Behind Closed Doors (9 page)

“He was sleeping in, he didn’t have to be at work until noon, so I left him at my house and went to work. For some reason I felt sick that day. I had a bad headache so I left work, desperate to get home to bed. That’s when I found him in my bed with some woman. A woman I’d never seen before and never want to see again. He told me it meant nothing, said that he loved me, but the damage was done. I told him to leave. He called my phone every hour, messaged me continually, I ended up changing my phone number and made it a private listing.”

Jayce’s mouth twisted into a smile at the mention of my privately listed number. 

“And then I came here. An attempt at a fresh start or something like that.”

I hadn’t cried. I had talked of Brody and I hadn’t cried! I looked to Jayce and I noticed a fierce expression on his face.

His piercing gaze met mine. “He’s an absolute idiot,” he said bluntly. ”Thank you for sharing that with me, I don’t know why, but I wanted to know more about him. I wanted to know about the dick that cheated on you.”

His tone was serious, which took me by surprise. Tears began to well in my eyes and it wasn’t because I talked about my ex-boyfriend. It was because I was so touched by Jayce’s reaction. His words meant so much to me, more than they should.

“No, don’t cry,” Jayce whispered as he wrapped an arm around me.

“I’m sorry, Kyla.” He whispered softly. I loved the way my name sounded when uttered by him. His tongue caressed each letter and made it sound so much more beautiful. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” I repeated, as if I was not only trying to convince him, but myself.

“I could kill him for doing this to you.”

He lifted my chin gently with his forefinger and our eyes met, mine teary and his fiery. I felt his warm breath hit my lips before he pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of my mouth. I desperately wanted him to kiss me. More than just a peck, but he was looking at me as if he needed my permission to continue. I traced my tongue along my bottom lip and that was all the encouragement he needed. His tongue came crashing into my mouth as his hands grabbed me around the waist, pulling me onto his lap. I wrapped my hands around his neck and ran my fingers through his hair. The kiss was wild and desperate, his tongue assaulting my mouth as a moan escaped from the back of his throat. I felt him harden beneath me, rubbing himself against the curve of my ass.

“Fuck,” Jayce broke away from my mouth and rubbed his free hand over his face. “I’m so sorry. We have to stop.”

I slid off his lap and adjusted my skirt. He pulled his jeans down to loosen the fabric around his bulge and I couldn’t deny the pleasure I felt at having aroused him.

“Anyone could just walk in here.” Jayce stood and walked over to his chair, grabbing his bottle of water, he downed half its contents in one long mouthful. He ran his fingers through his hair before looking at me.

“Can I see you?”

Words eluded me as I considered what he was asking me.

“I mean, see you outside of this?” he gestured to the room we were sitting in.

“What do you mean, 
see
 me?”

“I just need to see you without the threat of someone walking in, away from all the cameras.”

“Okay,” I responded tentatively.

He sensed my uncertainty and attempted to explain himself.

“I want to be clear, I don’t want to meet with you for some kind of booty call. I just want to talk to you… get to know you.”

I was relieved that he wasn’t asking me to meet him for sex like some kind of groupie. I don’t know why, but I trusted him. Anything that came out of his mouth I would have believed.

“Sure,” I said, this time in a more convincing tone.

“Great. I’ll text you okay?” he said, awaiting my consent.

“Sure. I believe you already have my number.”

He chuckled lightly before picking up his laptop and sitting on the couch next to me once again.

And just like flicking a switch, we were back to work. The theme for the week was country music. Jayce handed me the laptop with a list of songs on the screen. Country wasn’t really my genre, but I was surprised by how many songs I knew and liked.

“I think I will sing 
You’re Still the One
.”

“Shania Twain,” he nodded. “I like that song.”

He was close to me again, his knee touching mine. The contact was enough to cause my breathing to fasten and my heart to beat rapidly in my chest. It would have taken little effort for me to bend forward and meet his lips.

