Forbidden Ballad - Rock My World (10 page)

“Already have a date?” I ask lightly.

“Hardly,” he scoffs, “Trust me, I would rather scrub floors with you tomorrow, but we’ll have to pick another day. How about the following day? Wednesday?”

“Sure.”

My head is still pressed against his chest, and I wonder if he’s going to say anything else. “I think I have an idea of what we can do. How about I pick you up at one? I’ll be in a car, so I’ll text you once I’m outside.”

I nod.

Leo places his hand under my chin and tilts it up so I’m looking at him.

“You’re so sexy,” he murmurs and then his mouth finds mine, and we don’t waste any time with a slow build up. The kiss is hard and urgent, and I think about the pent up desire I’ve had for him all day.

I’m desperate to have more, and I have to force myself to remember that I’m not giving into Leo this easily.

“Christ,” he groans, pulling me hard to him, and I feel the hard mass in his jeans.

“What?” I pant, though I think I know what he means.

“You have no idea how badly I want to fuck you!”

I want to be horrified, but I’m turned on.

“Is that all you want?” I ask, my voice laced with desire.

“No,” he gasps, kissing me harder, thrusting his tongue in my mouth. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, but I want you to know how much you turn me on.”

I break away and look at him. I can feel that my cheeks are flushed.

“Am I just a conquest?” I ask, truly wondering. “Will you be done with me as soon as you get me into bed? Is this just one big game for you?”

I don’t want to believe that this is the case with Leo, but I need to be realistic. For someone who is used to girls throwing themselves at him, he seems to be working awfully hard for me. I don’t get it.

“No, you’re not a conquest; please don’t think that. I really like you, Carly. I respect what you’re doing.”

“Respect?” I’m skeptical.

“Respect,” he assures me. “I didn’t say that I liked it, but I respect it.” His eyes bore into me, and he grasps my hands, pinning them gently behind my back. He leans in so his mouth hovers just above my ear. When he starts to speak, I shiver from his warm breath against my ear.

“But don’t think for a minute that I’m not imagining how incredible you must look naked, and the way your tits will spill out of your bra.”

My jaw hits the floor.

“I imagine what your nipples will feel like when I suck them into my mouth, and the way you’ll taste. Christ, just thinking about the way you’ll taste drives me out of my fucking mind!” He pauses, to collect himself. My chest is rising and falling, and I’m frozen to the spot as I listen to his dirty talk. “And don’t even get me started on what you’ll feel like.”

He holds both my wrists together with one hand, and trails his other hand down the line of the zipper of my shorts. He stops himself, and then releases me.

“I have to go,” he croaks.

I walk him to the door, still in shock.

“Did I scare you with my vulgar language?” he asks suddenly, turning around in the doorframe to stare at me. His eyes look so pained, that I want to take him back in my arms.

I shake my head wordlessly.

“Say something,” he pleads.

“I liked it,” I whisper.

A slow smile spreads across his face.

“You constantly amaze me, Carly Michaels.”

