“I don’t like this. I’m falling apart inside.”
“Come on. I’ll hold your hand through it.”
He ushers me to the doors of the radio station, and I look over my shoulder. “You can’t really hold my hand. They’re only Jace’s to hold,” I say. He rolls his eyes.
“I didn’t mean really hold your hand. It’s a figure of speech.”
“Oh, okay.” I muster a smile.
“Damn, girl, your loyalty is strong as hell, even after talking to his best friend.”
“I can’t give up on him, Hunter.”
He nods his head, and we walk into VIBE.
JUST SURPRISE ME
THE AIR IS STALE, and the scent is strong. I almost want to walk right back out the door, but I’m on edge and completely out of my mind from everything that has happened in the last few days. Knowing I’m not of age, I stand straight and hope like hell they don’t card me. I’m just going to have one drink, let my parents reunite without me standing over them, and then hopefully get on the road. I’m not really worried about Grace. I could see Jason’s love for her in his eyes, and the way they held each other, I think they will be okay. I, on the other hand, am the furthest from okay right now.
I walk with a confident stride and sit on the last barstool next to the door.
“Well, you’re either new to town or just passing through, because I would never forget your face.” I hear off to the side. I slide my eyes to the voice trying too damn hard, and just like I thought, a young girl greets me. “So, which is it?” She stands in front of me.
“I’m just passing through,” I tell her, looking over her shoulder, making eye contact with a phone. “Would it be okay to use your phone?”
“Of course.” She leans over the counter, trying to show me her cleavage. I keep my eyes above her chest.
“Thanks. I need to call my fiancée.”
She twists her dark red lips. “Only problem is, the phones have been down for a couple of days. I have a cell phone you can use.” She tilts her head, making her long dark hair fall over her shoulder, and licks her bottom lip.
“Nah, that’s cool.”
“Are you sure?” she coos, trying hard to get my eyes to travel to her chest.
“I’m sure.” Hell if I’m calling Shay’s parents from a girl’s phone. I just need to get on the road.
“What can I get you?”
“I’m not a drinker, so just surprise me.”
She smiles and turns around toward the shelves lined with bottles. I look away and around the room. It’s old, musty, and exactly like what you would picture in a small town with gravel roads. It’s a complete local dive, and the flirtatious bartender looks like she’s been around the town block. Damn, I’m a lucky guy. My girl is both classy and sweet. I lay my elbows onto the bar top and rub the tension pounding in my head.
Sliding a glass between my arms, the bartender says, “Here you go, sexy.” I stare down into the dark amber liquid and remove my head from my hands.
“Don’t call me that.” My tone is harsh. She giggles, and it pisses me off.
“I’m sorry. Would that bother your girlfriend if I called you that?”
“I told you she’s my fiancée, not girlfriend.”
“Oh, I forgot,” she teases, tugging down her tank top.
I’M THE BIGGEST PHONY
I ADJUST MY TOP and run my fingers through my hair.
“I’ll wait out in the hall,” Hunter says as the cute receptionist leads me to the DJ studio.
“Thanks again, Hunter.”
“That’s what friends are for.” He smiles.
I nod and turn back to the girl. She opens the door to the studio, and I put the biggest, fakest smile on my face and walk inside. I’m the biggest phony, ever.
I BET YOU CAN HANDLE A LOT OF THINGS
I BRING THE AMBER liquid to my mouth, and guilt washes over me as soon as it touches my lips.
I take my first drink of alcohol, and as the taste hits my tongue, I know exactly why I stayed away from it growing up. It tastes like shit.
“So, if I can’t call you sexy, what’s your name?”
“Jace,” I tell the bartender that can’t keep her eyes off me.
“I’m Amber,” she says with a suggestive tone. I just nod and take another drink.
“Do you like what I gave you?” I scrunch my eyes with her question. “The drink? Do you like the drink I chose for you?”
“It’s going to serve its purpose.”
“And what purpose is that?”
