by Hannah Ford
“It’s a huge tour that will go on for months.” Jake turned and looked at her. “And what about everything that we’ve been through?” he continued. “Once I’m on tour, all I’ll be focused on is my shows, and travelling, and making sure the show goes on and is a success. There won’t be any room for us, or for you to be in my life.”
The lawyer was watching their exchange. “Excuse me,” he said, “but I don’t think you fully understand the extent of your exposure, Jake. If you don’t fulfill your contracts, you could end up in debt to the tune of five or ten million dollars. The numbers simply don’t add up.”
“I do understand,” Jake told him. He continued to look at Raven and now he spoke directly to her. “Being alone with you, going through what we went through these last days…it’s made me reconsider everything.”
“I don’t want you to give up anything for me,” she told him, her stomach churning. “I couldn’t bear that responsibility.”
“It’s not your responsibility,” he said. “But I know that if I go back on tour, I’ll be going back to a life that I no longer believe in. My life will be fake, and I’ll be losing myself again, when I only just started to discover myself again.”
She swallowed, her eyes welling up. “You know I’ll support any decision you make.”
“I don’t want to go back on tour. I want to be just us,” he said. His eyes were steady, completely engaged with her, ignoring everything else around them.
Her stomach did a few flips as the enormity of it hit her full force. “What would we do?” she said.
“I have no idea,” he replied. “We’d figure it out together.”
“Listen,” Bernie said, standing up, leaving his sheaf of papers on the sofa. “You’re not thinking straight, Jake. This is going to ruin your life.”
Jake turned and looked at him. “I understand your position. All I can ask you to do is try and protect me the best you can, given my wishes.”
“I can’t protect you if you bite the hand that feeds you,” the lawyer scoffed, his cheeks turning red with frustration. “You want me to protect you? I’d like to have you committed to an insane asylum—that’s what I’d do to protect you.”
“If you want out, you can quit,” Jake said. “I’ll find another lawyer to handle my affairs.”
Bernie’s face was ashen. “You’re going to be a cautionary tale,” he said. “Nobody will ever work with you again. Not in the music industry, not in the film industry. You’ll be lucky to get a job singing in the subway station a year from now.”
Jake shrugged. “I’ve done worse things than singing in the subway.”
Raven had to smile at that comment, and she realized that she’d never loved Jake Novak as much as she did at that moment. He was taking a stand for himself, and even if it was a mistake, it was his mistake.
The lawyer looked from Jake to Raven and back again, his eyes wide and confused. “You’re both crazy,” he announced, and then scuttled over to the couch and began quickly piling his papers back into his briefcase.
“It’s okay,” Jake told him. “You tried your best, Bern.”
“Fucking crazy,” Bernie said, ignoring him, and taking his briefcase with him, as he quickly left the hotel room, not looking back.
The door slammed shut and Raven looked at Jake uncertainly. “Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, that was your lawyer, you pay him to tell you what to do in these kinds of situations.”
Jake breathed a sigh out. He strode to the window and looked out at the city. “All I know is that I feel a giant weight off my shoulders. I feel like I let fame and money make me into something I’m not. I forgot who I was for a very long time, and now suddenly I’m waking up, coming alive again for the first time in ages.” He turned and looked at her and his eyes were bright and moist. “Thanks to you, beautiful.”
She set her mostly untouched coffee mug on the table. Bernie’s nearly empty cup was still there, and next to it a pen that he’d accidentally left behind with the name of his firm on it.
“I’m scared,” she told him honestly. “What if you blame me for this? What if later on you decide this was all a terrible mistake?”
Jake laughed. “I can’t blame you for my decision.”
She pulled on her lip, thinking. “All I want is for you to be happy.”
He smiled, crossing back to her, taking her hands in his. “I am happy, Raven. For the first time, maybe in my whole life, I’m truly free.”
She smiled too, and then he kissed her, and the butterflies danced in her stomach again, but this time it was for a good reason.
