Abby and the Cute One (Backstage Pass) (8 page)

Abby’s eyes lit up. “Exactly.”

He squeezed her. “Tell me about your songs. The ones you’ve already written.”

Nathan smiled as she ran down the list of songs she’d written, adding in extra bits of information like a
Behind the Music
episode. She confessed how much she loved old eighties and nineties tunes and that for every Taylor Swift track she had dozens of Cyndi Lauper and Pat Benatar. She blamed it on her mom, but her passion for music oozed through her every word. At one point, goose bumps sprouted on her arms as she spoke. He rubbed her forearms to help them go away, but he only made it worse.

She poked him in the side. “How about you? You must like older music, too.”

“I just like good music. Doesn’t matter what era or genre. People get caught up in labels, but I’ll listen to anything as long as it makes me feel something.”

Smiling, she nodded. “Exactly. I’m pretty sure Otis Redding is going to make its way onto my iPod when I get home.”

Mention of that song filled him with longing. He tilted her chin and pressed his lips to hers. They were so sweet he didn’t think he’d need any of that fruity candy he liked anymore. Abby would be enough.

She sat up straight and wound her arms around him. He took his time exploring her, both of them only coming up for air when absolutely necessary. Of all the post-concert nights Nathan had ever had, this was the best.

Until a knock sounded at the door.

Chapter Eleven

Nathan

H
e jumped back and Abby’s eyes widened. He put a finger to his mouth to signal for her to be quiet. The knock came again but louder this time.

“What should I do?” she mouthed.

Nathan wanted to yell at whoever it was to leave them alone. Instead, he took Abby by the hand and led her into the bathroom. Before he closed the door with her safely on the other side, he smiled apologetically. She slid her hands through her hair and grabbed the back of her neck—she was freaked.

A key slid in the lock. Nathan walked toward the door just as it banged opened and caught on the chain lock.

LJ’s voice wafted in. “What the hell?”

Nathan’s heart raced as he silently prayed Abby stayed in the bathroom to keep LJ clueless to what he’d just been doing.

He ran his hands through his hair. “Coming. Hold on.”

Nathan slid the lock free and opened the door the rest of the way. “Hey, LJ. What’s up?”

LJ shot him a weird look. Damn. Too peppy. “Why’s your emergency lock on? You know we bought out the entire hotel. There’s no need for that.”

Nathan tried to play it cool. “Habit,” he lied. “I always put it on no matter what.”

LJ glanced around the room. “I knocked. Where were you?”

“Bathroom,” Nathan said. Then he cursed at himself. Why was he bringing more attention to the bathroom? He kept his eyes trained on his manager so he wouldn’t sneak a glance at Abby’s hiding place. “So, what’d you want?”

LJ smiled his shady, shark-like smile. “Just wanted to come by and say apart from sound check, I liked what I saw today. You’re really maturing, Nathan, and you’re stepping up when the band needs you the most.”

He nodded. “I’d do anything for Seconds to Juliet. You know that.”

“I think the big boss is starting to realize it, too. He caught your speech to the camera earlier and called me up to say it was great, so I thought I’d pass it on.” LJ grabbed Nathan’s shoulders. “Good work, son. We’ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow, too. I got in touch with Marissa’s camp and worked out a deal with them.”

He swallowed. “A deal?”

LJ walked toward Nathan’s gift basket and rummaged through the contents. “You bet. Here’s the deal: you guys date a couple more times, then there’ll be a very public breakup in which poor Nathan gets his heart broken to pieces.” LJ laughed and chose a pack of Sour Patch Kids. “I can see the headlines now. Depressed Nathan Turns to Music to Get Himself Back on Track. It’s pure genius, kid.”

“And Marissa agreed to this? Why would she want to be the one that broke my heart?”

“We’re playing all angles. Marissa’s up for a movie role that the director thinks she’s too squeaky clean for. If she dumps you, it’ll bring her a little edge and her team thinks she’ll be a shoo-in. We help her, she helps us. You know how it works.”

“I don’t know…”

LJ scratched his balding head. “Did I tell you? When we get into New York, Ellen DeGeneres is taping a couple of special episodes there and we got her to have just you on. It’ll be a fantastic solo interview, great stuff for us.”

An odd, out of place feeling hit Nathan in the chest. Something wasn’t right—since when did he do solo interviews? “What about the guys?”

