Rockin' Country: The Price Of Love Part 4

Hannah bit her bottom lip, contemplating if she wanted to do what he was obviously suggesting. It could be fun, and it would definitely make for a memorable last night in California. She wore a tank top and a skirt from where they had gone to dinner with his family earlier. Her brown eyes met his green ones. There she could see that he wanted her to do this, but he wouldnat pressure her. He wanted this to be her decision and not his. If they were going to do this, it was going to be because she wanted to.

Disentangling herself from his arms, she stood up and kicked her shoes off before walking over towards the table. Once she got there, she looked over her shoulder at him. aIs this where you want me?a The harsh breath that she heard from him was enough to convince her that she wanted to do this; she loved to see his control slip, even if it wasnat fully.

aDown on your knees and face forward,a he told her.

Hannah could hear him behind her as she kneeled. He had gotten up off the lounger and was walking towards her. She closed her eyes, wanting to experience this fully. She could feel the heat from his body as he came up directly behind her. Gooseb.u.mps appeared on her arms and her nipples hardened as she heard him work the belt that he wore then the slip of his zipper; even the sound of the material of his pants dropping caused moisture to pool at her core. This was exciting her way more than shead thought it would. After a moment, she heard him lower so that he was also on his knees, but even on his knees he was much taller and bigger than she was.

Hannah s.h.i.+vered when he moved the hair back from her neck and then attacked the side with his mouth, nipping and biting the skin there. Tipping her head back slightly, she gave him more room to work, the invitation to take it a step further. Her mouth opened as she felt his long fingers tangle in her hair and exert pressure, pulling it back further for him.

aYou like this?a he questioned as his other hand slid down her neck, stopping to cup her breast before moving further down her body. His fingers played with the hem of her skirt at her thigh before diving under. aYou didnat answer me.a Hannah couldnat. Her throat felt like it had closed, and all she could do was nod and make noises. She reached out and gripped the table hard as his hand encountered the barrier of her panties. He pushed them aside and she moaned.

aAnswer me, or you donat get it.a aYes,a she whispered. aI like it.a He groaned then, removing his hand from where it was and moving it to her hip. He toyed with the string of her underwear there, before flexing his wrist and yanking, ripping them off her in the process. The next moment he was pus.h.i.+ng on the back of her head.

aBend.a His command was terse, and when she didnat follow through quickly enough, he layered his strong body over hers, pressing her against the coolness of the table. His hands went to her side where her arms lay and grabbed them, stretching her across the surface and then curled her fingers around the edge. aYou hold on here,a he instructed, his breath hot against her ear.

She nodded, not sure if he wanted her to speak. It didnat matter anymore when he plunged hard into her, causing a sound shead never heard from herself to rip forth out of her throat. She heard a similar one come from his.

aIt doesnat last long with groupies,a he warned, his voice deep and dark in her ear. aI only care about one thing and thatas getting off, but with you, Iall make sure you get yours too.a He licked the edge of her ear, nipping at her earlobe.

Hannah wasnat sure she could handle this, the feelings that were coursing through her body. He owned her; it wasnat sweet, it wasnat intense like normal, this was more animalistic than anything she had ever felt before in her life. aReaper,a she breathed out, the choppiness making it sound like it was ripped from her body.

aWhat did you say?a he asked, his fingers digging into her hip, bringing her fully flush with his body.

aReaper,a she moaned again.

It was as if her calling him Reaper in that moment caused something to break inside him. He hauled her up from the table and plastered her back against his chest, never stopping the rhythmic thrusting into her body. Without warning he felt his body tighten and knew that it was going to be over, he couldnat stand having his wife like this. She trusted him, more than he ever thought she would, and it did things to him, things that he couldnat control. aSorry,a he apologized as he pumped inside her body, biting her neck when the feelings became too much.

Her breath was heavy as she felt the warmth spill out of him and into her body. She needed more, and she needed it now.

aI got you.a His hand trailed from her hip to where they were joined.

aFeels good,a she told him, her bottom lip between her teeth. Her hand trailed down her body and pressed his harder into her.

aShow me how you want it.a She pressed his hand harder into her, pumping her hips against the touch there, going after what she wanted. aFaster,a she breathed.

