I shrugged nonchalantly and felt as if I wasn’t lying if I didn’t say anything. After all, the assumption was the producer’s not mine.
“This is fucking epic. Epic! You know how many young female artists get this kind of a gig? Like none… well maybe Adele and what’s her name? Paloma Faith. You see what I’m saying?” I did. “And Ellie Goulding for being chosen for the Fifty Shades track.”
By supporting a household name, I appeared more established, and I wondered again if Gibson had pushed for this or if I really had got the gig on merit.
Whatever the real reason was, I’d shared the details, and it was up to me to make everyone involved see the authenticity in why I was chosen.
My cell began to vibrate in my purse and Otto glanced to it then to me. “I guess you’re wanted somewhere. Sorry I’ve kept you later than I intended.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s probably Thomas,” I offered because I couldn’t really mention anyone else. I felt a little guilty that Otto had put his faith in me and I had hidden a lot of my story for the best possible reasons.
Before I had signed up, there had been a background check to fill in. I did it to the best of my ability, leaving out Gibson’s guardianship, but I had been honest about leaving the state I lived in due to fleeing with my mother from her abusive relationship.
Once Otto knew that his firm stopped searching. All they wanted to know was I had no convictions for drugs, or sexual or violent offences, and I didn’t.
Digging into my purse I pulled out my cell and saw Simon had tried to contact me. “All right, if there’s nothing else today, I’m going to head out,” I said, already making my way to the door before he could think of anything. I had already called my voicemail and was waiting for it to connect.
Simon’s dulcet tones immediately made my heart flip over in my chest, “Hey, baby, swinging by in about twenty minutes. You are home, right? Called for a Chinese takeout and it’s gonna be delivered in about an hour and a half.” I glanced at my watch and knew he had left the message about ten minutes previously. I climbed in my car. If I hurry, I’ll hopefully get there before him.
The excitement and anticipation of spending another night with him made me feel giddy and nervous because I was sure a guy like Simon wouldn’t make the same mistake twice in having no condoms.
As I came down the street, I saw Simon’s car held up at the gates. My heart rate spiked ridiculously fast at the mere sight of his Mercedes.
Pulling up behind him, I reached out and hit the fob, opening the electronic gates. He entered, with me following, and I closed the gates directly behind me.
Once we had parked the cars in the underground garage, he came over and opened my car door for me to get out.
“Hello, gorgeous,” he said, complimenting me with his usual sexy smile.
“Hey, handsome,” I replied and stretched up on tiptoe to kiss him. Simon grabbed me by my hips and pushed me hard against my car, pressing himself into me and kissing me hungrily. As quick as he made his move, he stepped back and held my hand, “Damn, I missed you,” he said, gruffly.
“So it would seem,” I replied, staring at him in disbelief as I touched my bruised lips, while my face tingled from beard burn.
Snickering, he gave me a sheepish smile, “Sorry, baby, what can I say? I’m fucking smitten,” he replied, and his words struck a chord because they were the very same ones his sister had said about how he felt about me.
Entering the elevator, he slid my purse from my shoulder and pushed me gently against the elevator car wall, kissing me as his hands slid first to my hair then my arms and eventually he gripped my butt. Breaking the kiss, he let his forehead drop to mine and he gave me a slow sexy smile.
“I hope the food gets here fast or we’re both going to be a hundred pounds shortly, with all the food we keep missing,” he told me and grinned. I knew exactly what he meant. The hunger we both felt had nothing to do with food, but we still had to eat.
We had barely entered my apartment when the buzzer sounded. I figured the food had arrived early and went to answer it, but it was the superintendent from the lobby to tell me that Gibson was on his way up and he was fuming about something.
I stood frozen, with the handset for the intercom system suspended in mid-air and stared speechless at Simon.
“What the fuck is it?” he said, noting my anxiety. He rose quickly from the chair and stalked in long strides across the room toward me.
“Gibson’s here. He’s coming up.”
“He is?” he asked a little surprised, but instead of freaking out like I was he took off his shirt and laid it over the counter stool then sat back down on the couch in his t-shirt looking perfectly at home.