“To relax me for a minute.”
“Why do you need to relax?”
“I have a long drive ahead of me.”
“You shouldn’t drink and drive.”
“I’m only having this one drink. I can handle it.”
“I bet you can handle a lot of things.”
“I told you I have a fiancée.”
She laughs and reaches over to a radio and turns it on.
IT GOES PRETTY QUICKLY
I WALK INSIDE AND wave as they direct me to my seat across from Riley, the DJ.
“Shay Stark, so nice to meet you,” he greets me, getting up and shaking my hand. Nervously, I shake his hand and say, “It’s very nice to meet you as well.”
“Please sit down.” I sit down across from him and his DJ sidekick, Ellie. “Thanks for doing your first interview with us, Shay.”
“You’re welcome.”
“We’ll just ask you some questions, let the audience get a feel for who you are, talk about your new song, and that’s it. You look nervous. Are you nervous?”
“A little bit, yes.”
“Don’t be. It’s goes pretty quickly.”
“Okay.”
“So, as soon as you see LIVE light up right here,” he points to a little sign next to him, “we start talking.” I shake my head, but I’m freaking out on so many levels. Then, he puts his hand up and does a three, two, one countdown. As I look beside him, LIVE lights up, and I push my fears down.
“We have a special guest in the studio today. Someone that just hit the airwaves and is topping the charts with her song ‘Moon and Stars.’ I’m sure you’ve heard it. It’s a mega hit, becoming the new number one dedication song played. Well, we have Shay Stark, the voice behind that mega hit, here in the studio with us right now. Shay, thanks for coming in and talking to us today.”
THAT’S MY GIRL
“TURN THAT UP, PLEASE!” I tell the bartender. She adjusts the volume, takes a beer to the guy sitting next to me, and resumes her place in front of me. I don’t even see her. I only see one girl.
“You’re welcome. I can’t believe I’m on VIBE right now. You’re my favorite station, so thank you for having me.”
“Wow, you are stunning in person, Shay. Isn’t she stunning, Ellie?” Riley asks his partner.
“Those are some amazing genes running through the Stark family,” Ellie replies.
“Yes, they are,” he agrees.
“For those of you listeners out there that didn’t know already, Shay Stark is the sister of Beau Stark, Hollywood’s number one box office actor who has been on the sexiest male actors’ list since he hit the scene. But, Beau’s little sister is ready to make a name for herself in Hollywood. Was it hard growing up with such a famous brother?”
“No, not at all. My family is very close. My brother is just Beau at home.”
My heart is beating out of my chest, my breathing uneven from hearing her sweet voice coming through the speakers.
“You have such a sweet voice, doesn’t she, Ellie?”
“Yes. Riley she’s such a doll in person.”
“Why do you look like you’re ready to come out of your skin?” the bartender asks me, interrupting the program.
“Shhh. That’s my girl on the radio,” I say, trying to listen.
“Your girl?”
“Yes, my fiancée.”
She laughs. “Shay Stark is your fiancée?”
I
nod my head and stare into the speaker that my lifeline speaks from.
“Pour me another drink,” I tell her, draining my first glass.
WHO INSPIRED?
“I LOVE WHEN I HEAR of Hollywood powerhouse families who are down-to-earth,” Riley says. “So, tell us Shay. Who inspired ‘Moon and Stars’? It’s such a beautiful song.” I open my mouth to answer as his eyes widen, and he looks at the door, waving someone inside. The door opens, and Hunter walks into the studio, smiling.
“This is a welcomed surprise, everyone. Hunter Daniels just walked into the studio.”
WE’RE JUST FRIENDS
HUNTER DANIELS.
“So, you mean to tell me that Shay Stark, who is all over the tabloids with Hunter Daniels, is your fiancée?”
I grip the glass hard with my hand to the point I’m holding back from throwing it against the wall. What the fuck is Hunter Daniels doing with my girl? I drain my second drink. “Pour me a double.” I hand her the empty glass.
