Chapter 2 Communication
Mike was the codename I gave Mya in my phone. What can I say? I wrote song lyrics that made hit albums. I won Grammy’s for my talent yet I had no imagination when it came to duping my woman and her best friend, so Mike was the best name I could think of.
I had Jack’s number because he was Lily’s best friend.
Having his number was also plausible because we knew each other before Lily and I got together.
I had no real reason to have Mya’s and I never had cause to ring Jack much.
However, after a clandestine conversation when I’d turned up at her place two weeks ago, we began to hatch a plan for a trip away together while Jack was out of earshot in the kitchen.
At first, I’d thought she might reject the idea, but I was delighted when she’d agreed it was just what we needed.
It was hard for us to act normally from that point on.
Calling her had been our only form of communication.
I didn’t dare text her in case Jack saw them.
Phone calls were risky enough and twice we nearly got caught.
Both times I had to cover Mya. Lily had come up behind me and heard a female voice talking through my cell.
I didn’t outright lie to her. I told her it was another musician asking me for some details about an event we were playing.
As Mya was a music teacher, I’d figured it was close to the truth damn it.
On another occasion, Mya had called me from her bathroom.
Jack walked in on her and asked who she was talking to.
Mya was completely honest and said it was me.
So, when he took the phone and asked me what I wanted, I told him that Mya had called to speak to Lily and her call had diverted to my phone.
My heart was roasted trying to keep up the pretence around what we were doing.
Even glancing at my Omega wristwatch made me feel guilty. Lily gave it to me for my birthday. Jack had one of the same. He’d had his for several years before she’d bought me mine. It made me wonder if it was to comfort her because she was missing him, but I never made a big deal about it.
Mya and I knew what we were getting when we made our respective decisions about loving Lily and Jack.
They had been friends for so long, that it was hard to get a handle on their weird but beautiful relationship.
I was jealous as fuck when I’d found out about him.
The first time I saw him I knew I’d have problems shaking the guy from Lily’s heart.
Plus, their borderline flirty behavior was always difficult.
They kept me, and everyone else, wondering if there was more to them than they were disclosing.
Mya didn’t mind so much, but then again, she’d had space from all that shit they used to pull when I was trying to get my relationship with Lily on a firm footing.
I learned to deal, though, and Jack and I got a bit closer.
I mostly understood what they were to each other, but there were times when the green-eyed monster raised its ugly head where he was concerned.
“Hey,” I said answering my cell.
Mya’s voice was a little high pitched, rushed, and she sounded slightly breathless.
“Are you sure she’s gone?”
I could hear high heels clattering noisily in a hollow space. “Where the hell are you, Mya?”
“In the stairwell, I’m coming up to your room.”
I stifled a chuckle and cleared my throat. I pointed out what was wrong with that image when she’d reached the top.
“Mya, honey, I’m in the Penthouse. The stairs stop the floor below me unless you have a key card to enter.”
“Shoot, you mean I came in the service entrance and climbed all these fucking stairs and you still have to ask someone to let me up one more entire floor? What in God’s name was the point of that?”
By then I was really chuckling, “Don’t worry, I’ll send someone down to open the door for you. Next time just use the fucking elevator like everyone else. I could practically hear you coming up the stairs in those heels anyway. I doubt you were as inconspicuous as you think you were.”
I hung up and made a call to Henry, my closest protection guy. A few minutes later Mya almost lunged at me as I stood by the open door waiting for her.
“Jesus, quick, get inside,” she barked and then banged the door tightly shut behind her.
Leaning back on it, she was flushed and breathless.
I couldn’t help looking her over. She was an absolutely stunning girl and not that different in height and weight to Lily.
Like my girl, she had long dark brown hair.
It had weirded me out a little the first time I’d seen her with Jack.
Not only was she a musician and the same type - petite and brunette - but also because she had the same flirty-vibe-thing going on with Jack that he used to have with Lily.
“Shit, Alfie, next time you want to surprise your woman, can you pick a guy to help with the planning. I don’t think my heart is up to the strain of all this cloak and dagger mysterious crap.
” Mya commented breathlessly, and I watched her struggle to regulate her breathing after climbing all the stairs.
No one knew who Mya was. It was me that was famous. Leaning forward, she placed her hands on her knees still breathing heavily. It struck me that she was pretty similar in her mannerisms to her uncle, Rick Fars, another rock star who was an even bigger name than I was.
“Best you get that heavy breathing and your flushed face under control, Mya. If Lily walked through that door right now, you’d have to do some fancy dancing to convince her that this meeting is above board. You’re a hot mess girl.”
I thought she was adorable to try to save our respective reputations, but as couples go, I thought everyone would have struggled to believe we’d cheat on Lily and Jack with each other.
She glanced at her watch, “Dang, Alfie, it’s 12:45. We only have two hours at the most.”
Inclining my head, I gestured toward one of the leather chairs by the coffee table. Mya placed her purse on the console table by the door. She wandered over to take a seat while I knelt at the bed and swept my hands under the mattress to grab the brochures I’d hidden from Lily.
“Seriously, Alfie? Under the mattress? I thought they only did that stuff in the movies. Don’t ever have an affair will you?
We’ll be reading about you being found in someone’s closet, or there will be pictures of you on someone’s balcony or window ledge all over the internet.
Couldn’t you be more original in your hiding place? ”
I smirked sheepishly because I had no defense. Lily almost caught me talking to the travel agent. She had returned to our room early and I panicked, sliding the brochures under the bed. I’d forgotten they were there until Mya arrived.
“Enough of the smart mouth, Mya, let’s get this plan together.”