Chapter Seven
C hristine stopped by the police station on the way to work and handed over the letter. She stood with her arms crossed, a smug smile on her lips. “This makes it a federal crime, right? We can do something now,” she said.
The officer read the letter, gave a brief nod, and jotted down some notes.
Not exactly the hard-core response Christine had hoped for.
Her smug smile dissolved. The officer made it clear that until they had some idea of who was making the threats, there was little they could do.
They encouraged her to be careful, watch her surroundings, keep people around her, and always lock her doors.
She drove to work feeling defeated but determined to go on with her life. While shuffling through her stack of songs, Christine did her morning ritual of choosing songs that needed an immediate listen versus those that could wait.
Her phone chimed.
It was a text from Austin: Party at my house this Saturday. Bring hot friends.
Christine was glad she didn’t have a crush on him. A guy like Austin was always looking for the next exciting thing, the hot friends. Even if he did seem to find her attractive, he still wanted her hotter friends to come along. It’s just who he was.
How do you know I’m not busy? she texted back.
Are you?
She was tempted to say that she was in fact very busy. But he’d know she was lying. No, she texted.
See you around eight. And thanks again for helping me a few weeks ago. You saved me from embarrassment.
Only because I haven’t posted the photos. Stay on my good side. Christine smiled as she hit SEND .
I plan to.
Next, she group-texted Julianna and Phoebe. Party Saturday at eight at Austin’s house. Want to come?
Their responses came in so fast it was like their fingers were already poised over their phones.
I’m in. TY, was Julianna’s reply.
Hell yeah, was Phoebe’s.
Most likely, Christine would be the designated driver since she couldn’t trust the others not to tip back a few.
At least she wouldn’t be standing at the party alone.
She wondered if Matt would be there. A vision of him flashed through her mind with the word “rain check.” She considered asking Austin but couldn’t think of a way to do it without raising suspicion.
She could text Matt, but that would seem weird, too.
She wished she could talk to someone who knew him.
But they worked on two separate sides of the industry and she didn’t know anyone close to him.
Still, she banked on him being there, which kept her excited all week.
THE MUCH-ANTICIPATED SATURDAY night had arrived.
Christine put on her best pair of Miss Me jeans, her favorite fitted shirt, and a pair of boots.
The boots added three inches to her five-foot-seven height, and she felt tall.
Too tall. But she liked how the boots gave her butt a lift, so she left them on.
She tried to calculate Matt’s height. He had to be at least five-foot-eleven, so she wouldn’t tower over him.
She’d be close to eye level. And if the eyes were the windows to the soul, maybe she could lift his shades a bit.
Julianna’s condo was closest, so she went there first.
“Thanks so much for asking me. This is exciting. I’ve never been to a singer’s house before.
” Julianna plopped herself in the shotgun seat and buckled her seat belt.
She had on a cute pair of leggings, tucked neatly into boots with a four-inch heel.
Christine’s feet hurt just looking at them.
Julianna’s shirt fell right below her thighs and flowed freely.
The V-neck enhanced her generous D-cup breasts.
She smelled faintly of perfume. Christine thought it went against nature to have natural D-cup breasts with a size three waist, not to mention long, thin legs up to her neck.
She must have been first in line that day in heaven when requesting all the best body parts.
Christine tried not to compare her body to Julianna’s.
That was a rabbit hole she’d spent too much time in and was making a conscious effort to stay out of.
“Think Phoebe will wear anything appropriate?” Julianna asked, raising her knowing eyebrows.
“Appropriate for what?”
“Good point.” Julianna grinned.
When they pulled up to Phoebe’s, she came waltzing out in five-inch fuck-me pumps and a short, tight dress. Christine could swear she saw her friend’s panties. At least she was wearing them. Phoebe opened the back door and climbed in behind the driver’s seat.
“Damn, Phoebe. It’s a house party. You may be a tad overdressed,” Julianna said.
“I plan to score big tonight and am bringing my A game,” Phoebe said. “Anyone have an issue with that?”
“Not me,” Julianna said.
“May the force be with you,” Christine said. She caught Phoebe’s eye roll in the rearview mirror.
They arrived at a fashionable eight fifteen, parked the car, and walked up to the door. Christine rang the doorbell and a few minutes later, Austin opened it.
