by JL Paul
My brows knitted together. “Forgot what?”
“Well, I’m the last one in the band to turn twenty-one. We …well…we already had plans. I mean, we made them ages ago…before you and I got together. It’s a sort of thing we do. You know, we go to a couple clubs…”
He trailed off and my imagination went wild. I could picture Jake and the others in some seedy bar with gorgeous women hanging all over him. He’d be drunk, of course, and not really able to fend them off. I couldn’t stifle my shudder.
“Well, that’s okay. I’ll…um…come up Sunday instead.”
“Iz,” he said, cupping my cheek. “I’m so sorry. I bet we could get you in the clubs if you want to go.”
“No,” I frowned. “No. I don’t want to go. You have some kind of male ritual thing going on, and I am not going to get in the way of that. Besides, I imagine it won’t be pretty.”
He tried to smile. “Angel, it’ll be fine. We won’t drink a whole lot.”
“I know.”
He kissed me quickly. “And you don’t have to worry about women, either. You know we’re not like that…I’m not like that. Even if I didn’t have you.”
“I know that, too.”
He sighed. “You’re disappointed.”
“No,” I said, placing my hand on his thigh. “No. It’s your birthday, Jake. It’s your day. Enjoy it. I’ll be there bright and early Sunday and we’ll celebrate then.”
His eyes softened as he placed his hand over mine. “I’ll see you that Sunday.”
He kissed me again and I hopped out before he could read the truth in my eyes.
***
The next week dragged its heels in the sand and passed slowly. I didn’t have play practice to occupy my time, either.
The first Saturday morning after the play, I was looking forward to a day off of school. I was hoping to sleep the day away and get that much closer to spring break. Of course that wasn’t meant to be as I was awakened rather rudely by my roommate.
Pain shot briefly through my brain as a loud smack resonated off the walls.
“Ow!” I cried as I bolted upright in my bed. I rubbed furiously at the back of my head and glared at Annie. Smirking in her evil way, she unrolled her weapon. It was one of her gossip magazines, The Star Gazer. “What was that for?”
“You really need to see this,” she said. “Get up.”
“I’m up,” I grumbled as I threw my blankets aside in a petulant manner. “What’s so important that you have to interrupt my sleep?”
“This,” she announced, holding up her magazine.
I rolled my eyes and fell back on my bed. “I don’t care what movie star is sleeping with what sports star. I’d rather sleep this day away.”
“Bella,” she said. She grabbed my arm and yanked me upright. “You need to read this article.”
I exhaled heavily. “What article? Is it about Jake? Because he warned me about this sort of thing.”
She flipped through the pages, brows dipped, until she found what she was looking for. “Here,” she said, shoving the magazine at me again.
My sleepy eyes jolted wide awake when they landed on a picture of Jake kissing me on the cheek as he handed me a bouquet of roses. My mouth opened but I couldn’t speak.
“That stupid reporter must have sold the story and photo to the highest bidder,” Annie fumed.
I didn’t answer. Instead I read and reread the headline.
Has Bad Boy Jake Been Tamed?
The caption under the picture was just as ludicrous. It read: Bad Boy Jake greets his sweet, innocent girl, Isabella, last Friday after her performance at her school in Indiana.
I bit down on the panic climbing my throat. Okay, so they didn’t mention my last name or my school. That was good, right? Annie’s pale face answered the question for me when I voiced it.
“What?” I asked.
“Read it,” she whispered.
Bad boy rocker, Jake Johnson, lead singer for the group Controlled Environment, has found love at last. After his break up with film star Monique DuVois last summer, Johnson went through a long list of women until sweet Isabella Ames stole his heart.
Isabella, who attends Meridian Valley Academy in central Indiana, recently landed the lead in her school’s spring musical and Jake, along with his fellow band members, was in attendance.
Sources close to the couple say that Jake is trying to get Isabella a recording contract with Ross Records.
My mouth opened and closed as I stared at Annie. “That’s not true!”
“I know, Bella,” she said in a soft, soothing tone. “Finish the article.”
There have been many speculations regarding how the couple got together. One source claims they met after one of his concerts over the summer. Another source, however, claims they’ve been friends for years and finally discovered their love for each other.
Has Jake given up his wild lifestyle for a simple life with sweet Isabella? Star Gazer will keep you up-to-date as the story continues.
I crumpled the magazine in my clumsy hands and slung it across the room, tears prickling my eyes. “How could they do this? This is my life they’re talking about!”
Annie hurried next to me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. “Hey! Ignore this stuff. They have no clue what they’re talking about.”
“People are going to believe this stuff, Annie,” I growled.
“Not the people that matter.”
My cell rang from somewhere under the rumpled blankets of my bed. Annie fetched it and handed it to me. I was relieved to see it was Nick.
“Hey, sweet and innocent,” he chuckled in the phone. “How are you?”
I huffed. “That’s not even funny, Nick.”
“Iz,” he said in a sympathetic voice. “Relax. It’ll be okay.”
“They put my last name and my school in there,” I cried.
“I know, honey,” he soothed. “Jake asked me to call and check on you. He’s been on the phone all morning with Rob and his attorney. Don’t worry.”
