A Rock & Roll Romance (3 page)

I
forced myself to call Brett, my bodyguard, and tell him that he needed to pack again. I felt horrible since we just got back. He hadn’t seen his daughter in over a month, and now we were leaving again. I would make sure that he was able to come home sometimes in between shows, but it still sucked. The rest of the band seemed equally annoyed about hitting the road again so soon. At least life was slightly easier for them, they didn’t have the persona or profile that I did. It made it impossible for me to go anywhere without being nagged.

“Hey
, Jake. How’s it going?” Brett asked.

“Hey man,
apparently the record label decided that it wants to keep fucking me.”

“Huh?” I laughed just imagining the
confused look on his face.

“
What I mean is Bruce just left. We’re going on tour again.” I bitched.

“Already?”
He sounded just as surprised as I felt.

“Yeah, we’re
actually scheduled for takeoff today!” I said angrily.

“Alright.
Let me just get some shit together, and I’ll be by to pick you up.”

“I’m
really sorry, Brett. If you want some more timeoff, I can call Vin.”

“Dude,
it’s fine. I mean yeah it sucks, but if you need me I’m there.”

“Thanks Brett.”
I said sincerely.

“See you in a bit.”

I hung up and finished packing, or as I called it ‘throwing shit in a suitcase without folding it” and hoping I had underwear. I was lucky if it was clean. At least the label made arrangements for private air travel this time. It would mean that I would be safe from getting mauled at the airport like last time. I cringed remembering the incident. It was pre-Brett, and I was getting ready to fly out of Atlanta. I was walking toward my terminal when I was literally attacked by a group of four young women. They started tugging on me, and actually ripped a sleeve off my button up shirt. Airport security had to come and usher them away. It was right after that I decided I needed a bodyguard. I took my suitcases and left them by the door and waited for Brett to come collect me. When he knocked I tossed my bags out the door and locked up. I climbed into his truck and looked at my house as he backed out of the driveway. We made one final pit stop at the mecca of fast food, In-N-Out Burger. Brett pulled out into traffic and headed to the airfield.

The small
commercial jet was waiting on the tarmac when we arrived. Brett pulled up and insisted that he check it out before letting me board. It made him feel important, so I let him have his fun. When he came back to give me the all clear he had a massive smirk on his face.

“Dude, wait until you see the hot little number on
there!” He was grinning like the Cheshire cat.

“What are you talking about? Aren’t all flight attendant’s middle-aged, blonde women?”

“Not this one. She’s fe
isty too, kneed me right in the balls.”

I smiled
, and it was actually genuine. I wondered if he was fucking with me. But, it was enough to peak my curiosity. I slowly walked towards the plane wondering if it was going to be a grandma, or something. It wouldn’t be the first time. I really hoped that it wasn’t some die-hard groupie either. As soon as I reached the top of the stairs I almost tripped and fell on my face when I got my first look at her. She was gorgeous! She looked like she walked straight off of a pin-up girl calendar. She had long, black hair with strands of hot pink. I appraised my way down her body. She had a slim waist and curvy hips. She was built like an hourglass. I noticed a couple of sexy facial piercings. She had an adorable little nose and big brown eyes. Then I saw a tattoo peeking out on her shoulder. I could tell that she had a chest piece. I was instantly hard.
Awesome…

At first glance,
it looked as if she was checking me out. Then her face changed. She looked disgusted. I introduced myself, but she wouldn’t even give me the time of day. I knew that I never slept with her because I would have remembered. I’ve also been in a dry spell by choice for over a year. I tried making some small talk, but she wasn’t interested. I let it go until she put her fucking pot roast in front of me. I had died and gone to food heaven, it was that good. It’s been so long since I had anything that tasted remotely homemade, and certainly never from my mother. I practically proposed on the spot. I know, smooth move on my part. I looked back and saw her sleeping curled up in her seat. She looked peaceful. I noticed there were blankets set out, so I grabbed one and went over to cover her up. She genuinely was a beautiful girl, and I liked that she was sassy. I was a little discouraged that she obviously made her mind up that I was some kind of crazed sex fiend, I wasn’t. I brushed some stray strands of hair out of her face using my fingertips. I wanted to get to know Aubrey and her buttons.

Aubrey

I woke up somewhere over the Midwest and mentally kicked myself. I sincerely hoped that I didn’t piss anyone off, especially Mr. Rock God. I rubbed my eyes and staggered to my feet. I quickly walked over to Jake and Brett. Jake looked up from his book and smiled politely. Brett was snoring like a chainsaw.

“I’m so sorry.” I apologized
profusely.

“It’
s okay. You said that you were tired.” He seemed unfeigned. “I figured I better let you catch up on your sleep now since we’re going to be running around a lot.”

“Can I
get you anything? I brought some of my mom’s chocolate cake.” I offered.

“Do you have milk?” He
grinned a megawatt grin, and I nodded.

I walked
over to the tiny kitchenette and fixed him a slice of cake and a glass of milk. I set it up on the tray and handed him a fork.

“
You’re not having any?” He raised an eyebrow. I suddenly felt self-conscious. Was he taking a stab at my weight?
Sorry Mr. Parker, but I’m not one of your anorexic bimbos.
I refused to divulge any emotion.

“Maybe later.
I need to clean up and get ready for our landing. Let me know if you need anything else.”

