Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
HENDRIX
Pres
Hen, we’re gonna need an ETA on your arrival.
Merc
Agreed. Also, you got our tickets, right?
Myles
Can we bring dates?
Cash
I’m the one handling your tickets, asshats. And no, you can’t bring dates. VIP tickets don’t grow on fucking trees.
Pres
Yeah, if I can’t bring my boyfriend, you can’t bring some rando from Tinder.
Myles
What about Grindr?
Cash
No dates!
Myles
Damn. All right. Guess I’ll just…mingle backstage then.
Merc
Ew, Myles. Just no.
Pres
Hen! Answer me!
We’re on our way to LA, and my phone has been buzzing incessantly for five minutes straight.
I’m trying to ignore it as I work up the courage to ask Zara if she wants to have dinner with my family when we’re in town.
But when I glance down at my screen and see the mile-long text chain from my siblings, I seriously start to reconsider.
Maybe she’s not ready for the Creed family yet.
I’m not even sure I’m ready for the Creed family yet.
Fucking hell.
Me
Jesus. Give me a second. I was busy.
That’s a lie. I haven’t done a single thing since we took off except stare out the window while my mind catastrophizes all the ways this conversation with Zara could go wrong.
She tells me she’s not ready.
She says she doesn’t want that kind of relationship with me and never does.
She realizes how attached I’ve become and ends things.
I die miserable and alone.
My right hand nervously plucks out a rhythm on the arm of the chair until my fingers cramp up when I see her exit the bathroom. I grab my phone and am met with a slew of next messages.
Pres
Busy? Sure.
Merc
Busy with what???
Myles
Why do I feel I’m missing something?
Cash
I don’t care about any of this.
Me
Nothing.
Pres
Really? Because I heard you have a GIRLFRIEND!
“Hey,” Zara greets me with a bright smile. “I can’t believe how short this flight is.”
“Yup. Almost there.”
Stop acting weird and just ask her.
She gives me an odd look before briefly glancing down at my phone as it buzzes five times in a row.
“That’d be my siblings,” I explain, before checking my screen again. “They are excited we’re coming to town.”
I type back a reply.
Me
You guys are fucking annoying. Also, WTF. Who told you…Z?
Pres
Elena confirmed it, but you’ve been photographed everywhere.
Me
Yeah, I’ve heard.
I should have known they’d already know about Zara.
They were right. Photos of us were everywhere. Exiting venues arm in arm, entering the hotel holding hands, and even a group shot from the tattoo studio Darius posted with the two of us looking very cozy.
Any idiot could see there was something going on.
But the fact that my family has seen it makes the press being involved a bit more real.
And scary.
In the past, the media haven’t always been kind to Elena, and she’s had to adjust her entire life because of it.
How would they treat the woman in my life?
She has already been through enough.
Merc
When do we get to meet her?
Myles
Is she hot?
Me
I will literally kill you, Myles.
Cash
She’s hot.
Me
Fuck the both of you.
Pres
Why are you still here? I thought you left.
Cash has left the group Creed Counsel of Chaos.
Myles has added Cash to the group Creed Counsel of Chaos.
Myles
Sorry, Cash, you can’t leave. We need at least one grown-up present at all times.
Cash
FML.
Looking up at her, I take a moment to just soak in every detail as she scrolls through her social media. From the scattering of freckles on the bridge of her nose to the stray pieces of brown locks that never seem to stay in whatever claw clip contraption she’s got in her hair.
She’s so fucking beautiful.
Every day with her feels like a free fall. Like I’m tumbling toward something I’m completely unprepared for. I feel like I should be. I grew up in a house with two parents who are madly in love with each other and love us just as deeply.
I know what love is supposed to feel like. I’ve seen it in the quiet moments when my dad sneaks a kiss when he thinks no one is looking, or when they’d read each one of us our own bedtime story to make us feel special.
But this? It all feels bigger than that.
I told her I was okay without labels, but god, do I want to put one on us. On her.
I want the whole fucking world to know she’s mine, and I am hers.
And that thought alone scares the ever-loving shit out of me.
Because what if she doesn’t feel the same?
What if Tanner broke something that can’t be fixed?
Me
FYI, she’s not my girlfriend. We haven’t exactly put a label on it.
Pres
LAME!
Myles
Dude.
Merc
Why?
Me
Because she just got divorced. And we’re taking it slow.
And I’m fucking terrified.
“Hey.” Her hesitant voice has me looking up into her dark-brown eyes.
