Chapter 3
Chapter Three
LIVIANNA/LILY
Then
Tattooed Promises & The Ribbons That Strangle Us
Some truths don’t cut straight…they coil, waiting for the moment you’re too tangled to breathe.
Ilaugh, but I’m instantly taken out of it and drawn to the chair being forcefully pushed between Gia’s and mine.
“You don’t mind if I join the party, do ya?” Callum rounds his seat and sits.
His eyes are hidden behind his shades, but his tense body tells me all I need to know. He’s doing everything he can to hold himself together. My pulse races and I almost lose my breath.
I scoot over to give him more room. “Callum, what are you doing here?”
Under normal circumstances, I’d get up and stomp off, but I’m shocked and impressed he’s sitting next to me.
A wave of warmth rolls through me. I try to hide my pleased expression that he went out of his way to come find me by rubbing my lips together.
“We have plans this weekend. I came to pick you up.” He tips his chin toward the group I’m with. “Gia, good to see you again.”
“You too, Cash.” She grabs the straw in her glass and swirls it around in her soda. “I didn’t know you were going to be in Malibu today.”
“It wasn’t on my schedule, but I’ll do whatever Lily needs.” He rakes his teeth over his bottom lip. “Marco, Sebastian. I didn’t expect to find you two with Gia and my girlfriend. Wanna tell me how that happened?”
“Livianna invited us out.” Marco slides his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose, stabbing Callum with his dark eyes. “She has some summertime blues I’m helping with. You got a problem with that?”
“You know I don’t have a problem with you, Marco. It’s the…guy sitting next to you I’d like to hear from.” Callum shifts to face Sebastian. “I thought you knew to stay clear of her unless on set.”
“It wasn’t planned, asshole.” Sebastian squares his shoulders.
“I was with Marco today and came along. Gia and I were getting to know each other while Marco and Livianna took care of their business. Not that I need to explain myself to you, but since I’d like to avoid another fight, I figure I’ll take the high road. ”
Callum huffs out a fake chuckle as if anything Sebastian said could be taking the high road.
Gia squirms and addresses Callum. “I’ve never spoken with Sebastian. We don’t share screen time, so…”
“Whatever. It doesn’t matter.” Callum’s muscles relax and he turns to me. “Do you have everything you need?”
My eyebrows shoot up at his blatant disregard for the story that came out this morning. “For what?”
“We need to pick up your suitcase and get back to Burbank so I can return to the tour.” He gestures to my purse. “I’ll pay the tab if you’re ready to go.”
I fume inside. “There’s no way I’m going to leave LA after what you did.”
“That’s our cue, Sebastian.” Marco scoots his chair back and stands. “Thanks for picking up the check, Cash. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”
Callum shifts his gaze from me to Marco. “Yeah, I’ll be in touch once I’m back in town for a while.”
“I know. I can count on it like clockwork.” Marco slaps Sebastian’s back as he gets to his feet. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
“Sounds good to me.” He smiles at Gia. “It was nice to actually talk to you. Hopefully, we’ll get to see more of each other in the future.”
“Agreed. You two have a safe drive back to LA.” Gia’s cheeks turn red. She waits for them to disappear from the patio and turns to me. “I’m going to take a wild guess. You don’t need a ride home, do you?”
I really want to teach Callum a lesson, but he flew here and found me. Maybe I should hear him out. Plus, it’s been three months since I’ve been around him.
I can’t lie. My heart is jackhammering being near him.
His crisp, clean cologne wafts around me, mixing with the ocean breeze. It’s enough to have me wanting to curl into his lap and let him tell me why he did what he did.
I gaze at Gia, pretending to consider her question. “I’ll go with you. Callum needs some time to—”
“Like hell you’re going with her. I came all this way. The least you can do is hear the truth. If you don’t wanna spend the next few days with me after that, you can stay in LA.” Callum removes his shades.
His blue eyes shine deep into my soul. There’s so much sincerity beaming my way.
“I didn’t do anything, Lily.”
I swallow my reservations and nod. “Thanks for coming with me today, Gia. I appreciate having girl time, but I want to hear what Callum has to say.”
“I understand.” She gathers her belongings and stands. “Thanks for lunch, Cash. I hope you two work it out.”
“Thanks, Gia.” Callum gets to his feet and does something he never does. He hugs her like she just gave him the greatest gift he’s ever received.
“Livianna needs a friend like you. You’re one of the good ones. Watch her back for me while I’m away, okay?”