Jake’s lips were like dazzling fire, and his hands moved up and down her body, touching her, making her skin shudder with delight, and she knew that despite all of the unknowns in the situation—she wouldn’t have wanted it to be any other way.
* * *
Later that day, Raven was just getting out of the bath when she heard Jake answering the hotel room door.
She could tell, from the sounds, that he’d ordered more room service.
Smiling, Raven slid on thong panties, latched her bra, and then put on a light dress that was sexy and comfortable. All of her new clothes had been sent over from various designers, as per usual, but she had to admit that she loved them all.
It was as if someone had climbed inside her head and figured out exactly what she’d have chosen for herself if she’d had unlimited money and knowledge of the newest styles.
Coming out of the bathroom, she pulled her damp hair back with a hair tie and exited the bedroom to find Jake pulling the silver covers off the carts. He revealed two large salads, bowls of creamy soup, and steak sandwiches with sides of potato salad.
“Are we ever going to leave the room?” she joked.
Jake glanced up at her, his eyes serious. “I want to keep you here all to myself,” he said. “I don’t want to share you with anybody else.”
Raven shook her head, laughing. She wasn’t sure if Jake was losing his mind or finding it, but either way, she was enjoying his change of heart.
They sat down together and started eating. Everything tasted wonderful, and both of them remarked on the quality of the food.
Jake was relaxed, enjoying himself. “I can’t remember the last time I really had nothing to do,” he said, taking a bite from his sandwich and then wiping his hands together to dust off the crumbs.
Raven took a sip from her can of Diet Coke. Jake had ordered it, already starting to know her likes and dislikes. “Are you nervous at all about Club Alpha?” she said, hoping she wasn’t putting a damper on the fun atmosphere.
Jake wasn’t phased by her question. He swallowed his bite of steak and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “They got my message,” he replied, picking up the sandwich again. “I think they’re going to leave us alone now.”
“How do you know? Did something happen that you haven’t told me?”
Jake sighed. “My guys took care of things,” he told her. “You don’t want to know the gory details, remember?”
“But if Club Alpha responded to you, I want to know what they said.”
“They didn’t exactly respond to me directly.” Jake took another bite from his sandwich and chewed it.
Raven rolled her eyes. “I still don’t get it.”
He took a deep breath and let it out. “Let’s just put it this way. That little slap around I gave to Scott in the bathroom of that Sushi place—that was nothing compared to what my guys did to the two chumps that kidnapped you. Eventually, those idiots were returned to sender, and when they were, it delivered a very clear message to the guys that want to hurt us.”
“But how do you know that Club Alpha won’t just retaliate?”
“My men had some interaction with Club Alpha. You don’t want to know exactly what kind of interaction—but suffice it to say, some people at the top of that organization have very much regretted and reconsidered their actions in regards to you and your family.”
Raven wasn
’t sure, it all sounded vague and confusing to her ears. “So they won’t try and hurt us anymore?”
“Nothing’s a guarantee in life,” Jake said. “But usually, when you throw your best punch and the guy takes it, and then hits you back twice as hard…usually, anyone with half a brain walks away and doesn’t push their luck.”
“I hope you’re right,” she said. She wondered what it had looked like when Jake’s men had hit the Club Alpha people back twice as hard. She imagined it hadn’t been pretty.
“If I’m wrong and those Club Alpha tools decide to keep at it, they’re going to find out just what I’m capable of.” Jake seemed to take some pleasure in the prospect, his mouth breaking into a slight grin as he took yet another bite of his sandwich and chewed happily.
After they were both done eating, Jake went and rolled the carts outside and left them in the hallway for the staff to take away.
He came back inside, to where Raven was on the couch, waiting. “What now?” she said.
“You’re demanding,” Jake laughed. “We just ate, and you want to know what’s next?”
She smiled at him. “I mean, I don’t care if you have things to do. I can entertain myself.”
