Rock Star: The Contest (Book 2 of a Bad Boy Romance) (5 page)

Now sure, if I ended up wealthy from singing, that would be nice, but that wasn’t my focus. I’d learned from my parents earlier on that it wasn’t about chasing money. Life could take that in an instant from you. What then? No, I wasn’t going to build an empire on dreams of stacks of cash. I wanted to build it on doing what I loved for a living.

Hell, I had thought about what it would be like to win. To see myself five years later in a thriving career. Touring, selling albums and in the studio. Still, somewhere in the back of my head I couldn’t let go of the idea of running a coffee shop. I would probably end up funneling some of the money into a business venture. Starting my own chain of coffee stores from Seattle to Los Angeles, to New York.

Very few people had long-lasting careers in the music industry. You needed an exit strategy. The smart ones would take advantage of the fame and use it while they could to develop products. Perfumes, clothing lines, and restaurants. It would carry them over in the months or years when inspiration didn’t hit.

“We have another caller on the line who would like to ask you a question. Go ahead.”

“Yes, is it true, Meghan, that you are seeing Luke Claybourne?”

The voice was familiar. It was… I stared around the room and scanned the faces. Leann was nowhere to be found. It was her. The bitch had called into the station while at the station.

“No, that’s not true.”

“Oh, are you sure now? I’m pretty sure someone saw you kissing him.”

The line went dead before I could call her out.

“Well, that was strange. It appears our caller hung up. But that’s interesting question. Maybe you would like to fill us on what this person was referring to? Have you kissed the sexy Luke Claybourne?” the radio presenter asked.

My eyes drifted to Luke whose own eyes dropped to the floor. I could tell he didn’t like the situation I had been placed in any more than I did. But that wasn’t what bothered me the most. It was the look on Chase’s face. Mia, however was relishing it. Her eyes were alive and a smug grin danced across her lips.

“No, she must have me mistaken for someone else.”

With that I took off my headphones and let the next contestant take a seat. With my back pressed against the wall, I didn’t even want to glance over at Chase. What was it about lying that made it seem as if everyone knew? I didn’t explain myself. I owed nobody an answer, especially Chase Bryan.

The journey back to Lakeside that day was a long one. I had made a point to go to the back of the van, duck down in my seat, plug my earphones in and pretend I was asleep. I just couldn’t bring myself to look over at Luke or Chase. I felt humiliated by it all.

When we arrived and I was dropped off at the café, Chase stepped down out of the van. The doors closed behind him.

“Meghan?”

I turned around.

“Did you kiss him?”

“Yeah.”

I turned and went inside the café. Once the door closed, I placed a hand over my mouth.

W
riter’s block
was getting even worse. I had gone from being able to churn out songs fast to barely being able to get a few lines down before I scrunched up the paper and tossed it into the waste paper bin.

“You should take a break,” Sophie said.

I had made it my daily routine to write in the mornings. I couldn’t do it upstairs in my apartment. There was something about the clinking of coffee cups that had always helped me to focus. I also think I was trying to duplicate what had always worked before. Sitting at a corner table by the window at the front of the café. Today was a stark contrast to yesterday’s gloomy weather. The sun was out and its warmth bathed me in glorious light.

Every time I tried to get a few lyrics down, I would start thinking about Luke or Chase, or what that bitch Leann had done. I was moving through a range of emotions. Sadness, humiliation, anger. Love was a strange thing that tugged on my heart. It either brought the best out in me, or wore me down.

Maybe that was why I had always been careful with guys. Relationships always started off good. Everything looked rosy and then it all went to shit once they got to know you, or you found out they were cheating on you.

But now here I was essentially doing the same thing. I could blame it on the booze, but how many guys had said the same to their girls? I was drinking. It was just an honest mistake. Yeah, that was going to fly.

Was Leann spying on me? What would she have to gain from this? It wasn’t like I was her competition. Maisey was way better than me, heck a number of them were. At least from what I could tell.

I tossed my pen down and sipped on my Americano. Spike hadn’t been in today. He had phoned in sick. I didn’t know if he was telling the truth or not, I really didn’t want to get into it with him again. He would have to get used to the fact that he and I were never going to be a couple. It just wasn’t in the cards.

Today was meant to be all about writing. Everyone had been given the day off and told to up their game. The judges were disappointed in what people were bringing to the table. Ratings had dropped and talk on social media was that the show was starting to lack the appeal that it once had.

