The Album: What happens when you fall in love with a rock star? (Cruise Control Book 1)

by Sian Ceinwen

  He groaned as he became hard again. She sucked him for a while before they turned the shower off and returned to the bed for round two.

  They spent the rest of the night sleeping and making love whenever one of them woke. In the morning, Ariana made them both breakfast in Gabriel’s kitchen.

  “You look good in my apartment,” he told her, “I’ve missed you so much over the last two years. You have no idea.”

  “Are you going to hold that time against me forever?”

  “Oh, sweetheart,” He came over to her and embraced her in a hug, “I don’t hold it against you at all. It is what it is, but I want you in my life, and I don’t want to waste another minute not having you in it.”

  “I am sorry I left, Gabe. If I hadn’t, though, I don’t know if I ever would have realized how much I need you in my life. I’ve learned a lot over these last two years; I’m different now, and I hope you understand that.”

  He looked her in the eyes and laughed, “I can tell. It became obvious to me somewhere around the time you told me off for trying to get in your pants while I was still calling someone else my girlfriend.”

  He gave her a rueful smile as he let her go, and she dished up their breakfast. While they ate, she continued their discussion.

  “So, does this mean you want me to be your girlfriend again?”

  “If that’s what you want, then yes. If you don’t want to be my girlfriend, that’s fine, too. I want you, however, I can get you, Ari.”

  She took a deep breath; this was scary, but nothing was scarier than what the last two years without him had been like.

  “I’m all in, Gabe,” She smiled at him.

  “All in? Really?” He grinned.

  “Yeah, I would love nothing more than to be your girlfriend…officially.”

  “Oh god, Ari, I love you so much. Thank you!”

  He pulled her off the breakfast stool and twirled her around his living room area. She threw back her head and laughed. This funny, sexy, crazy man was hers, and everything was right with the world again.

  Epilogue

  The limo in front of theirs pulled up to the red carpet, and its occupants got out.

  “Are you ready for this?” Gabriel asked her.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” she told him.

  He kissed her, being careful not to smudge her makeup.

  “I love you, Ariana Chamberlain. I will always be the most grateful man in the world because I have you in my life.”

  “I love you, too, Gabriel Knight…and vice versa.”

  They both laughed as their limo moved forward to take its place in line with the red carpet. The driver got out and opened their door. Gabriel exited the car, then turned and held his hand out to her just like he had that fateful day at the Grammy Awards.

  “Are you coming, Ari?” He asked.

  “Of course,” she said, and there wasn’t a trace of doubt in her mind or her voice.

  She knew that it wasn’t going to be easy being known publicly as the girlfriend of a rock star, but she also knew that with him by her side, she could handle it. Ariana also knew that she had a lot to make up for with the rest of the band.

  If Sebastian and Heather’s voicemails from two years ago were anything to go by, they might not be as willing to accept her back into their lives as Gabriel had been. She was incredibly nervous about tonight, but Ariana knew that she was strong enough now to live this life with him.

  She took his hand and stepped onto the Gauntlet with him as what felt like a million flashes went off at once. This was a part of Gabriel’s life, and now it was a part of her life as well.

  SNEAK PEEK FOR THE WEDDING

  Heather leaned against the wall at the Cruise Control meet and greet, scrolling through her social media feed. They should be leaving soon, and she couldn’t wait. Tonight was the final night of the tour; then she’d finally have her boyfriend, Harrison, back home in their bed.

  It was hard now that she spent so much time working on her fashion line. This tour was nothing like the last one; she could only fly to concerts in certain cities if their schedules matched up. They had as much frenzied sex as they could, and then she’d head home, or to New York for meetings, and he’d be off to the next city.

  They made it work, but it would certainly be a lot easier for them when they were together in the same city on a regular basis.

  Her thoughts were interrupted as Sebastian, Cruise Control’s lead guitarist, raised his voice at the person he was talking to, and the note of anger in his voice caught her attention.

