You Shook Me All Night Long

by Simone Harlow

  Gavin stared at Travis with admiration. “He made it out alive?”

  “My grandmother is not that bad.”

  Gavin pointed to Travis. “Then why is Travis in the bed?”

  Malcolm snickered. “He’s drunk.”

  Gavin’s eyes widened. “Did he tie one on after he met your Grandmother?”

  Malcolm giggled. “The old lady got him drunk.”

  Charlotte glared at Malcolm. He was having entirely too much fun.

  Gavin’s eyebrows hit his hairline. “Sweet.”

  Malcolm put his hand on his lower back. “You didn’t have to haul his drunk ass up the stairs.”

  “Thank you, Malcolm. I was tempted to leave him in the car.”

  A soft snore came from Travis.

  Gavin poked Travis in the ribs. “Are you mad at him?”

  Travis lifted his hand, then it fell on the bed.

  More relieved than anything, she still was concerned about his alcohol consumption. “No.”

  “Good, because this doesn’t happen that often with him.” Gavin confirmed Malcolm’s earlier statement.

  “I can’t be too mad at him. It’s not like he didn’t take care of me when I had too much wine at dinner.” She still didn’t remember all the events of that evening.

  Malcolm hid a smile. “I wasn’t going to bring that up.”

  “But you were thinking about it.”

  Malcolm shook his head. “No, I wasn’t.”

  “Really?”

  He smiled. “I’m too much of a gentleman to bring that up.”

  “Good answer.”

  “That’s why I went with it.”

  Charlotte smiled. Of all of the band members, Malcolm was the most diplomatic. One of the things she liked best about him. “I think my grandmother would like you too.”

  Malcolm smiled. “As long as she serves quality booze, I’ll let her.”

  “You are getting too much pleasure out of this.” Charlotte looked at Gavin. He wasn’t wearing long pants, but he did have on a nice pair of sneakers, a plain white t-shirt, and black cargo shorts. “What are you dressed for?”

  “I have my date tonight.” Gavin jiggled his eyebrows.

  Charlotte tilted her head. Granted he was dressed nice for Gavin, but this was not standard date wear. “What are you going to do?”

  “I thought we’d go surfing?”

  Did she hear him right? “Where are you going to surf in New Orleans?”

  “We’re not. We’re going to Florida. She has a private plane.”

  “Impressive.” Malcolm said.

  “And since she is a straight up MILF, I’m going to get her to join the mile-high club.”

  Charlotte told herself not to be shocked but she was. “Gavin!”

  Gavin shrugged his broad shoulders. “What? It’s not like she’s still a virgin.”

  Charlotte raised her hand. “I don’t want to know.”

  Gavin batted his big blue eyes at her. “Don’t be mad. It’s for a good cause.”

  She huffed. “Yes, but how am I supposed to top this next year?”

  “We’ll come back next year,” Gavin suggested.

  “Speak for yourself.” Travis moaned. “I’m gonna die tonight.”

  Malcolm patted his cheek. “Sorry Travis, but you’ll live.”

  Travis rolled on his back. “I wish I wasn’t.”

  Charlotte crossed her legs. “Then you should think before you drink.”

  “She threw the gauntlet down. I had to represent Detroit.”

  “My grandmother has no liver.”

  Malcolm and Gavin both laughed.

  Travis rubbed his fingers in his eyes. “You could have told me that.”

  “I didn’t know she was going to party. I thought she might have a couple of Cajun boys run you out of town.”

  He chuckled. “Hell no. Mary’s a great old girl.”

  Her grandmother let him call her Mary. She barely let Charlotte’s mother call her that. And that had taken years. A bit of tension eased.

  Malcolm grabbed Gavin’s elbow and started to pull him toward the door. “Gavin and I should leave you two alone.”

  Gavin tried to pull away. “I wanna watch them fight.”

  “We’re not fighting.”

