by Bryce Oakley
“I like you,” Felix said calmly, as though commenting on the weather.
“Uh, thanks,” Billie answered, unsure where that had come from.
They stood in silence as Vero played, and when the last notes slowly floated and hung in the air around them, Felix reached out and clapped Billie on the shoulder.
“I mean it. I don’t know what you’ve done — and I’m glad I don’t know what you’ve done,” he paused, giving her a side-eyed look.
Billie swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.
“But it seems to be working,” he added.
Billie nodded. “Vero’s going to be fine solo. She’s the strongest woman I know.”
Felix nodded. “Me too,” he said quietly.
“Are you guys going to creepily stare at me all day or are we going to get this song on the tape?” Vero said, glaring at them both.
“Want to learn how to produce?” Felix asked, giving Billie a sly smile.
Billie nodded quickly. “Absolutely,” she said. Felix Lucas had produced some of her favorite songs, so she was a bit overwhelmed with the offer. “Where do we start?”
Morning faded into afternoon, and afternoon turned into evening.
Billie was so focused on the song that she only ever thought about the time when Elena brought them lunch and dinner. Jack had also popped in once to see if they needed anything from town.
They pieced together the lyrics as they went, writing them on the fly. Vero was shockingly good at clever wordsmithing, coming up with it as she sang. Billie especially loved the last line of the chorus: “All we’ve time for is one love song.” Such a bittersweet song, exactly as she had imagined it.
Billie recorded the guitar, and Vero the drums, then Felix added in the bass.
It was like piecing together a puzzle, sliding the pieces in to find the best fit. And when they clicked, there were cheers and high-fives and laughs.
The three of them worked together for hours, and although Billie enjoyed working on the song herself, she most enjoyed watching Felix and Vero work on the song.
Felix treated Vero with a sense of calm confidence, as though she was his total equal.
And when all was said and done, and everyone was sitting in silence, listening to the master tape played back, Billie sat with a huge smile on her face.
Vero paced, nodding her head in time with the rhythm, and Felix sat with his eyes closed, the tiniest quirk of a grin at the corner of his mouth.
“Well, I think we got it,” Felix said, and Billie clapped in excitement.
“But what about on the second verse, where—“
“V, it’s a demo,” Billie gently reminded her.
“Okay,” Vero conceded, biting on her fingernail.
Billie took her hand in her own. “Come on, let’s go get some sleep if we’re going to record the other one tomorrow,” she said, although she was hoping they would get a little less sleep than they were planning on.
Chapter Sixteen
Vero
“Do you have to leave?” Vero whispered as they lay in the dark. She laid with her head on Billie’s chest, tucked against her body.
“I don’t want to,” Billie groaned, her voice groggy with sleepiness.
They had been recording for three days, and had two demos ready for the execs.
Billie had a life to get back to in LA, but Vero selfishly just wanted to kidnap her and hold her hostage in Telluride. Away from the lights and cameras.
Well, away from most of the cameras.
“You’re coming to LA in two days. Besides, you live up in Silverlake. I live down in Hermosa Beach. That’s quite a drive. We’d better get used to being apart. At least during rush hour,” Billie joked, turning on her side to wrap an arm around Vero.
Vero tangled her own limbs around Billie’s, holding her close. “My manager wants me to have you sign an NDA if we’re going to date,” she admitted.
Billie laughed, which lightened the mood. “And what’d you tell him when he requested that?” she asked.
“I told him he could fuck right off,” Vero admitted, laughing. “I don’t know what the future looks like for you. But I want to be with you, and I hope you have a lot of patience, because you’re going to need it.”
“Patience? With you?” Billie asked, her voice rising in pitch. “I’d have never guessed.”
“Hey, now, Willabee,” Vero teased. “That’s not very nice.”
“It’s not short for anything,” Billie repeated, sounding exasperated. “Willabee isn’t even a real name.”
Vero giggled. “Of course it is,” she said.
Billie rolled on top of her, pinning her down. “You’re impossible,” she said, nipping at Vero’s shoulder.
Vero pressed her hips into Billie’s. “That’s what you love about me,” she joked.
“Mmhmm, that’s what I love about you,” Billie said, her voice a whisper as she trailed kisses over Vero’s bare skin.
Vero smiled into the darkness, into the knowledge that Billie was with her, and that they’d figure their future out together.
* * *
Watching Billie leave was painful. She had driven her out to the airport, but they’d had to kiss goodbye before, given Telluride’s new paparazzi invasion.
She waited in her car on a side road, waiting an hour for the plane to take off. The runway looked as though it had fallen off a cliff, and so when the plane lifted into the sky at the last minute instead of going over the edge, Vero let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.
Billie was gone.
The house seemed emptier when she returned, even though Elena had planned a girl’s night for the two of them complete with popcorn and sheet masks.
All Vero could do was count down the minutes until she could see Billie again.
* * *
Vero pushed her key into the elevator slot in order for the doors to open on her floor. The elevator opened only to a landing and her own front door. She had chosen a place with a landing just in case she’d ever have to have security, which her father had insisted on, but Vero had never bothered with.
