FanGirl Squeal (RockStars of Romance Book 1) (36 page)

****

“Four months!” Troy hollered in my ear.

Of course, I called him as soon as Cash’s G-Class pulled out
of my driveway.

“Yes,” I replied. “We’re taking a break until Victoria has
the baby.”

“That’s bullshit,” Troy declared. “Cash lives twenty minutes
away. Y’all ain’t going to last four days, let alone four months. Y’all both
are so dumb. You just go around creating drama for yourself. This baby doesn’t
even have to be a big deal! You and him are making it to be bigger than it
really is. Come on now, even Bow-Wow has a baby mama these days. I swear to the
Gods, it’s like your relationship has a self-destruct button and both of you
got your finger hovering over the damn thing while triple-dog daring each other
to push it. Y’all get on my nerves.”

“Thanks for the heartfelt display of empathy, Troy,” I
grumbled.

“You want empathy, call Brandon or Amy. I’m not going to
sugarcoat anything. Besides, you don’t need empathy. You need a damn
relationship therapist or a marriage counselor. I can’t talk to you about this
right now. I got Ashley Greene in my chair. I’ll see you when I get home. Bye,
Banana.”

I tossed my phone on the sofa and left it there. I went
downstairs to my quiet sanctuary and stared at Cash’s guitar mounted on my
wall.

Troy is wrong. I don’t my relationship to self-destruct. I
just need some time. That’s it, just a little time to get myself together and
prepare for another side of my man. I have Real Cash, Celebrity Cash, and now
Baby Daddy Cash. No matter what anyone thinks, that’s a lot to deal with.

Maybe I should just go back to being the unofficial
president of his unofficial fan club. Life was considerably easier before I met
the man of my dreams, when a relationship with him was just a fantasy.

“Whew-hoo! Lookin’ good, baby! Where are you going?”

Victoria’s voice startled Cash who was standing in front of
his dresser in just his socks and boxer briefs.

“I know I look good,” Cash replied smugly. He grabbed his
jeans off the bed and threw them on. “What are you doing here, Vic?”

“I stopped by to see if you’d go look at this house in
Encino with me.”

Cash looked around for his shirt. Since his relationship was
on hiatus, Victoria had taken to dropping by his condo unannounced every few
days. When Cash complained about it, his mother had suggested that Victoria didn’t
want to be around her friends who were still all about the life of young
Hollywood actresses and socialites since she had to take a break from that
lifestyle for a while. Jennifer had insisted that Victoria felt comfortable
with him and his family and scolded her son for thinking there was anything
more to it.

“I already told you that Encino was too far for my kid to live
so why would I go see a house that I’m not paying for and I don’t want you to
buy?”

“Since you’re not paying for it, why do you care where I
live? I’m not leaving the state, Cash. We’re not going to be more than
forty-five minutes to an hour away.”

“There are properties around here that are just fine. Buy
one of those.”

Cash slipped a thin platinum herringbone chain over his head
and combed his fingers through his hair. He walked past Victoria out of the
bedroom knowing she would follow. He stuffed his phone and car keys into his
pocket.

“Where are you going?” Victoria asked again.

“I have an interview with Radar,” he replied anxiously. “Then
I might take Savannah to dinner.”

“She’s speaking to you again? I though you broke up a couple
of weeks ago.”

Before Cash could answer, Victoria waddled past Cash into
the kitchen straight towards the fridge. Cash chuckled to himself. Victoria was
using her pregnancy to finally eat whatever she wanted and raided Cash and
Brittany’s junk food stash every chance she got. Lately, he’d been keeping a
supply of cheap bologna and American cheese just for her weird new craving.

“Hurry up and make your sandwich. I gotta go. And we didn’t
break up,” Cash shouted. “She just needs a little time to adjust to me having a
kid with you.”

Victoria came out of the kitchen with two bologna sandwiches
on white bread and a pickle sitting on a Styrofoam plate and a bag of chips in
her hand. Her growing belly led the way.

“It’s been a month,” Victoria said around a mouth full of
bologna and cheese. “You want me to talk to her?”

