Paper, Scissors, Rock

by Nicole S. Goodin

  “A woman loves a grand gesture.”

  Well, this was the best I could come up with. If this didn’t say ‘grand gesture’ then I had no idea what would.

  These past months had been the longest I’d ever gone without playing or singing since I’d first started at five years old. And I was coming out of my lull, for her.

  Charlotte.

  My entire consciousness absorbed the sound of her name, the thoughts of her seeping into every part of my body.

  I’d deprived myself for too long.

  I picked my guitar up off the seat of the car and gave Sammy a nod that it was time.

  He’d been watching me carefully for the past few minutes. I knew this wasn’t his preferred way to spend the afternoon – having to fend off the hordes of fans that were bound to show up was going to be no small feat, but he was here and he hadn’t complained once – other than the frown that had been permanently etched into his brow since the moment I’d filled him in on this plan.

  Screw it – I pay him enough, he’ll get over it.

  Sammy had called in a whole team of security on this one, there were at least a dozen guys out there, all dressed just like Sammy – black suit, black shirt, black tie and dark glasses.

  The whole thing was a bit James Bond meets Men in Black for my liking, but I would have been a fool not to agree to having their protection.

  If this whole thing played out, and Hannah was able to get Charlotte to watch it, I didn’t want her seeing me getting trampled and mauled by a bunch of bat-shit crazy fans. That wasn’t going to help the situation in the slightest.

  I took a deep breath and swung open the car door that would lead to my old stomping ground – my old street corner.

  “Sir?” Sammy called before I could get my ass off the seat. He’d driven me here himself – I had no idea what Kelvin was doing, but Jasper had asked to borrow him for the day.

  Who knows with Jasper…

  I shot him a death glare. “For God’s sake, Sammy, you’ve worked for me for five years, call me Parker,” I snapped.

  “Certainly, sir.” He nodded, and I swear I saw a slight twitch in the corner of his mouth.

  Smart bastard…

  I ground my teeth together. It didn’t matter how many times I told him – his answer was always the same.

  That’s about to change.

  I knew I hadn’t been the easiest guy to work for lately. I was moody, aggressive and fucked off at the world. Sammy had worn more than one of my temper tantrums in the past couple of months, so I couldn’t exactly blame him for the use of formal greeting, but this had been going on for years. ‘Sir’ was for old boring people.

  This stops now.

  “Call me Parker, or you’re fired,” I bartered with him, my face as deadly serious as I was.

  He narrowed his eyes at me for a few beats before finally cracking. “Well fuck… nicely played, Parker.”

  I chuckled. “About time.”

  And keep it that way…

  “Now what do you want?” I demanded. I wanted to get this show on the road.

  “I just wanted to say that… I hope you get her back, she’s a great girl and I know she makes you happy.”

  Just how much I was putting on the line hit me again. This was my chance to get her back – she was everything… without her, this life was all just a big lot of nothing.

  “Me too, Sammy.” I nodded. “And I owe you an apology. I’ve been a prick lately… when this is over I’m giving you a bonus and a compulsory vacation.”

  He waved away my apology, but I could tell he wasn’t going to argue about the time off – he’d more than earned it.

  He reached his hand out and I shook it firmly before grabbing my guitar and stepping out of the car.

  A few of Sammy’s team were lingering around outside, sweeping the area with their eyes and doing a piss-poor job of blending in.

  Sammy was right behind me – so close he damn near walked into me when I paused to look around.

  “Calm your shit, Sammy, there’s no one here yet,” I told him with a chuckle.

  “I give it fifteen minutes,” he grumbled back.

  Fifteen was generous – it’d probably be more like five.

  My fans might have been crazy as hell, but they were resourceful, I’d give them that. The minute this thing went live, they’d find a way to get here.

  I gave Snitch the nod to signal I was ready to roll. I went over to the stool and mic that Jasper had set up for me earlier.

  The man himself was leaning against the side of the closest building, taking a drag of a cigarette. Jasper didn’t even smoke anymore, but for some reason he still carried around a pack and lit one up about once a month. He didn’t even smoke the whole thing. It was odd really – but that was Jasper for you.

  I lifted my chin in his direction and he mimicked the action back to me.

  Here goes nothing.

  I glanced around and took a deep breath before running my fingers over the strings.

  I’d expected it to feel awkward, but it wasn’t.

  It had been so long since I’d played at all, let alone played well. I didn’t really want to blow my own trumpet, but I was killing it.

  Toot toot.

  I had a whole backlog of songs that I’d written about Charlotte, and they were all coming out now… I was currently on song number six and I was feeling these songs, the melodies and the lyrics like they were coming straight from my soul.

  This level of connection couldn’t be faked or impersonated – this was heartbreak… it was raw and painful.

  It was love.

  There was a huge crowd surrounding me now, watching as I poured my heart and soul out to the entire world.

  To her…

  She’s my entire world.

  Snitch’s live feed had lit up social media, and the world was going crazy apparently. People were turning up by the car load and piling out onto the footpath, their cell phones already in their hands ready to film this new, unheard material.

