by Ford, Mia
I missed David.
I drove to the event and parked in the garage that I’d received instructions to use, shutting the engine off and taking a deep breath. David was letting me use his Range Rover and I was still adjusting to how fancy it was. I felt paranoid driving it even though he assured me that it was just a car. He could replace it but never me. I still felt like I needed to treat it like it was made of glass. I heard another car pull in and glanced over to see Brent’s sleek red Karma, knowing it was my sister. The car was ridiculously fancy, and I rolled my eyes playfully as she smiled at me. It took a long time but she and Brent committed to one another a few months after my engagement to David. It was obvious that they were into each other as more than fuck buddies to every single person around them, but the two of them had their walls up. I suppose watching me fall in love with David after my sudden breakup with Kyle inspired her, or at least I let myself believe that. I got out of my car and walked over to her as she pulled her hair into a similar ponytail. “Hey, sis.” I looked at the car. “You had to drive that car?”
“It’s not good for her to just sit in the garage.” She defended herself with a wink as I rolled my eyes. Brent also had a fully loaded Escalade and she rarely drove that unless there was a group of us.
“Uh huh.” We walked towards the elevator and she rolled her neck.
“Ready to rock the corporate world?” Cammie asked as I smiled. We both preferred working with bands because of the vibe and the fact we knew a lot of the bands through association. David and Brent both grumbled that someone was going to steal us away from them, which we laughed off. They were just easier to get along with. I had my forever crush and I was never going to leave him.
“I suppose. Land of small talk and stuffy conversations.” I groaned as she nodded, I followed her on the elevator and leaned against the wall. I didn’t sleep well last night being alone in the house. I was always alone in my empty bed but at least when Vanessa and Jacob were around, I had someone to talk to. We all got along great and I knew that David was happy seeing Jacob settle down. Vanessa was also a freelance photographer like her boyfriend and that’s how they met. I imagined the romance of meeting on a tropical island and having that time to get to know each other. It had to be amazing, but David and I were like a wildfire from the start as well, I yawned, and she glanced at me with a look of understanding. We both missed our men.
“You okay?” Cammie asked as we exited the first floor where the ballroom was located.
“I didn’t sleep well. It’s too empty in the house with everyone gone. I can’t talk to him as much with the time change and I am trying to keep up with clients.” I groaned as she cleared her throat and led me to the room. We were here hours early for the event to get everything in place.
“You do know you don’t have to work your ass off, right?” Cammie reminded me as I sighed. David told me the same thing.
“Yes, but I love it and it keeps me busy. Writing is a major part of my life.” We lowered our voices as we walked into the massive kitchen, seeing some of our staff as well as the hired ones milling about.
“I worry about you,” Cammie reminded me as we set our purses in a cabinet that was located far from the action. I knew to bring little with me here and I smiled as my sister stood up. “Okay, everyone. Thanks for being here to help out. Let’s get started on the appetizers and then move on to dinner. Warm up those ovens!” She had a way of being firm but could manage kind as well. She used firm for the younger staff that wasn’t here to work as much as they were to scope out celebrities. I’d seen a few people working their own careers or the celebs themselves for sex or money.
Everyone started moving and I joined her to pull the food from the fridge that had been delivered by our guys yesterday. Cammie went through the invoice when she ordered as well as when we received it to make sure everything was right. We were even here last night going over the recipes and the available supplies, which was why Cammie was practically running the company. I didn’t mind helping but it was an exhausting change after writing for a living. I was also missing Europe with the band, but Sarah was having a rough pregnancy and needed to take an earlier maternity leave. Cammie needed me. It caused a bit of tension in the house before the tour, but we managed to work it out. Well, we managed to have a lot of sex before he left and talk some. I realized that there was always going to be that doubt in the very back of my mind, thanks to my past with Kyle and David’s career. He was going to have it too, but we did the best we could to stay in touch.
Cammie ran things like a well-oiled machine and when the guests started trickling in, we sent the trays out with the appetizers. The wait staff hurried in and out and Cammie used her headset to make sure the bar was staffed. She was my hero in so many ways.
I stayed in the background, taking care of the little details that meant so much. I found that once people found out who my fiancé was, they tended to try to get to know me for all of the wrong reasons. I wasn’t here to get them tickets or introductions but to help Cammie. I resolved to stick to that and kept things civil at work. I boasted that Cammie was my sister but held back with other information. That was difficult with the diamond ring that shimmered on my left hand, but I just kept that vague. I’d grown to love baking and desserts in this journey and spent a lot of time decorating and working with the main baker, Bonnie. She was enthusiastic and fun, and we got along great. She knew about David but didn’t care about his status. She didn’t want to meet any of the members or backstage passes. We were just colleagues doing something we both enjoyed. It was refreshing to me.