“No… no. You can’t be here… oh, this is bad,” I said, in a weak whiny tone not wanting to deal with the wrath of the man who in effect had saved me.
“Look. The day before yesterday you said you wanted this to be legit between us. We knew there’d be consequences. Bring it, I say, because you can’t help who your heart wants and mine definitely knows that it wants you.”
“I’m really touched, Simon, but can we please do this another day when I’ve gotten used to the idea?” I choked.
Shaking his head, he spread his arms the length of the back of the couch and crossed his ankle over his knee. “Baby, I’m not ducking and diving. I’m thirty-two years old. I’m not fucking hiding from Gibson. Sure, he’s gonna be pissed and puff his chest an ‘all but at the end of all of this, I’m still gonna be here and so are you. He’ll learn we’re not doing pretend roleplay and we’re serious about doing this.”
A sharp knock at the door made my legs buckle on the spot and Simon burst out laughing. I made a pleading motion and clasped my hands in prayer and he chuckled heartily. “Open the door, Piper,” he said. Almost immediately, Gibson’s voice demanded the same from the other side of it and I shook my head. So much for this adulting thing. I’m out.
When I didn’t move, Simon got up from the couch, steered me toward it and gently sat me down. “Let me do the talking,” he ordered then made his way to open the door. He had barely cracked it open when Gibson’s huge hand grabbed tightly at his throat and walked him back into the room.
Turning his head to look at me, Gibson growled, “Bedroom now,” he barked like I was eight years old and had been caught with my hand in the cookie jar. Simon snickered, and Gibson shook him by the throat. “Oh, you think this is fucking funny, huh? We’ll see if you're still laughing when I’ve beaten the shit out of you,” he warned.
Chloe arrived at the door and came rushing in. “Take your hand off his throat, Gibson. This is Piper’s home. You can’t come storming in here because you don’t agree with what’s going on,” she reasoned. Gibson stared her down for a few seconds.
“And you’re condoning this? You think this randy douche bag fucker here deserves our precious girl over there? You really want her tangled up with this sick fuck?”
“That sick fuck is one of your best friends, Gibson. Now take your hands off him, or I’m leaving and you won’t be welcome at home tonight.” Gibson glared at Chloe, glanced thunderously at me and stood his ground. “I mean it. Do you think violence is the way to stop what’s happening? You think this is making Piper see things from your perspective when you’re behaving no better than the guy who abused her mother?”
Gibson immediately dropped Simon, like his throat was on fire and stared in shock at Chloe. If Simon was afraid of him, he never showed it and wandered over to check I was okay, “It’s okay, sweetheart, he’s just a little passionate where you're concerned,” he said, totally unfazed by the incident. Sitting down beside me, Simon slipped an arm around my waist.
“Fucking right I am, you dick. You couldn’t leave her be, could you? Was that too much to ask?”
“Yeah, Gibson it was. It still is and if you think I’m not serious about Piper, you don’t know me at all.”
“Oh, I know you. I’ve seen what you’re capable
of or have you forgotten the times I was there?”
“Nope, but it hasn’t been all one way either or are you forgetting the times when you were—”
Chloe sighed. “Enough. I’m tired of hearing you tell me what Simon is like when I have eyes of my own. I haven’t been around you for all these years not to see what went on. Yeah, even you in the early days before me, Gibson, so I suggest you wind your neck back in and let’s talk about this like the adults we are.”
Gibson winced and turned to Chloe with a wounded look in his eyes at her outburst.
Simon shrugged. “Why do you feel the need to confront us about it? Surely what happens between me and Piper is our business? She’s an adult, but the way you’ve both stormed in here it’s like I’m a sixty year old pervert in an old gray trench coat and she’s a fourteen year old with no common sense. Piper is a consenting adult and we’re not interested in starting a war.”
Gibson glanced over to Chloe, his eyes blazing with anger and he picked up from what she had said. “He’s an asshole, Chloe. You’ve seen the way he uses women for sex. Other than being in the band, his other claim to fame is for fucking women.”
