
“Let me go get your leash out of the bedroom and I’ll take you out, then after that it’s bedtime. Whew, I am worn out, my friend.” He yawned while he walked into the dark bedroom. He turned on the light.
“I’m open for business, babe.”
“Oh my God! Khlo—Khloe?” Ethan’s eyes bucked when he saw her lying in his bed wearing nothing but a smile and rose petals. “Are you crazy? You freaking scared the jinkies out of me.” He placed his hand over his chest. Being stalked was not foreign to him. He once had a girl waiting for him outs
ide of his apartment with only a fur coat on in the summer heat. One girl posted on Instagram and Facebook a photo of them together with the caption that read that they were engaged to be married. One girl threatened to kill him and herself if he didn’t sleep with her. So this was not his first rodeo when it came to stalkers. But it was a first to have someone break into his place.
“What in the world are you doing here? Better yet, how did you get in my place? You’ve got to go right now.” He didn’t give her a chance to answer.
“What do you mean I have to leave? Aren’t you happy to see me, babe? I know that connection, that heavy attraction we had in the hotel room in St. Louis. The shots of whiskey that we shared, you opened up to me about you and the band, you even said that I was your BLT and that you hoped to see me again.”
“First of all, I was being polite. I’m cool like that with everybody, so don’t flatter yourself.”
“I’m sure you are polite with everybody, but not everybody has a body like my body.” She moved suggestively, causing the strategically placed rose petals to move like they were floating on a pond.
“You need to get dressed and get out of here or you will go in cuffs.” He picked up her clothes from off the floor.
“I have cuffs right here for us, babe.” She reached under the pillow and dangled a pair of black fuzzy handcuffs in the air.
“Quit calling me babe, get out of my bed, get dressed, and get out of here, you deranged psychopath!” He threw her clothes in her face.
“We belong together, you know it and I know it, so stop pretending that this isn’t real between us.” She paused. “Babe.” Her voice was dripping with sincerity and emotion. He could tell by the crazed look in her eyes that she actually believed what she was saying. She’d created a fantasy world for them both, a world that was more real to her than reality. He recognized the detached stalker behavior, so to put a stop to this madness he had to be untastefully rude to her in order to control and put an end to the madness.