What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 5)

by Cathryn Fox

  “This is my uncle Tom,” Amy said.

  “Tom,” Luke said. “Pleasure to meet you. Thank you for letting us eat here.”

  “Of course,” Tom said.

  He looked at Amy, then to Luke. There was some confusion as to why a rockstar was in his restaurant.

  “Amy told me this was the best restaurant in town.”

  “It is,” Tom said. “She’s the best chef in town. In the state. In the world!”

  “Okay, let’s all calm down,” Amy said and laughed.

  “Are you cooking tonight?” Luke asked Amy.

  Amy looked up at him. “I, uh, well…”

  “I’m kidding,” Luke said.

  “Everything is already made,” Tom said. “Come. Sit. Have something to drink. The food is coming out.”

  “The food’s ready?” Luke whispered.

  “I made sure it would be,” Amy said. “We are closed at this hour, but I had the kitchen stay open.”

  “No,” Luke said. “You didn’t.”

  “Yes,” Amy said. “It’s not everyday we get rockstars here.”

  “Don’t think of me as a rockstar,” Luke said. “I don’t like that.”

  “What if I do?”

  Luke smiled. He never met someone like Amy before. She was so shy one second and then so open the next. It was obvious that she felt comfortable in the restaurant, which made Luke happy, because he wanted Amy to relax and enjoy their meal together.

  They all sat at a long table.

  It was the band, Amy, and Frank. Frank sat at the far end, looking down on his phone, working. There was one open spot. When Tom came to the table, Luke stood and pointed to the chair.

  “Join us,” he offered. “Have something to eat.”

  “I couldn’t,” Tom said.

  “Yes,” Amy said. “Eat.”

  Tom looked around the table. “I should be serving and helping.”

  “You’ve done enough,” Amy said. “I wasn’t here today either. Take a break.”

  “Okay,” Tom said. He looked uncomfortable sitting down.

  Luke leaned to Amy and whispered, “Promise me… you’ll cook me something someday.”

  Amy looked at Luke. She nodded. “Okay, I will.”

  As sad as it sounded, that was the biggest commitment Luke had made to a woman in a long time. A commitment to see her again and to be alone.

  Everyone ate and drank and laughed. Amy watched as the band drank drink after drink after drink. They certainly lived up to the expectations of rockstars. They were all drunk by the time they were done eating but nobody got rowdy or caused a problem.

  Luke had a few drinks just to loosen up. Amy had two glasses of wine and when she looked at Luke he could see that she wasn’t used to drinking big glasses of wine.

  Tom excused himself from the table to start cleaning up.

  Luke saw his opportunity to be bold again.

  “I have to say something,” Luke said. “Come to the hotel with me.”

  “What?” Amy asked.

  “You heard me. Right now. Let’s leave.”

  “I… what about the band?”

  “They’ll leave on the bus,” Luke said. “I’ll catch up tomorrow. We’re going across New York to the city, that’s all. A few more shows, then we’re done. I’m not worried about that.”

  “No,” Amy said. “You guys travel together.”

  “Are you being nice or nervous right now?” Luke asked.

  “Both?” Amy gave half a smile.

  “I have the hotel room to myself. We can relax, have wine, talk. I’m not looking to…” Luke wasn’t sure how to say what he wanted to say.

  “We have to get moving here,” a voice said.

  Luke knew it was Frank. The mood killer. He turned and saw Frank standing.

  “Is that so?” Luke asked.

  “We have some press stuff tomorrow afternoon,” Frank said. “We have to get on the road.”

  “Go ahead,” Luke said.

  “The bus is right around the corner,” Mack added.

  “I’ll catch a ride tomorrow.”

  All eyes went wide. Frank sighed.

  “Don’t give me shit,” Luke said.

  “He’s right,” Gray said. “Luke’s a big boy. He’s fine.”

  Frank stared at Luke. “We have obligations tomorrow afternoon.”

  “I would never hurt the fans,” Luke said. “Get out of here and I’ll catch up with everyone tomorrow morning sometime.”

  “Tomorrow morning,” Mack winked.

