23. Epilogue - Kayla
Kayla
Six months later
”Do I really have to go?” I ask with a pout as I open the door to my wardrobe to let my eyes wander over the mountains of fabric in there aimlessly.
Asher”s new movie premieres tonight. Well, not new, he finished filming it before we even met. But I have tons of other thoughts racing through my mind, circling with lightning speed.
Because, as suspected, Starlet Sounds is fighting us tooth and nail about leaving our contract and thus their label. They want to enforce all kinds of non-compete clauses that would force Millie and me out of the entertainment business for a few years at least.
Our lawyers are cutthroat, though, and have been fighting hard for us over the past half year.
While I trust them, knowing that tomorrow will be the final negotiation that determines Millie”s and my future is just anxiety inducing as fuck. If we don’t find some kind of compromise, this whole thing needs to go to trial, and I really don’t have the nerves to sit around and wait for everything to be done.
”You don”t have to,” Asher assures me with a chuckle and steps up right next to me, laying his hand on my hip, his thumb slowly stroking over the silk material of my bathrobe. I melt against him with a deep sigh. ”But it would make me very, very happy.”
I take a deep breath and look up at him, meeting his big eyes and cross my arms in front of my chest. Another sigh falls from my lips before I look away again. My kryptonite.
”Fine,” I tell him with a pout, and he leans down to kiss my pursed lips with a smile. ”Help me pick what to wear.”
Immediately, he lets go of me and walks into my walk-in wardrobe, intent in his steps, and his hand darts out to the red dress I bought three weeks ago.
I roll my eyes, but I can’t help the smile that tugs at my lips. I should have known he”d pick that one.
Ever since I bought it, he”s been on my ass about wearing it, downright obsessed with seeing me in this flimsy thing that barely covers anything important. It looked cute on the hanger, but wearing it is probably going to be exhausting.
”You”re one lucky, lucky man, Asher,” I tell him, biting the inside of my cheek to suppress my grin and take the dress out of his hands. ”Fine. Get out so I can get ready.”
”Nothing I haven”t seen before, Sweetheart,” he says and presses his lips against my temple. “But I’ll leave you to it.” He shoots me a cheeky grin before he leaves my walk-in closet.
I shake my head at him, then step out of my bathrobe, the only thing I”m wearing since I just stepped out of the shower. Holding up the dress, I sigh. It’s going to look bomb, but I’ll have to be really careful over the evening.
”Wow,” Asher says with a low whistle when I walk into the living room in full glam, fighting to put in one of my earrings. I’ve spent the last week completely earring-less since they got on my nerves and one of my piercing holes is a stubborn little asshole and always heals up after a day or two of not wearing any.
I grimace when the earring finally pierces through.
It took me an hour to get ready, but now I”m happy with how I look and all set to go.
The deep red dress fits like a glove. Its corseted top keeps everything in place with fashionably small and very nonfunctional short sleeves falling over my upper arms. It has a slit that goes up to my hip—thank God for double-sided dressing tape to keep everything in place. I”ve definitely plastered a bunch of it onto my skin to keep myself decent and had to get very creative with my underwear. Thank God I found a slip that sits high enough on my hip.
My hair is falling over my shoulders in curls, a ”fuck you” to our label who would prefer me to throw chemicals into my hair just to keep it straight.
Not happening. And today, I just couldn”t help myself.
I held myself back on the eye makeup, but there was no way I would wear this dress without bold, red lips to match.
”You look amazing.” Asher takes my hand and lifts my arm to make me do a little twirl, and when I lift my head to look at his face again, he”s smiling wide like a little child on Christmas morning, setting eyes upon his giant pile of presents.
When his hands wander to my hips and he pulls me closer to him for a kiss, I bring my arms up and gently push him away.
”Nu-uh,” I scold him playfully. ”I look perfect. I”m not letting you mess anything up, not even my lipstick.”
”My heart,” he says dramatically and clutches his shirt right above said heart. I roll my eyes at his dramatics and run my hand through his hair.
He”s dressed in completely black, from his suit jacket to the vest to his dress shoes, his hair falling over his shoulders.
