CHAPTER NINE #2
‘So whose album launch is this?’
‘Cassandra’s Chorus. They’re supposed to be here by now.’ I glanced about, looking for signs the band had arrived. The two lads and their sister had supported us on the last tour, and I’d promised to come to their album launch.
‘Oh, people you actually know?’
I focused on her face and tried not to notice the smattering of freckles across her nose. ‘Not everything in this business is mutual backscratching –’
‘Yeah, but they’re not here!’ Jessy looked half-amused, half-scandalized. ‘How can you turn up to someone’s party and the hosts aren’t even here yet?’
I shrugged, definitely not looking at her lips. ‘It’s pretty normal actually. They’ll be doing interviews somewhere. Press always overruns.’
I could still vaguely remember being confused about this sort of thing when These Exiles had first gone platinum. Journalists asking you a thousand and one questions. Being late to your own stuff. Other people turning up to an event just to be there, just to be seen – it hadn’t made any sense.
Now it was pretty much the only reason that I went anywhere.
Jessy was still staring at me, nonplussed.
‘It’s just – it’s a way to support each other,’ I explained, incredibly poorly. ‘You know, in the music industry –’
‘Patrick Tetlow! And Patrick’s new girlfriend, how delicious,’ said a voice I didn’t recognize.
How the hell had one of them got in?
It was easy to spot them; the journos always looked like they’d had to clamber over a fence to creep their way into an event like this, which, now I thought about it, was probably the case.
I acted instinctively, pulling Jessy into me and away from the pap. ‘No comment,’ I said, sternly.
‘Oh Patrick, don’t be –’
‘No comment.’ My tone sharpened. Seriously, would these guys ever get the fucking message? ‘No … comment,’ I repeated, slower this time, so the idiot would get the message.
The look of disappointment that swept across the journo’s face was swiftly replaced with an expression of warm delight – as he turned his attention to Jessy. ‘Jessica Donovan, isn’t it?’
‘She has no comment for you either,’ I snapped, my grip on Jessy’s warm shoulder tightening despite myself. ‘Now get out, before I call security.’
Tension throbbed taut across my temple as I glared at the guy. After what felt like an age he stuffed his phone into his pocket and stalked off.
Only then did I realize three things.
Firstly, that I was breathing way too hard.
Secondly, that I had absolutely no desire to let go of Jessy.
And thirdly, that she was standing so close to me I could feel her breathing.
Fuck. The way her breasts were pushed up against my chest … blood rushed down my body. Feeling her breathe against me should not be so sexy.
‘What – what just happened?’
The shake in her voice cooled me down immediately.
‘The way he just … are they all like that?’ Jessy looked up at me in horror. ‘I – how do you stand it?’
I hoped my face was nonchalant. ‘It’s just what it is.’
‘What it is?’ I felt Jessy’s shudder as well as saw it, her eyes almost blinking back tears. ‘I’m sorry, I just –’
‘Don’t worry, you’re fine. It’s the shock. The intrusion, it affects all of us weirdly. I’m … I’m sorry you had to deal with that,’ I muttered quietly.
More sorry than she could know. God, if I could protect her from all this – but hadn’t I tried avoiding the press even before this whole fake dating thing started? Dating a ‘normal’ – Wes’s term, not mine – was never going to stop the headlines.
‘He … he just reminded me of Ross,’ she whispered, so quietly I almost missed her words. I hadn’t, though.
‘Ross?’
She didn’t even need to speak. I could tell by the look on her face.
‘Oh. An ex. Right.’
Obviously she had dated before. Jessy was an absolute stunner; there was no way she hadn’t. Still, the thought of another man’s hand on hers, another man kissing –
OK, time to chill the fuck out, Patrick.
‘He was just like that,’ Jessy said, still quiet, nodding at the back of the man who was now attempting to get a photo with a pair of models. ‘Intrusive. Demanding. Pushy.’ She stepped even closer to me, and my breath hitched in my throat as she whispered, ‘Thank you. For handling that.’
I was not going to take pride in it. That I’d protected this woman who had somehow stopped being a stranger, and was now … I don’t know. Not a friend.
Friends didn’t kiss like I wanted to kiss her.
‘I get it,’ I said, as lightly as I could. ‘Part of the job is to keep the fans happy, you know. Selfies, and signing stuff – I never want These Exiles to get a reputation for not stopping for their fans. But paps are different.’
‘I just … I wish they’d give it up. They swarm my house every morning and I swear they’re doing it in shifts, there’s always someone there,’ Jessy was saying, with that bracing look I was starting to recognize.
‘I wish I had somewhere else to go, but I don’t want them turning up at my sister’s house. Or my best friend’s.’
I hadn’t realized the paps were still hounding her. The thought of her going back home alone tonight left me … unsettled.
‘Book a hotel.’ An easy solution.
She laughed, her hand splayed against my chest. When had that happened? ‘Book a room in a hotel for weeks on end. Sure.’
‘Just get Derek to sort it,’ I said with another shrug. ‘The record label will cover it. This is all their fault, after all.’ That wasn’t technically true, but what did it matter? They could afford it.
And if Derek kicked up a fuss, I’d just pay it. I could afford it too.
Jessy’s lips parted in astonishment. ‘Wh-What?’
‘Consider it one of the perks of dating me.’ I grinned, trying to lighten the mood.
Well, I wouldn’t say being hounded by the world’s media was a perk … but hell, if this was just a taste of what she’d be facing, I wanted her in a hotel. Safe.
‘So, what do I do?’ Jessy asked awkwardly. ‘Just … ring Derek and ask for a hotel room?’ Disbelief coloured her voice.