“I thought you were only having one drink.”
“I changed my mind,” I spit, tasting whiskey on my lips.
She turns around, and I watch her pour me a much bigger drink, then my attention goes back to Shay.
“You know, we just have to ask because rumors are flying that you two are a couple. Was ‘Moon and Stars’ written for Hunter?” I hear the DJ ask.
A low chuckle comes over the speakers, and I’m ready to jump over this counter and throw the damn radio across the room. Hunter laughs. That mother— “She wrote that song for me. That’s my song,” I mutter.
“No, I didn’t write that song for Hunter. We’re just friends. I wrote that for my boyfriend,” Shay responds. I pull at my hair and let out the biggest breath.
“Where’s this boyfriend? He must be pretty special?”
“I…umm…”
“Shay and I are working together on a project that I’m really excited about,” Hunter interjects.
I HAVE NO CLUE
RELEASING A SHAKY BREATH, I look up at Hunter, and he winks at me. Thank God he diverted the question. I have no clue how to answer where my inspiration is.
“Oh, a project, huh? Can you tell us a little bit about what you will be doing together?” Riley is quick to question.
WHERE THE HELL DID I PARK?
I CHUG MY THIRD drink and start to get up out of my chair. “That asshole isn’t doing anything with my girl.” I reach into my pocket and throw whatever money I had left over from buying gas onto the wood top. “This should cover it.”
“Are you really Shay Stark’s fiancée? That song was written for you?”
“Yup, that’s my girl on the radio.”
She comes around the bar and gets her phone out of her back pocket. I sway on my feet as she leans into me, and a flash goes off. “Did you just take a picture of me?”
“Yeah, I want to show my friends.”
“Don’t do that again,” I demand, rubbing my face, falling back a little. “Don’t ever take a picture with me again. My girl is the only one I take pictures with.”
She laughs, and I push forward and out the door. I’ve got to get out of this fucking place. As soon as the cold air hits me, I stumble.
How much did I drink? I can’t even see straight.
I reach down into my pocket and grab my bike key, but it falls out of my hand.
“Do you need help, sexy?”
“Where the hell did I park my bike?” I close my eyes and let out a whiskey-filled breath. “I’m really drunk.”
“I know,” she whispers, leaning down and picking up my key. I reach to take it out of her hand, but she makes a fist and giggles.
“Hand me my key,” I slur, looking at her, but seeing three of her. I fall back onto the car I’m standing next to, and the next thing I know, she starts to lean into me. With nothing but long dark hair blowing around me, my hands go straight to her waist.
THANKS FOR SAVING ME
WE WALK OUTSIDE, AND I can finally get air back into my lungs. “Thanks for saving me in there, Hunter.”
“No problem. I could see the panic in your eyes when he asked about the boyfriend.”
“I didn’t know what to tell him. I have no idea where Jace is or what he’s doing. I feel like I’m in the biggest, longest nightmare ever. I thought Jace going to prison would be the hardest thing I’d ever have to deal with, but what I’ve been going through the last few days is so much worse.”
“Yeah, I don’t get it either, Shay. I don’t want to think the worst, but if he’s really hurt, that’s one thing, and you’re going to have more heartache to deal with if that’s the case. But, if he’s not hurt, what the hell has he been doing? Why hasn’t he contacted you?”
I let out a long, sad sigh. “I know it looks bad, and I’m sure you don’t think very highly of him right now, but I’m being honest with you. Jace is the best person I know, and he loves me so much. I know in my heart he would never purposely hurt me.”
CUT ME A DAMN BREAK
MY HANDS GRIP THE bartender’s waist while the wind blows her hair across my face. She tries to push into me, and with liquor making my heartbeat slow, I open my heavy eyes. For a moment, I see my girl in front of me. My arms, long and strong, flex with a hold locked tight. She pushes against my grasp, trying to make a connection against hips that have only ever moved with one girl. Coconut and sunshine whisper “forever boy,” and I close my eyes, weakened by love’s sweet words and utter devotion. “She would never hurt me. Those pictures are lies…not my girl,” I mumble.
