Gavin: Pure Passion (Hamptons Book 1) (24 page)

I try on a pink beret with rhinestones on it, flaunting it to her. “How do I look?”

“Like Delsin’s long lost sister,” she answers drily. “But it looks great on you.”

“I’ll take it, then.” I pull the hat off my head, getting in line for checkout.

“Don’t you think Gavin would prefer a negligee he could peel off you?”

“Probably, but I have enough of those.”

“I’ve never met a woman who told me she has enough negligees.”

“I guess I betrayed your innocence, then,” I tease her.

“And you were so gentle, too,” she counters. “I might just fall in love with you, you know.”

We’re still howling with laughter when it’s our turn, and we greet the cashier, who scans all our items. Thally pays for my beret, too, and I hand her the twelve dollars it costs. The giggling continues even as we’re leaving the store.

“Should we go grab a coffee?” she asks.

“Sure. Do you know a place?”

“Dale’s diner is nice.”

“Sure, wherever that is.”

“Near the beach. Unless you want to shop some more.”

“No, coffee sounds good.”

We walk over to the car. At first Thally seems to have forgotten that I get scared when she speeds, but she slows down immediately as soon as she remembers.

When we arrive at the diner a little later the parking lot looks pretty crowded, and Thally snags the last space. “It’s possible the others might be here, or a few of them at least.”

I nod.

“Hey, Dale!” Thally calls as we enter the diner.

“Hey!” she replies, walking over to join us. “How are you guys?”

“Good, thanks,” I reply. “What about you?”

“Can’t complain.” She looks at Thally. “Coffee as usual?”

“Yeah, what about you, Lane?”

“I’d like a coffee, too.”

“Do you mind if I sit with you in a moment? My shift ends in ten minutes, and we need to talk about the bachelorette party, Thally.”

“Not at all.”

“All right, see you soon, then.” Dale leaves us alone and I stare at Thally curiously.

“What?” she asks me.

“Who’s getting married?” I inquire.

“Not me, that’s for sure,” Thally says. “But I don’t want to talk about it here too loudly, the walls have ears,” she tells me loudly, and I can see a young woman behind her averting her gaze.

“Oh, OK.” I grin while I wait for my coffee as she writes the names on a napkin. I wouldn’t have thought it, but I’m happy for the couple. They’re really cute together.

Meanwhile, Thally and I are on the way to Linden’s place. Planning the bachelorette party was fun. It’s funny what they thought up for the bride. I wouldn’t want to switch places with her, some of the stuff sounds pretty embarrassing. I know I wouldn’t want to lick whipped cream off a stripper’s butt, I’m generally not into those games with whipped cream, it makes me feel sick. But the tasks they have for the bride are hilarious. It’s a shame I can’t be there because the wedding is the very next day after the
Celebrity Dance Hall
finals, and I don’t want to miss the after-show party. Besides, I’m not friends with the couple anyway. All I know is the guys will be playing there so they can save money on the band, and another one called D.A.C.C.P. is going to be performing, too. Gavin hasn’t mentioned the gig to me yet, which bothers me a bit. Maybe he just forgot about it, or maybe he doesn’t want me there. Sure, I’m not friends with that couple, why should I come? But the after-show party is a chance for us to say good-bye to everybody. I probably won’t be on the show anymore next year, since my knee is acting up. It’s normal to have to go from active dancing to teaching, but it really bothers me that it’s apparently happening to me so early.

“Lane!” Thally says loudly.

I shake my head and give her a questioning look. “Yeah?”

“We’re here, you can get out now.”

“Oops . . . Sorry about that.”

“No problem.”

We get out and walk toward the house. “Do you have a key?” I ask her.

“Yeah, but I always ring the bell because I don’t like using it,” Thalia responds, pushing the button.

We can hear the melodic sound outside, but suddenly Thally rips it apart by pushing the button several times, much too fast.

“Jeez, what are you doing?” I ask her, grinning.

“That way Linden knows it’s me. It’s our secret signal. Let it ring once and then four times fast, and then one more time.”

“Ah,” I say, nodding as we wait for somebody to open the door.

Finally Mrs. Atkins does. “Good evening, Ms. Leroux, Ms. Dubois.”

“Good evening, Mrs. Atkins,” we respond in unison and enter the house. “Where are the guys?”

“Gavin and Azer have gone out. Linden, Alexis, Mike, and Jayden are in the living room.”