He complied with her request, using his other hand to palm her chin and tip her neck back so that he had free reign. When his lips landed at the sensitive spot where her neck and shoulder joined, she lost it. Thrusting against him, she dug the nails of her other hand in his forearm where she had been holding on.

aYou okay?a he chuckled, minutes later when their breathing had almost returned to normal.

aI think Iad like to be your groupie again sometime,a she giggled.

aAnytime you want, baby. Youare the best groupie I ever had.a

Chapter Eleven.

aI think you need to switch up that line right there,a Sh.e.l.l told Hannah as they sat at the soundstage, rehearsing for her upcoming tour that would start in a few days.

aWith the one before it?a Hannah asked. aIt was an ad-lib to begin with, but I think youare right, it sounds a little forced.a She reached down and made a note on the paper she had in front of her. aIf yaall want to stop for lunch, Iam good with that.a Everyone agreed that they could use a short break, and Hannah took the opportunity to have a seat next to Sh.e.l.l.

aYou would never know that you have a CD coming out today. You donat even look nervous.a aI am, oh trust me, I am. Did you not hear me getting up every hour last night?a aI thought so, but you know how I sleep, I figured it was just me having those weird dreams,a Sh.e.l.l laughed.

aNo, it was me. I called Garrett like five times last night, and each time, he answered, even though I could tell he was tired. So I stopped calling him.a Sh.e.l.l glanced at her friend and could see the dark circles under her eyes. It was obvious shead had a hard night. aBeen a long couple of weeks, hasnat it?a Hannah nodded, tears in her eyes. aSpending that long stretch with him made this harder. I was afraid that it would, but I didnat think it would be this much harder.a aIam sorry about all the s.h.i.+t Iave been putting you through,a Sh.e.l.l blurted out.

Hannah shook her head. aWhat do you mean? I donat understand.a aYou know,a Sh.e.l.l sighed. aWhen you first met Garrett, I knew he was it for you, because I know you donat give up your heart easily, I know you donat let people in easily, and I know your feelings arenat superficial. When you have them, they are yours and they are genuine. I knew right then that I would be second in your life.a aSh.e.l.laa aNo, give me a second. That was hard,a she smiled. aBecause weave been all each other had for so long. I was always the person that you deflected to. I helped you make decisions and I helped you navigate through this crazy life that the two of us lead. It was weird for me when you got married and I was no longer the person that you asked those questions of. I was a b.i.t.c.h about the house, and Iam sorry. You were right.a aYou are one of my best friends in this world,a Hannah told her, hugging her around the neck. aBut you have to make room for Garrett. I want nothing more than for you to love him the way you love me. I want you to coexist with him, not make it difficult for me to spend time with my husband.a aI get that now. Jared yelled at me over it.a aJared yelled at you over that?a Hannah giggled. aHow did he know?a Sh.e.l.l blushed. aOh, I went to him, all p.i.s.sed off at you and spouting off about what a brat you were and how you were all up Garrettas a.s.s and all this other stuff. He got mad at me and said exactly what you said. That I was being a b.i.t.c.h, and at some point, I had to let you make your own decisions. Iam sorry.a aI canat believe Jared said that to you.a She laughed, holding her hand over her mouth.

aWell believe it, sister, because he did.a aI do agree that maybe I could have decided to go about telling you the changes I wanted to make in a different way, but I didnat know how to approach it, and I surely didnat want you angry with me. As long as youare still my BFF, Iam good. I donat want the marriage to ruin the friends.h.i.+p.a aItas not going to,a Sh.e.l.l a.s.sured her. aI know my place now.a Hannah shook her head. aNo, I never, ever wanted you to know your place. I hate how that sounds.a aI donat mean it the way youare taking it. Iam saying I realize that I still have a place, itas just not where it was before.a The two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence before Sh.e.l.l winked. aYou are still giving me the house, though, right? Cause I totally have plans for your room.a aOh my G.o.d.a Hannah shook her head. aYeah, weare still looking for a house. I actually found one that I love last night online. Iam hoping that Garrett and I can go tour it soon. I contacted the agent last night, but heas aware that we might have to tour it separately.a aI hate that for you, that so much of your firsts are separate.a aItas the life that we chose to live.a Hannah glanced at her wedding ring and pushed it around on her finger. She wanted to call him but knew that with the time difference, he wasnat yet awake.

aStill sucks. Jared and I go through it a little, but we both know that if I wanted off, I could request it and you would let me do it.a Hannah opened her mouth to answer but stopped when she noticed a delivery man with what looked to be two dozen roses. aCan we help you?a aIam looking for Hannah Thompson,a he read from the card.