LJ straightened, looking flustered all of a sudden. “The guys want some downtime in New York to spend with their girls. And besides, this is a great opportunity for you.” He tossed his Sour Patch Kids up then snatched them right out of the air again. “But anyway, you should think about getting to bed soon. You’ve got a breakfast date with Marissa in the morning and we want that face fresh for the adoring fans, right?”

Nathan smiled to keep LJ happy, but his stomach sank at the mention of Marissa again. A breakfast date? Tomorrow?

On the way out, LJ turned and said, “Don’t forget to put that lock back on the door, kid. Don’t want anything to happen to my newest heartthrob.”

LJ left laughing and Nathan made sure to follow after and lock it up just like he said. After he checked the lock for a second time, he opened the bathroom door. “Abby?”

She peeked around the shower curtain. “Are they gone?”

Nathan couldn’t help but laugh at her serious expression. “You went in the shower?”

“I thought that if someone came in to use the bathroom they’d see me and I was better off hiding in the shower.”

Uneasiness crawled over his skin. He couldn’t believe he’d made her hide in the bathroom. What if LJ had to use the restroom while she was in there? That would’ve been messed up. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She squeezed his hand. “So who was it?”

“LJ.”

“Yikes. Glad I did hide in the shower then. Does he usually come visit you after a show?”

Nathan plopped down on his bed. “No, but he wanted to tell me he set up another date with Marissa.”

“Marissa Ives? That girl from that show?”

Nathan shrugged. “I guess. I hear she’s the next big thing.”

Abby sighed and sat next to him on the comforter with her head in her hands. “And that’s why you’re fake dating her? Because she’s the next big thing?”

Abby’s closeness and willingness to listen made Nathan want to open up, even though he probably shouldn’t. He just couldn’t help himself around her. “Kind of. We have a breakfast date in the morning.”

Abby frowned. “How far are they going to take this?”

Nathan rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not sure. LJ just said a couple of dates and then a public breakup to make everyone feel bad for me.”

“Marissa’s okay with that?”

“Apparently she’s fine with it.”

Abby sighed then froze. “Are the other guys really dating their girlfriends? Those weren’t publicity stunts, too, were they?”

Nathan laughed at the look on her face. At that moment, she was a fan and nothing more. “They’re all for real. I doubt the guys would be able to act as much in love as they really are.”

Abby turned her head to stare at him. “I think it’s great that they each found someone.”

“I think it’s great that they’re actually real.”

“Hey.” Abby touched his shoulder. “I’m sorry they’re doing this to you. I wish I could do something to help. Do the rest of the guys know?”

“Absolutely not. They’d never go for it, even though it’s for their own good.”

“Maybe you should—”

“No,” Nathan said tersely. “They’re all so happy. I’m not going to bring them down with my problems. It’s fine. I’ve got it handled.”

Abby stood slowly, hands on her thighs. She walked toward her guitar by the closet and then froze. She whirled. Her eyes shone and a bright smile lit her face. “I’ve got an idea.”

Nathan braced himself as Abby ran toward the bed and threw herself back down next to him.

“You like me, right?”

Nathan struggled to find words. “Yeah…”

“Make me Marissa.”

Nathan’s brows furrowed. What did that even mean?

Abby shook her head. “You don’t get it? LJ wants you to date someone so fans can fantasize that you’re dating them, right? It doesn’t really matter the girl. He’s trying to show
you
off, not them. What if I were the girl? You actually like me and I actually like you.”

Nathan’s mind raced. LJ did mention Marissa had fans she could bring to S2J, but hadn’t he also mentioned that about Abby? He said her sound was different than Seconds to Juliet’s. He also said they’d be helping each other out in no time. If Nathan could just spin it the right way, maybe LJ would go for it.

Abby’s hand touched his shoulder. “What do you think?”

He turned toward her. “You’d be willing to do that?”

“Willing to have me be the girl everyone sees you with instead of Marissa? Um, yes. More than willing. We could do things like this.” She took his hand and rubbed his palm with her thumb. “We wouldn’t have to hide away in your hotel room, and you wouldn’t have to be mean to me just so everyone thinks you don’t have feelings for me.”

More hopeful than he’d been in a long time, he grabbed Abby behind the neck and pulled her close, kissing her with all that he had. This could be it. The answer he didn’t know he’d been looking for.