I was frosting the last of the cupcakes for the massive tower in the ballroom and frowned when I felt the need to pee again. I’d been ignoring it for a while and I pressed my lips together and glanced at Bonnie. “I am going to pee quick and I’ll be back. Are you okay here?” She nodded, and I hurried through the room to the exit of the kitchen. I hurried into the main bathroom and did my business before washing my hands and splashing cold water on my face. I was just leaving the bathroom when I looked up and froze for a second, caught off guard by the sight of Kyle. I didn’t expect him as an event for a graphic designer but then noticed his hand on the back of a tiny blonde woman. I blinked and twisted my ring on my left hand as I walked to the door to the kitchen, reminding myself how much better things were in my life now. I was almost there when he glanced my way and his face brightened with recognition.
Well, fuck me running.
He said something to the blonde and approached me as I froze, preferring to avoid this conversation. Our last one had been pathetic and actually prolonged an important exchange between David and myself. “Aubrey.” Kyle called out as I resigned myself to a polite conversation.
“Hello, Kyle.” He looked good, but he always had. He was all cleaned up in his tux and paused in front of me as he took in my messy clothes. He glanced at the door we were near and frowned.
“Catering now?” He looked confused as he searched my face and I forced a smile to my lips.
“Helping Cam. I am still writing mostly.” I clasped my hands in front of me tightly as he nodded and looked me over again.
“How are you?” Kyle asked, and I knew that he meant it as more than small talk. I still saw the hurt in his eyes that was there when I told him to leave my apartment over a year ago. I couldn’t begin to understand that considering he cheated on me.
“I’m good. Keeping busy. How about you?” I twisted my ring again and kept my eyes focused on his face as he looked me over.
Kyle glanced towards the blonde who was now looking curiously at me and then he glanced at me again. His eyes fell to my hands and he reached out to pull my left one out as my face paled. “You’re engaged? To whom?”
I knew that both David and I tried to keep our relationship out of the spotlight, so Kyle wouldn’t know. “Nobody you know.” I replied with a bright smile. I enjoyed the fact that I was hurting him just a little bit, something that made me feel bad.
“Aub? Are you okay?” I heard Cammie behind me but kept staring at Kyle as something passed over his face. “What the hell are you doing here, Kyle?” Her voice was equally dark, and he stood taller.
“We were just catching up.” I pulled my hand back and stepped closer to my sister as he looked between us slowly. “We’re done now.” Cammie took my arm and we walked into the kitchen before she gave me a curious look.
“Where the fuck did he come from?” She whispered to me as I pressed my fingers to the bridge of my nose.
“I think he’s with a guest here. We didn’t talk too much. Just enough for him to see my ring.” I gazed at her as everyone worked hard in the kitchen. “He seemed pissed. Why? He cheated on me.”
“He’s a man. They always are.” We looked ahead and walked to our stations to finish work for the night as I tried to push Kyle out of my mind. I finished the cupcakes and watched as they were brought out before going to wash the bowls and baking trays. We’d made everything fresh here for the best quality and I secretly loved doing the dishes. It was soothing in some strange way and I lost myself in it, thinking about taking a hot bubble bath with David. I fucking missed him so much.
We all helped to clean up and load things up into the catering vans before walking to our cars. I hadn’t seen Kyle again and hoped that was it, since I’d moved out of the apartment. It wouldn’t be too difficult to find out that David Foster was my fiancé and I hoped if he did, Kyle would leave it at that.
Chapter Seventeen
David
I got back to the hotel with a couple of hours to spare before our first night in Paris. The press meetings were long, and I should have gone to see some sights with the guys, but I was the focus of the band and tired. I saw a lot of them with Aubrey before on the trip that I proposed to her on. I thought about that as I looked around, missing her intensely as I looked out of my window to the tower.
I ordered some room service and then grabbed my cell as I did the math in my head. I might be able to reach Aubrey and I kicked my shoes off before dropping to the bed. I dialed her number and listened to it ring a couple of times before her sweet voice filled the line. “David!”
“Hey, baby. How are you?” I asked her with a smile as I pictured the smile she always had for me in my mind. I captured it in several photos of her and us that I used for the screen on my phone.
“I’m tired. I was at an event late last night and slept in a bit longer than I planned to this morning to write.” I heard her yawn as my need to take care of her rose in my chest.
“Baby, you don’t have to work that hard.” I reminded her as she sighed.
“I enjoy it and the catering is only temporary until Sarah comes back, David. Writing is just sitting here at home.” I heard the defensive tone in her voice and decided to consider myself lucky that she let me buy her a new car, even if it wasn’t as fancy as I wanted it to be.
“Just take care of yourself. Deal?” I asked, closing my eyes as frustration set in.
“Of course. I always do.” She said and then I heard her settle back.
“Are you in bed or on the couch?” I asked her, wishing I was there with her.
“Couch. Enjoying my coffee.” She told me as I smiled. “I miss you.”
“I miss you more. I wish you were here with me, but I also wish I was there with you.” I told her as I closed my eyes. I was so damn tired, but I had a show, plus food coming to the room. I’d be plenty busy later.
“Me, too. I am glad you’ll be home in a month.” I hated those words and tried to focus on something else.
“What else have you been up to?” I asked her, hearing the knock at the door. “Hold on, baby. Food’s here.” I dropped the phone on the bed and rose to let the person in. A young guy walked in and glanced at me with wide eyes as I smiled grimly. “I’m back.”
