Romance: Gibson's Legacy ( New Adult Contemporary Erotic Romance) (Last Score Book 1)

by K. L. Shandwick

  Hesitating again, I said, “You’re going to chance calling back even if it means your ears being assaulted with Gibson?” I teased.

  “Yeah, I definitely need to call you back and hear the end of that story, would that be okay? I mean there is no Mr. Chloe, who’s going to take a contract out on me or anything if I call, is there?”

  His question stopped me in my tracks. Kace hated men talking to me after we started to live together, but it dawned on me I could speak to whomever I chose to, now that he wasn’t around. “No. No Mr. Chloe, Paul.” I said smiling warmly, relief clear in my voice.

  A woman’s voice spoke to him in the background again, and he covered the phone and mumbled back. For the second time I heard the same, “Sorry, my ride’s here, I need to run. No doubt we’ll finish this conversation another time.” Paul hung up and I was left staring at my phone.

  Shaking my head, I tried to take myself back to work. Studying my researched articles and book excerpts, I began to write the storyboard for my book. Between Google and Wiki I was clued up on lots of stuff, but I wasn’t too sure how far to stretch my genre. Was it going to be a straightforward love story or did I have the necessary skills to make it a more complex one?

  Also, did I have the confidence to write sexy love scenes? If so, how many… and how explicit should they be? Each time I answered a question, I asked myself another ten. It was dawning on me that writing a book was going to be much more complicated than I imagined.

  Making myself comfortable after all my hard work, I dug into my oversized Gucci bag, the one luxury I had allowed myself from my inheritance, and pulled out my Kindle. I hadn’t used it since I sat in the airport lounge.

  Curling up on the sofa, I began to read where I had left off. I was reading ‘Interview with a Master,’ by Jason Luke, an erotica novel. Since I had begun to work on my own book, I began, not just to read it, but to study his work and how he had written the story. There was no study of the story itself it flowed beautifully.

  My eyes scanned the pages, ticking over the text I was reading, and I wondered if I would ever be able to write anything like that? Could I hold the reader in the palm of my hand? What could I write and would I make it engaging and exciting for the reader?

  My knowledge of sex would probably fit comfortably on a postcard if I were to write about my own experiences, and I was assuming that what Kace and I did was very ‘vanilla,’ because neither Kace, nor I had too much of an imagination in the bedroom.

  Hell, Jason Luke could even make a spatula from the kitchen drawer sound like the most exciting ‘love toy’ ever. Blushing at the guilty pleasure I was indulging in, I became absorbed in the story. Already, I was become aware of the level of description that would be expected of me, if I wrote a love story in that genre.

  Sex sells, but I would want it to be credible and organic to the story. And, I wouldn’t be able to leave readers wondering what came next by having a hot scene, which ended with the couple beginning to strip, and then writing about sunsets and crashing waves on a shoreline like some books do.

  Those soft romantic books appealed to some, but I was definitely not the type of girl that could write those flowery type of novels. Deciding to write was one thing, but having commitment to the story was high on my agenda. If that meant writing about it in raw terms for the readers to feel the emotions of the scene, then that’s what I decided I would do.

  At five in the evening I finished reading the book and realized that I’d been engrossed in it for two and a half hours. Rushing around, I began to make myself ready for my night out with Ruby.

  As usual, Hank was available to take me to the restaurant and pick me up afterward. He should have worked for the New York Tourist Board. The guy was a mine of information, knowing all about the restaurant, even who the chef was. Hank told me the place had great reviews and that he’d eaten there once before on his brother’s fiftieth birthday.

  I heard Ruby’s familiar squeals of delight before I saw her. She had recognized me and was shrieking my name loudly when she caught sight of me. “Chloe Jenner! Well look at you. You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

  Well, I was definitely a sight by then, because the entire restaurant had turned to see who Chloe Jenner was. Not really caring who was looking, I flung my arms around her neck and we hugged from side to side in a tight embrace. My throat closed and I could feel my emotions threaten to overcome me.

