Heart Shaped Spotlight

by Haley Travis

  "I can't believe you're really here," I said, giving her hand a squeeze. "I've waited for this moment for so long." Instead of smiling, she looked tense, biting her lip slightly. "Did I say something wrong?"

  Trisha shook her head, her long, dark hair swishing around her shoulders. "No, not wrong. Just… There's so much to think about." She looked at me very seriously. "We can't just pick up where we left off."

  I nodded. "I know. Not really. But, since we're not dating anyone else, shouldn't we at least give it a shot?"

  She shook her head again, uncertain. "There are a lot of things that make me a bit… Nervous isn't quite the right word. Concerned, maybe.”

  "Okay. I'm listening." I smiled at her gently while giving her hand a little shake. She knew that I would wait as long as it took for her to collect her thoughts. So I was a bit surprised when she spoke immediately.

  "It sounds like your band was really successful, and you were probably surrounded by girls all the time. Even in high school, they were just throwing themselves at you. All kinds of girls. Athletic, gorgeous, fashionable, popular. You can have your pick of absolutely anyone you wanted. So for you to still be interested in me is kind of strange, I guess."

  "Wow." My lungs stretched as I took a deep breath. "It's true, a lot of women have hit on me. And I'll admit, I took a glance now and then. When I had no idea whether or not I would ever find you, I tried to get to know a few women, to see if we clicked. We didn't."

  Pulling her against my chest, she sighed softly as I held her, stroking her hair. "Trisha, maybe you've spoiled me for all other women. Or maybe I have a very specific type. I don't have any idea how this whole romance thing works. All I know is that I want to be with you, and that we feel right together."

  She nodded, her chin burrowing into my shoulder. “It's still overwhelming," she whispered.

  "I know.”

  My arms tightened around her, not wanting to let her go, ever. Kissing the top of her head, I had to do what was right for my sweet girl, and not let her become overwhelmed completely.

  “I’m going to walk you down and put you in a car, so that you can get home safely and have a good night’s sleep, alright?”

  Trisha sat back, laughing. “I’m fine to take the streetcar.”

  “Come on, I can charge it to this room,” I begged. “Let me feel decadent and fancy, like I’m spoiling you. Please?”

  “Alright. Sure.”

  “Can I take you out tomorrow night? Dinner and drinks, on a real date?”

  Her beautiful face froze. “What if people recognize you?”

  Dammit. “I hadn’t even thought of that.”

  “How could you not think of that? You just won a TV show on a major network. Millions of people saw it. Some of them are going to be walking around in every city.”

  Her voice was strained. I’d upset her already. “We’ll figure it out,” I said gently. “We could go to a little diner somewhere, with very few people. Or we could have dinner here.”

  “Here. Alone,” she blurted. “If that’s okay?”

  “Anything you want.”

  She followed me as I stood up, throwing my hotel card in my pocket and walking her to the elevator. The second we were inside with the doors closed, I pulled her entire body against mine, kissing her with that deep heat that seemed to spark through both of us. Her soft moan against my lips made my heart gallop as if I'd run a marathon.

  I finally pulled away seconds before the door opened, wrapping an arm around her to guide her through the lobby. "Do you have any plans tomorrow?" I asked.

  Trisha grinned up at me, looking slightly dazed. "Housework, groceries, reading about a few new networking protocols. The usual Saturday. And you?"

  I waited while we both took our turn in the huge revolving door. "I have a bunch of interviews, most of them set up through some TV studio so they can run the live feed to the States. I think. Dave will tell me what I’m doing."

  Trisha's bright laugh was enchanting. "Thank goodness you have Dave to keep an eye on you," she said. "That must have been the guy in the suit who held your phone?"

  "Exactly. He's a manager, big brother, idiot wrangler… Whatever services I require at the moment. I'll find out in the morning what's going on, and what time I'll be done. Probably by six or seven. Then we could have dinner here?"

  "Sure," she nodded.

  Trisha could obviously tell that I wanted to kiss her again, but there were people around us, and a few of them were definitely glancing in my direction. I opened the back door of a black town car, giving the driver my hotel code so that he could charge me.

  "I can't wait to see you again tomorrow," I said, reaching out to brush her elbow for just a second.

  She smiled, giving me a little wave as she got into the car, and I couldn't stop staring until it disappeared around the corner.

  As I went back to my room, nodding to a few girls who were waving wildly, I wondered if I would ever be able to help Trisha get over her shy, timid nature. Even just a little bit. I would love to take her out and show her the world, but she could only handle things on her terms.

  Maybe once she realized that my fans were never a screaming mob, just a tiny handful of people who wanted a photo, she would relax. Maybe once we were officially together again, it would give her the strength to be a bit more outgoing.

  I would never want to change my darling girl, but I was reminded all over again that it was a bit of a challenge to be with her.

