Chapter 14
In the morning Edison dropped me off at my parents’ house before heading to work. The plan was for me to pack a bag, and he’d pick me up at the end of the day. When I walked into the kitchen, in the dress I’d left in on Saturday night, my mother took one look at me and said, “You look like yesterday.”
“Good morning to you too.” I curtsied.
She surveyed my messy hair and ashy legs. “So, your date with Edison went well?”
“Not a date, Momma. It was just two friends making up for lost time.”
“I’m sure you two spent a lot of time making up.” She wriggled her eyebrows.
Grabbing a sausage link, I shoved it into my mouth. I was exhausted and famished, but in a good way. You know when your body is sore and tight after a hard day of work on the ranch? That was me. My body ached, I had a crook in my neck, and with each step I took my pussy reminded me it had been fucked and sucked multiple times over the past two days. If I was a taker, then Edison was a giver. And he gave me every inch of himself at every conceivable opportunity.
Having a man who adored my body and was intent on showing me was new. When Chap and I had sex, it was every man for themselves. Because Chap was going to nut in under ten minutes and if my ticket wasn’t punched in time, I’d just miss the ride. No foreplay, no naughty talk except for occasionally calling me a whore. He was good at other things. If you asked me what, I wouldn’t be able to tell you now. But I stayed for a reason.
“I’ve always liked Edison; he’s a fine young man. He was raised right.”
“I agree.” A smile tickled the corners of my mouth as I remembered the fine way he’d woken me up this morning. He pulled me from the bed and hoisted me onto his dick, supporting both our weight while fucking us into morning nirvana. The sun was barely up and the house was still just the creaking of the floorboards and my pleas for him to go deeper.
“Did you hear me?” my mother asked.
“What?” I shook the thoughts from my head.
“I tried texting your cell phone several times.”
I guzzled down an unattended glass of juice. “Edison lives in the Stone Age, he doesn’t have Wi-Fi.”
Her brows smashed together. “What did you do to entertain yourself all that time?”
I flashed her a glance. “Edison kept me plenty entertained. Why were you texting?”
“Your assistant, Moniece, showed up last night.”
My lashes flipped wide open. I totally forgot Moniece was coming to town.
“I put her up in Oz’s old room.”
I hugged my mother and rushed up the stairs. At Oz’s bedroom door, I knocked softly. “Come in.”
Opening the door, I dipped my head inside to find Moniece performing a lotus yoga pose. “Moniece, I’m so sorry. I completely spaced.”
She waved me off. “It’s fine, your folks were really nice. Did you know they traveled the country one summer following New Edition from city to city?”
“No, I didn’t. They told you that?”
“Apparently your mother is a huge fan. They also gave me a story time while flipping through your old baby pictures.”
“Once again … I’m sorry.” Moniece stood and I wrapped my arms around her. It was surprisingly nice to see her face. Moniece was my right-hand woman. Nothing moved without her. She helped to make my life easier, and I loved her for it. Moniece anticipated my needs before I could speak them. She’d gotten me tampons, Plan B pills and scoured eight stores in search of my favorite ginger ale brand. “What do you say, I hit the shower and then we go for a walk before it gets too hot?”
“Sounds good.”
After a quick shower which included detangling my hair, Moniece and I were off. We took the well-worn path to the stables. In the summer, this was the perfect time of day because it was still cool enough to get chores done without sweating your balls off.
“I forgot how peaceful it is at night,” Moniece said.
I wrinkled my nose. “Did you hate it? I get country nights can be eerily still. With the silence amplifying your thoughts.”
“It was a nice change of pace from always being on the go.”
“You didn’t have to come all the way to Hume. We could’ve caught up when I returned to LA.” I opened the half fence to the stable.
“So, you do plan on coming back to LA,” Moniece said.
“Of course I do.”
“Good … that’s good. The gossip blogs are going wild with made up stories. You, Chap, Darla, cheating, and drugs.”
“What do you mean drugs?” I retrieved an apple from the pail I was holding and fed Candy girl.
“Some blogs are saying that you went MIA because you’re in rehab.”
“Rehab?”
“You know how they are, anything for clicks and engagement?” Moniece’s steps were deliberate as she tried to navigate the dirt and hay.
“And who said I was MIA? It’s been a week.”
Moniece shrugged. “I don’t know. Chap’s been spearheading the messaging.”
I cocked a half eye. “Is he suggesting to people I’m on drugs?”
“He’s not really looping me in. But he’s talking to Darla.”
Circling the stable, I offered apples to all the horses. “Well, he can stop speaking on my behalf. I have a plan. I’m going to call the label, come up with some lame but plausible excuse and let them know Whiskey Wild is better than ever.”
“That’s a good idea. I think they just need assurances Whiskey Wild is still on track.”
“Were they really pissed about me missing the second night of Heritage Fest?” I stopped at Cotton Candy’s stall, and she ambled over, looking for love.
