6. Nese
NESE
My mind races through his proposal. I can’t believe this stick-in-the-mud is concerned about my spending money on a hotel because of his situation, but there it is. I can save on car service rides too, since he has a vehicle. A tricked-out Range Rover, to be exact.
In black. Certainly makes a statement as to his personality.
Still.
He asked me to stay at his house. Coop. The “wise one” of the band, who always does things by the book—read, boring. He’s coming off as controlling, however. For example, his assessing my whole hotel situation and concluding I should stay with him, despite my telling him I can afford it.
I swallow. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Aquarius, but you’re giving off controlling vibes. I think we’ve already established I don’t play nice with control freaks.”
“I am not controlling,” he defends himself. “The only reason you’ve lost some of your vacation time is because you agreed to help me out. It makes perfect sense to stop bleeding your own money as a result.” His finger traces the edge of the teacup.
“When you put it like that, it seems reasonable. However, I knew what I was agreeing to when Luke asked me. I’m really enjoying my extended vacation in LA.”
“If you don’t want to stay with me for your sake, please do it for mine.
I feel awful enough that you’re giving up a few days of your break to go shopping with me.
Don’t compound my guilt by blowing your own money when I have three perfectly empty rooms in my house.
” He leans against the back of the chair.
I let him sweat by not responding immediately. I’ve decided to take him up on his offer. No use throwing away my hard-earned money when he’s given me an alternative. Still, it’s fun watching him squirm.
I count to ten in my mind.
For his part, Coop strums his fingers on the now-empty tabletop.
“I guess I could stay with you.”
His head shakes. “Why does it feel as if I won something by having you agree to stay in my house?”
I don’t deign to respond. He can figure that out, all on his own. Instead, I say, “I’ll get a car service to take me to my hotel and pack up my things. I should be to your place in a few hours.” I push away from the table. “Text me your address.”
He stands and places his hand on my shoulder to direct me out of the restaurant. I know how to walk, thank you very much! With a shimmy, I dislodge his hand and stride toward the exit.
Behind me, he says, “I was only trying to be courteous.”
“Yeah, well, it seemed more like controlling to me.”
Under his breath, he mutters, “Touchy.”
If he’d been through what I have, he’d be touchy too. Hell, he lost his luggage and it’s almost the end of the world. I can show him real “end of the world” stuff that would curl his toes. I hold up my phone. “Remember, text me.”
“How about I do one better? I’ll take you to your hotel and then bring you to my house. It’s not like I have anything on my dance card now anyway.”
“Except to buy pants. If I agree to this, how about we stop off at a shop I noticed on our drive over here, and get you some jeans?”
He groans. Score!
“If we must.”
“Or you could wear the same pair yet another day.” Somehow, this styling spree is turning out to be much more fun than I ever envisioned.
His sunglasses lower over his face once again. “What store are you talking about?”
With my fingers on the handle to his Rover, I quip, “Let’s reverse our trip from M. Marcel. I’ll point it out.”
Fifteen minutes later, we pull up to the store with an eye-catching window display, which Coop barely gives a second glance.
He’s in the official “hunt” mode—meaning his sole goal is to find a pair of jeans, try them on because I will insist, and bolt out in under ten minutes.
Since I need to pack, check out, and get settled at his place, I’m hopeful we can accomplish his objective in triple that.
Turns out it takes us over an hour to purchase his new jeans. They fit him to perfection, making his ass droolworthy. Too bad he muttered random things under his breath the entire time. Still, the one pair we got made the trip worthwhile.
He places his jeans into the trunk next to the five shirts from earlier and slides into the driver’s seat.
Once my seatbelt clicks into place and he plugs the address to my hotel into his GPS, he shifts the Rover into drive.
From almost every vista, I can see the Hollywood sign.
How cool is that? A far cry from Oklahoma, for sure.
On the ride to my hotel, we chat about UC’s tour. “Which was your favorite city the band played to date?”
His jaw twitches as he considers his answer. “This is a hard one. Each place has its own vibe, but I’ll say the South of France. Nice was chill.”
I didn’t spend time with UC at their compound in Nice. However, my room overlooked the water and I got to snorkel with a very hot teacher. My fingers cover my mouth. Who knew how to kiss. Among other things.
