by Sian Ceinwen
“Sure, what’s your name?” Heather smiled at her; she looked like she was only about sixteen.
“Megan.” She grinned at her, as Heather signed her photo.
To Megan,
Stay awesome!
Heather
Heather struggled for what to write when signing things. Sometimes she just signed her name, but when the person wanting her autograph was someone young like this, she wanted to do more than just the bare minimum. They were so young and impressionable. The world was a harsh place, so if she were able to bring some light to people’s lives with something as simple as this, she would do it.
“There you go, Megan,” Heather said as she handed the photo back.
“Can I get a selfie?” Megan asked nervously.
“Sure.”
Heather posed for the photo, then signed the other things that were handed to her by the other fans, who were definitely adults. She also posed for photos with them, and all the while, the photographer was snapping pics of them all. She’d started to walk to the Range Rover, which wasn’t far away, but something was bothering her, so she stopped and turned back to the group.
“Megan?”
“Yeah?” The young girl smiled at her as Heather walked back to her.
“Are you here alone?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Do you live nearby?” Heather asked her with a frown.
“Yup, I live in an apartment near here.” Megan was still smiling.
“How far away?”
“About a fifteen-minute walk.” Megan shrugged.
There was no way that Heather could let her walk home on her own. She would probably be fine. Clearly, she wasn’t bothered by it, but Heather’s conscience wouldn’t let her just leave her there on her own.
“Come with us”—Heather jerked her head toward the nearby car—“we’ll give you a lift.”
“Are you sure?” Megan’s mouth dropped open.
“Absolutely. It can’t be far out of our way if it’s only a fifteen-minute walk, and I’d rather see you home safe and sound than leave you here.”
“Wow, thank you so much!”
Megan followed her into the Range Rover, a stunned look on her face. Callum asked for her address, and Megan told him as she was strapping herself in.
“You’re so nice. I can’t believe this.” Megan was looking all around the car, trying to take everything in.
Heather gave her a reassuring smile, “it’s fine, darling. It’s really no trouble at all.”
Megan was still clutching the picture that Heather had signed for her earlier. The people who had asked for her autograph so far had come to her with a mixture of her designs or pictures of her, more frequently than not though, they had her sign some kind of Cruise Control merchandise. It was really bizarre to sign the guys’ CD and have the person be as thrilled as if it was Gabriel or Sebastian signing it for them.
“So, are you a Cruise Control fan?” Heather asked Megan.
“Yup, they’re the best!” she had a massive grin on her face as she said it. “That’s how I found out about you. Your designs are amazing! I love them so much; I can’t believe I’m here with you. This is crazy! I’ve been following you on Instagram for, like, ever!”
“Okay, take a breath, darling.” Heather laughed.
“Sorry, I talk a lot when I’m nervous. I’m dumb.” Megan cringed at her.
“Don’t say that. You’re not dumb, you’re just excited,” Heather gave her a warm smile, “and I was your age, once, so I get it. Do you want to know a secret?”
“Yes! Of course!” Megan’s eyes were wide.
“Celebrities are just people, darling. We’re no different to you; people just pay more attention to what we do, but we’re not special. There are plenty of people more talented than Cruise Control, more talented designers than me. It just happened that with talent, hard work, and an extreme amount of luck, we got to be successful.”
“I don’t think anyone is more talented than Cruise Control!” Megan shook her head, and Heather laughed.
“Sure, they’re very good at making music, but Hayden loses practically every game of pool that he plays, Sebastian can’t cook for shit, Harrison pretty much can’t draw anything more difficult than a stick figure, and Gabriel once played a game of golf so badly that he broke a record for most shots over par at that golf club.” Heather laughed at the memory; she didn’t think she should tell Megan that Gabriel had been drunk as a skunk at the time, though.
Callum pulled the car into a parking spot, outside of an apartment building that Heather assumed must be where Megan lived.
“My point is, everyone has their strengths and their weaknesses, and we’re all human. Even celebrities.” Heather smiled at her, “Is this your building?”
“Yeah, it is. Thank you so much for driving me home, you’re so nice!”
“You’re welcome. Will you be okay to get inside?” Heather wondered where her parents were and why they weren’t concerned that their daughter wasn’t home yet.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Thanks again!” Megan opened the door, jumped out of the car, and headed into the building with a wave.
Heather waved back, as Callum pulled the car back into traffic and headed toward her own apartment building. Luckily, Megan’s home had been pretty much on their way, anyway, so she hadn’t lost much time in leaving for Galena. They had almost reached their destination when her phone lit up with a tag on Instagram from @meggggzy2005. She opened the app and saw the selfie Megan had taken with her and the caption:
OMGGGGG I met @officialheatheryork today and she is the nicest person ever!!!! #lifegoals #CruiseControl #sheLITERALLYdrovemehome
Heather laughed; Megan was sweet. She didn’t think that her lecture about celebrity had gotten through to her at all, but she knew that at that age, she probably wouldn’t have listened, either. It was only through experiencing celebrity and life in the spotlight, that Heather had ever been able to understand. She commented on the photo:
It was great to meet you, @meggggzy2005. I hope you have a great night! Xox
Heather clicked the follow button on Megan’s profile as comments started popping up on the thread underneath hers. She ignored them and closed the app as Callum pulled the car into the underground garage for her building. She’d have to leave pretty much immediately for Galena, and she’d still be driving most of the way there in the dark.
