Chapter Seven #2
Christine’s eyes grew wide. “Really? Why?” She hoped the answer would be that, despite her being drunk, it was the best kiss of his life. Or something along those lines.
Matt opened his mouth but was interrupted by the brunette’s arrival. He kept his eyes on Christine, and she returned his stare. Then, the brunette touched his arm.
“Uh, Christine, this is Cait. Cait, this is Christine.”
“Hello, Christine. I’ve heard great things about you,” Cait said.
Christine wanted to walk away but knew it would be rude. “I can’t imagine what you’ve heard.” She looked at Matt, worried it was about the Fireball-and-cookie night.
“I may have told her about the dancing naked people fiasco,” Matt said.
“Ah, yes. Quite a night,” Christine said.
“Matt,” Austin yelled. “Come here.”
Matt excused himself, leaving Cait and Christine alone.
Christine regretted not having a drink. She needed something to relax her.
She had this sudden odd fear she was going to blurt out her feelings for Matt.
She wished Cait had left with him. Their eyes moved around the room, the conversation stalled, and they stood there.
“So,” Cait finally said. “Matt told me you’re a song plugger.”
“I am. And you?”
“I work in banking. Loan officer. Nothing exciting,” Cait said.
“Exciting can be overrated. For example, dancing naked people,” Christine said with a subtle motion of her hand.
“True, but you have better stories.”
“How do you know Matt?” Christine asked, dreading that the answer would confirm they were a couple.
“He came in for a loan when he bought his house. We became friends,” Cait said. Christine latched on to the word “friends.” Maybe that was it. Like she and Austin were friends. Maybe nothing romantic was going on.
Cait started talking again. “We go out from time to time. Nothing serious yet. But it’s been nice. Who knows, right?” Cait shrugged.
Christine was glad she hadn’t eaten. If she had, she was sure she’d have vomited right there in the foyer. “Rain check” had just become a rainstorm.
“Ya never know,” she said before Matt returned.
“I swear, Austin relies on me for every detail necessary to live his life. He’d forget his pants if I wasn’t around to remind him to wear them,” Matt said.
“Job security,” Cait said with a laugh.
“True that,” Matt said.
Christine didn’t want to be a part of this threesome any longer, and when she noticed Phoebe walking toward the bathroom, she took the excuse to talk to Austin.
“Nice meeting you, Cait. Later, Matt.”
Christine was falling apart inside. She knew she had no right to be angry.
Matt hadn’t come on to her that night. She had come on to him.
But still, he had kissed her back. Then again, he had also stopped things from going any further.
Now she knew why. He had a girlfriend. She groaned as she approached Austin.
“What’s with the groaning?”
“Oh, was that my out-loud groan?”
He reached his arm around her shoulders and gave her a side hug just as Phoebe emerged from the bathroom.
Phoebe glared at Christine when she saw her spot had been taken.
She turned her back and joined Julianna, who was casually looking at her watch.
Sometimes, it was difficult to find the right mix of people, no matter how cool you were.
“Thanks for the invitation, but I’m going to gather up whoever wants to leave and head out,” Christine told Austin.
“So soon? You’ve only been here a couple of hours. You seem a little unsociable. And taciturn.”
Christine laughed so loudly that she started to cough. “Taciturn? What the hell?”
“I couldn’t find any movies to watch a few days ago and ended up with Pride and Prejudice . I’ve been dying to use that line. It sounds so . . . I don’t know. British.”
“ Pride and Prejudice . You’re a Jane Austen fan?” Christine asked.
“I don’t know. Who’s she?”
“The woman who wrote Pride and Prejudice ,” Christine said.
“Maybe. Is she attractive?”
“She’s dead.”
“Oh, not so attractive, then. All I know is Keira Knightley’s in it, and she has a rocking bod. And Mr. Darcy is the shit. I want to be like that dude. He’s rich, cool, and in the end, he got the girl.”
“Austin, you never cease to amaze me.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. Have I convinced you to stay and party?”
Christine looked around the room, spotting Cait’s arm resting lightly around Matt’s waist.
“Nope. Two hours is my limit. Shy of Mr. Darcy walking in and sweeping me off my feet, I’m out of here.”
“Okay. We’ll talk soon. And you know, you can call me now and again. You don’t have to wait to hear from me all the time.”
“I’ll remember that.”
His comment cheered her up, making her feel warm and fuzzy, and a little gutsy.
She reached up and kissed his cheek. He surprised her by dipping her down, disco dance style, and kissing her cheek.
She giggled loudly. Christine never giggled.
When she turned around, Matt was staring with an expression she couldn’t read. She looked away.
She walked over to her friends. “Ladies, I’m out of here. You can leave with me or take an Uber.”
“Oh, I’m totally staying,” Phoebe said, barely glancing in Christine’s direction as she left to take up her spot beside Austin.