  Chapter Eleven ~ Trisha

  * A Real Date *

  Saturday evening at six pm, my bare feet were practically wearing a groove in the threadbare carpet of my living room. What the ever-living hell does a girl wear on a first date with her long lost boyfriend?

  Before I could figure out what to wear, I needed to know what message I should be sending. Nate genuinely seemed like he expected us to start dating immediately as if that were perfectly normal. Since I’d never dated anyone else, I didn't know whether that was normal or not.

  My mind was split in two directions. I had never clicked with any other guy, so I should take a chance and see what happened. On the other hand, it was obvious that his lifestyle was far more than I could handle. Being uncomfortable was something I had to deal with daily, but this seemed a bit too extreme.

  My body was having a completely different conversation, telling me to wear something sexy and throw myself at him.

  Even if nothing became of our second chance at a relationship, there was no one else in the world I could imagine sharing my first time with. Nate really listened to me. He truly cared about me. The thought of having sex was exhilarating and terrifying and intriguing, but with him, I knew I could make it through the awkward bits.

  Finally I just walked to my closet and pulled out a simple purple dress. It would be appropriate for a dinner date, wasn't teasingly sexy, but it did show off my breasts a bit. Realizing that he had never seen me in heels, I found a pair that were both walkable and pretty, and seriously showed off my legs.

  Checking the time, I went down to meet the car that he had insisted on sending for me. His overprotective, slightly possessive attitude was strangely hot. He was a gorgeous, globally known success, yet I was the girl he was head over heels for.

  Grinning to myself as I walked through the hotel lobby, I went straight to his room and knocked on the door.

  I rarely felt pretty. I liked to feel smart, competent, and good at my job. That usually involved wearing clothes that could get dirty, with my hair tied back. Actually trying to look attractive was strange, but watching Nate's face light up as he opened the door made any discomfort completely worthwhile.

  "Holy shit, baby," he murmured, staring at me from head to toe. I could feel myself blushing slightly, but tried to wave it off.

  Leading me inside and closing the door, he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against him for a soft kiss. It felt like he was teasing, as if it was simply a taste of things to come.

  A
s his hands glided down my back, the thought I had been trying to drive out of my head all day returned. We were alone in a hotel room, with a giant bed. That thought was too much to deal with, so I focussed on the delicious pressure of his lips on mine, his strong arms holding me so tightly.

  Looking up at him, that adorable boyish grin made my knees unstable. "I had no idea what to order," he said excitedly, “So I asked the chef to make whatever he thought the most gorgeous woman in the world would want for dinner."

  I followed his glance to a little bistro table that was set up in front of the window. The furniture had been arranged so that a corner of the room was now our own private restaurant.

  After we sat down, and he poured the wine, I started to giggle. Nate just raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to explain. "Sorry. It's just that… This is such a lovely classic date, and since it's my very first one, I'm rather impressed."

  Something in his eyes shifted as we touched glasses and tasted the wine. “You really haven't been with any other guy? Not even a stolen kiss?"

  I shook my head. "No. I've been too busy, I guess," I winked at him.

  Nate’s shoulders lowered a half inch. He removed the covers from our plates with a dramatic flourish, and I almost squealed at the sight of three different kinds of pasta.

  "I was thinking of getting your favorite mac and cheese," he said, "But I'm trying to keep in mind that you are a completely different person. I need to stop making assumptions."

  That was surprising. "Thank you," I said quickly.

  We began to eat, alternating with staring out the window at the city, and peppering each other with questions.

  "So, it seems that you've escaped your parents," he said. "Where are they now?"

  "They were in Ottawa when I moved back here for school. They kept trying to keep me there, or find a way to move with me, but I finally put my foot down when they moved to Calgary."

  "Good for you."

  He noticed that I was stabbing at my fusilli a little too energetically. "Are you still pissed off at them?"

  My head bobbed heavily. "Yes. I've come to terms with that. My dad is a total selfish asshole, and my mother is a complete pushover who won't speak up for herself."

  I took a sip of water to collect my thoughts. "I don't ever want to be a pathetic little weakling like she is. She lets my father control her completely. He goes through her entire phone every single day. I got the impression that her dad was the same way, not respecting any privacy. What kind of a person just sits around and lets men control their lives? It's sick."

  Nate nodded, reaching across the table to hold my hand.

  "I know that I am shy and jumpy,” I continued, "But I have a backbone. I know what I want. I'm never letting anyone control me again." I tried to smile. “Maybe that’s why I wasn’t ready to date.”

  He squeezed my hand, smiling gently. "I'm glad that you're breaking the cycle," he said. "Trisha, I would never want to control you. I want to help you when I can. But your life is your business, and I am just thrilled to be a part of it again."