“Yeah?” Jake laughed, putting his hands on his hips and looking down at her. “What’ll you do to entertain yourself?”
“I don’t know, maybe watch some TV.”
Jake licked his lips. “Or maybe you can try entertaining me.”
Raven felt her pulse instantly begin speeding up, just seeing the look on his face. Suddenly, she realized just how high her dress had ridden up her thighs, and how much cleavage she was showing.
“I—I’ll do whatever you want,” she answered as casually as possible.
Jake grinned, his eyes suddenly gleaming. He grabbed the remote control and turned on the television, changing the channel to a music station. Suddenly, a heavy bass line and slithering keyboards cut through the air, and a sultry voice sang lyrics that Raven wasn’t familiar with. “Let’s switch places,” he said. “I’ll sit where you’re sitting, and you get up.”
Raven wasn’t sure what Jake had in mind, but just the same, her nipples had grown so stiff that they were poking insistently against the thin material of her dress. She got up and they moved past one another, as Jake sat on the couch.
The music was loud, the beat thumping in her ears.
She smiled uncertainly. “What now?”
“That’s your favorite question lately,” Jake said, crossing his legs and relaxing back into the couch. “But lucky for you, I’ve got the answer.”
She shifted her feet, waiting for him to continue.
“I want you to dance for me,” he said, his eyes darkening.
She froze in place. “Dance?”
“I want you to give me a lap dance.”
She couldn’t be sure if he was serious. Initially, she thought to tell him no. It was embarrassing. Dancing for Jake Novak? He was an incredible dancer, and she’d make a fool of herself trying to move for him.
But then, a lap dance wasn’t the same as trying to do the waltz, and Raven was growing more excited as she anticipated what it might be like to tease Jake in that way. She felt comfortable in Jake’s love for her, and she wanted to please him.
The music was already on and Jake was waiting, watching her expectantly. She didn’t want to disappoint him, didn’t want him to think that she was too afraid to take a risk.
And yet she was so inhibited, that as she tried to sway to the music, she felt her cheeks turning red, her whole face flushing with embarrassment. Her body suddenly was stiff and wooden, and her sense of rhythm was lost.
Jake watched her, nodding ever so slightly. “I want you to lift your dress a little,” he said.
Raven was grateful for direction. She needed something to hang onto, some vague idea of how this should work and what Jake wanted from her. She grabbed the material of her dress in a bunch, and slowly began pulling it so that it rode up her thighs.
And then, as she saw the lust in his eyes, she walked towards him, so now she was standing directly in front of him, her legs spread, and his feet were sticking out so she was nearly straddling him, but not quite.
Raven began sinking down, and Jake grabbed her hips as she swayed and undulated to the music. The beat of it made sense now, as she allowed herself to move in time, not worrying about being perfect, not worrying about anything but showing Jake what she was capable of.
As his hands traveled from her hips down to the bare skin of her legs, Raven pulled away, teasing him.
“Come back here,” he said. “I want you to sit on my lap.”
“Why should I?” she asked, arching an eyebrow, then turning and acting as if she was going to walk away from him.
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her down onto his lap, and it worked out that she was facing out toward the rest of the hotel room, and now she really was straddling him, giving him the lap dance he’d requested.
The music was building in ferocity, and she grinded her butt against Jake’s lap, feeling him stiffening and prodding into her. She moved herself on top of him, throwing her head back as she felt the stimulation of his cock against her pussy.
Jake’s hands slid up the front of her dress and pulled her breasts loose, and as they popped out, she gasped audibly, but continued riding him.
He slid his fingers over her nipples, squeezing them, pulling her bra down.
As the music began to slow down again, Raven suddenly realized that it wasn’t the drums that were making all the noise. Someone was knocking on their door, over and over again.
“Shit,” she cried out, turning to Jake. “Who’s that?”
“I don’t know,” he said.