  Time flew quickly when Ruby and I got together; it was like the previous year and a half just melted away. Shaking her head in disbelief, she was having a hard time absorbing what Kace had turned into, and feeling guilty because she was the one that helped us become a couple.

  Sitting with tears welling in her eyes, she swore that Kace would never know she knew about everything that had happened. Ruby knew if told Kace about our discussion, he’d figure out where to find me.

  After dinner she tried to invite me to go clubbing with her and her friends, but she accepted that I needed a bit more time before I was ready and confident to go out and have fun.

  “Chloe, I know we’ve not been close in the past couple of years with living in separate states and everything, but trust me, I love you, and I’m going to do everything I can to help you put what happened with Kace firmly behind you.” She hugged me tightly and tears began to flow down my cheeks as I languished in the warmth coming from that hug.

  Feeling really touched by what she said, I wanted to lighten the mood. I told her about my new phone and the calls from Paul. When I mentioned he sounded like Gibson Barclay she became the old ‘animated Ruby’ I knew and loved.

  “Oh. My. God. Do you remember that? Gibson Barclay, eye fucking you that night in Beltz? Jeez, that guy was so fucking stunning. And, what about now? I can’t believe how massive a star he’s become. Actually, I can. The guy could sing and what a showman.”

  Ruby fanned herself with her hands and squirmed in her seat. “Even if he couldn’t sing, I bet he’d have been able to fuck his way into the A- list of the rich and famous.” Ruby winked wickedly at me and I felt heat rising to my cheeks while I was chuckling at her antics.

  Looking away when she was scrutinizing my reaction to talking about him, my glance fell to my hands in my lap. “Jesus, there you go again, Chloe. You’re thinking he’d never look at you right? Well let me tell you lady, he most definitely did. I figure if it had been just the two of you there, he’d have thrown you over that table and ate you alive.”

  Smiling I almost joined in and said, “I wish,” but I choked it back. Smirking wickedly, she waggled her eyebrows at me, which made the two of us burst out laughing.

  “Ruby, I missed you so much, but you’re crazy, you know that right?”

  Smiling back at me, she said, “Seriously, Chloe, talk to that guy Paul, but no last names and no addresses or personal details about age and schools and stuff, because you can be tracked, and don’t agree to meet him either. People go missing like that,” she warned me sternly.

  Rolling my eyes, I twisted my lips, “Geez, Ruby he’s just a wrong number, he’s not Al Capone,” I teased back shaking my head again and glancing at her dramatically serious expression.

  Hank picked us up and Ruby was insistent he took me home before dropping her at the club. Driving along we passed a sign that had a massive poster of M3rCy, and I sighed heavily. “Damn, don’t you wish you had lived out your fantasy with that guy, Chloe?”

  Pursing my lips, I remembered that I had imagined him that Kace was him once. Allowing myself to nod, she smirked wickedly and nudged me. Then shrieked, “See! I knew you were hot for him.”

  Heat flushed my cheeks and I smirked back. “What can I say?” I was determined not to grin but it hadn’t worked. It never worked.

  Ruby huffed and snorted. “Are you for real, Chloe? Sexual tension was in abundance between you two that last night he played at Beltz. Believe me, you weren’t trying to connect with him, but you couldn’t deny he was making you horny. I believe you took desperate
measures when you disappeared into the restrooms because of the way he was making you feel. I saw it Chloe… that smoldering passion that would have ignited if you had only given him the signal.”

  “That’s not how it was, Ruby. Gibson Barclay was a terrible flirt and he’d screw anything with a pulse, plus… he could see he was embarrassing me. That wicked streak in him decided to torment me that night. Plenty of women fell for that crap, we saw him groom unsuspecting females for his own ends every time he played.”

  Ruby was grinning and I looked puzzled, “What is it?”

  Shaking her head she burst out laughing, “You so would now huh? Pity, that particular gate has long since been closed.” We both sighed at the same time and she nudged my side with her elbow. “Damn one night. Was that too much to ask for?”