  I didn’t care how many people saw or turned up as long as she saw… that was all that mattered. I wasn’t ungrateful for my fans and their support – it was actually quite the opposite… but my whole career had been for the fans and for myself, this here and now was about Charlotte.

  I looked up and nearly missed my lyric with the shock at seeing the size of my growing audience. More and more people were flooding in by the second. It was crazy.

  It should have been a total scream-fest nightmare… but instead, there was something going on here that I couldn’t explain.

  Maybe it was me – maybe I was exuding an aura of some sort that just told everyone to calm the fuck down…

  I don’t know what it is…

  Whatever it was, it was bizarre. The crowd had made no move to come too close to me. They’d formed a wide circle directly around me, metres of clear space surrounding me. Sammy and his team hadn’t had to restrain or warn even one single person.

  Maybe they know…

  I hadn’t said the words, but I think it was obvious this was about more than just playing music. I was a man on a mission, and for once, the beast seemed content to just be along for the ride.

  The crowd applauded and whooped and hollered as I finished my song.

  I took a deep gulp from my water bottle and hung my head down – this was exhausting, I was more emotionally drained than I could ever remember being.

  This was it.

  This is my last chance.

  If this didn’t get me the girl, then nothing would.

  Sure, I had more songs about her that I could play, but this was the only song I’d written to her.

  Here goes nothing.

  “Holy shit,” I muttered as we approached the spot where Parker was singing.

  When I’d seen him on the TV screen, there were maybe thirty people watching him – now there was probably about five hundred.

  Maybe more…

  It was madness.
There were cars and people everywhere – I couldn’t even see Parker at all, he must have been totally surrounded.

  Hannah had been on the phone to Jasper on and off during our drive downtown, but I couldn’t focus long enough to figure out what she was saying, or what scheme the two of them were cooking up.

  The car pulled to a stop. “Here we are, miss,” Kelvin called from the driver’s seat.

  I’d been surprised to see Kelvin driving this car – I’d assumed he would have been with Parker. I was grateful for the familiar face of someone I knew I could trust – it was sweet of Jasper to have sent him to pick us up instead of some stranger.

  “Thank you, Kelvin, I really appreciate it.”

  He tipped his non-existent hat in my direction.

  The door next to me swung wide open and nearly gave me a heart attack.

  Jasper’s blond head appeared through the door.

  “Jesus, Jasper.” I clutched my chest. “You scared the shit out of me.”

  “Hey, baby,” Hannah crooned.

  “Hey, barbie.” Jasper winked at her.

  I sighed. They really were so cute together.

  “Glad you could make it.” He grinned at me and I could already tell that he had a plan. “Out you get,” he prompted.

  “Thanks for this, J, but what now? There’s too many people… maybe I should wait,” I murmured nervously as I peered around Jasper and looked at the hordes of people that were standing between Parker and me.

  “Not a chance, Little Red, c’mon, days a-wastin’,” he announced.

  I felt my heart speed up in my chest.

  I can’t go out there.

  My panic must have been evident on my face.

  “Charlotte,” Jasper soothed. “Just listen to him…”

  I took a deep breath and leant out the door. Now that I’d calmed down, I could hear his voice.

  He was singing something I’d never heard before.

  “You’re all I want… all I need… I’m empty without you… it’s nothing, without you and those sexy legs…”

  I could only catch snippets over the noise of the crowd, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out he was singing this song to me.

  “There’s nothing that can keep me from you… only you…”

  My feet moved of their own accord in the direction of his voice.

  Jasper slipped in behind me, his hand on my arm so I was close. He let out a loud, shrill whistle and out of nowhere, about half a dozen burly-looking men in suits appeared and flanked us on either side, clearing a path through the crowd as we moved.

  “This is so cool,” Hannah squeaked from somewhere behind me.

  I hadn’t even realised she had come out of the car behind me, but I should have known she’d want to be right in the action.

  Jasper tugged on my arm and pulled me to a stop as the crowd thinned and Parker’s voice became clearer.

  He’s right there.

  I may not have been near him in months, but my body hadn’t forgotten how to react to him. My heart sped up and my whole body hummed with awareness.

  “You ready?” He turned my shoulders in an attempt to get me to look at him.

  My shoulders moved but my head stayed trained on where I knew Parker was. I couldn’t look away.

  I nodded dumbly as Parker’s voice turned husky and low.

  “Your blue eyes, they haunt me at night… I can’t do this without you, I’ve lost my fight.”

  My eyes blurred with tears.

  “Everything is nothing without you…” His voice was thick with emotion and it nearly broke me in two.

  Jasper must have signalled someone because suddenly there was nothing standing between me and the man I loved.

  And there he was.

  I let out a sob as I laid eyes on him for the first time in what felt like forever.

  He was even more handsome than I remembered… more beautiful than what any screen or photo could portray.

  With that guitar in his hands and his eyes closed in concentration, he really was sexy as hell.

