Chapter 12
Twelve
XANDER
Present
There’s nothing like waking up in your bed after being away on tour. Even though it’s only for one week, I’m going to soak it up as much as I can. I hit the button to open my blinds and squint as the blinding sun pours into the room.
Once I’m used to the sunlight, I swing my legs out of bed and grab a pair of shorts to slip on.
The back of my beach house has a deck that wraps from one side around the back to the other with access from my room to it directly.
It’s in the fifties this morning, but the wind is strong enough to blow mist off the waves.
As much as I want to get out on the water, I know I shouldn’t risk it while on tour.
There are a few more days that I’ll have a chance.
I go back inside to make myself breakfast and see a text from Darren.
Darren
I better not see photos of you surfing this morning
I roll my eyes and send him a middle finger emoji back. He’s such a jackass sometimes. Always treating us like children.
Another text comes through, and I almost ignore it thinking it’s Darren again, but when I glance down I see it’s from my dad.
Dad
Lunch or dinner today?
Sure
Are you coming to the show this weekend?
Dad
Yeah, I’ve worked it all out with Jade. She’s got me in a box.
Great
We make plans for dinner here in Malibu since he doesn’t have any big projects he’s working on at the moment.
Since I have the entire day to myself, I spend the morning working out and email my attorney to see if they’ve heard from the woman who thinks I’m her baby’s father.
Then I binge watch a few episodes of Law and Order because there’s nothing else to do and my house is too quiet.
Usually I love coming home to an empty house after weeks on the road with the band, but today it just feels lonely.
Maybe it’s knowing that Stone, who I would normally go bother, is probably thoroughly enjoying his free time with Hazel.
I’m sure I could walk over there, but the last thing I want to do is walk in on them.
In our younger days he and I would share women, and occasionally men, but they were groupies. Hazel is his everything. She’s sacred to him, and I respect that way too much to risk intruding.
From them, my thoughts inevitably wander to Jade.
If she gave me another chance, I’d never disappoint her again.
I know that leaving the way I did when we were kids was shitty, but everything was rushed and chaotic.
The last thing I thought was that she’d immediately block me on everything and change her number like that.
She knew it was a possibility that I’d get accepted last minute to Juilliard.
I pull up my text chain with her and click on her profile picture to see her location.
She’s at home, mere miles from me. I could hop on my bike and go past her bungalow.
That’d be too stalkery, though. Not that I’m not a stalker.
I check her location daily, especially when we’re out on tour and she’s going to her workout classes alone.
I could have given Darren a big, sloppy kiss when he suggested we all keep each other’s locations for safety.
I leave for the restaurant twenty minutes earlier than necessary out of sheer boredom and decide to do a drive-by of her house.
As I drive up her street, I see an unfamiliar truck in her driveway.
It looks like a construction truck, but there’s no signage on it.
The tailgate is down, and a toolbox is open in the bed.
There’s not even an internal debate in my mind as I put my car in park and walk up to her front door. What if the guy is a crazed maniac about to abduct her? Or worse? My heart thumps in my chest when I get to the front door and see it cracked open.
Panic sets in when a hear a loud thumping coming from one of the bedrooms in the house. My stride quickens to nearly a jog by the time I burst through the doorway. What I see stops me in my tracks.
Jade swings around a pole in tiny shorts and a sports bra while some weirdo stands leering at her holding a hammer in one hand.
“What the fuck is going on here?” My voice is low and menacing enough to make the guy jump.
“What the hell, Xander?” She drops from the pole immediately and presses her hands to her waist, having the audacity to look pissed at me for caring.
“What the fuck, indeed, Jade?”
“Uhhh, are you Xander Jacobs?” the guy asks. “I’m a huge fucking fan, man.”
“Who are you?” I ask turning my attention to him.
The guy has glasses and a missing tooth. He’s probably about my age, maybe a couple years older. He holds out his hand for a shake, but all I give him is a scowl.
“He’s helping secure my new pole, if you must know.” She glowers at me. “Thank you, Matt. Double check your Venmo, but I sent the payment.”
The guy pulls his phone out and checks. “I got it. Thank you. Let me know when you decide to add to your deck.” He looks back at me. “Can I get your autograph?”
