by K E Osborn
It felt effortless. Talking with him seemed to flow with ease. It felt like we hadn’t been separated at all let alone for seven months. We got back into a rhythm and in sync with each other quickly, and it wasn’t long after dinner before we were back in his bed and making extraordinary love once more. We fit together perfectly and being apart always felt wrong. So why the hell did I keep doing it? This time I’m in it for the long haul, no more running, no more freaking out and fleeing when things get tough. Being without him is hard, too hard. Yes, being with him can sometimes prove difficult, but a life without him is torture and I don’t want to go through it ever again.
Third time’s a charm or three strikes you’re out as they say.
Third time is it, no more. I can’t be without him again. It would be the annihilation of us both and I won’t be responsible for that. No matter how hard this road gets, no matter how rocky or bumpy, I’m strapped in and ready for the ride. I’m in. I’m all in, and so is Caleb. This time I’m playing for keeps and no matter what the future holds for us, fan girls, groupies, paparazzi, whatever, we will be here for each other one hundred percent. Because that’s the only way we can be from now on.
Indi and I have been back together for a year and a half and it’s been difficult to say the least keeping it a secret from everyone. She’s been adamant about not telling anyone and about keeping her anonymity intact, so much so that it’s starting to really bug me. But I respect her, so I keep quiet. Aston knows, and he’s the only one I can talk to about her. But he’s having issues of his own.
Colt had his fiftieth birthday party and Annie finally realised that Aston and Amber were together and it was a disaster. Annie admitted she still loved him basically throwing Aston into a spin. I told him if he really isn’t into Amber, then it’s not good to lead her on just to fill the Annie void, like Indi did with Mick. Aston agreed and I think he broke it off with Amber after we had a lengthy talk at the party. After that Annie disappeared, and I was miserable because I wanted to shout it from the rooftops that I was happy and seeing Indi again. Hell, she’d even moved in with me, but I can’t say anything because she’s so scared of what the press will do when they find out.
I don’t know why I can’t tell my family though? They’d be so happy for me.
Although when all the shit went down at Colt’s party with Aston and Annie, it made me realise that even if my relationship with Indi is a secret at least I have her. So I went home and made sweet love to her all night long making sure to remind her of how much I loved her.
I asked her to marry me again, and just like always she said no. I’m so used to it now that I laugh it off, but I know if I keep asking one day she will say yes. I know she’s scared, I am too. Our relationship has never been smooth sailing. But when we’re together now everything seems perfect. She just needs the courage to tell people. I get it, she’s nervous. I’m popular, and Staked is becoming famous, but hiding her from the world is not something I want to do forever. Eventually, she will have to come out into the world with me.
I hope.
All I know right now is she completes me and I’m so desperately in love with her I’ll do whatever she wants. She went back into the Emergency Department and she’s much happier there than in the orthopedics’ ward, which is great. I just hope that when she comes out about our relationship and the press hound her she can cope with it. The longer she leaves it, the worse it will be.
But for now, I need to go to Oxfordshire for some crisis meeting about Annie. I kiss Indi on her forehead as I leave her sleeping soundly in our bed. She’s so beautiful and I don’t want to wake her. I leave a note on the kitchen bench telling her I’ve gone to Oxfordshire for a crisis meeting I’ve been called to attend. I grab my phone as I walk out the door. Opening Facebook as I walk to the car, I see a photo come up of Annie. She’s half naked and lying on a lounge suite completely out of it with a pill box on the table next to her. My eyes are open wide as I take in what I’m reading.
Lead guitarist of Staked, Annie Slade, following in her father’s footsteps. High, and wasted on a wild night out.
“Fuck,” I exclaim and race to my car. Now I know what the crisis is about.
Driving to Oxfordshire as fast as possible in my new Mercedes-Benz SL 63 AMG, my heart races. The car is quick, so I arrive in just under an hour and twenty minutes. Lucky there were no police on the road today. I arrive at the gate of the manor as Chad pulls up behind me. We both drive through and park our cars, getting out and walking toward the door.
