Her Rock Star Friends, page 13
“There you go,” said Jersey. “Scientific proof.”
“It’s only twelve percent,” protested Jacine.
“Admit it, Jacy,” said Tobias. “You’ve been working overtime and then coming home to us. There is a limit to what the human body can take.”
Jacine huffed and dropped onto the bed.
“Is this what it’s like getting old?”
“Old?” said Tobias. “You don’t know what it’s like to be old.”
“Now you sound like my father.”
“Ouch,” said Jersey in a rare moment of empathy.
"Oh, God, I'm sorry, Tobias," said Jacine. She, along with the rest of us knew what a sore spot Tobias' age was for him, though to tell the truth, the lawyer had no problem keeping up with us. But Jacine looked close to losing it, and I can't allow that.
“That’s it,” I said. I swung Jacine’s feet onto the bed.
“Wait.”
“Franklin has Jacine’s appointments covered,” Tobias announced.
“Dad just got back to work. He needs to take it easy.”
Tobias shook his head. “That man is perfectly fine, and you have to get over the idea he had a heart attack. You need to take care of you.”
“And if you don’t,” said Rory. “We’ll take care of you.”
Jacine’s phone rang, and she tried to get up to reach for it on the nightstand, but Jersey snatched it first.
“Jacine Alexander’s phone. No. She’s not available.”
"Who is it?" she said. Jacine reached frantically for the phone, and wisely Dys turned away. "Yes. Call Mr. Alexander's office. He's covering Miss Alexander's schedule today. Yes, Franklin Alexander. The man who owns Alexander and Wells. I'm glad that will work for you."
“Hey!” protested Jacine. “If you won’t tell me who that is, at least don’t be rude to them.”
“Bash Hunt,” said Jersey.
Jacine had regaled us with stories of what a massive ass the effable Bash Hunt, and I say that tongue-in-cheek, was.
“Hell,” muttered Jersey. “The man thinks of rehab as a spa.”
“Oh. Then you can be rude to him. Just not so rude.”
“That gives me an idea,” muttered Jersey, “but I’ll keep the shades of rudeness in mind while I answer the phone.”
"You will not," Jacine. She tried to rise from the bed, and Rory tackled her. "Oh, no, you don't," he said. Rory pinned her to the bed. "You won't go anywhere until you take a nice nap."
“Get off me,” sputtered Jacine.
“Don’t Rory,” said Jersey. “I’m not done yet. Don’t let her up or she’ll just run off to work.”
“I said, get off me,” she growled.
How I loved her growl. It made my cock twitch, but that’s not job one right now.
“That’s not what you said last night,” said Rory with a smirk.
Jersey clicked off his phone with a satisfied smile on his smug face.
“And then,” said Jersey, “you’ll go to the day spa I just booked and get the full treatment. It should take up the day while we get ready.”
“Full treatment? Get ready? What are you planning Jersey Dys?” Surprise lit on her adorable face. It was as if the woman never considered that she deserved the “full treatment,” whatever that was, though Jersey knew because he booked the entire day for it. Jeezus, what do they do to a woman for an entire day?
“Yep, and then we’ll take you out to dinner,” said Jersey with his best rock star smile.
Sometimes I still want to smack the smug expression off of Dys' face, but I have to admit that he has the best ideas—sometimes. We've holed up in this house for the past three months, and that was not like me. Hell, it wasn't like us. And fuck, it suddenly hit me, and I don't know why until now, that there was an "us." For the first time since we became an "us," we would go out in public as whatever we were.
What were we again?
“Wait? Dinner?” The note of panic in Jacine’s voice was unmistakable.
"Where Dys?" said Tobias. He spoke as calmly as if inquiring about the weather. You have to admire the lawyer's calm demeanor. One got the sense that if California slid into the sea, he'd hand out life jackets and call a yacht. But the fear in the Jacine's eyes told me that she saw disaster.
“Let’s go to that celebrity chef place with the steaks.”
“Excellent idea,” I said. “With all her running around, she must be iron deficient.”
“I am not iron deficient,” protested Jacine.
"You've been back in LA for nearly six months, and you still look like a snowman," I said.
“How would you know what a snowman looked like?” said Rory.
I shrugged. “I ski.”
“Since when?” challenged Dys.
“Maybe it was another lifetime,” said Rory.
Jerk.
“Enough,” said Jacine. She tried to wriggle away from Holmes who grinned at her evilly while he pinned her to the bed and I’m a little jealous right now. I must stuff that attitude down. Jacine is “ours,” not “mine,” and there isn’t a single moment of the day when I don’t feel it.
