Crazy Baby (8 page)

“So you think I’m charming? I did smile, but I didn’t get to try the kiss on the cheek thing. Thanks for the tip. I’ll have to use that next time I ‘get in trouble’ with you,” I reply, air quoting the words she used.

She narrows her eyes at me in mock offense. “Are you making fun of me?”

“Never. I would be far too afraid to make fun of a woman who knows how to throw a real punch.” I hold my hands up in surrender.

“Yeah, you just remember that. Pop taught me everything I need to know,” she boasts, flexing her feminine muscles.

Cami and the girls finish their set, and it’s time for Sound Bar to rehearse. We stand as Cami approaches us, her smile covering her pretty face. “Being up there is always so awesome! Even with just these few people out there, I can still picture the place packed and everyone singing along to our songs.”

“You sounded awesome,” Andi compliments her.

“Thanks, sis,” she says, throwing her arm around Andi’s shoulders, and they begin walking away from me.

“Travis, you’re up,” Katelyn says from behind me.

“Yeah, okay.”

Taking the stage feels like reuniting with an old friend after a long absence. It feels like home, but it’s also the ultimate rush. Mike, Kale, and Drew warm up their instruments while I warm up my voice. When we start our set, we are on fire. Working like a well-oiled machine, we’re in time and in tune with each other. We are all so ready and so stoked for this tour that we’d be willing to skip Christmas at home.

The set flies by and suddenly we’re at the place where Andi joins me for our duets. I can’t wait to perform these songs in front of live audiences before they’re ever released as singles. The sensual, seductive nature of the lyrics will drive the crowds wild and also give me an excuse to play up the words with Andi.

As she makes her way up the stairs, I try to play it cool, but when Kale catches my eye, his smirk tells me that I’m transparent as hell. If it’s so obvious to everyone else, I decide to start playing it up as much as possible. Either she’ll get the hint or she’ll think I’m kidding, but I’ll get a real reaction from her either way.

“We have a special treat for you tonight,” I say to the pretend audience. “Miss Andi Morgan will now join me for two unreleased songs. Everyone welcome Andi back to the stage!”

Cami, Leslie, Jada, and Crystal all clap and scream like crazy fans when Andi picks up her microphone. Katelyn is less enthusiastic.

“Thank you for the warm welcome!” Andi laughs.

“This first song is called ‘Just Lie.’”

The more we sing this song, the more emotions we pour into it, and the more real it feels. My band mates give me shit over Andi, but this is the first time I’ve had real feelings for someone. Passing flings, infatuations, one-night stands, and short-term relationship trials are all I’ve known. The road really isn’t the best place for a real relationship.

My band and I have been doing this for a long time now. Playing in dive bars, parties, college campus parties, and whatever other gigs we could get until we made a name for ourselves. Someone from one of our shows videoed us with a phone, uploaded it to the Internet, and it went viral. Building our own online cult following before signing with a label helped us to negotiate the best possible contract.

After signing, our popularity exploded beyond our wildest imaginations—and our imagination is pretty fucking wild. We’re all in our later twenties, so our first couple of tours consisted of nonstop parties, nonstop girls, and nonstop drinking. Backstage passes were reserved for the best of the band groupies.

It’s amazing how perspectives change after the right person walks into the picture. As we stand toe-to-toe and eye-to-eye singing this sensual love song, I consciously fight to keep my hands to myself. The urge to touch her is incredible. The need to kiss her is unbearable. The desire to make her mine is unmistakable.

I get that she’s with Luke and that they’re engaged. But I’m completely in love her, and I don’t want to love her from afar. There’s no way this feeling is one-sided. Listening to the words she sings, the feelings behind them, and the look in her eyes, my resolve is firm.

After our Christmas break is over, I’m telling her exactly how I feel. If that results in a fight with Luke, so be it. I’ll fight tooth and nail for her.

My only rule in fighting is this: there’s no such thing as a fair fight.

LUKE

Christmas morning and we’re finally opening the presents we got for each other. We celebrated with my family, Mack, Shane, and Andi’s friends last night. Andi decided that we had to wait until this morning to open our presents as a couple. I tried everything in my considerable arsenal of persuasive techniques to get her to agree to open them last night after everyone left. Not one single thing worked, although she appreciated my persistence and tenacity.

She’s so stubborn.

Since this is her first holiday season with real family gathered around her, all I can do is give her whatever she wants. In the meantime, last night I showed her what it felt like to really, really want something but be denied…repeatedly…until begging became the only answer. After our late-night escapades, I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to do that to her more often. She was on-fucking-fire for me. The more revved up she was, the more it drove me. I’m so thoroughly whipped and wrapped around her little finger, but I don’t care who knows it. As long as everyone knows she belongs to me.

I’d really expected and hoped that we’d be married by today. When she initially said she wanted a Christmas wedding, I was more than willing to oblige her. My mom and my sister changed those plans, and it’s still a sore subject for me. It’s not that I don’t trust her, it’s not that I don’t believe in our love, and it’s not that I’m just an insecure bastard.