  “You have no right to be here.”

  He was glaring at a brunette woman, and Heather gasped in shock as she recognized who it was. She had never in a million years expected Ariana Chamberlain to show up at one of these shows.

  Heather felt an unexpected wave of anger roll over her. Two years ago, Ariana had broken up with Gabriel, their lead singer, then left them all behind without a word. She had known that there were issues that Ariana had with the rock star lifestyle, but it had caught her completely unaware when her friend left.

  Ariana had become her best friend in the short time they’d known each other, and she’d felt bereft for months without the company of her friend on the road. It had taken her ages to give up on the idea of Ariana’s return.

  She really had thought for a while that, after a break from the tour, her friend might come back to them. Of course, Heather had adjusted to life without her in the end, but it had been hard. Harder still had been watching Gabriel fall completely to pieces when she left.

  With this thought, her head snapped around involuntarily to look at Gabriel. He was oblivious to Ariana’s presence and happily chatting to a couple of fans. She looked back in time to see Ariana reply.

  “I have every right to be here. I won these tickets fair and square at, how does it go again, my ‘nine to five job’?”

  She was surprised by Ariana’s sassy tone and demeanor. Her former friend seemed stronger than she did previously. Heather recognized the reference to the last song of Cruise Control’s album Heart Wide Open, and the fan standing next to Sebastian and Ariana did as well, letting out an audible gasp.

  “No. I don’t give a fuck how you got in, you shouldn’t be here, and you need to leave. Now.”

  Heather agreed with Sebastian; they couldn’t let Gabriel see Ariana. They had all watched helplessly as he struggled after she had walked out on him. Why she would even be here now was beyond Heather’s comprehension.

  “Really, Sebastian? That’s pretty rude.”

  Heather looked back at Gabriel again. He still hadn’t noticed what was happening, but Sebastian and Ariana’s argument was rapidly escalating. Any minute now, he would look up and see the person who had thrown all their lives into chaos two years ago.

  “I picked up the pieces after you once before, Ariana, I won’t do it again!”

  Sebastian grabbed her and started to pull her towards the door.

  “Let me go!”

  Despite the anger that Heather felt towards Ariana, she was furious with Sebastian for laying hands on her and stepped towards them immediately to stop him.

  “Sebastian! What the hell are you doing?”

  In the seconds that Heather had been distracted by the scene in front of her, Gabriel had finally noticed what was going on and moved forward to take charge.

  “You’re scaring our guests, and that is not okay.”

  Rarely had Heather seen Gabriel as angry as this. She knew that he had strong feelings about how Sebastian treated women. No matter who the person was, it would never be okay in Gabriel’s eyes for Sebastian to grab someone like he’d just done to Ariana.

  Both Sebastian and Ariana froze where they were, and she turned to face him. The second she was revealed to him, Gabriel wore the same look of shock that Heather was sure she’d had a minute or so ago.

  “Ariana?” Gabriel looked completely shocked, “what are you doing here?”

  “I’m sor
ry, Sebastian was right. I shouldn’t have come.”

  Ariana looked truly sorry that she had ever shown up here. Heather looked around and caught Harrison’s eye. He seemed as stunned as everyone else, and Heather noticed that everybody in the room was looking at the small group near the door now as Ariana started to walk towards it.

  “Ari.”

  Heather could hear the hurt in Gabriel’s voice and, again, that anger flared inside of her. How dare Ariana show up here to hurt him yet again. Sebastian was right when he said they’d had to pick up the pieces when she left. Gabriel was a complete wreck for a long time.

  He’d recently started dating a woman called Elena, and she had been good for him. She’d grown up in the limelight, and they were very sweet together. It didn’t have any of the intensity of his relationship with Ariana, but it was stable.

  “I’m sorry, Gabe.”

