5. Evergreen
5
Evergreen
Once at home, I had a million voicemails and texts from Nikki and Bella wondering the same thing: “Where are you?”
Of course, they wanted all the details. I texted them back and we agreed to meet for a late lunch at our favorite spot.
While sipping my peach mimosa, I told them all the not so juicy details. “Guys, Theo is still married.”
“Scandalous,” Bella whispered.
“No, I mean he is getting a divorce, but it hasn’t gone through yet. We didn’t do anything.”
“Uh huh.” Nikki’s eyebrows raise. “Yeah, right.”
“No, really, we didn’t. But seriously though, there was this tension between us that you could cut with a knife. It was hot, and it was all I could do to not eat him up.” I sighed. “We just talked and watched a movie, I promise. He is so, so sweet, but you can’t tell anyone because he wants to keep his bad boy rock star reputation intact.” I smiled at the thought of him.
“Juicy,” Nikki’s voice was laced with sarcasm.
Bella zipped her lips. “Oh my god, still, you are so lucky.”
“Enough about me. How were the Colorado cuties?” I asked to get their minds off of Theo and me.
“Oh, they were good. They are not married. Thank god!” Bella said.
“Yeah, I got that.” I laughed. “Because one might die without sex,” I added to her dramatic words.
“I mean, possibly,” Bella said. She tilted her head as she thought about it.
Nikki smirked. “Not worth the risk of finding out.”
“Well, I haven’t died yet,” I said with an eye roll.
“We are going out with the Colorado boys again soon, no doubt,” Bella confirmed.
“For health reasons, of course.” Nikki winked.
In the end, they agreed that it was a night to remember even if I didn’t go “all the way” with “my” rock star. I laughed as I thought about their night. It had been the complete opposite of mine, involving lots of hot sex with the Colorado boys. I realized I still didn’t know their names. I shook my head. What was this world coming to?
On Sunday afternoon, I was tired, so I went to my bedroom to veg.
First, I pulled up Instagram and Twitter, looking for anything to remind me of Friday night, the concert, and Theo.
Next thing I know, I’m jerked awake to the sound of my phone ringing. It was an unknown number. Groggily, I rubbed my eyes. Blah, probably a lead. Hopefully they didn’t want an evening showing. Coughing to clear my voice, I tried to sound awake as I answered. “This is Jane with Colorado Brokers Club.”
“Were you asleep?” the person on the other end of the line asked.
“Excuse me?” I stammered, a little surprised and embarrassed by their accusation. Yes, I was, but I wasn’t going to admit to my Sunday afternoon nap to a stranger. The person on the line chuckled, and my heart pumped faster. I recognized that chuckle.
“Come on, Jane, you sound like heaven just waking up.”
Was I dreaming? I had to be dreaming. “Mike?” I am still half asleep.
“Oh shit, who is Mike? No, this is Theo Beckham. Remember? From the band Oxygen. The concert Friday night.”
“Oh man, of course, no…yeah. I was asleep, and you woke me up. I guess I got confused.”
“Should I be concerned with this Mike dude?” He laughed but in a serious way. “Is he going to hunt me down for our little sleepover?” Theo asked.
“Well, he might have if…” I didn’t know how to finish the sentence.
Then another “Oh shit!” as he remembered my late boyfriend had passed away. “Dang, I’m so, so sorry, Jane. I’m a complete idiot. Can you ever forgive me?”
“No, no, it’s totally my fault. Don’t worry about it. It’s just I’m so shocked you actually called that I got confused for a minute.”
Self-consciousness suddenly filled his voice. He sounded more human than rock star. “Well, I was wondering if, maybe, you want to hang out?” I had to hold my breath for a moment while I gained composure and did a little dance. He continued, “Maybe we could go somewhere private since the divorce isn’t final. I don’t want to make it any more stressful on my ex-wife Amy than it already has been.” He seemed the tiniest bit unsure.
“Yeah, that would be great,” I responded. “I know just the place. I’ll come pick you up.”