  They all started laughing. They were drunk, but thankfully they didn’t say or do anything stupid. When they cleared out, Luke looked at Amy.

  “Hope that wasn’t too uncomfortable,” Luke said.

  “You kind of implied that I said I would come with you tonight,” Amy said.

  “I could sit in the hotel room alone,” Luke frowned.

  “That doesn’t sound fun.”

  “Not at all. So join me.”

  Amy looked around the restaurant. She was nervous. She was hesitant. Luke made a fist and knew he had to say something.

  “Look, Amy, I’m not telling you to come to my hotel room so I can take you to bed and ditch you in the morning, if that’s what you’re worried about, okay?”

  “Thanks for being honest,” Amy said.

  “I hate to sound like that. I just… I don’t know, I just want to spend more time with you right now.”

  “Then you’ll leave tomorrow. Then what?”

  “Does that matter?”

  “I want to say it does,” Amy said, “but I kind of want to ignore that.”

  “Then ignore it.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Just like that, plans were made. Luke stood and took Amy’s hand. Amy said goodbye to her uncle. Luke shook his hand and thanked him for the food. He checked and made sure Frank paid for the meal, which he did. Then he and Amy were off to the hotel for the night.

  It was always a cool feeling when someone saw the luxuries of being a rockstar. The hotel room wasn’t a normal hotel room.

  “This is an apartment,” Amy said as she stood right inside the room looking around.

  “It’s the only way to live,” Luke said. “Plus, when you’re on the tour bus for days at a time, it’s nice to have something that resembles a home.”

  “This is beautiful.”

  “See? Aren’t you glad you came?”

  Amy turned and looked up at Luke. There was a moment of silence as Luke stared at Amy. His heart began to race and his mind warned him not to do anything… but before he could finish the thought, Amy jumped at him, kissing him.

  He didn’t fully intend on coming to the hotel room to have it be like this, but with Amy kissing him, wrapping her legs around him, forcing Luke to lift her, what was he supposed to do? In that moment he let his body guide the way. He took Amy straight to the bedroom. He placed her on the bed, kissing her, his hands finally able to freely travel. He touched her sides, following the curve of her hips to her legs. Around to her ass, he cupped and pulled her to the edge of the bed. He placed himself between her legs and with a gentle thrust, he made sure she could feel what she had done to him.

  Amy let out a long whimpering sigh as Luke began to kiss her neck. Her arms were then tight around his neck. She slowly started to kick back, climbing the bed to the pillows. She sat up and stared at Luke. Luke walked to the side of the bed and met Amy. She sat, he stood. She touched the bottom of his shirt. There was no need for words. Her hands slipped under his shirt, moving up his body. Amy lifted Luke’s shirt as far as she could. Luke then finished, taking his shirt off. Before it could hit the floor, Amy kissed his stomach. Luke groaned and reached down to Amy’s shirt. He pulled with a passionate aggression, wanting her naked. It was the only thing his mind could think of. Amy moved from Luke’s body and lifted her arms. Her shirt was then off and Luke went for her hands.

  He spread his fingers and held Amy’s hands. He pulled at her, forcing
her to stand. He let her hands go and reached around to the small of her back. She was against him, their bare stomachs touching. It was enough to drive a sane man mad. Luke kissed Amy, parting her lips with the tip of his tongue. As they kissed Luke used the tips of his fingers to slide up Amy’s back to her bra. He unsnapped her bra and continued up to her shoulders. He tugged at the straps and Amy leaned back to let the bra come off her body. The sight of her breasts made Luke feel ravenous. His mind, heart, and body couldn’t decide what he wanted to do first.

  Luke reached down for the bed sheets and threw them back. He wanted Amy in bed, right now. His hands spread across her back and he pulled her closer than ever to him. The feel of her body against his, her bare body, was perfection. He slowly pushed at Amy, forcing her against the bed until she had to get on it. Their faces were close together, but they didn’t kiss. Luke loved the sexual tension between them. He never had that feeling before. When it came to physical activity like this the sole purpose had been to start and then finish. That was it. Most of the time it was about him too. With, he didn’t care about himself at all. He cared about her body. Her wants. Her needs.

