Dating Him: The Series

by Michelle MacQueen

  Sofie reached for his hand, and he let her take it. “Come on.” She tugged. “I can’t stop the label from releasing that as the single, but I can get you out of here.” She tapped her phone and held it to her ear, speaking to someone on the other end for a moment.

  By the time they reached the front of the building, a car sat ready to take him home. It had become a running joke how Becks didn’t like to drive himself around. He preferred to sit in the back, notebook in his lap, as lyrics ran through his mind on endless loops.

  Sofie opened the door for him, and he slid in, giving her a sad smile before closing the door. “Take me to Skylar’s, please.”

  It was late afternoon when the car left Becks at Skylar’s house. Saturdays were her day off, so he hoped she’d be home.

  When she opened the door in pajama pants and an oversized sweatshirt, he laughed.

  “You’re one to talk,” she snapped. “You’ve sweat through your shirt.”

  He walked past her, peeling his shirt off over his head. “I’m going to shower. I think I left some clothes here a few weeks ago. Can you find them?”

  “Sure, Becks. Make yourself at home.” Sarcasm dripped from her words.

  “Why have you put your pajamas on this early, anyway?” he called from the bathroom.

  “You’re implying I ever took them off. It’s Saturday. I was in bed until some jerk made me get up.”

  “Who would do that?”

  “Oh, just shower. I’ll make your highness some dinner.”

  “Don’t go to any trouble on my account.”

  “You’re always trouble, Becks. But before you got here, I was considering getting up for food, anyway. You only forced the issue.”

  “Okay.” He stepped into the shower, yelling back to her. “Just don’t put anything gross in mine.” He couldn’t hear her response as the warm water slid over his tense muscles. He rubbed his shoulders, trying to ease the pain.

  It wasn’t the first time he’d shown up at Skylar’s unannounced. In fact, he’d made a habit of it over the last two years, usually when Nari and Avery weren’t around because Becks hated being alone.

  He washed himself before shutting off the water and toweling off. Skylar left a stack of clothes outside the door. Quickly pulling them on, he walked into the kitchen where she was removing two plastic containers of instant mac and cheese from the microwave.

  “Gourmet.” His grin didn’t quite reach his eyes. Pulling two beers from the fridge, he tossed one to her. “We’re such grownups.”

  They carried their food to the living room and sank into the oversized leather couch. Skylar studied him for a moment, and her scrutinizing gaze made him want to retreat into himself. “You saw it, didn’t you? That’s why you’re here.”

  Confusion flickered across his face. “Saw what? I’ve been in the studio all day.”

  Skylar pressed her lips together, lost in her own thoughts, before she shifted her eyes to his. “I don’t want to hurt you, Becks. I never do. You know I love you, right? We’ve only really known each other for a few years, but you’re family.”

  “Of course. You’re family to me too. Now, tell me why you look so sad.” He set his bowl on the coffee table and turned to face her.

  With a sigh, she reached for her phone on the table and pulled up a gossip site, turning the screen toward Becks.

  He didn’t understand what he was seeing at first. His brain couldn’t comprehend the image. Nicky stood next to the pool in his backyard kissing some man. No, not just any man. Becks recognized him. Kenny Montgomery. The douchebag whose actions started this entire mess.

  The flash of the camera reflected in Nicky’s wide eyes, and it was all Becks could stare at until he saw the headline of the post. “Country star’s lover caught in a secret affair.”

  Lover. That term sounded ridiculous. As if what they’d had was meaningless physical interactions. But it was meaningless because it hadn’t been real at all. At least for Nicky.

  Becks’ pulse pounded in his skull louder than any drumbeat. Water dripped from his wet hair down his cheek as if mocking him for his lack of tears. He sat emotionless, feeling nothing but an empty void.

  “Becks.” Skylar took the phone, but he didn’t respond. “Beckett.” She put a hand on his cheek to turn his face to her. Her lips moved, but no sound reached his ears.

  Sharp pain exploded across his cheek, and he jerked back from Skylar’s slap. “Dude, that wasn’t cool.”

  “No, what’s not cool is you sitting here like some sort of zombie because your fake boyfriend kissed someone else. Yes, this is going to be a media nightmare. The picture hit this site an hour ago, so it’s only a matter of time. But we can handle it. You’ll look like the wronged figure and come out with even more fans than before.”

  When he didn’t say anything to her, she sighed. “All right, it’s time you tell me the truth of everything. I’ve covered for you enough with the label. A week ago, you hopped a plane with Asher Brooks to Twin Rivers, and I know it wasn’t just to see your dad. Are you in love with Nicky?”

  “Love?” he scoffed. “No.” Beckett Anderson didn’t fall in love. He had feelings for Nicky and wanted to see where they went, but love? He got it then. Why Nicky said no to him. Becks couldn’t be trusted not to break his heart when he didn’t know how to love someone. “He’s better off without me.” But with Kenny? Hell no. How could Nicky go back to that asshat?

  Sky sighed. “You told him how you feel, didn’t you?”

  Becks leaned back, lifting his eyes to the ceiling. “Sort of.”

  “It didn’t go well?”

