Kind of Famous (Flirting with Fame Book 3)

by Mary Ann Marlowe

  “Whatcha doing?” I plopped beside him, expecting him to start talking a mile a minute about music or kiss me or jump up and cook me a sumptuous dinner.

  Instead, he pegged me with narrowed eyes. “Do you happen to know Adam’s middle name?”

  “Joshua,” I said without missing a beat, and then the universe expanded and collapsed in an earth-shattering heartbeat, and I understood. “I only know that because—”

  “Because you’re not just a casual fan. You’re number one, president-of-the-fan-club level of fan. Right?”

  “I’m what?”

  “You literally have a fan club.”

  “Well, not exactly—”

  “No, exactly.” He lifted the laptop screen so I could see what he’d been looking at. The Talking Disaster banner was the one displaying the neck of a guitar with Adam’s fingers fretting a C chord.

  “Why are you looking at that?”

  He frowned so hard, I didn’t recognize him. “ ‘Noah’s ass is a work of art.’ ” He gestured at the screen where those exact words stared back at me beside my username. Never mind it was dated two years ago.

  I’d been posting on my fan site for years. It would take some digging to find specific posts where I’d said anything that could be construed as infatuation for any of the musicians. “How did you find that?”

  “What does it matter? A better question would be, why didn’t you mention that you were more interested in my band than you are in me? And oh, my God, are you interested in Adam! Was that your ultimate goal?” He laughed, a bitter nasty laugh. “Of course, it was. You got it, too. You played on Jo, one of the most trusting people I’ve ever known, and Micah, and me. Congrats. You got your invitation to hang with the band. Is that why you took a job at the magazine? How’s it feel to be on the inside?”

  I touched his arm. “Shane.”

  He jerked like I’d scorched him. I dropped my hand.

  “How about this one?” He clicked on a tab along the top. Adam’s face filled the screen. Shane scrolled until he reached my comment and read, “ ‘That’s one of my favorites. Wouldn’t mind trading places with that microphone.’ ”

  “Shane. It’s not like that. I had no intentions. Things just happened.”

  “Things just happened? That’s a convenient excuse.”

  “I never planned to meet any of you. I swear.” He was freaking me out. I’d never seen him angry, and he looked about ready to burst a vein.

  His finger wagged at the laptop. “That comment is from the night I met you.”

  I pressed my fingers against my closed eyelids. “It doesn’t mean anything, Shane. It’s a fan forum.”

  “I have more. Shall I go through them?”

  He clicked another tab. He had an ungodly number of web pages open. Had he been sitting here all day saving my past infractions for this confrontation?

  I gave him a pleading look. “Are you telling me you’ve never been a fan? The Police. The Who. David Bowie. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t lose your mind if you met them.”

  “I admire those artists.” He waved at the monitor. “I don’t spend my time worshiping them. Lusting after them.”

  “I don’t lust after anyone besides you, Shane, though you’re making me reassess even that. I’m just a fan.”

  His cold eyes, barely visible through slits, cut toward me. “If that’s true, then you won’t mind staying away from Adam.”

  Boom.

  My head felt like it was full of cotton. Had I lost my hearing? “Excuse me?”

  “Don’t go to their rehearsal Friday. Don’t hang out with Eden while I’m gone. In fact, steer clear of Jo. Show me how little they matter to you.”

  Boom.

  Every detonation blew a hole in my capacity to think logically. I had no name for what I was feeling. Confused, appalled, defensive, sorry, angry. It was new territory for me, and I didn’t like it one bit. I didn’t like the way he looked at me.

  “Are you fucking crazy, Shane?”

  He leaned in, uncomfortably close while wearing that sneer. “Me? I’m not the one desperately trying to sleep my way into a band’s inner circle.”

  With that, my emotions crystallized into one single action: escape.

  “Nope,” I said and stood, intending to walk away from him.

  “What do you mean, ‘Nope?’ ” He followed behind me and tugged my elbow.

  I wrested free and ran up the stairs where I shoved anything within grabbing distance into a suitcase. I didn’t know where I was going. I just had to get out.

  “Stop, Layla.”

  I stopped. “What?”

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m walking away, Shane. You gave me an ultimatum, and I’m choosing not to play by your rules. You don’t control who I do or don’t see. I control that, and right now I’m choosing not to see you.”

  “You admit it then. This was never about me. You’re done with me and now you just move on?”

  I clenched my fist and fought back a scream. “This is about you being a dick to me right now. Nobody else. Just you and me.”

  “Where do you think you’re going to go?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll call Jo and tell her not to take you in. Then I’ll call Adam. He won’t want you to come to the rehearsal after I share all this. Who do you think they’ll side with?”

  He was right about that. I sagged, hoping to make him relent. “It’s my job, Shane. If you make that call, you’ll jeopardize my career.”

  “Fine.” He shoved the phone back in his pocket. “I won’t make the choice for you, but I find it really hard to trust your motives, Layla.”

  “I find it really hard to give a shit, right now, Shane. You’re behaving like a total asshole.”

  “Let’s make it easy then.”

  I put my hand on my hip, acting tougher than I felt. “What are you talking about?”