I love it when he wears it down. Not that I don”t love the man-bun, but there is just something about being able to play with his hair and run my fingers over his scalp. The only thing that brings color to his look is the handkerchief in his breast pocket, a nice little accessory I got with the dress.
Whichever designer gave this suit to him is probably not going to be happy about us messing with the color concept, but I couldn’t give any less of a damn.
Asher looks so fucking good in suits. They make it very hard to keep my hands off him. With all of his muscles, they tend to fit him like a glove, and the way dress shirts stretch over his chest is really fucking sexy. Shame he”s wearing a vest over it today.
”You”ll be fine.” I pat his shoulder and shoot him a wink. ”When”s the limo coming to pick us up?”
He checks his wrist for his watch, then looks at me with wide, smiling eyes. ”Five minutes ago.”
”Perfect.” I take my burgundy high heels out of the dresser and throw them to the ground because I absolutely cannot bend over with this corseted dress. Holding onto Asher”s upper arm, I slip my feet into them, taking a cautious step once they”re on.
Being as tall as I am, I don’t get too many opportunities to wear high heels. I’m not talking about half an inch heels, I’m talking about foot-breaking, ass-shaping high heels.
So it takes a few more steps until I get used to these shoes again.
”Ready, Sweetheart?” Asher asks and holds his arm out for me to link mine with. Nodding, I do just that, clutching onto it when I almost slip on a carpet edge.
Did I mention that I love that he”s taller than me?
All the love to all the short kings out there, but the fact that I can wear high heels and still not be taller than Asher is such a turn-on, especially in a dress like this.
I feel like a goddamn succubus, sexier than I’ve felt in a while, and with each step that shows my leg, Asher”s eyes convey the exact same thing.
Industry functions are usually boring as fuck, but this one might just become interesting with the way his eyes eat me up.
The crowd goes wild when we arrive in our limousine.
Well, not exactly, but cameras start flashing as soon as the door opens. Asher”s face sets and his hand flexes on my knee—he”s not very thrilled about those blogs trying to get underskirt shots of me. I learned that when I asked him why he always insists on opening my car door for me, since, you know, I”m a strong, independent woman and all that shit. When he told me that reasoning, I quickly shut up, though.
Of course, I was aware that a website like that exists. It’s not like I became a celebrity yesterday, and even before I was, I knew that people would sexualize me and pull crap like that.
To learn that it’s to a degree that makes Asher’s blood boil brings it to a whole new level, though.
So, just like always, Asher jumps out of the car first, planting himself right in front of the car door and pulling it close until I’m not visible from outside as I as I turn in my seat, extend my legs out of the car, and stand up.
And just like always, I shoot him a grateful smile.
Today I”m extra thankful, because as beautiful as this dress is, it”s just risky as fuck. There are certain movements where even tape won’t keep the fabric in place and getting out of cars is definitely a strong contender for such a movement.
”Thank you,” I tell him, so softly that I doubt he can hear me over the commotion going on.
He immediately snakes his arm around my waist and pulls me closer to him as we start to make our way to the red carpet, his thumb stroking my hip as he leans over to answer.
”You”re more than welcome, Sweetheart.” And then he presses his lips against my hair, and I laugh when that leads to a barrage of camera flashes and squealing.
The fans waiting at the sides of the red carpet start chanting our names and we give them a little wave as we walk over to where the press photos are happening.
This whole label conflict is annoying as hell, but watching our fans’ faces light up when they see me reminds me of why I’m doing this. All I want is release new music and have fun live shows with Millie and our fans.
It doesn’t make me any less nervous, but I can sit through annoying negotiations for that.
”You good?” Asher asks me as we find our mark on the red carpet. I look down to situate my dress and get into a proper pose before I dare lift my eyes from the ground, which is usually the sign for photographers to start.
”I”m alright,” I let him know while looking straight ahead and lean against him. ”You”re a good boyfriend, you know that?” I say through gritted teeth as I keep the smile on my face for the cameras.
”Well, a worse boyfriend wouldn”t have let you go out like that.” From the corner of my eyes, I can see that he”s trying not to move his lips as well. Then he leans closer, shielding his mouth with his hand as he whispers. ”A worse boyfriend wouldn”t have let you out of the apartment looking this amazing. Or he would have fucked you against the wall in that dress before going out with you. I kind of wish I was a worse boyfriend now.”