  His fitted grey t-shirt hugged his toned body in all the right places, and even though he’d clearly lost some weight, his muscles still bulged and strained in the most delicious way.

  I took a step forward out of the safety of the crowd.

  I could hear whispers of ‘oh my god, she’s here’ and ‘is that her?’ starting up around the circle as Parker strummed the final chord and stilled before me.

  There was nothing but silence. I didn’t know if that was due to the emotional turmoil that had just played out before the crowd, or because I was here, taking another tentative step towards Parker.

  I watched him take a deep breath and with a sigh, lift his head.

  His ice-blue eyes opened and he looked right at me – directly into my eyes.

  His face transformed into an expression of utter disbelief. He blinked once, twice, three times before he seemed to believe what he was seeing.

  “Charlotte?” he whispered, his voice hoarse.

  I nodded. I wanted to yell out to him, tell him that I was here and how sorry I was… but nothing came out.

  “You’re here?” he croaked out.

  I nodded again and a tear slipped down my cheek. I still couldn’t seem to speak, so instead I told him with my eyes.

  I’m sorry…

  I should have stayed…

  I love you…

  God I miss you…

  I sobbed again and the noise spurred him into action. He was in front of me, his strong, familiar arms wrapping around me in a flash.

  The crowd went wild.

  He held me so tight I was torn between worry that he might snap me in half, and my desire to be held tighter.

  “Legs?” he questioned, as though he still didn’t quite believe what he was experiencing. “You’re here…”

  “I’m here,” I choked out, my voice muffled against his chest. “I never should have left.” I whimpered at my own stupidity.

  I was a fool to think I could live without him. In his arms was the only place that felt like home anymore.

  “Shhhh.” He soothed me as he rubbed slow circles on my back. “I can’t believe you came.”

  “I can’t believe you did this for me.”

  He pulled back and held me at arm’s length so he could look into my eyes. “I’ve told you once, and I’ll tell you again, I would literally do anything for you, Charlotte.”

  If it weren’t for him holding me up, I probably would have crumbled to the ground. He looked deep into my soul with his beautiful eyes and promised me with nothing more than a look that he was dead serious.

  I didn’t deserve this man, but if he would let me, I was going to keep him anyway.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

  He shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

  I opened my mouth to argue but he cut me off. “It doesn’t matter anymore, legs, all I want, is to make this work… whatever it takes. Can we do that?”

  I bit down on my lip and reached up to wrap my arms around his neck.

  “Whatever it takes,” I agreed in a whisper before his lips met mine.

  I couldn’t believe she’d come to find me.

  Even now, hours and hours later I still couldn’t believe she was really here, in my arms and back in my life.

  Jasper was right… I am one lucky son of a bitch…

  I couldn’t explain how I was feeling in this moment.

  I’d accepted that I was never getting her back. It didn’t stop me dreaming about her… or barely being able to function in normal day to day life… but I’d come to terms with it as best I could.

  It was like all my Christmases had come at once.

  She laughed at something Jasper had said, and the vibration of her laugh moved through my whole body and I smiled – really and truly smiled for the first time in months.

  I had no idea what she was laughing about, or heard a single word that had been spoken since we’d arrived b
ack at my house – and I couldn’t have cared less what they were discussing anyway.

  I was perfectly content just to look at her, hold her, breathe in her perfume and run my fingers through her hair.

  She’d been doing much of the same. Her hands had run through my scraggy hair numerous times, her fingers tracing over my nose and along my prickly jaw… she was committing me to memory as much as I was.

  There was still so much we needed to say to one another – but we had all the time in the world for those conversations.

  Right now, all that mattered was that she was mine again.

  I’m never letting her go.

  “I mean this in the nicest way possible, but get out of my house,” I instructed J and Hannah.

  There was no mistaking where my head was at so I didn’t even bother denying it when they teased and catcalled me for wanting to take this party to the bedroom.

  Damn right I do.

  Charlotte blushed at the obvious longing in my eyes.

  It had been far too long since she’d been underneath me and I wasn’t waiting any longer.

  I stood up and bent down to scoop her into my arms. Jasp and Hannah had barely made it out of the living room and I was already carrying her up to my bedroom.

  She didn’t say a word as I carried her – just looked into my eyes with a million unsaid words.

  I walked her straight to my bed and lowered her gently onto the mattress.

  “Parker…” she whispered, reaching up to cup my jaw. “I love you.”

  I’d seen and heard a lot of things from women in my time, but never anything that looked or sounded this perfect.

  “God, I love you too, woman.”

  “I’m so sorr—”

  I cut her apology off. “I told you, I don’t want to hear it… I meant it, legs… you have nothing to be sorry for.”

  She hadn’t done a thing wrong. She couldn’t live with my lifestyle and I couldn’t blame her for that.

  That was why I was giving it up. All that was left was to tell her… and then the rest of the world.

  “I’m done with it all,” I whispered. “I can’t risk losing you again,” I told her as I dragged my shirt over my head and then began work on her jeans.

  She gasped. “No…you can’t give it up.”