Just when I built up the courage to make the first move, the moment was interrupted by the band shuffling into the room. Jayce printed out the sheet music and handed it to me, his fingertips gently brushed against my hand. The contact sent a shiver down my spine and I wondered how one man could have such an effect on me. It was a dangerous, unnerving feeling and it should have scared the hell out of me. But instead, I was excited.

***

That night I sat on my bed staring at my phone mindlessly, waiting for it to light up with a text from a certain someone. I tried to rid my mind of all things Jayce, but I couldn’t shake the thought of his lips on mine. My heart skipped a beat when a new text came through. I opened it and sighed when I saw it was message from Rebecca asking how I was.

I hadn’t spoken to her in over a week and I instantly felt guilty for not being a better friend. I dialed her number, figuring a conversation with my oldest friend would take my mind off Jayce.

“Hey superstar,” she answered after one ring.

“Hey Bec. How are you?”

“Oh, you know, I’ve been busy fielding all your fan phone calls and text messages, it’s almost a full-time job.”

Since 
Dreamers
 started airing, Rebecca had been receiving contact from all sorts of people I’d known at some point in my life. Most were looking to renew a friendship with me on the off chance that I would become famous. My change in phone number meant everyone was contacting my oldest friend, Bec.

“Has 
he
 been calling?” I asked, not sure if I wanted to know the answer.

“Every other day, Ky,” Rebecca paused. “He says he’s not giving up on you. He’s certain you will forgive him.”

“Have you asked about 
her
?”

When I spoke to Rebecca over a week ago, I asked her to find out more details about Brody’s ‘girlfriend’. Rebecca pleaded with me to forget it, that it wouldn’t help me to know more details about 
Red
. I disagreed. I needed to know how long the affair had been going on. I wanted to know exactly how much of an idiot I’d been to believe that Brody loved me.

“I asked about the woman,” Rebecca sighed heavily into the phone. “Are you sure you want to know?”

“Tell me everything.” I commanded as I reclined on my bed, letting my head rest on the cushions beneath me.

“She’s a cop.”

Those three words hit me hard and I felt the blood drain from my face as I processed this new piece of information.

“They work together.” I murmured. It came out as a statement, not a question.

“Kyla, I don’t think this is really going to help-”

“Tell me everything he said,” I choked out.

“It happened twice,” Rebecca said meekly. “Once in a squad car and then,” another pause, “well, you know what happened the second time.”

Their first time had been in a police car. I felt sick to my stomach that Brody would have an affair, but to start it by fucking a co-worker in a squad car? That was just wrong.

“Why?” I swiped at the stubborn tear that escaped from the corner of my eye.

“Why what?”

“Why the fuck did he do it?” I didn’t recognize my own voice, it sounded harsh and desperate.

“He said you changed over the past six months. You were distant and seemed withdrawn.” There was that word again, 
distant
. “The red head had been pursuing him, she made it clear she wanted him and he caved.”

Silence. I didn’t respond and Rebecca didn’t say anything further. I could faintly hear her breathing on the other end of the line, but other than that, we sat in silence.

“He says he loves you more than anything, Ky,” Rebecca waited for my response, but I couldn’t talk for fear of more tears escaping. “I believe him.” Rebecca stated simply.

I wanted to hang up on her, but I knew I’d asked for this. I had insisted she tell everything she knew, despite her better judgment.

“We will never be together again,” I said coldly, “and you can tell him that from me, Bec.”

“Okay, babe. I will.”

The line fell silent, both of us not knowing what to say next. I could hear Rebecca doodling with a pencil, as she often did when she was on the phone.

“You going to be okay?” she asked, sounding concerned.

I paused for a long moment, really contemplating the question. 
Would I be okay?
 I thought of Jayce’s lips on mine and I answered with conviction. “Yeah, Bec. I’ll be just fine.”

Chapter 9

Wednesday was always a stressful day in terms of the competition. We had our final rehearsals on stage in preparation for the live show the following day. My rehearsal went by without a hitch and I felt confident with the song I chose. Jayce hadn’t said much during the hour we’d spent together.

