by Amity Cross
As the car took off, cameras clicked through the tinted windows in a desperate attempt to get more shots.
I sank into the seat, keeping myself hidden beneath the hood of my jacket. My mind raced in time with my pulse, my thoughts mulling over the hectic dash to safety. It was just so invasive.
Sebastian grasped my hand, his touch sending a spark along my skin.
I had to go and fall for a fucking rock star, didn’t I?
6
Sebastian
I was livid by the time Juniper and I reached the hotel.
She was deathly quiet, her cheeks pale and her eyes full of worry.
“I fucked up,” I said as we rode the elevator up to the penthouse.
“You can’t fuck up by being yourself,” she replied.
Obviously, I could. I grunted and hit the button to stop the elevator at the thirty-second floor.
I had to hash things out with Vix before we left for Sydney or shit like this was going to keep happening. If she’d tipped the paparazzi off, I’d have her head.
What a shit storm. Just one day of peace was all I’d wanted. I couldn’t even go for fucking pasta with my girl without being hounded.
Pressing the room key into Juniper’s hand, I said, “I’ll meet you upstairs in a bit, okay?”
“Oh,” she said, taking the card. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I won’t be long.” As the doors opened, I kissed her cheek softly.
Walking down the hall, I heard the elevator doors shut. I hoped Juniper would be okay. When I’d asked her to leap, I didn’t realise it’d be the easiest part.
Stopping outside Vix’s room, I knocked on the door, my anger simmering to annoyance. How the hell do you lay out ground rules with the woman who managed your entire life and sold you out to the press every chance she got? Threatening her mightn’t be the best approach, but I suspected it was the only thing a person like her would respond to. Last resort, Seb. You’ve still got a contract.
When the door opened, Vix’s assistant smiled at the sight of me. She was a tall, willowy woman who wouldn’t be out of place on a Victoria’s Secret catwalk. She must be new because I didn’t recognise her. She was totally Damon’s type, and I briefly wondered if he’d gone after her yet.
“It’s Sebastian,” she said, calling over her shoulder.
“Obviously.” Vix’s familiar bitchy tone came from inside the room. “Let him in and get out.” She really knew how to treat her assistants. At least I wasn’t the only one with a high staff turnover rate around here.
I stepped into the room and the assistant left, but not before flashing a seductive pout in my direction. Didn’t anyone respect the word taken these days? I guess I only had myself to blame for that.
Vix was sitting on the couch with newspapers and magazines strewn over the coffee table in front of her. There were coloured Post-it notes on some of them, likely marking out all the mentions Beneath was getting—good and bad.
“I thought you were going out of your mind, but now you’ve proved it,” she said as I walked across the room. “Next time you want to go out, take a fucking driver and security with you, especially the day after a concert. They’re on-call for a reason, Seb.”
I gritted my teeth together and leaned against the window. One would think I’d learn after all these years, but it seemed I had lost my marbles.
Vix’s room was much smaller than mine, but it was a suite with a sizeable sitting area and a separate bedroom. All the bigger for fitting her minions inside. It overlooked the city and the river, and I stared at the skyline rather than look at her.
“One thing is good about this,” Vix said from behind me.
“There’s nothing good about this,” I snapped as I glanced over my shoulder, but she was fixated on her phone.
“The world loves a soppy romance,” she said with a sneer. “Puke. I’d rather asphyxiate in my own vomit. It’s so not Beneath’s image.”
“I’m surprised you know what the word asphyxiate means,” I drawled.
“Oh, ha ha. Very funny.”
“Juniper’s not part of this world,” I said. “She’s rattled.”
“Well, she’s got to get used to it. It’s the price of fame, Seb. When millions adore you, everyone wants a piece, including the sharks. I don’t know why you’re only realising this just now.”
“I didn’t care before,” I muttered under my breath.
“I heard that.” She stood and stepped around the coffee table. Standing beside me, she sighed. “If you went to some random city, you might’ve gotten away with your stroll through the masses, but you left a trail of Twitter mentions, Instagram posts, and all kinds of shit behind you. No wonder the paps found you at that restaurant. You’re not in a shitty seaside arse crack anymore, Seb.”
“So you didn’t have me followed?”
Vix laughed and pressed her forehead against the glass. “Not this time. This was all you, babe.”
“You tipped them off about Juniper,” I said. Her eyebrows rose and I snorted. “I wouldn’t put it past you to try again.”
“Everything I do is for the continued success of Beneath,” she said, her lip curling. “You were about to lose everything, and I brought you back. Remember that the next time you want to blame someone for your own stupidity, huh? Besides, your precious Juniper found her way to you, so everything is perfect.”
It was far from perfect if you asked me. Juniper might be here, but if the rock star life kept trying to drown her, then it might be short-lived.
“What do you want me to do, Vix?” I demanded.
“I want you to do what you always do—play your music and give the fans and media what they want.”
“They want a wild rock star with zero attachments.”
Vix smirked and raised her eyebrows.
“I don’t want that anymore,” I stated. “I thought I made myself clear.”
