Holding On To Love (24 page)

"Brody?" I asked.

"Yes, lover." He said.

"I don't want to leave your side, but I need to check on my colleague," I said.

"Oh, right. I was wondering how you got in here, but I figured you blended so well, they didn't even bother hassling you," he teased.

"I'm here for work, actually, but thanks for thinking I blended in," I laughed.

"I was actually hoping you'd like to get out of here," he said.

"That sounds good, what'd you have in mind?" I said sweetly.

"Well, I'll leave that up to you."

I reached up, wove my fingers in his messy hair and pulled him down to kiss me once more. His hands wrapped around my waist, as he pulled me closer and everything around us disappeared.

"Don't lose that thought, I'll be right back," I breathed.

"I'll wait for you at the bar," He said.

"Okay," I said and turned to find Corey amongst the crowd.

I spotted him talking to Seraphine and my stomach churned. Better now than never, I thought and made my way toward them.

"Ally, where the heck have you been?" Corey asked. "Sera, this is my colleague, Ally Monroe. Ally this is Seraphine Fern," he introduced.

"Pleasure to meet you Sera," I said quickly and turned to Corey. "I'm not feeling so hot, I think I might have eaten some bad shrimp. I think I'm gonna head home. Sorry, Corey."

"Excuse me?" Sera said and I turned to face her.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not fucking stupid, you dumb bitch," she spat.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Don't play dumb with me, you stupid little cunt— I saw you with my boyfriend and I just hope you aren't getting any ideas, cause he's fucking taken. He proposed to me last week actually...truly romantic, outside under the stars in the garden, it was like a fairy tale," she rambled.

Proposed? That can't be right, can it? Shit.

"Oh, sweetie, you look a little pale, would you like some water?" She asked, but all I could hear is my heart thrumming in my ears.

I held my hand up for her to stop talking, but she kept going on and on about nights alone at his place and how he brought her flowers tonight before they arrived together. I felt queasy and utterly mortified.

Corey stepped backwards and the look on his face was pure shock. I probably had a similar look on mine too. "Ally, what the hell is going on?" Corey asked.

I shrugged, unable to find the words to explain what the hell was happening.

"So sweetheart did he bag you on the first try? Doesn't surprise me, you know. Once a playboy always a playboy, but I've got him wrapped around my finger," Sera said and held her pinky out, while she made circles around it with her other hand.

The bile rose in my throat, I knew I needed fresh air, but she grabbed my arm and dug her nails in.

"Listen up, whore. I don't know who the hell you think—"

"That's enough, Sera. Let her go!" Brody shouted from behind me. I felt his hand on my back and I attempted to free myself from her grasp; Sera didn't let go, she actually tightened her grip on my arm.

"Oh, speak of the fucking devil. Where the hell have you been, huh?" She spat.

"I think we should take this elsewhere, not create a scene, don't you agree, Sera?" Corey asked.

"No! Fuck you both. We're gonna settle this right now. So Brody, are you fucking her now?" Sera snapped and I stepped back in hopes that she'd let me go, but she dug her nails in further as she swayed a little. 

"Jesus, Sera. You're drunk. Just let her go and we can talk about this outside," he said.

"NO! This is my fucking party and you and your fucking tramp—"

"So help me Sera, if you don't let her go—"

"Then what, you're gonna hit me? Fine, fucking do it. My dad's over there, make sure he sees you when you do it," she threatened.

"Let go, Sera," he said calmly and grabbed her wrist.

"OUCH!" She screamed. "You're hurting me!"

Within moments, the hotel security guards ran to her side, meanwhile the music stopped and everyone fell quiet. Brody dropped her hand and her palm connected with his cheek, causing a loud "smack".

She released her grip on my arm, turned to the security guards and ordered them to escort us out of the hotel immediately.

A guard gripped my arm, pulled me forward as the other did the same with Brody. They led us outside and to my surprise, every painful moment was caught on camera. The paparazzi swarmed the entrance, I stood stunned and Brody took my hand. He shielded me from the chaos, lead us through the sea of reporters and hailed a cab.

"Brody, Brody. Are you having an affair with this woman?!" One reporter shouted.

"Brody, does Seraphine know you've been cheating?!" Another shouted.

"Brody, what's her name?" Followed closely by, "What's your name, miss? Are you Brody's new flavor of the month?"

One of them actually asked, "How long have you been sleeping with him, miss?"

