Wright that Got Away, page 13
Santi grinned wider, and I only had to guess at what she saw on his screen. Santi was infamous for asking for nudes from women. And neither Santi nor Viv had shut up about Eve since they’d met her. Viv wouldn’t do anything unless Kris was here, which meant Santi had won out this time.
“You should be,” Santi agreed.
“About what?” Blaire asked.
I huffed. “Don’t bother.”
“Eve,” Santi said dreamily.
Blaire looked between them in surprise. “What about my new roommate?”
“She moved in with you? I didn’t know that,” I said.
“Yeah, Jennifer moved in with Julian, and Eve took her spot the same afternoon. She’d been evicted because the owner was an assholes.”
“Fuck,” I muttered.
“Well, she’s gorgeous,” Viv said with a pout.
Blaire laughed. “Don’t you have a girlfriend?”
“She’d be so down if she were here.”
“Your loss,” Santi said, pointing his thumb at himself, “my gain.”
Good for Santi. He was king of make the best of a bad situation, and if he was hooking up with Eve, then he’d help keep the rest of the band happy, too. I hoped Eve could handle it. It sounded like she’d been through hell. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.
“You’re being careful?” I asked Santi.
He arched an eyebrow. “I don’t need the condom lecture.”
Blaire took a big gulp of her water at that statement and said nothing.
“With her heart.”
Santi held his hands up. “She was the one who said she just wanted a good time. I didn’t even have to say anything.”
“That sounds like Eve,” Blaire admitted.
I was glad because I hadn’t been careful with the heart of the girl back home. I’d let her get hurt. If I could save one more person from what I’d done to Blaire, then I would.
Michael abruptly stood and held up his phone. “I have a call.”
Then, he left the restaurant. We all watched him answer a call outside.
“Wifey,” Viv said with an arched eyebrow.
“Problem,” Yorke corrected.
“It’ll be fine. Virginia understands.” I hoped.
By the skeptical looks on the rest of the band members’ faces, I wasn’t sure they were any more confident than I was. At least this was par for the course as far as Michael was concerned. He was always curmudgeonly. The only time I’d seen him happy was one section of the tour when Virginia and Maisie had shown up for a few stops.
The rest of lunch went off without a hitch. Michael returned, looking happier after speaking with his wife. We discussed the new songs and what Blaire had planned for videos while we worked.
“A documentary?” Viv asked, looking thoughtful.
“Of sorts,” Blaire confirmed. “Like a behind the scenes of the making of the album sort of thing.”
“Bobby would say yes,” Santi pointed out.
“Bobby isn’t here,” I said. “Obviously, we’d have to work out compensation, but what do you think?”
“Yes,” Yorke said.
Santi nodded. “Dude, I’m game.”
Viv agreed.
And Michael just shrugged. “Sure. How is it different than anything else we’ve done? Now, we’ll be filmed in Lubbock instead of all over the world.”
He had a point, but Blaire flushed at the comment, and I didn’t like that she looked smaller for it.
“It’s just an idea,” she said. “We’ll do video content first, and I’ll just be recording while you’re working otherwise. We’ll see what we get.”
They all agreed that was good enough and then headed back to the studio. Blaire hung back with me as I paid the entire bill. She protested. Though no one else had. But I ignored her anyway.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she told me as we walked out of Dirk’s.
“I wanted to.”
“Well, thank you.” She ruffled her bangs and looked up at me. “I appreciate it.”
“No problem.”
Her phone beeped, and she glanced at it. She rolled her eyes. “Honey.”
“She seems invested.”
“She is. I gave her stuff to do, but I think she wanted to come to the studio with me. I told her that y’all needed your privacy.”
“She could swing by.”
“You’re sure?” she asked.
“If you want. I want whatever makes you happy and your life easier.”
“Oh,” she said, returning her eyes to her phone. “She’s just used to having more of my time.”
“And now, I’m monopolizing it?” I asked, stopping in front of the studio.
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“Can I monopolize it?” I shot her a smile when her head popped back up to look at me in surprise.
“I…”
“Go out with me.”
She blinked, her mouth slightly agape.
“And no, I’m not kidding.”
I was pushing too much. I knew it and yet couldn’t stop myself. She wouldn’t even go to lunch with just me. After the rooftop, why would I think she wanted more from me? To date me? And yet my mouth didn’t seem to care about that at all. I wanted to go out with her. I wanted her in my arms again. I wanted her.
She looked down and then back up at my face. She had to see how earnest I was. That I was sincere in all of this. It wasn’t the same as we’d been when I last asked.
“Okay,” she finally said.
I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “Really?”
She laughed softly. “Really.”
“I didn’t think you’d agree.”
“Then, why did you ask?”
“Because I couldn’t help myself,” I admitted. “When I’m with you, all I want is to be closer to you. It’s like I got one single taste, and it will never be enough. I tried to leave you alone. I tried so fucking hard. Now that you’re here and you’re in my orbit again, I can’t just let you go. I can’t let you walk away.”
She swallowed hard at my words. “Oh.”
“I know you don’t feel the same. I know that I hurt you too bad to ever have your trust…”
“You don’t know that.”