  With no idea what to say to that, I nibbled some garlic bread. Then I laughed. "You don't seem to mind being controlled a little. You must have record company people pushing you around a bit."

  "Not nearly as much as some," he said, nodding. "I guess I've been pretty lucky so far. But also, you know me – I'm pretty mellow. A lot of musicians are pigheaded. They won't compromise in the slightest. Whereas I'm fine changing a few lines of a song if it means selling it to a globally known singer for a truckload of money."

  I didn’t want to touch on the subject of him writing songs for me. "So you write your own music, but you also sell songs to other people?"

  He licked a speck of pasta sauce from his lips, then grinned widely. "It's ridiculous how much money there is in ghostwriting songs. I get paid, and I get the satisfaction of knowing people everywhere will be singing along to my ideas. It's pretty damn cool."

  "Who have you sold them to?"

  Nate dramatically looked over his shoulder both ways, while I rolled my eyes. Then he leaned forward and whispered a string of famous bands and singers that made me gasp.

  "Holy shit," I whispered.

  "I may have just broken a couple of NDAs, but it's worth it to see that look on your face," he chuckled.

  The way his eyes were practically glowing every time he looked at me was starting to turn my insides to a big sloppy puddle. We moved to the couch, his arm around me casually again, but the warmth I was feeling from his touch was a bit less casual.

  "How did you get your job?" he asked, his fingers trailing up and down my shoulder in a way that made me quiver.

  I shrugged slightly, not wanting to disturb his arm. "A few college courses, a bunch of online courses, and some technical certifications. I wasn't sure what industry I wanted to work in, but radio was one that had a lot of challenges. The normal office IT stuff, plus broadcasting, sound tech, archiving, all sorts of weird things."

  "So you just applied, and were the chosen person?"

  I smirked. "I think I was super lucky, actually. As I was waiting for my interview, I saw another guy leaving, looking like he may have been a tech. He was awkwardly hitting on Kim, the receptionist."

  "Do you think she filed a complaint and made sure he wasn't hired?"

  I laughed. "I don't think Kim has ever filed a thing in her life. I bet she just snapped those manicured fingers and told her Uncle Gary, the station manager, that she didn't like the guy."

  "Oh, so it's that kind of business."

  "Yeah. Family-owned, family-run, and family rules. Gary's brother runs a sister station in Vancouver, and keeps threatening to send me out there to straighten things out."

  Nate grabbed my hand excitedly. "So if Hemlock and Emeralds end up based in Vancouver, you could transfer out there?"

  My heart sank, and I felt myself starting to lock up. My fingers began to twitch.

  "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, baby," he said quickly. "That just flew out of my mouth without thinking. I would never really ask you to move for me."

  “Don't you think you should be focusing more on your career than a brand new relationship right now?" I ask quietly. "I mean, I appreciate all of this attention, but I don't want to distract you from what's really important."

  Nate's expressive gray eyes stared at me as if I'd lost my mind, and his fingers reached up to touch his necklaces in a weird nervous tick. "If you don't realize how important you are to me, I haven't been very clear," he said gently. "I don't want to frighten you. I don't want to pressure you. I just need to be with you. Okay?"

  I began to nod, but his lips were already crashing against mine in a seductive, ferocious kiss.

  Every time Nate kissed me, I felt like I was entering a new dimension. I was able to grab the back of his hair without thinking. My movements were instinctive, and for once I didn't have to overthink everything to pieces.

  My hands skimmed over his tight black t-shirt, exploring his muscled chest. His scent invaded my senses – a warm, manly smell. His tongue slipped between my lips, and I pulled him closer, needing to taste him. Feel him. Experience his strangely intense energy.

  I was so lost in his kiss that it took me a second to realize his hand was slipping into the front of my dress, caressing my left breast gently. I couldn't stop the tiny moaning gasp that overcame me. He shifted to nibble at my earlobe, his hand circling my breast completely, exploring my skin as his thumb brushed across my nipple.

  "Do you want me to stop?" he breathed into my ear.

  "Never," I said.

  Nate pulled back to look at me with confusion in his eyes. "You're not nervous, baby?"

  I think I surprised him by laughing. "I'm always nervous. That's my default state. But I want you. I want… Everything."

  Those blazing eyes locked on mine, his grin making me feel a flush of heat in my lower hips. The shoulder of my dress and my bra strap were pulled down on one side as he ducked to suck my nipple
deeply. His little sound of pleasure caused ripples of lust up my spine. As my head fell back, I could feel warmth and wetness starting to gather in my core.

  The pad of his thumb trailed down the center of my bottom lip, pulling my mouth open before he kissed me so deeply I felt like I was going crazy.

  Just as I felt like I couldn't control the moaning welling up inside me any longer, Nate stood up, taking my hand and leading me across the room to the bed.