Forbidden Ballad - Rock My World (9 page)

I blush with embarrassment; I had no idea that Jacie was gay.

I guess it was small-minded of me, but I always picture lesbians as women with short, cropped hair who prefer menswear to ladies’ clothes. But Jacie is stunning with her long, hot-pink streaked hair, tight black pants and cleavage-baring silver top.

“I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” she says, her voice kinder now. “Figures Leo gets you.” She winks.

I laugh, slightly more relaxed.

“C’mon,” Leo says, placing his hand at the small of my back and leading me away.

“Sorry about the band.”

“It’s fine, really. They seem nice.”

Leo grimaces. “They are most of the time. But all three of them want in your pants.”

I gasp at his words.

“It’s true,” he insists.

“That’s not really appropriate,” I stutter, looking down.

“Speaking of appropriate,” Leo says slyly, “What was with that little stunt in your hallway this afternoon?”

I blush bright red again. Oh my god. I can’t believe that I actually flashed Leo.

“I don’t know what came over me,” I moan, burying my head in my hands.

“Don’t be sorry!” Leo exclaims, pulling at my hands. “I’m not complaining.”

He pauses. “You sure know how to tease a guy.”

I look up in surprise.

“Don’t tell me,” he jokes, “You don’t know what a tease you are?”

“I don’t mean to,” I whisper. I really don’t. In fact, I’ve never really mastered the art of flirtation, let alone teasing.

Leo chuckles darkly. “You’re going to destroy me, woman.”

I give him a weak grin. Out of the corner of my eye, I see that Mark is getting ready to call everyone together.

“So, about our three dates,” Leo says quickly, noticing Mark. “How about we have one tomorrow?”

I smile, and for the first time in hours, I don’t think about Walker’s earlier phone call.

“Sounds great.”

“I’ll pick you up at noon tomorrow. Dress comfortable!”

