Play for Me (8 page)

“Stop it, and I’m not a punk.” Sam gave Jordan a quick hug and turned to Ian.

“Hey, long time no see. I’ll take a glass of chardonnay.” Ian
offered her his seat and Sam comfortably slid in next to Jordan. “So, what urgent business were you talking about?”

“Guy stuff,” said Jordan lightly. “So, where does everyone
want to eat?”

“You were talking about women, Jordan. I know you better. Who’d
you dump now?”

“You think it's me?” Jordan pretended to be hurt.

“I don’t.” Sam smiled at both Ian and Jordan. “I'm fishing.”
She then focused in on Ian. “It’s the blonde hostess, Nikki, right?” Sam loved
flirting with Ian.

“Who?” asked Ian, trying to focus on the conversation. Sam
looked downright delectable and he fought really hard not to take her in his
arms and kiss her.

“The blonde from last night. Nikki. She had quite the crush
on you.”

“Her? She’s not my type at all.” Ian waved his hand
dismissively. “I gave her card to Jett.”

“So, I’m going to be seeing her again?” groaned Sam.

“Can someone tell me what’s going on?” demanded Jordan totally confused.

“Nikki is the hostess at the bar,” explained Sam. “She
couldn’t wait to get her hands on Ian.”

“After the waiter spilled wine on Sam’s skirt,” began Ian.

“Not again, Sam.” Jordan shook his head. “Sam has a penchant
for trouble. Never a dull moment in her life.”

“Stop!” Sam took a drink of her wine. “So, what’s for
dinner? Ian and I had Mexican this afternoon, so that’s out. How about Italian?”

“La Dolce Vita,” both Ian and Jordan cried.

“Even I know that’s one of the most popular restaurants. Don’t
you need an invitation or reservation to get in?” Sam stared at her brother.

“Hey, give me some credit.” Jordan finished his drink and
Ian paid their bill.

“Aren’t you Jordan Stevens?” A young man dressed in a grungy
tee shirt walked up to Jordan. “Man, I love your music. You’re the best. Can I
have your autograph?”

“Sure,” said Jordan easily and he signed a napkin with his
name.

“As your little sister, I’m impressed,” said Sam.

“And this is how we’re going to get into the restaurant.” Both
Ian and Sam followed Jordan outside, where they caught a cab. After much
negotiating, Jordan landed them a table and Sam tried not to gape at all the
celebrities who were eating there.

“Jordan, isn’t’ that John Travolta and Danny DiVito?”
whispered Sam excitedly.

“Yup, that’s them,” said Ian laughing at Sam. “You better
get used to this working with Jett, in case he ever takes you out.”

“Okay,” said Sam trying to regain her composure. “Are you
making fun of me?”

“No, not at all,” laughed Ian. “It’s refreshing to see a
real person in the land of plastic.”

“Jordan Stevens, my man. How goes it?” A familiar figure
approached them.

“Jeff? Doing good.” Jordan heartily shook hands.

“What brings you here?” asked Jeff.

“Hanging for a couple of days before I tour. Helping out
here and there,” explained Jordan.

“Want to jam a little later on? A few of us are getting
together,” said Jeff.

“Cool. Same place? I’ll be there,” replied Jordan.

“Yup,” said Jeff as he looked at Sam intently and then at
Jordan. “Is that your sister?”

“My baby sister, Samantha.” said Jordan proudly. “You should
hear her play.”

“Jordan stop,” hissed Sam and turned to Jeff. “Pleased to
meet you, Mr. Beckett.”

“Then why don’t you stop by, too?” asked Jeff.

“We’ll see,” said Sam, feeling her face turn beet red.

“Sam’s a little shy, but once she gets going, she’s great.” Jordan
gave Sam a brotherly hug.

“Well then I look forward to hearing you. Later.” Jeff
turned to Sam. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” said Sam with a fake smile plastered on her
face. She watched Jeff retreat before she addressed Jordan. “Jeff Beckett? You
just asked me to jam with
the
Jeff Beckett? Are you nuts?”

“It’ll be a good learning experience,” said Jordan ignoring
Sam’s theatrics.

“You didn’t say you played professionally,” said Ian in awe.

“I don’t.” said Sam between clenched teeth. She took quite a
large sip of her wine.

Jordan looked up at Ian with an explanation. “Sam is
probably just as good as I am, but she freaks out when she has to play in front
of anyone. She kind of goes blank.”

“Kind of blank?” retorted Sam. “Try fainting, as well.”

