Save Me From the Dark (11 page)

Ace

The final strings of
Loving You Foolishly
sound and the screaming starts. Thanking everyone for coming, I practically run from the stage. All night, all I could think about was Bella. She is so far into my heart it’s unbelievable.

“Ace! Ace!” I hear screamed behind me.

Not stopping, I continue to hurry my way outside. Gary’s voice sounds over the piece in my ear.

“Alexis is running after you. You might want to get rid of her.”

Frustration fills me. Turning, I face a grinning Alexis. “What do you want? I’m busy. How did you get backstage to begin with?”

“I have my ways,” she smiles and she runs her hand down my arm.

Stepping back away from her, I look her directly in the eyes. “Well, whatever it is you’re doing, stop. You are not allowed back stage unless I say otherwise. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m busy.”

Her huffing is the last thing I hear before I’m ducking into a nearby car followed closely by Gary. Once the car is in movement, my body relaxes. I’ll be with my girl soon.

“You know you just pissed her off right?”

“I’m sure I did, but I’m done coddling her. Call the magazine and tell them I do not want her interviewing me anymore. Maybe they can just schedule her with someone else at the time of my interviews and she’ll never know,” I say hopefully.

“You know that’s reaching just as much as I do,” Gary says distractedly.

Looking over at him, I see him reading his phone. “What’s going on?”

“Don’t worry about it right now,” he says looking up as we arrive at the hotel.

Whatever he is looking at is erased from my memory. I am only an elevator ride away from my girl. Climbing from the car, I can feel my heart begin to race. Just the thought of her waiting for me, I know now what I’ve been missing.

She
is what I’ve been searching for, what I’ve been longing for. The ride up the elevator is far too long. Gary keeps laughing at me.

“It’s only been six hours since you’ve seen her,” he laughs.

“I know, but with what’s going on in her personal life…,” I shrug. “I’m just worried when I can’t see her, I guess.”

“Ethan and Heath have been watching the door. Don’t worry so much.” He takes a deep breath. “But I do know what you are saying. I’ve been checking in with the guys throughout the sound check and concert.”

“Thank you.”

We walk down the hall and Gary goes into the only other apartment on this floor, while I continue down to where my girl is waiting for me. Sliding my card into the door, I push it open and walk inside.

“Bella? Baby?”

Seeing nothing touched downstairs, I walk up to the bedroom. When I enter my room, the sight before me has me pulling out my phone and snapping a few pictures of her before I make my way to the bed. Carefully, I climb onto the bed and pull her into my arms kissing her head softly.

“AJ?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Go back to sleep,” I whisper.

She sits up. Rubbing her eyes, damn if she didn’t look sexy as hell and I couldn’t stop myself. Leaning in, I take her lips with mine. Bella moans immediately and wraps her arms around my neck, scooting in closer to me. Enfolding her in my arms, I lower her back down to the bed.

After a moment, she pulls back and smiles, placing her hand on either side of my face.

“All my life, the only thing I’ve ever known is pain and sadness, until now. Whatever makes you so different, I hope I never lose it. Because when I’m with you…I feel like I’m…I’m… something.”

Pressing a soft kiss to her lips, I smile. “When will you realize, to me, you
are
everything.”

A tear slips from her eye, sliding down to her temple. “Please…”

“I can’t. You have no idea how empty my life was before you. I understand that this is hard for you to believe, so I’ll prove it to you. Every day we are together, I’ll show you in my actions not just in my words. I love you,” I whisper the last part before kissing her deeply.

Breaking from the kiss before I go too far, I smile down at her. Bella smiles back at me.

“I hope you know you mean a lot to me too, but I’m just not sure I’m…”

Placing my finger gently on her lips, I make a soft shushing noise. “I told you before; I’m not pressuring you to say it back. I’d never force you to do something you’re not ready to do. That wouldn’t be fair to you or to me.”

She nods her head and I can just see the tears glistening in her eyes. This beautiful woman never ceases to amaze me. No matter what she faces at school or home, it’s love that throws her off. It saddens me to my core. Bella is one of those types of people that deserve to be loved not hated or hurt. It seems that may be all that she gets sadly.

“So,” I say in way of changing the subject. “What would you like to do tonight? Whatever you want we can do. Your wish is my command,” I grin, pulling her to a sitting position.

Her answering smile knocks the breath from my lungs. She is definitely the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. It’s no wonder my heart chose her to fall for. Her inner beauty matches her outer beauty.

“I don’t know. I’ve never been here before,” she mumbles almost sounding embarrassed.

“Okay then,” I jump off the bed. Holding out my hand to her, I smile. “Tonight will be a night of dreams and surprises.” I kiss her hand as she stands from the bed. “I’ve got a few calls to make. Why don’t you jump in the shower and I’ll have something special waiting for you by the time you get out.”

She kisses my cheek and walks off into the bathroom. I so
badly
want to walk in there and relish in that beautiful body that I know lies beneath those clothes, but I will never take from her for my own selfish needs. When we make love, I want her just as invested.

This is the first time I’ve ever been in love before and I’ll be damned if I do anything to mess it up. When we really started to get to know each other, something told me that she’d change everything for me. She did too. To what degree, I just don’t know yet, but I’m here for the long haul that’s for sure.