  Travis tried to sit up. “Good, because I won’t be any fun.”

  “Humph.”

  Travis held up his hand. “Charlotte, just come to bed already.”

  She folded her arms over her chest. “It’s only four o’clock.”

  “Charlotte, I need you.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  Malcolm hauled Gavin to the door. “We’ll let you two sort this out, but I want to hear about Jimi later.”

  Gavin braced a hand on the door jamb, respect shone in his eyes. “Your grandmother knew Hendrix.”

  Charlotte pointed to the open door. “Gavin, the story can wait and you have a date, so why don’t you go get ready?”

  Gavin pulled on his t-shirt. “I am ready.”

  Malcolm tugged on Gavin’s arm. “Come on.”

  “Thank you, Malcolm.” Charlotte watched them leave, then put her hand on Travis’s thigh. “Travis?”

  He started rubbing her hand. “You’re so beautiful, Sweet Baby.”

  “Did things really go well with my grandmother?”

  “Yeah, she thinks I put the devil back in your eye.”

  What did that mean? “When did that become a good thing?”

  “She misses the old Charlotte.”

  Her heart started racing, hoping that her grandmother hadn’t revealed her shame. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “She told me about your accident with Vivienne.”

  Charlotte bit her bottom lip. She didn’t want him to know that she could be so cruel. She’d never gotten over nearly causing her sister’s death. “You must think I’m terrible.”

  “No, I think you were a kid that got mad and acted out. We’ve all done it.”

  “When did you do something that almost caused someone’s death?”

  He rubbed his eyes. “If I had stayed at Andy’s place that night, I would have been there to call 911. But there was a hot blonde with mine and Declan’s names written all over her and I left my best friend to die alone so I could get laid.”

  He must feel guilty. There was nothing he could have done. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Not as sorry as me.”

  She lay down next to him. “What can I say to make this better for you?”

  “You can’t say anything. Because Andy died, I got to meet you.”

  “Because I always insisted on being the good daughter, I got to meet you.”

  “Come here.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “I didn’t mean to leave you alone,

  I can’t forgive myself.

  Can you?

  Can you?

  I need to make it through the pain, the rage, the doubt, the hate.

  Tell me it’s not too late.

  Tell me you’re the only one who can forgive me.

  Travis listened to Declan whisper the last note. It wasn’t what he intended, but damn it worked better than his original vision. “Declan, that was awesome.”

  “You make me sound good.”

  Travis put his guitar down. “The last verse was all you.”

  Declan nodded. “Where is this coming from? You have upped your game.”

  He felt himself flush. “Charlotte, man, she’s like … Hell, if I know. I think if I talk about it too much, I’ll lose it.”

  “How is this going for you two?”

  Travis eyed him. “You never asked me about my love life before.”

  “It has taken a turn. Are you thinking about updating your Facebook status?”

  This was uncomfortable to talk about because it was all new to him. He hadn’t been wrapped up in a woman since he was teenager. Now he didn’t know what to expect. “This is like the first time I haven’t thought ab
out the next piece of ass. This is new shit for me.”

  “You know she’s the marry-and-have-kids-with type.”

  It surprised him that he was that observant. Declan never thought about what kind of person a woman was. His focus was always what was between their legs. This had to be some kind of an epiphany from him. “I’m going to be thirty soon. Shouldn’t I start thinking about shit like that?”

  Declan shrugged. “She is the type of girl to think about it with.”

  Was he scoping on Charlotte? He’d seen the way he looked at her a few times with longing. “What are you saying?”

  He held up both hands. “Dude, rein it in. Charlotte doesn’t have an agenda. She just likes you for you. I think if you were a dishwasher she’d still like you.”

  “She is the first woman I’ve been with in years that I didn’t wonder if she was with me ‘cause I’m in a band.” That scared the hell out of him.

  “You should marry her then.”

  Did Declan just mention the ‘m’ word again? “You think she’d marry me?”

