Out of the Shadow

by J. L. Paul

  Robby, on the other hand, had the decency to blush. “Nah, that’s not my style.”

  “You’re right,” she said, considering him carefully. “You’re a one woman sort of guy.”

  “Perhaps,” he said, gathering their garbage and avoiding her eyes. “Are you finished?”

  “Sure,” she said slowly, watching him apprehensively. “Who is she?”

  He snorted as he stood, tray in hand, and lifted a brow. “Like I’d tell you.”

  “Hey,” she protested as she slid out of the booth and followed him. “Tell me.”

  He smirked as he pulled on his jacket and held the door for her. Her lips set in a straight line as she grabbed his arm and dragged him to the car. He unlocked it and opened her door, still maintaining his maddening smirk.

  “Robby,” she warned as he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. “Come on! I tell you everything – which I’m not going to do now. You traitor.”

  He laughed and she could make out his dimples thanks to the streetlights illuminating the car. She continued to stare at him, silently, as he drove through the dark streets toward her dorm. She strained her brain, trying to think of who might have caught his eye – perhaps one of the secretaries at the studio?

  No, she thought. Most of them were a bit older than he. But there were temps and assistants and they were young – college aged. She cocked her head, admiring his profile. He was very handsome and she guessed that he was probably a hot topic in the ladies room or around the water cooler. She wondered if she should ask her dad or Nate…

  “Jeez, Ally, quit staring,” he said, still smiling. “You’re sort of creeping me out.”

  “Just trying to figure out what sort of girl would catch your eye,” she said.

  His smile fell as he lifted a hand from the steering wheel to push the hair off his forehead. “I wish you wouldn’t try,” he said, his voice a mere whisper as he pulled into the parking lot closest to her dorm and put the car in park.

  She giggled. “Why not?” she asked and then it hit her as he turned to face her. Her heart flipped and thudded as a shy smile graced her face.

  “Ally,” he said in a low tone as he read her face.

  She shook her head and inched closer, her eyes wide. She fisted his jacket and yanked him closer, her heart in overdrive.

  He cupped her cheek and took a deep breath. “Ally, no.”

  “Why?” she asked.

  His thumb caressed her cheek as his eyes softened. “Listen to me, okay? You’re very confused right now. You and Cole just broke up and I know you still love him. You’re hurting and jumping into something with me isn’t going to help.” He swallowed and sucked in another deep breath, releasing it slowly. “I’ll be a friend to you – a good friend – but that’s all. For now. You need to give yourself time to think and figure out what you want. Starting something with me may only end up hurting both you and Cole in the end. I don’t want that.”

  She reluctantly nodded, but her heart continued to pound. She reached for his free hand and he laced his fingers through hers. She ducked her head and gazed at their joined hands. “Robby?”

  “Yes?”

  She lifted her eyes to his. “You’re right. Right now, at this very moment, I want nothing more than to kiss you. But I know once I get to my room, I may question my motives. And I don’t want to hurt you.” Her lips curled into a weak smile. “But every time I’m with you, I feel all fluttery and stuff and …I don’t know.”

  “That’s right,” he said earnestly. “You don’t know. So take some time to figure it out. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Okay,” she said then eased closer, shaking her hand loose to wrap around his neck. She hugged him tightly, her eyes closed and her heart doing a complicated, confusing dance. His arms wound around her and she felt him press a kiss on the top of her head. She edged back to smile. “Thanks, Robby.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said. He pecked her lips chastely and leaned past her to open her door. “Now get to bed – you have class tomorrow.”

  She giggled, kissed his cheek, and scrambled out of his car, laughter dancing in her eyes.

  ***

  Cole stood on the deck and watched the waves crash on the beach, only half listening to RJ ramble on about their latest bout of meetings with Rhys and the other guys at the studio. He was disappointed in the progress they’d made in the two weeks they’d been back following the Thanksgiving holiday and he was anxious to return home.

  “Cole, are you listening?” RJ asked.

  “Sorry, man,” Cole said as he turned around and leaned against the deck rail. “I was thinking about how slow things are going here. If we were in Chicago, we’d already be in the studio working and not sitting around waiting for a studio to open up.”

  “I know,” RJ sighed as he sank into a chaise. “I agree.”

  “Do you think it would be so bad to work with my dad and Jay?” Cole asked. “I mean, before we were just afraid that if we did, people would think that’s how we got our start but since we’ve already released a CD and been on tour, do you think it would hurt us to work in Chicago?”