She thanked Callum for his help this week, then headed upstairs and grabbed the weekend bag she’d already packed that morning. Morning Heather had been optimistic about getting home early and being able to head off to see Harrison sometime this afternoon. Evening Heather was just glad that she didn’t have to pack a bag now, and could leave straight away.
As she took the elevator back downstairs, she shot Harrison a text.
On my way! Can’t wait to see you.
She jumped into her car and threw the bag on the passenger seat beside her, entered Sebastian’s address into the car’s satellite navigation system, and headed off as Harrison’s reply came through.
I was wondering where you were. Ally’s here for Hayden’s birthday. Love you.
It was a three-hour drive, and she stopped in Rockford to get a burger and chips on the way, choosing to go through the drive-thru and eat on the way to save time. She could imagine the horrified look Harrison would have if he knew, and she laughed. He never ate in his car at all, for any reason. Heather tried not to unless it was something like this where she just didn’t want to stop, and she was aching to be with Harrison.
This was what it was like whenever they were apart. Everything felt wrong until she was with him again. Maybe it was just because they’d been together for so long now, but the Heart Wide Open tour had been a special kind of hell for her. She knew that as her career was taking off, separations like this would become more frequent, and she hated that knowledge.
When she arrived at Galena,
she used a remote that Sebastian had given her to open the gates. She drove up to the house and pulled around to the garage, which she opened with the same remote. There were several sports cars in here, along with an SUV and some sedans. She recognized Harrison’s black Tesla and Gabriel’s Aston Martin; she saw Hayden’s Lamborghini as well, and maybe Ally had driven a rental here if she didn’t come with Hayden, but the rest would be Sebastian’s.
Heather pulled into one of the spare bays. There was practically enough room in here for an entire showroom’s worth of cars, and she rolled her eyes. It was so ostentatious, then again, everything about this place was over the top. She’d gotten used to their lifestyle, but occasionally, something would happen, and it would remind her that their lives weren’t normal, and their wealth was obscene. Usually, that something was done by Sebastian. He had no problem with spending his money, where she and Harrison certainly made use of it but nowhere near to the same extent that Seb did.
She made her way into the house, took her bag up to the room that she’d be staying in with Harrison, then headed back downstairs and followed the sound of voices to a room near the back of the house. They were all seated around a large, oval table with felt on top of it, and were playing poker. Like most things that Sebastian got custom made, it had the Cruise Control symbol in the center.
Heather stood there, just observing for a while. Sebastian was closest and had his back to her, next to him was Gabriel, and both men were still in the current hand. Harrison was sitting at the end of the table, his face in profile to her, and she was just so happy to see him that she couldn’t stop the grin that came over her face. He folded his cards and took a sip from a drink that she was sure would be whisky, before picking up the deck of cards in front of him to put another card on the table.
On the side of the table that was facing her, Ally and Hayden were sitting together. They were flirting terribly, as they ate some chips from a packet that was sitting between them. Both had folded their cards already, and Sebastian and Gabriel continued on the hand. Being here was soothing; these were the people in the world that meant the most to her. She was so lucky to have them in her life.
“Heather!” Hayden yelled as he looked up and saw her standing in the doorway.
“My lover!” Sebastian added, turning to grin at her.
Heather realized that they were all pretty drunk right now and laughed, “Clearly, I’m about four drinks behind you guys. Happy birthday, Hayden!”
Harrison put his drink down in the cup holder that was built into the table and handed the deck of cards and dealer chip to Gabriel, “Here.”
He strode over to her, swiftly, put his arms around her, and claimed her lips with his. His hands roamed over her body, landing on her ass and pulling her hard against him. The group at the table cheered and catcalled them. Yup, they were drunk.
When Harrison ended the kiss, they were both breathless, and he put his forehead to hers, looking intensely into her eyes.
“I want to fuck you, Heather York.”
“I can tell,” she laughed, his arousal was blatantly obvious when she was pressed up against him like this, “we should probably be social first, though.”
He groaned at her, and she laughed, “Payback’s a bitch, and so am I! Go sit down, I’ll get myself liquored up and then you can have your wicked way with me, I promise.”
Harrison headed back to the table to sit down as Heather made her way to the side of the room where there were bottles of alcohol sitting out, and a fridge which she was hoping would have some mixers in it. She was pleased when she discovered that it did, so she poured herself a heavy-handed rum and Coke since she had some catching up to do.
“Do you want us to deal you in?” Sebastian asked her as she walked back toward the table with her drink.
“Nah, I’ll just watch.” She smiled at him.
“You can be my good luck charm, angel.” Harrison winked at her.
Heather set her drink in the cup holder next to his but didn’t take a seat, choosing instead to sit on Harrison’s lap, and he wrapped his arms around her waist at once, resting his chin on her shoulder to watch the rest of the hand, which he had once again folded on.