He pecks my cheek and saunters down the hallway.

~~~

The next thirty-six hours are a blur, and I barely remember going to rehearsal. I don’t even see Quinn until two days after my date with Leo. Over breakfast she wants to hear every detail of our date.

“Oh my god, Carly, I cannot believe you went out with Leo Nash!” she squeals over her cup of coffee.

I give her a strange look. “Two days ago you were telling me to be careful.”

“Well, yeah. I still agree you should be careful, but come on. I’m a little star struck myself. You’re a lucky bitch!”

I chuckle nervously. “Either that or really stupid.”

“Who can blame you? So, where is he taking you today for date number two?”

“I have no idea,” I say honestly, “after ping pong the other day, I have no expectations. I thought he might try to take me to some fancy restaurant to try to impress me, but I was so relieved that he was so casual!”

“Does Walker know?” she asks in a low voice.

Walker’s name sends a dagger to my heart, but I’m able to recover more quickly this time.

“No, and he doesn’t need to.”

Quinn gives me an obvious look. “He’ll find out soon enough,” she points out, picking up her phone and scrolling through it. “Here.” She thrusts her phone in my face.

It’s Perez Hilton’s website, and there’s the photo of Leo and I walking across the street together, Leo’s hand protectively on my back. The caption reads:

Famous man-whore Leo Nash of Cobalt, escorts a mysterious brunette who resembles B-lister country star Carly Michaels of the recently destroyed Sideroad. Could it be her? Guess she likes Leo’s…-rock!

And there’s a crudely drawn white line circling Leo’s crotch.

“Crap,” I mutter, putting the phone down.

“Carly, be realistic here. You know it had to only be a matter of time. Leo is off-the-charts famous, and you’re well known too. This was going to get out at some point.”

“Well, hopefully Walker will let it go. I can’t deal with anymore of his shit.”

“Amen, sister,” she says, chewing on a piece of toast. “Oh my god! I almost forgot to tell you!” she cries, nearly falling out of her chair.

“What?”

“Jake and his girlfriend broke up!”

I’ve been so wrapped up in my own world that it takes me a moment to process what she means.

“Oh! Wow! Congrats?”

“Yes!” she crows, “I’m going to give him some time to mourn, like maybe a week, and then I’m going to have Beth suggest to him that we go out.”

“Nice!” I’m happy for Quinn. She deserves a sweet guy and she and Jake would certainly make gorgeous babies together.

“I need to go before I’m late,” she says wistfully, dumping her dishes in the sink. “I guess I’ll see you late tonight or tomorrow?”

I nod and wave as she hurries out the door. I debate laying around and being lazy for the next few hours, but I remember how Leo mentioned that he worked with a trainer, and I have the crazy desire to work out. I’m in good shape, and I worked out in Nashville, but I haven’t had the urge to do so in New York.

There’s a small gym on the top floor of Quinn’s building, so I decide that an hour on the treadmill or elliptical won’t kill me. I change into some work out clothes and make my way upstairs.

The gym is great, with floor to ceiling windows that look out over the city. It’s definitely small, with a few machines and some weights, but I have the entire place to myself. I get on the treadmill and jog for thirty minutes, before moving to the elliptical for another thirty.

When I’m finished, I feel sweaty but empowered. There’s nothing like a good work out to make you feel like you can kick the world’s ass. I head back to the apartment to shower and get ready for my date with Leo.

I’m not sure if I’m more nervous or less nervous this time. It’s like I’m addicted to Leo. He’s been sincere and honest with me from the beginning, so I have to trust him. I still can’t deny the warning bells going off in my head, but I’m in too deep now.

I dress quickly, deciding to look a little fancier today since Leo didn’t give me any wardrobe requirements. I put on a green and yellow maxi dress, and leave my hair long down my back. Not long after, my cell goes off and I see that Leo is downstairs.

It’s now or never, so I grab my purse and head outside the building. Sure enough, I see a sleek black car pulled up along the sidewalk. The door opens and Leo grins from inside.

“Come on in!”

I smile widely and slide into the car. It’s all dark leather and luxury inside, and then I see Leo. He takes my breath away.

He’s dressed in black slacks and a button down gray shirt.

He raises an eyebrow at me; it must be obvious from my expression.

“I clean up well, huh?” he asks dryly.

I nod, still speechless. His stubble is gone, and his normally wild dark hair is slicked back. His eyes look more blue today than green.

“I guess you like what you see,” now his voice is dripping with sex, and I shift uncomfortably in my seat, because all I can think about is how Leo looks without any of his clothes on.

“So what are we doing today?” I ask nervously, trying to change the mood in the car.

“I thought we’d see a Broadway show.”

“Seriously? Broadway?”

“Yes. Why?”

I stop, feeling silly. “You just don’t strike me as a Broadway person.”

“I like music. Broadway is music. And I think you’ll like it too. Have you ever seen a Broadway show?”

“I saw Cats when I was little.”

Leo lets out a loud laugh. “Yeah, that’s probably something you want to keep to yourself.” He smirks. “Cats,” he mutters.

I brush off his comment. “So what are we seeing?”

“I’m keeping it classic. Phantom.”

“No way!”

I’ve always to see Phantom of the Opera; I’m excited.

“So, how was your day yesterday?” I ask carefully. I know that Leo had some kind of plans that he wasn’t happy about. I didn’t even get a chance to talk to him at rehearsal last night. He seemed in a pretty foul mood, and kept to himself. I worried that maybe I had done something, but he had come up to me at rehearsal, squeezed my hand and said he was looking forward to our date the next day.

Leo’s eyes cloud over at my question, and I’m instantly sorry that I asked. I should have left it alone and waited to see if Leo had brought it up. I still didn’t know him well enough to be asking personal questions. Or did I?

“It’s not worth mentioning,” he says and I can tell the conversation is closed. I bite my lip, and look out the window. We’re pulling up outside the theatre, and I look up to see the marquee. A thrill runs through me. Not just because I’m going to be seeing a Broadway show, but also because Leo and I will be sitting next to each other in a dark theatre.

Leo jumps out and holds the door open for me. We walk into the theatre, and Leo gets some head turns. I wonder if people don’t recognize him because he’s so clean-shaven. A few people do recognize him as we move to take our seats, and he kindly signs autographs and poses for pictures. I step to the side and give him his space. I don’t mind the attention that Leo gets.

We sit down in our seats, and I can hear people point and whisper, but no one else approaches us. Suddenly, I see a gorgeous, leggy woman making her way towards us, her eyes locked on Leo.

My stomach turns.

“Leo Nash,” she purrs, when she’s practically on top of us.

He looks at her and blinks, and then recognition crosses his face.

“Kim,” he says, and his voice clearly expresses that he’s not excited to see her at all.

“Where have you been, stranger?” she says in a voice that is too intimate.

“I’ve been working, Kim,” he says, his tone slightly patronizing. “I didn’t know you were in this show.”

“I started a month ago. You would know if you had called me again,” she says pointedly.

Oh, it’s like that.

I shift in my chair, feeling somewhat sorry for myself, but also pissed off at this woman who is intruding on our date.

“Well, clearly you didn’t take the hint,” Leo mutters.

“Still an asshole, I see,” she says bitterly.

This is getting ridiculous.

“Have a great show, Kim,” he says, making it clear that the conversation is over.

Kim doesn’t make a move to leave.

“Thanks for coming over to say hi,” I say loudly, “If you don’t mind, we’d prefer to be left alone now.”

Kim looks at me as if she sees me for the first time.

“Who are you?” she asks rudely, and then turns to Leo. “Another new fuck buddy?”

Leo’s eyes flash and his fists clench, but I know he doesn’t want to make a scene in a public place.

“I really don’t care about your past with Leo. I can assure you I have more class than becoming someone’s fuck buddy. Clearly, you’re lacking in the class department.”

She stares at me and then opens her mouth to say something and then closes it. I can see Leo is on the verge of laughing.

“See you around Kim,” he says, smiling.

“I hope not!” she huffs, before muttering “bitch” under her breath and stalking off.

“I think she just called me a bitch,” I laugh.

“I can’t believe you just said that to her.” He looks at me with awe.

“I was sick of listening to her. This is our date, not her date.”

Leo smiles to himself and nods.

I flip through the program, and then the lights go down.