She was back in LA, which normally made a heaviness weigh on her shoulders, but this time, she was giddy with excitement.
She had made a key for Billie and had it sent to her place in Hermosa Beach. She had cleared her name with the doorman, Rory, so that she’d feel welcomed. She had planned on creating a magical evening to welcome Billie to her place, complete with mood lighting and music. Were rose petals taking things a step too far?
She’d ordered takeout, since cooking wasn’t her specialty.
She looked around her space, which had once seemed so cold to her. She had never had the apartment professionally decorated, since setting down roots in LA was never her intention.
However, if she was going to spend more time there, maybe she should. Or at least add a damn throw pillow to the sofa.
She stared out the large windows that took up most of the far wall at the city lights. Though she couldn’t see far, and she didn’t have an ocean view, that’s not what she missed.
LA would never be able to compete with the tall trees and soaring mountains of home. The crispness of the air.
The doorbell rang and her doorman’s face came in front of the camera. “Takeout delivery for you, Ms. De Luca,” he said.
“Okay, bring it on up, Rory,” she said, pressing the button.
There was a knock on the door.
That was fast.
She opened the door and gasped in surprise when she realized she was face to face with Lara, who was holding the takeout bag in front of her.
Lara, if it was possible, only looked more gorgeous than she remembered. Her long dark hair, her tanned skin… her extremely low-cut top. The way her jeans seemed painted onto her skin.
Vero shook her head, clearing away the thought. “What the fuck are you doing here?” Vero asked, reaching to press the intercom button.
“Wait, Vero,” Lara said, holding her ha
nd over the button. “Just hear me out.”
“Hear you out? You know, I haven’t heard anything from you in a long fucking time,” Vero growled, glaring at the woman.
“I know. I came to say I’m sorry. I got scared, and I fucked up, but I’ve realized that you’re the one that I want,” Lara said, stepping into the apartment and closing the door behind her.
“How did you get up here?” Vero asked, glancing at the intercom again.
“When I said I was here to see you, the doorman asked if I was your friend. I said yes,” Lara said with a grin and a shrug.
Rory must have thought that Lara was Billie. He didn’t check ID? Why did she pay an exorbitant amount to live in a secure building with a doorman if she couldn’t even depend on him making sure he wasn’t letting stalkers into her apartment?
“And the elevator?” Vero asked, stepping away from Lara.
“He asked me if I had the key that you sent, and I told him I lost it,” Lara said, almost laughing. “It was way too easy, actually.”
“I want you to leave,” Vero said.
Lara moved past her to set the takeout bag on the counter of the kitchen island.
“I’m seeing someone,” Vero said, confidence growing inside of her as the words came out. Even just the thought of Billie was enough to make her realize how good she had it now.
“Oh yeah, that rocker chick, right?” Lara said, waltzing into the kitchen as if she owned the place.
Vero balled her hands into fists, but took a deep breath. “Yeah, her name’s Billie,” she said.
Lara opened the fridge and leaned in. “So empty. Good thing I brought bubbles!”
“I’m sober now,” Vero growled, setting her jaw. Lara knew she went to rehab. Why was she asking if she had alcohol?
“You know, I ran into Billie’s bandmate Zoey the other day at a party,” Lara said. “She said there was nothing going on between you two.”
“Well, she probably just doesn’t know,” Vero said, but the seed of doubt had been planted. She had wanted to keep their private life private, but had Billie kept them totally a secret? Had she lied about it?
“Yeah, I thought that might be the case. So, then I got her number, and we’ve been texting ever since,” Lara said, leaning on the counter with a casual air that made Vero want to slap the smug look right off her face.
“Good, you have friends. I’m glad for you. What’s the point?” Vero asked, crossing her arms.
“Well, you know, she brought it up first, so don’t think I was prying, but I thought you might want to see this,” Lara said, turning her phone screen so that Vero could see the texts.
Zoey: No, nothing happened between them.
Lara: How do you know? Those pictures?
Zoey: I thought so, too! But Dom showed me a text where Billie said nothing was going on between them, and she’d tell her own sister, don’t you think?
Lara: Thanks for telling me this. :( I just needed to make sure I stood a chance!
Zoey: If you love her, go get her!
Vero’s blood ran cold as she read over the message. Billie told her own sister that nothing had happened? Wouldn’t Domino be the first person Billie had told? Billie had spoken of Domino as if they were attached at the hip.
She glanced up at Lara, who was holding a bottle of Prosecco.
“I don’t drink,” Vero said through gritted teeth, glaring at her. She had never had to have so much resolve about alcohol since her treatment.
“One tiny glass won’t ruin your sobriety, Very,” Lara said with a giggle. She untwisted the cap and put her thumbs on the cork, forcing it open with a loud pop.
Except, instead of fizzing out slightly, the Prosecco sprayed out, drenching Vero.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Vero said, holding out her arms as she examined her wet hair and wet shirt.
Lara laughed hysterically, leaning on the counter. “Oh my gosh, baby, I’m so sorry.” She wiped at her eyes.