“Have you seen?” Chad asks.
“Yeah,” is all I can reply.
Chad shakes his head because we both know a nude photo scandal is something the band does not need. I knock on the door and Lia answers looking like she’s had no sleep.
“Hey Lia, how is she?” I ask and she tilts her head to the side not really answering my question, but giving me all the information I need with a single look. I nod and exhale as I make my way to the music room with Chad, who’s busy on his phone.
“Hey guys,” Colt says as we walk into the room. I nod and walk straight over to Annie.
“Hey Annie, how you doing?” I sit down wrapping my arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to me. I want to show her I support her even though she’s fucked up yet again.
“I’m okay, just feel like a bit of a fuckhead really.”
I chuckle and nod. “Well, I won’t argue that it was a dick move, but I know you didn’t do it on purpose, and I know you wouldn’t want those photos out there. I’m sorry this has happened to you.”
“Thanks, cuz, I just wish I’d never gone out. I don’t know why I’m so stupid all the time.”
“You’re not stupid, Annie. You just make stupid decisions sometimes, but I’m pretty sure you’ve learned from this one, right?”
She nods. “Oh, shit yeah. I’m never…ever drinking again,” she says and I smile.
“Or taking drugs, I hope?”
“That goes without saying. I’m never touching anything illegal or alcoholic again. It fucks me up.”
“Good, glad to hear it, and you know if you were in trouble you could have called me?”
“I know, I think I was on my way to call you when I passed out. Just didn’t make it in time, and that’s obviously when he took the photos,” she says and I cringe remembering seeing the picture of her with her tits out.
“Hopefully, there isn’t a next time, but please remember to call me, Annie. Anytime you need me. You’re family and I love the shit out of you, okay?” I say and she laughs.
“Okay, I love you too.”
“Right, we’re just waiting for Aston and Rob to show up, and then we can start talking about how we’re going to proceed,” Colt says.
I unwrap my arm from around Annie because even though I’m supporting her in this, I’m still angry as fuck that she let this happen.
“How bad is it likely to get?” I ask.
“It could be detrimental to the success of the band, Caleb, I’m not going to lie. People don’t like drugs, let alone accompanied with a nude photo scandal. It’s going to be a sensitive subject for a long time, I’m sure. I just hope Annie knows the mess she’s gotten you all into,” Colt says and I tense up.
“I know, Dad, you don’t have to rub it in,” Annie says and Colt stands up angrily.
I tune out as Annie and Colt go at it arguing until they stop, and I turn to see Aston and Rob standing in the doorway watching them fight.
“You know what? How ‘bout you all discuss what you need to without me? I’m the reason we’re all here anyway. I’m the fuck up. So you all decide what the best course of action is. If it means I’m out of the band, so be it. Just save Staked, and I’ll leave if I have to. But I can’t be here while you all talk about how much I screwed up and how much of an awful person I am. Don’t worry, I hate myself enough for all of you,” Annie says and storms out past Aston and Rob. I exhale as Annie throws one of her hissy fits and this time in front
of our agent.
Great!
“Annie!” Colt calls out, but she keeps walking. I shake my head as Aston watches her walk away. I can’t imagine what he must be thinking right now. I can only dread what I would think if that were Indi in Annie’s position. I would be mortified.
We all sit here in silence until Aston clears his throat.
“I’ll go get her,” he says and Colt looks at him and I see hesitation, but he nods, and even I think Aston is the only one who can save Annie right now. I just hope she hasn’t fucked this up for us well and truly.
Aston leaves and Rob exhales and looks over to Colt. “I think it will be okay, Colt,” he explains and I start to feel a little better. If Rob thinks Staked can come out of this okay, then I have faith he can help us. I just wish Annie would stop being so bloody stubborn and realise she needs to be with Aston. He was only with Amber to try and get over Annie, and we all knew that wouldn’t work. I just hope Aston can talk some sense into my cousin.