The cab couldn't have pulled up at a better time. Brody opened the door, ushered me inside and followed quickly behind. The door shut and he yelled to the cab driver, "move, move, move!"

The taxi screeched forward, leaving the photographers behind us. I turned around just to check for sure. No one was following us, but I felt like they had taken a piece of my dignity with their pictures.

"Where to, Sir?" The driver asked.

"Uh. Just take this for a few miles until I know we're not being followed," he instructed.

"Are you okay, Ally?" He turned to face me and ran his hands over the imprint on my arm.

"Yeah. Not hurt, so I guess I'm good," I said, still dazed by what had happened in such a short amount of time.

"Sera's full of shit, Allyson. Whatever she said, is bullshit. All of it. I promise you," he said and placed a soft kiss on my head.

"Don't. Please don't do that," I whispered.

"Please believe me when I tell you, Sera is out for blood, she'll do or say anything to stay in the spotlight. Please, Ally. Give me that much at least," he said.

"Tell me one thing, Brody. Sera said you proposed to her, is that true?" I said and felt the tears sting the corners of my eyes.

He held my hand tightly and simply said, "No."

Could I believe him? Or should I believe that crazy bitch? I took a deep breath.

"I just want to go home now. I'm exhausted."

"Ally—"

"Please, Brody. I just need some time to process what the hell just happened," I said as I kept my gaze trained on the dashboard meter.

"Okay, I'll take you home, but promise me you'll give me a chance to explain everything," he said and I could sense the hurt in his voice.

I wanted to give him my heart, my everything, but I was battling with the fact that I may never be able to call him mine. Not now and maybe never.

"Okay," I agreed. "Give me your phone."

He reached inside his jacket, pulled out his phone and handed it to me. I punched my number in and hit send.

"That's my number. I should've given it to you a while ago," I said softly and leaned forward to give the driver my address.

"Thank you," he said.

"For?" I asked.

"For giving me a chance, not many people I know would do that," he said.

"Don't get your hopes up just yet, I don't know if I'm ready for all this."

"Please don't say that, Allyson. I'll give you all the time you need to think it over, but please don't give up on us. This is the first time I've felt this way toward someone and I don't want to end it before it's even begun," he said and took my hand in his.

He used the pad of his thumb to make circles over my knuckles and I closed my eyes, just so I could remember the warmth of his touch. Forever.

The taxi pulled to the curb in front of her townhouse and stopped. I opened the door and quickly came around to help her out of the car, but she'd already beat me to it.

"Ally?" I asked.

She turned to face me, but her head was down and she stood quietly with her arms crossed against her chest.

"Allyson, please look at me," I said and reached out to touch her face. She leaned her cheek against my palm and looked up at me with her glossy, ice blue eyes.

I cupped her face in my hands, leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Please, Brody—" She said softly. "Just go."

"Okay," I said, kissed her forehead again and got back inside the cab.

I've lost her. I knew it, the moment I saw the pain in her eyes. She would never trust me again, nor would she ever give me a chance to explain how much of a psychotic bitch Sera actually was. Worst. Night. Ever.

I opened the refrigerator door, pulled out a cold beer and popped the top off. The cool liquid temporarily numbed me, but once the bottle was finished, I felt like I'd lost everything again.

I could still smell her sweet perfume on my skin and her taste on my lips. I pulled my jacket, vest and bow tie off; tossing them to the floor. I needed to talk to her, I needed to make her understand, but I also knew she needed time. I was willing to give her all the time she needed to think things over, but I wouldn't give up. Not ever.

I made my way down to the bar to talk to Finn, even though I knew it would be busy tonight because #HashTag was playing.

I unlocked the back door and headed down the hallway. 80's rock filled the air along with whistles and screams from the crowd. I swung the double doors open, every square foot of the bar was occupied, tables of drunken college students and the occasional regulars sang along as the band played their rendition of 'Jessie's Girl'.

I spotted Finn behind the bar, Amy and the new girl, who's name I could never remember were loading trays of drinks near the far end. I slipped behind the bar and waved at Finn.

He hurried over with a couple of pints of beer in his hands. "Hey, B. Didn't expect to see you here tonight," he shouted over the music and handed the beer to a guy waiting patiently at the edge of the bar.

"Yeah, I wasn't planning on it either," I said.

"What's up, brother? You look like hell," he asked.

"Can you get Amy to fill in for you? I need to talk to you," I said.