  Once on the bed and under the sheets, Luke touched Amy’s face. His hand remained there momentarily before he touched her shoulder and then slowly caressed down to her chest. His hand cupped over her breast as though they were meant to be together. He squeezed and Amy moaned in his mouth. Their lips were just so close… yet they still didn’t kiss. Their eyes were wide open, devouring each other in other ways. Luke opened his hand and moved down, allowing his fingertips to gently graze Amy’s hard nipple. Each time a finger moved along, she would gasp or softly whimper.

  Luke then cupped her breast again, this time with more force. Amy opened her mouth and Luke couldn’t handle it any longer. He put his mouth to hers and they began to kiss. He moved Amy to her back and started to climb on top of her. He planted his left hand to the bed and lifted himself a little. He moved over Amy and then their kiss broke. Luke was rock hard. Amy had her legs open. Their clothing separating the obvious connection they wanted.

  “Amy…”

  “Is it wrong to stop this?” Amy whispered.

  “You can do anything you want,” Luke said.

  He retreated from Amy but he still held her. He made sure she looked at him, they were still in bed, under to covers, in the comfort, peace, and silence of the bedroom in the hotel.

  Amy swallowed and licked her lips. “I want… but…”

  “You don’t want a one night stand,” Luke said.

  “No. It’s complicated.”

  “I’m a rockstar, Amy, I know complicated.”

  Amy smiled. It faded quick. “I just don’t want… you’re leaving tomorrow. You said so.”

  Luke sighed. “Yeah, I am. I have to finish this tour. I can come back and visit you.”

  “That’s sweet. I’m just so afraid you’re so interested in me because of how you met me.”

  “Because a beautiful woman walking home alone at midnight crashed into me?” Luke asked.

  “It’s more than that,” Amy said. “That situation…”

  “You can tell me anything you want,” Luke said.

  “It’s kind of hard to be serious while you’re holding my boob,” Amy rolled her eyes.

  Color rushed to her cheeks as Luke opened his hand. “Sorry. Here… how about this…” Luke gently caressed Amy’s face. “Tell me, baby. Let me help you.”

  “It’s dangerous,” Amy said. “It could be. I don’t want anyone involved in my mess.”

  “How could you have a mess?” Luke asked.

  “Trust me, Luke, I have a mess. If you want to sleep with me, that’s okay. We can have fun tonight, but that’s it. You’re a famous rockstar. I’m a chef at a restaurant.”

  “Sounds like you’re breaking up with me,” Luke said.

  “I don’t know what I’m doing right now.”

  Luke knew he had two choices right then. He could easily push at Amy and get inside her. Maybe it was wrong to think like that, but it was the truth. All he had to do was kiss Amy again. Touch her body again. Push her. She wanted him, he could see it in her eyes. Her hesitation came from, something deeper, darker, something more serious. The strange part was that Luke had the same feeling. It brought him to his second option, the one that he decided to choose.

  Luke moved to his back and pulled Amy to his chest. He pulled the covers up to her shoulders, ensuring she was warm and touching him. He then touched her shoulder and let out a long sigh.

  “Are you mad at me, Luke?”

  “I can’t be mad at you,” Luke said. “I don’t know enough to be mad.”

  “I’m sorry,” Amy said. “I don’t want to pull you into anything.”

  “Maybe you already have.”

  “But you get to leave tomorrow.”

  “You keep saying that, Amy. I don’t like thinking about it.”

  “I didn’t think about it until just now… maybe I should have waited five minutes.”

  “Five minutes?” Luke asked. “I can last a lot longer than five minutes.”

  Amy giggled.

  Luke looked down at the beautiful woman on him. Come to think of it, studying those perfect features, smelling her hair, watching how her breasts pushed against his chest, maybe he wouldn’t even last five minutes.

  But tonight, he’d never know.

  Silence fell and Amy lifted her head. “There was blood in that sink, wasn’t there?”

  “What sink?”

  “After your show. When you were coughing.”