And then we’re ushered away to start rehearsal.

~~~

I toss and turn most of the night, thinking about my date with Leo, and telling myself that I am losing my mind because I have absolutely no business going out with Leo Nash in the first place.

I finally fall asleep at one point and next thing I know it’s past nine in the morning. Leo has told me to dress comfortably and I have no idea what that means. I also don’t need to be getting dressed three hours before my date.

I busy myself with eating breakfast, and cleaning up the kitchen. I take an extra long shower, and spend more time than necessary on my hair and makeup. I work extra hard to make my makeup look minimal. Foolish.

I finally decide I can get dressed. I choose teal shorts and a boat neck white shirt. I slip on my sneakers and hope that I’m dressed appropriately for whatever Leo has in mind.

At noon sharp, there’s a knock on the door and I pull the door open to reveal the most handsome man I have ever seen.

Leo, of course.

I really wish I was not this attracted to him. It makes it difficult to think straight.

He’s dressed in dark jeans with black sneakers and a grey t-shirt. His muscular chest is clearly visible.

I swallow hard.

“You look great,” he says, pulling me into a hug. He doesn’t kiss me, but my heart is hammering out of my chest, and I inhale deeply, smelling his now-familiar musky and warm scent. My hormones rage out of control.

“Thanks,” I manage to say, “I hope I’m dressed okay.”

“Perfect. Let’s get out of here. You don’t mind a little bit of walking do you? It’s beautiful outside.”

“No, not a bit.”

We make our way out of the building and set off down the block. Leo pulls a baseball cap out of his back pocket and pulls it low over his head. We get some stares, as if people are unsure if it’s Leo or not, but no one actually stops us. Leo puts his hand on the small of my back to guide me as we cross a street, and suddenly there is a man jumping in front of us with a camera.

“Fuck,” Leo mutters, pushing me forward.

Click. Click. Click.

“Just ignore them,” Leo says tightly. “Fucking parasites have nothing better to do.”

I try to ignore the paparazzi but it’s hard. I’ve been recognized a few times in New York, but I know I would be recognized more if my picture suddenly appeared in a magazine next to Leo.

“Next time we’ll have to do transportation,” he murmurs, walking me around a large brick building. I have no idea where we are going.

“This way,” he says, rapping on a non-descript red door.

“Leo?” I question. We are in the back of some building and I wonder if he actually knows where we are.

“Mr. Nash,” a small man exclaims, pushing the door open and ushering us inside. “Come in, come in! We’ve been waiting for you.”

I give Leo a sideways look and he grins. It melts my insides.

“The space is all yours for an hour,” the man explains as we follow him down a fluorescent-lit hallway. “I’m sorry we couldn’t accommodate you for two hours.”

“It’s not a problem,” Leo says graciously, taking off his baseball hat and stowing it back in his pocket. “I appreciate the hour.” His voice is warm but in control. I forget that a certain power must come from being so famous.

I still have no idea where we are yet, before I know it, the man is pushing open two swinging doors and suddenly we are in a large gymnasium filled with ping-pong tables.

“Ping pong?” I ask stupidly.

Leo grins. “Do you like ping pong?”

“I haven’t played in years,” I admit. I think the last time I played was in gym my sophomore year of high school.

The man who led us here disappears, and Leo guides me towards a table.

“I thought this would be fun,” he says with a competitive glint in his eyes. He picks up a paddle and turns it over in his hand. “Up for the challenge?”

I laugh. “Of course I’m up for the challenge,” I say, grabbing the other paddle on the table. I’m fairly certain that Leo will kick my ass, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to have fun trying to beat him regardless. Once the surprise of our date sinks in, I’m actually excited to play. Leo has surprised me; this is not something I ever would have expected from him.

It’s so…normal.

Leo starts off with the ball, and he’s good. I laugh as I try to serve it back just as well.

“I didn’t take you for the sporty type,” I tease as we start our second game.

Leo lets out a laugh. “This is about as sporty as I get. Don’t get me wrong, I love to play sports. It’s just that I’m not very good at them.”

“Leo Nash not good at something?” I mock.

“Smart ass. You’d be surprised to learn how many things I’m not good at it.”

“Alright, like what?”

“Besides sports, I can’t cook to save my life.” He hits the ball hard and I lunge to get it.

It bounces clear off the table and across the floor.

I jog after it.

“Okay what else?” I ask when I return.

He shakes his head, as if he lost his train of thought. “I’m sorry but I’m having a hard time concentrating because I keep watching your ass in those tight little shorts.”

“Leo!” I screech, embarrassed.

He shrugs. “I’m only being honest. I can’t help who I am.”

“A pervert,” I mutter, though I’m secretly pleased that he’s been checking out my backside.

“Don’t get me started,” he says darkly, twisting the paddle in his hand. I don’t quite catch on at first and then my eyes widen. Was he alluding to spanking?

“I hope you don’t mean, what I think you mean,” I say carefully, serving the ball.

He hits it back, his eyes mischievous. “And what if I do?” he challenges.

Oh, boy. This is getting hot. I’m out of my comfort zone here.

I grab the ball and hold it, looking directly at Leo.

“Spanking?” I whisper, as if other people could hear us. We’re completely alone.

Leo gives me a smoldering look. “Don’t knock it till you try it.”

“We’ll see,” I shoot back, serving the ball again. But I can’t deny the way my heart is thudding in my chest, and the tugging I feel in my groin. Something about Leo makes me consider doing things I would never dream of doing. And being spanked by Leo doesn’t seem all that bad.

I screw up the next five plays, and Leo chuckles.

“I think somebody is thinking about something naughty.”

“Shut up,” I snap, serving the ball way too hard, and forcing Leo to jog after it. He comes back to the table smirking, but doesn’t bring it up again.

Our hour goes by way too quickly, and all too soon, the man is coming back to collect us.

“Thank you so much,” Leo says again, as we’re escorted to the back entrance again.

“No, thank you,” the man says. “Come back anytime.”

Once we’re back out on the street, I turn to Leo.

“That was really nice that they let you use the building for an hour.”

Leo gives me a half grin and shakes his head while putting his cap back on. “Sure it was really nice. I’m also pretty positive they appreciated the substantial payment too.”

My eyes widen. “You had to pay to have the whole place to ourselves?”

“Carly, money talks. Did you think they would give up an hour of business and let fifteen tables sit empty? Or more like fourteen?”

“Leo! You shouldn’t have! I feel so bad!”

“Don’t feel bad. I don’t mind paying; I was happy to do it.” He pauses as we walk down the street. “You’re still just a naïve girl from Nashville, aren’t you?” he asks softly.

The way he says it makes me nervous. Like he’s afraid of how fragile I am, and he’s reconsidering spending time with me.

“I didn’t live in Nashville my whole life,” I argue, “I grew up in Baltimore.”

“Oooh, Baltimore. I’m sure a pretty girl like you really roughed it up in the city, huh?”

Busted. I grew up in a nice little suburb twenty minutes north of Baltimore.

“Whatever. Just because I didn’t live in the city, doesn’t mean that I’m naïve. I went to public school after all!”

Leo laughs, and puts his arm around my waist. “Let me guess. You grew up in a nice home, three or four bedrooms, with a dog or a cat. Your parents are happily married, and you had a little brother or sister who adored you. You got good grades, took ballet or piano lessons, and disappointed your family when you didn’t go to college.”

I gape at him.

Leo laughs loudly. “I hit the nail on the head, didn’t I?”

I don’t know if I should be impressed or pissed off.

“Are you always this obnoxious?” I ask.

“No, just observant.”

“And did you grow up slumming it? Knew all about the world before you were in kindergarten?”

Leo’s face changes; it softens yet becomes harder.

“No,” he says quietly. “I didn’t slum it. But I knew far too much too young. My parents believed in telling us kids everything. Their world was medicine; a practical world that didn’t involve things like the tooth fairy or Santa Claus,” he tries to keep his voice light but I can hear the bitter edge.

“No Santa?” I ask in surprise.

He shakes his head. “Only foolish children believe in a fat man who squeezes down a chimney bringing a sack full of presents,” he quotes.

“I’m sorry,” I say, taking his hand. “That’s so sad.”

He squeezes my hand, and it feels nice. It also makes me greedy for more of him, but I know I can’t.

“Alright, enough family talk,” he says, leading me into a deli. “Let’s get some sandwiches. And if you don’t mind, let’s eat them at your place.”

I nod and we order our meal.

All too soon, we’re finishing up our sandwiches in Quinn’s kitchen, and Leo is standing to leave.

“Sorry to have to cut out again,” he says apologetically.

“You’re not cutting out,” I point out, “We’ve been together for over two hours.”

He glances at his watch. “You’re right.”

I bite my lip and wonder how we’re going to leave things today.

Leo pulls me to him and whispers in a throaty voice, “When can we have date number two?”

I laugh nervously. Being around Leo feels a lot like playing with fire. It’s fun and exciting, and then turns suddenly dangerous. I never know what to expect. One minute we’re playing an innocent game of ping-pong, and the next minute he’s alluding to kinky bedroom behavior.

I don’t want to be greedy and say tomorrow, but I find myself speaking before thinking.

“What about tomorrow?”

Leo starts to nod, and then his face clouds over.

“I’m sorry, I can’t tomorrow.”

He doesn’t say anymore, but I can tell he’s bothered by something. I don’t want to press the issue, but I’m curious.