I nudge him with my elbow and now the smile on my face is genuine when he straightens his back again and moves his hand on my hip just above where the high slit of my dress starts, his thumb gently stroking the fabric.
Good thing I”m wearing high-coverage foundation today because my face is fucking burning.
”Don”t be so crass in public,” I scold him and look down to the ground to change my pose. Again, as soon as I lift my head again, the camera flashes go off. ”How long do we need to stand here?”
”Until that nice lady in green waves for us to leave.”
My eyes dart around until I find the nice lady wearing a green blazer, clipboard in her hand and a fancy earpiece to communicate partially hidden by her copper her. I keep watching her from the corner of my eyes as we change poses a few more times, Asher’s hand a steady presence on my hip, or my waist.
Finally, she waves us over and I clutch Asher”s arm as I take the first step because my leg is all stiff after staying in the same position for several minutes.
After a few steps my leg is back in its full function and I let go of him, only for him to immediately reach for my hand.
”Asher, interviews for you are lined up to the right,” the woman says and gestures towards a group of reporters and camera operators behind a barrier. ”And you . . . ” She looks at me, really confused, looking through the papers on her clipboard. ”I”m so sorry, I have no idea where you”re supposed to go.”
”How about I sign a few autographs and take a few pictures until Asher is done?” I ask her with a friendly smile, and she nods eagerly, waving at one of the security men to have him go with me.
”Be good,” I tell Asher and pat his arm. He shakes his head at me with a fond smile before I walk off to hang out with the fans.
All of them are super sweet. God, after the shit show that Millie had to go through recently, I”ve grown a bit apprehensive, but all of the fans here today couldn”t be any kinder.
We chat a bit and I sign notebooks, even a pair of boobs, and take a lot of selfies. Which is really challenging over the barrier, but we somehow manage.
When Asher comes over to give a few autographs himself, I even feel a bit sad that we”ll have to leave to get into the theatre soon.
But I guess it”s time to sit in a stuffy room and watch his newest movie.
”Do you have any sex scenes in it?” I ask him with a giggle as we walk up the stairs to the event, my eyes carefully glued to the ground as I climb them with my high heels.
”Nope, I was third-wheeling on this one,” he assures me quickly. From the corner of my eyes, I see his jaw set and that little muscle just in front of his ear twitching. ”There”s no way I”d take you to a movie where you”d have to watch me be intimate with someone else.”
”It”s acting.” I roll my eyes at him. ”It”s not like I”d be watching you cheat. Millie and Luca watched one of his movies with a sex scene while ago and Millie said she had a lot of fun.”
”Yeah, because Luca was embarrassed as fuck when she pointed out every little thing he does differently on screen,” Asher mentions with a chuckle and I shake my head at him. “I’m not putting myself through that.”
”Sounds like fun to me.” I shrug, exhaling a thankful sigh when we finally reach the top of the stairs. God, my calves are going to kill me tomorrow. ”We could do a drinking game. One shot each time you cringe.”
”You”re trouble, you know that?”
Instead of answering, I shoot him a wink as we walk inside the fancy cinema. Immediately, a loud background murmur fills my ears as I watch hundreds of industry professionals network while Asher leads us over to where the cast sits.
He introduces me to his fellow cast members who are occupying the seats around us and I”m a bit starstruck. This is not the crowd I usually see at industry functions—actors tend to stay away from music award shows, and musicians from movie premiers.
But here I am, busy shaking hands, introducing myself and doing small talk until the producer and director walk on stage to talk a bit about the movie before it starts.
I grimace when I sit down. This dress is really damn revealing.
Immediately, Asher shrugs out of his jacket and throws it over my lap.
”Thank you,” I tell him in a whisper and lean my head against his shoulder for a moment. “How long is this movie?”
Before he answers, he puts up the armrest between us, grabs my hand, and pulls it onto his thigh.
”Just shy of two hours,” he says just as quietly, chuckling lowly when he hears my deep sigh. ”I”ll wake you up if you snore.”
”I don”t snore.” I nudge him with my elbow. ”And I won”t fall asleep. Why would I fall asleep?”