“What did you order? The usual?” She asked as I chuckled.
“Chicken and veggies. I need fuel for later.” I replied as I looked at the window. I could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance and smiled. “I can see the tower from here. It’s beautiful.”
“I wish I was there. Next time, I will be.” She promised. We chatted for as long as I could before I had to arrive at the venue and she told me that she loved me before we hung up.
A week passed before I knew it and I was half-asleep in a hotel room in Italy. I’d done four shows in that time and loved the fans and the energy. I really did. I was just wiped out and missing home. I thought back to the days when I was new to this and partied after the shows. I got fucked up on any number of things and slept with too many faceless women. It was an adrenaline rush when I was younger but now I just wanted silence after the concerts, as well as Aubrey. I was relieved that Brent was getting more serious about Cammie and joined me in coming back to the hotel when we were done. We’d go out to dinner and enjoy a beer here and there, but we never got drunk anymore. It was nice to see him calming down and thinking more about his future.
Tonight, we were both exhausted and came back to sleep. I knew it was too late to call Aubrey even if she was probably not sleeping, but I allowed her to sleep. We hadn’t spoken too much this week with her helping Cammie so much and I wondered when Sarah was going to be back. She was a few weeks out from delivering her baby girl and I assumed she’d take a month or two after that. Wasn’t that the usual? What if she didn’t come back? I knew that Aubrey was enjoying baking now, but I was more than willing to put extra time in at the gym if she did it at home.
I fell asleep and woke up when Brent asked me if I wanted to join him for breakfast. I showered and met him downstairs, asking for coffee straight away as the dark eyed waitress asked us if we’d like drinks. I looked over the menu and tried to decide what to order as Brent shifted in his seat. I gave him a curious glance, chuckling when I saw the frown on his face. “What’s wrong with you, B?”
“I think I know why I avoided relationships for so long. This shit is hard.” I gave him a sympathetic smile as coffee was set in front of us.
“It is. Worth it though.” I replied as he searched my face.
“Is it? You seem to be a little less enthusiastic these days about the touring life.” He noted as I took a long drink from my cup.
“I love music. This is a great life but I’m sure it’s harder as you get older anyway. Having a serious relationship makes it difficult but don’t you like the idea of someone to go home to?” I had been surprised when he told me that he was going to ask Cammie to move in to his house three months ago. I guessed they got serious over the time they spent together and maybe it finally hit him that he needed her. He’d certainly watched me do that with Aubrey so maybe it rubbed off a little bit.
“I guess so. I don’t like this part of it.” He replied as he set the menu down. “When does it change?”
“Our women need to stop working their asses off, so they can tour with us. Once there are kids involved, it becomes a family thing.” I watched my friend pale at the mention of children and shook my head. “Not tomorrow, B. Someday.” I wanted kids with Aubrey and possibly sooner rather than later. I was going to focus on our wedding in the Fall and go from there.
“Man, I can’t even think about having a baby.” He said in shock as I smiled.
“I can’t right now. I’m getting married though, so it will come up at some point. I want kids.” I explained as he nodded slowly. “It’s crazy, I know. But I am going to make it work somehow because we have friends that do. They’re in bands or play sports and they might travel for some other job. They make it work.” I knew a lot of people like this and before now. It seemed impossible to pull off.
“I can’t think that far, D. I just got her into my house.” He explained, and I nodded. That in itself was a huge step.
“I’m not asking you
to. Just recognize a good thing when you see it. Cammie doesn’t hook up with every guy she meets at work and they have a lot of clients. I think you’re something special to her and I know she is something special to my girl.” He nodded, and the waitress came to take our order. We each worked the social media accounts of the band as we ate, posting pics and small videos from the tour to keep the fans involved. We were always too tired after shows and slept late into the day when we were traveling. We finished the meal and left a large tip before going up to my room to mess around with some songs. We had a show that night but got more sleep than the others and managed to stay awake all day.
The show was great, and the audience screamed and sang along to every song. I loved that they appreciated the music and us as a band, performing enthusiastically for the large crowd. I waved after the set and walked back to drink several bottles of water before showering for the meet and greet following the show. I made it through that and the aggressively flirtatious Italian women, thankful to get to my hotel that night.
In my younger days, I would have scored there, many times over.
I sent Aubrey a text and fell into bed to sleep until we went on to London. A part of me couldn’t wait to get home and I moved through the rest of the tour on auto pilot. We hopped a plane back to the states and I slept most of the flight, just to spend some quality time with Aubrey when I got home. We arrived back in Seattle late at night and since we told the girls not to come get us, we each took cabs home. I stumbled up the steps and unlocked the door, pushing it open to find Jacob and Vanessa eating dinner on the couch. “D. Welcome back!” Jacob said as I grinned and looked around.
“Where’s Aubrey?” I asked, and Vanessa gave me a soft smile.
“Sleeping. She stayed up a long time getting some work done. She wanted to wake up but just couldn’t.” I nodded and dropped my keys on the table after leaving my bags on the floor.