“I used to have that problem, too. But then I thought of them
without having any clothes on and that seemed to work.” Ian swirled his drink
and smiled at Sam.

“Naked?” Sam looked at Ian suspiciously. “You show someone
your house designs and you picture them naked? Is that why you have all those
women clients on your phone?”

“What’s this about?” asked Jordan as he watched the
expression on Ian's face.

“Sam and I have the same phone and we exchanged numbers. She
peeked at my list even though I didn’t look at hers.” Ian frowned.

“Because I don’t have any.” Sam shook her head. Men.

“She’s right, you know. Sam scares away all men,” Jordan
baited Sam.

“You know, Jordan. You can be such a pain in the ass.” Sam
glared at her brother.

“Do you two always bicker like this?” Ian couldn’t help but
chuckle.

“We haven’t seen each other in a while,” explained Jordan. “We’ve
got some catching

up to do.” He turned to Sam. “Did you bring your guitar?”

“No,” said Sam confused. “Why would I bring my guitar?”

“You’re in Los Angeles. You had an interview with Jett. I
told him you knew how to play guitar.”

“That’s not what he hired me for.” Sam looked at her menu,
not seeing a thing. Thoughts of killing her brother crossed her mind. She could
see the headlines now.

“It’s okay,” said Jordan nonchalantly. “I have two with me. You
can borrow Kim.”

“I hate Kim,” said Sam crossly. “You know that. She and I
don’t get a long at all.”

“Kim?” asked Ian totally lost.

“His guitar. He named it after an old girlfriend whom I
hated,” said Sam with disgust. “Besides, I’m not going.”

“Yes you are.” Jordan stood firm.

“No, I’m not!”

“You’d let Jeff Beckett down?” Jordan gave Sam a pained
look.

“Yeah, I would.” Sam crossed her arms over her chest and
glared at her brother.

“You’re just nervous. Are you afraid because I’m better than
you and you can finally admit it?” Jordan had pressed the button he expected.

“Those are fighting words, Jordan Ray Stevens.” Sam started
to get up, but Ian forced her to sit back down.

“Would you two stop it?” demanded Ian. “The two of you are
acting like children.” He turned to Sam. “You’re playing whether you like it or
not. I want to hear you.”

“Fine,” growled Sam. “You better get me drunker than a
skunk.” Sam did not want to do this and tried to figure out ways to back out. She
glared at Jordan, who only smiled at her.

“Now, let’s get some food,” said Ian as he looked at the
menu.

The rest of the evening passed quickly as all three of them
had a great time. Ian fell more in love with Sam, something that did not go by
unnoticed by Jordan. Especially when Sam excused herself to use the facilities.

“Hey, Ian,” began Jordan slowly. “Do you have a thing for my
sister?”

“I hadn’t planned on it, but yeah. I do.” Ian looked at Jordan evenly. “She’s so different than any of the women I’ve met. She’s smart, sassy, and
intelligent, not to mention downright gorgeous.”

“Like I said, I want my woman to be just like her. But remember
my warning,” said Jordan slowly. “Don’t hurt her.”

“I’d never hurt her,” vowed Ian. “Why would I?”

“Well, in case you forgot, what did we talk about earlier? Remember
the girlfriend in Maui?”

“I do, and I'm not attracted to her the way I’m attracted to
Sam,” answered Ian honestly.

“Now what are you two talking about?” asked Sam as she
returned to her seat. “The two of you look like you’re going to break into a
fist fight.”

“Nothing,” said Jordan still keeping his eyes on Ian. “We’re
good. Ready to head on out?”

“Not really,” said Sam. “Look, I promised Jett that I would
do some work tonight, so I’m going to skip the music thing. Thanks for dinner,
guys.”

Sam got her purse and started to get up when Jordan grabbed
her elbow. “You’re coming along, and that’s final.”

“I agree with Jordan,” said Ian as he took Sam’s other
elbow. She tried to throw both of them off, but it didn’t work. Frustrated and
close to tears, Sam got in the taxi with them, along with Jordan’s two guitars and duffle bag. Ian sat close to Sam and took her hand and squeezed it
gently. “You’re going to do fine. You got me and Jordan there for support.”

“No, you don’t understand. Jordan wants to humiliate me. He
knows I panic when I play in public.”

“I’m not going to humiliate you,” said Jordan. “Where did that come from? Huh? I challenge you is what I do. You have all this
talent and you don’t use it.”

“I want to hear this talent,” said Ian.

“I’d rather be surfing,” said Sam sullenly.

“But you don’t surf?” asked Ian, confused.