“The French know how to enjoy life, for sure. Not to mention their fashion-sense! I loved how the women always were dressed to perfection. The guys, too, were the definition of trendy. Which isn’t to say the vibes in Italy, Spain, and Portugal weren’t off the chain, too.
Heck, I even got you UC boys into stores in both Milan and Barcelona. I count that as a win!”
He glances over to me. “Do you always do that?”
My eyebrows pucker between my eyes. “Do what?”
“Answer a simple question with an entire story?”
I push against the black leather seat. Seems as if a guy with such a luxurious ride should be able to enjoy the finer things in life. Clothes definitely qualify. “I prefer to give color to my answers. Not stick only to the facts, like someone in this car who I won’t name.” I cross my arms.
“Noted.”
We travel in silence, the GPS’s disembodied voice providing the only soundtrack. I want to ask him why we don’t have any music on, considering that’s his life, but I don’t see any point in engaging.
“You have arrived at your destination.”
Coop pulls into a parking spot and unlocks the doors.
Not waiting for any of his controlling ways—what I’m sure he considers to be “gentlemanly manners”—I hop out and speedwalk to the entrance.
Coop’s longer legs transport him beside me without any effort.
Damn man must have five inches or more on me. Maybe I’ll wear heels tomorrow?
Inside, we walk toward the elevators. When we stop, he places his hand on my forearm. “I didn’t mean to offend you, Nese. This whole luggage thing has put me off balance.”
At least he recognizes how rude he was. No use in making a federal case out of it. I punch his arm. “He speaks!”
The cab opens and we get on, taking it to the sixth floor. Inside my room, I say, “Have a seat on the chair, as I’ll use the bed to fill up my suitcases.” He does as he’s told—another plus.
After unzipping my two large suitcases, I walk over to the closet and bring my clothes to the bed. As I’m folding, I ask, “We already discussed what I had planned for this break. What are yours?”
Turning his head, he looks out the window. Overlooking the parking lot. “There’s a Zen meditation retreat.”
“How long is it?” If it’s thirty days, that would explain why he wants to finish shopping quickly. He’s probably already missed day one.
“It’s four separate week-long classes. One session started today, which I obviously missed. I can take the next three weekly classes, though.”
I nod. Besides hating shopping for clothes, he wanted to do this retreat. “Did you pre-pay? Maybe you can get your money back?”
His lips curl upward. “I made a donation.”
He doesn’t offer any more information, so I continue to fold my clothes and put them into my suitcases.
I almost drop my dress when he says, “I’ve been to these retreats before.
I find the guided meditation rewarding, plus meeting more people who share my philosophy sparks interesting conversations. ”
Have to give credit to Coop. He does come out with some interesting nuggets. “Do you practice Zen?”
“I follow Zen, yes. I also enjoy some aspects of Buddhism. They’re both wonderful philosophies.”
I fold a pair of trousers. “Sounds like it grounds you.”
He considers my comment. “In a way, it does. Helps me make sense of things going on around me.”
I’m happy he found his own guiding star. Me? If Ma taught me anything, it’s that all religions can fuck off. I veer away from thinking about her. “Like Bennett and Jenna getting together? Río and Hayden?”
“Not really Bennett. He’s been a lost soul for a while, and I really appreciate how Jenna’s brought him out. They make a good couple, even if it did take a while for them to realize it.” He chuckles.
“Did you have any issues with the fact she dated Darren before?” I’ve learned this bothered 007. A lot.
“Nah. I mean, it was weird to have her back on tour with UC at first. When she was dating Darren, she only came with us a few random times. He did talk about her nonstop, though, so it was like she was with us.” He shakes his head. “I’m happy for Bennett.”
“Their wedding was sweet. Especially having TLR play. Bennett’s house out in Long Island is something, for sure.”
“It was a night unlike any other. Too bad her mother …” He trails off.
Not wanting to delve into unhappy memories, I ask, “What about Río and Hayden?” I blow on my fingers. “I saw it coming.”
My diversion worked—he chuckles. “They’re a good match. He’s been my best friend since elementary school. She’s reined him in somewhat—which he needed, growing up the way he did.”
“I didn’t know Río’s your best friend. How cool is it that you work together!”
“Well, he’s a fantastic drummer, so he makes that part easy. Seeing the world with your best friend is pretty awesome, too.” He pauses. “We keep each other’s secrets.