I end up scribbling my signature on his fucking tool belt with a fake ass smile just so he’ll get the fuck out. She goes to follow him, but I press my hand against her stomach, halting her progress.
Fuck, I missed how soft her skin is. My fingers twitch as I battle the desire to run them over her body.
She slaps my hand away. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“I was driving by and saw a weird truck in your driveway with your front door open.”
“And?”
“What do you mean, and? I was worried. You’re a woman living alone.”
“It’s the middle of the day.”
“The truck was unmarked. What kind of company uses unmarked vehicles?”
“He’s not a company. I hired him off Task Rabbit.”
“Jesus fucking christ, Jade. You can’t just hire people off Task Rabbit like that.”
“Actually, I can, and I do. All the damn time. It’s actually you who can’t just barge into someone else’s home.”
“Why the fuck were you on the pole when I walked in?”
She rolls her eyes and walks past me into the living room. “To make sure it was secure. I’m not really sure why you think you have any right to barge in here asking questions.” She narrows her eyes. “Why were you even driving by? There’s nothing up here but houses.”
My phone rings, and I glance down at it to see Dad’s name. “Hold on,” I tell her before answering.
“Hey.”
“I’m here, grabbed a table on the patio.”
“Perfect. I’m at Jade’s, so I’ll be a few minutes.”
“Oh. No problem. Why don’t you ask her to come if she doesn’t have plans.”
A slow smile creeps across my face. “Good idea. I’ll have her change clothes, and we’ll be there in a few.”
“Great. See you in a bit.”
I hang up the phone and smile at a still fuming Jade. “Get changed, you’re coming to dinner with Dad and me.”
“Was there a question in there?”
“Nope.” I plop down on her couch. “Better get going, Dad’s waiting.”
She groans and stomps off down the hall. “I fucking hate you.”
“Awww, Freckles, is that anyway to talk to me?”
She shoves her hand out of her bedroom doorway with her middle finger extended.
I take advantage of the time she’s in her room changing to snoop around.
Her living room is so homey. All her cream-colored furniture is soft and oversized.
A bird of paradise almost fills the entire corner of the living room, reaching to the ceiling.
Wood beams extend all along the open concept space.
Her kitchen is small but updated with sage green cabinets.
A little two-person table is tucked in the corner by the french doors leading to her deck.
More plants hang from the ceiling. All of them look so healthy I’m not sure if they’re even real.
I don’t know how she keeps them like that while we’re on tour.
Her fridge is empty aside from a twelve pack of Diet Coke and limes when I open it.
Guess who’s getting a grocery delivery tomorrow?
I smile at the thought of her annoyed face when it shows up.
There’s a box of cereal and some rice in the pantry.
It’s so frustrating to see the care she has for the house not be carried over to herself.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“Snooping.” I open some more cabinets just to piss her off. Her anger is better than indifference. “You have no food in this house.”
“I’ve been gone for two months.” She slams the cabinet I opened closed and elbows me in the stomach. “Let’s go.”
“I’ll drive.”
“We can drive separately that way you don’t have to back track.”
“No.” I take the keys from her hand and toss them onto the couch. “I said I’d drive.”
“You are so irritating, you know that?”
“I do.” I lean down to her. “The next time you need something done around the house, call me.”
“Do you even have a toolbox?”
“Yes.” Actually, I’m not sure, but if I don’t, I’ll get one.
She narrows her eyes, not believing me for a second. “I can’t believe you were stalking me like that. Driving by like an obsessed teenager.”
“And it’s a good thing I did because now we can all go to dinner together.”
“One big happy family.” Her voice drips with sarcasm.
“Please, I know you still talk to dad every week.”
“Of course I do. He’s the closest thing I have to a real father.”
I soften at the sincerity in her voice. I can’t imagine having a child and walking away from it the way her biological dad did.
Maybe that’s the reason she and Hazel bonded so easily.
They both had such similar experiences. Except Hazel’s mom didn’t go around marrying every guy that gave her butterflies like Suzette does.
I open the car door for her, waiting until she’s situated inside to close it.
As I pull out of her driveway, I wonder if I could convince her to put up a fence and little gate in front of her driveway.
Just for an added layer of security. Plenty of the houses around here have them, so I know it’s allowed by the homeowners’ association.
I’ll get a few quotes this week before I bring it up to her.