“What about the breakup that LJ wants to have?”

Abby frowned. “I forgot about that part.”

Even her frown was cute, and surely if he thought everything about her was wonderful, so would everyone else. “Maybe we can prove to LJ that we don’t have to break up. Maybe the fans, your future ones and S2J’s, will love you and me together.”

“And the no dating opening acts rule wouldn’t technically apply because we’re supposed to be fake dating.”

Nathan smiled. Even LJ would be able to see the logic in that.

Abby stared off into space. “Nabby,” she said wistfully.

“Nabby?”

She giggled. “Yes. Your name and my name together. Nabby. Do you think LJ could have the media spin it like that? You said people get invested in celebrity relationships. We’ll just have to make sure they’re doubly invested in ours.”

He touched her cheek with his finger. “I think we can do anything as long as we’re working together.”

Abby smiled and burrowed her head into the crook of his shoulder.

It felt so right with her tucked beside him like that. She was the most genuine thing in his life right now. If he could convince LJ, the scheme would work. He knew it. And the best part of it was, he wouldn’t have to fake it with Abby. He could just be himself.

She reached past him and grabbed his iPad off the dresser. She opened his Netflix app and searched for
The Vampire Diaries
.

Nathan chuckled once he realized what she was doing. “Make yourself at home.”

She elbowed him in the ribs. “Hey, you said you wanted to check the show out.”

“I do. As long as you stay right here with me.”

Abby turned and pecked him on the lips before starting her favorite show at season one, episode one. Nathan couldn’t help but think he could get use to ending his days like this.

Chapter Twelve

Abby

R
eeta shook Abby awake at seven thirty a.m. After peeking at the hotel alarm clock, Abby rolled over with a grunt. It wouldn’t have seemed that early except she’d stayed up late with Nathan watching Elena fall for Stefan all over again. “Really? Seven thirty?”

Her manager smiled. “No rest for the talented. I’ve already had two important phone calls this morning.”

Abby sat straight up. Her insides twisted in anticipation. It was possible Nathan had already spoken to LJ about their plan. This could be it. “A phone call?”

Reeta sat at a small table and chair, drinking out of a real ceramic coffee mug. Way better than the cheap paper mug from the hotel they’d stayed in two nights ago, before Mr. Pearl said they could stay in the hotel S2J had bought out. Talk about classy.

Reeta only nodded.

Trying to hold back her frustration, Abby made her voice sound casual. “Anything I should know about?”

“I was just speaking with my boss’s boss. He needs me to fly back to the label. There are some very exciting things I need to work on for you.”

Abby deflated fast and blew out a breath. Just because LJ hadn’t called didn’t mean something bad. After all, it was only seven thirty in the morning.

Reeta waved a hand in front of Abby’s face. “Did you hear me? I said I’m leaving today.”

Abby’s heart hammered inside her chest. “You’re…going somewhere?” She tried not to freak out, but she had no clue what she was doing. Reeta told her where to go and when to eat. It was kind of nice not to think. How would she function without her?

“I’ll only be a couple of days. LJ has assured me you will be well looked after.”

Abby arched an eyebrow. LJ? Since when was Reeta on a first-name basis with S2J’s manager?

“Miles’s mother is on tour with Seconds to Juliet and she’s agreed to watch after you,” Reeta continued. “The label is sending you someone to stage your show and I’ll set you up with some other appointments. PR, hair and makeup, that kind of thing.”

Reeta must’ve noticed the scared, lost look on Abby’s face, because she came over and sat on the bed next to her. “I’m your manager, Abby. You won the audition, which was what we came for. Now I have to go back to the label and make sure you’re the biggest success I can make you. There are nothing but good things happening here.”

Abby nodded; it was time to grow up. She’d been at sleep away camp before with no one around but a few counselors. This wouldn’t be much different. And besides, she didn’t need a babysitter. People always said she was way more mature than sixteen anyway.

“When do you fly out?”

“Later this morning. I’ve made a list of everything you need to work on.” She rose, went to the desk, and handed Abby a sheet of lined notebook paper.

It was a bulleted list. Work on stage fright. Write songs. Be confident. Gather up any knowledge you can from Seconds to Juliet. Work out.