”Because you find people-ing exhausting and you just did a lot of it.” He kisses my temple, and then lifts our hands to kiss the back of it. ”Thank you.”
I want to object, but I suddenly break into a wide yawn. Damn, that came out of nowhere.
When Asher opens his mouth, without a doubt to whisper an ”I told you so,” I glare at him and he closes it again quickly.
”That being said, ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy the movie.”
I don”t avert my eyes as I pull my hand out of his grasp to clap along with the rest of the audience as the director walks off stage.
”Love you too, Sweetheart,” Asher says with a teasing undertone and reaches for my hand again as soon as I lower them. I tense for a second.
This isn’t the first time he said it, but something inside me still clams up when he speaks the dreaded ‘L’ word. Not because I don’t feel the same, but . . . emotions. It makes me tear up every single time. I bite the inside of my cheek until the sting in my eyes subsides.
The lights go off and the movie starts.
I”m sorry to say, but within ten minutes, I”m bored out of my mind. Which isn”t a bad thing, mind you, because I have horrible taste in movies and action movies are just absolutely not my thing.
So while it”s super impressive how Asher and his fellow cast members are flying through the air while shooting pistols and punch the bad guys, my thoughts trail off and right back to where I don’t want them to go.
What if Millie and I won”t make it out of the contract? What if we have to stop making music?
I thought we”d only have to pay Starlet Sounds a shit ton of money, but it turns out they might be able to force us into staying after all.
At least that”s what our lawyers said. Or rather, Asher’s dad’s lawyers. Then again, the more communication with Starlet Sounds’ lawyers happened, the more ours turned into sharks sniffing blood, ready to find the smallest, slightest loophole, just for the satisfaction of winning.
Especially Mark. The older gentleman of the two seemed extremely confident they might find something in the contract to guarantee our freedom at least.
So tomorrow, Millie and I will be at Starlet Sounds for hopefully the last time as the lawyers negotiate in legalese and we sit aside to and nod at appropriate moments. In an ideal world, they”re going to draw up an agreement and with a few signatures, everything is done.
And I cling to this daydream of how it”s going to go. Because the alternative is another few years of working with that record label and I don”t even want to let my thoughts go there. I’ve grown so sick of them, even the thought of going there tomorrow is making the hair on my neck stand up.
”What are you thinking about?” Asher asks, letting go of my hand to reach for my knee. Then he captures my hand with his other one.
Only now do I realize that my leg is twitching furiously, bouncing up and down restlessly with my recurring nervousness. Quickly, I slip out of my shoe because it’s pretty loud.
”Tomorrow,” I whisper back. He squeezes my knee as he leans closer to my ear.
”Pay attention to the movie, Sweetheart.” I roll my eyes. If it were that easy, I’d be doing it.
But then his hand leaves my knee and wanders up my thigh, under his jacket, until it vanishes under the flimsy fabric of my dress, pulling it off the tape keeping it in place to wander even higher.
”What are you doing?” I hiss and try to pull his hand off, but he only starts shaking with a chuckle.
”I have no idea what you”re talking about.”
His hand comes to a stop when it can”t go any higher, and his thumb starts a slow stroking movement on the sensitive skin on the inside of my thigh.
I want to press my legs close, but it wouldn”t matter. I”d only trap his hand between my thighs.
I can’t believe he’s doing this in a room full of people. Scratch that, I can’t believe he’s doing this at one of his goddamn movie premieres.
”Watch. The. Movie.”
I squirm under his touch, but his hand doesn”t move any further up.
If he wanted me to pay attention to his movie, that”s definitely backfiring. I don”t give a flying fuck about the movie anymore.
I give a damn about his hand on my thigh, the way his other hand plays with my fingers, and the way he stops his thumb from moving when I start squirming under his touch, only resuming when I sit still.
”You”re playing an unfair game, Asher,” I hiss, and he lifts my hand to press his lips against my palm.
”Nope, no idea what you”re talking about.”
Finally, after two agonizing hours that leave me horny as hell, the movie ends. I want to jump up and pull Asher out of the theatre with me, but in my state, I definitely don”t want any attention on me.