I tried to reassure her with a smile. ‘Yeah, that’s what I do if things get too much. I mean, I’m hounded by these people – day in, day out, I’m bombarded with it. Journos, paps, fans –’
The dark red flush that tinged Jessy’s cheeks was impossible to ignore.
Oh, yeah. She was a fan.
I swallowed. ‘Not fans like you, though. Obviously.’
A shy smile broke out on her face. ‘Why not fans like me?’
Cheers erupted to my left as a gaggle of people started leaning closer together, chattering wildly. Cassandra’s Chorus must have turned up – finally.
‘It’s just – you’re different.’
Different because you don’t stare at me like I’m some sort of sex god. Different because you haven’t quoted my own lyrics back to me, or asked for a selfie, or started to dog my every footstep.
Different than I thought. Different because you’re not here to get a story, but to experience one. And that’s attractive in a way I hadn’t expected.
All things I should have said. But didn’t.
Jessy grinned. ‘What, you’re telling me that most of your fans don’t appreciate your tie-dye disasters?’
‘Artwork, I think you’ll find it’s called,’ I shot back, even as she stepped out of my arms.
Which was probably a good idea. I’d started to feel really comfortable holding her.
‘Oh, artwork? So it’s supposed to look like a cat has –’
‘Hey, art is subjective, remember!’ I joked back at her, warmth spreading through me. It was all too easy to slip into familiar banter.
‘Those T-shirts are monstrosities.’ Jessy giggled, her whole body involved in the movement as she grinned at me. ‘Seriously, how can a guy as hot as you wear such … I mean, you’re an artist. Your lyrics. And then those T-shirts …’
‘All I’m hearing is that you think I’m hot.
’ I lived for the flush that travelled down her chest at having been caught out.
For once, I didn’t try to head off my appreciative stare, letting the success of this night loosen my inhibitions.
The silence grew between us, but instead of the usual awkwardness, this was filled with something else.
Something good.
Fuck. This never happened. I hadn’t expected to actually like this girl.
Her flush was deepening with every second I continued to gaze at her.
‘What time is it?’ She sounded winded.
I slipped my phone out of my pocket. ‘Half-eleven.’
‘Well,’ Jessy said brightly, ‘that should be enough time for Derek.’
She moved away – but only managed three steps before she had to stop. She looked down at where my hand was grabbing on to her wrist.
‘Where are you going?’
Jessy turned, her smile hitting me in the chest all over again. ‘Going? I’m leaving. We’ve fulfilled our contractual duties for the night, right?’
Leaving?
‘The night doesn’t have to end yet,’ I said, before I could stop myself.
‘Why?’ she said lightly. ‘It’s all fake. It’s not real, Patrick, none of this is. Any time we spend together is because of that contract, remember?’ Her soft words rang harshly in my ears.
A chill whispered across my skin, and it had nothing to do with the evening air. ‘Right.’
‘We’re just doing it to be seen, to help Laura – that’s what this is for. For Laura.’ Jessy held her head high, no shame in her statement. ‘Well, we’ve been seen. We’ve done what –’
A phone rang. Mine. Damn.
‘What?’ I asked, irritation sharpening my tone as I picked up.
‘Why hello, Patrick,’ Derek responded cheerfully. ‘Loving the official shots of you and Jessy. The two of you look nice and intimate standing close together like that. Well done.’ The brightness in his tone was pissing me off even more.
I swore under my breath as I looked around. ‘You seriously need to get a life, mate.’
‘You and your bandmates are my life,’ Derek said, sounding far too happy about it. ‘Anyways, I won’t take up much of your time. I was just calling to let you know I’ve had a taxi pick your mother up just outside of your location.’
My chest tightened. ‘You what?’
‘Yes, you can thank me later,’ he said smoothly. ‘Don’t worry about her – worry about Jessy. Now all we need is a few more public suggestions of affection, and you’ll be done for the night.’
My mouth went dry. ‘You can’t be –’
‘Go on, get on with it.’ The line went dead.
‘Patrick?’
I shoved my phone in my pocket as I looked into the eyes of the woman I was starting to find a little too enticing.
Go on, get on with it.
‘That was Derek.’ I pointed – unnecessarily, probably – to my pocket.
‘He was just warning me –’ I cut myself off.
I wasn’t ready to get into my mummy issues with Jessy.
Especially not when I was already feeling so raw from her rejection.
‘He wanted to remind us of … erm … the public suggestions of affection.’ Which was true.
Jessy swallowed. ‘Oh. Right.’
‘But you don’t have to –’ I began.
‘I know. But it’s OK,’ she said with a small smile.
What kind of smile? My brain tried to analyse it even as she stepped into my arms. Delighted? Worried? Cornered? Perhaps –
The kiss on my cheek should have been nothing. It was hardly even a kiss, just her lips brushing the stubble I hadn’t bothered to shave.
But, fucking hell, it was something. It was everything.
The warmth of her body pressed against mine, the shift of her breasts, her palm splayed on my chest, that scent, the way my hands immediately moved to capture her waist –
She’d been about to step back, but I halted her, keeping her close, nuzzling her cheek with my neck. God, I wanted this moment to last forever.
I felt – heard, sensed – the hitch in her breathing.
‘Patrick –’
‘I just wanted to say thank you,’ I murmured, my pulse skipping a beat. ‘For making this bearable. For being … yeah. Great.’
Jessy tilted her head up, her gaze meeting mine, and for a moment – a moment that ached far more keenly than it should have – I thought she was going to lean forward and press those pink lips to mine …
Jessy stepped out of my arms and gave me a teasing smile.
‘There. Public suggestions of affection complete,’ said the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, before she stepped away, leaving me emptier than I had ever felt.