  RJ cocked his head and set his lips. He watched a gull soar over the beach as he contemplated his answer. “How about if we work with Robby? He knows all this stuff as well as anyone else. He’s really good.”

  Cole shrugged and averted his eyes. “I don’t have a problem with Robby.”

  “Are you sure?” RJ asked. “I mean, absolutely? We can’t have any personal issues leak into our business issues.”

  “I know,” Cole said, scraping his hair off his forehead.

  “And do you just want to work in Chicago because of Ally?”

  Cole snapped his eyes to his friend, but took a minute to search his brain for the truth. “She might be part of it, sure. But it really sucks being so far away from everyone else.”

  RJ leaned forward and clasped his hands together, an idea shining in his eyes. “Why don’t we just go home now, huh? We really don’t have anything going on except for rehearsals and we can do that at home.”

  Cole nodded as he turned back around to gaze out at the water. He loved spending time in the beach condo that his dad and Jay had bought with their first earnings so many years ago. And it was convenient and more home-like than a hotel room. But since his last blowout with Ally, L.A. and the comfy condo had almost seemed like a distant land and the miles between them more significant than ever. He knew things had taken a horrible turn for the worse – he took the majority of the blame for that one – and being halfway across the country wasn’t helping things. Perhaps if he was closer to home he could at least salvage his friendship with her and work on the rest later.

  He turned back around and grinned at RJ. “Let’s go home and talk to our dads, huh? Rhys wants us to do that New Year’s Day show so we can just fly back before then. But there’s no use wasting time and maybe we can see how hard it would be to get Robby to produce us.”

  “Do you think Rhys would mind?” RJ asked. “I mean, if we switched to Robby?”

  Cole lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know for sure but I’m betting not. He’s so swamped now it would probably be a relief. Besides, it’s not like he couldn’t be in constant contact with Robby.”

  “You’re right,” RJ said as he stood. “Let’s go talk to Parker and Ren and see what they say.”

  Cole smirked as he draped an arm around RJ’s shoulders. “I’m not sure about little brother but I’m betting my share of the royalties Parker won’t have a problem with it – he has a woman back in Chicago if you remember.”

  “Yep,” RJ said, trying to act solemn. He ruined it by grinning. “Poor guy.”

  Cole laughed but his heart wasn’t in it. He’d give anything to be a ‘poor guy’, too.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Ally sat on her bed, staring hard at her hand. The ring on her finger taunted and teased her, daring her to make a decision. With a deep breath and teary eyes, she carefully
slid it off her finger and placed it gently in the box in which it had come. She fisted it, wiping the tears from her eyes, before getting to her feet and burying the box in the bottom of her underwear drawer. She leaned against the dresser as her eyes landed on the picture she’d placed on top of it weeks ago. She managed a teary smile as her heart wrenched. The picture reminded her of happier days – days when the four of them had been together and when she’d been more than certain of Cole’s love.

  She picked up the frame and plopped on her bed, studying the image. What had gone wrong? Had it been her kiss with Robby or had something else been there, lurking in the wings, waiting for the right moment to tear them apart?

  She placed the picture face first in her lap and closed her eyes, recalling Robby’s face. Her heart leapt at the mere thought of him and she knew, for certain, that she did like him for more than a friend.

  But what did that mean for Cole?

  She had no clue whatsoever. She sighed and scooted off the bed, returning the picture to its proper place. Robby had been right – she did need to think. She needed to figure out her feelings. She’d already hurt Cole once and she certainly didn’t want to do it again. Nor did she want to hurt Robby.

  Her phone rang, startling her from her thoughts, and she scrambled to snatch it off her night stand, knocking over the picture of her and Cole in the process.

  “Hello?” she said, not checking the screen.

  “Cuz,” Jamie greeted. “Are you busy?”

  She frowned as she picked up the picture of her and Cole. “No, why?”

  “Good. Meet me at the Student Center in a couple minutes,” he said and hung up before she could respond.

  She shut her phone, looked at the photo in her hands, and quickly shoved it in a drawer. She pulled on her shoes, grabbed a jacket, and ran out the door.

  She jogged through the cool air, her mind spinning. She hadn’t a clue what Jamie wanted with her and she hoped it was nothing bad. She started to worry and it quickened her pace.

  “Cuz!” Jamie yelled as she approached the Student Center. He grinned as she approached and dispelled some of her worry. “Hey.”

  “What’s going on, James?” she demanded.