Pulling my phone from my pocket, I call the front desk. “Jarrett’s room please.”

“Just one moment, please.”

Within a few moments, I hear the familiar rough voice of my partner in crime. “Jarrett.”

“Hey man, what are you up to tonight?”

“Not much. Just got in, honestly ready to hit the sack. Dare I ask why you’re calling me through the hotel line and not my cell phone?”

“Because you rarely answer your cell phone anymore.”

“Hmmm, okay good point. So what’s up?”

“Can I bug you for a favor before you sack it for the night?”

“You know you can. What’s up?” I could hear the nervousness in his voice.

Jarrett and I go way back. When I first started singing, he and I bonded almost immediately. We are the same age and under the same record label. Jarrett Vera is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to country music. He is setting new heights for anyone that comes along after him. He’s worked with top artists and shocked them all.

“Can you ask Dawn if she’d get me a very nice evening outfit or some shit? Something that will pass the dress code for
Alialeah
’s, but be comfortable enough to walk around in…”

“You mean casual/classy?” I hear Dawn’s voice.

“Ha! Uh yes, I guess? She’s a size six, I think.”

“How many times have I told you to stop the groupy shit, brother?” Jarrett’s father tone cuts in.

“She’s not. Do you remember the girl I met online?” I ask nervously.

“Yeah, did she finally agree to meet you?”

“Yeah, she attended my concert yesterday. She was so pissed when I lied to her. She has Gary’s stamp of approval.” I pause for a moment. “She has my heart,” I say almost quietly.

“Damn, man. She earned Gare’s approval? She’s gotta be made of gold for him to approve of her,” he laughs.

“She’s incredible. Are y’all hungry? Maybe we could all go to dinner together and you could meet her?”

“Yes,” Dawn squeals.

Jarrett’s laughter sounds through the phone. “I guess we’re going to supper. She’ll get the shit for your girl, man. Anything else?”

I pause for a moment, taking a deep breath. “Please make sure it’s not too revealing. Long sleeves, the works.”

It’s Jarrett’s turn to pause. “Okay,” he draws out the word. “What’s going on?”

“It’s not my place to explain. See you soon?”

“Yeah, we’ll all ride to the restaurant together. Dawn is already on her way over with the clothes.”

“Thanks man.”

“You know, I’ll do anything for you, brother. Hell, you brought me Dawn. I’ll be thanking you forever for that one. This is the least we can do.”

“You don’t have to come. I know you said you’re ready to sack it.”

“Dude, I think your balls have fallen off. The poor girl will not know pleasure. I wasn’t intending on going to sleep dumbass.”

“Oh, well that’s even worse,” I laugh.

“Nah, just pushed off for a few hours. We’re here for you brother. See you in a few.”

“Thanks again man.”

After disconnecting the call, I call up
Alialeah
’s and make sure we can get in. It’s one of the hottest places in town and unless you have a big name, you can’t get in without waiting for months at a time.

It is a unique restaurant. There are several kitchens and each caters to a specific food style; Italian, Chinese, American, and so on. It’s a great place to eat at when you just aren’t sure what you are in the mood for.

Once I get the clothes from Dawn and I leave them in the bathroom for Bella, I start to think of other things to do tonight. It’s late, but I want to make sure this weekend is the best weekend of her life. She deserves nothing less.

Dawn and Jarrett arrive a little later. Greeting each of them with a hug, we walk into the sitting room.

“How’d the concert go this weekend?” Jarrett asks.

“It went well. The reception was good,” I nod as I talk.

My mind isn’t in the small talk. My thoughts are on Bella.

“So, do you have a picture of this mystery woman that holds your heart?”

“You’re about to meet her, Dawn. You want a picture first?”

Jarrett laughs. “Why are you hiding her?”

Even though I know he’s joking, he doesn’t understand what a statement like that would do to Bella. My defenses kick in.

“I’m not hiding her, asshat. If I could, I’d scream to every station across the world so everyone knew.”

Dawn scoots forward and places her hand on mine. “What’s wrong sweetie? Is everything okay? Why can’t you do that?”

“Because of what
I’m
hiding,” Bella says.

All our heads turn in her direction. My mouth drops open as I take in how beautiful she looks. The dress flows to her feet hiding whatever she’s wearing beneath it. With the white arm length shawl thing on, she was pretty much covered.

Without a clear thought in my head, I walk across the room to her. Pulling her in my arms, I kiss her like there’s no tomorrow. Her hands grip my biceps, but she returns the kiss just as intensely.

“Um, should we leave?” Jarrett jokes.

In my shock of seeing her, I completely forgot that they are even here. Pulling back from the kiss, I cup her face in my hands.

“You look incredible,” I say softly.

Her cheeks turn a slight pink as she drops her head slightly. “Thank you.”

“Now, why don’t you ever treat me like that,” I hear Dawn poke fun at Jarrett.

“Babe, if I greeted you like that every time I thought you looked incredible, we’d never leave the bedroom,” Jarrett jokes back.

“Oh, shut up you,” she sasses back.

Stepping back laughing at my two friends, I lead her further into the room. “Jarrett, Dawn, this is my Bella,” I say proudly.

“Hello,” she mumbles.

“I’m glad to see the clothes fit. You look beautiful. I’m Dawn,” she says as she extends her hand to Bella.