“I’m---will you excuse me--” Without waiting for a response, Shaun jumped from her seat and hurried towards the bathroom. She leaned against the wall outside of the bathroom door, hidden away from the restaurant, and scrolled through the missed calls on her phone. Burberry Group, IMC Models, Versace Co., Prada Group… the list went on and on. Shaun’s heart hammered in her chest. She’d just bit it hard on the runway, was the butt of every joke online and that hadn’t been enough to destroy her so-called modeling career for good?! What the hell could these people possibly want with her? Surely they knew that she would curse whatever piece of clothing they put on her and whatever runway they expected her to walk.
Adam. It had to be Adam. Their “relationship” was finally becoming believable to the outside world. So believable that seeing Adam walk alongside her after her epic fall on the runway had clearly endeared her and their “relationship” to the entire world. Noodle was wrong. Shaun hadn’t gone viral. Adam and Shaun had gone viral.
This was all spiraling out of control so quickly. With each passing day she felt like she was losing sight of what the hell she was doing here in the first place.
When Yoshi turned the corner out of the blue Shaun jolted and stood tall, instinctively straightening her clothes.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I guess I’m still just… a little shaken about what happened today.”
“Yeah…” Yoshi trailed off, coming out of his pocket with a piece of paper in his hand. “Well I’ve been meaning to return this to you.”
Shaun took the piece of paper he held out to her and when she opened it and saw her drunken scribblings from the other night she immediately crumpled it in her hands.
“I wasn’t sure what it was about but…” He trailed off, again.
“I uh, I was drunk.” Shaun laughed. “I write novels for fun and sometimes being drunk really gets my creative juices flowing, it’s nothing.” She shoved the paper in her pocket like it was on fire.
“Novels,” he said.
Shaun didn’t miss the way it wasn’t a question, but a statement. “Yeah.”
“Okay.” Yoshi nodded. “Well, I just wanted to make sure you got it back.”
There was something in his voice that gave Shaun pause. “Thank you.”
“All right, see you out there,” he said before disappearing behind the bathroom door.
Shaun made her way slowly back to the table, not sure how she would ever stay upright again for as she’d have to carry this secret on her shoulders. It seemed that more and more weight seemed to be added to the mountain she was lugging around by the second. She re-took her seat next to Adam.
“We are all over the place, babe,” he said from where he was tapping away on his phone. ‘Babe’ had become his word for her. So much so that it seemed to slip right out of his lips like butter—and only for her.
“I know, I saw,” she said, softly. “Who knew that falling on my ass could be so good for our careers.”
“Amen,” Noodle said as he shoved a large helping of sashimi in his mouth.
--
Later that night Shaun was exhausted from all of the singing and dancing she’d done from her front row seat at the second and final White Keys show in Sydney. When she’d first met Adam she’d heard a few of their big hits that were played over and over on the radio, but now that she’d had a chance to see and hear the band live and get to know the guys behind the scenes, she could genuinely call herself a fan. She knew most of their songs by heart now, and though she had her favorite tunes she loved them all. Adam truly had a gift from god and the fact that he felt like he was losing the gift of writing that had carried him and the band so far was something that broke Shaun’s heart. The beautiful music he’d made in the past was a testimate to how much it meant to him, and she wanted nothing more than for him to break down whatever wall was blocking him from creating. It was what he was meant to do. It was who he was.
The fans were just as hungry for new White Keys material as Adam himself so when, at the end of the show, Adam announced that he’d been working on something new and requested permission to play a little sample--the crowd naturally went wild.
“Now this is still a rough draft, okay, so go easy…” he said charmingly into the microphone before looking back at Yoshi. A bass that had a smooth, almost r & b feel to it, wafted out of the speakers and into the arena. Screams erupted when Adam began singing to the beat in his signature falsetto while making his way over to Shaun’s side of the stage.
