Stage Dive: Lick Part 3

"Yeah," I said, my throat tight. "Say bye to Mom for me. I'll talk to you soon."

Sam stepped forward. "Your daughter is in safe hands, sir."

I didn't wait to hear Dad's reply. For the first time in hours I stepped outside. Pandemonium erupted. The instinct to turn tail, run and hide, was huge. But with Sam's big body beside me it wasn't quite so crazy frightening as before. He put an arm loosely around my shoulder and hustled me out of there, down the garden path, and toward the waiting crowd. Another man in a sharp black suit came toward us, making a way through the mob from the other side. The noise level skyrocketed. A woman yelled that she hated me and called me a c.u.n.t. Someone else wanted me to tell David that he loved him. Mostly, though, it was more of the questions. Cameras were shoved in my face, the flashlights glaring. Before I could stumble, Sam was there. My feet barely touched the ground as he and his friend hurried me into the waiting car. Not a limousine. Lauren would be disappointed. It was a fancy new sedan with an all-leather interior. The door slammed shut behind me and Sam and his friend climbed in. The driver nodded to me in the rearview mirror, then carefully accelerated. People banged on the windows and ran alongside. I huddled down in the middle of the seat. Soon we left them behind.

I was on my way back to David.

My husband.

CHAPTER FOUR.

I slept on the short flight to LA, curled up in a super comfortable chair in a corner of the private jet. It was a level of luxury above anything I'd ever imagined. If you had to turn your life upside down you might as well enjoy the opulence while you were at it. Sam had offered me champagne and I'd politely declined. The idea of alcohol still turned me inside out. It was entirely possible I'd never drink again.

My career path had been temporarily shot to h.e.l.l, but never mind, I had a new plan. Get divorced. It was breathtakingly simple. I loved it. I was back in control of my own destiny. One day, when I got married, if I got married, it would not be to a stranger in Vegas. It would not be a terrible mistake.

When I woke up we were landing. Another sleek sedan stood waiting. I'd never been to LA. It looked every bit as wide awake as Vegas, though less glam. Plenty of people were still out and about despite the hour of night.

I had to brave turning on my phone sometime. Lauren would be worried. I pushed the little black b.u.t.ton and the screen flashed bright lights at me, coming to life. A hundred and fifty-eight text messages and ninety-seven missed calls. I blinked stupidly at the screen but the number didn't change. Holy h.e.l.l. Apparently everyone I knew had heard the news along with quite a few people I did not.

My phone pinged.

Lauren: You okay? Where r u???

Me: LA. Going to him 'til things calm down. You alright?

Lauren: I'm fine. LA? Living the dream.

Me: Private jet was amazing. Though his fans are crazy.

Lauren: Your brother is crazy.

Me: Sorry about that.

Lauren: I can handle him. Whatever happens, do not break up the band!!!

Me: Got it.

Lauren: But break his heart. He wrote San Pedro after what's-her-face cheated on him. That alb.u.m was BRILLIANT!

Me: Promise to leave him a broken quivering mess.

Lauren: That's the spirit.

Me: xx *

It was after three in the morning by the time we reached the ma.s.sive 1920s-era Spanish-style mansion in Laurel Canyon. It was lovely. Though Dad would not have been impressed-he preferred clean, contemporary lines with minimal fuss. Four-bedroom, two-bathroom houses for Portland's well-to-do. But I don't know, there was something beautiful and romantic about such extravagance. The decorative black wrought iron against the bare white walls.

A gaggle of girls and the obligatory pack of press milled about outside. News of our marriage had apparently stirred things up. Or maybe they always camped here. Ornate iron gates swung slowly open at our approach. Palm trees lined the long, winding driveway, large fronds waving in the wind as we drove by. The place looked like something out of a movie. Stage Dive were big business, I knew that much. Their last two alb.u.ms had sp.a.w.ned numerous. .h.i.t songs. Lauren had driven all over the countryside last summer, attending three of their shows in the s.p.a.ce of a week. All of them had been in stadiums.

Still, that was a d.a.m.n big house.

Nerves wound me tight. I wore the same jeans and blue top I'd had on all day. Dressing for the occasion wasn't an option. The best I could do was finger-brush my hair and spray on some perfume I had in my handbag. I might be lacking in glamour but at least I'd smell alright.

Every light in the house blazed bright and rock music boomed out into the warm night air. The big double doors stood open and people spilled out of the house and onto the steps. It seemed the party to end all others was taking place.

Sam opened the car door for me and I hesitantly climbed out.

"I'll walk you in, Ms Thomas."

"Thank you," I said.

I didn't move. After a moment Sam got the message. He forged ahead and I followed. A couple of girls were making out just inside the door, mouths all over each other. They were both slender and beyond gorgeous, dressed in tiny, sparkly dresses that barely hit their thighs. More people milled about drinking and dancing. A chandelier hung overhead and a grand staircase wound around an interior wall. The place was a Hollywood palace.