“If you want to keep your contract intact, you’ll find a way to balance it out.” She shrugged and patted me on the back. “Be a good boy, Seb.”
“You better not fuck with Juniper,” I warned.
She stared at me, not backing down. “I hope I don’t have to.”
When I got back to the penthouse, Juniper was curled up on the couch watching some spacey TV show on the SyFy channel.
I was too amped up to sit down, so I paced back and forth, trying to calm my anger. I used to have a real problem controlling my temper as a younger man. I’d get into fights and brawls just to punch out some aggression, but as I’d grown older and richer, I’d mellowed out a hell of a lot. Still, there were times when I felt the familiar surge of something unpredictable.
“Sebastian?”
I glanced at Juniper, who’d muted whatever she’d been watching.
“Vix pulled the contract card again,” I said.
“She loves to use legal red tape to blackmail her most profitable assets, doesn’t she?”
I stopped behind the couch. “I love it when you talk clever.”
“So did she tip them off?”
Hesitating, I gave her a quizzical look. “No. It was my own stupidity. I guess I was still hoping for some of that anonymity we had in Point Mambie.”
Juniper patted the couch and I climbed over the back and settled next to her.
“Management wants me to stick to my brand,” I said with a scowl. “It’s what the fans want, which keeps them buying records and concert tickets.”
“So you have to find a balance between your private and public life,” Juniper said.
“You said it more eloquently than Vix.”
“That’s a nice word,” she mused. “Eloquent. I didn’t expect it to come out of your mouth.”
“I do write amazing songs.”
“Yeah,” she murmured, running her fingers through my hair, “you do.”
“I’ve been thinking about what happened with the paps,” I began, not wanting to break the moment, but knowing we had to talk about it.
<
br /> Getting into the nitty gritty about my feelings wasn’t my strong suit, but Juniper had made it easy. There was something about her that had me spilling my guts and I’d already told her things I never spoke about. I’d mentioned my parents, including my douchebag of a father, though it’d only been a sentence in passing. Even that was more than people usually got, though.
“I’ve been thinking about it too…” she said.
“And?”
“You know what I have to do, right?” she asked, glancing at the bad arse leather jacket she’d picked out that morning.
“What?”
“I have to pull a Sandy from Grease.” Her lips quirked. “Duh.”
I frowned, confused as to who the fuck Sandy was. “A who from what?”
“You haven’t seen Grease?”
I shrugged. It must be some movie.
“Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta? You’re the one that I want, oh oh oh.”
“Oh, right…” I started laughing as she sang the line from one of the songs. I recognised that. “You don’t have to change who you are, Juni. That Sandy chick went from prim and proper to outright hooker.”
“I won’t be,” she argued. “I already like the music and the style. I just have to dial up the small-town bookstore owner to the bad boy rock star’s girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend…” I grinned and rubbed my hand along my jaw. “I never liked that word until now.”
“It’s what we are, isn’t it?” She suddenly looked so unsure.
Her expression began to cloud and I reached over and grasped her leg. With one tug, I had her straddling me, her core positioned right over my cock.
Juniper shivered as she settled. “If it’s a brand they want, let’s give them something the press and the fans will lap up.”
I sighed and shook my head. Give them the narrative they thought they wanted. It was the very thing Vix wanted me to do back when I cut out on the band. Lie to the fans. Lie to myself. Just fucking lie.
“I can’t,” I said. “Real was what I was missing when I left. It was what I was searching for when I found you. It feels like we’d be telling another lie.”
“It’s not lying,” Juniper whispered, her fingers tracing over my lips. “Not really.”
“You’re offering to change yourself to make things work.”
“I’m offering to work on my confidence,” she stated. “There’s a difference.”
She was my link between worlds. She anchored the two versions of myself and brought balance to the heaving storm that raged within my heart.
“Trust you to put a positive spin on things.”
She moved against my lap, grinding her crotch into mine. “You’re hard.”
“Painfully so.”
Juniper smiled, her emerald eyes sparkling as she scraped her copper hair over her right shoulder. Then she leaned down and forced my chin up so her lips could claim mine. Soon our kiss deepened, heating to unbearable levels of desire.
“Why did we go out again?” I murmured, lifting up her T-shirt.
“My thoughts exactly.”
7
Juniper
If I kept going the way I was, I wouldn’t survive.
Sebastian couldn’t change his situation, but mine was in flux. I could adapt, couldn’t I?
He moved beside me, his nakedness meshing with mine in the king-sized bed. Another morning in his arms felt like a victory after yesterday’s battle with the paparazzi.
“I have to go back to the Point,” I said. “I have to tie up as many loose ends before we leave for your fancy pants American tour.”
“You’re coming?” he asked, his voice still thick with sleep.
“Yeah, of course I am.”
“It’s just… It’s been iffy, and now it’s—”
“I leapt, Sebastian. Leaping means going all the way. I have nothing holding me here anymore. The Page Break is closed, the sale is happening, and,” I paused as I realised when everything was said and done, I wouldn’t have anywhere to live, “other than Vanessa and Ziggy, there’s no reason to look back. I have to find out who I am without my mother’s shop anchoring me in place. I want to find out who I am with you.”