Shaun loved the song already. The beat was like nothing she’d ever heard The White Keys sing and it was almost impossible not to dance to. She clapped along to the words, loving the upbeat melody but loving the sound of his voice even more. Was this the song he’d been working on in the room for the last couple of nights? She wondered how he could come up with something so perfect and catchy in such a small amount of time. Her eyes followed Adam as she danced and clapped to the words, not realizing until he was well into the tune that he hadn’t taken his eyes off of her since it started.
Still dancing, she looked around her and was shocked to find that she wasn’t the only one who had noticed Adam’s unwavering attention. Everyone around her was watching her, as well. Most were smiling at her almost… expectantly? Her eyes flew back to the stage just in time to see Adam jump down into the crowd. Madness ensued as the fans bum rushed towards him, testing the strength of the metal barriers, which began to creek in resistance against what must have been thousands of pounds of pressure. Security immediately ran for the gates, arms out, ready for whatever madness was in store.
Shaun’s wide eyes went back and forth from the crowd to Adam, who was still singing and making his way slowly towards her as he did.
The look in his eyes froze Shaun in mid dance. She was honestly worried for his safety and wanted to tell him to get back on that stage before someone in the crowd accidently killed him, but she found herself frozen where she stood.
“What are you doing?” Shaun mouthed as Adam came within touching distance, still singing. Her heart hammered in her chest as she searched his eyes. Eyes that were now familiar to her. Warm. Comforting.
Adam stopped in front of her, inches from her face, and cupped her cheeks in his hands. Her insides screamed almost as loudly as The White Keys fans that surrounded her. The cold metal of the microphone in his hand was no match for the warmth that swam in his green eyes. Thousands of people surrounded her, all there for him, and his eyes were stuck on her.
“Adam?”
He silenced his name on her lips by pulling her in and covering them with his own.
The entire arena erupted but even the screams of thousands of fans was no match for the chaos that raged inside of Shaun at the feel of Adam’s soft lips on hers. He took his time, feeling her, tasting her, and when he pulled away it appeared he did it with great difficulty.
Shaun tried to breathe as she felt the cold microphone leave her cheeks. She opened her eyes and Adam was holding it to his lips, once more. It shook in his hand. He fingered her curls, tangling them in his fingers as he finished the last line of the song.
Security came up behind Adam and pulled him away when the fans began getting too out of control. Shaun’s curls popped out of his grasp as he was pulled away.
“It’s a rough draft, babe.” He joked into the microphone.
Shaun didn’t care if it was a rough draft, final cut or something he’d just pulled out of his ass three seconds ago. All that mattered was the confirmation that it was, indeed, for her, that it was beautiful… and that he wasn’t afraid to let the whole world know it.
She was in trouble, deep trouble.
Ten
After kissing her in front of an arena full of people Adam jumped back on stage and continued to perform his new track, all the while continuing to pay her more attention than anyone else in the audience, until one of his security guards came to whisk her away. They were scheduled to be at the a
irport right after the end of the show that night, and since Adam was already in the middle of the encore it was time for Shaun to head out to the van waiting for them backstage.
Paul, the head of security, helped Shaun climb over the front row barriers and took her hand. With one last look on the stage, Shaun caught Adam’s eyes once more, and gave him a small wave. He waved back.
All eyes were on her, and for the first time in her life it didn’t bother her. She just didn’t care.
All she could see was him.
--
Paul and Shaun were hand in hand as he pulled her through the backstage area. Paul was moving so quickly that Shaun had to take up a slow jog just to keep up with his pace, so when she caught sight of Veronica walking past them in the opposite direction she only had a second to take in the sight of the blonde beauty as they passed each other.
Their eyes met as they passed, blue on brown, and Shaun’s mouth fell open when she saw that Veronica’s were full of tears.
Her heart thundered in her chest as Paul opened a door and pulled her out into the chilly night air where the familiar black van that belonged to The White Keys awaited her.
Screams from the fans that were waiting outside of the arena pierced her ears, and as she was led into the open door of the van and out of sight, she couldn’t believe that this was her life.