There was always a band member or camera around, which made it impossible to talk freely. I was about to leave the room when I felt someone grab my arm. I spun around to find Jayce standing behind me.

“I know a place we can meet,” he said as he still held onto my arm.

I could smell the mint on his breath, mixed with his usual sweet scent.

“Where?”

“It’s not far from your house. It will take you thirty minutes by car. I can text you the details and you can plug it into a GPS.”

I nodded.

“This evening?” he asked hopefully.

“Uh, I guess so,” I answered.

“Great, I’ll see you then.”

And with that, he was gone. He casually strolled out of the room, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. I could feel the excitement rush through my body. Or was it nerves? I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t have long to mull it over. I had to get back to the house and work out what I was going to wear for my secret rendezvous.

I was in the car, on my way back to the house when I received Jayce’s text with the address of our secret meeting place. He said he would be there at six o’clock, which gave me a little over an hour to get changed and touch-up my makeup.

I changed into blue skinny jeans and a white singlet top, dressing modestly on purpose, not wanting to make too much of the meeting.

At the house, there were two cars at our disposal. Most of the contestants used the cars to run errands or meet friends, as it were in my case; I was using the car to meet my coach. By quarter to six, I was getting behind the wheel of the Prius. I was running late, but figured it was better to be late than early. That would scream desperate, which I wasn’t…

I entered the address into the GPS and followed the directions to what appeared to be a horse stable just outside of Burbank. I pulled into a car space, leaving some distance between my car and a black SUV, which I assumed was Jayce’s. There were no other cars in the lot and I could see the shadow of a person sitting in the drivers seat.

I sat in my car, pretending to busy myself in the glove compartment, while really trying to calm my nerves. I took a deep breath and got out of the car, adjusting my jeans as I approached the SUV.

The passenger door pushed open and I stepped up into the car. I settled myself on the passenger seat before I looked up at Jayce’s face.

“Hey,” he smiled. He had changed clothes also. He was wearing cargo shorts and a black tee that was tight in all the right places. He wore black sunglasses, covering his gorgeous eyes.

“Hey yourself.”

“Thanks for meeting me. I was convinced you weren’t going to show.”

I smiled and looked down at my lap shyly. I wondered if Jayce could tell that I was nervous or if I just came across as standoffish.

“A horse stable, huh?” 

He nodded. “Alex, from the band, bought his little girl a horse and she’s stabled here. I came here with them once and remembered this place was somewhat secluded.”

“You meet a lot of girls here?” I questioned.

He exhaled and his face turned serious. “I understand why you may think that, but honestly, I don’t do this.” He signaled between him and me.

“I can’t explain it, I just feel drawn to you and it was difficult trying to deal with this at the studio. I just thought it would be better to meet on neutral ground and discuss what 
this
 is.”

“Okay.”

“Sooo,” he drew out, “am I alone here or do you have mutual feelings for me?”

I debated for a long time how to answer his loaded question.

“When you kissed me,” I took a deep breath, “it was amazing.” I paused and I noticed he was grinning. The pleased expression disappeared from his face when I continued talking.  “Then you turned into a totally different person, you were moody and to be quite honest, you were an ass.”

He smirked. “I deserve that. I acted poorly. I was overcome by what I was feeling and I was so mad at myself for kissing you. It was reckless, but it felt so right.”

“But you’re married.” I responded bluntly. It was the first time either of us had brought up his marital status. I would be lying if I said it hadn’t been playing on my mind.

“Technically, yes.”

“What do you mean 
technically
?”

“I’m married, but we haven’t been a couple for a very long time.”

I knit my eyebrows together in question.

“We have different priorities and lead separate lives. I am based here in LA, she spends most of her time in New York.”

“So you see other people?” I’d heard about these open relationships, but hadn’t known anyone who was a part of one.

“Not exactly.”

“Well, how do you explain this?”

I was beginning to get a little agitated by his vague answers, the whole arrangement between Jayce and his wife sounded like a mess, one that I didn’t want to become entangled in.