“I’m ready to go, but what about Matt? Don’t you want to make your move?” Julianna said.
Christine pointed to where Matt stood with Cait, her arm resting casually around his shoulders.
“Oh, Christine.” Julianna reached for her hand. Christine snatched it away.
“Don’t. I’m barely holding it together, and any affection from anyone will send me over the edge.”
Julianna nodded. “Okay. Let’s get out of here.”
Christine looked across the room to where Matt was. She lifted her right arm and wiggled her fingers at him.
He looked over at Austin, with Phoebe’s arm around him, staking her claim.
He looked back at Christine and shook his head.
He started to walk toward her and she put her hands up and stopped him with a shake of her head.
She couldn’t talk to him any more tonight, knowing he was leaving the party with another woman.
She just wanted to get out of there. Cait turned around and looked between Matt and Christine. Christine bolted out the door.
THE NEXT MORNING, CHRISTINE lay in bed, cuddled in her sheets, not wanting to move. Her eyes felt puffy, probably from her crying jag. Christine rarely cried, but last night, her heart had felt broken. She allowed herself to wallow until she fell asleep. All she wanted to do was stay in bed.
Her cell phone went off. “Oh, come on. It’s Sunday.” Granted, she should probably be in church. She used to go every week. Her faith hadn’t changed, just her habits. She leaned over and focused on the tiny print on her phone.
It was from Austin. I couldn’t sleep. I need a song and want more to choose from. Do you have anything new to play me?
I do have one I think you’ll really like, Christine said, knowing exactly what song she could play him.
It had just come in from one of their writers and she had taken it before any of the other pluggers could get it.
She had meant to mention it at the party but was derailed by seeing Matt with another woman.
He said, Want to grab a bite?
Sure, why not, she texted back. After watching Matt with Cait last night, she needed a win, and maybe this morning would give it to her.
I’ll call you later. Maybe we can get brunch somewhere.
Okay.
THEY MET AT THE PANCAKE PANTRY , and Austin put in his earbuds to listen to her song. After one listen, he was humming along.
“I like it. It’s got a solid lyric and the melody is memorable,” he said.
“Mid-tempos tend to do well. It has the potential to research with the audience, which radio will love,” she said.
“There it is again. The word ‘research.’”
“I know. Music used to be about a gut reaction. About passion. Writers would pen a tune that an artist loved, and the record label would get excited and decide to release it. They’d take it to radio, who would also get excited, and they’d play it and run it up the charts.
Now everything is put into a formula where we poll a few and ignore the masses. ”
“And all we want to do is write songs and sing,” Austin said.
“And all I want to do is work my songs and get artists to cut them,” Christine said, hoping Austin would take the hint.
“And then you deal with artists like me who make you wait for their answer on those songs. I swear I’m not trying to be difficult. I just need the right follow-up to ‘Promises to Me.’ It was so big and I can’t afford to miss,” he said, taking a bite of his pancake.
“I know. I can be patient. But feel free to give me that good news anytime you want.”
He laughed as if she was joking. She wasn’t, but she couldn’t tell him that.
They finished their coffee and walked out to their cars. As Christine got closer to hers, she noticed a piece of paper stuck under the windshield wiper. “Why would I get a ticket in a parking lot?” she said.
Austin reached over and pulled the paper out of the wipers.
He read the note. Yo, ugly bitch. Stay the hell away from Austin or plan to pay.
Christine frantically looked around, expecting someone to jump out and attack her. “Someone was this close to us? They know my car?”
“This has gone too far. You have to let me do something about it.” Austin’s face turned red, and his hand formed a fist. He saw a man getting into his car and said, “Hey! Hey, you. Did you leave this note on my friend’s car?”
The guy flipped him off.
“Austin, the person is probably long gone. And I doubt it’s a guy. Why would a guy be jealous of me?”
“I understand fans can get a little possessive, but this has gone too far. I should have stopped it months ago.”
“How? What can you do? Nothing that won’t make it worse. Just let it go.”
Austin cursed under his breath.
“Please, Austin. For now, just ignore it. It’s bound to go away.”
“You’ve been saying that for months. It ain’t going away, sweetheart. I’m telling you, if it keeps up, I will do something. Have you made a police report yet?”
“Yes. I turned in the letter I got in the mail and documented the rest of what’s happened. I’ll add this to it.” She put the note into her purse.
“Good. Don’t let up.”
He hugged her goodbye, tucked her into her car, motioned to lock the door, and walked away.
Christine took a couple of deep breaths and waited for her hands to stop shaking before starting the car.
She kept an eye on the rearview mirror, just in case someone was following her.
When she turned onto her street, there was nobody behind her.
She rushed home, ran up the stairs, and looked right, left, and behind her before unlocking her door and slamming it shut.
She leaned against it, shaking on the inside.