  “If I were a chick I’d marry you. You are the most normal one of us.”

  Declan had a deep suspicion of anything normal. “If this were a different conversation I’d wonder if you were insulting me.”

  “Your mom loved you and did right by you. You played little league, for fuck’s sake.”

  This conversation was on the verge of freaking him out. “Gavin did too.”

  “Gavin is a spoiled rich kid, who happened to turn out okay. It was all luck.”

  Travis laughed. “Don’t ever let Cherry hear you say that about her baby.”

  “He’s a momma’s boy.”

  Shit, so was he. “What do you think about the rest of us?”

  “Actually, I like you. Not just because you write me great songs to sing and let me be the front man. You all got my back and are okay with my ego.”

  “So this is why you’re butting into my personal life.”

  “I like Charlotte.”

  “You do?” Again the ugly jealous feeing was rearing its head.

  “I’m not poaching. She’d laugh at me if I made a play for her. You know my ego can’t take that. She treats me like I’m her patient and she’s my therapist. She wants to help me. I couldn’t get wood even if I wanted to. It’s just too weird.”

  “You know what I like best about you Declan, besides that you make my songs sound good?”

  Declan ran a hand through his blond hair. “Do I wanna know?”

  “You are an egotistical ass fuck, but you’re honest about it.”

  “I’m gonna cry.” Declan play-dabbed both his eyes with his fingertips.

  “Do and I’ll beat the fuck out of you.”

  Declan laughed. “So you never answered my question. Where are you and Charlotte heading?”

  He was barely able to be honest with himself, much less anybody else. “Right now I think we’re in a let’s-see-where-this-takes-us place.”

  “That’s your bullshit answer, but since we’re guys and emotions confuse us, I’m gonna let it go. But you know if you need to talk… Well, you know.”

  “Thanks man. Sort of.” This conversation needed to end now or he was going to hurl. “So let’s take it from the top.”

  Charlotte watched her mother put the fork down on the plate with deliberate slowness. “How is Mr. Rexford?”

  She smiled, preparing herself to navigate this minefield. “He’s very busy working on the band’s next album.”

  “Are you two an item?”

  Charlotte smiled. “We haven’t discussed the future. I enjoy his company.”

  “He is fascinating.” Her mother took a sip of her iced tea.

  You have no idea, thought Charlotte. “I’m inclined to agree.”

  “How did he enjoy his lunch with your grandmother?”

  Charlotte leaned back in her chair. “Were you hoping to scare him off?”

  “If I was, I would have bought him myself.”

  Touché. “Why have Grandmother come all the way from Paris to buy him?”

  “It was for a good cause. You know your grandmother loves to support the underprivileged. I’m sure they had a lot in common –– your grandmother has a weakness for musicians.”

  Charlotte wasn’t going to get a straight answer out of her mother unless she put her on the rack. Even then the odds were that the rack would break before her mother did. “According to him, she regaled him with tales of her bohemian days.” And plied him with bourbon, but she didn’t say that because her mother wouldn’t find it amusing.

  “Do you see a future with a man like him?”

  “I’ve decided to concentrate on living in the moment.” Not because that’s not what she wanted. She wasn’t sure how to proceed and she liked where they were. It was as if they were having an epic love affair, the kind you read about in novels.

  “You are a Lambert; you have an obligation to think about the future and the effect your decision has on the family.”

  Classic, she thought. Throw in a sense of duty and it was as if Charlotte fell off her pedestal, thousands would suffer for her transgression. “That was my mistake with Preston. I was so concerned about the pieces falling into place and thinking about the future, I didn’t see what was right in front of me. And we all know how that turned out for me.” Her mother’s mouth tightened and Charlotte knew she had hit the target with an accuracy that was breathtaking.

  “Preston chose his lifestyle. Perhaps you made it too easy for him.”

  God, don’t let me roll my eyes. “No one chooses to be gay. You just are.”