Work out? Abby glanced down at herself sitting cross-legged on the bed. Did she really need to exercise? “What exactly do you mean ‘work out’?”

Reeta laughed. “Not in that way. You saw the show last night—Seconds to Juliet ran all over that stage. You don’t have to be that energetic in your show but remember, you’re singing
and
walking or running around the stage. You’ll be out of breath before you know it. Trust me, this is the number one thing we tell new musicians before going on tour. You’ll thank me for it.”

Abby rolled her eyes. Who wanted to spend their free time jogging on the treadmill? Ick. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Her manager raised her eyebrows. “Trust me. You’ll need it.”

At that, Abby grabbed her toiletry bag out of her luggage and then stalked to the shower. They’d just have to see about that. It wasn’t like she was a total newb. She’d played five songs at her county fair and never once ended up out of breath.

Reeta left Abby with a stack of papers when she left for her flight. One of them was her set list. Another was a very tight schedule. First up: staging. The label paid someone at the hotel to set up one of the conference rooms with a mini stage where Abby could practice and hired a professional to stage her set for her.

She pushed open the door to the conference room at ten a.m., exactly on schedule. Reeta would be proud.

When the door swung closed behind her, Abby stopped. Sitting on the little stage ahead of her sat Nathan Strong. “Good morning, beautiful.”

Abby’s knees went weak. Sure, he wasn’t bare chested like he was as the concert ended yesterday, or pressed up against her in those sexy sweat pants that sat just right on his hips, but there possibly wasn’t a time Nathan didn’t look perfect.

Especially his hair. It absolutely rivaled Miles’s no matter what any of those teen magazines said.

But wait. Wasn’t he supposed to be on that fake date with Marissa?

They’d agreed last night that Nathan should keep up the pretenses with Marissa until he had a chance to speak to LJ. If LJ felt Nathan was approaching him from a business standpoint, he would be more apt to listen to him about making Abby the one he dated.

Not that she liked the idea of him going on a date, fake or not.

But the fact that he was here with her instead of there made her want to smile. “What are you doing here?”

His lip curled into a grin. “Helping you, remember? Or maybe I don’t have the effect on you I thought I did.”

Her cheeks heated. Oh, he definitely affected her. “That’s beside the point. You’re supposed to be on a date with Marissa, and I’m supposed to meet a staging person here. My label sent them.”

He frowned and glanced at the door. “I already had my
meeting
. And I’ll just help until your staging person shows up. If you don’t mind.”

Meeting. Right. Whether Nathan called it a meeting or not didn’t matter. The world thought of it as a date. She didn’t like everyone thinking Nathan was dating anyone besides her. She was so drawn to him.

“I don’t mind,” she answered. Abby placed her guitar case on one of the empty tables left in place and then unlatched the hinges. She slipped a pick between her lips and slid the guitar strap around her shoulders.

Nathan came up behind her. She smelled his cologne before physically feeling him there. She inhaled deeply and almost melted. The perfect blend of spicy and sweet—he smelled amazing.

He spoke next to her, his words almost caressing her soft skin. “I thought about you all night…and this morning.”

She pulled the pick from her mouth and started to speak, but Nathan put a hand on her shoulder, and the words fled.

“Please don’t say anything,” he whispered. “I could hardly stand sitting at that restaurant with her. There’s no comparison. I’ve never met anyone like you before, Abby. If you said the same thing right this very moment and we were anywhere else, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from kissing you. And if you said you had—”

“I wouldn’t.”

Nathan sighed. Energy spiked between them, and Abby wanted nothing more than to turn around and show him how much she enjoyed last night, but in the end, right now just wasn’t the time.

His voice returned to normal. “I assume you have a set list.”

Abby pulled out the paper Reeta had left for her and handed it to him as if the conversation they just had never happened.

“Ahh, you’re doing the song you did for the audition?”

“Apparently it’s the show stopper. Reeta told me she put it on my YouTube channel last night and it already has fifty thousand views.” Was she gloating? To Nathan of all people? Abby’s face warmed and she quickly added, “I know it doesn’t seem like much to you. Every picture you post on Twitter gets like hundreds of thousands of favorites.”

“You gotta start somewhere.”

Abby smiled softly. That sounded like something her mother would tell her. Did people tell Nathan he was older than his years, too? She bet they did. He was sixteen, traveling without his family, working hard. She couldn’t believe all the things the guys had to do on a day-to-day basis.