It’s simply that I want the bond that my parents have always had. I want that constant connection with my stubborn, independent, beautiful girlfriend.

Putting those feelings aside for the sake of a wonderful Christmas together, we settle on the couch and Andi plays Santa. The silky red and white nightgown she’s wearing makes it hard to concentrate on the presents she’s handing me, though. She makes one hell of a sexy Mrs. Santa.

“I want you to open this one first,” she says with a shy smile.

Taking the perfectly wrapped present from her hand, I pull her down into my lap. “Open it with me,” I whisper into her ear.

She adjusts in my lap and gets comfortable in “her spot” in the crook of my arm. I place the present on my other leg, and we each use one hand to open the small box. It’s a velvet jewelry box, but I know it’s not a ring. She already has her engagement ring and we’ve picked out our wedding bands, even though we haven’t picked them up yet.

“What have we here?” I ask, feeling the excitement building in Andi. She holds the box as I open the hinged lid, and I feel my heart skip a beat. I look over at her, and she’s biting the corner of her bottom lip, waiting for my reaction. “It’s perfect. I love it, baby. Put it on me.”

She removes the necklace from the box and lifts it over my head. It’s an engraved dog tag on a silver ball chain. The inscription reads
“Your treasure is where your heart is”
and the shape of a heart is cut out of the metal. The separate heart is also on a silver beaded necklace. Andi pulls the heart over her head and it rests on her chest. The inscription on the piece she wears simply says
“Our heart.”

“While we’re apart, I wanted something that we’d both wear a piece of, as a constant reminder that we’re already one. This is our heart, our love, and our promise to each other. I know you can’t wear it in the ring or anything, but I’ll always have mine on. Wear yours when you can,” she says before kissing me.

Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her completely on top of me as I lie back on the couch. She pulls her legs up to straddle me. My hands are in her hair, holding her head as I pour my love into my kiss. “Thank you, baby. It’ll be the first thing I put on every day when I finish at the gym.”

She gets me more than anyone in my life.

Sitting up, she smiles brightly at my promise and hands me another present. “No, ma’am. Your turn.” I incline my head toward her present from me as I sit up.

“Okay,” she concedes a little too easily. I chuckle, knowing that she’s secretly been dying to open her presents. She opens the huge box and looks at me skeptically when she has to dig through mounds of wadded-up paper to find the next box. “Hmmm, what’s this?”

“Open it and see.” I smile.

She opens the next box and finds a box from a well-known jewelry store inside. Her eyes light up as she looks up at me. “What have you done, Luke?”

“Nothing but the best for my girl.”

When she opens it, her eyes immediately mist with tears of happiness. Pulling the bracelet from the box, she intently examines the various charms that adorn it. They each have significance in our lives, and I know she understands that.

She laughs as she holds up the first one. “A microphone? For my karaoke nights?”

“Yep.” I nod.

“A guitar. The night at your parents’ house.”

“Keep going.”

“Boxing gloves! The gym—and you, of course!”

As she turns the bracelet, she smiles warmly at the last charm. “Our home.”

“I have one more to add to it, when the time is right,” I confess.

“What is it?” she asks excitedly.

“It says ‘Just Married.’ I know it’ll be a few months before I can add that one, but I went ahead and got it so I’ll be ready.”

“Oh, Luke.” She wipes a tear away. “I love it and I love you.”

Taking the bracelet from her hand, I secure it on her wrist before placing a kiss on her palm. “My treasure is wherever you are, because you’re my heart, baby.”

“You can open these two together,” she says, resuming the presents.

Laughing when I see what she got me, I can’t help but shake my head. “You might as well open this one, too,” I say as I hand her the next box.

She tears into it, and we both laugh because we got each other the exact same gift. The newest model of the iPhone. “I wanted us to be able to FaceTime while we’re apart,” she laughs. “Thank you, honey,” she adds with a kiss.

“You’re welcome. Thank you,” I reply and kiss her again.

The second box she gave me is a Beats by Dre Beatbox portable speaker. “I already loaded your phone with several songs, so you can listen to our songs while we’re apart.”

“It’s awesome. You’re awesome. I’d rather hear you sing them to me live, though.”

“I will take you up on that.” She smiles.

We finish opening the other boxes—a huge array of clothes, shoes, and lingerie. Most of which I specifically told Andi she’s not allowed to wear outside of my presence. She laughed at my demand and said, “No one else will ever see these, Luke. You paid for fabric scraps—they won’t cover any of the important parts.”

“That’s the point, Andi. I don’t want any of the important parts covered when you’re wearing them.”

I try to convince her it’s time to retreat upstairs so she can try them on and practice taking them off. But Andi has one more present for me that was well-hidden way back underneath the tree. The hardcover book has a picture of Andi on the front. Her smile is seductive, and most of her body is covered with an elegant white sheet. When I open it to the first picture, my eyes bulge out of my head and my jaw drops to my lap.

I jerk my head up to look at her, and she is nervously chewing the corner of her bottom lip as she waits for my reply. I flip through a few more pages, each one more stunning than the next.

