What Now? (18 page)

The
screech of tires made them all look out the windows expectantly in time to see
Nick unfolding his tall body from a small compact sports car driven by a
beautiful woman with reddish brown hair. She waved happily to Nick as she
reversed and blew a kiss before racing off.

Nick
looked rumpled in the black shirt and pants that he had worn to the party the
night before. He shaded his eyes with his hands, having no sunglasses. Lily
stormed out to meet him and, while Shari couldn’t hear what she was saying, her
gestures and the expression on her face didn’t need much interpretation. Nick
seemed to let her rant and rave for a while before slicing the air with his
hand to cut her off and striding away, throwing a comment over his shoulder. 

Lily
returned to the bus with steam practically coming out of her ears.

“He
said that he has no desire to ride in the bus if I’m going to be constantly
nagging him so he’s going to catch a cab!”

“What?
After we sat here for an hour? I don’t think so,” Shari declared, heading for
the door.

She caught
up with Nick as he had almost reached the marina office where she assumed that
he was going to call a cab.

“Nick
Badley,” she began.

“Don’t
start too. One nagging woman is enough. You guys should have left without me.”

“I
couldn’t agree more, but since we’ve been waiting for over an hour the least
you could do is get in the bus so that we can be on our way. I know teenagers
more responsible than you! Are you going to let testosterone rule you your whole
life?” She asked in disgust.

“Nothing
rules me! I call the shots and I decide who, when and where. Since you’re not
interested, why do you care what I do and who I do it with?” 

“You
think I care? I only care that you’ve kept all of us waiting for over an hour!”
she lied.

“Well,
let’s get going then,” he commanded, brushing past her angrily to head for the
bus.

“Did
you really have to sleep with Cinnamon Brown last night?” She asked quietly
from behind him.

That
stopped Nick in his tracks and he turned back to face her, catching the hurt on
her face before she had time to school her expression into one of indifference.
His shoulders slumped.

“No,
I didn’t have to. It didn’t mean anything. I know that we don’t have any
understanding, but I’m sorry,” he said.

“I
don’t even know if I can believe that, Nick. It’s a habit with you and habits
are hard to break.”

“You’re
right. It’s become a habit, but I’ve read that you can break a habit in thirty days.
I can break this habit.”

“I
really hope you can, Nick, for your own sake.” Shari passed him and headed back
to the bus.

He
stared after her for a moment before following her. He was now disgusted with
himself for spending the night with Cinnamon. It hadn’t been worth the hurt
he’d seen in Shari’s eyes. He had to change. He had to.

Tim
threw down the Miami Herald in disgust. The article would have pleased Lily,
but it pissed him off. It was as if the reporter was deliberately trying to rub
his nose in it.

“ ‘The
band doesn’t seem to be missing Tim Benton’,” he repeated aloud. He picked up
his cell phone and called Nick’s number. It went straight to voicemail. Of
course it was barely noon so Nick was probably still asleep in somebody’s bed.
That was more than he could say for himself because Sarah had moved out of
their room when he was on the road and still refused to have anything to do
with him unless he agreed to go to rehab. He left a voice message asking Nick
to call him, although he doubted that Nick would return his call.

He
could use a drink. Heading to the kitchen, he poured himself some vodka and
found some orange juice in the fridge to add to it. He was bored out of his
mind. A few weeks ago he’d been sick of being on the road and now he would give
anything to feel the adrenaline rush from being on the stage, even if the fans
were screaming “Nick”. He cursed. Damn that Shari Goodwin and all her
questions. She’d said that not all women wanted to sleep with someone famous. 
Who did she think she was kidding? He had seen how she looked at Nick.  Always
Nick. He called Nick’s phone again.

“Hi,
Nick. It’s me again. Congrats on the concert last night. I just read the
Herald. Great article! Give me a call; I need to talk to you.”

He
would give him another hour to get his act together before he called him back.
He needed his job back or he’d completely lose it. Drumming was his life.  He
could probably get a gig with another band, but there was no way he could walk
into a band as successful as theirs. Not that he was part of it anymore. Why
did he mess that up? Actually, he didn’t mess it up; Shari Goodwin did. Brad
had threatened to get another drummer before, but he’d never followed through until
she pushed him to do it.

An
hour later he called back. He was almost surprised when Nick answered the call.

“Hi,
Nick. I’ve been calling you.”