He turned his head to kiss her cheek before going back to watching the game. Heather took a sip of her drink to test it. Maybe she’d made it a little too strong, the taste of the rum was overpowering, but she went ahead and took a big swig, anyway. Her throat burned, but then the warmth she felt was quite nice.
She relaxed into Harrison’s embrace as Ally won the hand with a pair of Aces. Heather played with Harrison’s poker chips as Sebastian dealt the next hand, and Harrison reached forward to grab his cards. He lifted them up, and she saw the two and seven of clubs. She could feel Harrison’s frustration as he dropped them down again.
“But they’re suited…” she whispered into his ear before dropping her head to kiss his neck, right where she could feel his pulse with her lips, and he laughed.
“You’re a cruel wench,” he said as he threw his cards in before cupping her chin with his hand and pulling her face toward his for another kiss.
She could feel that he was erect beneath her, and she was wet, too. Heather wondered if the others would even care if they went to their room now. She looked around the table and caught Sebastian’s eye.
As though reading her thoughts, he announced with a wicked grin, “There’s a ten-thousand-dollar fine if you leave the table first.”
“That can’t be a thing.” She rolled her eyes.
“Oh, it really is.” Hayden laughed.
“Well, what is ‘leaving the table,’ anyway? Harrison came over to see me, does that count?”
“It doesn’t,” Harrison said and then winked at her, “but I’d have done it even if it did. It’s only if you leave the game.”
“Why have I never heard of this rule before?” she grumbled.
“We made it up last week,” Sebastian gave her finger guns and a wink as well, “some asshole wanted to leave the game.”
“It was four in the morning, and I was tired!” Gabriel protested.
“Hang on, so I’m in Chicago, all on my own and in desperate need of a fiancé to fuck, all because you guys are up here playing poker all night instead of making an album like you’re meant to be doing?” She poked her tongue out at them and took another big sip of her drink.
Ally shuffled the cards and dealt out the next hand as the conversation continued. Harrison was slowly stroking her outer thigh with one hand as he looked at his cards; this time, he had a pair of red queens and called the bet.
“Yup, that’s pretty much right. Sucks to be you, Heather!” Hayden laughed.
“Apparently so. How is the album going?”
Gabriel and Sebastian both folded their cards this time, while Ally and Hayden stayed in the hand. She put three cards on the table, the five of diamonds, king of clubs and two of hearts.
“It’s awesome,” Gabriel said, “we’ll play it for you tomorrow.”
“Is it finished then?” She turned and looked at Harrison with excitement, “You’re coming home?”
As the next round of betting finished, Ally put another card on the table, and it was the queen of spades. Hayden didn’t bet initially, so Harrison made a fairly big bet, and Ally folded, but Hayden called.
“Sorry, angel, not quite. We think it’ll be another week here. We’ve got the cancer charity event next Saturday while you’re in New York, and then we’ll both be back in Chicago on Sunday. If the album isn’t done by then, the guys will just have to finish it without any bass.”
He shrugged as if he was serious while Ally put down the river card; it was the five of hearts. Hayden bet big, and Harrison called him. Hayden showed his cards, he had a king in his hand, and he groaned as Harrison showed his cards, with Harrison’s full house beating Hayden’s two pair of kings and fives.
“Well, shit. We could’ve done the whole album without
bass,” Sebastian said dryly, “as long as you’ve got lead guitar, who gives a crap about bass?”
“Yes, darling, we’re all aware that you’re the most important person in the entire world, and the band couldn’t possibly exist without you.” She blew him a kiss.
“As long as you’re aware, that’s all I care about, lover.” He winked at her.
“You didn’t tell me how crazy these fuckers were, Heather,” Ally laughed as she said it.
“And you didn’t tell me that you were fucking my friend. A little heads-up text so I don’t have to hear it from Mr. Knight next time would be nice!” Heather smirked across the table at her.
Ally grinned at her wickedly and pulled out her phone. It wasn’t long until Heather’s phone lit up on the table in front of her.
Hayden is fucking epic in bed.
Heather almost spat rum all over Sebastian’s poker table as she burst out laughing.
Did not need to know that. Thanks.
Ally was grinning at her like the cat that got the cream.
You’re welcome! I had to try out some of that crazy hot sex that you recommended so highly.
As a connoisseur of crazy hot sex, I’m glad to hear that you’ve decided to join the club.
Heather finished off her drink and got off Harrison’s lap to go and pour herself another one. She poured herself the same, just as strong as the first, then walked back to the table but chose to walk around behind Ally so she could give her a hug.
“I’m glad you’re here, darling.”
“Me, too!”
“Hey, where’s my hug, lover?” Sebastian pouted at her as Heather gave Hayden a hug, as well, wishing him happy birthday once again.
Heather laughed, then put her drink down next to Harrison’s, walked around the table, and gave Sebastian and Gabriel each a hug.
“Sorry, I would’ve greeted everybody properly, but somebody distracted me when I arrived,” Heather sat back down on Harrison’s lap as she said it, and he laughed.
“Deal me out, guys,” Harrison said, waving the cards away as Gabriel attempted to deal him some.
“Are you sure?” Gabriel raised an eyebrow at him, “Have you forgotten the fine?”