  “Maybe there was,” Luke said.

  “Are you sick, Luke?”

  Luke shook his head. “No, not at all.”

  “Are you hurt?”

  Luke swallowed. His throat was annoyed. So was his soul. He didn’t want to lie to Amy yet at the same time he tried to remind himself that for most purposes in life this woman in his bed was a stranger.

  “I don’t know what I am,” Luke said. “Seems you and I are two people, topless in bed, keeping secrets.”

  “Can we at least hold them together?” Amy asked.

  “As long as I can keep you tonight.”

  Amy kissed Luke. The kiss started to heat up, but Amy pulled back. She bit her lip, regret in her eyes.

  “I’m going to regret this,” she whispered. “What I didn’t do tonight…”

  “There’s always tomorrow,” Luke said. “And the next day.”

  “Hopefully.”

  Luke didn’t respond. Amy’s words were cryptic yet beautiful. The connection between them was instantaneous and strong. Luke felt Amy already knew everything about him. There would be a tomorrow – and a next day – but Luke would be a fool and a liar not to think about his future. His future with Fallen Tuesday and his future with music. It was all scary to think about, but having Amy in his arms made it easier to deal with. Luke knew something was wrong with her. It was obvious by the way they met and by the way she acted. Even in bed, she seemed so hesitant yet in need. Whatever had been following Amy was dangerous. It left Luke wondering what he could do.

  “Just hold me,” Amy whispered as though she could read his mind.

  Luke did as told. He held Amy. He waited for her to fall asleep before he closed his eyes too. It was the first time in a very long time that Luke wished time would stand still. Everything felt so right.

  Amy opened her eyes and stretched her arms out, expecting to find nothing but the leftover memories of a wild night of dreaming. Still, her hands sought out the bare chest body of Luke, but she found nothing. The bed was empty. She rolled to her right, huddling with the covers. She was in a hotel room. The hotel room that Luke had brought her to. She was still topless yet she wore jeans. That’s when the regret hit her. The regret she knew she’d feel. Amy had fully intended on losing all control with Luke right before she had to leave.

  That didn’t seem to be the case now.

  Amy sat up, holding the sheet to her chest
. She slid to the edge of the bed and saw her bra and shirt on the floor. She reached down and grabbed both and dressed the top half of her body.

  “Luke?” she called out.

  Her voice carried through the hotel room to no response. Amy left the bedroom and looked around the massive hotel room. It really was beautiful. She didn’t want to imagine the cost of the room per night. It had to be, at the very least, twice the amount of Amy’s rent for her apartment. Everyone thought she should have had a bigger apartment or at least a house, but Amy always played it off, telling them that she enjoyed the comfort of her small place. So everyone assumed she saved her money.

  Amy continued through the hotel room. It was obviously empty. The bathroom door stood wide open. The shower wasn’t running. There was nowhere else for Luke to hide unless he was in a closet.

  Amy set her sights on the kitchen for a drink. The large glasses of wine the night before at the restaurant certainly did their job. She had felt good last night and now her head hurt more than a little. She found a glass and had a big glass of water. When she turned she saw two things on the counter. A menu and a note. Amy opened the note.

  Amy –

  I had to go early this morning. I hated to wake you and I hated to think about saying goodbye. I’m sorry we didn’t get to enjoy each other more and I’m sorry we didn’t get to talk more. But holding you… that’s the kind of stuff that monster ballads are written from. Thanks for the inspiration.

  The room is paid up through noon. Get something to eat, it’s taken care of.

  You have my cell number. I hope I don’t come across the wrong way, Amy, but this can’t be over yet. I wanted to show you a good time last night and I want to do it again.

  Lukenbsp;–

  Amy touched the menu. She shrugged and figured why not? Of all the stories she had heard people share throughout the restaurant, this would definitely be one of the best amongst all the women Amy worked with. She bumped into the lead singer of Fallen Tuesday. He sent a black car to bring her to his concert. He ushered her backstage to meet the band. They ate at Tommy Two’s (which would be the proof of it all). Then he took her to his hotel for the night.