“Really?” I asked hopefully. Maybe I should call my daddy.
“Yep. Oh, hang on,” Nick said. I heard loud voices in the background. “Bad Boy wants to talk to you.”
“Iz,” Jake breathed into the phone. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Find your boy Lance and tell him I need to talk to him, okay?”
“Jake?” I asked, totally taken back by his words. “What? What is going on now?”
“My manager talked to the paper this morning, and the idiots said someone from your school called them early this morning and offered them an exclusive. My money’s on Lance.”
This really wasn’t happening, right?
Chapter Twenty-Two
My body trembled, the phone shaking in my hand. “Jake?”
“I am going to kill him, Iz,” he growled. “He called that gossip magazine and told them he had plenty more stories about you.”
My knees knocked, and I fell to the bed. The blood left my head, and the room began to spin. I grabbed Annie’s hand.
“He can’t do that, can he?” I whispered.
“I won’t let him,” Jake said, the edge of his voice softening. “Listen to me, angel, don’t worry about this. I’ll take care of it. I told them I’d sue if they printed so much as one derogatory word about you.”
My mind was in turmoil, flipping through files in my memory, trying to find the right one. “I need to call my dad. Can I call you back?”
“Sure, Iz.”
I cried the entire story out to my father, choking and stumbling over my words. He forced me to calm and relay the whole thing over again. He paused for a moment and then told me to call Jake back and get numbers where he could reach Jake’s agent and attorney. He said he was going to run out and grab a copy of the magazine so he could read the article.
I called Jake and got the information and waited for my dad’s phone call. Meanwhile, Cammy and Zach joined us, just coming from the cafeteria.
&
nbsp; “How bad is it?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant. It didn’t work. My voice still trembled.
“There are a few people talking about it,” Cammy said, eyes darting back and forth. If I’m a terrible liar then Cammy’s five times worse.
“Don’t worry so much about it,” Zach said. “Everyone here already knew you were dating Jake.”
He had a point. And the article didn’t say anything too terrible, besides the whole recording contract thing. It didn’t really matter to me what the other kids thought about that. The bad boy moniker did sort of anger me. Jake wasn’t bad—he wasn’t bad in the least bit.
Annie quickly explained to the others about the anonymous phone call the magazine received this morning, but Zach emphatically shook his head when she mentioned Lance.
“Lance is scared of Jake. I mean he is petrified.” That little tidbit perked me up a bit. Zach sat next to Annie and continued. “I was in the bathroom near the gym a couple weeks ago, and I heard Lance scream at Dean and a few other guys because they were saying stuff about Bella.”
“What about money?” Cammy asked. “He could do it anonymously, and they’d still pay him.”
“Nah,” Zach scoffed. “Lance’s parents are loaded, and he’s an only child. They spoil him rotten—he doesn’t want for anything.”
Groaning, I fell to my pillows. My eyes found the picture of me and Jake on my nightstand. I missed him. My arms ached to be around him. Everything would be so much better if he was just here.
“I don’t care who is threatening to do it or why they are,” I grumbled. “I just don’t want them to be able to do it.”
“I know,” Cammy said in her quiet voice. “Maybe your dad can stop it.”
My phone rang and I nearly fell off my bed in an effort to answer. “Hello?”
“Hi, Belle,” my dad greeted. His voice was looser, though still in attorney mode. “I talked to the newspaper and told them I was your father and an attorney and that if they had any questions about you whatsoever, to call me.”
I grinned, my heart bursting with pride. I simply adored my daddy. “What about this exclusive?”
“Well,” he began, drawing out the word. My heart slipped. “I called Dean Fletcher and made him aware. I also told him that if any of his students leaked any information to anyone, I’d sue the school.”
“Does that mean they won’t print anything?” I asked, voice filled with awe.
“Belle,” he sighed. “We can threaten all we want, but there is still Freedom of Speech. We just have to wait and see what happens.”
That did not assure me at all. I gave him the numbers he’d asked me for and hung up after promising to keep him informed on what was happening at school. As I was updating my friends, the dorm phone rang. I stared at it, horrified. Annie answered and handed it to me immediately.
I relaxed as Dean Fletcher apologized for the magazine article and promised me he’d do everything in his power to keep the students from talking to the magazine. The Star Gazer editor already called the school but he’d referred them to my father.
“And if you need to leave campus for the weekend, your mother has given permission. You just need to stop in Admin and let us know.” I thanked him and hung up the phone.
My mother had given me permission to leave. That was a nice little fact to know. Thanks, Mom! There’ll be a little something extra in your Mother’s Day card this year.
“Well,” I said stretching. “I better call Jake and talk him out of driving down here to beat up Lance.”
“Let him,” Annie said, maliciousness lurking in her eyes.
I grunted out a hollow laugh and hit Jake’s number on my phone. He answered right away. “How’s it going, Iz?”
I stumbled to the bathroom and closed the door, my heart breaking, begging him to come to me. “Jake, are you really on your way down here?”
He released a long, heavy breath. “No, angel, I’m not. I wish, but I can’t do it right now.”