I laugh. “I can’t even imagine what Río’s hiding! That boy is a true wild card.”
“He’s been through things. I’m happy he’s with Hayden, but I understand our band’s dynamic will change now.”
“Are you sad?”
Our gazes lock. “No. I’m happy for him. It’s just, well, a new rhythm.”
He turns away from me and I swear he mentions something about the retreat helping him get a better understanding. Leaving him to whatever’s going on inside his mind, I enter the bathroom, gather all my products, and dump them onto the bed.
“Geez? How much stuff do you have there?”
Before I answer, I spritz on my new perfume. It has a fun cotton candy scent! Then I begin to pack my hair products and give him a description of what each item does. By the time I hold up the fourth bottle, he’s checked out, but I continue my descriptions until he raises his hands in surrender.
“No more! I get it. You use all of them!”
I rub my hand over my pixie cut and beam at him. “Can you imagine if I had long hair?”
He appears perplexed for a moment, then he cracks a smile. “You’re something else, Nese.”
“I’m taking that as a good thing.” I zip up my luggage.
“You do that.” He stands. “Can I help you?”
I notice he didn’t reach out to grab my bags, rather he asked a polite question. “I appreciate your letting the caveman tactics go. Yes, please take them off the bed. They’re on wheels, so I can roll them.”
“You have your carry-on plus two oversized. How about I take these two?”
The way he phrased his ask diffused a potential trigger for me. It goes a long way to helping us restore a positive working relationship. “I’d appreciate it.”
Together, we go down to the front desk and I check out. When the bill comes, he holds up his black credit card. Raising one eyebrow, he asks, “Please let me handle this for you.”
Thanks to my job as UC’s stylist, I’m paid well. However, Coop’s take of the profits doesn’t compare. Plus, he did mention he feels guilty for making me work over break. “You’re very kind.”
He smiles at me, then pays my balance. We return to his Rover, he puts my three suitcases in the trunk, and we start driving.
My index finger lands on the radio dial. I slant him a look. “Do you mind?”
“Be my guest.” He puts on his blinker. “I guess, you sort of are.”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
I turn on the radio and a Cole Manchester song plays.
He taps his fingers to the beat. “‘Gimme the Night’ has a great guitar riff.” Right on time, the guitar starts to wail.
When it’s done, he admits, “I was asked to play on this record. It came out when UC was on hiatus after Darren.” He swallows.
“Cole’s nice, and I almost said yes, but it felt like a betrayal, so I turned him down. ”
My mouth falls open. “Wow. I didn’t know that. I thought Cole had his own band like UC.”
“He tours with the same musicians, true, but his albums feature studio musicians. When he was cutting this song, I guess I was considered sort of a ‘free agent.’ I thought about it, but couldn’t bring myself to do it. Good thing, though. Not long after, we found Tris and UC started to come back.”
“I bet you would’ve been awesome on the track.”
“Thanks. But UC is where I belong.”
He makes a couple of turns and hits a button to open the gate to his home. Home? More like a mansion. It’s on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
As per usual, unfiltered words spew out of my mouth. “Damn. UC has to bring in more dough than I ever imagined.”
He pushes his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. “It’s comfortable. Bennett bought his in Aroostook, while Río and I are in LA.”
“Where do 007 and Tris live?”
“Our bassist is back in New Jersey. Tris recently bought a condo in Chicago.”
I process this new bit of information. “Wow. You guys are pretty spread out.”
“It’s good to recoup your energy when we’re not on tour. We’re together most of the time.”
“Hence your need for the Zen retreat.”
We pull into the driveway outside the garage and he retrieves my luggage. “We all do things to reenergize, which belongs only to ourselves. Meditation is mine.”
Standing tall, he opens the side door and I pull my carry-on in my wake. A beautiful garden with trees and shrubs greets me. I walk diagonally across pebbles toward the wall of windows, one of which I presume is a door. My luggage crunches as I cross the grounds.
Behind me, Coop inhales. Loudly.
I turn to him. “Is everything okay?”
His face is taut, as if in pain.
I scan the garden. Was something disturbed? Has he been burglarized? As I’ve never been here before, I don’t know how it looked before. Abandoning my carry-on, I rush over to him. “What’s wrong?”
In a tight voice, he says, “You just dragged your luggage across my Zen Garden.”