  “You got what you wanted. You don’t need me anymore. So, let’s just call it quits.”

  I sniffed and straightened my back. As if me packing a suitcase hadn’t been a clue I’d already come to that conclusion. “Go on and paint yourself as a victim, used by everyone around you and discarded when they get what they want. Maybe you think people owe you their love in return for your magnanimous generosity and that justifies emotional blackmail. It’s as if you think that’s the only way to get people to love you.”

  He looked like I’d slapped him. My voice was too loud, and my finger was shaking, scolding him. I wasn’t done.

  “You know what, Shane? You set your own self up to be mistreated because you assume you will be. When you are, you’re justified in your self-pity.” I backhanded the tears from my cheek. “If you believed me capable of treating you that way, then this was never going to work.”

  I turned to go before the ramifications of what was happening hit me. I could cry in a taxi. For now, I needed to walk straight. I needed to keep to the high road.

  Before I made it to his front door, he lobbed one last grenade after me. “Good luck with Adam. Try to remember he’s married.”

  Fuck the high road. I spun back. “Call me when you grow up, Shane.”

  Then I rushed into the hall and slammed the door, so I wouldn’t have to see his face.

  Fortunately, Uber drivers responded faster than my ability to change my mind. I gave the driver Jo’s address, hoping she wouldn’t turn me away. For all I knew it was Jo who’d ratted me out, and if not, Shane may have already poisoned her against me. But I had nowhere else to go, so I texted her and breathed a sigh of relief when she replied:

  Come on over. Eden’s here and we’re out on the patio staying out of Micah’s way.

  I was about to knock on the door when it swung open. As Micah went past shouldering trash ba
gs down the steps, I slipped into the townhouse.

  “Hello?” I called through the kitchen.

  “Out here!” The patio door slid open a foot. From the darkness beyond, Jo waved me to join them. “Grab a drink from the fridge if you want. Micah bought beer.”

  A beer would have been perfect right about then.

  I closed the door behind me and pulled up a chair. Eden had a beer, but Jo drank iced tea.

  “We thought you’d be spending your few hours with Shane.” Jo giggled with a salacious waggle.

  “Did he chase you off so he could contemplate how sad his life was without you?” Eden was completely slumped down in her chair, practically sitting on her own back, with her bottle perched on her belly.

  Just like that I burst into tears. “Oh, God.” I turned my face away and pressed the hem of my T-shirt against my eyes.

  A hand on my back, rubbing side to side, did not have the intended calming effect, and everything in me suddenly broke. The sobbing was embarrassing.

  “Hey, everything’s okay.” Jo’s subtle southern accent did the trick, and I managed to stop heaving. My breathing slowed, and I wiped my face one last time on my sleeve.

  Eden had sat up, elbows on the table, concern in her dark eyes. “You want to tell us what’s going on?”

  “It’s silly. I mean, we barely know each other. It’s only been a couple of weeks.”

  “Oh. Well, if you don’t feel you can talk to us.” Jo twisted her lips into a frown.

  I realized how they’d interpret what I’d said. “No. I don’t mean you. I meant Shane. How can I be so upset about a guy I met two weeks ago?”

  The two exchanged a look, then Eden said, “My mom once told me that time doesn’t matter. She said that some couples take years to figure it out, but for others it’s as obvious as night and day.”

  “Oh. I don’t think—” I wasn’t sure how to explain that things were as clear as mud with Shane.

  “Then again, my mom has a lot of terrible advice.”

  I actually snort-laughed, and it felt great to find something funny.

  Jo laid a hand on mine. “Did y’all have a fight?”

  “I think what we had was a breakup.”

  “Are you sure?” Jo shot a concerned look at Eden.

  Eden picked up on a signal. “Jo and I know a thing or two about musicians.”

  Jo nodded. “You wouldn’t believe how close we both came to relationship-ending drama.”

  I looked up to the heavens for strength. They were going to hate me, but I had to come clean. “Oh, I know all about it.”

  “Sure.” Eden tapped her finger against her bottle. “Did you know Adam wanted me to stay with him after the gossip articles came out, but I left him without giving him a chance to work things out?”

  That wasn’t in any papers. “No, I—”

  “Yup. I could have saved myself quite a bit of pain if I’d just talked it out with him, but we both had some things to learn.”

  Jo leaned forward. “Did you know that Micah never broke things off with me? I needed the space, but then we dated in secret until the gossip about us blew over.”

  “What?” That wasn’t the story anyone knew at all. “I thought—”

  “I walked out on him because I couldn’t take the pressure, but I realized he was worth putting up with all the scrutiny.”

  “I don’t understand why you’re telling me all this.”

  Eden stood and drained her bottle. “You and Shane started out at a breakneck pace.”

  “You just said—”

  She dropped the bottle into the trash and pulled open the sliding door but stopped long enough to say, “What I said about time? It’s true. Jo and I are telling you that you were in for a crash at some point. It happened faster than I would have predicted, but I’m not surprised. Shane’s going on tour for a week. Take the time to step back and re-assess what you need.”

