Chapter Eight #2
“Yeah. It’s not just his hands that are big,” another voice said, laughing.
Laughing? They find this funny? Christine thought.
Bryan reached around and grabbed her ass, then snaked his hand under her butt, his fingers pushing at her vagina. She knew in that moment that she was a step away from being forced into his van and raped.
Anger kicked in and adrenaline soared through her body. She lifted her knee as hard as she could, rammed it into his groin, and dropped him to his knees.
“Fucking bitch,” he said, grabbing his privates.
“Oh, shit,” one of his friends said, chuckling into his hand.
“Back the hell off or you’re next,” Christine said, spinning around, looking at each of them.
They all retreated and let her through their circle. She ran to her car, locked the doors, and sped home.
After that, her nickname was Chrissy the Sissy. Nobody confused her and Pretty Christine again.
“You okay?” Austin said. “I lost you for a minute.”
Christine looked up to see him staring at her, his brow quizzical.
“Um, yeah.” She shook her head, forcing herself back to the present.
“How’d they do it? Differentiate you from the other Christine?”
“They nicknamed her Tina,” she lied.
Christine looked Austin in the eyes. She had worked hard to bury Chrissy and become Christine again. And then Austin started using that awful nickname. He was slowly making the pain of it go away, like waves gently washing away tar from the sand. But the memories remained vivid.
“You’re not in high school anymore. You’re a grown woman with a beautiful body and a smile that warms people. And honestly, you’ve got a great rack.”
Christine nearly spilled her wine. “Thank you. But I’ve seen your type. A lot.” He had the decency to look embarrassed. “And I’m not it.”
“You’re so sure of that, are you?” he said. Before she could respond, he kept going. “So how did you get through those tough years?”
“My church youth group. My family went to a church in the next town, so I didn’t go to school with any of those kids.
The youth group was made up of a melting pot of people: brains, jocks, nerds, and even a pothead or two.
But there was something equalizing about doing our confirmation class together, going bowling, or having a sleepover movie night.
We didn’t pay much attention to what each other did or didn’t do in high school.
At my lowest moments, I had them. And they got me through. ”
Austin sighed. “Geez, girl. I’d like to tear apart the people who made you feel this way about yourself. High school was a long time ago, y’know?”
“Do we ever get past those formative years when we’re defined by our peers?”
“If we choose to. You need to choose it. Why do I hang out with you? Because I like you. I enjoy your company. When you do what I do for a living, you find very few people who don’t want something from you.
You can’t tell reality from fantasy. Would people be my friend if I wasn’t a singer?
You don’t pull punches with me. You don’t swoon when I walk in the room.
You treat me like a person. I believe you’d be my friend no matter what. And that means something to me.”
This was why she wouldn’t push him to record a song.
Everyone wanted something from him. She couldn’t be just one more.
Christine closed her eyes. She wanted to open them and not be sitting across from Austin Garrett.
She didn’t want to make the decision to extricate herself from his life.
She also didn’t want to be afraid for her life.
She opened her eyes. He was still staring at her.
“I would be your friend, no matter what. I like you, too. I care about you. You’ve been a fun, crazy addition to my life and have catapulted my career, but—”
“No but. Don’t say it.”
“But I can’t live in fear. I need a break. And you need to respect that.”
Neither said a word. Their silence overtook the room. Christine heard the ticking of her clock’s second hand. She knew she’d give in if she spoke first, so she stayed silent. A minute went by.
Then, Austin stood. “Fine. We take a break. But damn it, it’s not going to be too long. I don’t plan on giving you up over some maniac.”
“You may not have a choice.”
“And professionally?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you walking away both personally and professionally?” he asked.
“Of course not. Rick would fire me. But you know as well as I do that most pluggers do not become best friends with their artists. They have a friendly professional relationship, but they aren’t necessarily friends. We are not the norm.”
“So, you’ll still send me songs. You won’t pawn me off on a coworker?”