I lift an eyebrow. “Did Gavin mention where he was going?” And who’s Jayden?

“Oh, cool, I didn’t know Jayden was here,” Thally says.

“Uh, Thally, who is he?” I ask.

“He’s Linden’s older brother, really nice guy. Come on.”

I follow her into the living room, where she drops her bags next to the door. “Hey, guys.”

They look over at us. “Hey, ladies. Did you have a successful shopping trip?” Linden asks, getting up as Thally approaches him.

“Yeah, but Lane was better at saving money than I was.” She laughs. “I spent over two hundred dollars, and what did she spend? A ridiculous twelve dollars for a beret.”

“How exemplary. A woman with a flair for savings,” Alexis laughs at me, applauding.

“Thank you, thank you,” I tell him, giving him an elegant bow like the one I usually do after a dance.

They laugh. “Now there’s someone who knows how to react to teasing,” Jayden states. Or I think it’s him, he’s the only one here I don’t know. Besides, he looks a lot like Linden, although his hair is blond.

I give him a smile as I sit down in the free armchair across from the couch. Mike is sitting in the chair to my left and Alexis on the couch to my right. “Do you guys know where Azer and Gavin are?”

“They were going to get some dinner and then go to the Heat,” Mike tells me.

I give him a quizzical look. “The Heat?”

“It’s a club near the beach,” Thally answers for him.

“Oh . . . How do you get there?”

“I could bring you if you want,” Mike offers.

I shake my head. “I’d like to rest my knee a bit, it’s been hurting all day.”

“That’s your cue, Jay,” Linden chimes in.

His brother looks at me. “Should I have a look at it?”

“Never mind, it’s probably just the first signs of wear and tear, nothing unusual in my job.”

“Still, it can’t hurt to have a doctor look at it, Lane,” Thally tells me.

I sigh. “OK, go ahead, then.”

Jayden gets up and kneels down next to my leg. “Could you stretch your leg, please?”

I stretch it, holding it up in the air while he feels my knee. “What is it, doc?” I ask, hiding a grin.

“I’d need to have an X-ray to say anything more precise, but there’s no swelling on your leg.”

I put it back down again. “OK.”

He walks back to the couch and plunks down on it. “I’d still recommend you should go to a good orthopedist so they can have a closer look.”

I nod at him. “I will, as soon as I’m back in New York.”

He gives me a smile. They go back to talking about their vacation plans. Linden and Thalia are going to the Bahamas, Alexis will be visiting his parents, and Mike is going to Orlando to visit his family. I’d like to ask him if he’s going with Gavin, but I don’t dare.

“Do you know yet what you’re doing on our big end-of-the-year vacation?” Linden asks, turning to me.

“We haven’t talked about it yet,” I answer truthfully. “Well, Gavin was going to go to Orlando, I think, but I can’t go with him, because I have to look for a job.”

“Don’t you have one?”

“Not after the show,” I admit. “I am an active professional athlete, but need a normal job, too.”

The guys look at each other. “Well, we’re still looking for a choreographer for our videos and the tours, maybe . . . Would you like to have that job?” Linden asks me.

“Normally we decide that kind of stuff together, but I don’t think Gavin or Azer would have a problem with it,” Alexis chimes in.

“But that means I’d have to go on tour with you, right?” I ask.

“Yeah, and you’d have to train the dancers, but it would be a steady job with pretty decent pay,” Mike explains.

“Wow,” I utter in amazement. “That’s a really generous offer.”

“Will you accept it?” Alexis inquires.

“I’d like to talk to Gavin about it, since I don’t know how he’ll feel about me suddenly working with you all.”

“I don’t think he’d mind,” Alexis repeats.

“I’d still like to talk to him about this first,” I insist.

“Nobody’s stopping you.” He grins at me.

“Gee, thanks,” I reply, sticking out my tongue at him.

“Shall we order pizza?” Mike asks. “I’m so hungry, I’m about to bite into this table.”

“Yeah, I’d like that,” I agree.

“What kind of pizzas do you want?” Thally asks us. “I’ll call the delivery service.”

“Tuna,” I inform her.

The others give her their orders before she leaves the room to talk on the phone. I get a sudden constrictive feeling, but it’s nothing to do with the guys, it’s because Gavin isn’t here. I’m not worried for him or anything, it’s more that I have a feeling that our fight from this morning isn’t over yet. Either the fuse will blow when he comes home tonight, or tomorrow. I can usually trust my feeling about that kind of thing.