“H-How? What?” I can’t even form a coherent sentence.

“Tania’s photography hobby has turned into a full-time business for her. She took these pictures for me and had them made into a photo book. I wanted you to have these to remind you of me while we’re apart,” she says, her voice unsure.

“First of all, I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear that Tania took these pictures. More importantly, these are incredible. I’m not sure how you expect me to sleep at night knowing that these pictures need to be leered at. Or knowing that I’d much rather have the ‘real Andi’ rather than the ‘picture Andi.’”

This has been the best Christmas I’ve ever had by far, and it’d only be better if she were my wife right now. But the day that we do marry will be the best day of my life, regardless of when that day is. After we clean up the mess from the presents, we spend the rest of the day simply enjoying our downtime. I’m shocked Mack gave me time off just before I leave, but then I guess he wants me as fresh and recovered as I can possibly be. I only have these few days to spend with her.

I dread telling her that I’m leaving one week from today. The day after New Year’s Day, I will be on a plane to Las Vegas and start our six-month separation. The following day, I’ll start my rigorous training schedule, and she’ll be here, preparing for her rigorous touring schedule.

“You’re quiet,” she says.

“Just enjoying having you here with me,” I say. We’re stretched out on the couch, and she’s lying back on my chest. We’re really doing no more than watching a movie, but these are some of my favorite times with her.

“You have that look on your face.”

“How do you know what look I have? You’re not even looking at me,” I chuckle.

“I know you, Luke Woods. You have that concerned look, and you’re avoiding something. What’s on your mind?”

“How do you always know?” I ask, dumbfounded.

“It’s a gift. Spill it,” she demands.

Raking my hand over my face, I mentally prepare myself for the words I’m about to say. “I have to leave earlier than we thought. One week from today, I’ll be on a plane to Las Vegas and start camp the next day.”

She tenses in my arms but remains silent for a few seconds too long. Slowly, she sits up and turns to look at me. “When were you going to tell me?”

“Tomorrow. I didn’t want to tell you on Christmas Day, Andi. That news isn’t much of a present.”

“No, it’s not, but I don’t want us to keep things from each other. We’ve already had one issue because of that, and I don’t want more while we’re apart,” she says sincerely.

“You’re right, baby. I just didn’t want to ruin your first Christmas with a big family.” I try to soothe her.

Her facial features soften and she leans in to kiss me. “Thank you for thinking of me,” she says between kisses. “But don’t ever do that again.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I agree. “Shane’s going at the same time instead of waiting until later. It only makes sense since he has the pre-title bout out there in a few months. Extra conditioning and coaching will help ensure he wins.”

“I wonder if Katie knows that yet,” she muses.

Shane and Katie apparently have something going on, but neither has been very forthcoming with the details of their relationship. Andi thinks Katie wants more than Shane is willing to give right now, but she won’t completely break it off with him. I’ve told Andi a million times that I prefer not to think about what those two are—or are not—doing. I’d rather we stay out of the middle of that train wreck before it’s too late.

“I don’t know, babe. And tonight, I don’t care about them. I care about you. Did you have a good Christmas?” I ask.

Her beautiful smile lights up her face and her eyes. “Yes, this has been the best Christmas ever. You’re the best man, Luke.”

“No, I’m not,” I say seriously. Her face drops when she hears my tone. “I’m the groom.” I burst out laughing, and she smacks me repeatedly with the couch pillow.

The past six days have escaped from us like grains of sand through our fingers. Andi had the week off from rehearsal since the various band members scattered to different states for holidays with their families. We’ve spent every minute of every day and night together. Even the dreaded day-after-Christmas shopping that I may never recover from. I thought that this time alone with her would give me my fill, hold me over until I can see her again, but the opposite effect has happened.

I don’t want to go without her. I don’t want to leave her.

“So, Mack called today,” I start and see her cringe.

“And?” she asks tentatively.

“Shane and I have been assigned a public relations person from the association. Since Shane is coming up for a pre-title bout, they want a lot of press coverage on him to build the hype for the fight. With Mack having two fighters, they’re also spotlighting me. It’s exciting in a way, and it freaks me out in another way.”

“That’s amazing, Luke! You’re already a great fighter, but the extra press will really get your name out there to other managers. You’ll be a household name, and the draw will bring bigger fights to you,” she says animatedly. “I’m so excited for you.”

“I just hope I don’t make a fool out of myself,” I admit my fear.

“You won’t. At all. You’ll do great, and your PR person will coach you on what to say and what not to say to the cameras. Who is it?” she asks.

“Her name is Syndi Roberson. She’s with InMotion PR. Heard of them?”

“Yeah, the name sounds familiar, but I can’t place where I’ve seen it before,” she says thoughtfully.

“Maybe she can help make me look cool,” I say jokingly, turning my head to show her my best side in vogue style.

“I hate to be the one to break it to you, babe, but you’re not giving her much to work with right now.”

She tries to hide her smile, miserably, but it’s the insult that counts.