  When the door closed, the entire room was silent. The fans for the meet and greet didn’t seem to know how to react or what exactly they’d just witnessed. Hayden and Harrison both descended on Sebastian, Gabriel, and the woman they were standing with. Heather joined them in an instant.

  “What the fuck is Ariana doing here?” Hayden asked.

  “She apparently won tickets. This is her friend,” Sebastian gestured at the fan standing next to him.

  “How do you know Ariana?” Gabriel asked her.

  “We work together,” she squeaked.

  “How long have you known her?” Harrison queried.

  “Ummm, I’m not sure, maybe two years or something?”

  “Where do you work?” Heather asked her.

  “Wilson Realty.”

  “Can you call Ariana for me?” Gabriel urged.

  “No, sorry. We message at work, and we’re Facebook friends, but I don’t have her number.”

  “What are you going to do?” Hayden was looking at Gabriel.

  “I don’t know. Shit. Fuck. I need to talk to her.”

  Heather looked at Harrison, and they frowned at each other. One thirty-second meeting and Gabriel was already following Ariana down the rabbit hole again.

  They left the meet and greet without saying anything else. Heather heard the meet and greet coordinator, Rachel, apologizing to the fans for the abrupt end to the evening. The fan friend of Ariana’s was standing there looking stunned from their interrogation.

  Heather had a horrible feeling that Gabriel was going to seek Ariana out. She couldn’t stop him from doing it. Heather, at the very least, was nowhere near ready to forgive her for what she’d done, though.

  SNEAK PEEK FOR GABRIEL’S ALBUM

  I’m crazy. I know that I am. I wrote one song for Ariana when we were in love, and it’s been months since she left me. The last time I saw her was the day that she walked out on me in a hotel in Los Angeles, and I still can’t get past it. My therapist has been helping a lot. Sebastian might have bullied me into seeing one, but I’m glad he did.

  This idea that I have, though, it’s completely nuts. What kind of masochist decides that they should write an entire album for their ex-girlfriend? You know, the ex-girlfriend that I very kindly called and told her that I would wait for her. The same one that I haven’t heard a peep from since.

  I know why she left, but god, I miss her. Ariana’s uncle is the world’s most famous movie star, Darius Thompson. We’ve all read about his many sordid affairs. According to Ariana, they were only true in the beginning, though. Basically, she had issues with the lives that celebrities lead long before she met me. I tried so hard to help her get past it, but I knew she was scared as shit.

  Still, off I go and think it’s a brilliant idea to take her on tour with me. I’m not sure what I thought would happen or how I imagined it would end, but when she told me that she wanted to wait until I got back from the tour to start a relationship, maybe I should’ve taken her up on that offer.

  Neither of us really wanted to wait that long, though, and we’d made some pretty fucking amazing memories together before she left. Don’t get me wrong, I’m angry as shit at her, and it still hurts like hell, because I miss her so much, but we had so many good times until it all went south.

  So maybe it’s a special kind of insanity to want to write an entire goddamn album about the woman that broke my heart, but I can’t help myself. I’ve always used music as an escape; a way to vent my feelings and, fuck knows, I need that now. I know that the song I already wrote her belongs somewhere in the middle of the album, that song was the one that I wrote to tell her that I loved her.

  I’ve decided that I want this album to tell the story of our relationship, starting from the night we first met. God, she was so beautiful that night. I know that if I could go back, I’d do it all again.

  Absentmindedly, I start playing a melody on the piano. Writing music, itself, isn’t generally something that I excel at, so I know that I’ll need help for this part, but this melody brings back memories of swimming in a pool with my clothes on while people partied off in the distance.

  I take a moment to write down the combination of notes on a blank sheet of staff paper in front of me, then pull out my phone and send a text to Hayden.

  Hey dude. Are you free today?

  I close my eyes and take a moment to remember that night and those feelings. I grab a second, fresh sheet of paper, this one is blank, and I write a few phrases that feel important for me to have in the song. I need to make sure that I mention her emerald green eyes. They were one of the first things anyone would notice about Ariana.