After two hours of Thally and me being back, during which we ate and talked, I feel a growing need to see Gavin. “Would any of you mind bringing me to the Heat?”

“Why should we bring you? We could all just go dancing,” Alexis proposes.

“I need to put on something else, then,” Thalia says.

“Me, too,” I add with a nod.

“Good thing I went shopping,” she says in a sweet voice. “Lane, shall we get dressed upstairs in your room?”

“Sure.”

“Excuse us, guys.” We leave the living room and walk upstairs.

When we arrive in my room, I grab a skirt and a top from my bag. “What do you think?” I ask her. The red skirt is short and pleated, and the top is black with batwing sleeves.

“Cute, put it on,” she responds while she keeps on rooting through her own bags. “I think I’ll put on the new jeans and that tunic.”

“Which one of the four tunics?” I grin at her.

“This one!” She holds up the blue-and-white tie-dyed one.

“That’s cute, too.”

“Yeah, and I’ll put on my new sandals to go with it.”

“I think I’ll put on sandals, too.”

“Great.” She gives me a smile and she begins getting dressed.

Chapter 15

Because we took our time with makeup and styling, we only arrive at the Heat
an hour later. I like the music and the VIP area they’re ushering us into.

But I wonder where Gavin is. I can see the entire crowd from up here, but I can’t see him anywhere.

“I’ll go look for Azer and Gavin,” Thally, who saw my searching gaze, tells me.

“I’ll come with you,” I reply, pushing away from the railing.

“We can take a chance and dance in that wild, sweaty, wet crowd of guys,” she says, giving Linden a challenging look.

“Let’s see, I might find some groupies,” he throws back.

She walks toward the door, giggling. “We’ll be right back.”

“It’s so boring when it’s just us here. Maybe Azer can bring some girls up here with him once they find him,” Jayden says.

“Entirely possible, considering how . . . sociable he is,” I hear Mike saying before Thally opens the door and we’re buried by a wave of rumbling bass.

Holding hands, we go downstairs to the normal dancing area. “Where do you think they are?” I call to her over the music.

“No idea, but we’ll find them, no worries!”

Once we’ve immersed ourselves in the gaggle of guests, it’s not so difficult to find a way through anymore. I look around attentively to see if I can find Gavin and Azer. The two of them are so tall, they should stand out pretty well, but the place is full of tall guys. Most of them are wearing fashionable clothes, but now and then we see one whose outfit is totally retro, making him look like a ’50s sonny boy. Or it might just be fashionable again to dress retro now, but I seem to have missed the trend.

“There they are!” Thally points in one direction, pulling me with her.

Finally I see them, too. A big group of women has formed around them. While Azer looks like he’s enjoying himself, Gavin rather gives off the impression of being overwhelmed.

As soon as we reach them, Thally calls, “Watch out, here come the brides!”

We’re scalded by murderous looks, but Gavin looks at me in relief. “What are you doing here?” he calls.

“I missed you.”

He lays his hands on my hips and leans down toward me. “I’m glad you came. They were about to rip my clothes off.”

“That’s why I’m here now!”

He puts his lips on mine, giving me a deep kiss. It gets more intense quickly, and he puts a hand against my back, pressing me up against his muscular chest.

“Guys, they’re staring at you!” Thally chimes in.

“Let them stare, I’m not keeping my girlfriend a secret any longer,” Gavin answers as soon as the song is over and the place becomes quieter for a moment. “Are you guys up in the VIP lounge?”

“Yeah, Alexis and Mike said they hope Azer’s bringing some chicks with him,” I tell him.

“We can take care of that,” Azer responds, smiling at his groupies. He picks out a few and motions for them to follow us. I wonder if the situation up there is going to end in a party or an orgy. Worst-case scenario, I’ll just run for it.

The four of us make our way upstairs with another five women in tow. With Gavin in the front holding my hand, it’s easier to make our way through the dancing crowd. When we reach the stairs, I can hear the women whispering behind my back.

“So they really are a couple.”

“That bimbo doesn’t fit him at all,” one of them chatters.

“Just ignore it, it’s the best thing you can do now,” Thally tells me quietly, turning around to talk to me.

I nod at her.

When we get upstairs, Gavin immediately heads for a chair, pulling me down onto his lap. “Oh, awesome, you already got us drinks.”