It was my turn to blink in surprise. I’d been beating myself up for everything that had happened in the past. Reminding myself that if she said no, I deserved it. I’d left her. I’d fucked it up. And now, she was giving me…hope.
“Could you trust me again?”
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’d like to try before you decide for me.”
I laughed at that. Why did I keep assuming things for her? Why did I think that she would only see the worst of me? Because she always had, and I deserved it. Still, if she was willing, then I would take all I could get.
“Saturday?”
She nodded. “It’s a date.”
20
Blaire
I had agreed to a date with Campbell Abbey.
I had agreed to a date with Campbell Abbey.
My insides quivered at the thought as I got dressed Saturday night. Piper sat on my bed, and Eve hung out in the doorway. She was still acting like she expected us to tell her to leave.
“It’s going to be fine,” Piper said.
Eve tilted her head. “Might I suggest something sluttier?”
I snorted as I stared down at myself. I’d picked a form-fitting knee-length black dress and strappy nude heels. It was a date, but it was still just Campbell. I honestly had no idea what to wear.
“I second that suggestion,” Piper said.
“What do you have in mind?”
Eve raised an eyebrow and disappeared. A few minutes later, she had a black leather skirt in hand and a dark green crop top. “I don’t know your shoe size, but I have these black leather platforms that would make your ass look awesome.”
I glanced at Piper. “What do you think?”
“I think Campbell would fall all over himself to get to you, no matter what you’re wearing.”
“Hmm,” Eve said. “How did I get the drummer?”
We all laughed at that.
“Anyway, so you and Campbell, you dated before?”
I nodded. “Yeah, in high school before he left for LA.”
“So, he’s already seen you naked.”
“Well, yes, but not in eight years.” I wasn’t as fit as I’d been in high school, but I ate better, so I usually called it a win. I taught girls all over the world not to judge their bodies. But then here I was, about to go on a date, worrying about my figure. Fuck, cultural stereotypes about body image were so insidious. “It doesn’t matter.”
“You’re hot as hell,” Eve said. “So, you’re right; it doesn’t matter. He’s going to want to fuck you either way, right?”
“You sure get right to the point.”
Eve frowned at that. “I didn’t mean…”
“I appreciate it,” Piper said. “I like a girl who says what’s on her mind.”
“Me too. It’s just complicated. It’s not about sex. The sex is the easy part, right?”
Eve and Piper both nodded emphatically. None of us had problems with that at all. It was the getting intimate part, the forgetting the past part, the knowing where the hell this is going part. Would it be easier if we just had a fuck buddy situation for a few weeks until he left? Would my heart ever survive it?
Just then, the doorbell rang.
“Guess you’re wearing that,” Eve said with a wink.
“Guess I am,” I said with a laugh.
“Have so much fun,” Piper said, standing and pulling me into a hug.
I grabbed my purse, stuffed my phone inside, and went to answer the door. When I opened the door, all cognitive thought fled my mind. Campbell Abbey was standing before me in a black suit with a crisp white shirt underneath. I had seen him dressed like this in glossy magazine photos or on TV at award ceremonies. It was hard to avoid since my friends were obsessed with his music and, well, I enjoyed the Grammys…of which, he had a few. Hello, Song of the Year for “I See the Real You.”
But I’d never seen him dressed like this in person.
Unless you counted Peyton and Isaac’s wedding earlier this year, but I’d purposely not looked at him then. I hadn’t wanted to see how good he looked.
And honestly, even prom night, he hadn’t dressed like this.
I could remember that moment so clearly. As if it were yesterday. Neither of us had wanted to go to prom. I didn’t have friends at school to hang out with exactly, and Jill had made overt overtures to get Campbell to ask her to go. When he declined, she took one of his friends in a huff. Campbell hadn’t wanted to deal with any of that.
My mom, however, thought it was a rite of passage. She’d bought me the dress and given me the money to purchase tickets. When I’d told Campbell, he’d laughed and said we might as well put on the show.
I got dressed to the nines in a purple mermaid dress that clung to me invitingly. Campbell showed up in black trousers and a button-up. Hal offered him a tie, which he declined with an easy laugh. Pamela took a bunch of pictures of us and told me to have a good time. She stuffed condoms into my purse before I left.
Campbell helped me into his truck, and then we were off. Except we blew past the school on the way out of town. We only stopped when we reached the lake house at Ransom Canyon that we’d pooled our collective prom-ticket money to rent for the evening.
When I stepped into the one-bedroom, it was nothing special at all, and somehow, it was our sanctuary. He turned on our song—“The Best of Me” by Starting Line—and we danced as if we were at prom. Then, he scooped me up and carried me to the bed. We didn’t surface until I had to be home the next morning.
I blinked away the vision of prom and just how he’d swept me off my feet. Because as cherished as that night was in my memories, it didn’t hold a candle to Campbell Abbey today.
“Wow,” I breathed.
“My sentiments exactly,” he said, his eyes crawling over my dress. He held a hand out to me. “Shall we?”
I swallowed. Once I crossed the threshold, there was no turning back. “Yes.”