“Hey.” I give her a warm smile.
She returns it with a shy one. “I was wondering…” She nibbles on her bottom before continuing.
“Do you think when we’re in San Francisco that you might be okay with having dinner with my parents?
” I stare at her blankly and blink, completely dumbfounded.
She misreads my expression and immediately starts to backpedal.
“It’s okay if you don’t—if you think it’s too soon.
I mean, we can just do something else, or—”
I press a finger to her lips, putting a stop to her panicked verbal diarrhea. “I would love to.”
“You would?”
I chuckle and nod. “I’ve been freaking out for the last twenty minutes trying to find the courage to ask you to meet my crazy family, so honestly, this is a relief.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope.”
“But…wait. Aren’t I going to meet them at the concert?”
“Yeah.” I shrug. “But that’s not really a proper introduction, is it? I want them to meet you. To get to know you and see how amazing you are.”
Her expression softens. “Okay.”
“Okay. But fair warning,” I say. “My family is crazy.”
“My mom asked you for shirtless pics of Asher for her home screen, so let’s not compare crazy, m’kay?”
“All right.” I shrug. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I tried to warn her,” I tell Zander with a shrug as we stand back and watch the mayhem.
“In all fairness, I don’t think anyone can ever be prepared to meet your family. I had the benefit of meeting them in small doses, and even that was a lot.”
Literally every member of my family, minus Myles—where is that little shit?—is crammed into the small room that makes up Zara’s clinic in the Arena. While I was doing a meet and greet, one of the PAs gave them a tour backstage, and I managed to head them off just before they got here.
Not that it did any good.
“A doctor!” My mom gushes, turning toward me with her hand on her heart. “So impressive, Hendrix.”
I scrunch my brow in confusion and sneak a glance toward Zara. She smirks. “Thanks?”
“And you’re so pretty. Isn’t she pretty, Hen?”
“Yeah, Pres.” I grin, my eyes still fixed on Zara, who I know is probably hating the attention. Especially since she hasn’t had a chance to change and is still in the leggings and oversized sweatshirt she wore on the plane. “She’s beautiful.”
That earns me a blush. Cash comes to pat me on the back, and I tear my gaze away from her to focus on my big brother. “Good job. I’m proud of you.”
“For dating a doctor?”
He chuckles. It’s an odd sound coming from my grumpy ass brother. “No, for the tour. You’re getting noticed, and it’s working.”
“It is?”
We turn away from the chatter, and I feel each beat of my heart as I wait for him to reply. “I know Dad doesn’t represent you, but we’ve still been getting calls.”
“Really?”
“You don’t have an agent, Hendrix. They don’t know who else to contact.”
“Yeah, well, my last one kind of fucked me over.” But that wasn’t my dad’s fault. It was mine for not listening to him.
“I know, which is why it’s important you have someone you trust. And fast.”
I state the obvious. “Dad isn’t an agent. He’s a manager.”
“But we have agents on staff. You know that.”
Yeah, I did. I knew all of them. I’d worked with all of them when I was my dad’s assistant. “I want Saul.”
“Zander’s agent?”
I nod just as a burst of laughter is heard over my shoulder. I resist the urge to look, but I know it’s my sisters and Zara, and damn if that doesn’t make me happy.
“Dad recommended him to Z because he’s good and honest. I know he won’t screw me over. Plus, he’s been trying to get me to sign with him for years. I’ve just been—”
“Stubborn?”
“Yeah. That.”
“I’ll make it happen. In the meantime, just keep doing what you’re doing. Play well, get noticed—maybe a little less for the abs?”
“Jealous?” I tease.
He just shakes his head, and I see the faintest whisper of a smile. It reminds me of the man he used to be. Before Nikki. “Just because I sit behind a desk doesn’t mean I couldn’t still take you, asshat.”
“But you’d have to get the suit dirty.” I brush a nonexistent piece of lint off the dark navy blazer. “Seriously, dude. Who wears Armani to a rock concert?”
“Someone with style?” he says as he gives my faded black jeans and hoodie a once-over. “Anyway, I’ll be in touch when we have some leads, and hopefully soon we can find you something a bit more permanent. Somewhere you can call home.”
My heart hammers in my chest.
This is what I’ve always wanted. A shot to prove myself.
To Edwin. To my family. The world.
“Sounds perfect,” I answer. But does it? I toss a glance in Zara’s direction.
Suddenly, I’m not so sure.