“Yeah, you can see how many women Azer brought with him.” Alexis grins at us. “What would you like to drink, Lane?”

“For me just an energy drink, please, I don’t take alcohol very well.”

“Oh, come on, you’ll be fine with just one,” he replies.

“Dude, she doesn’t want any alcohol, let it be,” Gavin chimes in, amused. “Lane has a tendency for blackouts and can’t hold it well. I don’t need to carry home a drunk.”

“Believe me, I don’t want to go there, either.”

Gavin caresses my ear with his lips. “I’d like to go somewhere else with you,” he murmurs into my ear so only I can hear him.

I look at him in surprise, then I blush and try to hide my face from Alexis so he doesn’t give me another one of his wise comments, but he’s already laughing. “Looks like Lane’s cheeks keep telling us about the dirty stuff you whisper to her, Gav.”

Dammit,
I think, but I don’t react.

“She’s well raised, but believe me, she can be a dirty little thing, too,” Gavin responds, and I can smell the beer strongly on his breath. His fingers are drawing circles on my back while his other hand caresses my thigh, steadily moving forward. I stop him, because I don’t want to be felt up in front of his friends. While it’s somehow sweet that he can’t keep his hands off me, it’s probably more due to the alcohol than to his feelings for me. “I want you,” he whispers into my ear after another few attempts.

“Stop, honey,” I respond. “Not here.”

“We could go find ourselves a quiet corner, babe,” Gavin murmurs, sliding his hand up.

“Stop it, I said!” I growl at him, jumping up.

“What’s up with you now?” he asks, upset, jumping up as well.

“Gavin, you’re drunk.”

Mike and Alexis come over as he plants himself in front of me. “Dude, sit down,” Mike tells him, pushing him back into the chair.

“I’ll just . . . go freshen up a bit,” I let them know, grabbing my purse and leaving the lounge.
What the heck was that?
I wonder on my way downstairs. I feel like I’m being watched on my way to the restroom, but I shake the feeling. Finally I get into the short line, but my phone makes me leave again. I dig it out of my purse and take the call. “Just a minute! I’m at a club, I’ll be right there.” I turn around and hurry outside, where the bouncer gives me a stamp on the hand so I can get back inside again. “OK, sorry.”

“Hey cutie, how’s Miami?” Macey wants to know.

“Hi . . . Pretty nice, at least the part I’ve seen so far,” I answer while I walk away from the door a bit. “How are you?”

“Fine, I’d say. I just got home and remembered I hadn’t called you in a while. Our friendship has gone short a bit in the last few weeks.”

“I’m sorry I’m away so much.”

“No problem. I can understand that you need a bit of distance from the Big Apple after all that’s happened.”

“How’s the musical going?” I say, changing the subject.

“Tonight’s show was sold out again. Seems to be becoming a long runner.”

I smile to myself. “I’m so happy for you.”

“When are you coming back, Lane?”

“On Friday,” I answer. “I’m going to be so glad to be back in New York.”

“What’s up?” she wants to know.

I sigh. “A whole lot and nothing. Well, I just fled from Gavin because he was drunkenly feeling me up . . . in front of all the others.”

She chuckles. “Man, I’d like to have your problems. I’d be happy if anybody wanted to feel me up.”

“Not if his friends and groupies are watching.”

“True, that would only be semi-hot.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Never mind.” She laughs. “Sweetie, I won’t disturb you any longer, will you call me once you’re on your way home?”

“Will do. Take care.”

“You, too, Lane. Later, then.”

“Until Friday.” I hang up, still smiling, and put my phone back in my purse. Then I raise my eyes and look around left and right. I didn’t realize I’d walked so far. When I turn around, I can see a few young women standing behind me. I try to pass them, but they won’t let me. “Hey, what’s this now?”

“You’re the chick who stole Gavin from us,” the blonde woman, who also seems to be the group’s leader, hisses at me. She has a pretty noticeable piercing in her eyebrow. Normally one would put a little stud or a ring there, but hers looks like a tiny horn.

“I’m sorry?”

“You’re that dancing whore!” the next one growls at me, she’s a brunette with a nose ring. The other one has brown hair, too, but she’s a little more of a wallflower. She doesn’t have any remarkable piercings, but her shirt has particularly shrill colors on it.

I nod. “Thanks, but I’m not looking for trouble, so let me pass, please.” I try again, but they push me into a side street. “What’s the deal here?”

