Finding Kat (4 page)

“Hey Ty, what’s the difference between a savings bond and a drummer?” He paused to see if Tyson would answer. “One matures and starts to make money.” Cade finished, with a laugh.

Cade turned to us with a smile and a shrug and said “Welcome to the after party. It’s not nearly as exciting as you’d think. We don’t let groupies back here anymore. There was an incident and let’s just say we learned our lesson. We don’t really have any crazy plans for tonight either, if that’s what you’re looking for. Most of our families came down for the show and we have plans to go hang out tomorrow so we’re going home early tonight.”

“Oh no!” I felt the need to say quickly, “Don’t change your plans for us. I just thought it would be cool to meet everyone. I’ve got to get up early tomorrow for work and I can’t stay long.”

“I’m the one with nefarious plans. I work for Beverly West for the Morning Show and they’ve been trying to get you guys to put in an appearance forever. I’ll give you my card if for some crazy reason you decide to come on.”

“You’ve actually got great timing Ally. We just finished up our tour tonight and are set for a break and some studio time. We’ve been at it for a while and plan to spend this year writing, recording and marketing for the next album. I’ll call our manager and have him contact your show. It’s just the kind of thing we’re looking to do now.”

I couldn’t help but smile, proud of my friend. She worked hard to get her job and to be taken seriously. So many men in her line of work didn’t see women as anything more than objects to bring in more viewers and bigger talent. But Ally was smart and knew how to talk to people. She knew how to convince people to help her while making it seem like it was their idea. She was a sneaky one; you never knew what she had up her sleeve.

“Great!” Ally beamed. “Now tell me all your funny groupie stories!”

We sat down and sipped on drinks while listening to all the stories they had to share. They had come across some crazy fanatics, not that this was a surprise. I knew all kinds of stuff happened behind the scenes that no one in the public ever found out about. It was so nice to hang out with the band and discover that they were normal people. They had big personalities but it just added to their likability.

After an hour or so, I stood up and announced that I had to get home. They had plans with their families the next day and were probably too polite to kick us out. I was surprised when Cade offered to walk me to my car. We hadn’t talked much beyond a few jokes and I wasn’t really sure why he felt like risking a mob attacking just to talk to me for a few more minutes.

He opened the door to the back stage area and we walked in silence for a while. It was a comfortable silence with no pressure to talk.

“How'd you like the show?” He asked after a few minutes.

"It was amazing! My first concert ever. I'm so happy I decided to come." I grinned into the darkness.

"Your first concert ever. No shit! How have you lived this long without ever going to a concert?" He stopped walking to look at me.

"Well, I’ve been pretty busy. I've been doing commercials and films since I was about four. Any break I got was spent in music lessons and dance lessons and any other lesson you could think of. My mom is a major stage mom." I grimaced. I had led a pretty sheltered life up to this point.

"Wow. What made you pick our show to see for your first one?" He asked as we resumed walking. I was glad I had parked so far away.

"I’ve been listening to your music since you released your first CD. I'm sure you remember how long ago that was." I laughed. "I love your lyrics and the instrumentals are what inspired me to learn to play guitar along with piano."

"I had no idea you were such a fan girl! You seemed so unimpressed." He winked at me and smiled.

"You should have seen me during the concert. I'm going to be in trouble tomorrow for having no voice."

We finally made it to my car and I pushed the button on my remote to start it. I looked up at him and felt a pull that I couldn't explain and had never felt before. There was something about him that drew me in and it had nothing to do with his rock star persona.

"Thanks for walking me out, Cade. Hopefully we will run into each other again sometime." I opened my door and paused when he grabbed my hand.

"I'm sure we will see each other again. I look forward to it." He pulled me closer and slowly brushed his lips across my cheek. I couldn't suppress the shudder of pleasure that I felt at his touch.

Our eyes met and we just connected for a minute. I saw emotions I couldn't name in his eyes but felt the same spark of interest returned.

The moment passed and I climbed into my car and buckled up. I waved once and drove away. I couldn't help the giggle that escaped when I saw that he was just standing there watching as my car disappeared.

CADE

I watched her drive away and wondered about who she was and where she came from. I remembered seeing her in the crowd.

Her eyes were closed and she was moving and feeling every note the guys played. She didn’t look like the groupie type. Her dress was expensive and well-tailored. Every now and then, I glanced down from my position on the stage and saw Chris with his head bent down to hers. I was curious about their conversation. I hoped she wasn’t his girlfriend. It would be damned inconvenient to have a hard on for my brother’s girl.