"Sure, man," he said and motioned for Amy to join us behind the bar.

"Hi, Boss," she said sweetly.

"Amy," I said, "would you mind covering for Finn for a few minutes? I need to have a word with him in back."
              "Sure, but make it quick, we're slammed tonight," she said.

"We'll be right back," I said and clapped Finn on the shoulder.

Finn followed as I made my way to the back office. We reached the end of the hallway and I unlocked the door. I filled the light switch on, invited him in and took a seat behind my desk. He followed and sat down in the chair across from me.

"Seriously, B. What the fuck is going on?" He asked.

"I don't even know where to start, man. It's been a rough fucking night," I said.

"So, I take it, Sera's party was to blame for the way you look right now?" He asked.

I began to tell him the events that took place earlier in the night. From riding with Sera to the hotel, Allyson and I sneaking off like a couple of horny teenagers and the overall reason as to why I was sitting in my bar right now instead of spending my night with Ally.

"I told you that bitch Sera, was bad news, man," Finn said.

I shook my head. "Yeah, you were definitely right about her. I just don't know how to fix this, Finn. I know I told you I had to stay away from Ally, but something happened tonight and it was like she was finally opening up to me. As crazy as that sounds, I just couldn't keep my eyes off of her. She looked so fucking beautiful and if it's any consolation, she kissed me."

"Brody, my brother, I'm not usually a sappy guy and I hate to be the one to break the news to you...but you're fucking in love with her, ever since the first time you talked about that girl, I knew you'd fallen for her," Finn said.

Finn had rendered me speechless. It hadn't even crossed my mind, that I might be falling in love with my little fox. I wasn't in love with her, was I?

"No, Finn you're wrong. There's no way in hell I'm falling for her. I've only known her for two fucking weeks," I said, really just trying to convince myself.

He laughed, "Whatever you gotta tell yourself, man."

"Fuck," I said and rested my head in my hands.

"Take her out. You know, on a real fucking date. Dinner, a movie, bowling, or some shit. Just take her out somewhere that isn't a bar or your ex's fucking birthday party," he said.

I laughed. "Yeah, if she'll even talk to me again."

"She will. Just give her some time to let this shit blow over."

"Thanks, Finn— So, when did you become such a relationship expert?" I joked.

"I've been friends with you for so long, I've learned a lot," he teased.

"Ha. Ha," I said dryly.

"I gotta get back, cause I'm sure Amy's about ready to shoot me."

"Thanks, buddy," I said as he rose and clapped me on the shoulder.

Finn shut the door behind him and I sat in the bare, windowless office and listened to the booming of the drums. I needed a drink or anything to occupy my mind. I walked back to the bar and if Finn had read my mind, he slid a glass of whiskey in front of me.

"Thanks," I said and he smiled.

I turned to watch the band perform and leaned back against the cool bar top.

"Brody, right?" The petite, dark haired, tattooed girl asked.

"Yeah," I said, suddenly recognizing who she was.

"Kennedy," she said and offered her hand.

"Ally's best friend, right? It's nice to meet you Kennedy," I said and shook her hand.

"You look awfully dressed up to be hanging out in a bar, Brody."

I nodded. "Yeah, well things didn't quite turn out like I expected tonight," I said.

"You're referring to the masquerade party, I assume?" She asked.

Shit. How'd she know? Had Allyson talked to her already? Zac warned me about this one.

"Yep. That would be the one," I said.

"I like you, Brody. I think you're a decent guy," she began and I knew I was in for it, "I only know half of why Ally's so torn up, she sounded so hurt and I can only assume you had something to do with that. I've know her half my life and she's been trapped in her own world for so long, she doesn't know what it's like to feel anything for another person. So, I swear to God, if you fucking hurt her, I'll rip your balls off and shove them down your throat. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," I said and nodded.

"Good," she said. "Buy me a drink?"

"Of course, whatever you want. It's on the house," I said and she turned around to order another drink from Finn.

"I wasn't lying when I said I thought you were a decent guy. So, tell me, Brody. What's going on between you and that fucking Fern bitch?"

"Long story, but it's over between us and has been for a while now. I owed her a favor, so I escorted her to the party tonight," I said and took another swig from my glass.

"So, really you're saying she's a psychotic whore bag, am I right?"

"That's one way of saying it nicely," I said.