  They dropped me off at the apartment building and I waved goodnight, watching the red tail lights of Hank’s yellow cab being swallowed up with the constant flow of heavy traffic in the dark, before turning and going inside.

  On the way up to the elevator I got to thinking that if I could turn back time, maybe I would have liked to have been a little more reckless with my love life in college.

  CHAPTER 14 - THE WINNER

  Chloe

  Sliding my key into the lock on the door, I was just about to enter my apartment when my cell started ringing. Opening the door, I rolled my eyes, expecting that Ruby was calling to tell me something she had forgotten. However, when I glanced at the screen the caller ID registered that it was Paul.

  “Hmm, twice in one day, either you’re stalking Toby or you’re stalking me, which is it?”

  Chuckling, he spoke with a smile in his voice, “Damn girl, I didn’t even get to draw breath there.” I grinned, feeling strangely relaxed by his familiar voice, “So?” I could hear the smile in that one word when he said it to me.

  “So?” I mirrored back. Laughing softly at his humorous tone, I said, “You rang me, remember?”

  Snickering at me, his breathing was forced. “I did indeed,” he stated flatly and seemed pleased with himself.

  Grinning widely, my heart raced and I tried to control my breathing. I was enjoying this playful exchange. “And?”

  Paul huffed out a breath, pretending to be curt with me. “Umm…weren’t you telling me about the album you were playing, and that you said it didn’t make you hot for the guy or something like that?”

  I was amazed by his answer. Paul had been as good as his word. He really had called me back to continue our earlier conversation. “That wasn’t what I said, and you really want to hear about my music preferences?” The surprise in my voice said it all.

  “It’s late, but I figured if you were out, you may be home by now, but that it wasn’t late enough for you to be in bed yet…I mean it’s Friday night. No one goes to bed before 11pm do they?”

  My eyes widened again, surprised that he’d bothered on a Friday night. “You really did call to finish the conversation?” Chuckling softly again, he came back at me with the same humorous, rich tone.

  “Absolutely, you think I’d be able to sleep tonight if I didn’t hear the end of your story?” I became conscious that I smiled a lot when he spoke to me. There was something about Paul that just seemed to set me at ease. And I enjoyed our little conversations.

  “Okay, well… where did we get up to?” I asked, testing whether he had actually wanted to finish that particular topic.

  “The guy …what’s his name, and college.” Paul prompted, recapping badly.

  “Yeah, Gibson Barclay, he’s actually a very talented guy. I love his music, and he’s a very clever lyricist,” I concluded, thinking we were done.

  Paul hummed down the line, “hmm, he is? So this guy…you said he was at college with you? Does he know you?” Shaking my head no, even though I knew that Paul couldn’t see me, I answered.

  “No, I don’t think he went to my college, and no I’ve never really met him as such.” My mind went back to him staring into my eyes and that look he had given me, and the electrical pulse that clenched between my legs that soaked my panties when he had.

  Clearing my throat I continued, “I just saw him play in the bar a lot. He’s an amazingly effortless musician.” What really wanted to say was he was an incredibly sexy guy and when he sang it tore up all my rules about bad boys and never wanting to have wild sex on a one-time basis. What I actually said was, “It isn’t about the guy… it’s his music that attracts me. I mean I wouldn’t buy an album just to drool over the cover or anything.”

  Paul chuckled heartily. “Good to know you’re more principled than that.”

  “See, that’s the thing about guys. They don’t think women can appreciate music the way they can.” In my comeback I sounded frustrated because I thought he was dismissing my opinion.

  “Don’t we?” he asked.

  I nodded my head and began to explain, “No, most guys think all women are into are sweet romantic songs or morbid country and western stuff loaded with emotion.” Paul remained silent for a minute, before speaking again.

  “So, can I ask you a personal question?”

  A warning light went on in my head and a flash back to Ruby’s face in the restaurant, telling me to be careful about disclosing personal stuff. “Well, that depends what it is,” I stated honestly.

