22. Luke
TWENTY-TWO
LUKE
Calla is everything I never knew I needed. As I hold her in my bed, her nails gently drag up and down my arms, and it feels like all is right in the world for this brief moment in time.
Eventually, we get tired of the sound of our phones vibrating wherever we left them, so we roll out of bed to face the music.
I have several texts and missed calls from Ashley, Brayden, and Cody. Shit. I realize I basically kidnapped America’s Sweetheart, but she needed an out. It’s unbelievable how much pressure they put on one person. I knew she’d be with me, so obviously, she’s been safe. At the time, that was all that mattered. Now yet again, I’m looking at possible termination, especially if they find out I actually slept with her. Though I suspect Ashley already thinks we have. But if they tell Cody…
“How many missed calls do you have?” she asks, breaking my downward spiral.
“More than I care to admit.”
“I guess we should let someone know where we are?” She’s looking at me for what to do, but I have no fucking clue.
“I’ll text Ashley back since it’s my fault,” I say, pulling up my messaging app. It feels like I’m going to my grave.
“Hey,” Calla says, grabbing my attention. “This was the best morning I think I’ve ever had. Thank you for getting me out of there.”
My chest fills with pride. I did something good. No matter what happens, I helped Calla get the time she needed. It’ll all be worth it in the end as long as she’s happy. I cup her cheek with my hand and give her a gentle kiss. “You deserve so much more than the world is giving you right now, Calla.”
She smiles sadly. “You’re starting to make me believe that.”
After one more kiss, I bite the bullet and shoot Ashley a text letting her know that I’ve got Calla and we’ll be back at the hotel before she needs to be at the venue. I don’t give specifics or promise to bring her in now; I just let them know that Calla is safe and with me.
Ashley doesn’t like that very much, but after a few replies where I can tell she’s yelling at me to bring her back now, the texts start to slow down.
If this is the last day I have with Calla, I’m going to make it worth it.
“Alright, they know you’re safe, so let’s get dressed. There’s more I want to show you before we go back,” I say, searching for my pants.
“Are you sure? I’d kinda like to stay here and do that again,” she says, eyeing the bed.
I chuckle as I grab my shirt. “A woman after my own heart. But I really did have a plan to show you my favorite things today. You’ll be surprised to know that my cock wasn’t on that list, but I’m certainly glad it was added.”
“Yeah, me too.”
I truly didn’t bring her to my apartment to have sex. I was still living in my delusional world where I thought maybe I could stay away from her—besides making her come on my fingers every other day. But when I saw her here in my space, I lost all common sense and knew I needed to have her. Consequences be damned.
After we’re both dressed and she’s back in her hat and sunglasses, we walk hand in hand through the streets of New York as I show her my favorite spots. Now, I don’t truly have a lot of spots because I’m not home often, but I do have a few places, like the coffee shop I already showed her. I take her to my favorite park and show her where I run when I’m home. I show her a playground that my mom brought me to a few times when I was younger. I come here when I’m missing my mom.
“You don’t talk about your mom often,” Calla says as I push her on the swing.
“I guess it’s hard for me to talk about her. She died right before I turned eighteen. My senior year of high school. She was all I had. When she died, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I started acting out even more than usual. Being a real asshole. Cody was the only one who stood by my side. He helped me keep my head above water. He even enlisted with me because he didn’t want me to go on my own.”
“I’m glad you had Cody.”
“Me too.” Guilt overwhelms me when I remember I haven’t texted him back after all the missed calls from this morning. I don’t think I’m ready to hear the disappointment in his voice.
“And I’m sorry about your mom. I can’t imagine what that must’ve been like for you.”
“It was a rough time, but the military helped me straighten out. Now I just try to live a life that my mom would be proud of.”
“She’d be proud of you, Luke.”
“I hope so.”
After the playground, I buy Calla a hotdog from a corner stand, not because they’re good, but because her face lights up when she sees the stand, and I can tell she really wants it.
Finally, we decide it’s time for us to head back to the hotel.
“Can I ask a favor?” she asks as I start to hail a cab.
“Yep,” I say quickly, thinking she’ll ask to stop somewhere to grab something on the way back.
But no. She looks at me with a giant smile and asks, “Can we take the subway?”