Thankfully, no one seemed to notice me. I could gawk to my heart's content.

Sam stopped to talk to a young man slouched against a wall, a bottle of beer to his lips. Long, blond hair stuck out every which way and his nose was pierced with a silver ring. Lots of tattoos. In ripped black jeans and a faded T-s.h.i.+rt he had the same uber-cool air as David. Maybe rock stars brought their clothes artfully aged. People with money were a pack apart.

The man gave me an obvious looking-over. I steadfastly resisted the urge to shrink back. Not happening. When he met my eyes his gaze seemed curious but not unfriendly. The tension inside me eased.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi." I braved a smile.

"It's all good," he said to Sam. Then he tipped his chin at me. "Come on. He's out this way. I'm Mal."

"Hi," I said again stupidly. "I'm Ev."

"Are you alright, Ms Thomas?" asked Sam in a low voice.

"Yes, Sam. Thank you very much."

He gave me a polite nod and headed back the way we'd come. His broad shoulders and bald head soon disappeared among the crowd. Running after him and asking to be taken home wouldn't help, but my feet itched to do so. No, enough with the pity party. Time to pull up my big girl panties and get on with things.

Hundreds of people had been packed into the place. The only thing in my experience that came close was my senior prom and it paled significantly. None of the dresses here tonight compared. I could almost smell the money. Lauren was the dedicated celeb-watcher but even I recognized a few of the faces. One of last year's Oscar winners and a lingerie model I'd seen on billboards back home. A teen pop queen who shouldn't have been swilling from a bottle of vodka, let alone sitting on the lap of a silver-haired member of ... d.a.m.n, what was that band's name?

Anyway.

I shut my mouth before someone noticed I had stars in my eyes. Lauren would have loved all this. It was amazing.

When a woman who most closely resembled a half dressed Amazonian G.o.ddess side-swiped me, Mal stopped and frowned after her. "Some people, no manners. Come on."

The sluggish beat of the music moved through me, reawakening the dregs of my headache and putting a taint on the glitter. We weaved our way through a big room filled with plush velvet lounges and the people draped over them. Next came a s.p.a.ce cluttered with guitars, amps and other rock 'n' roll paraphernalia. Inside the house the air was smoky and humid, despite all the open windows and doors. My top clung beneath my arms. We moved outside onto the balcony where a light breeze was blowing. I raised my face to it gratefully.

And there he was, leaning against a decorative iron railing. The strong lines of his face were in profile. Holy s.h.i.+t, how could I have forgotten? There was no explaining the full effect of David in real life. He fit in with the beautiful people just fine. He was one of them. I, on the other hand, belonged in the kitchen with the waitstaff.

My husband was busy talking to the leggy, enhanced-breasted brunette beside him. Perhaps he was a t.i.t man and that's how we'd wound up wed. It was as good a guess as any. Dressed in only a teeny white bikini, the girl clung to him like she'd been surgically attached. Her hair was artfully messed in a way that suggested a minimum of two hours at a top-notch salon. She was beautiful and I hated her just a little. A trickle of sweat ran down my spine.

"Hey, Dave," Mal called out. "Company."

David turned, then saw me and frowned. In this light his eyes looked dark and distinctly unhappy. "Ev."

"Hi."

Mal started to laugh. "That's about the only word I've been able to get out of her. Seriously, man, does your wife even speak?"

"She speaks." His tone of voice made it obvious he wished I wouldn't, ever again. Or at least, not within his hearing.

I didn't know what to say. Generally, I wasn't after universal love and acceptance. Open hostility, however, was still kind of new to me.

The brunette t.i.ttered and rubbed her bountiful b.o.o.bs against David's arm as if she was marking him. Sadly for her, he didn't seem to notice. She gave me a foul look, red mouth puckered. Charming. Though the fact that she saw me as compet.i.tion was a huge boost to my ego. I stood taller and looked my husband in the eye.

Big mistake.

David's dark hair had been tied back in a little ponytail with strands falling around his face. What should have reeked of sc.u.mmy drug dealer worked on him. Of course it did. He could probably make a dirty back alleyway seem like the honeymoon suite. A gray T-s.h.i.+rt molded to his thick shoulders and faded blue jeans covered his long legs. His black army-style boots were crossed at the ankles, easy as you please, because he belonged here. I didn't.

"You mind finding her a room?" David asked his friend.

Mal snorted. "Do I look like your f.u.c.king butler? You'll show your own wife to a room. Don't be an a.s.shole."

"She's not my wife," David growled.

"Every news channel in the country would disagree with you there." Mal ruffled my hair with a big hand, making me feel all of eight years old. "Check you later, child bride. Nice to meet you."

"Child bride?" I asked, feeling clueless.