“Help me,” she said. Jacine cast her glance at me and damn if I didn’t want to help her—with her clothes off that is.
“Get dressed, Jacy,” said Tobias, “and Anson can take you to the spa after he drops me at work.”
“Now wait,” she said in total exasperation. “Dad needs Anson.”
“Your father is already at the office, Princess,” said Tobias. Jacine huffed in frustration.
“The man will kill himself if I don’t kill him first,” she said.
Jersey strolled into Jacine’s walk-in closet and brought out clothes for Jacine. “Get dressed, baby.”
Jacine eyed Jersey’s dubious choices.
"Now look. I don't need a spa day. I need—"
“You need what, baby?” said Rory with a leer.
“Oh, good God,” she muttered.
“Enough,” I said. I yanked Rory off her by his shoulder. “Let the woman dress. She needs to look gorgeous tonight, doesn’t she? This is the first time we are going out in public, all together with three rock stars on her arm.”
Tobias cleared his throat.
“Sorry, I mean three rock stars and their rock star lawyer.”
“That’s better,” said Tobias.
“Wait,” said Rory. “You want to use this as a promo op?” He sounded incredulous.
“No, man,” said Jersey. He seemed to have more on the uptake than usual today. “We will officially declare we are poly.”
Jacine propped herself on her elbows and glared at all of us.
“No,” she said.
“You said yourself that you see the wedding as pointless,” said Jersey. “So this is the next best thing. What are the names of the hotel and caterer again? I’ll cancel them.”
"You stop with the phone, Jersey Dys. You've done more than enough damage for one day," she said.
“What’s the matter, Princess?” said Tobias. “Is there a reason you don’t want to go public?”
“Yeah,” said Rory. “Why don’t you want to be seen with us?”
Jacine froze, and she lay her head in her hands, which disconcerted me. Jacine never lost her cool. Ever.
“Oh, fuck, I don’t know.”
I get it now.
“Jacine, you wanted to use the wedding to deflect from our poly relationship, didn’t you? It’s a lot easier to say that you’re married to one man instead of going to bed with four.”
She blushed, and I knew I was right.
“We embarrass you?” said Rory.
“No,” she said with a little whine. “I’m just not ready to tell the universe I live and sleep with four men.”
“There it is,” said Tobias with a sigh.
“You can’t call it sleeping,” said jerk head Dys.
“You’re not helping,” I said. After a pointed glance at Dys, I sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand.
"Baby, not to point out the obvious, but this is LA. We won't shock anyone with our arrangement. The only thing that will shock them is that we won't hide it. This town loves its secrets, and if you keep hiding what we are, then you personally, Jacine Alexander, will feed the gossip machine. Dys is right. Get dressed. Go to the spa. Anson will get you, and then you'll meet us at the restaurant. Don't worry about a thing except putting a shine on that gorgeous nose of yours."
Jacine gave me a doubtful glance, but after Rory offered to help her with her clothes on, she took the hint and got dressed. Just before she left with Tobias, that lucky stiff, who I'm sure will grab a few kisses in the limo, she gave us all a look and sighed.
“What will you do all day?” she said.
“Don’t worry. We have things to do,” I said. “Get moving.”
“Yeah,” said Dys. “You don’t want lawyer man to get a heart attack from arriving late at work.”
"Oh, good Lord," said Tobias. "Let's go, Jacy before they talk me into an early grave."
“Don’t worry,” said Dys. “We’ll give you a nice funeral.”
“Asshole,” muttered Tobias.
As soon as they left, Dys was on the phone again.
“What are you doing now?”
“Calling Jacine’s stylist. She needs a dress for tonight, doesn’t she?”
“You have the number of Jacine’s personal shopper?” said Rory.
Jersey shrugged. “She dresses me, too.” He looked me over. “Yeah, you could use her services and you too, Holmes.”
“Gee, thanks,” said Rory.
“Now,” said Jersey. There he was taking over like he did when we were kids. “You call Franklin and tell him to set up this shindig right for tonight, and Rory, find a jeweler that will take us on short notice, like now.”
“What does that mean, ‘set this shindig up right?’”
“He’ll know. We spit-balled it a few times.”
Hmm. Jersey hung out with Jacine’s old man from time to time, but I didn’t know he plotted conspiracies with the man. I must keep a closer eye on him. But I don’t have time to ask him questions because he’s firing off a list of instructions to Rose, the stylist, so I make the call, and Franklin was enthusiastic when I told him.
“Great! See you tonight.”
What the hell did that mean?
But we headed to the jeweler Rory found and clutching one of Jacine’s rings Jersey handed it to the jeweler.
“For the size,” Jersey said. “And we’ll need a nice necklace, too.”