Simon glanced down at me, obviously embarrassed to hear his friend’s assessment of him and scratched the back of his head. “That was before—”
“And like Chloe said, you’d know all about that, right?” I threw back because I couldn’t bear to see Simon having to defend himself like this.
As soon as my words were out I wanted to take them back when I saw how hurt Gibson was when I had defended Simon over him.
Whether he had barged in or not, I’d hurt Gibson and he didn’t deserve it. All he’d ever done since the day I had met him was protect me, but I had to stand my ground or I feared he’d wade in every time he felt the need.
My heart squeezed tight because the last thing in the world I wanted to do was disrespect him.
Gibson gave me a hard stare. “You have no idea, baby girl—”
“Don’t call me that,” I snapped. “I’m no one’s baby. Like Simon said, I’m a consenting adult.”
“And if he said to jump out the window would you do it to be an adult?” Gibson roared.
“Oh, now that’s just stupid talk,” I replied. “Look,” I said trying to calm the conversation down, “This is new for the both of us. I need your support, we need your support, not criticism.”
Chloe gripped Gibson’s forearm, and I saw the tension in his neck as he cracked it from side to side the way he always did if something frustrated him.
“Can I talk? Not holler. Talk? This is none of your business, but since you’ve made it so, I’m happy to explain what’s been happening,” Simon said in a soft tone.
“I can imagine what’s been going on, so you can spare me the details,” Gibson shot back.
“All right. Tell me what’s been going on, Gibson?” I goaded. I stood up and folded my arms.
“Isn’t it obvious?” he said, looking at Simon as he spoke through gritted teeth.
“Gibson, I’ve seen how you are when you’re being protective. I’ve seen your passion when you do this, but all I feel right now is aggression… and it doesn’t make me comfortable having you in my space while you are acting so hostile. However, I have known you long enough to know you would never hurt me, but I’m not all that confident about Simon’s welfare.”
Gibson looked shocked again and his eyes darted to Chloe. She nodded. “You’re way out of line, honey.” He sighed, running both hands through his hair and he sat down heavily on the couch across from us. Chloe sat beside him and placed a hand over his knee.
Silence fell between us and it was clear Gibson was taking a timeout to get his emotions in check. After a quiet minute, Chloe spoke.
“Maybe you should tell Piper how we found out about her and Simon?” she prompted, and Gibson’s eyes flicked to Simon’s then to mine.
“Where were you yesterday, Si?” he said, barely keeping the growl from his tone.
“You know where I was, Chicago. You were the one who rang and said I had to head up there because Lennox forgot and had gone to the Maldives.
“All right,” he paused looking at me for a moment, then he took a deep breath, “And who was with you?”
Simon looked over to me and his eyes softened like he thought what he was about to say would hurt me. My heart stalled in fear of his reply.
Taking a deep breath, he looked at his hands and rubbed them together nervously, and his action was the same as the one he had done before when he poured out his feelings.
“Jess Barrington,” he replied and twisted his lips. “But, Piper, I swear it was all up front. There wasn’t anything in it but companionship. I needed a plus one for the event and we happened to be picked up at the airport by the TV company in the same courtesy car.”
Gibson scoffed, “How convenient.”
“It was,” Simon agreed without emotion. “It prevented anyone from hitting on me all night. Besides, Jess is pretty serious about Monkon Graftus from Bar Queue Blues, and I flew straight back after the gig,” he said. “I even spoke to Piper around 6:30 am when I arrived home,” he offered.
The last part was true. He had called me early and had sounded a little tired, but his voice could have been due to alcohol consumption as well.
“I knew where he was, Gibson, and he called me like he said, not that it’s any of your business,” I added. Inside I was fighting an internal battle about the details Simon had left out of our conversation that Gibson had felt I needed to know.
Simon took my hand and gave it a small squeeze in a silent thank you, but I had defended him without all the facts. I prayed what I’d done was the right thing, and I hoped I wasn’t falling into a trap like my mom had done all those years before.