Nathan’s brows furrowed as he read through the set list. “I don’t recognize a couple of these song titles.”

“That’s because they’re Abby Curtis originals.”

“So they do exist?”

“They do.” Abby changed the subject. She didn’t want to sing those songs for him right now, and singing was all people wanted her to do lately. “So, what advice do you have for me?”

Nathan turned and jumped on the stage, his hands spread wide. “Number one: have fun. The crowd can tell if you’re lost, if you’re having a crappy day, if you tanked that last note. When you’re having fun, they’ll have fun no matter what might happen up here.”

Abby followed him up on stage. “Got it. What else?”

Nathan ran to one side of the stage. “Don’t just stand in the middle.” He ran to the other side. “Everyone wants to feel like they’re close to you. On our stage, we also have the extension into the crowd. Make sure you go up there, too. You don’t have to do anything special. Make eye contact with the cameras, with the people in the front row. Hold out your hand to give them five. That sort of thing.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

He shook his head. “It’s something you learn with experience. There’s nothing natural about standing in front of tens of thousands of people, but it gets easier.” He jumped off the stage and sat in the only chair facing her. “You’ll see. Now let me hear the first song.”

Abby adjusted her guitar around her and then plucked the first few notes to her fast cover song. Nathan waved at her to stop. “Where’s your set list again?”

She pointed to the table behind him and Nathan reached back, his shirt pulling taut over his waist, a strip of bare skin showing. Abby averted her eyes to tune her guitar even though she’d already tuned it that morning.

Nathan frowned as he scanned the set list. “Start with your ‘Time After Time’ cover, then go to your ‘Shake it Off’ cover. You’ll win them over with your beautiful voice and then they’ll be on your side for the more dance type song. They’ll be clapping right along with the music but if you start out with that, they might think you’re a Taylor Swift wannabe.”

That made sense. She loved Taylor Swift, but she wasn’t a clone. She had a different sound all her own. “All right.”

Nathan pointed at her. “Let’s hear your Cyndi Lauper.”

For the first half of the song, Nathan sat there motionless, his expression blank. By the second half, he shouted orders over her singing. “Remember, move around. Lean over the crowd. Let them touch you. Have fun.”

When she finished the first song, she stopped and looked at him. He’d stood when she ended, but now he sat again, still clapping but gazing at her expectantly. Then he dropped his hands to his sides. “Why did you stop?”

“Because I finished the song.”

“Is that what you plan on doing on stage?” He smirked. “Talk. Interact. Ask them how it’s going, if they’re excited for hottie Nathan to come up on stage in a little while…have fun.”

Abby laughed. “I can do that, but it’s not like I can tear off my shirt like you did last night.”

Nathan’s gaze dropped to her chest and he swallowed.

Abby’s cheeks warmed. Stupid. Why had she said that? They’d been doing so well pretending they were just work buddies or friends.

He stared back into her eyes. “Not that you wouldn’t get a reaction out of that, too, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“Right. How about this?” She let her guitar drop to her side as she put her hands around her mouth. “Hello, Jersey!”

“Exactly. Just make sure when you say a city we’re actually in that city. When we first started we were doing a show in Boston and Will said, ‘How ‘bout those Yankees?’ He thought we were still in New York.”

“He didn’t.”

“It was awful. We got booed.”

Hands still pressed to her lips, Abby said, “He was probably mortified.”

Nathan’s mouth opened, but he shut it quickly and jumped from his chair. “Sorry. Phone’s ringing. Hey,” he answered. “Yeah. Be right there.” He ran his hand over his hair as he hung up with his other one. “Gotta go, Abby. I forgot about our writing session. Here.” He walked up and handed her the set list. “I made some adjustments.”

He waved then jogged away.

“Nathan!” she shouted after him.

He turned just before he pushed the door wide open.

“Good luck,” she said quietly.

He smiled and then walked out, the door slamming shut behind him.

She peered down at his neat scrawl. He’d adjusted the order of some of her songs but at the bottom, he’d written, “You have a beautiful voice, Abby. I’m glad you’re here.”

She giggled and threw her hand over her mouth before jumping up and down.

Nathan Strong said she had a beautiful voice and was glad she was here. She’d finally gotten the compliment she wanted.