  My phone vibrates, and I look down to see Hayden’s reply.

  Sure, want to catch up?

  I smile and reply to him.

  Actually, want to work? I need help with a song.

  I’m not surprised when Hayden confirms that he’s down for a songwriting session. He’s one of my best friends. I could’ve called Harrison or Sebastian, but for some reason, I feel like Hayden is the best for this song. He was sober that night, and more importantly, Sebastian’s still kind of shitty at Ariana. So, I think he will be better off helping me with one of the break-up songs.

  I sigh, again, this is definitely crazy. I have more lyrics floating through my brain now, and I won’t lie, this is painful as fuck. I wish Ariana was here so I could say these things directly to her. I just feel like if she’d given us more of a chance, and been less scared, we probably could’ve worked it out.

  I’m noting that down in my phone as a sentiment to put into one of the later songs when Hayden buzzes up to my apartment. I go to the panel near the door to let him in, and in less than a minute, he’s knocking on my door.

  “Hey, dude,” I say as I give him a hug.

  “Hi, Gabriel! So, what song or songs are we writing today?” Hayden asks as he enters my apartment.

  I give him a chagrined smile, as I close the door behind him, “a song about the night I met Ariana.”

  Hayden takes a moment and gives me a shrewd look before he replies, “I see.”

  I wait to see if he’s going to say anything else. Sebastian and I are loud and outgoing. We often say the first thing that comes to our minds. Hayden and Harrison are a lot more introverted. Hayden, in particular, considers his words carefully before he speaks them. Sure enough, he eventually continues with what he wants to ask.

  “Have you really thought this through, Gabriel?”

  I follow him as he leads the way to my piano. Hayden knows me so well; I always write songs at the piano. Even though I don’t play it full time in our concerts, and I can play the guitar as well, it’s definitely my preferred instrument.

  “Yeah, I have. I want to do a whole album,” I’m on edge, waiting for his reply.

  “Seriously? Is that a good idea?” He gives me a surprised look as he sits down on the piano stool and starts looking through what I’ve written.

  I sigh deeply, “I need to do it, dude. I want to write about our relationship with music. You asked if I’ve given it a lot of thought. Yeah, I have. I alr
eady know exactly what I want to do. I just need help doing it, and probably, even more help with convincing Seb that it’s not a terrible idea.”

  I cringe at the thought of telling Sebastian that I’m going to write an entire album about Ariana, then I continue my speech.

  “I know she’s not coming back. I know that an album about her won’t make her come back. I also know that if I don’t do this, though, our story will eat me alive. I need to tell the world. Don’t think that I don’t know the outcome of this. I end up performing this shit day in and day out. I end up talking about it in interview after interview. I just know, deep down, that if I don’t do this, I’m going to find it very hard to move on.”

  Hayden sighs deeply and seems to take in what I’ve said, then he smiles kindly at me, “okay, I’m in. I always liked Ariana, anyway.”

  I smile back at him and start to play the melody I was messing around with earlier. I already know what this album should be called, it’s been rattling around in my brain for a week now. What we’re working on at the moment is going to be the first song on an album that I’m going to name Heart Wide Open.

  Acknowledgments

  This book wouldn’t be what it is if it weren’t for the people that supported me along the way.

  Jodi – You received my chapters as I wrote them, the initial concept for the cover was yours. I was so scared when you said you’d made something, but when I saw it, it was perfect.

  Becky – Who knows how much longer I would’ve sat on an unfinished book if you hadn’t messaged me to beg me to write the ending. Thank you for loving my story enough to encourage me to finish it.

  Ally – You support me even though I specialise in frustrating vaginas. Your enthusiasm for my project has been invaluable, and I’m thankful we’re friends.

  Daena – Thank you for being you. You’re awesome. Without you, I wouldn’t have understood how awesome life is in Sebastian’s head.