Forever Yours (11 page)

***

“Tristan,” Stella whispered into his ear.
“
Wakey
wakey
.”
Tristan let out a growl as he stretched out his body on the bed. Clearly he had spent more time watching Stella sleep then sleeping
himself
.

Stella had managed to pull herself from Tristan’s strong grasp around her waist, dragging herself up to face him. She had watched him for several minutes sleeping soundly, undisturbed. She now understood why he had watched her for so
long,
she could feel herself wanting to stare at him for hours. He looked so peaceful and content. But she had become
restless,
she couldn’t remember the last time she had slept in past eight in the morning. It was nearly midday and she felt the day was nearly over. Stella enjoyed her weekends and definitely didn’t want to spend it in bed, as much as being with Tristan was very tempting, come Monday she would have to be back at work and they wouldn’t get a full day together again until the next weekend. She had no intention of wasting the time she had with him now.

“What time is it?” Tristan yawned, his eyes opening and pulling Stella closer to him.

“Late. Come on, get up. I’m hungry and I don’t plan on being in bed all day.” She pulled his arms, but it was no use, they were like dead weight not budging.

“
Mmmmm
.
But being in bed has its advantages…” He squeezed Stella’s naked backside. She quickly swiped his arm
away,
she knew his touch would cause her to forget her purpose.

“No Tristan, please.
I want to do something with you today. I want us to experience being a real couple and go out. We’ve been confined to this hotel all week. I know we tried going out before and it didn’t work, but I want to try again.”

The look of concern crossed his face, making him frown. “But I thought after last night, you might not want to go out?”

She felt embarrassed by last night’s events. She thought they were trying to attack her, but all they were doing was trying to get a good photo of her. “It’s bound to come out eventually about our relationship. So it might as well happen now. Plus I think it would be good for us if I got more of a feel of what your life is like.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“Tristan, we can’t stay locked up in this hotel forever. You know that,” she said. She silently wished Tristan wasn’t
famous,
life would be a lot easier if he wasn’t. But she knew she couldn’t change it. She was taking a chance with him, a chance she never thought she’d take with anyone again and she prayed she wasn’t making the biggest mistake of her life.

“I know. But what if my life is too much for you, the paparazzi, the fame, everything.”

She sighed, “Then that’s the chance we have to take.” She paused. “For us to truly know if our relationship is even possible we need to do this.”

She watched Tristan contemplate her words. “Alright, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

She smiled as she watched him jump up off the bed, baring his naked body. He had the most admirable body, every inch of him she craved to touch, his muscles flexed as he walked over to his walk in robe. She giggled at herself, who would have thought she would be here now, perving on
Tristan Wood’s
sexy body. He turned to her. “Well up you get then, don’t want to waste the day away,” he smirked.

Stella rolled her eyes at him, two minutes ago she had been trying to convince him to get out of bed, and now all she wanted was him to get back in it.

“I’ve got a TV interview tonight so afterwards we can go out to dinner, like a
real
couple,” he said as he grinned at his words.

She hated his grin. Ok, secretly she loved it. But he knew she couldn’t ever be mad or say no to him when he smiled. His smile was infectious, just like every other part of him.

***

“Does this look ok Tristan?” she questioned Tristan as she walked into the open lounge room. Tristan sat on the nearby couch resting a guitar on his lap while he scribbled notes. He was looking gorgeous as ever in his dark denim jeans and a navy blue t-shirt. He looked up at
her,
a smile instantly touched his lips. Stella was wearing a black strapless dress that hung tightly to her body falling to her knees and her hair had been curled and loosely fell over her shoulders.

They had gone back to her hotel to get a change of clothes for the night, after Stella repeatedly denied Tristan in letting him buy a new outfit for her. She was still dead set against him helping her out and letting him buy her things, something he hoped would change. What was the point in making all his money if he didn’t have anyone to share it with?

“You look stunning,” he said, standing up and placing the guitar against the couch, walking towards her and he gently kissed her lips. “Are you all ready to go? Ben wants us to be ready to leave in five.”

 “Yep, ready when you are.” She smiled confidently, he could tell she was trying to hide the
nervousness,
this would be the first time they would be seen in public together.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this? You don’t have to come. Our relationship can still be secret.”

“After last night, I doubt it.” He saw the pained expression in her face. He knew he would never let anything like that happen again.
Even if he had to hire personal security for her.
The thought of Stella in trouble didn’t sit right with him and made him cringe in discomfort.

“Anyway, it’s bound to happen eventually and we might as well do it now,” she added.

“Only if you’re sure?”
There was no way he was going to ever let her do something she wasn’t completely comfortable in doing.

“I’m sure”

“Great, I’ll let Ben know.” He walked towards the coffee table, picking up his phone, dialling Ben’s number.

***

Stella’s hands were shaking as she stood backstage with Tristan, waiting for him to be called out to stage. Her nerves were getting the better of her and she couldn’t stop it. She didn’t know what she was more nervous about, Tristan going on live television in front of an audience full of women, the realization that she was in fact dating a celebrity, or that he was about to tell the whole world they were together.

On the way to the television studio she had called her parents to tell them about Tristan, she thought it was better that they found out from her before hearing about it all over the media in a couple of hours. She didn’t need to tell Claire as she had already clued in on it earlier in the week.

When they arrived she’d undergone many security checks, making her even more nervous, Tristan continued to reassure her that it was very normal, but nothing would prepare her for what was to come.

After several sound checks Tristan was ready to perform. He was performing his newest single
Forever Yours
and then he was doing a brief interview afterwards where they would ask a series of questions about his career and might ask some personal questions, well that’s what Tristan had told her anyway.

When they gave Tristan the cue they were about to go live, he reached over and whispered in Stella’s ear, “It will be fine, trust me.” She smiled, not able to say anything. She felt Tristan kiss her cheek before he walked over to the microphone.