Not many people called her by her married name, so she wondered who had sent her this bouquet. aThatas me.a She stood up, pulling her hair behind her in a loose ponytail.

aIf you could just sign here, these are for you, maaam.a She smiled when he called her maaam. aThank you so much. Your momma raised you with good manners.a He blushed and handed her the vase. aShe did raise me up right. Congrats on all your success.a aThank you,a she called as he left, searching for the card he had read off of. aNow who sent these to me?a Once she found it, she pulled it out of the bouquet and sat the flowers down on the ground, opening the envelope.

Hey babe!

Congrats on the #1 on iTunes! FaceTime me later so we can talk!

Love, Garrett aItas from the hubby, and he said Iam the top spot on iTunes right now. I havenat even thought to check all day. I know thatas crazy, but you know Iave been all about this rehearsal.a Sh.e.l.l was already on her phone. ad.a.m.n, girlie! Heas right! Congratulations!a aThank you.a Hannah grinned, a bright smile on her face. She never expected any success, so when she got it, it was all the more exciting for her. aI wasnat sure how well it would do since we did almost zero promotion.a aThe name Harmony Stewart is an auto-buy for most people, and your fans are amazing. They donat need months of promo; they just need to hear that you have new material out.a For that she was grateful and knew that she was so lucky and blessed. She worried that the break would change that. aDo you think theyare going to forget me while Iam gone? Iave talked a big game, but Iam kind of worried about it.a aNo, they arenat going to forget you! They stalk your social media pages to see what youare doing with that hot hubby of yours. When you start posting more with him, theyare going to be happy for you. Thereas always going to be people that are p.i.s.sed, no matter what you do, but there are also people that are going to be extremely happy for you. Letas focus on those people.a Hannah quickly sent a text to Garrett thanking him for the flowers. She knew that he was awake if he knew she was in the top spot on iTunes, and that meant head either woken up early to check or head been up most of the night. Either way, she appreciated it more than she could say. aHave you decided what youare going to do?a she asked Sh.e.l.l, pus.h.i.+ng her bangs back from her face.

Sh.e.l.l smirked. aJared invited me on tour with him for some of the time. Weare still in that kind of awkward stagea"you know, where we donat know if we want to spend that much time together. But I also looked at some college courses online.a aReally?a Hannah squealed. aThatas awesome, Sh.e.l.l! What are you thinking of studying.a aBelieve it or not, business management with a focus on the music industry. Belmontas got a program. I feel like if you donat want to do this anymore, I could take a young up-and-coming artist and not let them get into the bulls.h.i.+t that we did. Thatas still a way off though, and Iall need to look at program requirements and all of that stuff. Itas what Iam seriously thinking of doing.a Hannah hugged her friend. aIam proud of you, and Iam so happy weave been able to get over this. I was worried when I told what I wanted to do, and the last thing I want to do is to ruin our friends.h.i.+p. I hope you understand that.a aI do. I had to get my head on straight, and you can thank Jared for that.a Sh.e.l.l tightened her arms around her friend. They had been through so much together, and it was always going to be her first reaction to protect Hannah and to try to do what was best for her, but it was time now for Hannah to fly. It was time for her to find her own place, and that place would always be with her husband, just like Sh.e.l.l was beginning to learn that her place was with Jared.

aEnough of this mushy stuff. We have a few more songs to run through.a Hannah wiped her eyes.

Before they could get the band rounded up, Hannahas phone rang, and she saw the face of Garrett on the screen. She excused herself to the hallway and answered. aThanks so much for the flowers, theyare gorgeous,a she told him before he even said h.e.l.lo.