I’m shoved against a Dumpster, but luckily I can catch myself on it. “Are you girls nuts, what did I do to you?” I ask, turning around, and already I can see the first fist come flying at me. I barely manage to dodge it, but two of them grab my arms and push me against the cold metal Dumpster. “Let me go!”

“Now you’re going to see what happens to anybody who wants to take Gavin away from us!” the leader screams at me and rams her knee into my abdomen.

I gasp and try to double over. But the other two are still holding me tightly. I struggle, but the two of them are too strong for me to escape on my own. Another kick while they twist my arm onto my back until there’s a cracking noise. That joint will thank me for it tomorrow. “Please stop,” I pant.

“We’re only going to stop once you’re out of the picture!” she replies indignantly, pelting her fist at my face. She hits me so hard I can feel the blow breaking my nose. Blood runs out of my nose freely.

“Please let me go,” I beg, crying. “I won’t call the police, but let me go.”

They let me double over in pain, but it’s only followed by worse things.

As I’m lying on the ground, one of the girls steps on my fingers. She presses down so hard with the wedge heel of her shoe that I can hear the different bones crack and break. I scream, which brings me more kicks to the face and the abdomen. And finally one of them kicks my knee from the side, which nearly causes me to die with pain.

“Get your hands off Gavin, or you’ll die next time,” they threaten me, leaving me lying there in the dirt of the side alley.

I shuffle over the ground to get my purse, which fell down, and pull out my phone. With my left hand I unlock the screen and write a text with an attached GPS signal.
Help! Come quick!
I put it back and try to pull myself up on the Dumpster, but my knee hurts so much that my other leg buckles under as well. My entire body feels like it’s been hit by a truck. My nose and lips are bleeding; I can’t stop it.

A few minutes later I can hear Thally saying, “Where is she? . . . Lane?”

“No idea, but your phone says she was here somewhere,” Jayden answers.

“Here!” I cry out.

“Do you have a flashlight, Jayden?” Thally asks.

“No, just the phone app.”

“So turn the damn thing on!”

A minute or maybe a second later, I’m bathed in a blinding light.

“Oh, fuck! What happened to you?” Thally cries, running over to me. Jayden is at her side.

“Thally, call an ambulance,” he instructs her while he looks at me. I can only see him with one eye, the other must be swollen shut. I can only hear Thalia’s voice in the corner of my mind, listening to her talk to the operator. Jayden gently feels my face, which makes me hiss. “Yeah, I know it hurts, but let me see how bad it is.”

I nod feebly and close my eyes as he touches my nose for the second time. After he pulls back his fingers I look at him again.

“When’s the ambulance here, Thally?”

“They sent one out immediately. Can I help you?”

My perception sinks deeper and deeper into a darkness that feels ominous to me.

“Hey, Lane, you need to stay with us, OK? Talk to me, will you? It’s important you stay awake,” Jay tells me, but he sounds like he’s talking through glass. “Lane, where are you from?”

“East Hampton, New York,” I answer quietly.

“And your family? You have that French last name . . . Where’s your family from?”

“Dad’s from . . . France and Mom’s from . . . Canada,” I reply groggily and close my eyes.

“Lane, try to stay awake,” Jayden urges me.

“Why does she need to stay awake?”

“Because I don’t know if she has internal bleeding. She should stay awake so she doesn’t die on us. Go get the others and tell them what happened.”

“OK.” Then I hear the muffled sound of heels clicking on tarmac.

“Lane, what happened?”

“I was . . . attacked,” I whisper. I’m still lying on the ground. All that’s changed is that Jayden turned me over onto my back. He’s plumped his jacket up into a pillow, and he’s holding a tissue against my nose, that’s all I can register.

The wailing of sirens makes me open my eyes, and the first thing I see are the eyes of an EMT. He’s talking to Jayden, who’s explaining to him that he’s a doctor and tells him what happened, or at least what I explained to him in my delirious state. I still feel like I’m hearing everything through a layer of cotton and try to answer, but not a single word escapes my lips.

“Lift her onto the stretcher carefully. I don’t know if she has internal injuries, but there are probably a few broken bones to speak of.”

“What happened?” I can hear Gavin’s voice, which sounds a lot more sober than before.

“Lane was beaten up quite brutally,” Jayden answers, shielding me from him as I’m lifted onto the stretcher. I gasp as I come down, or maybe I moan, I don’t know. All I know is I’ve never hurt so badly before in my entire life.