Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I take another spoonful of the white chocolate raspberry bread pudding. “You were right. This place is fantastic.”
“I’m going to gain a hundred pounds with you, but this dessert is worth it.” Jenna grins around her own spoon, filled with some sort of peanut butter chocolate concoction. For no reason at all, my cock leaps in my pants.
Shifting my weight between my hips, I admit, “I’m so glad I made it through the skater steps this afternoon, so we can enjoy this meal together.” I also plan on enjoying much more with her when we get back to Secluded Rest. Where no resting will be done, doctor’s orders be damned.
Her spoon clatters into the empty bowl. “You’re getting the hang of them. Keep taking them slow, like you did today.”
“Thanks to your guidance. You need to tell Austin to take a chill pill before having another patient do them.”
She wipes her mouth. “I have to tell you, I was surprised when you told me he didn’t take it easier on you. He’s usually much more cautious.”
“Yeah, well”—I place my spoon onto the saucer—“guess I’m special.” I don’t share my personal opinion that he’s jealous of me and the time I’m spending with Jenna. She doesn’t see his shady motivations, and we’re having too good of a dinner to poke this particular bear.
“I will definitely have a conversation with him.”
The fact I’m leaving for UC’s tour in three days, nearly two, torments me. My fingers tighten around the wine glass. I don’t want to let her leave now that I’ve found her. I need to set up a way to keep in touch. Fly her out to concerts? Visit with her on breaks? Buy Secluded Rest so we can be together during my downtime?
Will that be enough?
“I’ve been thinking a lot about the tour. I don’t want to leave you, Jenna.”
She tucks her hair behind her ear, which she left loose for tonight’s meal. “You’ve been doing great with your therapy. Continue doing your exercises during the tour and you’ll be fine.”
“I need your oversight. What if I mess something up? Like those stupid skater jumps?”
“You’ll be fine. Listen to your body.”
My body cries out for her . I lean my forearms on the table. “Jenna?—”
“Yes! I knew I’d find you! It’s been so long. Way too long!”
At the fan’s exclamations, I pull away from Jenna and turn to the woman standing at my side. She’s about the same height as Jenna, but that’s where the similarities end. This chick has long, bleached blonde hair, probably due to extensions, and a rack that’s definitely been surgically enhanced. It’s her light blue eyes that crawl inside me, though.
No. Way .
The woman takes a step closer to me and runs her hand through my hair. I trap her wrists and shove them away from my body.
“I love your cut,” she purrs. “Your hair is still one of the most sexy things about you.”
My eyes bounce between my future and ugly past, now disguised as a plastic surgeon’s wet dream. Who tore my heart out by dumping me for Curtiss, my former best friend. The two who cemented my desire to be a lone wolf, never to let anyone else get close to me again. I lean forward and snarl, “Lissa?—"
Across the table, Jenna leaps to her feet. “I’m, uh, going to use the restroom.”
I want to grab Jenna’s hand to keep her with me, but it’s more important for me to get rid of Lissa Baker so she’s gone when Jenna returns. And she never comes back. While Jenna weaves away, I scan Lissa’s too-thin body, noting each change with disgust. “Time’s a bitch, huh?”
“You can’t mean that, Bennett.” She squats next to me, placing her hand on my right thigh. She giggles and, instead of warming to how adorable she is, I recoil in my seat. “I knew I was living rent free in your sexy head all these years. All of your band’s songs have been about me. I hear the pain in your voice, especially when you sing ‘Crushing Blow.’”
I’m so mad I cannot form a coherent thought. Between gritted teeth, I reply, “That’s Darren’s song.”
Her fingers play with my limp ones. “I’m the woman who you told you loved. You’ve obviously never loved anyone since, given you’ve not been with anyone for longer than a night or two ever since.”
For a moment, I stare at her hand entwined with mine. Her blood-red nails spur me to shake free of her grasp and rise to my feet. Looking down on her gives me a sense of dominance in this fucked-up scenario. “You’re messed up, Lissa, in more ways than one. ‘Crushing Blow’ is all Darren.”
Once again on her feet, she shrugs. “You still sang it. To me.”
“You’re wrong.” I stare into familiar eyes, the only thing recognizable about her. “I haven’t seen you in over a decade. Why are you here now?”
“I know we still have what we had back in high school. I made a huge mistake back then, and you disappeared after your dad died. You left our hometown to be a big rock star with Untamed Coaster.” Her gaze runs up my torso until they snag my eyes. “I’ve kept tabs on you via the media ever since. I’m an influencer now. I’m perfect for your image.”
I shake my head, unable to process what this woman from my past is spewing. “What?”
Her hand snakes out and runs up my arm, squeezing my bicep. “We look amazing together. I’ll never forget how you confessed your love to me. You can’t simply throw away a love as pure as ours.”
Love? Pure? “That’s not how I remember it, Lissa.” I still can’t believe her name is falling from my mouth. “I remember telling you, your not saying it back, and then you dropping me like the proverbial hot potato when Curtiss asked you to the senior prom.”
She flips her long hair. “Water under the bridge. I’m here now.” A disgusting smile crosses her face. “I saw you were looking for properties in this town and knew I had to come here. You’re difficult to catch in one place.”
“Have you tried?”
She cackles. “Only like a gazillion times. I got to Ibiza the day after you left. Same with Rome, Monaco, Las Vegas.” She pauses. “I’m not upset, though. Your shows have been fantastic.”