He laughed, the sound deep in her ear. aMy pleasure, babe. Iam excited for you.a He sounded tired, very tired. aHave you been up all night?a aWell, we got done recording around two a.m. our time, and when I got home, I knew iTunes would be updating from your side since it went live at midnight. I saw that it was already climbing, and I got excited, and then I couldnat stop myself from watching it like a hawk. Iam so proud of you. I think Iam more excited for you than for myself,a he admitted.

aYou should get some sleep. Itas going to be a very long day for you if you donat,a she told him, but the smile on her face was huge. To know that head taken the time to do that, that head been excited for her, caused her heart to warm. This was one of the reasons she loved him so much.

aIam about to, but you know itas never the same without you here.a That melted her heart too. aEight more weeks and then youare going to want me to go away.a aNever. Iam counting down those days. I canat wait to have you with me.a aSpeaking of being with me.a She twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. aI have a house I want you to look at in Brentwood. I sent you the link last night, but I didnat know if you had checked your email. The realtor said that he could show it to us separately or he could try to fit us in at the same time. I warn you though,a she grinned, aitas expensive.a aHow expensive are we talking, and do you like it from the pictures?a aItas gorgeous from the pictures,a she sighed. aItas in the millions of dollars range,a she whispered.

aHow many millions of dollars are we talking?a he asked, his voice holding an amused tone.

aOhhh, around two-point-two-ish.a He laughed full on then. aHan, the house I live in here is a couple of million dollars too. Houses are more expensive here. Itall be good, weall check it out.a aOkay, then,a she sighed. aItas a lot of money.a aThat we have together. This is the home that weare going to live in together in your hometown. Weall be fine,a he soothed her nerves.

aLet me know what you think of it. I do love it, but if youare looking for something different, please let me know. I gotta go back to rehearsal.a aOkay, have fun, babe, and congrats. So much congrats.a aThank you and please get some sleep.a She blew a kiss into the phone, telling him that she loved him.

When they hung up, she went to her personal email account; snagged a picture from the photo shoot theyad done together and uploaded her favorite picture. Hash-tagging it lucky girl, she smiled brightly. Her happiness was with him and she needed everyone in her life, including him, to know that.

Immediately, her phone went nuts, and she couldnat help but giggle at the comments from the women about Garrett. She loved it because she agreed with every single one of them.

The next eight weeks needed to get here and be gone.

Chapter Twelve.

Hannah moved her head in a circle on her neck and then turned in the chair that she sat in, moaning as her back cracked loudly.

ad.a.m.n, did that feel good?a Sh.e.l.l asked, looking up from the bowl of cereal that she was eating.

The first few days of touring and sleeping on the bed in her tour bus always killed her back. aYes, itas that freakina bed. Itas always so uncomfortable the first few days. How are numbers looking?a she asked Sh.e.l.l as she dug into the bowl of fruit that sat in front of her.

aGreat, better than I think anyone expected. Youare holding steady on the charts that are updated daily. I heard from the record company today, they are thinking you made top five on the all-genre Billboard, which would be your best showing ever. Weall find that out tomorrow. Every show so far has been sold out. Every single post you make on social media is blowing up, and the song has. .h.i.t the top ten on the country chart. All in all, this has been an amazing release week. The record company is beyond happy.a Sh.e.l.l looked at her friend. aBut are you happy?a aIam excited that this has done everything we wanted to do, but now Iam getting nervous.a aWhat in the world for?a aItas exceeding expectations. You and I both know that when expectations are exceeded, they want to extend tours, they want to add on dates and do more promotional appearances. What if they try to fight me exercising my clause?a aThatas not going to happen. You said yourself that your lawyer said itas iron-clad.a He had said that, and Hannah believed him with everything she had, but at the same time, she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Things had never gone how she planned them before, and she was worried that this would be another one of those times. aI know, I just think Iam going to be on edge until the last show of this tour.a aItas nerves, Han. Youave never asked them for anything like this before; youave never gone against anything before. Youare nervous. It canat help that this has been the biggest opening week of your career and itas happening just as youare planning to take time off.a aHow did that announcement go this week, by the way? Iave kept myself away from anything having to do with it.a She and Sh.e.l.l had decided to be pro-active and let the fans know that she had decided to take some time off after the end of this small tour. That announcement had ended up coming the day after the alb.u.m drop, and it hadnat affected sales, so she hoped for the best.