She sprung away from him and started to fix her dress. She felt like a teenager whose parents have just come home and caught her in the act with a boy in her bedroom.
What if it was the hotel manager, responding to a complaint?
What if it was someone from Club Alpha?
The knocks came louder, and now it was like incessant pounding. Jake was on his feet and walking toward the door. He peered into the keyhole and his shoulders relaxed, then hunched a little, as if he’d seen something he didn’t like.
Jake turned to her. “Just be cool,” he said.
She’d gotten everything tucked away, but felt sweaty and rumpled. “Be cool about what?”
“We’ve got visitors.” And then he was opening the door and two people entered the room. For a moment, the first person to come through the door was so unexpected that Raven didn’t recognize her at first.
But then her brain adjusted to the fact that female pop star Courtney Taylor had just randomly shown up to Jake’s hotel room. Following right behind her was a slender man in a dark leather coat and dark pants, thinning hair that was still expensively styled and gelled.
“Nice pad,” Courtney said, as she came inside like she owned the place. Her honey blond hair spilled down around her shoulders and her lips pouted effortlessly as she spotted Raven.
“Jake, good to see you,” the man said, offering his hand, and Jake reluctantly shook it.
“Nobody told me you were coming to see me,” Jake said, his tone wary, as he closed the door and watched Courtney twirling around the room.
She was wearing a flowing blue dress, boots, and she had a long scarf wrapped around her neck. “I missed you,” Courtney told him, stopping her movement briefly to give him a cute yet reproachful look.
She’s flirting with him, Raven thought, her stomach souring.
“Hi, pleasure to meet you,” the man said, now offering his hand to Raven. He smiled and she noticed his teeth were a little crooked and one of his eyes was slightly off center. “You must be Raven,” he announced.
“Yes,” she said, shaking hands with him. His skin was soft and smooth and almost slippery.
Raven felt like he knew what they’d been doing just as he’d been outside the hotel room knocking, as he gav
e her an even wider grin. “My name is Sander Edwards the third, and I’m with the label.”
“He’s the president of the label, to be precise,” Jake said, watching Sander with a cautious expression.
“Just thought we should pop on by,” Sander said, stuffing his hands in his pants pockets and rocking back slightly on his heels. “After all, you’ve sort of disappeared and left us a bit in the lurch.” He said this with a wide smile, as if it was something enjoyable and even worthy of praise.
“Yeah, well…things have gotten very complicated recently,” Jake said.
Courtney was back to gliding around the room. “What are you doing in here all day, holed up by yourselves?” she asked, wrinkling her nose a little. “Don’t you get bored?”
“We haven’t been here that long,” Raven told her.
Jake shot Raven a warning glance, as Courtney’s eyes narrowed. “So where have you been, then? Because nobody seems to have a clue.”
Jake scratched his jaw. “I’ve had a lot to deal with recently. It’s nothing I can really talk about—it’s personal.”
“Oh, personal,” Courtney said, nodding as if that explained everything. She peeked through the partially open bedroom door as she went by it.
“I heard from your lawyer a few hours ago,” Sander said, moving closer to Jake. “He mentioned something about you wanting to postpone the tour indefinitely.”
Courtney broke into the conversation. “And then I talked to Sander and I assured him that Jake Novak would never do that to us, wouldn’t screw us and all his fans and the promoters—the Jake Novak I know wouldn’t just run out on his commitments,” Courtney said, stopping to look at Raven as she said this.
You barely even know him, Raven thought.
Raven felt as though the accusation was that somehow this was all her doing. She looked to Jake and then back to Courtney. “Jake makes his own choices,” she said, her throat tight, anger starting to boil in her chest.
“I would hope so,” Courtney said, blinking innocently.
Jake glanced at the floor as he spoke. “The thing is, as painful as it’s going to be, I’ve decided not to continue with my tour.” He finally looked up at Sander, who was smiling still, as if it was frozen on his face.