I snatched up my keys and went out to my truck. I decided I was going to take a trip out to Coopers Lake, it had always been a great place for inspiration. I had spent many a day there with Chase long before this came along. I felt a need to reconnect with whatever I had found back then. Just getting out and taking in the fresh fall air made me breathe easier. A change of scenery, was what my father always said. How I missed my parents. I wished they were here to see what had become of the café. Just to be able to have someone to bounce my ideas off, and get feedback without them having some angle would have been nice.

Coopers Lake had been a spot that my brother Jake and I would come to often. He was older than me and in many ways looked out for me. He would take me up to the lake fishing and it was with him that I caught my first fish. Now as I drove my way up to the lake, I thought about our time together.

I hadn’t spoken to Jake in several years. With a busy career and kids, he was no doubt snowed under in responsibility. That’s why when the phone call came in, I was surprised. I had to pull off to the side of the road to take the call.

“Meghan.”

“Jake?”

“What on earth is going on back there? Your face is plastered all over magazines out here. I also caught a radio interview you did. My sister. Entering the big time.”

I laughed.

“It’s really good to hear your voice.”

“It’s been too long, sis.”

“Yeah. How’s Darla?”

“She’s good.”

“And the kids?”

“I must send you some photos. They are growing up so fast.”

“I would love to see them.’

“So what’s the deal? What’s happening? I’m hearing a lot of rumors about a small-town girl making a mark for herself.”

“Is that what they’re saying?”

“Why do I get the feeling you aren’t telling me something?”

“Hey, can I call you back? I’m just on the road right now. Once I get to the lake I’ll phone.”

“Ah. You must have things on your mind.”

He knew me too well. It was the one place we both ended up when life as kids was getting too overwhelming. Once I arrived at the lake I killed the engine and phoned him back.

“So what’s going on, sis?”

“I got involved with Chase Bryan.”

There was silence. “You are joking?”

“I wish. No.”

“So all that talk about you winning a competition was just smoke and mirrors?”

“Yeah. He was a customer. Writing in Lakeside. One thing led to another and boom. Here I am now in a contest.”

“You wrote a lot when you were a kid, but I didn’t think you were that serious about music?”

“What can I say? It’s new to me as well. However, I’m kinda stuck right now. Trying to come up with new songs. I can’t write for shit.”

“Do you want this?”

“Yeah. I think. I really don’t know what I want right now. I’ve pushed a good friend away, landed myself in hot water with his management and have now broken another guy’s heart.”

“She’s a man eater,” he laughed and started singing that man eater song over the phone.

“You really aren’t much help.”

“I’m sorry. You know me. I can’t stay serious for long. Listen, when it was flowing. Your writing. What were you doing?”

“Seeing Chase Bryan.”

“Well, get back in the game.”

“Not as easy as that.”

I brought him up to speed on how Chase was one of the judges, and the back and forth trouble I had with Mia. Then Luke.

“Ah, it’s all details. Out here in Hollywood. This place isn’t what I thought it was. You know we always see the end product. Slick movies that are marketed really well. But the development is terrible. If you saw what these movies looked like before they hit the editing room, you would laugh yourself silly.”

“What are you getting at, Jake?”

“Stop sweating the small stuff. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter. Enjoy the process. If Chase makes you happy, screw his management. Fight for what you want. No one is going to give it to you, Meghan. No one shows up with a silver platter and says, here it is. You’ve got talent. OK, it might be raw and dirty and need some honing but it’s there bubbling under the surface. You just need to let it out. Stop letting others get you down. Focus on what you want. If that’s Chase, go get him. If it’s the contest, write like you mean it. Write from your heart and just let it all hang out there.”

I blew out my cheeks.

“You really should become a motivational speaker, Jake. The film industry isn’t doing you any favors.”

“I know, right? Darla says the same thing.”

“Great minds think alike.”

“It’s been good to catch up. Let’s do it again, just this time, let’s not wait so long.”

T
en minutes later
, I texted Chase and asked him to meet me out at the lake. While I waited for him, I took off my shoes and put my toes into the cold water. I sat at the end of a dock that Jake and I had fished from many a summer. The water was frigid. I rested my palms on the wood and watched a flock of birds break from the trees. It was strange to think that someone could inspire you. Bring out the best and make you produce material that was better than you could ever create without them. Was it like that for Johnny Cash and June Carter? He was married, but to the wrong woman. June made him believe he was more than what he was, she helped him out of the drugs and booze and kept him on the straight and narrow. I wondered about that. How many women had he met along the way before his wife or June? I knew some felt that once you were with someone that they were the right one for you, but I didn’t believe that. Deep down, I believed that there was someone specifically for every single person. Someone who you connected with on more than a sexual level.