aPretty supportive, but the same BS about you being pregnant and thatas why you only want to tour for eight weeks.a aMy gosh,a she sighed. aWhat is with peopleas obsession with me being pregnant? I would love to actually get to enjoy my husband for a few months before we add a baby into the mix. If we add a baby into the mix this soon.a It wasnat like she hadnat thought of it. She did every time they made love. There was a part of her that wanted it more than anything, but there was also another part of her that knew it was way too soon. They needed time on their own, and they needed time to figure out the dynamic of their married relations.h.i.+p before they added another stressor to it.

aCan you imagine how cute a baby Reaper would be?a Sh.e.l.l sipped her coffee. aI mean, my cold-a.s.s heart is melting at the thought.a Hannah snickered, throwing a piece of fruit at her friend. aYou do not have a cold heart, and to be honest I do imagine how cute a baby Reaper would be, but itas not the time for it yet.a aAt least you know that fans will be all about it when it does happen, because according to tabloids youave already been pregnant five times.a aWhatever, I gotta get ready for this radio interview,a she laughed, getting up from the booth in the bus. No matter how much she thought about it, she knew they werenat ready, but possibly it was something she could talk to him about during her time off.

aYour wifey is number three on the all-genre Billboard,a Jared yelled to Garrett as he entered the recording studio later the next night.

aOh s.h.i.+t, for real?a He ran over to the computer that Jared sat in front of, moving him out of the way to look for himself.

aFor real. Weave all been waiting for the chart to update, and it finally did.a Garrett thought it was amazing the way the guys had taken to her, almost as excited for the things going on with her as he was. There had been times in their relations.h.i.+p as a group that none of them had liked someoneas girlfriend. It was important to him that they love his wife as much as they loved him. aThatas amazing for her.a aIt is.a Jared smiled over at his friend. aCongrats, dude. You got a good one.a He knew that without a doubt, and he missed her something fierce. The two of them hadnat been able to get hooked up on FaceTime or Skype this entire week, and he missed seeing her face. He knew that she was incredibly busy, and with him being in the studio at night, it made it even more difficult than normal. aI know, I wish I could see her.a aHopefully soon,a Jared told him quietly. He, of all of them, knew what kind of schedule Hannah was keeping, and it was back-breaking for the time shead allowed the record company. aWhen was the last time you talked to her?a aA few days ago, but I havenat actually seen her in a week. This is the hard part,a he told his friend, turning his wedding ring around on his finger. FaceTime or Skype at least allowed him to see her, and they hadnat even had time for that.

aIf it wasnat hard, it wouldnat mean so much.a Jared had him there. It did mean a lot because it wasnat easy. He had never had to make such an effort to be with another woman. It wasnat his normal MO, and maybe that was why he loved her so much, why it meant so much to him that he had her. Dwelling too much on it would make him sad, and thatas not where he wanted to go on this night. aWhen are we starting this d.a.m.n session?a he asked, running his fingers through his hair. aI thought I was f.u.c.kina late.a aYou were,a Brad looked at him pointedly, abut none of us wanted to say anything about it.a Garrett threw him a middle finger. aWhereas our engineer?a The door opened as he finished asking the question, and an intern peeked his head in. aYour engineer for the night has called in. Heas got food poisoning. He said you could either come back tomorrow or you could try to do some stuff on your own, just donat f.u.c.k up his stuff.a When the door closed, the group looked at each other. aWhat are we gonna do?a Garrett asked, looking around the room. This didnat hold the appeal that it normally did. aItas been a while since we hit the neighborhood bar.a They all looked at Jared. aI will totally be the DD,a he said, holding his hands up. aIave finally got my s.h.i.+t under control. Besides,a he clapped his hand on Garrettas back. aI think my man here needs a night of debauchery.a The thought held a sort of promise. He did need to blow off some steam. He was sick of being stuck in California while Hannah was wherever she was for the night, and he missed her. He needed the feeling of peace that she gave him. Without that peace, Reaper had to come out, and to be honest, he wasnat sure how that was going to fly. aPromise me,a he grabbed Jaredas arm as the group made their way out of the studio. aPromise me that you wonat let me get f.u.c.kina stupid. Itas been a while since Iave done this, and I miss Hannah like I canat tell you.a Jared knew what that meant for his friend. He needed to blow off steam, and in the past, that had either meant head beat somebody with his fists until he was done or head find a groupie and f.u.c.k her until that peaceful feeling returned. aI promise.a * * *