  “Maybe if you’d been a bit more firm with him.”

  “Then he would have married me and fooled around on the side. He would have been living a lie longer than he already had. It would have killed him. Imagine if we had married and had children? What would that do if he would have decided to come out ten years from now? Better it happened now. He deserves to have the life he wants for himself, the same as I do.”

  “So you’ve forgiven him?”

  Why did her mother sound so amazed? Unlike her mother, she never held a grudge. “There was nothing to forgive, but I miss his friendship more than I can say.”

  “What if he had a change of heart?”

  Charlotte resisted the urge to indulge in an unladylike snort. “As if that would ever happen.”

  She shrugged. “You never know.”

  Charlotte shook her head. “I think I’m safe from his change of mind.”

  “Do you think your rock star can give you what you need?”

  She was too afraid to answer that question out loud, but she did know the answer. Travis fed her soul as well as he pleasured her body. “Again, I’m not speculating about the future, I like what we have.”

  “What do you two have?”

  There was a part of Charlotte that wanted to scream at her mother that Travis was her lover and she never knew there was that kind of physical pleasure in the world, but she smiled. “We are having an adventure.”

  “What kind of answer is that?”

  She picked up her knife and fork and cut into her marinated chicken breast. “The only one I have.”

  “I don’t like your tone.”

  Then kiss my butt. “I’m being honest, not sassy.”

  “Charlotte, I feel like I’m losing you.”

  “I’m right here. You’re never going to lose me. I love you.”

  “You’ve changed since…” She looked away.

  Charlotte felt bad that she wasn’t the daughter she used to be, but too much had happened in the last seven months to change her back. She liked who she was becoming and found it sad that her mother was so threatened by it. “My love for you will never come into question.” She touched her mother’s hand. “I’m beginning to find out who I really am and I think it’s about time.”

  “But you are pulling away from me.”

  “I’m not. It just doesn’t feel comfortable someti
mes. Just be patient.”

  “Why do you need to change? You are perfectly fine the way you are.”

  On one hand, that was the nicest thing her mother had ever said to her. But who she used to be wasn’t all she could be. Life was an adventure she wanted to take. Not just because of Travis, or Vivienne –– she needed to open herself to new things. How do you explain that to a mother who isn’t happy you’re growing up? “I was scared of everything. I don’t want to be that way anymore.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t raise you to be a …”

  “Whatever happened, I let happen. I don’t blame you for anything, the same way I’m not changing to spite you.”

  “Well, it feels like it.”

  “Why are we having this conversation? I wanted to have lunch with you so I could enjoy your company. Can’t we talk about something pleasant? I do have an incredible surprise for you.”

  “You know I don’t like surprises.”

  “What fun is that?”

  “Charlotte!”

  Charlotte smiled at her mother and she could see that she was relieved not to be having the Travis conversation anymore. “You are no fun.”

  “Apparently, that is my problem.”

  “Yesterday, I received confirmation that Alessandria Berluci is going to be our featured performer at the opera fundraiser.”

  Her mother’s mouth fell open. “How did you get her to agree on such short notice?”

  “You have Travis to thank for that.”

  “He knows her?”

  She laughed. “He’s never been to the opera in his life. The band’s agency’s handles her, too. Travis gave his agent a call and she talked to her. Ms. Berluci was happy to do a benefit for us. She remembers the warm reception she received here on her last world tour and she is passionate about mentoring young talent. She’s arriving today and I’m meeting her.”

  “You invited me to lunch to tell me this?” Her mother put her hand on her chest. “You are right, this is a pleasant surprise. I was lucky enough to see her one year in “Madama Butterfly” when your father and I were on a trip to New York City. She was magnificent.”

  Charlotte agreed. “I have all of her CDs. She is amazing.”

  “What is she performing?”

  “Selections from Puccini.”

  Her mother leaned forward. “Oh my God. Do you know what a coup this is?”