“Yeah,
I saw the missed calls. We just got into Fort Lauderdale and I’m damned tired.
What do you want?”

“I
was just calling to congratulate you on the concert. I read about it in the
Herald today.”

He’d
forgotten that Tim had a place in Miami Beach. He was sure that Tim hadn’t
called him to congratulate him. What did he really want? He wondered if he knew
that Sarah had called him.

“Thanks,
Tim, but what do you really want? Have you checked into rehab yet?” He got
straight to the point.

“No,
not yet. I’m enjoying spending a little time with my wife. Thanks for telling
her I got fired, by the way.” OK, so he knew.

“You
should have told her yourself. Look, Tim, you need to sort yourself out before
you mess up your life completely.”

“You
already did a pretty good job of messing it up, Nick. I’m bored to death, Nick.
I need my job back. I’ll straighten up, man.”  He hated to sound as if he was
begging, but he was.

“We’ve
got somebody, Tim. Once you get cleaned up I’m sure that Brad would be glad to
help you find a band.”

“I
don’t want just any band; I like playing with you guys. We were doing alright
until Lily insisted on that documentary and brought in that journalist.”

“This
is not Shari’s fault, Tim. You know that both Brad and I talked to you about
getting your act together long before she came.”

“That’s
what I expect you to say, Nick. After all, you’re probably banging her in spite
of what she said. She must be some piece of –”

“Stop
right there, Benton!” Nick was glad that he was on the phone and not in front
of Tim because he knew that he would have stopped the words with his fist
before they even got out of his mouth. Tim was not in the least sorry, so, as
far as Nick was concerned, he deserved everything he got. Nick wanted nothing
more to do with him.

“You’ll
find this hard to believe, but I’m not ‘banging’ her as you said, and if I were
you, I wouldn’t go down that line before you really piss off the lady and find
yourself in a jail cell.”

“She’s
got nothing on me because nothing happened.”

“That’s
because I turned up and, if necessary, I’m prepared to say what I saw in
court.”

“I
can’t believe you would take the side of that b–”

“I’ve
had enough of this, Benton. Whether she presses charges or not, know this: you
will never work with me again and if you persist, I’m going to do my best to
make sure that the only place you play is in some two-bit bar in Miami.”

“You
just try, Nick. If I go down, you’re going with me. I’m prepared to see you in
hell.” He hung up.

Nick was
angry, but at the same time he was saddened that it had come to this.  He truly
wanted to help Tim, but he couldn’t help someone who didn’t want to be helped.
He had brushed off Tim’s resentment of him before, but now he wasn’t even
hiding it. Nick suddenly wondered if he’d been the one leaking damaging
information to the media, but what would have been his motive? Damaging Nick’s
and the band’s image could only damage his own. Did he hate him so much that he
was prepared to take him out kamikaze style if he had to?

Shari
soaked up the warmth of the afternoon sun as she sat at a table under a large,
white umbrella. The sea, just beyond the hand rails, looked calm and flat with
a few yachts anchored in the distance. The clear water of the pool just yards
away looked inviting, but there was no way she would risk being caught in her
swimsuit again by Nick. The last time was still fresh in her mind, stirring
thoughts and feelings that she could do without.

They
had checked into the hotel just over an hour ago and, after showering and
changing into a cool sundress, she headed down to the pool area to do some
work. She loved the calming beiges and whites of her room which contrasted with
the dark furniture and the rich green of the decorative palms that graced the
corners.

It
was yet another beautiful hotel, but she’d decided that this would be her last until
New York. She’d done all the interviews she needed and she’d already been to
five concerts; tonight would make the sixth. It would make more sense to go
back to her office, work on what she had and rejoin the band for the last
concert.

She’d
come to that conclusion sometime during the short drive to Fort Lauderdale as
she’d watched Nick head for a bunk to sleep off the rest of his night.  Quite
frankly, she was not going to continue to watch him flaunt women that he’d
slept with in front of her. She had more self-respect that that. For someone
who claimed he would give up his ‘adoring females’ for her, he wasn’t showing
it. Assuming he’d meant it in the first place. If he had, the ink hadn’t even
dried before he’d broken the contract.