The local bar was just as Garrett remembereda"a dive with cheap drinks. He and the guys had a seat at the booth they had sat at since theyad started coming here when each of them had turned twenty-one. Their favorite waitress, Lisa, came over and already had a tray full of drinks and a bottle of c.o.ke for Jared.

aDo you want me to keep them coming?a she asked.

Garrett tipped his head back, the shot burning as it went down his throat and into his belly. He chased it with a large drink of beer. af.u.c.k yes, keep it coming until they cut my a.s.s off,a he told her, holding up his credit card to her.

aWhereas that cute wife of yours?a she asked, watching him with a critical eye. Shead known him for a long time.

aSomewhere on the other side of the United States tonight.a aYou better be careful,a she warned him.

aIam always careful,a he a.s.sured her, flas.h.i.+ng the smile at her that always got him what he wanted from other people.

aIam serious, Garrett. This place is bursting with hot girls in tight-a.s.s skirts. You be careful.a an.o.body is hotter than my wife.a He waved her off.

She glanced at him, this time her eyes soft. aI know you miss her, but remember that Iave been doing this a long time, and sometimes a warm body means much more than the memory of someone. You boys watch him. Thereas a group of women here that were hoping you guys would be in tonight.a Jared looked up at her. aHeas not going to get out of line, I got it.a She seemed pacified by Jaredas a.s.surances and did what the group asked.

Over the course of the night, Garrett lost count of how many shots head taken. He texted Hannah at different intervals, telling her how much he missed her, the things he wanted to do to her when he had her alone. Checking his phone, he realized that she was on stage and she wouldnat be seeing her messages for hours. Maybe by that time, he would be sober again and he could have a normal conversation with her. Slamming back another shot, uncharacteristic tears filled his eyes. He didnat know how to deal with this, the feelings that came with her being gone. The emptiness he felt when she wasnat around. It had become increasingly worse, and he didnat know what to do. Never before had his life been so wrapped up in another person that he didnat know how to pull himself out of it. Sometimes he missed her so much it hurt to breathe.

aI gotta take a p.i.s.s,a Jared told him. aDonat get up from here, youare s.h.i.+tfaced as f.u.c.k.a Garret nodded, even though he wasnat sure he understood what Jared said to him. He looked across the table and saw that, at some point, Brad had invited Stacey and they were sitting close to each other, Brad whispering in her ear. aDude, back off my sister,a he said, but the words were slurred, and he wasnat sure that they could understand him because he could barely understand the words head meant to say.

Stacey rolled her eyes. aYouare drunk, bro. Itas fine.a Before he could answer, a dark-haired girl slid into the booth next to him, and for a moment, he thought it was Hannah. Then she turned so that she could see his face, and he knew without a doubt that this wasnat his wife.

aTake a picture with me?a she asked, her smile bright.

aSure,a he slurred, trying to hold his eyes open. Now all he wanted to do was go home and sleep it off. He turned so that he could be in the picture with her, and the girl settled herself right on his lap. That didnat sit well with him. aYou need to move,a he told her, putting his hands on her hips, trying to push her off.

aJust smile.a In the end, all he wanted to do was get it over with, so he did what she told him, barely able to hold his head up.

Chapter Thirteen.