“Well I am not staying on campus tonight. I’m going to stay in town or something,” I said, deciding at that moment that was what I wanted to do.
“No, Iz, stay there. You’re safer on campus.”
I blinked, shocked by his outburst. “I’ll go crazy in this room.”
“The reporters can’t step foot on campus but if there are any around, and they see you in town, they’ll hound you.” I whimpered and he chuckled. “Hey, don’t worry, okay? My life is not nearly as interesting as most of the movie stars out here—I don’t think they’ll bother you.”
I frowned, my brows coming together in confusion. “Out there? Where out there? Where are you?”
“L.A. Something came up and I had to fly out here for a few days. Nick is here with me.”
For some reason, it made it all the worse with him being across country from me. I hated it. “How did you find out about the tabloid?”
“Greta called me early this morning. She was worried about you but she doesn’t have your number. I gave it to her. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No. I like Greta.”
“Good,” he said, smile in his voice. “Listen, okay? It’s not that bad. I know they put your name and school name in the article, but I don’t think anyone will really bug you. Like I said, these reporters and photographers are more interested in what goes on out here.” He took a deep breath and released it in a yawn. “If anyone does bother you, call me or your dad.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Hey, Iz,” he said gently, tone soothing. “It doesn’t matter what they print about you. Those of us who know you know what kind of person you really are. And we love you for that.”
“Thanks,” I smiled into the phone.
“I have to go but I’ll call and check on you later. Remember that I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I said.
I returned to the others sullen and sulky, missing the sound of Jake’s voice already. I plopped on the bed and told them where Jake was and what he said.
“You know, I was thinking,” Annie said, standing to pace. “That whoever wants to give the magazine an exclusive doesn’t really have much to say.”
My brow furrowed as curiosity perked my brain. What was she getting at?
“What do you mean?” Cammy asked as though reading my mind.
“Well, Bella did go to a few parties and got drunk a few times, but so what?”
I gawked at her slack-jawed. “So what? Do you know how embarrassed I am about that?”
“I know,” Annie smiled. “That’s what makes you Bella. And it was a bad thing, yes, and I’m not trying to make light of it but think about this for a moment.” She pointed at us all as though lecturing a class. “How many kids here go to parties and do the same thing? How many kids all over the country do it? It’s not right, and it’s against the law, and kids shouldn’t do it, but they still do.”
“Okay,” I said slowly, grasping at her point which was on the very tip of my brain. “And?”
“And,” she continued, “so what if they print that in their paper. Everyone here already knows as well as your family. You don’t do it anymore. You made a mistake and you’re sorry. You didn’t drive while you were drinking. You didn’t get thrown in jail. It’s not like you slept with all the boys in this school or have a raging drug problem. You don’t prostitute yourself. Yes, what you did was wrong but it’s hardly front page news.”
My heart lightened and floated in my ribcage. She was absolutely right. I did screw up and was deeply ashamed but would the readers of that trashy magazine really want to read about it? I was hardly a celebrity.
“But what if they twist it around and turn it into something ugly?” Cammy asked, sending my spirits crashing. I nearly panicked.
“I think that’s when Mr. Ames can sue them,” Zach answered. “I think that’s Defamation of Character or something like that.”
Take that, I thought.
The mood in the room lightened and Zach ran o
ut to get us some fast food goodies. We hung out, eating junk food and watching movies for a couple of hours until the dorm phone rang again.
“This can’t be good,” I said to Annie.
She answered the phone and I watched her tight jaw slacken and allow a smile to grace her face. She hung up and threw my coat at me.
“We have visitors,” she said cheerfully. My heart fluttered as my entire face lit up. She took my arm gently, reading the expression on my face. “No, honey, it’s not Jake. But it’s the next best thing.”
Confused, I followed her as she hurried down the hall, out the door and toward the Admin building. As soon as I walked through the door, I gasped.
“Hey, Iz,” Ronnie greeted, sweeping me in his arms. “We’re your bodyguards for a few days.”
“Yep,” Matt agreed as he dropped a kiss to the top of my head. “We brought some crew down to check out the auditorium while we’re here.”
We’d finally decided on a date for the benefit concert, and I’d located a charity. It was an organization that was trying to develop an early education program for families in need and a tutoring program for students who needed help. They’d started renovations on an old building and needed funds for more equipment. They also needed publicity, and I was certain Controlled Environment would help with that. I’d been in contact with the organization, and they were excited and grateful. They offered to help any way they could and called often to check the progress.
Annie and I escorted Matt and Ronnie back to my room after they gave their sound crew instructions and dropped their bags off in the guest dorms. My mood brightened considerably with Ronnie and Matt around. Ronnie’s antics had me in stitches, and Matt checked over my Calculus homework, showing me my mistakes and teaching me how to fix them.
We were sitting on my bed, me between the two of them, watching VTV when Jake finally called. We’d been watching the music news to see if they mentioned Jake but either they didn’t get the memo or they didn’t care about Jake’s love life.
“How are you, angel?” he asked as soon as I answered.
“Hungry and grumpy,” I whined. “But thanks for sending the cavalry!”