  “This song you told me about. “Inches from Parlor side” or whatever…” I cut in.

  “Inches From Paradise,” I interjected, rolling my eyes as I corrected his attempt.

  “You mind me asking? How it helped you?”

  Snickering sarcastically into my cell, I was feeling brave but not that brave. “Not sure you wouldn’t be opening a can of worms with that question,” I stated flatly, thinking it would close the subject down before it got started.

  “Would you tell me if I gave you the can opener?”

  I wondered if I could pour my heart out to yet another stranger. Telling Gavin on the plane had been therapeutic. But if I was honest I was scared that if I told Paul, he may have felt I was so fucked up, he wouldn’t call back. And I was fast becoming dependent on our little chats.

  “Are you still there?” his voice sounded tender, encouraging.

  “Yeah, I am. I’m not sure I’m ready to share what’s behind it.” Paul sounded like he was in the bathroom because I could hear the faucet running what sounded like a toothbrush clinking in a glass.

  “Listen, I’m just going to brush my teeth and get into bed. Let’s meet back here in five minutes and it will give you a few minutes to think about whether you want me to know, then I’ll call you back. If you decide not to share, we’ll just talk about something else or we can play the twenty questions game, I haven’t done anything that stupid in years and my stupid gene needs an airing again.” Paul snickered softly into the phone.

  “That is, unless we should just wrap it up for the night and I can let you get some sleep. I’m really stupid because I’m just assuming there’s no hot guy in your apartment right now. Although… if there was, I wouldn’t have gotten this far into our conversation,” He teased playfully again.

  “No, definitely no hot guy here,” I said with a slightly grating tone. Kace was hot to look at, but after what happened to me, I didn’t care what someone looked like, it was how they made me feel. Kace had made me feel depressed and worthless.

  “Brushing my teeth and getting into bed with you sounds great.” As soon as the words came out I was kicking myself again, feeling stupid and I hadn’t meant it to sound flirty, but it must have. “I mean, lying in bed with you talking sounds good.” We both snickered at my double faux pas again.

  “Yeah? Hmm… one step at a time, I don’t sleep with people for the first few phone dates darlin’.” Making light of my mistake, Paul teased me and I was grateful, so I ended the call before I could put my foot in it any further.

  Wandering into the bathroom to brush my teeth, I was still feeling a little embarrassed. Slipping my tank top and pajama bottoms on, I cli
mbed into my big snug bed with a glass of red wine and felt butterflies in my belly as I waited for Paul to call back.

  More significantly, no man had asked what I thought about something in a while and I realized how important it had become, that he wanted my opinion. Even if it was only about Gibson Barclay and music.

  Fifteen minutes later he still hadn’t rung back and I thought maybe he’d found something better to do or I had put him off. Switching off my bedside light, I plumped my pillow and settled down for the night feeling more than a little disappointed. Drifting off to sleep, I woke with a start when my cell rang again.

  As I answered the phone, I knew there wouldn’t be the same connection as earlier. Obviously, my insecurities made me feel unsure about talking to him, especially when I considered how let down I had felt when someone I didn’t know, who had said they would ring back, hadn’t been prompt enough.

  “Sorry, got side tracked.” Paul said curtly, “You were saying?” I really didn’t want to go there about Kace by then. The moment between us had gone.

  “Well, the song thing? Sorry, if you don’t mind, I don’t want to talk about that right now, is that okay?”

  Sounding reassuring, he said, “Sure, whatever you want darlin.’” and then quickly changed the subject and asked if we should play twenty questions.

  From that moment on, the way Paul was able to read my moods during our calls was amazing, considering we knew very little about each other. Our calls went from small two minute conversations to long drawn out ones about anything that was on his mind or sometimes we just talked about music and movies. During those times we shared tiny snippets of information and built this great connection, which the both of us could manage.

  Something that began to become noticeable was his dependability for ringing in the morning or late at night every day. I began to check the clock and bathe and take care of chores outside of those times.