"I believe you, I do. But it's gonna take a lot more to make Ally believe it. And somehow, she's going to have to explain why her picture is on every cover of every newspaper and magazine in Arizona," she said and held out her phone for me to see.

A picture of Ally and I being escorted from the hotel stared back at me. The caption read, "BRODY MCCABE AND MYSTERIOUS FEMALE
ESCORTED OUT OF SERAPHINE FERN'S BIRTHDAY GALA!"

Fuck.

She scrolled down and the first line of the article read, "It's no mystery that McCabe has been Arizona's hottest bachelor, but recently he proposed to Seraphine Fern. The couple has been on and off for the past few years, but the news of their recent engagement came as quite the shock as we watched Brody lead an unknown woman to a taxi after being tossed out of Miss Fern's party."

Another picture followed. "McCabe kissing unknown woman in back of a taxi" A perfect picture of me kissing Ally's forehead in the back of the cab.

Double fuck.

"It's pretty bad. They're popping up all over the internet," Kennedy said taking her phone and shoving it into her purse.

"Fuck," I said and pinched the bridge of my nose between my fingers.

"You should probably call her and at least warn her, before she wakes up tomorrow and sees her face all over the news," she said.

"I can't. She won't want to talk to me," I said.

"If you don't, I guarantee it'll suck a lot worse for you tomorrow," she said, took her drink and made her way back toward the stage. 

Damn it.

I needed to call Nancy, she's the only one I knew who could put and end to all this. I made my way out the back door and sat on the edge of the stairs leading up to my apartment and dialed Nancy's number.

"Jesus Christ, McCabe. I thought you were trying to keep your name out of the tabloids for a while," she said.

"Nancy, you have to put a stop to this. It's all a fucking lie," I pleaded.

"You might be right, but I don't know what I can do. The Fern's official spokesperson has already issued a statement confirming your proposal to Seraphine. Sera's made a deal with one of the local magazines to do a human interest piece on you two. She's already posting pictures of her engagement ring on Facebook."

"Fuck! Nancy, you have to do something. I never fucking proposed to that psychotic bitch. We aren't even together!" I shouted.

"Calm down, Brody. I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, do not speak to the press, do not comment— Do you understand? And as for that girl pictured with you, we'll figure something out, but she's a reporter too, so it would be in your best interest if you didn't talk to her either. She could have set you up, just to get a story out of it," she snapped.

"She wouldn't do that, Nancy. I know she wouldn't," I said.

"Fine, but keep your mouth shut. I'll do what I can to fix this. Goodnight," she said and the line went dead.

If this night wasn't already the shittiest night of my life, it'd gone from bad to worse in a matter of two hours. I found Ally's number and hit send.

Ring...Ring...Ring...Ring...Voicemail.

I tried again.

Same thing, so I left a message.

"Allyson, it's Brody. We need to talk. I know you're not ready to talk to me, but I need you to call me back as soon as you get this, please."

Damn it! I held my phone up and prayed she would call me back, but I was worried she'd just delete my message and never have any warning once the photos of us blew up all over the internet. I needed to find Kennedy or tell her brother, so I headed back into the bar. Luckily, the band was on a break. I spotted Zac and waved at him. Kennedy had her arm around him and the two made their was toward me.

"Zac," I said.

"Brody, nice to see you again, man," he reached out to shake my hand. "Kennedy, have you met Brody?"

"Yes, actually," she said.

"Kennedy," I said, panic taking over my voice. "I tried to call her, but she won't answer. The team's PR agent says it's bad and she working on getting this fixed, but I need you to call her and tell her not to look at any of the local news feeds online or otherwise." 

"Kay, I'll try, but I guarantee she already knows," She said and headed to a quiet spot in the hallway to call Ally.

"What the hell is going on?" Zac asked. "And when did you and Kennedy become such good friends?"

"Just met tonight actually. She was lending me some advice about your sister," I said.

"Oh yeah, how'd that go?" He asked.

"She threatened to rip my balls off and shove them down my throat, so I'd say it went well."

Zac laughed and shook his head. "I told you she's a little firecracker."

"Thanks for the heads up, man." I said.

Kennedy made her way back towards us and she had a solemn look on her face. I knew she had bad news.

"She's already seen it, Brody. I tried to tell her it was all bullshit, but she wouldn't listen to me, I'm so sorry." She said.

"I have to talk to her," I said and took off through the back door.

I hopped on my motorcycle, the engine roared, I dropped it into gear and sped off towards Allyson's house.