  As she disappeared into the kitchen, Jo squeezed my hand. “Eden’s right, but you know, don’t mind her sharp way of framing things. What she means to say is, things have a way of working out.”

  I sniffled. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

  “Do you mind if I ask what you were fighting over?”

  Shane’s wish that I break things off with everyone might come true if I confessed, but it was going to all be out there sooner or later. Better if it came from me.

  I covered my face with both hands for a few seconds, then peeked out through my fingers. “I run a fan site.”

  Eden stepped back out with two bottles in one hand. She held one out to me and sat. “You do what?”

  Time to rip off the bandage. “Jo was asking why we fought. Shane found out about a fan site I run, and it upset him.”

  “Oh.” Eden’s mouth pinched ever so slightly. Or maybe I was imagining it. “What kind of fan site?”

  I closed my eyes. Moment of truth. I took one breath, then a second, then opened my eyes. “It’s a Walking Disaster fan site.”

  Her lips folded into her mouth, pressed together, like she was holding back her initial reaction, but then her chest shook, and I realized she was trying hard not to laugh.

  “It’s something I started when I was in college. Really, I just wanted to learn how to write the code, but then people showed up. Plus, I made some money on ads. Then it kind of blew up.”

  “You run Talking Disaster?” Eden looked more amused than I would have expected.

  “Yeah.” I decided to shut up and let her process it.

  “Kind of blew up is an understatement. It’s bigger than the official fan forum. By far.”

  “I know. I helped with the official fan forum when the label first set it up.”

  “Really? Are you responsible for how shitty it is?”

  I cackled. “No, I fought with them to get better software. It’s unusable. They had a platform for a bunch of musicians, so we were stuck with it. I did cheerlead and try to get people to move over. It would have been a bit of a relief to finally shut my site down. I mean, look at me. I’m gonna be thirty.”

  Eden was still chortling. For the first time she reached out and shook my hand in greeting. “Well, it’s nice to meet you. You must be Pumpkin.” Then she waved at my hair. “Another mystery solved.”

  “You know me?”

  “Hell, yeah, I know you. You are an amazing site admin. How many times did I want to hug you for how you protect us from rampant fan speculation?”

  I heaved a huge sigh of relief. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you any of this sooner. It’s just. It’s kind of embarrassing. Then Noah made such a big deal about being a super fan.”

  “Why exactly is Shane mad?” Jo’s face was scrunched in genuine curiosity.

  “I think he’s partly mad I didn’t tell him about it.”

  They both nodded, and I thought for sure they’d tell me he was right. Eden said, “Well, I’d be a huge hypocrite to chastise you for holding back on him. I nearly wrecked my relationship with Adam for hiding things.”

  “Same,” said Jo. “You guys are in a new relationship. It takes time to trust that.”

  “Right. Still, I can’t blame him for feeling blindsided.” I picked at the hem of my shirt, uncomfortable with the rest. “But he also thinks I’m using him as a steppingstone to become friends with Adam.” I nodded to Eden. “And you. And the rest of the band.”

  “Wow. That’s about the stupidest man logic I’ve heard yet.” Eden’s eyes were wide with disbelief.

  Jo’s brows had permanently knit together. “Why wouldn’t you have just used me, if that were the case? I could have introduced you to any one of them. And I did actually.” She laughed. “I introduced you to Shane.”

  The thought of using her horrified me. I hoped she didn’t think I had. “You know I didn’t . . . I wouldn’t . . .�
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  “I know that, silly. I’m the one who invited you here. I’m the one who dragged you to Eden’s barbecue. Shane’s the one who offered to walk you home. I assume he’s the one who insisted you go to his rehearsal and the festival, and Adam’s the one who invited you to his rehearsal.”

  Eden added, “Not to mention I’ve seen you in action. You’re more like a manager at a daycare. You never fawn. You drop in and encourage others, mixing with them here and there. You know you could have used your own position to gain access, but you’ve never once even asked.”

  “I have posted some appreciative comments about the band. I mean, before, when they were single.”

  “See? Most people don’t even bother to make that distinction. Girls drooling over Adam is kind of baked into his existence. And mine.” She duck-lipped a look of resignation.

  My entire body sagged in relief. “So, it’s not weird that I’m a dorky fan geek of your husband’s band?”

  Eden shrugged. “If that’s weird, add me to the club. I’d have to question your judgment if you weren’t a huge fan of my super talented husband.”

  Silence settled, but I still had a problem. I blew out a breath. “Shane doesn’t seem to share your point of view.”

  Jo rubbed my forearm. “I’m sure he’s overreacting. He’ll realize that and come around.”

  That wouldn’t solve the fact that he’d been a total asshole to me. “I’m not sure I want him to come around. He was so jealous and—’’ I stopped myself. Shane was their friend more than I was. It felt wrong to speak ill of him and possibly undermine his relationships, especially since he was more likely to stick around than I was. I had no connections here.

  “And?” Eden cocked her head. “You can speak your mind. Those guys are bozos most of the time.”

  “Well, I like him. I do.” I bit my lip, trying to think how to phrase this. “This jealousy seems so out of proportion for where we are in our relationship. He’s rushing everything, and I haven’t even unpacked my suitcases.”