I’m lost. So fucking lost and desperate to hold Shay. “What am I doing?” I slur with alcohol warming my throat. She continues to try to push through my hold. With locked arms keeping a distance and threatening to loosen, I lose my balance, falling forward. I quickly push her back out of personal space only one has occupied, only ever to be Shay’s space to hold.
“You’re about to do me,” she whispers, trying to lean into me again.
My eyes close again. With slow motion movements and the cold breeze making me aware of the scent in front of me from a person I can barely see but can clearly smell is not my home, I release my quick hold that I was using to keep her away and push her completely away from me.
“About to do you?” I say, spitting, then opening my tired, drunken eyes. Dust from cloudy, stormed-filled skies swirls around us. There is no tropical breeze. There is no coconut-infused sunshine—just a flirtatious bar girl trying to ruin my life. “You need to back up and give me my fucking key.”
“God, you’re such a jerk. I’m just trying to have some fun with you.”
“I don’t like having fun with strange girls. I’m fucked up, and you’re trying to take advantage of that shit. Did you not hear me in there? That was my girl on the radio! The only girl I’ve ever been with!” I blurt out.
“By the looks of the tabloids, you’re not the only guy she’s been with,” she says, gutting me to my core.
“I don’t give a shit what those tabloids say! That girl has only ever belonged to me.”
Confusion and realization swirling in alcohol’s first taste have me fisting my hand for even putting myself in this position. She stares at me seductively, finding this a game, and maybe it is to her, but this right here is life-changing shit for me, and I could never live without the girl this small town slut wants me to fuck up on.
“Seriously, back the fuck up and hand me my key,” I demand. She laughs, and I’m reminded just how lucky I am that I found perfection when I was thirteen. I press my fingers into my palms. “I might have broken a couple of promises, but nobody will ever make me break forever promised to my girl.”
Bright headlights turn in quickly to the gravel lot, and I push off the car I was leaning on. I start to walk around the bartender as she yells, “Fuck off” and throws my key to the ground. Ignoring her, I try to find my bike key as the lights shine on me, blinding me. I lean down, feeling nauseous, and pat the gravel with my hands for my key.
“Jace!” a frantic voice shrieks as heavy footsteps crunch the gravel next to me. I turn my head, and Grace is standing next to the car door with the engine running. I look up at a matching face, gripping my arm tightly, pulling me up off the ground.
“Time to go home,” he says.
“Jace?” Grace cries from the car.
“I’m fine, Grace!” I yell.
“No, you’re not. You’re drunk!”
“No, I’m not. I only had one drink,” I slur.
“You had more than one drink, boy,” my newfound dad adds.
“I can’t find my key, Mom. She fucking threw it. I’m going back to California right now. I need to be with Shay!”
Grace leans down, picking up my key. I reach to grab it out of her hand, but Jason grabs it right back out of mine.
“Give that back to me,” I tell him. “I’m going home to my girl! Do you know how fucking worried she must be right now?”
“Not tonight, you’re not. Get in the car, son.” Stumbling forward, I stop and sway.
“You almost made a huge mistake,” he says boldly.
Spits and slurs are the only thing I’m capable of doing right now. “I was in no danger of making any mistakes.”
“Besides that girl,” Grace says.
“You could have killed yourself if you drove your bike.” Jason shakes his head, disgusted.
“Give me my key, Grace!”
“What good would you be for the girl you’re drowning in if you are dead on the side of the road?” Jason says.
I stare at him, still swaying back and forth. “I’m no good for her right now. You have no idea how bad I’ve let her down. I’m a piece of shit right now. This isn’t me… This isn’t the person she fell in love with.” I put my head down. “I need to get back to her and put us back together.”
Questionable Love (A Love Beyond Labels #2) Page 27