“I’d be trying now, so I don’t have to play.” Sam squared
her shoulders.

“Here we are,” said Jordan excitedly as the cab came to a
stop. He grabbed his bags and guitars.

Ian held Sam’s hand leading her into the dark and smoky
atmosphere of the club. Sam’s eyes adjusted and she felt acutely aware of Ian’s
arm around her waist. They followed Jordan as he waved to people he knew and
reached a table. There was a band playing and they didn’t sound half bad and
Sam started to relax a little bit. Maybe she wouldn’t have to play. They
ordered a round of drinks and were soon joined by some of Jordan’s friends.

“Hey, dawgs, this is my sister, Sam. She’s going to play
with us tonight.” Jordan introduced Sam to his friends.

“Hey, Sam.” They shook her hand and looked expectantly at Ian.

“Ian, just a good friend and moral support for Sam.” Ian
shook their hands, his arm possessively around Sam’s waist.

“I don’t want Kim,” whispered Sam to Jordan. “Who else do
you have?”

“I’ve got a new one and she’s sweet.” Jordan opened up
another case and Sam picked up the guitar. She did a silent run through of the
frets of her guitar workout with a smile.

“Sweet. I like this one,” commented Sam. “Are we going to do
to our usual practice routine?” She mentally tried to prepare for the moment.

“Yup, I might throw in a few curves for you. You want
another drink?” Jordan tried to help ease her case of nerves. “Listen, Sam.
You’re going to be fine.”

“Uh, okay,” said Sam as she still studied the guitar.

“You know something, Sam?” said Ian trying to be heard over
the music. “You continue to amaze me. I keep discovering all of these other
facets to your persona. Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Surf, remember? I’m just a bumpkin from Illinois.” Sam
looked up and smiled at him. “Thanks for helping me with my nervousness.” She
took another drink and the deejay made an announcement.

“Hey, quiet! Quiet!” The deejay waited for the crowd to be
quiet and the band stood still waiting for the announcement. “Dudes, we have
Jordan Stevens and he’s agreed to play with us.” Jordan jumped up on stage and
waved to the cheering crowd. He spoke briefly to the lead singer and nodded to
their lead guitarist. They broke out into
Hard to Handle
and Sam
anxiously waited for her cue from Jordan.

“It's show time,” muttered Sam and as she rose out of her
chair, Ian whispered good luck into her ear and kissed her.

Ian’s affection thoroughly rattled Sam but it pleased her at
the same time. Greek God seemed to like her. Maybe he's not so bad after all. Sam
quietly entered the back of the stage, waiting for Jordan’s bridge to introduce
her. Taking a deep breath, determined not to freak out, Sam stepped forward and
answered Jordan with a rift of her own.

“My sister, Sam,” said Jordan and he quickly changed to
rhythm guitar so Sam could play the lead.

“Hey,” replied Sam. “How are you all doing tonight?” The
crowd cheered and Sam and Jordan went back and forth from lead to rhythm. Sam
forgot her nervousness and started to have fun. It seemed just like when they
were teenagers and would try and outdo each other. Finally, Jordan gave the final rift and they ended the bridge so the lead singer could continue with
the chorus. Both Sam and Jordan stepped back into the shadows of the stage and
continued to play until the song ended. The lead singer motioned for them to
come forward.

“Jordan Stevens!” The crowd clapped enthusiastically.

“Sam,” said Jordan as he pushed her forward. The crowd
roared and whistled.

“Thanks,” said Sam overwhelmed by the crowd’s reaction and
their chanting of, “More! More!”

“One more,” whispered Jordan to the lead singer and Sam. The
band chose a blues number and Sam quickly picked up Jordan’s lead. By the time
they were done, once again the crowd stood on their feet. Sam bowed and quickly
got off the stage.

“Sam, you were great,” said Ian excitedly as he pulled her
from the mob of people who went to greet her. “Let’s get you out of here in one
piece. I talked to the bouncer and we can sneak you out the back door.” The
bouncer spotted them and Ian and Sam escaped unscathed.

“What about Jordan?” asked Sam. “Shouldn’t we wait for him?”

“How long will he be? He looked like he could stay there all
night. Jordan is a big boy and can take care of himself,” replied Ian.

“I’ll text him to let him know what we’re doing.” Once again,
Ian hailed a cab while Sam busily typed away. She hit send and looked up at Ian
with a smile. “So, what are we doing?”

“This is what we’re doing,” said Ian as he lifted her chin
with his fingers and kissed her lightly on the lips. “We’ll have a drink at the
bar and I’ll walk you to your room.”