Chapter 20
Out stubborn – it’s not a contest but if it were, Jett would win
Jett
A urora leans forward to ask the driver, “Can you drop me at the commercial terminal?”
We’re nearly at Denver International Airport to start a week-long tour. We’ll be hopping to four different cities – Minneapolis, Atlanta, Vegas, and Nashville – before returning to Winter Falls in eight days. Just in time for Christmas.
“You’re not flying commercial,” I insist.
The thought of Aurora, pregnant with our baby, squeezed between two people in the back of an airplane for several hours has me clenching my teeth. She should be comfortable. She should be with me. Where I can keep an eye on her.
“You know Mike’s rule. No flying with the talent on their private jet,” she mimics our manager’s voice and I nearly laugh at her feistiness. But I don’t. This is a serious discussion. I won’t be distracted by how cute she is.
“I have no fucks to give about Mike’s rule.”
She rolls her eyes. “Whoopty doo for you. I do.”
My bandmates chuckle. I don’t find anything amusing about this situation.
“Mike won’t find out.”
“Oh, now I’m your dirty little secret.”
“How are you my dirty little secret? Mike knows you’re pregnant with my baby.”
“And he wants to fire me for breaking the ‘no sex with the talent’-rule,” she fires back at me.
“We’re not going to let him fire you.”
“Yeah, Aurora. We’ve got your back,” Cash says and the rest of the band nods in agreement.
Aurora sighs. “And I appreciate it. I do. But you can’t control Mike unless you’re willing to fire him and firing him would be the end of your career. So, let’s stop this useless discussion and have the driver drop me at the commercial terminal.”
“I’m down with firing Mike,” Gibson says. “Anyone who uses my addiction as an excuse to create a public relations spectacle doesn’t deserve my loyalty.”
Aurora grimaces. “I’m sorry. I did try to stop him.”
He pats her arm. “I know you did.”
She smiles at him and I grit my teeth to stop myself from growling. She shouldn’t be smiling at him. All her smiles should be directed at me. I’m the one who should make her smile. Me and only me.
What am I thinking? I need to stop these possessive thoughts. They won’t lead anywhere. I can’t have Aurora for myself. It’s unfair of me to act possessive toward her.
“But, you have to face it, almost any other manager in the music business would have done the same thing,” Aurora says.
I frown. “Why? We’re an established band. We don’t need to drum up publicity the way we did in the beginning.”
“Wrong. With the amount of competition out there and because of how social media works, you need to be in the spotlight all the time. Otherwise, you’re forgotten for the next bright shiny thing.”
“I hate social media,” I mumble.
“And you don’t even have to manage your own account.”
It’s true. In addition to everything else she does, Aurora handles our social media accounts. I don’t know how she does all she does. I know she works long hours. Which I’m not happy about now she’s pregnant.
“I can’t fly on the jet with you without risking my job, so please drop me at the commercial terminal.”
Aurora’s voice is pleasant but there’s a current of steel in her words. Too bad for her I’m as stubborn as she is.
“Not happening.”
“You want to wake up with a fish in your bed?”
I shiver. I can’t help it. Fish are slimy.
“You wouldn’t.”
“Watch me.”
I grin. “I heard the smell of fish makes pregnant woman gag.”
Her face pales and she swallows. “You’re cruel.”
“I don’t want you and our baby flying commercial. How am I being cruel?”
“You really want to have another discussion about why Little Bean isn’t yours?”
Gibson raises his hand. “I want to hear this discussion.” The rest of the band nods their heads in agreement. Nosy fuckers.
“You are not placing bets on my relationship with Aurora,” I order.
“What about on Little Bean?” Gibson asks. “Can we place bets on it?”
“Him,” Aurora corrects.
“Yes!” Cash pumps his fist in the air. “I knew it.”
Before I can explain how we don’t know the sex of the baby yet, the car pulls up to the private terminal. The band piles out of the car, but Aurora doesn’t move.
I hold my hand out to her. “Come on.”
“No. I’ll have the driver drop me off at the commercial terminal.”
I nod toward the driver who steps out of the car.
Aurora glares at me. “I can call a taxi.”