  “Nothing,” he said as he shrugged. He offered her his arm. “Let’s walk.”

  She reluctantly tucked her hand in the crook of his arm and started to walk with him around the grounds. The air was crisp and their breath appeared before them each time they exhaled.

  “Okay, James, start talking,” she said.

  “That’s the point of this walk,” he said. “We haven’t talked much lately.” He held up a free hand to stave off her protests. “I know that we’ve both been busy with practice and stuff, but I think we need to catch up on a few things.”

  “Is something wrong with Cole?” she asked as a nervous shudder shook her backbone.

  “No,” he said slowly. “They’ll be back soon, though.”

  She nodded, wondering how she felt about that. She missed him and RJ both – missed the closeness of her small group of friends. But, was that all ruined now? Was the one thing that he was worried about the most when they first got together happening? Was their friendship gone?

  “You’ve been spending a lot of time with Robby lately,” Jamie continued.

  She groaned and stopped, ripping her hand out of his arm. “Is that what this is about? Did Cole or RJ send you on this mission to figure out what is between me and Robby?”

  “No,” Jamie said, his tone firm. “Not in the least. I want to know what’s going on because I’m worried.”

  “There’s nothing to be worried about, Jamie,” she said, frustrated. “Robby and I are friends.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she assured him.

  “But you like him,” Jamie pressed. “You like him for more than a friend.”

  She opened her mouth to deny it but couldn’t. Instead, she deflated and shuffled closer to Jamie. “I don’t know.”

  “Ally,” he said as he took her by the shoulders. “This is why I’m worried. I know things are bad with you and Cole – probably to the point where you might not get back together – but I don’t want you running off to someone else on the rebound. You’ll end up hurting yourself, not to mention Cole and Robby.”

  “I know,” she groaned. “I know. Don’t worry – Robby and I are only friends.”

  “For now,” he said.

  “Yeah,” she admitted.

  Jamie set his lips and nodded. She could see the struggle in his eyes – could see how he wanted to defend Cole but protect her. Pity flooded her along with pain. She couldn’t stand that Jamie was in the middle of the whole mess.

  She sighed and butted her head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. She fisted his coat and wished that she could snap her fingers and fix things.

  “Okay,” he said, releasing a sigh. “So, what else is new?”

  “Same old stuff,” she muttered. She lifted her head. “How about you?”

  “Not much,” he said. “Stephanie keeps bugging me, though.”

  Ally took a step back as her mind suddenly remembered Cole’s words at Thanksgiving. “What’s going on there? I remember Cole saying something about things not being so hot with her?”

  Jamie inclined his head back toward the Student Center. She tucked her hand in his arm again as they set off. “I’ll tell you on the way to get some coffee.”

  “This can’t be good,” she said.

  “It’s not,” Jamie said. “Stephanie is pregnant.”

  Ally stopped, her mouth gaping. She blinked as the words rolled through her mind. “Pregnant? Oh, man.”

  “Yeah,” Jamie said. “And Steph’s being a real pain about it. She won’t tell Nate or Stacy who the father is. She wouldn’t come home for Thanksgiving. She wants to stay with her dad who lets her do whatever she wants.”

  “She is an adult now,” Ally said. “Legally.”

  “Yeah but she’s getting out of hand,” Jamie said. “I guess Stacy and Nate were fighting about her. It’s not a good time for them right now.”

  Ally’s heart broke as she thought of Nate and what he must be going through. He’d always been her favorite and she’d been so happy when he’d found Stacy and settled down. Stacy was a sweetheart – so totally unlike her daughter – and she adored Nate. But now…

  “How is Cole taking this?” she asked.

  Jamie lifted a shoulder. “He’s handling it. Not much else he can do.”

  “I should call him,” Ally said, biting her lip, and paused outside the Student Center door. “Shouldn’t I?”

  Jamie smiled. “He’d probably like that.”

  Ally pulled her phone out of her coat pocket and dialed his number.

  “Hey, Ally,” he said, his voice weary. “What’s up?”

  “Cole, I hope you don’t mind that I called you,” she said, shooting Jamie a nervous glance.

  “Not at all,” he said.

  “Well, I was taking a walk with Jamie, and, well,” she stammered.

  “And he told you about Stephanie,” Cole finished for her. “Don’t sweat it, Ally. Stephanie doesn’t want to be here with Stacy – she doesn’t want to work or go to school. Her dad will let her do whatever she wants and give her whatever she wants.”