Hannah felt her stomach drop as she opened the link that had been sent to her. Did she really want to look at this? When she had called Garrett the night before, he had been ranting and raving about some woman whoad sat on his lap. He was drunk, so at first, shead thought it was cute. Head admitted to getting drunk because head missed her, that head needed some way to deal with the loneliness. That had torn her apart, had made her feel like c.r.a.p because she knew how much she missed him. When he admitted things like that, it gutted her. She wished in those moments that shead never told the record company that she would do this final tour. Seven more weeks, thatas all they had to get through, but it felt like a million years.

aHave you seen it?a Sh.e.l.l asked as she came back to Hannahas bedroom and had a seat on the bed.

aNo.a She shook her head. aIam not sure that I want to. Have you?a aYeah, and Iave talked to Jared.a Jared had been the one person sober last night, so she was very interested to hear what he had to say. aAnd?a aHe went to the bathroom for five minutes. He figures those girls were waiting for him to leave because head been sitting on the outside of the booth so that n.o.body could get to Garrett. As soon as he was gone, they must have moved in. Jared swears that Garrett could hardly hold his head up. He just kept talking about how much he missed you and how much he wanted to see you because itad been so long since youad even Skyped or FaceTimed.a That was true, and Hannah felt shame burn her face hot. They had become comfortable with just texting one another and the occasional phone call. Funny how quickly that had happened, that theyad become complacent. That was not what she had wanted at all. That wasnat how she wanted her marriage to work. Not how she wanted to make things easy when the staying together part became harder.

aDo you need to see this picture?a Sh.e.l.l asked her. aWill it change anything?a aNo, it wonat change anything, but I do need to see it. I need to see and know that he couldnat keep his head up, that this person preyed on him because he was drunk. It would make me feel better. I know thatas weak, but after Ashton, there are just certain things that I need to see with my own two eyes.a aOkay, but Iam warning you, Iam not even married to the guy and I want to kick her a.s.s.a Hannah rolled her eyes. aNever in all my almost-twenty-five years have I wanted to kick someoneas behind, I highly doubt Iam gonna start now.a She opened the link and her eyes narrowed.

aIam watching you, and it looks like youare irritated,a Sh.e.l.l provided commentary.

aItas because I am,a she whispered as she took a good look at the picture. She wouldnat say it out loud, but Hannah did want to kick this girlas a.s.s.

aIrritated at him or the s.k.a.n.k ho throwing herself at him.a aThe s.k.a.n.k ho,a she breathed out. aHe really couldnat hold his head up,a she said, her voice thick with emotion.

Anyone who knew Garrett and looked at this picture could tell that he wasnat putting the moves on this girl. His lips were nowhere near her neck, his forehead rested on her shoulder. There was a series of pictures, and in the first one he looked irritated, while in the next one he was slumped over the table with his head in his hands.

aI canat believe the media is running with this,a Sh.e.l.l told her. aIf this was a woman, theyad all be talking about how he took advantage of her and blah, blah, blah.a Hannah had to agree. aI wonder if heas seen these yet.a aI would say heas in the process of sleeping off one of the worst hangovers of his life. This doesnat bother you at all?a aI wonat lie; I donat like seeing another woman perched on my husbandas lap like that. I really donat like that his mouth is near her neck either, because thatas my spot. I have to be realistic about this. I canat let the paparazzi win; they do things like this to get a rise out of us. Iam sure thatas what this s.k.a.n.k ho wanted too. While it doesnat feel good, and it makes me more than a little sick to my stomach, Iam not giving them what they want.a Hannahas voice was thick with emotion. aWhat they want is to break us up, and thatas not going to happen.a Sh.e.l.l couldnat believe the person talking to her was her best friend. At one time, this picture would have ruined her life and her self-esteem. She wouldnat have been able to concentrate on anything besides the picture. Then the questioning would start. Was this the first time head done something like this? Was he doing this behind her back? How many women had he had? In all honestly, Sh.e.l.l had prepared herself for the worst and was pleasantly surprised at what she was getting from her best friend. aIam glad this isnat a huge deal.a aI know what you were probably expecting, but I am working very hard on not letting these jerks rule my life. I mean, look what I was going to do a few months agoa"send myself back into that downward spiral of an eating disorder. Iam trying to be my own person and not let other peopleas issues affect me. Iam not gonna lie though, I would like to rip this chickas brown extensions out of her head.a Sh.e.l.l laughed. aMe too. I mean, heas married. Who asks a married man to pose like that, and when heas obviously that intoxicated? She gives women a bad name.a aI wish I had time to sit here and google her and see what all I could find out about her, but I have another flippina radio interview,a Hannah sighed.

aWhen they ask you about this, donat go off,a Sh.e.l.l warned.

aIall do my best.a And that was all she could promise.