I thread my hands through my hair and pull on the ends. “Will you stop being stubborn? You know as well as I do it’s better for you to fly with us. It makes no sense to have our assistant on another plane where we can’t contact you because you refuse to pay extra for Wi-fi.”
“The prices they want for an hour of Wi-fi on planes are ridiculous,” she mumbles.
She’s adorable with her bottom lip jutted out and her arms crossed over her chest. My feisty girl thinks she can out stubborn me. She’s wrong. I’m not letting her and our baby fly commercial.
“I don’t want to give Mike another reason to fire me.”
“I promise he won’t find out and if he does, he won’t fire you. He’d be an idiot to fire you. You do the work of five women. You never complain when he phones you in the middle of the night.”
She snorts. “I never said I don’t complain.”
“Come on.” I wiggle my fingers. “We’re holding up the departure. You don’t want us to leave late, do you? Don’t we have a schedule to maintain?”
“You know how to piss me off,” she says but she does accept my hand and I help her out of the vehicle.
I escort her through the private terminal. There’s no reason to stop since we don’t have to check in or go through security. The workers are already carrying our bags toward the plane, and we follow them out of the building toward the waiting jet.
When we enter the aircraft, my bandmates clap.
“Well done, Jett!”
“We knew you could do it!”
I resist the temptation to flip them off.
“Show me the money!” Gibson shouts. Cash, Dylan, and Fender slap money into his hand.
“I had complete faith in you,” Gibson says. “These yahoos did not.”
Cash snorts. “I didn’t not have faith in you. I just had more faith in Aurora.”
Fender grunts in agreement.
Aurora winks at them. “Thanks.”
“Wow.” She surveys the interior. “This is swanky. The seats in economy are not leather and the width of half of the plane. No wonder Mike doesn’t want me flying with you. He’s afraid I’ll get used to fancy stuff.”
“Get used to it. You won’t be flying commercial again.”
She rolls her eyes at my statement. “Where can I set up to work?”
I want to tell her to get some rest. But I’m not stupid. I may have won the battle to get her on this jet, but I didn’t win the war.
I lead her to a chair and table in the back of the plane away from my bandmates. It should be quiet here so she can work without interruption. “You can use this area. The band won’t bother you.”
She immediately pulls out her computer and starts tapping away.
“What do you want to drink?” I ask.
“A glass of water is fine.”
“I have ginger ale, decaf coffee, and some of those herbal teas you like.”
She glances up at me. “You planned for me to fly with you the entire time, didn’t you?”
I shrug. “I told you I don’t want you flying commercial.”
“Whatever. I’ll have a mint tea.”
I tell the flight attendant what Aurora wants before I settle in a seat at the front of the plane with my bandmates.
“You have a struggle in front of you,” Cash says.
“Aurora’s stubborn but she won’t do anything to harm the baby.” It’s true. Aurora will protect Little Bean with her life. She’s going to be a wonderful mother.
“I meant with Aurora,” Cash clarifies.
I frown at him.
Dylan chuckles. “He’s cute. He thinks we don’t know he wants her.”
Of course, I want her. I got her pregnant, didn’t I? I keep my thoughts to myself. My bandmates enjoy sticking their noses into my life. They can keep their noses to themselves. I’m not discussing my relationship with Aurora with them.
“Good thing I already broke our pact to not fall in love since you hate to lose,” Gibson says.
“I’m not falling in love with Aurora.”
“Sure, you aren’t,” Fender grumbles. Figures. The one time the grumpy bass player deigns to speak, he manages to piss me off.
“Look. I’m happy for all of you. I’m glad you found love but it’s not for me. I don’t do relationships.”
“Correction. You used to not do relationships.”
I flip Gibson off and he chuckles. “This is going to be fun.”
I don’t bother correcting him. He’s not listening anyway.
What’s gotten into him? He knows my history. He knows why I don’t do relationships. Why I can’t be a good partner.
Aurora moans and I glance back at her. Her eyes are closed as she sips on her mint tea.
I can’t believe I’m jealous of a fucking cup of tea. But I want to be the one to make her moan. I want to be the one she’s cradling with her hands. My cock twitches in my pants.
I need to stop thinking about making Aurora moan before I get hard in front of my bandmates. I’d never hear the end of it.
I turn around and catch Gibson watching me. He grins and mouths fun.
This time I flip him off with both hands.