Lissa wants some of my reflected fame, like a million other women. Except Jenna. Always except Jenna. Lissa’s wants don’t matter to me, as proven by my physical revulsion to her. I take a step away. “Listen, I’m not sure what you’ve read online or in magazines, but I haven’t been pining for you all these years. None of UC’s songs are about you.”
She opens her mouth, obviously to protest, when Jenna returns to the table. She looks between the two of us. I take a deep breath. “This is Lissa Baker. We went to high school together.”
Lissa juts out her ample chest. “I was his high school girlfriend.”
I cross my arms. “Until she dumped me for my ex-best friend to go to the Senior Prom with him. ”
Undeterred, Lissa continues, “Bennett here told me he loved me.”
“I was a teenager.” Seriously. My gaze bounces from my high school flame to my physical therapist, and there’s no comparison. My heart swells. Oh shit. I truly am in love with Jenna.
While I’m focused on my current feelings, Lissa doesn’t wait. Giving Jenna a look that would cause another person to shrivel on the spot, she says, “He hasn’t had a girlfriend since me.”
Jenna’s shoulders lower. “I think I should let you two get reacquainted.”
No. Fucking. Way. “I don’t need to get to know Lissa now—her true colors shone brightly in high school.”
“Oh, come on, Bennett. You have to give a stupid high schooler a break. I’ve learned a lot since then.” She leans forward. “I’ve missed you.”
“I haven’t missed you, Lissa. Not one bit.” After her debacle, I made the decision to never remember who I’ve slept with. Until Jenna. Images of our first meeting back when she was dating Darren, challenging me about The Godfather , resurface. When she was the first one to examine my groin pull. Our time with physical therapy exercises. I walk over to Jenna.
Big, grey eyes snag mine. “Lissa looks like all the women in your life.”
Without her saying, I can hear her finish her sentence and she couldn’t be more wrong. Instead of trying to reason with her, I lean to her ear. “She’s not you.”
Lissa reasserts herself between Jenna and me, hand on my chest. “We have so much to catch up on.”
I grab her wrist. The PR team has taught me never to piss off a fan, but at this moment, I don’t give a shit. “No, we don’t. You and I happened in the past, which is where we belong. I haven’t been pining for you for a decade. Go back home, wherever that is.”
Lissa’s mouth drops open. “You can’t mean that, Bennett. You told me you loved me.” She wraps her arms around my neck. “Me. ”
Not only is Jenna staring at me, but we’ve drawn the attention of all the patrons in the restaurant. I place my hands on Lissa’s arms and draw her away from me. Raising my voice so it carries, I say, “Lissa, we went to high school together. Those years are long gone. Please return to your life and I’ll do the same.”
Our server appears behind Lissa. “May I be of any assistance, sir?”
Thank fuck. “Could you please escort this woman away from me?”
The server touches her arm. “Miss, please let me take you to a table and let’s leave this couple alone.”
I dart a glance toward Jenna, who’s gnawing on her bottom lip. While Lissa’s being led off—screaming how we belong together—I place my hand on Jenna’s lower back and direct her to the chair.
What should I do? I’ve never been confronted by an old lover when I’m with a woman I hope will be much more. “Jenna, I’m sorry.”
She holds up her hand. “Not your fault.”
“True, but I want to apologize for the way Lissa treated you.” I pause when the server brings us the bill and takes my credit card. “She was wrong.”
Her chest expands on an inhale. “I want to go home.”
The server returns. In silence, I sign the paper, leaving him an excellent tip. He did rescue me from Lissa, after all.
“Let’s go to the car.”
We stand and retrieve our coats from the coat check. Of course, things couldn’t remain so easy. Lissa pops up in front of me. “I know you didn’t mean what you said back there. I just surprised you, that’s all. How about we go back to your house and reminisce? I’m sure your mother will be so happy—she always liked me.”
I snort. “Then go spend your time with her.” I pull Jenna to my side. “We are leaving.” I drag Jenna toward the front door.
Shit. I should’ve taken the back exit. Thanks to Lissa’s sudden appearance, I forgot. A swarm of reporters crowd the street outside The Dancing Goats, screaming questions about my “reunion” with my high school sweetheart. About taking her with me on the road. About whether she’s the one I never got over. As a bonus, Michelle walks to the front door, through all the screaming paps.
Needing to get out of here—now—I choose the only sane option and usher Jenna back inside and steer us toward the restaurant’s backdoor. Once inside the car, Jenna puts it into gear. Our ride out of town is quiet. After we turn into the gated community and Jenna shows her temporary pass, I say my first important words since addressing the media.
“I meant it. Lissa was my girlfriend. Ages ago. I haven’t seen her in a decade.”
“She did a number on you.”
I tap on my leg. “She and Curtiss fucked with my head. But that’s all in the past.”
“If you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.” Jenna turns into the long driveway to my rented mansion, her stiff body warning me more loudly than words to stay far away.
“Jenna, it’s not what you think.”
“Really, Bennett, then how is it? This Lissa person—who you told you loved years ago—clearly still has feelings for you. Your relationship may have ended years ago, but she and Curtiss are still playing with your mind. You’ve never worked through what they did to you.”
“You’re wrong. They mean nothing to me. Do you hear me? Nothing. You’re all that matters.” I clamp my mouth shut.
I need to give her time to sort through what happened, hoping she doesn’t decide I’m not worth it. Because if tonight taught me one thing, it’s that she means more to me than anything else in my life.
We enter the mansion and she takes off, running up the stairs. I call to her back, “Don’t forget you’re coming with me to the doctor tomorrow morning!”
She doesn’t stop.
I only hope we can get past this. After all my jaded years, I can’t believe Lissa is able to throw my life into a spiral once again.