Vero took a deep breath, trying not to explode just like that bottle. “I'm going to go get in the shower. You will clean this up, and then let yourself out. Do I make myself clear?” She said, her patience holding on by a single thread.
“I’ll clean it up,” Lara said, holding up her hands. “It must have gotten shaken up in my purse.”
Vero grabbed a kitchen towel and pulled off her shirt as she tread carefully to the master bathroom. She dropped her shirt on the ground — she’d deal with it later.
She waited until she was in the shower and under the warm water before breaking down. Seeing Lara had been so much more difficult than she thought it would be, especially since Lara had been acting as if they had never ended things. As if she had never started seeing someone else behind Vero’s back. As if she hadn’t claimed they had been nothing. As if she hadn’t spent the past six months completely silent.
What if it was true that Billie had changed her mind now that she was back in LA? They had texted earlier that day, and Billie had sent her a kissy face emoji — hadn’t that meant she was still interested?
Vero washed her hair, considering how stupid it was to rely on an emoji for information.
Then again, she was relying on a text from a stranger… How was that any different?
She realized that she’d just have to trust Billie. She had placed her trust in the wrong people in the past, but Billie was different. Billie was kind and sweet and caring and wouldn’t hurt her like that.
She stepped out of the shower, determined to talk with Billie about it that night. She checked her phone and saw a text.
Billie: On my way!
She checked the timestamp. That was fifteen minutes ago. How long of a shower had she taken?
She had to get Lara out of her place. She’d simply call Rory and get Lara kicked out. If all else failed, she could always call the police, though that would mean Billie would be walking into her apartment for the first time with police escorting Lara out.
Out with the old, in with the new? She almost laughed at how ridiculous the situation was.
She tied a towel around her body and walked into her bedroom, but paused when she heard voices.
Then, she heard Billie call her name.
Fuck.
She didn’t bother putting on clothes before she raced out of her room.
There, before her, was a very upset-looking Billie and behind her, Lara, with a smug smile on her face.
“This isn’t what it looks like,” Vero said lamely, her entire body beginning to shake.
“Really? Because it looks like you’re drinking and naked with your ex,” Billie said, her cheeks red with anger.
“This is all a misunderstanding. Please, let me explain,” Vero said, reaching for her, but the towel began to slip. She paused, holding the towel.
“Baby, maybe you should put on some clothes if we’re going to have company,” Lara said, sliding into place beside her.
“Billie, please,” Vero said, ignoring Lara.
Billie’s brow furrowed. She looked as if she was only a moment away from crying.
Then, she turned, and walked out the door.
Vero watched as if outside of her own body. She watched the door shut silently, and then she heard the ding of the elevator.
Lara wrapped a hand around her wrist. “See? It’s just the two of us,” she said.
Vero wrenched her arm out of Lara’s grasp and walked over to the intercom next to the front desk. “Rory, get this woman out of my apartment. Call the cops if you have to. Just get her out now,” she said, her voice cracking as she began to cry.
How was she going to fix this now?
Chapter Seventeen
Billie
“More,” Billie said, handing Domino back the empty whiskey glass.
“Billo,” Domino said gently, taking back the glass and not handing it to her.
“No,” Billie groaned, lying her head down on the table. She had driven straight from Vero’s apartment to her sister’s hou
se, pounding down the door, and then promptly getting very drunk.
Domino had a woman over, which Billie wasn’t surprised about, but Dom had then asked the woman to leave, which did surprise Billie.
Domino had acted like it wasn’t a big deal to make her date leave early, but it had meant a lot to Billie.
If she hadn’t already been crying, she’d have teared up at the thought.
“Wait, tell me again how you got in,” Domino said, steepling her fingers in front of her mouth as she leaned on her elbows.
Billie had walked into the building with Vero’s key in her pocket, the symbolism of it feeling extra heavy.
The doorman looked confused, even though Vero had said that she had told the doorman to expect Billie, and that Billie had a key and was allowed in.
He called the apartment, and someone who wasn’t Vero answered. The woman had said Billie could come up, so the doorman had let her through.
Her stomach was in knots, thinking something wasn’t right as the elevator ascended the twelve stories to the top floor. She walked into the apartment and found Lara sitting at the kitchen island, her hair mussed, and a glass of bubbles in her hand.
She recognized Lara instantly, considering that she had looked her up the instant that she heard Vero had dated her. The faces of the UltraViolet women all blended together besides Vero in her memory, but Lara seemed familiar enough to her. She was the openly bisexual member of the group, and she got a lot of good press when she came out. Billie remembered the headlines and feeling impressed that she had owned her truth so willingly.
Seeing her sitting at the breakfast bar threw Billie off balance. She first saw the drink in her hand, then the mess of alcohol all over the kitchen. Then, in front of Vero’s door, a shirt she recognized.
“What’s going on?” She asked.
“Very’s just getting cleaned up. We got a little… dirty,” Lara said with a grin and a wink.
Very? Billie cringed. Vero probably hated that nickname.
“What’s actually going on?” Billie said, resisting the overwhelming urge to pull Lara out of the apartment by her hair extensions.