--
The White Keys’ private jet to Sydney had just taken-off, L.A. bound, and Shaun couldn’t sleep. Mostly because she was sitting in an economy plus seat while the rest of the band and crew got the limited lie-flat seats in first class. Every time she managed to fall into a slumber, her head would tilt a little too far forward and shock her awake. She groaned when it happened for the tenth time. This was going to be a long flight.
As she opened her frustrated eyes and caught sight of a pair of black chucks standing next to her seat, her gaze travelled up to Adam. She’d already known it was him by the stupid skinny jeans he had on. His face looked as tired as she felt, but she was still happy to see him. She always was. He looked fantastic. Was she dreaming?
“Hey,” he said, softly. “Come on. Come lay down with me.”
“It’s okay,” Shaun said.
“No it isn’t. You’re uncomfortable and you’re not sleeping. I’ve been watching you.”
“That’s creepy,” she joked.
“Come lay with me. I won’t touch you, I promise.”
Shaun didn’t have the energy to argue. “I must be the worst girlfriend ever. Sharing a tiny airplane seat with my boyfriend and he can’t even touch me.”
Adam let her step in front of him in the isle and followed her back up to first class where his lie-flat seat was all made up with pillows and blankets. It looked like heaven to Shaun. She was sure that she saw a white light glowing around it.
“Lay down,” he demanded.
Without another word, Shaun climbed into the seat and scooted over to the farthest corner. It was cool and quiet, with walls surrounding the seat to give them extra privacy. “I’ve never been in first class before,” she said, tucking her feet under the blankets and holding them up so Adam could crawl in behind her. “There’s no way we’re not going to touch each other in this tiny ass seat.”
“All part of my master plan,” he said, lying down and draping the blanket around them. The moment he felt the curve of her ass pressing against him, he knew that inviting her up here might have been a mistake. He’d just felt so bad seeing her struggling to sleep in that economy seat in the back. Why did the roadies get a lie-flat seat and not Shaun? He knew if she didn’t sleep he wouldn’t either, and he was tired. “Go to sleep, Shaun.”
“Mmmkay.” She didn’t have the energy to argue, and the second she closed her eyes she was out cold.
The last thing she remembered was the feeling of Adam’s strong arm curling around her from behind. She didn’t wake up until they were landing in L.A.
--
Adam and Shaun were among the last of the crew to get off of the plane, both ecstatic to be back home.
Having broken away from their pack, they walked alone together towards the elevator.
Adam inched closer to her until he could take her hand. His fingers interlocked with hers and he whispered, “cameras,” when she looked at him quizzically.
Shaun didn’t see any cameras, but she kept her mouth shut as they approached the elevator that would take them to baggage claim and ground transportation.
“Thanks for letting me sleep with you. That’s a pretty long flight to be awake the entire time.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
“That was a pretty bold move you made back in Sydney. Kissing me in front of all those people.” Shaun waited for Adam to look at her, noticing for the first time that he wasn’t wearing his signature Ray Bans. He had beautiful eyes, a green that she’d never seen before, and there was something behind them at that moment that made them extra beautiful to her.
“It just felt right. The moment was right and there you were…”
“And thousands of cameras.”
Adam hadn’t done it for the cameras, but he wasn’t ready to let her know that just yet. “Yeah, perfect right?”
“Uh, yeah!” Shaun beamed, letting him pull her into the elevator once it opened. He pressed the button for the bottom level and she continued. “And that song… holy crap I loved it.”
A smile lit up his face. “Yeah?”
“Yeah!” She cried, again, as if he was on a roll with asking her the most stupid, obvious questions. “And your fans loved it, too. It was amazing. I have no idea why you think you’re having writer’s block. Let me tell you, you’re not.”
“I wrote that while I was in Sydney. It’s the first decent thing I’ve written in a long time.”
Shaun stared at him for a long while, still gripping his hand. “Oh… well… It was great. And there better be a lot more.”