Cash burst out laughing. “That’s cute. No, I don’t want you
to talk to her. Do not call, text, email, Facebook, tweet, or IG my girlfriend.
And since you’re making yourself comfortable, can you take Brittany to the
dealership after school to pick up her car? She was supposed to drop it off
before school.”

“Sure, I’ll pick her up. Have a good interview. Try not to
talk about me too much.”

****

The Radar Magazine interview took place at their office downtown.
It was a cover story, a huge detail that Tracy insisted that she told him and
Cash could not recall being told. If he had known that he was the cover story,
he would have backed out weeks ago. A cover story meant a photo shoot and an
in-depth interview discussing topics he had no interest in discussing.

“Stop being a diva,” Tracy snapped at him while Cash sat in
the stylist’s chair.

“I wasn’t talking to you, Trace,” Cash fires back. “I was
talking to Troy.”

Troy snickered while he rubbed a small dollop of gel into
Cash’s hair. Cash snickered too. He had called Toy at the very last minute to
do his hair for the shoot. Cash normally didn’t travel with hair and makeup
people because 1) he wasn’t a girl and 2) his hair was low maintenance anyway.
But having Troy on set offered him a chance to find out exactly what was going
on with Savannah since they hadn’t seen each other in a couple of weeks and he
wanted to be prepared for their date.

“And did you tell them not to ask about Vic and the baby?”

“Absolutely not,” Tracy replied sharply. “I booked this
cover nearly a year ago. I promised a wedding exclusive. If you remember
correctly, you’re supposed to be getting married next weekend. It’s not their
fault you and Victoria decided to whip up an even juicier story. They still get
their exclusive.”

Cash mumbled a number of obscenities under his breath and
prayed that he wouldn’t have to answer too many questions about his situation.
He certainly didn’t want Savannah reading the interview and growing even more
distant than she already was.

He was losing her. It didn’t take actual words for that to
be clear. She had asked for time and space so he reluctantly gave her what she
wanted.

He couldn’t cut ties with Victoria even though he was sure
that doing so would help the situation. No matter what had happened with their
relationship, she was part of his family now. She needed him more than ever.
Things would change once she had the baby since her mother was moving out to
L.A. to help her with Christina. She wouldn’t depend on Cash as much once her
mom was here. Still, every time she popped up at his house or they attended a
parenting class or doctor’s appointment there was always someone snapping a
picture and causing waves in his relationship. He hadn’t spoken to Savannah in
over a week and she was all that she wanted.

He had a longing desire for her that a few minutes on Red
Tube and a bottle of KY couldn’t take away. He needed her body. He needed to feel
her touch, to hear the softness of her voice. He needed the love of his life
back in his life or he was going to implode.

Troy patted his shoulder and told him that they were ready
for him on set. Wearing a pair of loose fitting black jeans and a tight V-neck
shirt; Cash stepped in front of the gray backdrop and left his personal issues
back in the dressing room. He was there to work.

Two hours and two hundred pictures later, Cash put Bonnie
back in her guitar case and sat on a comfy leather sofa with Chanel Nicholson,
Radar’s most respected and talented editor.

Cash had never interviewed with Chanel before but he knew
her work. She’d written some great stories for Vibe Magazine and Rolling Stone
before coming to Radar. The interview started the same as practically every
interview he’d ever done. Same small talk about the album and tour and his
recently acquired endorsement deal with Pepsi.

Cash always gave great interviews, no matter who the
interviewer was. He had just the right amount of charm, charisma, and humility
about him that interviewers loved. He was particularly fond of female writers
because nine times out of ten, they were fans.

Chanel wasn’t an exception. She smiled, flirted, and batted
her lashes at him. Cash returned her flirtiness, turning their interview into
something more of a dance than a tennis match.

“Cash,” Chanel’s big brown eyes met his with a mischievous
smile, “you know I have to ask the good stuff. The juicy details that our
readers pay for, right?

Cash flashed his signature smile at her despite groaning on
the inside. “Sure. Let’s do it.”