She felt Ben’s hand on her shoulders holding her steady, she thanked the simple gesture. She could see why Tristan liked
Ben,
he had this ability to know exactly what to do to in every situation.

Stella watched as they counted him in, the cameras moving in and around him.

Tristan seemed calm and collected as he sat on the stool, guitar resting on his lap, the band around him ready with their instruments. Stella wished she had that kind of
confidence,
she would most likely faint before she’d even begun singing.

The moment he started singing you could feel the mood in the room shift. The audience silenced by his voice, even the crew were mesmerized. The familiar words he sung to her only the night before made her heart race. It was like every word he sang, he sang from the very depths of his soul.

He caught her eye several times, winking and singing even more seductively, if that was even possible! She could see why all the women in the packed venue wanted him, hell she wanted him.

She couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy though as the women screamed his name. She knew Tristan had been living this life for a while now, so she could only imagine the bus loads of women throwing themselves at him. She kept trying to remind herself that she too once found herself infatuated with the likes of gorgeous celebrities, but now she couldn’t care less about them, she had Tristan. No one else could even compare to him.

She felt her heart beating faster when he mentioned her name. As he sung the last few words of his song he stood and bowed to the audience drawing his performance to a close, cheers erupting from everywhere. He blew a kiss to the crowd thanking them as one of the TV presenters approached him, a tall blonde lady with quite possibly the longest legs Stella had ever seen.

“Another round of applause for the one, and only, Tristan Woods!” she exclaimed through her microphone, the audience erupting in another round of applause.

Tristan nodded his head in thanks as the applause died down.

“It’s so great to have you back on the show, it’s been a while,” the blonde said to Tristan, the camera’s focused in on their interview.

“It has, three years to be exact. But I’m glad to be back home,” he replied.

“Would a certain somebody have anything to do with you coming back home?”
The presenter smiled to Tristan, holding the microphone out for his reply.

“It just may have something to do with a certain somebody.” Tristan looked at Stella now and winked at her, the cameras followed his direction.

She felt her limbs freeze as the camera zoomed in on her, she attempted a half smile, praying they would quickly turn
away,
the last thing she expected was to be broadcasted on TV. Thankfully Tristan pulled the attention back to him as he continued talking, “I actually wrote the song I performed about her not long after we first met.”

“
Awww
!
That’s so adorable. Is
the
Tristan Woods in love?” the blonde asked, smiling from ear to ear.

Stella felt as though time stood still waiting for Tristan’s answer. What would he say? Would he tell the world he loved her? When he said last night she’d thought it might have just been said in the heat of the moment.

His eyes held hers.
“Yes, very much so.”
She smiled in response as the audience sighed and awed at him.

Tristan had just told the world he loved her. She felt lost in the moment until the next question quickly bought her back to reality.

“A little birdy told me you’re off to Europe soon to do a tour in conjunction with an award ceremony over there. Will you be taking your new love?” the blonde asked.
Tristan’s face clearly taken back by the question, his face registering shock, but nowhere near as shocked as Stella.

Stella felt herself go from shock to anger within seconds. Had Tristan planned all along to go to Europe? Why was she hearing about this just now? He was leaving her.

“Yes that’s right. We’ll be listing more information on the website within the next couple of hours for all the fans, it will be an amazing experience for everyone,” he replied at the blonde, before looking at Stella apologetically.

“Sounds fantastic!
Well there you have it people! It’s been great talking to you, and don’t forget Tristan Wood’s new single
Forever Yours
is out now!” the blonde said as the audience clapped and cheered.

Her eyes were still fixed on the stage as she watched Tristan say his goodbyes to the host and the other band members.

She felt like she couldn’t breathe, her chest constricted. She needed to get out of there, now! She turned to Ben. “I have to leave, I… I can’t be here,” she stuttered.

Ben looked at her
sympathetically,
he must have known why she was upset. “I’ll get Tristan, wait here.” She watched as Ben quickly went to Tristan, pulling him aside and whispering in his ear. Tristan eyes dashing to hers, he nodded, turning to the TV presenter and saying a few words.

She searched around the stage, she couldn’t wait any longer. She quickly saw the back exit door. She knew it was the only way out without going through the main stage, and having everyone look at her. She quickly started moving towards it, pushing past the crew members, apologising as she went. Just as she reached the door, she felt a hand grab hers, turning her.

“Wait Stella.
I can explain.” It was Tristan. He stood there, his eyes staring at her, while Ben not far behind him talked on his phone.

“No please, save yourself the trouble. I get it,” Stella hissed, not able to contain her anger anymore.

“
It’s not like that, please believe
me. Just give me a chance to explain myself,” Tristan said, his voice low.

Stella shook her head. She didn’t want to do this right now, she needed air. “I need to get out of here.” She turned to the door, Tristan grabbing her other hand, stopping her from pushing the door open.

“Wait,” Tristan said looking up at Ben.

Ben nodded at Tristan. “They’re ready,” he said.

“Ok now we can go,” Tristan said as he opened the exit door, holding Stella close.

The sound of hundreds of screaming girls and flashing lights hit her with force as they opened the door, her anger suddenly fading into fear, her anxiety returning.

She glanced up at
Tristan,
he looked at her reading her face. “Don’t worry Stella, we have plenty of security, you just need to stay close to me and we’ll have you safely back at the hotel in no time.”

She didn’t want to go back to the hotel, she wanted to go home. But she wasn’t about to argue right now. He wrapped his arm around her as they walked quickly to the
car,
she looked around in fright as the crowd pushed against the barriers.  As soon as they reached the car she was pushed in followed by Tristan, closing the door behind them, she caught Ben jumping into the front passenger seat next to Sam.