And when finally, everyone gets up to leave, I slip my feet back into my heels but stay seated, my lips pursed in a pout.
”Not so urgent anymore?” Asher asks teasingly and swipes my hair over my shoulder to press a kiss onto it. ”What a shame. I have a lot planned for tonight.”
”Oh, it”s urgent,” I tell him and glance around, hoping nobody is listening to us. ”But I don”t trust my legs yet with these heels.”
”Want me to carry you?”
The thought is tempting. Really fucking tempting. Too tempting for public, so I shake my head.
”Just give me a few more minutes. And take your hand off.” I pull it off my thigh with a chuckle and drape my dress back into place, handing him his jacket.
Note to myself, maybe don”t wear a risky dress like this again for a movie screening. It gives Asher dumb ideas.
”Can”t wait to get you out of this,” he says with his hoarse, sultry voice. “Or maybe I won’t get you out of this.” I put my hand over his mouth to stop him from talking me into an even hornier state.
He winks at me and plays with one of the decorative sleeves draped over my upper arm, his tongue darting out to tickle my palm.
”You”re insufferable, you know that?” I lower my hand and shake my head at him.
He”s an idiot, but he”s my idiot. And even though I act annoyed, I wouldn’t trade him for the world.
”I know.” And the smile he shoots me tells me all I need to know. ”But I”m very good at occupying your thoughts. And I have the whole night to distract you from that damned meeting tomorrow.” He leans in and pulls my earlobe between his lips, taking great care to avoid my fancy earrings. His breath on my neck sends goosebumps all over my skin and I close my eyes, taking a deep breath.
”We should go.”
True to his word, I don”t think about the meeting at all until the next morning when I need to get ready for it. And then my thoughts circle around it with not a damned chance of anything else breaking through.
I pour coffee into my cereal, which actually didn”t taste that bad, and I almost put on two different shoes until Asher corrects me. Then I almost jump into the wrong car.
And then there”s a hazy timeframe and suddenly Millie and I are sitting at a conference table in a stuffy, grey room with our lawyers speaking legalese that goes way over our heads. I think ours are arguing that there are points in the contract they haven”t fulfilled, especially in regards to security, but apparently they also had to provide more transparent statements on our licensing income, which they apparently can”t provide.
Which would mean we could break our contract without any repercussions. We wouldn’t even have to pay a dime. It sounds too good to be true.
Starlet Sounds lawyers step out for a moment to discuss, and for the first time that morning, I feel like I can breathe.
”Is that good?” I ask our lawyers and feel Millie squeezing my hand.
”It”s very good,” Mark, the older of our two lawyers, says with a confident nod. He leans back in his seat, his arms crossed in front of his chest and a satisfied smirk on his lips. ”We got them. And they know it.”
I nod. I”m glad he”s optimistic, but I”ll only believe it when I walk out of here with a written settlement. Or at least the promise of one.
My leg bounces as we wait for Starlet Sounds lawyers to come back in, and when they do, the first thing I notice is the frown on the guy’s face. Then the downright pissed expression on the second lawyer’s.
”Here”s what we can do.”
Asher”s and Luca”s heads shoot up when all of us walk out of the elevator. They weren”t allowed up there, so they spent the morning in Starlet Sounds” lobby, waiting for us to finish the meeting and probably thanking this buildings’ architect for the mirrored windows that prevent them from being seen from outside.
”And?” Asher asks loudly, his eyes set on me as we get closer. Luca is right behind him, but he only has eyes for Millie.
Once we get into earshot, I break into a smile.
”We got it. We”re free.”
I break into hysterical laughter, and he shakes his head before his arms snake around me and he pulls me to his chest. And holy fuck, that’s all it takes to overwhelm me.
Suddenly I”m crying, while still laughing, because I”m just so goddamn fucking relieved.
So fucking relieved.
Now we can build our own empire. We can record whatever damned songs we please. I can walk around with wavy hair without catching scrutinizing glares from our manager.
Asher tightens his hold on me and I slowly calm down, a realization settling deep inside me, right here, in his arms.
The future looks so fucking bright right now.
Thank you so much for reading Siren”s Game! Can”t quite get enough of Kayla and Asher?