Mal stopped and grinned. "You haven't heard what they're saying?"

I shook my head.

"Probably for the best." With a last laugh he wandered off.

David disentangled himself from the brunette. Her plump lips pursed in displeasure but he wasn't looking. "Come on."

He put his hand out to usher me on and there, spread across the length of his forearm, was his tattoo.

Evelyn I froze. Holy s.h.i.+t. The man sure had chosen a conspicuous place to put my name. I didn't know how I felt about that.

"What?" His brows drew down and his forehead wrinkled. "Ah, yeah. Come on."

"Hurry back, David," cooed Bikini Girl, primping her hair. I had nothing against bikinis. I owned several despite my mom believing I was too big boned for such things. (I'd never actually worn them but that was beside the point.) No, what I minded were the sneers and snarly looks Bikini Girl shot me when she thought David wasn't looking.

Little did she know he didn't care.

With a hand to the small of my back he ushered me through the party toward the stairs. People called out and women preened but he never slowed. I got the distinct feeling he was embarra.s.sed to be seen with me. Being with David, I sure caught some scrutiny. Any money, I didn't fit the bill of a rock star's wife. People stopped and stared. Someone called out, asking if he could introduce us. No comment from my husband as he hurried me through the crowd.

Hallways spread out in both directions up on the second floor. We went left, down to the end. He threw open a door and there my bag sat, waiting on a big king-size bed. Everything in the sumptuous room had been done in white: the bed, walls, and carpets. An antique white love seat sat in the corner. It was beautiful, pristine. Nothing like my small, cramped room back at the apartment I shared with Lauren, where between the double bed and my desk, you had just enough room to get the cupboard door open, no more. This place went on and on, a sea of perfection.

"I'd better not touch anything," I mumbled, hands tucked into my back pockets.

"What?"

"It's lovely."

David looked around the room with nil interest. "Yeah."

I wandered over to the windows. A luxurious pool sat below, well lit and surrounded by palm trees and perfect gardens. Two people were in the water, making out. The woman's head fell back and her b.r.e.a.s.t.s bobbed on the surface. Oh, no, my mistake. They were having s.e.x. I could feel the heat creep up my neck. I didn't think I was a prude, but still. I turned away.

"Listen, some people are going to come to talk to you about the divorce papers. They'll be here at ten," he said, hovering in the doorway. His fingers tapped out a beat on the doorframe. He kept casting longing looks down the hall, clearly impatient to be gone.

"Some people?"

"My lawyer and my manager," he told his feet. "They're rus.h.i.+ng things, so ... it'll all be, ah, dealt with as fast as it can."

"Alright."

David sucked in his cheeks and nodded. He had killer cheekbones. I'd seen men in fas.h.i.+on magazines that couldn't have compared. But pretty or not, the frown never lifted. Not while I was around. It would have been nice to see him smile, just once.

"You need anything?" he asked.

"No. Thank you for all this. For flying me down here and letting me stay. It's very kind of you."

"No worries." He took a step back and started closing the door after him. "Night."

"David, shouldn't we talk or something? About last night?"

He paused, half hidden behind the door. "Seriously, Ev. Why f.u.c.king bother?"

And he was gone.

Again.

No door slam this time. I counted that as a step forward in our relations.h.i.+p. Being surprised was stupid. But disappointment held me still, staring around the room, seeing nothing. It wasn't that I suddenly wanted him to fall at my feet. But antipathy sucked.

Eventually I wandered back over to the window. The lovers were gone, the pool now empty. Another couple stumbled along the lit garden path, beneath the huge swaying palm trees. They headed toward what had to be the pool house. The man was David and Bikini Girl hung off him, swis.h.i.+ng her long hair and swaying her hips, working it to the nth degree. They looked good together. They fit. David reached out and tugged on the tie of her bikini top, undoing the neat bow and baring her from the waist up. Bikini Girl laughed soundlessly, not bothering to cover herself.

I swallowed hard, trying to dislodge the rock in my throat. Jealousy felt every bit as bad as antipathy. And I had no d.a.m.n right to be jealous.

At the door to the pool house David paused and looked back over his shoulder. His eyes met mine. Oh, s.h.i.+t. I ducked behind the curtain and idiotically held my breath. Caught spying-the shame of it. When I checked a moment later they were gone. Light peeked out from the sides of the curtains in the pool house. I should have brazened it out. I wished I had. It wasn't like I was doing anything wrong.

The immaculate grandeur of the white room spread out before me. Inside and out I felt a mess. The reality of my situation had apparently sunk in, and what a cl.u.s.terf.u.c.k it was. Lauren had been right on with the word choice.

"David can do what he wants." My voice echoed through the room, startlingly loud even over the thumping of the music downstairs. I straightened my shoulders. Tomorrow I would meet with his people and the divorce would be sorted. "David can do what he wants and so can I."