Rob goes and talks to Dad quietly as Ella sits in the corner by herself and Chad plays on his phone, it’s like none of us know what the hell to say or do. We’re all just waiting for Annie to come back so we can talk about how we proceed with this like adults. With Annie’s scandal coming out, I hope that my scandal doesn’t surface. That would definitely ruin Staked’s image for good.
I look up as Aston and Annie walk through the doorway holding hands. We all stop and focus on the one thing we never thought we would see again – their hands entwined.
Annie came in and told us all that she and Aston had sorted things out and were back together, which was a relief to us all because them being apart was like me and Indi being apart. It just doesn’t work. Rob was excited by the news. He then told us we could put out a press release saying that Annie had a moment of weakness and that she was under the influence of the wrong crowd of people. And that Aston has pulled her back into the light.
Now that Annie and Aston are back together it works perfectly. Annie was lost without him, so she chose the wrong path, isolation, dissolution, and abandonment issues were running rife tearing the band apart. But when Annie’s photographs surfaced Aston came to her rescue and now she’s back on track with some therapy and Staked can go back to normal. With this new spin on things, Rob should be able to set up a tour for us starting as soon as possible. It will be great to be back on tour again. The only issue, it means being apart from Indi again unless she decides come with me. I highly doubt she’ll leave her job for an extended period of time. And our track record of me going on tour doesn’t bode so well for me. So even though I’m excited, I’m equally nervous as hell.
“Well, this is fucking great news. I came here today thinking the band would be over and it’s only just beginning. Thanks, Rob, you really know how to make things work for us.” This dream, this band, means so much to me and to have it all placed in jeopardy today was scary, but having Rob twist it and turn it into a positive, is incredible. He really is a fantastic agent.
I move across to Aston and give him a slap on the back. “You better watch out for her. She needs something stable in her life, Ast, and if you break her heart God knows what it’ll do to the band. So if you are in it, be all in, ‘cause Annie loves you so much—”
“I know, Caleb, and thanks for looking out for her. But now that I have her back, I’m never letting her go. So don’t worry about the band, Annie and I are going to be rock solid from now on and nothing will break us now. I promise,” he says and I believe him.
I smile and as the others celebrate I want to get to Indi and tell her about the tour. I don’t know how long we’ll be going for yet or where we’ll be going, but I need Indi to know that I want her to come with me if she wants to and that I will do everything in my power to ensure nothing happens like last time. I grab my stuff and walk out of the room not saying goodbye to anyone, making my way to the car to go home and see Indi before she heads to work.
I drive as quickly as I can and rush inside to see Indi in the kitchen mixing some batter in a mixing bowl and humming to herself quietly as I walk in. The sight before me is so cute it makes my insides shudder. She has flour on her nose and an apron on as she mixes the bowl of whatever it is. She looks so…house-wife-ish.
“Well, isn’t this a sight?”
She looks up as I place my keys on the bench then she frowns.
“Darn it, I wanted to have these baked before you got home.”
I walk over to her then kiss her cheek and wipe the flour from her nose.
“I like this look,” I say as I run my hand along the seam of her apron and she smiles and continues to stir the batter.
“Well, I’m making you muffins. Apple and cinnamon.”
I look at the clock to see it’s nearly four in the afternoon.
“What time do you have to go into work?”
“It’s my night off.”
“Really?”
She grins and leans in kissing my lips softly. She tastes like cinnamon and I lick my lips as she pulls away.
“Yup! When I read you had a crisis meeting, I thought you might need me tonight. So I called in a favour with Kenz and bam, I’m all yours.” I pull her to me as she places the bowl down on the bench with a squeal.
“I love you, you know that?”
She smiles and nods. “Yes I do,” she replies. “Now, thank me for the muffins.”
I chuckle and let her go so she can get back to baking. “Thank you for the muffins, baby. You’re too good to me.”