“What the hell for?” I said.
“You’ll see.”
I think Dys is crazy, but he's the man with the plan, so I go along. But when Dys told me we were all driving to the restaurant separately, I knew something big was up.
The sight of Rory’s red Ferrari, Dys’ black Jaguar and my Russo Folgore Maserati Ghibli roaring up to the restaurant door one after the other must have been impressive. So maybe it was okay that Rose the stylist put me into this suit. I had to admit that I looked good.
But more so was paparazzi crowding the entrance snapping our pictures while we go out of our cars. Now I understood what Jersey meant by "doing it up." Jersey, in his frontman's style, wrapped a lanky arm around Rory and me and mugged for the cameras.
“Is Banshee getting back together?” shouted a reporter.
“When are you touring as Banshee?”
“Is there any truth to the rumor that one of you is getting married?”
The questions rushed at us, but Jersey just waved. The doorman opened the door for us, and we entered, and damn it, there were more people with cameras sitting at tables, and I gathered this was the "A" list of reporters and cameramen. As the maitre’ d showed us to our table, and we sat staring at each other, acting on our best behavior because everyone in LA knew what happened the last time we sat in a restaurant together.
And then Jacine came in on Tobias' arm, and I couldn't have been more jealous. She was magnificent with her hair piled high and wearing a low v-neck silver dress slit high up one thigh, and I fell in love with her all over again.
Yeah. I loved Jacine Alexander.
Rory and Cole had their tongues hanging out, too. Well, not really, but the look in their eyes told me what dogs they were and that they loved Jacine as much as I do.
Tobias looked like he won the lottery as he escorted her to the table and I admit they looked fine together. Well, you don’t live your adult years in the higher circles of LA society and not learn how to rock a winning attitude.
But all eyes followed them to our table, and I swear a buzz started up as they sat down after Jacine gave each one of us a kiss.
Dinner came and went, and we did our best to act like grown men. Even Dys impressed me with his adult and gracious attitude. We nursed our wine and didn't order hard liquor which was the wisest course considering what we were all about to do. A man should be sober when he proposes.
The waiter cleared the dinner dishes, which was our cue. We all stood together and took out the blue velvet boxes we all had.
Jacine narrowed her eyes.
“What is this?”
We all knelt and offered her the boxes, each one a different cut of diamond.
“We almost got you a tiara,” said Dys. God, he could be so over-the-top. “But we decided that you deserve as many diamonds as you could get. It doesn’t matter who you marry. You belong to all of us, and we’ll be right there with you. In fact, we wrote a song for you.”
“You did?”
“You know it. It’s called ‘Ever.’
“You wrote that long before—”
“It’s like this,” said Rory, our mystic. “That song came from all of us. It imprinted on our souls before we wrote it, and it called to the one woman it was meant for—you. So if you ever need a friend—”
“Someone to help tie up loose ends,” said Jersey.
“Someone to give you diamonds,” I said. Hey, I never promised to stick to the lyrics.
“And watch the stars with you,” sang Tobias. Damn, lawyer man could sing. Who knew?
So then we three joined in.
“Call me. We’ll be there always and ever.”
There wasn't a single noise in the place as every patron, waiter, waitress, bus person, and the rest stared at us. From the corner of the room, the sound of a lone handclap started. We turned our heads, and damn if it wasn't Franklin Alexander who walked forward and shook all our hands. The entire restaurant full of people clapped too, and Jacine threw herself into our arms, and we hugged her collectively.
Yes, even lawyer man.
And when we went home together in the limo, Jacine Alexander relaxed very much.
And, damn it, we forgot the condoms.
EPILOGUE
Franklin
I know I’ve kept my mouth shut during this whole adventure, but I guess it’s my turn now.
Do I think it is a good idea that my precious little girl takes up with four men? Live with each one of them or a combination of them at any one time?
No. What father would?
Did I second-guess her decision?
No. Things are as they are. At least if one of them falls off the map, she has the others to keep her steady.
There is only so much a father can do when he raises a little girl on his own. I couldn’t do the job a mother could, and after Adelaide, I didn’t want to screw up my daughter by bringing in another woman. Hollywood is rife with horror stories about that, and I wanted to protect my precious baby girl as much as I could.
And to tell you the truth, I had guilt to bear in how things shook out. Had I paid more attention to my wife instead of my work, she might not have run off with a man more unstable than the San Andreas Fault. Had I been a more enlightened man, I would have invited Tobias into the mix, because I do love him like a brother, and trust him with my life. And I know he was attracted to Adeline. I couldn’t miss how his eyes followed her around a room.
But he was a good friend and didn’t take advantage of her weakness.