Chapter Seventeen
When I looked into Simon’s eyes, I just knew nothing had happened between him and the woman Gibson brought up in conversation, so I shook the slightest doubt off when I saw the furious expression on Gibson’s face as he looked at Simon.
“Can I say something?” I asked. I would have said it anyway, but I was trying to be polite and give Gibson his place. After all, he’d flown all the way to Santa Monica from Colorado to have my back.
“Shoot, darlin', but whatever it is I hope you’re prepared for a comeback,” Gibson replied, trying hard to speak to me in an even tone.
“You may think I know nothing about relationships. And the sexual part… I guess that’s true. One thing I do know about is manipulation and lies, and my gut tells me Simon really does like me… and the thing is I really like him too. That’s the bones of what is going on here.”
Gibson shook his head, hung it low then glanced sideways to look at Chloe. She didn’t blink or offer any kind of agreement.
“All right,” I said as I thought of a different angle and threw my hands up in the air. “Here it is. If what I’m about to say is too much information for you I’m sorry, but since you’re imagining the worst of Simon here goes.”
Drawing in a sharp breath I held it for a few seconds then blew it out slowly in my attempt to hold my heart and nerves in check. Swallowing as I looked again at Gibson’s face, I sighed.
“There’s this guy at the studio, Jeff’s his name. He’s the guitar player on my album. Now he’s what? Twenty-one, twenty-two… maybe three at the most. Chloe, you should see him, he’s smokin’ hot.” I advised, pulling Chloe into the conversation and fanning myself for effect.
“Let me tell you, he’s probably as good looking as you all,” I said, wagging my hand at first Gibson and then Simon. “Oh and I’m sure he’s left a long line of broken hearts in his wake already. Would you rather I dated him?”
Gibson lifted his eyebrow toward Chloe, “No one’s saying you have to date anyone, but he sure is nearer your age. I mean you’re bound to have more in common than you have with Simon.”
“You think?” I sighed again because I couldn’t believe Gibson was so stuck on the age thi
ng. “I agree, we’re the same age and he’s very talented at what he does, so we have those things in common. I’m shy and he's quite an extrovert so we’re opposite with that. What’s the saying… opposites attract? Case in point here with Simon and me.” I added and let the last comment sink in.
“Anyway, back to Jeff, he looks every inch the hot musician with his shoulder length sun-kissed blond hair, his golden tan, athletic build. I think you’d say he looks real SoCal surfer dude. Not forgetting his string of seductive chat-up lines and the hot as fuck shiny ride between his thighs.”
“All right, I get the picture. He’s got game, but do you have to cuss?” Gibson asked. I shrugged and continued.
“So you think I should prefer him to Simon, right?” Gibson shrugged, and I eyed Chloe for courage to confess what almost happened to me.
“Well what you don’t know is the guy has terrorized me since day one at the studio.” I went on to tell them the whole sorry story about the drugs and the party and when I was done I asked Gibson again, “So do you still think Jeff is a better fit for me than Simon?”
Gibson’s fists clenched, his jaw ticked, and I could see I’d hit a nerve. Jeff had taken advantage of me and in a few sentences, I’d shifted his anger from Simon to Jeff.
“I had to call Thomas, to use Otto, the studio producer, to keep him in check. Jesus, Gibson, he even followed me home the other night. Thank God, Simon called me out to his place last weekend because I wouldn’t have left the house in case the creep was lurking to pounce.”
“So why don’t I know any of this?” Gibson barked.
I waved a hand at him sitting in my living room. “This is the reason, Gibson. This adorable fucked-up protective caveman stunt you pull. I was scared you’d try to coax me back to Colorado or worse take your anger out on Jeff.” My eyes softened when I saw how hurt he looked.
“I’m here in Santa Monica, a long way from home, and there’s gonna be more ‘Jeff’s’ out there waiting to fuck me, fuck me over, or kick me the fuck out of the way. Your words, Gibson, not mine. Only next time I’ll be ready.”
Piper: A Last Score Spin Off Page 15