“So, Annie’s photographs…is that the crisis?”
“Yeah, you saw them then?”
She winces. “They’re everywhere, it’s hard to miss.”
“I know. Rob’s going to put a spin on it and issue a press statement. Hopefully, it works, but it does mean that something has come up and I’m not sure if you’re going to like it,” I say and pull her back to me.
She swallows hard and nods. “Okay, tell me,” she says and wraps her arms around my neck.
I look into her eyes so she can see my sincerity as I talk. “Rob wants us to go on a tour to ride on the coattails of the story. It would be a headline tour. We, Staked, would be the headline act, and –”
“Oh my God, Caleb!” she squeals excitedly and jumps up on her toes kissing me quickly and hugging me tightly.
So…not what I was expecting!
“Caleb, this is amazing, babe. Headline act. Oh my God, are you excited? You don’t seem excited?” she asks really quickly assessing my mood.
“It’s just, I thought, last tour didn’t go so well for us…”
Her smile falls. “Yeah, I remember. I trust you, and even if Sasha shows up, I’m not going to run this time. Living without you was too hard, and this, Caleb? Headline act, it’s fucking huge, babe. I’m not going to ruin your excitement.”
“Really, you’re okay with this?”
“Caleb, I’m so happy for you I could burst!” she says.
I lean down kissing her hard and fast. She runs her hands up into my hair and pulls me to her. Our tongues dance together and the sweet taste of cinnamon is making me crave her even more.
“I fucking love you,” I murmur against her lips and she laughs.
“Well, you won’t when I’m on the phone to you crying because I miss you, two months into the tour—”
“Then come with me?” I interrupt and she tilts her head and smirks.
“You already know the answer to that question, Caleb.”
“Was worth a try.”
“Headline act!” she says and I laugh as she jumps and dances around the room.
She really is the cutest thing in the world right now. And her excitement is contagious as I pick her up and twirl her around making her squeal again.
It’s been a month since Annie’s photo scandal broke and we leave on our tour tomorrow. It’s for five months, and to be honest I’m petrified of Sasha showing up. But Dad had his people talk to her about their agreement and she’s
adamant that she’s staying away from me and Staked for good. I’m happy about that because to be honest I couldn’t handle her showing up again, I really couldn’t. But tonight it’s all about me and Indi. Aston is still the only one who knows about us. I swore him to secrecy, so I doubt even Annie knows. He might have told her now they’re together, I’m really not sure. Indi has made sure that she has the night off, and I’ve arranged a romantic dinner at home by the fireplace in the lounge room. Just me, her, the fire, some rose petals, candles, chocolates and our naked bodies.
I’m going to miss her more than anything, but I know we can do this. Skype sex is fun, and we had plenty of practice at it on the last tour. I’m sure we’ll remember how to do it, even though it was a couple of years ago now. She’s out getting some groceries while I set up the lounge room. I’ve moved the coffee table out and placed a large plush rug down on the floor and covered it with rose petals for us to lay on. I want to make it romantic, so I’ve arranged tiny tea light candles sporadically around the lounge room. Dinner is almost cooked and all I have to do now is wait for her to arrive home. I walk over and place the wine bucket next to the rug and the wine glasses on the table. The room looks beautiful and romantic.
I hear the front door click and so I rush over and as she walks through the door, I grab the bags from her and she laughs as I fuss and flurry around her.
“Close your eyes,” I call out.
“What?” she asks walking in a little further.
“Quick, close your eyes,” I reiterate and she laughs and shakes her head closing her eyes.
“Right, stay there.” I rush taking the bags over to the kitchen bench and then back taking her in my arms and walking her into the lounge room.
“Don’t walk me into anything,” she says and I chuckle.
“Would I do that?”
“Yes,” she says and I nod my head because I probably would.
“Just trust me, this time,” I say and lead her to the rug. “Okay, sit down on the floor,” I say and she hesitates. “Don’t worry the table is gone.”