I lower my hand slowly. “What?” The last thing I want to do is take Calla freaking James on a subway in New York.
“Please. I’ve never been, and it feels like a very New York thing to do. I just want to say I’ve experienced it.”
Her hands are clasped together at her chest, and her smile never falters as she watches me decide. Unfortunately for me, I’ve somehow let this woman wind me so far around her finger that I know I can’t say no, even when I know it’s a huge security risk. Anyone could recognize her and cause full pandemonium.
But she’s excited about something, and after last night, I was worried it’d take a while for her to get her spark back. I don’t want her to be scared to live her life.
Which is what I’m thinking when I tell her, “Fine. But your hat and sunglasses need to stay on and don’t talk to anyone. Your voice could make someone recognize you.”
She nods quickly and skips toward the nearest subway station. I hold her hand tightly as we walk. I swipe my card for both of us. Thankfully, it’s not rush hour, so it’s not terribly busy, and we’re able to go mostly unnoticed. Calla looks over at me halfway through the ride with a huge smile on her face. I swear she is the only person in the history of New York who’s excited to ride the subway.
I’m glad I could make her smile though, especially with what we’re about to walk into.
Not only is Ashley waiting for us at the hotel lobby—I assume she’s been standing there all day since she had no idea when we’d be back—but she video calls Brayden as soon as we’re back in the room.
It feels like Calla and I are children getting scolded by Mom and Dad. Calla lets her head hang, but I keep my back straight. If I’m going to get yelled at, they can look me in the eye while they do it.
“Look, man,” Brayden starts to say as soon as he pops up on the screen. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but you can’t just take the biggest pop star in the world traipsing around the city.”
“He didn’t take me. I left,” Calla pipes up, trying to save me from getting in trouble. Unfortunately, I think we’re beyond that at this point.
“It doesn’t matter. He should’ve put you over his shoulder and carried you back if he had to.”
“I’m allowed to make my own decisions,” she counters.
“Are you? Because you’ve been making some pretty shitty ones lately, Calla.”
“I understand I broke safety protocol,” I say, trying to get his attention off Calla.
“Yeah, that’s an understatement,” he scoffs. “I think this goes without saying, but we’re going to have to replace you.”
Fuck. I knew it was coming, but it still sucks to hear.
“No!” Calla yells.
“Calla, it’s alright.” I put my hand on her thigh in an attempt to calm her down, but she ignores me altogether.
“I will not get on that stage if you fire him,” she says. She’s going to put her career, her entire life, on the line for me ? I’m a nobody from New York. She’s America’s Sweetheart. She could do so much better than me.
It’s in this moment, where she’s sticking up for me, that I realize I’m in love with her.
I’ve fallen in love with the one woman I was never supposed to have.
“You will get on that stage if Ashley has to drag you out there by your hair!” Brayden yells back at Calla. Fuck, this guy is really pissing me off. I open my mouth to tell him to stop being an asshole, but Calla beats me to it. And honestly, I kinda like seeing her all worked up. At least she’s finally fighting for something.
“You can drag me out there, but you can’t force me to sing. I will lie on the stage in complete silence. Luke stays.”
Everyone in the room is silent for a moment. She’s putting her career on the line for me. This is insane, and all I want to do is grab her and kiss her.
Finally, Brayden breaks the uncomfortable silence. “Fine. Luke stays. But get your shit together, Calla. This cannot happen again. Do you know how much money we lost because you didn’t show up to the studio?”
Calla, feeling a little powerful with her negotiation skills at the moment, responds with, “I don’t care how much money we lost. I had a traumatic night. Thanks for asking if I’m ok, by the way. I was not in the right headspace to record anything worth recording. I told you all that. I needed a break. I’m not sure why no one on this team feels like I deserve a goddamn break!”
Fuck, she’s hot when she’s mad.
Ashley interjects before things get too far out of hand. “Ok. Alright. Let’s all take a breath. What’s done is done. Next time let’s all discuss before plans change, though, yes?”
Neither Calla nor I nod, but she takes our silence as agreement as she walks off with the phone.
“Car will be here in five minutes. Please be in the lobby,” she calls out before shutting the hotel room door behind her.
“I’m sorry,” Calla says. “That was?—”
“So fucking hot.”
Her eyebrows shoot up. “What?”