Was Chase like that for me? Do I do that for him?

I heard his truck pull up, I cast a glance over my shoulder and watched him get out. He looked around. No doubt he was making sure there were no photographers. The town had seen a rise in paparazzi since the event had started. They were sneaky too. Hiding in trees, bushes and behind walls. They rarely showed their faces, instead they used long-lens cameras and then later snapshots of contestants and the judges would show up in magazines.

The sound of his boots coming down the dock caused me to twist around. He sat down beside me and we both gazed out across the water. I caught a whiff of his spicy, crisp aftershave.

“It’s nice out here, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, my brother and I used to come up here and fish. Actually I just got off the phone with him. Seems word had spread all the way to California.”

He chuckled to himself.

“You seem surprised by that?”

“I’m not used to it. Going from being a nobody to being seen on magazines, being talked about on social media. I don’t even go on there, as I’m sure there are some who are dissing me. I don’t think I’m ready for that.”

“So what did you want to see me about?”

“Chase. The whole thing with Luke. It was a mistake at the end of the night. I had too much to drink. He kissed me, and I kissed him back. The next day I felt bad about it. Obviously.”

“It’s OK.”

“What?”

He snorted.

“Do you know how many women kiss me when I’m making my way through the crowds in those large stadiums?”

I shook my head.

“Neither do I. People do mad things. It’s life. You’re a good-looking girl. What guy wouldn’t want to press his lips against you? Or run his hand up your back?”

I felt his hand reach the small of my back. It sent chills up my spine.

“I’m having trouble writing.”

I just came out with it.

“And I think you are the answer.”

I
burst out laughing
. Afterward, I realized that wasn’t what I should have done as she abruptly got up and stormed her way back up the dock.

“Meghan. C’mere. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I’m just a joke to you.”

“No. It just sounded funny. You know, me being the answer to anyone else’s problems.”

She spun around and stormed back.

“Listen up, buddy boy, when you were struggling to write, I was there. If it wasn’t for me you would probably still be floundering around inside that cottage, or wiping off the grime of the street after your record label kicked you to the curb. All I’m asking for is a bit of help.”

“I can’t. It’s against the rules. And anyway, it’s not like I did much.”

“I don’t know what it is you do. You must have some kind of magical bloody power, as when I’m around you lyrics come to me. Maybe you bring out the worst in me. They say great songs come from heartache. Maybe that’s it.”

I laughed, bringing my hand up to her cheek.

“Has anyone ever told you how sexy you are when you are mad?”

She slapped my hand away and I chuckled a bit more.

“You’re not helping.”

“But I thought that was what did it? I wave around my magical wand,” I dropped my eyes between my legs. “And you get inspired.”

Her eyes flared. I knew I had to nip this in the bud quick. She was losing her marbles. I grabbed her by the arms and pulled her in close. She had her mouth partly open and was about to say something but I cut that short by placing my mouth over hers and sliding my tongue inside. I could hear her murmuring as I continued kissing her. She was still resisting, and then it was if she just gave into my advances and relaxed. It felt good to taste her sweet mouth, and run my hands down her back to the cup of her ass. Did this girl not know how fine she was?

I hadn’t been doing the judging long but I was already getting tired of it. It wasn’t my thing. Writing music, performing, that was what turned me on. Being with her. I couldn’t push the sight of her naked body from my mind. How good she tasted and her soft smooth skin.

As we parted to catch a breath she rested her head on my chest. We hadn’t been standing there more than a few minutes when I caught sight of a flash. It was small, nothing that was obvious, but enough to make me stare in the direction of the tree line and wonder if someone had just taken a photo of us.

“We should go.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere but here. This is too open.”

I took her hand and led her back to the parking lot. She took her vehicle and followed me to number seventeen cottage. There is a strange moment between the time that two people know they want each other and the second they give themselves to the other. Logic goes out the window. All you can think about is undressing them and getting tangled in their legs. All the cares of the world, responsibilities and stress just vanish for a brief period of time and once again all is well. That was my weakness. Women. Their beautiful eyes, perky tits and ass and that hourglass figure. Some days it had me unable to get anything done. All I could dwell on was the last girl I had been with, or the one I had recently met.