* * *
Theo
It was such a beautiful day as I hung out with the band outside our buses. We were just chilling and having beers, playing with some new sounds, throwing out some melody ideas with the red rocks and the blue sky in the backdrop. “So…? Tell us about the other night…that girl?” Quinn asked, getting directly to the point. I had the guitar in my hands, strumming a new tune that was floating around in my brain.
“Dang, she was fine.” Dylan, my drummer, gave his approval as he took a deep swig of his afternoon beer.
Gage, my bass guy, added his two cents. “Guys, go easy on Theo. You know he’s still getting over Amy.” He gazed at me over his guitar, still wanting to know what happened, but giving me an out if I needed it.
“I couldn’t pull the trigger, didn’t close the deal.” I shook my head in disappointment. “Jane is great, really. Hot as fuck, sweet as a kitten, smart as a whip, but I’m still technically married, dude. I just couldn’t.” I shrugged my shoulders with a frown. “Called my attorney today, though. Shouldn’t be too much longer.” I sighed.
“I’m not sure Amy would do the same for you, bro,” Quinn added. He and Amy never really did jive.
“Jane seems nice, from what I could tell,” Gage said. “You gonna see her again?” He hummed the new tune immediately after he asked the question, thumping his foot on the red dirt below.
“I think so. ”
“You should,” Dylan said. “You need to move on. Amy doesn’t deserve you, bro. We all watched women throw themselves at you every single fucking night, and you were faithful to the end.”
“Stronger than me,” Gage added.
“That b—” Quinn stopped himself. “I never did understand how she just accused you and threw you out so quickly, no explanation.” Quinn added. “Not cool.”
They talked me into it, I picked up my cell and dialed Jane’s number.
An hour later, Jane pulled up in an Audi. The guys hooted and hollered as I walked over to her car. They got up to say hello with me. “Don’t even think about it,” I warned, and they reluctantly sat back down and waved at her from afar. Nosey devils. I discreetly flipped them off behind my back—all in good fun—as I walked toward her.
I could see her cute face, the window rolled down as she blushed and waved back at my buddies. I raised my eyebrows as I hopped in the front seat. “Nice car. I guess you don’t need me for my money.” I teased, but it was something I had to worry about when letting new people into my life. Some people were just nice to me because I was rich and famous.
She smiled at me, and my heart pounded. “Who says I need you? You called me, remember?” she taunted.
“Oh, now you decide to play hard to get.” I grin at her. “I remember a different side of you at the concert.” I smirked.
“Well, just don’t start singing again or slutty Jane will be back in no time.”
“Don’t tempt me… Oops, too late.” I couldn’t help myself. The words flowed, and I started singing. I tried extra hard to make sure I used my deep, sexy rock and roll voice with my most provocative lyrics. As I grinned, she swerved a little, distracted. I grinned smugly. I should probably stop. “Okay, okay, I’ll wait until you aren’t driving. I value my life.” Shit, there I go again, opening my big mouth . I looked at her to see if she thought of her boyfriend after my stupid comment. I couldn’t read her. “Where are we going anyway?”
“Evergreen.” She takes her eyes off the road for a moment and gazes at me. “Don’t worry. You’ll like it.”
Just then, an Oxygen song came on her playlist. Her body reacted, diving into a sexy little upper body dance as she reached over to turn up the music. Certain parts of my body automatically responded to her little dance. She grinned, unaware of how she affected me. I couldn’t help but smile back. “So, me and the guys have a little rule. We try not to listen to our music except when we are performing,” I explained. “It’s so we don’t get bored of our songs.”
“Oh, oops.” She ran a hand through her hair. “That might be kind of impossible. All of my playlists include your music.” She faked an apology and added, “I guess we can take our chances with the radio.” She tried to wink but totally screwed it up when I turned the dial on her stereo.
“Was that supposed to be a wink?” I asked with a smirk.
“Maybe.” She laughed, embarrassed but owning it.
More blood flowed. I ran my hands over my lap, trying to tame the beast. “It was a cute try.” This woman was making me feel again, and I liked it. We admired the houses along the canyon river as we drove up the mountain road.