“Chrissy. What’s up, girl?” Austin wrapped his arms around her, lifted her off the ground, and gave her a twirl. She caught Phoebe staring, eyes wide, mouth open.
“These are the hot friends you requested. Julianna, whom you’ve met, and Phoebe.” Christine pointed to each one and Austin shook their hands.
“Good to see you ladies. Come on in. Chrissy, you know where everything is, so grab some drinks and make yourself at home.” He stood back to let them pass before someone yelled his name and he excused himself.
“Mark my words, girls. I will get in those tight-ass jeans of his,” Phoebe said.
“Please, Phoebe. Attractive as you both are, I don’t need the visual,” Julianna said as Christine led them to the kitchen.
The girls each grabbed a beer while Christine took a water.
They stayed close to one another, anchored by comfort, until they started recognizing people.
Phoebe and Julianna chatted up a woman Christine had never seen before.
Christine recognized Austin’s band members and some of his crew and went up to greet them.
Fifteen minutes later, they made their way back to the entertainment room. Some people were shooting pool, others were playing darts, and a few yelled at a baseball game on TV.
Christine saw a familiar face and walked up to Austin’s merchandise manager.
Alicia’s brown hair was in a ponytail, mostly covered by a baseball cap turned backward.
She was more cute than pretty. She was shorter than Christine by a couple of inches, but while Christine had a fuller figure, Alicia had a taut, muscular body that was slender and athletic.
Christine had watched her haul boxes of merchandise and was shocked by her strength.
The few times Christine had helped her, she struggled to lift the same boxes Alicia raised with ease.
Her mode of dress was jeans, black combat boots, and a T-shirt, usually touting some rock band. Tonight, it was Green Day.
“Alicia, how are you?”
“Hey, Christine. Good. You?”
“No complaints. Just another Saturday night in Nash Vegas.”
“Yeah, you’d think after being on the road with these guys I wouldn’t want to party with them when we’re home. But they’re kinda like my family.”
“How’s merch moving?”
“Great. This tour has been good for Austin. He’s outselling the middle act nearly every night. We’re discussing a whole new line for the upcoming single. He’s so amazing. His career just keeps getting hotter.”
“He’s definitely on his way, isn’t he?” Christine looked over at Austin; he was doubled over, chuckling about something. He didn’t seem to have a care in the world.
“Yeah, he is,” Alicia said, also looking at him. “I’m off to the bathroom. You only borrow beer, y’know?”
“See you around.”
Christine spotted Matt. Her body tingled and the word “rain check” reverberated through her head.
She was raising her hand to wave when she saw an attractive brunette grab his arm.
The way he leaned into her and the casual way she touched him caused Christine to pause.
They were together. She was still staring when he looked up and saw her.
Their eyes met and Christine gave a little half-wave before turning around.
Her chest constricted. She couldn’t inhale but kept exhaling.
She forced herself to breathe deeply and count to ten as she searched for her friends.
Two guys were talking to Julianna. They talked a bit too loud, possibly from the alcohol, possibly because they were chatting with a beautiful woman.
She caught Julianna covering her mouth as she yawned, clearly uninterested in the conversation.
Phoebe, on the other hand, was quite animated, smiling with her perfect white teeth and talking to everyone in the room who was standing remotely close to Austin.
Christine watched in amazement as Phoebe made her way past each person, their eyes trained on her until she left their side to get one person closer to Austin.
It took some time, but she managed to finagle a spot right next to him and start working her magic.
She said something he couldn’t hear, and when he bent down to have her repeat it, she wrapped her long fingers around his neck and whispered into his ear.
He laid his arm around her tiny waist and she moved in closer.
Focusing on her friends had brought her breathing under control and taken her mind off Matt—until he appeared right beside her. “Hey,” he said.
Christine’s head whipped around. “Matt. I didn’t see you walk up,” she said.
“Not drinking?”
“I’m the designated driver.”
“Make them take an Uber. You should be able to have fun, too,” Matt said.
“If I remember, the last time I imbibed, I practically assaulted Austin’s tour manager.”
“Yeah, well . . . that was a night to remember, huh?” He smiled. “I confess I was thinking about it the other night.”