I knew that I had gained a reputation for myself as being a womanizer. It wasn’t that I had set out to be that, or hurt anyone. It was just a primal thing. Like being hungry, driven to have sex for no other reason than to feel alive. To feel something more than what I felt on a day-to-day basis, which was empty.

My bank account had more money in it, than most folks could ever need. I had the fame that most men only wished they could have, and yet it was an odd place to be in. Until you were there, it’s hard to describe. Because money and fame couldn’t meet that ache that is deep inside. It was the reason why I had lost friends of mine to drugs. So many of them had overdosed and finished life in some dingy motel. Anyone looking on would have said they didn’t value life, they didn’t appreciate what they had, they were ungrateful. But it wasn’t that. These were folks who lived on the edge. They drained life of all that it offered in a short amount of time, more than anyone did in a lifetime. If life could be summed up in the speed that we lived it at, they had gone from birth to death at lightning speed and seen everything in between. They didn’t need eighty years. Twenty, thirty or forty was enough. But people didn’t see it that way.

What a waste of a life, they would say. They had so many more years to live, they would say. But they didn’t know them. Most of them had traveled the world, tasted every exotic food and experienced all the highs and lows that life had to offer. Money gave you that. It gave you the freedom to go off and do all these things.

The truth was some lives weren’t meant to last eighty years.

No one could know what lessons a soul was meant to learn while here.

I closed the door behind us and peeked out the window.

“Who are you looking for?”

“Photographers. They are everywhere.”

“I think we are a little beyond that now.”

“Meghan. All we need is to have one of them snap us together and you and I are going to be kicked out of this contest. They won’t have it.”

“So we stay incognito.”

“I don’t know about that.”

She let out a laugh and slumped down on the bed.

“The great Chase Bryan is nervous. This is refreshing.”

I eyed her, before returning to looking out the window. I could have sworn I had seen a camera flash. I was paranoid for sure. Once the contest was over, seeing each other wouldn’t be a problem. Hell, I didn’t care what Mia had to say. I wanted to be with this girl. She just did it for me. I wasn’t sure why or how. Just when I was around her, I wanted to be around her more. She had pulled the rug out from underneath me and had me mesmerized.

I walked over to the bed, looked at Meghan. She was wearing a tight T-shirt and a loose but cute skirt. My eyes moved down to her cleavage and then back to her eyes. The electricity between us was tangible. We didn’t need to say what we wanted, we both knew.

I was about to make a move on her, when there was a knock at the door. Whoever it was had seriously bad timing. I gestured to Meghan to go into the bathroom. At least she wouldn’t be in the direct line of sight as I opened the door.

When I opened it, fully expecting to find Mia, I was surprised to see Leann. She peered past me as though she wanted to be sure I was alone. Without saying a word she pushed me inside and slammed the door with the back of her foot. I tried to catch my breath and think of something to say, but she had already torn open her shirt and my eyes were now marveling at her voluptuous breasts that were jiggling as she moved towards me.

For a brief few seconds all I could do was think of was how this was like a Chinese buffet. All you could eat and I was hungry. Then I remembered that Meghan was in the bathroom and no doubt, probably watching this through a cracked-open door.

“Chase Bryan, you naughty boy. I’ve seen the way you’ve been eating me up with your eyes. But don’t worry, I don’t mind. I know what guys like you want. And I’m quite prepared to give it to you.”

She pushed me back on the bed and tore open my shirt and began running her fingers down my stomach. Every time I went to speak she would place her finger tight against my lips.

“Shhh...”

She tugged at my belt and unbuckled it fast with all the precision of a woman who had done this more times than one.

“Leann.”

She had unzipped me and if Meghan hadn’t stepped out at that point, I’m pretty sure we would have been doing the double back beast. Leann spun around when the door creaked open.

“You?”

“I’m pretty sure this is against the rules,” Meghan said, her eyes darting from Leann to me. Leann leaped off the bed like a bobcat leaving behind its prey.

“And what about you? What the hell are you doing here?”

Oh this was about to get good. I couldn’t help but grin and lie there watching it like a bad episode of the Jerry Springer show.

“I was using his bathroom.”

“A likely story.” She looked back at me with disdain.

“Believe what you want, I don’t give a crap.”

I was pretty sure they were about to break into a serious catfight, claws and mud wrestling minus the mud, when there was another knock at the door. If this was another one of the contestants, this was about to turn into a full-scale orgy. Good times.

I jumped up with my shirt still open and belt buckle loose, and opened the door. The snap of cameras flashing nearly blinded me. Reporters were shouting questions. I slammed the door closed.

“Shit!”