  “You could say that. He told me he couldn’t be with me. He doesn’t trust me.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I don’t even… Everything is so messed up, Sky. I’m about to go on tour for the first time in my life, a big arena tour. This is what I’ve always wanted. Beckett Anderson is a household name. My music is played all over the radio. I’ve made it. Reached my dreams. Yet…”

  “It’s not enough?”

  “Not even close.”

  “So…are you gay?”

  “Asher told me I might be pan because Nicky is the only guy I’ve ever wanted. But I’m not even sure what that means.”

  Sky typed into her phone. “Let’s Google it.” She read for a moment. “Says here pan is Greek for ‘all.’ It means you can be attracted to a person regardless of their sex or gender identity.” Her phone buzzed in her hand. She pressed to answer the call and put it on speakerphone.

  “Hello.”

  A man’s voice came through. “This is Stephen Yang at the Country Chronicle. As a member of Beckett Anderson’s PR team, do you have a moment?”

  She raised a brow. “Hi, Stephen, what can I help you with?”

  “I’m running with a story on the Nicky St. Germaine affair. Would Beckett like to make a statement?”

  Before Skylar could respond, Becks leaned forward. “Hello, Mr. Yang. This is Beckett. The only thing I’m going to say is that Nicky and I have had a mutual parting of ways. We realized we wanted different things.” Not a lie. “And our priorities didn’t match.” He couldn’t help his final words. “I wish him well in his new relationship. It seems to suit him better than ours—”

  Sky cut him off. “Thank you, Stephen. That is all we have to say.” She hung up, staring at Becks in consternation. “You gave him perfect fodder for his article. And that, cuz, is why you let your PR team make all your statements. From now on, you will have no comment on all things Nicky St. Germaine.”

  Becks dug into his dinner, stuffing cardboard-tasting macaroni into his mouth to avoid telling Skylar how he really felt about it. He knew the moment the words left his mouth he’d messed up.

  Becks groaned as sunlight filtered in through the large living room windows. It was all so familiar. Passing out on Skylar’s couch only to wake with a headache that had nothing to do with consuming beers the night before.

  His phone dinged, and
he grabbed it off the table, finding a list of texts he’d missed throughout the night.

  Asher: I saw it. I’m sorry.

  Wylder: I doubt it’s as bad as it looked.

  Asher: Want me to send my secret service to scare him?

  Becks cracked a smile at that.

  Asher: I’m serious. They won’t actually hurt Nicky. Kenny on the other hand… I still can’t tell if it was him in the picture. It almost looks photoshopped and we all know the media is good at twisting things around until they no longer resemble the truth.

  But Becks knew it in his gut. Even if the headlines were a load of crap, he’d have known Kenny anywhere.

  Wylder: You’ve got to respond so I know you’re okay.

  Dad: Son, he doesn’t deserve you.

  He half-expected his dad to spout off about how there were many more fish in the sea. He was cheesy like that. Becks typed out a text to Asher.

  Becks: No to the secret service… at least for now. Let’s hold that option on the back burner.

  Next was Wylder. He didn’t respond to the words she sent; instead, he said the one thing that might eclipse this in her mind right now.

  Becks: They’re releasing Love Me as my single.

  She was the only person who’d known about the song before he sent it to the label. The title was hers even. She responded immediately.

  Wylder: Maybe that means it’s time to go see her?

  He stared at the text for a moment before switching over to his dad’s.

  Becks: Plenty more fish, right?

  Dad: Took the words out of my mouth, kid.

  He knew his dad too well.

  Once he dealt with all their worries, he pulled up “Love Me” on his phone and hit play. The lilting melody wrapped him in a cocoon of warmth, and he sang the words along with the demo recording, feeling every one of them deep in his soul.

  Dusty roads.

  Empty porch swings.

  And all the little things

  That remind me you’re gone.

  Love me

  Want me

  When you return home

  I promise I’ll be right where you left me

  His voice drifted off, and he lifted his eyes to find Skylar in the doorway of her bedroom watching him with tears in her eyes. Suddenly, it didn’t matter anymore what he said to a meaningless reporter or if the love story—as Asher called it—didn’t have a happy ending.

  A different kind of story could. He’d fought so hard against the idea that his mother could change. She’d abandoned him and his sister, giving up her own children. They’d been lucky to have their father and stepmom, but that didn’t negate the crushing loneliness she’d instilled in them as children.

  “I need to see her.”

  Skylar nodded. “We can go today. Wylder gave me the address last time she was here.”

  “She knew I’d eventually change my mind.”

  “She hoped.”

  He stood and folded the blanket on the couch. Skylar retreated to her room to get dressed as Beckett made them fresh coffee and poured it into two travel mugs. He fired off a text to Nari.

  Becks: I have to take care of something today.

  Nari: No worries. We still have to finish some instrumental parts. You okay?

  Becks: I think so.

  Nari: Okay… Becks, I need to ask you if you really said it.

  Becks: Said what?

  Nari sent him a link to a Country Chronicles blog post titled “It’s over, folks: Country’s favorite couple calls it quits in cheating scandal.”

  He scanned the article detailing Becks and Nicky’s breakup. That was fast.