I put my hand in his and let him draw me out of the house. Instead of a beat-up pickup, he now had a shiny Range Rover. He helped me into the passenger seat.
“What were you thinking about?” he asked after he got into the driver’s side and pulled out of the driveway.
“Hmm?”
“You looked like you were thinking something specific.”
Damn. Sometimes, I forgot that he could read me like that.
“Oh. I was thinking about prom.”
He chuckled. “Ah. What a great night.”
“Do you ever wish that we’d gone?”
His eyes slid to mine, and he reached across the seat to take my hand. “I wouldn’t change a thing about that night.”
He was right, of course. I could see how it would have been fun to rub it into perfect Jill Patton’s face that we were in love. But in the end, had it mattered? We’d been happier without the drama.
“So, what’s the plan?”
“Dinner,” he said with a conspiratorial smile.
Two could play at this game. If he could read me that well, I realized, now that I was looking at him, I could do the same.
“Oh dear, what do you have planned?”
His head whipped to me. “Why do you think I have something planned?”
“Because I know you.”
A pleased grin came to his face. “That’s right. You know me.”
“Well?”
“Then, you also know that I’d never spoil the surprise.”
I laughed. Also true.
So, I leaned back against the cool leather interior of the SUV and let The Civil Wars coming through the radio lull me. We arrived ten minutes later to the front of the Campbell’s hotel.
I looked at him. “West Table?”
“Of sorts.”
“If I’d known, then I could have just driven over here.”
He came around to the other side to help me out. “Yes, but then I wouldn’t have gotten to pick you up.”
I couldn’t fault his logic even if it was ridiculous. So, I put my hand in his and let him walk me to the front of the building. We stepped inside, and I turned right in the lobby to head toward West Table, but Campbell kept my hand in his.
“This way.”
He directed me toward the set of elevators. I shot him a suspicious look, but his face was a mask. I had no idea what I was walking into, and he was giving nothing away. I stepped onto the elevator with him, which whisked us straight to the top floor.
“After you.”
I stepped out before him, and then we took the stairs up to the rooftop. After, I’d run out on him on the Fourth of July, I hadn’t thought he’d bring me back up here. Yet here we were, and he didn’t seem concerned at all. I guess we were past that.
When I stepped outside onto the dingy rooftop, where I’d been only a few weeks ago, my jaw dropped. The entire place had transformed. A red carpet had been rolled out from the entrance of the stairs all the way to a table set with a fancy white tablecloth, candlelight, and real china near the edge of the rooftop. A bucket of champagne was set next to it. Strings of Edison bulbs illuminated the roof. Soft instrumental music played from hidden speakers.
I choked in shock at the display. “Campbell, what did you do?”
He laughed. “I might have pulled some strings.”
“This is…beautiful.”
“Anything for you.”
I stepped up to the table and admired what he’d done for me. It was stunning. I needed to document it. So, I took a minute to take pictures of the table and do a quick video of the walk down the red carpet. Campbell and I weren’t in any of the pictures, but it was too pretty not to have photographic proof forever.
I tucked my phone away and sat down across from Campbell. He popped open the champagne, pouring each of us a glass like a pro. I sometimes forgot that he’d bartended before he got his big break with Cosmere.
A waiter appeared a moment later with menus, and after we ordered our food, he left us all alone again. I sipped from my champagne and looked out across the city of Lubbock beyond.
“I can’t believe you did all of this.”
He grinned. “I’m glad you like it.”
“Is it like this in LA?”
“Like…what?” he asked cautiously.
“Always fabulous and fancy.”
“Oh,” he said, looking off in the distance. “No, it’s not. It shines kind of like gold-plated jewelry. It’s beautiful on the outside, but once worn, it flakes off to reveal the dull interior.”
“That sounds sad.”
He took a sip of his drink and set it down. “I don’t mean to make it sound sad. It’s great. Honestly, so many people love it. It’s its own microcosm of society, all in one place. You can’t really understand LA without having b lived it. Is it weird to love and despise something at the same time?”
I shrugged. “I feel the same way about Lubbock. It’s too small for my tastes, but it’s home, and all my friends are here. I love being here, and I hate being here at the same time. I think we all feel that way about places.”
“True. I’m always defending Lubbock to other people.”
“I get that. Lubbock is kind of like what I assume a sibling is like,” I said with a shrug. “You can make fun of them, but when someone else does, then you get pissed.”
Campbell burst out laughing. “Wow. Yeah, that’s exactly what Lubbock is like. I have never thought of it that way, and now, I will never think of it any other way.”
“Glad I could help. But really, I think we’re never perfectly happy where we are. The grass is always greener.”
“True. Plus, LA gave me my break. It gave me everything I could ask of it. But sometimes, it feels like it’s eating me.”
“So, don’t live there.”
He shot me a look. “You make it sound so easy. Everything is in LA.” He frowned. “Well, not everything.”
My cheeks burned at that. I was not in LA. I was right here in front of him.
The food came a few moments later to keep me from feeling any more embarrassed. I picked at my butterfish as he dug into his still-bloody steak.