“Austin, there may be places in my life where I’m insecure, but my brains and work are not two of them. I’m damn good at my job. Rick would lose his mind if he thought I’d risk you going somewhere else. I remain your faithful song plugger.”
“Would it change your mind if I said I’d cut one of your songs?” Austin asked, a grin on his face.
“It would make my year if you said that. But I’d still insist we take a break on a personal level. I have to,” Christine said, holding her breath and hoping he was serious about cutting her song.
“Okay. We do it your way,” Austin said, not mentioning her song.
Christine drew in a deep breath and let it out. Now wasn’t the time to beg him to record it, no matter how much she needed it.
Austin reached for Christine’s hands and pulled her up. He held her hand as they walked to the front door. He hugged her and she hugged him back. He ran his hands up and down her back, massaging it.
Christine melted. She longed for affection. She’d never been with a guy who she really cared about. And she really did care about Austin. He wasn’t Matt and she didn’t see a romantic future with him, but they were both consenting adults. And maybe he could help her forget Matt.
He read her body language, sliding his hands down to her lower back. He reached for her hair, turned her head toward his, and dropped a light kiss on her lips.
Instead of pulling away, she leaned toward him. She had a fleeting thought that she wished Matt were kissing her but willed it out of her head. Matt had a girlfriend. She needed to let that fantasy go.
Austin spun them around so her back was against the door, and she couldn’t contain her moan when he slipped his tongue into her mouth.
She reached her hands under his shirt and felt his rock-hard abs.
His body was perfect. She’d have to be a reptile not to want him.
She tensed up, visualizing them both naked.
She didn’t have a perfect body. But he wanted it anyway.
She relaxed for just a second until she thought about the next morning.
The next day. The next week. In this moment, they were both emotional.
This would be a night. She stopped kissing him.
He nuzzled her ear. “Why’d you stop?” he asked in a light tone.
“I’m not a one-night-stand kind of girl.”
“I know.”
“And you’re not a commitment kind of guy.”
He buried his face in the crook of her neck. “Maybe I can be.”
“And most likely you can’t. At least not now. You’re just starting your career. You have women throwing themselves at you every night. Beautiful young women. This is not the time for you to be in a relationship.”
He started to protest, but she stopped him. “This,” she said, motioning between them, “is not a good idea.”
He pulled back and looked her in the eye. “But you’re the coolest chick I’ve ever met.”
Christine’s head snapped back. “Right. I’m the coolest chick.”
“Like it or not, you are. I don’t think I can stay away from you,” Austin said.
“For now, you have to. My safety and sanity depend on it.”
He held her face in his hands and stared at her. She stared back. He bent down and kissed her nose. With a silly grin and his best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice, he said, “I’ll be back.”
Christine snickered. “I hope you will.”
Austin left with a salute.
Christine sank back in her chair and let the tears flow.
And there goes the best thing that’s happened to me in years , she thought.
She thought of all she was giving up by letting Austin go.
Sure, she’d keep the professional side of their relationship going, but his friendship had given her a confidence she’d never had before.
And Austin was her connection to Matt. Even though he had a girlfriend, Christine still wanted him.
She never thought the day would come when she’d be all googly-eyed over a guy.
It wasn’t her style. But here she was lying in bed and staring at Matt’s socials just so she could look at him and feel closer to him.
She put her phone down and fell into a fitful sleep knowing her exciting new lifestyle had just come to a halt.
THE DAYS WENT BY SLOWLY. A week felt like a month.
Christine missed Austin. She also missed Matt.
She had tried to stop thinking about him.
It was the proper thing to do. Girl code and all.
But she thought of him. Every day. Every night.
The mind can make all the decisions it wants, but the heart doesn’t always pay attention.
Christine finally understood people’s obsession with social media.
She now lived on it, virtually fulfilling her hunger to be with both Austin and Matt.
Matt never posted about Cait, and she now understood why he didn’t post about other women.
It would be disrespectful. He seemed like the faithful type.
The main characteristic she looked for in a man. Yet it was also what kept them apart.