A
movement caught her eye and she turned her head to see Nick walking towards her
wearing a pair of white chinos and a navy and white striped shirt with natural
brown shoes. The sunglasses were back in place and he looked devastatingly
handsome in his nautical colors. Her heart ignored her head that warned her not
to be taken in by his good looks and charm and started to race. Heads turned as
he passed women on lounge chairs without seeming to give them a second glance.
They, on the other hand, devoured him with their eyes. At least no-one
approached him. She’d forgotten that being with him was like living in a fish
bowl.

“Hi,
Shari,” he greeted her. “Do you mind if I join you?” He was already sitting
down.

“By
all means,” she said sarcastically since he’d already made himself comfortable.

“You
look fresh and cool this afternoon and I see that we’re matching,” he observed.
She had taken the opportunity afforded by the warm weather to wear a white
sundress with navy blue polka dots. The white contrasted beautifully with her
light brown skin.

“You
look fresh too,” she remarked. “Hardly any sign of your night of debauchery.”

“I’ve
said I’m sorry about that, Shari, so let it drop, OK?

She
shook her head and turned back to her tablet, ignoring him. She needed to put
some space between her and Nick. A dose of reality was what she needed; she had
to get away from these luxury hotels, private jets and tour buses. It was time
to get back to her life in her 1200 sq. ft. town house and her modest car. The
life she was living now was not real and she’d better not get any more used to
it or it would be even harder when she had to go back to hers. She’d also
better not get too used to Nick either because, after the documentary was
finished, there would be a void in her life. After all, he was larger than life
and filled everything around him.

“By
the way, Tim called me just after I got to my room. He’d called several times
before that. He saw an article in the Miami Herald and said he wanted to
congratulate me, but that wasn’t the reason.”

“He
lives in Miami?”

“He has
a place in Miami Beach. I’d forgotten, but I don’t know where he saw the
article. He hasn’t checked into rehab as yet. He says he’s spending a few days
with his wife first.”

“How
is he?”

“He’s
still angry and is threatening to take me down with him if he goes down.” Nick
shook his head sadly.

“Goes
down for what?”

“Attempted
rape, if you decide to file charges.”

Shari
shivered. She did not like the sound of that. Nick didn’t sound overly
concerned by the threat, but she knew better. She had stared Tim’s demons in
the face and knew what they were capable of. A premonition made her rub her
hands up and down her arms which suddenly felt chilled in spite of the weather.
She didn’t know what Tim had in mind, but whatever it was she was sure it would
not bode well for Nick and maybe not for her.

“Nick, you need to take him
seriously. I think he’s unbalanced, so who knows what he’s capable of.”

“I’m touched that you’re worried
about me, Shari, but I don’t think he’ll try to kill me or anything that
dramatic.” He laughed.

“I’m not saying that, but there’s
more than one way to take someone down. Please be careful, Nick. I won’t be
there to watch out for you,” she teased, trying to dispel the feeling of
unease.

“Where are you going?” he demanded.
The thought of Shari not being around was strangely disturbing. He had gotten
used to her being there.

“I’ve decided to go back home and
work on the documentary. I’ve done most of the interviews; it’s only your
family that I need to speak to. So I can start putting the information together
with the footage that Brian has so that it will be ready as soon after the
Holidays as possible. I’ll rejoin you in New York for the last concert.”

“What am I supposed to do without
you around, Shari? Who’s going to put me in my place or look at me with
disapproval and challenge me to be a better person?”

“I may challenge you to be a better
person, but you don’t seem to be accepting the challenge,” she said drily.

“Touché! You told me that you live
in Raleigh, didn’t you?” She nodded. “You know we’re playing at the PNC Arena,
right? I could come and hang with you at your place when we’re there next week.
I wouldn’t want you to miss me too much before we meet up in New York,” he
teased.

“I don’t think so, Nick. I think we
should keep things as they are. I’m not sure I want you getting into my life.”

“Shari, I’m hurt. I just want to
see where you live.”

“Believe me, my place pales in
comparison to all of the hotels you’ve stayed at and can probably fit in one of
the rooms in your house.”

“I don’t care. I want to see it
anyway. I want to see you in your space. OK?”

“I’ll think about it,” she evaded.

“You haven’t forgiven me yet,” he
accused. “Whatever happened to seventy times seven?”

She grudgingly acknowledged that
she should follow the scripture Nick had quoted, but if he thought that he
could impress her with his knowledge he had another thought coming. As she had
told her mother, even the devil could quote scripture.

“OK,” she agreed reluctantly. She
would let Nick into her space temporarily.