“First, let’s talk about your fans. When it comes to
overzealous fans and fandoms, there is no shortage,” Chanel smirked. “Rihanna
has her Navy. Beyoncé has the Beyhive. Justin and the Beliebers, the One
Directioners...the list goes on. But that makes sense because those people are
pop royalty. However, Team Cash is just as big and you don’t often see that
with the singer/songwriter types. Your fandom, for lack of a better word, is
huge. Why do you think that is? What gives you the kind of star power of a
Beyoncé or Beiber?”

Cash leaned back on the sofa and carefully thought about his
answer. No one had ever asked him why he had so many fans before.

“As much as I would like to say it’s because I make great music,
I can’t say that. I do make great music, don’t get me wrong,” he laughed. “But
I honestly don’t know. It’s a very humbling experience being this famous where
my name is mentioned in the same sentence or with the same reverence as Beyoncé.
I try to keep my life as normal as possible but how normal is it when I’m
walking down the street and seeing people walking around in t-shirts with my
name and face on them?”

“I can’t imagine that. But isn’t this what you’ve always
wanted?”

“I can’t say that I wanted to be famous to this caliber,”
Cash honestly answered. “I’m just a kid from Boston who wasn’t good enough to
play professional sports. Music was a hobby for me. It was something that I
truly enjoyed but doubted I could make a career out of it. Everyone told me
that the world doesn’t need another John Mayer. I just thank God that people
related to my music enough that I’m able to make a living just making music.”

“You’re so humble and so incredibly talented which is
reflected in your music. That’s something that you don’t see often. Your
onstage persona is the same off stage. Do you think that is what makes you so
attractive to your fans?”

“That and my eyes,” Cash joked. “At least that’s what I’ve
been told.”

“That’s true,” Chanel smiled. “Eight years and three albums
later, you have accomplished so much in such a short time. What else does the
kid from Boston want? Are you ready to leave music alone and so something else?”

Cash shook his head. “Never,” he said adamantly. “I’m not
even thirty yet. I’ve never been to college. I’m never going to be a pitcher
for the Red Sox or play for the Celtics. Music is what I love and what I’m good
at. As long as I have a voice and all of my fingers, I’ll still crank out
albums and tour.”

“Don’t you want to settle down?”

“I see what you’re doing so go ahead and ask the question
that’s gonna have this issue flying off the stands.” Cash wasn’t smiling
anymore. He knew it was coming so let the chips fall where they may.

“Okay,” Chanel said slowly. “What is going on with you and
Victoria? Less than a year ago, you proposed. This was supposed to be a cover
story about the major step your life was taking. Now you’re not together and
the rumor mill is going crazy. Can you put any of the rumors flying around to
rest?”

“None of the rumors are ever going to rest,” Cash replied. “If
I say yes, then you guys will have us walking down the aisle or secretly
married in Vegas by the time this goes to print. If I say no, you will crucify
her for being the reason we broke up. I know how this works.”

“But,” Chanel pressed forward, “it’s still nice to have the
truth out there, don’t you think?”

“Why?” Cash asked defensively. “The truth is stretched and
distorted into what makes a good story so often that no one knows what to
believe. Here’s the thing,” Cash continued. “For reasons we’re choosing not to
disclose, Victoria and I didn’t work out. We don’t hate each other, nor are we
still in love. She’ll always be family and a good friend.”

Chanel frowned at Cash and clicked off her digital recorder.

“That sounds exactly like the press statesmen your publicist
released. I’m not trying to invade your personal life, Cash, but this is an
exclusive cover story. There are pictures of you and Victoria together. Her
people confirmed that she’s pregnant. Rumor is that you’re getting back
together. You have to talk about some of this.”

Tracy approached Cash with a scornful glare. He unfolded his
arms and averted his eyes.

“Do not do this!” Tracy hissed. “Why are you acting like
this? No one gives a shit that you don’t want to talk about it. Your job is to
talk about it. Do your job, Cash.”

Cash stood up and grabbed Tracy’s elbow. He ushered her a
few feet away from Chanel.

“Stop talking to me like I’m your child. This is a print
interview. It’s not like I’m sitting down with Oprah. I’ll give her what I
want. I didn’t promise exclusivity, you did. I’m not answering questions about
Victoria. Either deal with it or let me leave.”

“You’re only hurting yourself!” Tracy shouted as Cash walked
away.