I cleaned up the few dishes and put them away.
I went into the bathroom and quickly ran my fingers through my hair. Thankfully, I still looked somewhat decent. Not that I was trying to impress anyone. I headed to the cockpit talk to Mark for a minute. He said that we were scheduled to land in forty-five minutes and that a car would be there to take us to the hotel. He told me he was going to stay with some friends while we were in New York. Which, essentially meant that I was going to be on my own.
Great…

We taxied into
the runway a little before eleven. Jake whined that he was starving even though he just ate cake less than an hour ago. He said that we were going to have to stop for dinner before going to the hotel. Brett exited the plane first to make sure that it was safe. I went to grab my luggage, but saw that Jake already had it. I tried to get it back, and a bit of a struggle ensued. I lost. He stood there with a smug look on his face and insisted I go in front of him. I walked down the stairs and climbed into the waiting car. Jake slid in next to me, and we sped off into the night in search of food.

CHAPTER TWO

Better Dig Two

Jake held the door open as we walked into Margo’s Bar and Grill.
I can’t believe I got suckered into coming here! With him nonetheless!
I was getting the feeling this was a set up for me to hang out with him. The hostess ogled Jake in his black Henley that may as well have been a second skin. Though I strongly disliked him, even I could admit that he looked good enough to eat. I chastised myself, again.

“Right this way.” The hostess
purred.

Gir
ls like her made me sick. He is still a human just like the rest of us. I was starting to get a better understanding of why he seemed so hostile in the media all the damn time. I would probably be locked up if I had to deal with this shit on a daily basis. She seated us right in the middle of the freaking restaurant. It was as if she wanted to put us on display, that or didn’t want us to have any privacy. My guess was the latter. Brett sat a safe distance away at the bar and watched us with hawk eyes.

“Your
waitress will be Carla. She’ll be right over.” She placed the menus on the table and strutted off making sure to add a little extra sway to her hips. Jake seemed oblivious.

As if on cue, a perky blonde with way too much perfume strolled over.

“How are you folks tonight?” She gushed enthusiastically downright ignoring me.

I rolled my eyes at her
, but she wouldn’t have noticed anyway since she was too busy eye-fucking Jake. At least he didn’t feed into her. He was a total contradiction to what I was expecting.

“We’re
fine. We’re actually ready to order.” He said politely. She pulled out her little notebook. “I’ll have the filet, done medium-rare and she’ll have a salad.”

I shot daggers at him
. I looked at the server seething.

“Actually, I’ll have a steak cooked medium
, with extra mashed potatoes and a beer.” She looked shocked, but turned and left to put our orders in.
Take that Parker!

I glowered
at Jake. It was going to be a long three months…

“Salads are for skinny bitches and people with health problems. I’m neither.”
I said sharply.

“You could have at least ordered a
girly martini or something.” He smirked.

I rolled my eyes
and attempted to keep my temper in check. I sat on my hands like my mom used to make me do when I was little, so I wouldn’t reach across the table and smack the smirk right off his handsome face. He seemed to be getting some perverse amusement out of the whole thing.

Better
tell the gravedigger that he better dig two because we (mostly me) are going to strangle one another before the night is over.

“Seriously?
Do I look like a girly martini kind of girl?” I cocked an eyebrow.

“Relax. The salad thing was just a test.
” He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. “I kind of have a thing against girls with food issues. No offense. I think you have a fantastic body. I’m sorry that didn’t come out how I wanted it to. Dammit! I’m just going to shut up now.” He said getting flustered.

A
small laugh escaped my lips. It was funny to see him get all worked up. We indulged in our dinners and engaged in some small talk. By the time, we were getting ready to leave my mood lightened slightly. He settled our bill, and we headed back to the car. I leaned my head against the cool glass of the window and felt Jake slide in next to me. Brett closed the door and climbed into the passenger seat. Apparently, we would be staying at the W Hotel. I watched as the lights of the city blurred by.

We
slowed to a crawl, and I looked out the window. During dinner, Jake warned me that there was always a chance of paparazzi lurking in the shadows. Nothing could have prepared me for the sight when we pulled up. He swore so much that I’m positive it’s still hovering somewhere in space. He claimed that the record company probably leaked his whereabouts. Brett said that we needed to be extra careful and to get to the door as quickly as possible. Ten seconds later we were thrust out of the car with lights flashing a mile a minute. The spots fogged my vision so badly that I tripped stepping up onto the curb. Jake quickly grabbed a hold of my waist to steady me. We walked double-time into the lobby.

Jake was clearly infuriated.
“I can’t believe that weasel threw me to the sharks like that!”

“Why would they do that?”
I asked in utter disbelief trying get my wits back.

I mean
sure you hear stories, but to be a part of it was something else.

“Free publicity.
The same reason that the hotel’s security doesn’t do anything until we’re inside.” He spat looking directly at the hotel security guard, who quickly turned his head.

He pulled me towards the front desk to check in. The petite redhead behind the counter
had a hard time forming a coherent sentence when she looked at Jake. She pressed a few buttons and handed him a key card. She kept a firm grasp on the card and looked admiringly at him.

“I’m off at one
.” She batted her eyelashes.

“Are you seriously offering yourself to me in front of my girlfriend? I mean no offense
, but look at her and look at you.” He scoffed.

I gasped.

I was going to sneak in his room and murder him in his sleep. He grabbed my hand, and I tried to pull away to no avail. His hand refused to leave mine.

“That’s how rumors get started you know.
Now let me go so I can check into my room.” I said tersely, watching the cameras still flashing through the glass.

“Whatever, just wait until morning when pictures hit the press. I would
n’t be surprised if they’re plastered everywhere in an hour.”