  Beckett hopes Nicky is happy in his new relationship despite the way it started. Sources close to him says Nicky St. Germaine broke his heart when he decided to break his trust.

  “His new relationship suits him better than ours ever did,” Beckett said. “We had different priorities. I wanted to focus on my career, my fans, and he was never supportive, having goals that I didn’t agree with. I’m hurt, but I think I’ll be better off.”

  Becks couldn’t breathe. They’d completely twisted his words, even adding some he’d never said.

  Nari: Becks…

  Becks: No. I mean, I said some of it, but… you know what, Nars. I can’t worry about Nicky today. I have bigger things on my mind. I’m sorry, but he can’t be my sole focus. Not anymore.

  Becks slid his phone into his pocket, not wanting to see Nari’s response. The article created a whole new mess he’d have to fix later, and not when he was about to see his mom for the first time in years. Excitement buzzed through him. Would she recognize him? What would she say when he showed up? Wylder had already been there a few times, so having her children in her life wasn’t a shock anymore, but she hadn’t seen Becks.

  He imagined she’d smile, the act lighting up her entire face. Her arms would reach out, pulling him into the kind of hug he’d craved long after she’d left.

  Sky bounced into the kitchen, snatching her coffee off the counter along with a banana. “You ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be.” He didn’t know why he’d resisted this for so long. Whatever the woman had done in the past, she was his mother. He knew how addiction worked. Was it fair to blame her for the disease?

  Probably not.

  It took just over four hours to get to the tiny town she called home. Ramshackle houses lined the winding roads in the hills just outside Cincinnati. By the time they arrived at a blue house with peeling paint, the sun was high in the sky.

  Along the walkway, a beautiful garden with flowering bushes and yellow and white flowers spread out before them. Someone obviously spent an enormous amount of time keeping it up.

  The gravel driveway radiated summer heat as Becks slammed the car door behind him.

  “Do you want me to stay out here?” Skylar asked.

  He shook his head, swallowing heavily. “Please. Come.”

  She slid out of the car and rounded it to grab his hand. A beat-up red sedan sat farther up the drive. They passed it on the way to the front door.

  Becks couldn’t force his arm to raise or his knuckles to rap against the door, so he stood there still as a statue.

  “It’s going to be okay.” Sky smiled sideways before knocking.

  When no answer came, she knocked again.

  Panic stabbed through Becks. His mother could be out somewhere, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very wrong.

  He banged against the door, pleading for it to open, for his mom to pull him into her arms like he’d dreamed of so many times.

  “Hey, can I help you?” An older man with a bald head crossed his yard to approach them.

  Becks turned to him, taking in his sad expression. “The woman who lives here is my mother.”

  His eyes softened. “You’re Beckett. She told me about both you and your sister. Wylder’s visits meant so much to her. I truly think they prolonged her life.”

  Something cracked inside Becks, and his knees threatened to give out. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m sorry, son, I thought you knew. Sadie died two days ago. She was sick for a very long time. Cancer comes for many of us, I’m afraid. After I lost my wife, your mother helped me through it. She was a good friend.” The man kept talking, but Becks couldn’t hear anything over the ringing in his ears.

  Sky tried to wrap an arm around him, but he pushed her away, running down the driveway. Wind from the cars speeding by slapped him in the face as he bent over just trying to breathe.

  He was too late. She’d wanted to see him before she died, and he hadn’t come.

  Instead, he’d focused on a stupid career and a stupid fake relationship. None of it held any meaning if he couldn’t be there for the woman who gave birth to him. If he’d known she was sick… He dropped to his knees. When his mother left him as a child, he’d always assumed she’d come back. It was a kid’s fantasy.

  This time, her leaving was permanent.


  Arms wound around him, and he didn’t push his cousin away again. He didn’t have the strength.

  “I need to tell Wylder,” he whispered, the words clogging in his throat. How was he supposed to tell his little sister that the mother she’d just found was gone already?

  “Do you want me to do it?”

  “No.” He got to his feet, wanting to be strong for the person who’d need him most. “It needs to come from me.”

  They said goodbye to his mother’s neighbor and sat in the car, silence settling over them. Skylar retrieved his phone from the cup holder and held it out.

  Becks’ hand shook as he took it. His breath shuddered as he dialed Wylder’s number.

  And when she answered, the tears finally came.

  They’d never truly known their mother. And Becks was the one who had to break his sister’s heart. The crack inside him widened, and for a moment, he wished it would swallow him whole.

  15

  Nicky

  Nicky sat on the floor of his bedroom amidst a dozen half-empty boxes. He was supposed to be spending his day off packing for school. He still had several weeks before his new life at Vanderbilt University would begin, but his parents wanted to get him settled with the move to Avery’s apartment ahead of schedule. They were taking a much-needed vacation at the end of the month. Nicky didn’t have the heart to tell them he wasn’t so sure moving to Nashville was what he wanted anymore. With a week left before the move, Nicky felt trapped.

  He scrolled through the gossip sites on his phone—a terrible habit he’d developed recently, but he couldn’t stop looking at Becks’ final words on their non-relationship.