She gives him an awkward squeeze. “Always.”
They break apart and we say goodbye. She leaves as Callum waves the server over and hands her a credit card to cover our bill.
Once she disappears to pay our check, he sits and peers over at me. “I haven’t seen you in three months and that’s all you wanna do? Stay planted in your chair, judging the shit out of me.”
“Well, considering what I woke up to, I’m more than justified.” I cross my arms over my chest despite wanting to jump into his lap and kiss him all over.
“Lily, I love you. I wouldn’t cheat on you and you should know that. That’s why I’m here. It seems I need to prove it to you.” He scoots closer to me. “Why didn’t you call me and let me explain?”
“You were doing blow off a chick’s stomach. I saw the pictures with your arm around her as you got onto the bus. I know what you and my brother do while you tour.”
“Do you know that for sure?”
“What else can I believe?”
“You understand how the tabloids work.” He leans close to my ear and whispers, “The pictures were staged. I’m trying to sabotage Ur Boyz so the label drops us.”
He settles back in his chair and slides his sunglasses back on. The server returns with our receipt and thanks us for coming in.
He stands and motions for my hand. “Will you please take a walk with me down the beach? We can talk and not worry about who can hear us.”
I slide my palm into his and stand. Tingles zip through me. I can’t help but want his arms around me.
My heart pounds. “I need something first.”
“Anything.”
“Give me the same kind of hug Gia got. Make me feel like I’m giving you the best gift you’ve ever received.”
He sweeps me off my feet and hugs me so tight I can’t breathe.
“Lily, you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” He kisses my cheek over and over.
I turn my face and press my lips to his. We make out as if no one is around. If we weren’t in public, I’m sure we’d be on the table having sex.
He pulls away and slides me down the front of his body. “Let’s take that stroll. You need to hear everything.”
I already know he’s telling me the truth. It’s his absolute law he lives by. He won’t lie to anyone.
We get to a wooden pathway and mosey along the beach. He steers us off and into the sand.
He points to a dry area away from everyone. “Let’s go talk over there.”
“I’d like that.” I lean into him, holding his hand. “Your uncle let you come and chase me down?”
“Yep, and without any grief.” Callum laughs under his breath. “He was the one who fucked that chick. Not me.”
My eyes go wide and I peek up at him. “Really? Was Bren in the room with him?”
“Yeah.” Callum gazes down at me with his face scrunched up. “What made you come to that conclusion?”
My cheeks heat. “I remember what you guys did before. I saw the pictures and know tour buses are small. There aren’t too many places to go.”
“Good point.” Callum’s quiet until we get settled on our butts in the sand.
He takes my hand and kisses the top of it. “You’re all that matters to me, Lily. I wish you trusted me enough to know I’d never do anything to hurt you, especially that.”
“I know, but how do you explain having your arm around her?” I pull my hand away, remembering the awful feeling that rolled through me when I saw him with another girl. “Just tell me everything so I understand.”
“You know I’m trying to ruin the tour. Our sales are up, so I asked my uncle to help me out because it’s time to pull the trigger on the destruction of Ur Boyz. The chicks were willing participants as soon as Guns told them a good fuck and some great blow were part of the payoff.”
“You guys paid them?”
He shrugs. “Yeah. In more ways than one, but they had their fun.”
“Why would you let a story like that run when you know what it looks like to the public?”
“Think about it, Lily. What parent is gonna let their twelve-year-old kid come to one of our shows when we’re known for doing wild women and drugs? That’s the average age demographic. I don’t want that fanbase. I wanna be a legend, not a flash in the pan.”
My thoughts race with his explanation. He’s not wrong. If he wants to be a rockstar, the audience he has now won’t be the crowd he attracts in the future.
“Callum, why would you do coke when you’re on probation? You could go back to jail.”
“Relax. It’s all good. I already took a drug test before I got to Malibu. My probation officer had one ordered this morning.”
My heart falls into my stomach. “Are you going to be locked up?”
“No. I told my probation officer what’s up. He can’t say shit to anyone without losing his job. I’m a minor and I could destroy his career if he sold me out.”
“I’m not sure I understand.”
“If you look closely at the photos, you’ll see I’m bent over with a straw near the beginning of a line. In the next one, it’s gone and I’m wiping my nose, but I’m not the one who did it. It was staged, Lily.”
“Thank God.” My chest muscles loosen and I gaze out at the water. “Why those two girls and how did you meet them?”