“I like that we talk about this shit,” he said.
“Me too.”
We lay in each other’s arms as the light began to grow outside. Just a simple, quiet moment in the tumultuous life we’d embarked upon.
“Hey, what happened to Vanessa’s car?” I asked, remembering some strange guy was ‘handling’ it. “I think she’d like it back at some point.”
Sebastian laughed and nodded towards the sitting room. “They keys are out there. It’s parked in the undercover lot. If you go to the valet, they’ll bring it around.”
“They’ll drive my friend’s beat up 1995 Holden Commodore up to the VIP entrance?”
“If you don’t want to drive, I can get someone to take it back while someone else drives you…if you want.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That seems excessive.”
“When you’re a millionaire, it’s the least excessive thing you can do.”
He was, wasn’t he? It’d always been clear he had money, but referring to himself as a millionaire was bizarre, especially after my financial struggles.
“Yeah, my boyfriend is loaded.”
“Say that again,” he murmured, rubbing his hand over my stomach, stopping just short of my nether regions.
“My boyfriend is loaded.” I squirmed underneath his touch.
He rolled over me, his lips finding my neck. “One for the road?”
“Hell yeah.”
Point Mambie was shining in the aftermath of a rainstorm as I drove down the main street.
The sky was an eerie shade of blueish-grey, dumping sheets of water out over the ocean. Behind me, the sun shone, making the droplets caught on the grass sparkle like little diamonds.
Vanessa and Ziggy were waiting for me outside The Page Break Bookshop when I pulled into a parking spot. The little Jack Russell leapt and barked as I got out of the car, excited to see his aunt Juniper return.
“Hey, little dude!” I cried, kneeling so I could scruff him up. His tongue lapped at my face and I spat and swatted him away as he tried to give me a doggy French kiss.
“Aw, he misses his fun auntie,” Vanessa drawled, trying to hide her laughter.
“Oh, Ness,” I said, hugging her. “It’s good to see you.”
“How’s the big city life?” she asked as we made our way into the shop.
“I was there for like three days and so much stuff happened.”
“Like getting a whole new wardrobe of designer clothes,” she declared gesturing for me to spin around. “Show me!”
I did a little twirl, grinning as I lifted up my arms.
“Did you get the Comme des Garcons jacket?” She held out her hands and made grabby motions.
Laughing, I handed her the jacked I’d slung over my arm. She gasped and held it up, her eyes going wide as she turned it over and inside out and upside down.
“I’ve never held a designer anything,” she gushed. “It feels like money. Silky, leathery money.”
I was grateful to have her candid commentary back in my life, even if it was only for a few days before I jetted off again.
“What’s Sebastian doing while you’re here?” Vanessa asked slyly.
“His record label is releasing their new album this week,” I explained, telling her about the fallout from his stay here at the Point. “So he’s contractually obligated to do press all this week. Then there’s the party in Sydney this weekend.”
“I saw there was a tour announced on Beneath’s website.”
“You look at that?” I asked, setting my stuff down on the counter.
“I subscribe to the email newsletter.” She eyed me expectantly. “So? Are you going?”
I nodded and she let out a scream.
“Ness!” I exclaimed, slapping my palms over my ears. “Check t
he volume!”
“You’re so lucky! Think of all those places you’re going to see. New York.” She pressed her palms over her heart. “New Orleans, Las Vegas, Nashville, San Francisco, Seattle…”
“Have you memorised the tour schedule?” I raised my eyebrows, hiding an amused smile. I hadn’t even had a chance to look at it myself since I was still fixated on the release party in Sydney. It wasn’t just about what I was going to wear, but the people I’d be meeting and Vix’s constant scrutiny.
“I printed it out.”
This time I laughed. “You’re one step ahead of me.”
“I know it’s only been a few days since the concert, but what’s it like? Really being with Sebastian?”
“It’s mental,” I replied. “We went out for a walk and some lunch on Sunday, and the paparazzi found us. There we were, shoving pasta into our faces, and cameras were pressed against the window.”
“I know,” Vanessa said with a grin. “It was on the Stargazers website.”
“What?” I groaned and slapped my palm against my forehead. That tabloid had fast become our number one fan.
“If it’s any consolation, you look great when you’re eating. People usually have this demented thing going on with their mouths. So not a good look. But you… You’re a pro.”
“I’m a pro at eating?”
“It’s like you went to deportment school.”
I sank down onto the nearest box of books and laughed. “I’m going to miss you, you crazy bitch.”
“And I’m going to miss you, you crazy slapper.” Looking at the mess crammed into every corner of the shop, Vanessa put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. “We’ve got a fuck load to get done if we’re getting Cinderella to the ball on time.”
“Don’t remind me. I don’t even know what to do about upstairs.” I still had my apartment to clean and pack. Daunting didn’t even describe what I was feeling about that mountain.