“I called in a little favor,” she claimed. “My friend owns a restaurant up here, and she’s closing it for us to have a private dinner. I sold her the restaurant property and a cute condo up here last year,” she said proudly. “Got her a great deal on both. ”
“Cool.”
* * *
Jane
“Hi Sara, this is Theo.”
Sara’s eyes bugged out. She frowned at me, a bit frazzled. “When you asked me to shut down the restaurant for a private dinner, you forgot to mention who your dinner was with.” She finally shut her gaping mouth as she took in my date and sneered at me. I knew it was all in good fun. “Next time,” she teased, “could you give me a little warning before you bring the lead singer of Oxygen to my place?” She reached out to shake Theo’s hand. “Welcome, Theo. Nice to meet you.” Theo’s laugh sang out and, as usual, it was divine.
“Nice to meet you too, Sara. Any friend of Jane’s is a friend of mine. Thanks for doing this for us. Next time I’m in town, I’ll be sure to send you some tickets,” he said, promptly securing another rabid fan for life.
“I’ll make it up to you by ordering the most expensive thing on the menu,” I joked.
“Nope, nope, tonight’s on the house.”
I gave her a big hug. “Thanks, Sara,” I whispered into her ear.
Evergreen was a tiny mountain town with cute old buildings, cozy diners, and gift shops—with a perfect little lake as the center of attention. Our stomachs were full of the incredible dinner, and we gazed longingly out the window, watching the people and the view of lake activities.
A pathway looped around the whole lake and probably ran for two miles. From the path, people could find the perfect spot to fish. Others paddleboarded at sunset, kayaked, or paddleboated as a family, but there were no motorized boats. The lake was too quaint and small for that. The tall golden grass bent in the breeze, and the wooden boardwalk called our names.
Sara walked over to us. “You two lovebirds are pitiful.” She handed Theo a hat and sunglasses. “These are from Anthony in the kitchen. Go for a stroll already.” I glanced up at Theo, hopeful.
Theo put on the hat and sunglasses. “How do I look? Do you recognize me?” he asked Sara.
“You’re still tall as fuck.” Sara laughed, so he then turned to me.
“And handsome as hell.” I shrugged. “Your call.” Theo was too handsome not to be noticed, no matter how hard he tried.
We gave it a few more minutes of consideration, and at dusk, Theo grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door. The hat and sunglasses were not much of a disguise. I was nervous wondering if anyone would notice him. How could they not notice? He’s a six-foot-four Greek god of a man. Luckily, people only observed Theo in a normal, expected kind of way. Like, dang that dude’s hot and built. Not a you’re a rock star kind of way . When it was finally dark enough, I felt that I could relax.
Romance was in the air as we stroll peacefully around the lake, hand in hand and lit by the moon. We walked by an adorable little old house—the only house on the lake—and its tiny old dock. My real estate agent mind thought of all the possibilities of turning it into a cute bed and breakfast. When we get back to my car, he leaned me against the cool metal and kissed me sweetly.
On our drive home, I didn’t want the night to end. We arrived at his tour bus, still parked at Red Rocks, and we made our way past the security guard. We stood outside my car as we talked.
“Where in the US haven’t you been?” Theo asked. We leaned on my car, and he hovered close to me, sending my heart into palpitations. “Where would you most like to go?” Theo asked, like he didn’t want the night to end either.
“Oh, so many places. I love to travel but don’t have a ton of time with work and all.” I swooned thinking of how much fun traveling around the world with the band must be.
“We have a crazy tour schedule this summer. We hit almost every major US city, then we head to Europe after that, then down to South America.” He spoke like he was a little bummed and wondering the same thing I was: will I ever see you again ? “I’ll call you from Nebraska,” he promised.
We heard some catcalls from one of the buses, and I giggled. “Kiss her!” a bandmate yelled. A distant whistle travels through the night.
By the light of the moon, I saw Theo roll his eyes. “Those guys… I think they like you… They like the idea of us…” He smiled before leaning in for a sweet, sensual kiss, putting his hands on my neck and moving my hair just slightly to the side before bringing my face to his.
Reluctantly, we said goodnight, parting with more questions than answers.