When I met her back stage, I was even more drawn to her than I was from a distance. She seemed so together and didn’t seem to care that I was a rock star. She talked to all of us like we were just guys she met in a normal setting. It was refreshing. We were in Hollywood so I couldn’t rule out the possibility that she worked for a celebrity and was used to this kind of thing, or had rich parents who worked in the movie industry.  She didn’t seem like the type, though. I was surprised when she told Chris she was an actor. She made it sound like she hadn’t done much work. I felt kind of bad. I wanted this girl to succeed. The idea that she struggled bothered me for some reason I couldn’t name.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and walked back into the arena. I decided then and there to find her again. I wanted to take her to dinner. To get to know her and explore the chemistry I felt between us. I’d been around enough women to know when something real was there. And there was definitely something there.

It had been about a week and a half before I found her. I had actually almost given up my search. No one I knew in Hollywood knew of anyone named Kat. And since I didn’t have a last name to go with it, there wasn’t much anyone could do to help me find her.

But, fortunately for me, my drummer Tyson Stone had a love for both raiding my fridge, and watching TMZ and E! News.

“Holy Fucking Shit! Bro come here! I just found your mystery hottie. You are not going to believe this shit.” Tyson yelled from the other room.

I walked into my living room and couldn’t believe my eyes. There was Kat, on my TV. I walked over, snatched the remote from him, and cranked up the volume.

“Katie Foster has been seen around town with Daniel Lawson in the past few months. There has been speculation that their romance has extended beyond just the camera. When asked to comment on the status of their relationship, Katie played coy and didn’t comment. But the smile on her face said more than her words. I bet there is something brewing there. In the meantime, the premiere of their movie, Blind Date, is set to happen in a few weeks. Maybe they will bring their relationship public and attend together. I guess we will just have to wait and see.”

I turned off the TV and sat there for a minute thinking about the implications of what I just heard.

“Damn, man. That Lawson guy is going after your girl! You better shut that shit down.” Tyson said from his position on the couch.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to come between her and her boyfriend, but she didn’t really seem like she had a boyfriend the other night.” I speculated.

I didn’t know if I wanted to go through all the trouble of finding her only to find out that she was taken. It was time to bring in the reinforcements and I knew just who to call.

I pulled my cell out of my pocket and called the first number in my phone. I knew that my manager had been in contact with the show that Ally worked for and could give me her number. A few minutes later, I had the one I needed. I dialed the number and waited for her to answer.

“Allison Allen, queen of awesome. How can you help me today?”

“Ally. Hi, it’s Cade Walker. I need some information from you.” I really hoped she was feeling like helping me out.

“Well, you are lucky I’m in the mood to help out a sexy rock star like yourself today. You caught me at the right time. What can I do for you?” She asked sounding puzzled.

“I just saw Kat on TV. She isn’t dating anyone is she?” I held my breath hoping for the answer to be no.

“Nope. She is a free woman. Why? Do you want to go after her?” She sounded excited by the idea. That was a good sign.

“Well. I would love to get to know her better. Maybe take her out to dinner.”

“Oooh. I can do better than that. My friend works for Jimmy Fallon and he just had a band cancel for the night Kat is scheduled to be on the show. I think she would love it if you showed up and surprised her!” Ally practically squealed in excitement.

“I don’t know. Bombarding her on live TV doesn’t really sound like the best idea.” I wasn’t sure Kat would be into that.

“No really! It’ll be great. It’s like the ultimate grand gesture. You looked all over for her and then discovered she wasn’t exactly who she made herself out to be. She kind of deserves it. She should have just told you who she was so you could find her faster. It’s not like she doesn’t want to jump your bones. You’ve only been her crush since she was like 16 and saw you on the cover of Rolling Stone. Shit. I didn’t just tell you that. Forget I said that last part.” Ally cursed.

I laughed, surprised to hear that she had been following my career and had a crush on me. She played it so cool the other night I had no idea.

“OK. You’ve got a deal. Can you set it up for me?” I grinned. I couldn’t wait for this show to happen. Kat was in for the surprise of her life.

“Sure! I will call my friend. Oh, and they are doing a lip sync battle so you may want to come up with two super awesome songs. I know Kat has a major competitive streak and she is going to bring something epic.” Ally warned me.