“I think Chap told them you were sick. Claimed you’d caught a bug at the festival.”
“As long as he’s mitigating damage and not tossing me under buses, I’m good.”
I pointed to a bench just outside the stables under a large tree and we took a seat. “When you called you said you had something important you wanted to discuss with me. What’s up?”
Since starting our trek, Moniece hadn’t stopped fidgeting with her hands and clothes. “First let me start by saying I really enjoy working with you.” My stomach dropped. I was already down pretty bad. The thought of her quitting would send me over the edge. “I believe in discretion and confidentiality. I’m here to make things run smoothly for you, not mess things up.”
“And I love you for it. I know this past week placed extra work on your plate. I’d be stuck in place without you.” I gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
“I appreciate that.”
“But?”
“It’s about Chap.”
My eyes slammed into her. “Oh my God, was he inappropriate with you?”
“No, nothing like that.”
Placing my hand over my heart, I released a sigh of relief. The last thing Whiskey Wild needed was a sexual harassment lawsuit on top of a cheating scandal. “Thank goodness.” Sometimes Chap told off-color jokes and when people complained he’d say Hollywood had gotten too sensitive and PC. Because he was a nepo baby, he was often given a pass to be an entitled asshole. I know what you’re thinking. “Fancy, he sounds like a horrible person.” And he makes it hard for me to defend him. But trust me, it wasn’t always bad. I think I clung to the good times hoping the Chap I fell in love with would make a return.
“It’s just that the Heritage Festival wasn’t the first time Chap was unfaithful.”
I blinked owlishly for several seconds. I figured that much. You don’t go from a loving, faithful boyfriend to buck naked and balls deep in another woman’s honey pot. “Go on.”
“Right before we headed out on the first leg of our tour, I was dropping off some dry cleaning and I walked in on Chap in bed with a woman.”
“In our bed?” My voice cracked.
“Yeah. At first, I thought it was you but when I gasped they turned to face me and Chap was … with Darla.”
“Darla who?” I only knew one Darla … Darla Rooney and she was my best friend and bandmate, so Moniece must be referring to another Darla I wasn’t familiar with.
Her features were crumpled, pain written all over her face. “Darla, Darla.”
My eyes stung with tears. “Moniece, that’s a cruel thing to say.”
“And I wish I didn’t have to say it but it’s true. When they realized it was me, they went into damage control, claiming it was a one time mistake and they were drunk. But it was three in the afternoon. They begged me not to tell you. Promised it would never happen again. They said there was no need to upset you over nothing.”
“They both said that.” I swallowed hard, hoping to gain control of my emotions, which at this moment were a mixture of confusion, sadness, and searing hot rage.
“Yes. I know I should have told you sooner, but I didn’t want to get caught up in a he said, she said.”
“And you’re sure it was Darla. My Darla?”
“Yes.”
My gaze grew hazy as I stared off into the distance. There had to be some mistake. Darla was my best friend. She was the shoulder I cried on when Chap was being distant or mean. She’d offer advice and listen while I vented. There was no way she’d do something like that and not confess. No, uh-uh, nope. This wasn’t possible. She taught me how to slick back my edges. I looked over the field behind the house. The same field where she and I performed our first concerts for Edison. I futilely wiped the tears from my face.
“There’s more.”
My tear-filled eyes landed on Moniece. I didn’t think I could stomach much more.
“During the tour, I noticed them standing too close, sneaking kisses, or a quick hug.”
“So you don’t think it was a one off?”
“I don’t think so.”
My thoughts flashed back to the tour bus and how angry Darla became. At the time I thought she was defending me, but now it appears Chap was cheating on both of us. Hindsight being twenty-twenty, I could recall several moments which left me scratching my head between the two of them. Our trip to the beach in Greece when Chap playfully carried Darla into the sea. Darla’s high-pitched giggles trailing after them. Or the time I arrived a few minutes late for a business meeting and found Chap and Darla sitting close with their heads together as if they were in a conspiratorial discussion.
“I kind of want to dig a hole and just lay in it. Why would she do that?”
“I don’t know.”
“She doesn’t even like Chap. She’s always telling me to break up with him.” I swallowed hard. Looking back on it now, maybe that was for her own benefit. “So how long?”
“What?”
“You caught them right before our international tour started. That was months ago. So quick math tells me they’ve been messing around for at least six months.” SIX FUCKING MONTHS! You know the saying about the rug being pulled out from under you? I was experiencing that right now and surprise, surprise underneath the rug was an endless pit, and I was falling deeper and deeper.
All I could do was blink sheepishly as tears streamed down my face. I couldn’t fix this. Moniece rubbed my back silently as my shoulders rounded into a pathetic heap. When I caught Chap cheating, I was shocked but not surprised. But Darla? So, this has all just been some open secret and they’ve been smiling in my face while fucking in the bed I lay in at night. If this isn’t my villain origin story, I don’t know what is. Fuck Chap, fuck Darla, and fuck Whiskey Wild.