“I’m sure there will be.”
“Janelle should be happy with that kiss, too.”
He chuckled. “It was pretty good.” He took a long moment and a deep breath before continuing, “We should try it again. You know… really fine tune it.”
“Now?”
“Yeah, right now.”
“No one’s here… what’s the point if there’s no one around to catch it?”
Adam glanced up at the ceiling of the elevator and a playful smirk crossed his face as he pointed towards the ceiling.
Following his finger, Shaun caught sight of a camera in the highest corner of the elevator and threw her head back in amusement.
Adam put on his best newscaster voice, “Adam and Shaun really can’t keep their hands off each other. The two lovebirds were caught here… kissing in a public elevator. Raunchy.”
“It really would make for a great story, but I doubt that camera is even on right now.”
“But what if it was?” Adam asked, inching closer to her.
Shaun put her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. “Then I guess we’d take the entertainment media by storm.”
“So what’s stopping us?” he whispered.
“I don’t know.”
“I’m down.”
Shaun’s body rumbled with the same warm waves that had hit her the night before. “Okay… we do need our practice.”
“Just practice. And free publicity.”
“We better be fast then.” Shaun’s eyes flew towards the numbers on the elevator that was quickly descending.
Without looking away from her, Adam fingered the elevator panel and smiled at her as he pulled out the red “emergency stop” toggle.
Shaun’s eyes widened when the elevator jolted to a stop. “Adam!”
“Come here.” He reached out and tucked a finger into her belt loop, pulling her until her hips knocked gently against his.
“I can’t believe you just did that.”
Without a word, Adam reached up and took her bag off her shoulder. He let it fall from his hands o
nto the floor before placing one hand on her hip and the other behind her neck. He squeezed at the small patch of skin that was peeking through her jeans and crop top. The top had been a gift from the designer and Shaun had been hesitant to wear it at first.
“You look beautiful,” he whispered, leaning closer. He wanted nothing more than to taste her, again, but he stopped just inches away from her lips.
Shaun took his waist in her hands when she felt him hesitate. She wanted him to kiss her so badly she could almost taste it, but she was afraid of what it would cost her. Feeling his cool breath steady on her lips, smelling the fresh soap on his body and seeing the desire flooding his eyes was making the internal battle she’d been having since she’d met him slowly diminish. Clawing at his waist, she held her breath when his eyes fell to her mouth.
“Adam,” she whispered.
Unable to stand it for another second, he buried his hand in her hair and leaned down, covering her lips with his. A quiet moan immediately escaped his mouth. She felt so good. She tasted like… Shaun. Kissing her was like nothing he’d ever experienced, and it had been all he could think about since the first time they’d done it on his music video set. She consumed him. It was getting harder to deny that every second he was with her. His lips left hers slowly, but he didn’t dare pull away. Reaching up to cup both of her cheeks with his hands he waited for her beautiful brown eyes to meet his. When they did he felt his whole world fall away, whatever small ounce of control he’d managed to hold onto flew out of the window as he opened his mouth over hers, crashing into her until he felt her back slam against the wall of the elevator. He went in harder, brushing his tongue against her lips until she accepted him, parting her own and tasting him in return.
“Shaun,” he breathed between their fervent kisses, opening his eyes to take her in for only a moment. Her eyes were closed as she leaned in for more, tilting her head and parting her lips for him. She looked like the angel she was. He wanted to protect her and corrupt her all at once. He didn’t deserve her, but he couldn’t stay away. His eyes fell closed again as he returned the kiss, assuaging the desire she had splashed across her face and his own, as well. He pulled at her bottom lip with his own again and again, breathing heavily at the fullness. He wanted it in his mouth always, and if not there then at least wrapped around his dick, devouring it the same way she devoured him right then. His dick jumped at the thought and he caught that bottom lip between his teeth. Slowly, he released it before running his tongue along it in apology and sucking it back between his lips.
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