“Seeing you get all worked up, and for me? I could’ve fucked you right here in front of them.”
I grab her face and kiss her hard. I am so far gone for her that I’m not sure how I’ll pick myself up when this is all over. I’m not delusional enough to think this will last forever, not when her team is very open about hating me. I can’t blame them. I’m sure I’d hate me too if I was stealing away my money ticket and causing her to fight back.
“God, I wish we had time, but we’ve got to go,” I say, pulling away from her lips even though my cock is begging to be inside her. “Tonight. I’m going to show you just how much I appreciate you.”
I kiss her one more time before we have to be out of the room and on our way to the venue. I can’t keep my hands off her throughout the drive. Either holding her pinky or rubbing her leg. Hell, I even twirl her hair around my finger at one point. It’s like I’m high just off the scent of her, and I don’t know what the hell to do with this.
I’m brought back to reality when Cody’s name lights up my screen while Calla is getting ready. I excuse myself from her dressing room and take the call in the hallway.
“Hey, man. Sorry I didn’t call you back.”
“Please tell me this is a fucking joke, Luke,” he says instead of a greeting.
Despite this morning being perfect, today is not my day. I almost got fired—again—and now my best friend is pissed.
“You’re going to have to tell me what you’re referring to.”
“Uh, the part where you kidnapped a pop star?”
“Ok, I didn’t kidnap anyone. She’s an adult, and she willingly came with me.”
“No one knew where you were, man. She had commitments. You are supposed to?—”
“Keep her safe,” I interject. “I’m supposed to keep her safe. She was safe the entire time. Everyone made it back in one piece.”
He sighs, and I know I’ve done nothing to calm him down. “Luke, you better have a good explanation.”
“A stalker was in her room last night, and they were giving her no time to process it. She cried through most of the night, and they wanted her to get up and go to a studio to record a song. She wasn’t in the right headspace for that, man. She needed a fucking break, so I gave her one.”
“It’s not your job to give her a break, Luke. It’s your job to follow behind her and make sure no one tries to hurt her.”
“Her team is trying to hurt her, Cody!”
Another sigh. “How do you know she was crying all night?”
“What?”
“You said she was crying all night. How do you know that?”
“I sat with her to make sure she was ok.” Sat with her and holding her close are basically the same thing, right?
“You sat with her all night?” he repeats.
I freeze. He knows I’m lying.
“Luke.”
“It’s hard to explain.”
I can’t see him, but I know he’s shaking his head right now. “Can I talk to you as your friend right now and not your boss?”
“Yeah.”
“What are you doing, man? Not only is she America’s Sweetheart, but she has a boyfriend. You know this.”
“They aren’t actually together,” I tell him, wanting to clarify that quickly. While yes, I did touch her inappropriately while they were still technically together, I didn’t sleep with her then. “They’re pretending to still be together for some sort of publicity bullshit.”
“And you really want to be wrapped up in the middle of all that? Sounds a little suspicious to me.”
“No, it’s not suspicious. I care about her. A lot. And she feels the same.” I know she does. Even if she hasn’t said it. I can feel it.
“Come on, Luke. Be serious. She’s Calla James.”
“And I’m Luke Pierson. You’re acting like you couldn’t believe she would actually want to be with me.”
“It’s just…”
“It’s just what, Cody? Am I not good enough to be with her?”
“What are you going to do when your assignment is over, Luke? Are you gonna stay in L.A.? You practically begged me to put you with a different client when I gave you her file.”
“Things change. And I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. I still have time to figure it out.”
“Yeah, until someone figures out you’re fucking around with the client.” I’m pretty sure people know already, but I don’t think now is a good time to tell him that. “Speaking of that. You know fucking a client is against the rules. The only reason I haven’t fired you is because they said they need you to stay on. Which was really fucking weird, considering they called me earlier and said they never want to see your face again. I don’t know what you did to make them change their mind, but you’re one lucky motherfucker. And we’re going to have a serious conversation before I put you with another client.”
I guess we’re done with our friend chat now.
“I understand, Cody. I put you in a tough spot, and I’ll take whatever repercussions come my way.”
He’s silent for a minute, and I hold my breath to see what he’s going to say.
“I hope she’s worth it, man.”
“She is.”
There is no doubt in my mind.