Lasting Lyric (25 page)

Jason speaks up, “So, what happens if the pictures are leaked? What do we do?”

“It’s unfortunate,” June sighs. “…but being in this type of industry, things like this are bound to happen. We have to stick together and support Slim and Lyric. Sadly, if Violet is as stupid as I think she is, she’ll leak the pictures no matter what.”

“Gentlemen,” Darrin chimes in, “I know it’s horrible to even go down that road, but when and if she does leak them, she’ll be arrested for trespassing, and for exposing private pictures that were on private property.”

“Then what?” Danny shrugs. “What about the media? They’ll be all over this.”

“We’ll do everything we can to get them taken down,” Darrin replies.

Damn, I really hate this shit.
Fucking Violet
…I want to break her neck for even getting near Lyric. “It’s important you know this now, because most likely it will happen,” June warns everyone. “We have to just play this smart guys, okay? Stay grounded, and keep working hard on your next album. Like every other crappy situation we’ve gone through, we’ll get through this one as well.”

The energy in the room is unreal. With all the anger circulating, it’s a wonder how we’re all standing in one spot. If I weren’t in the public eye, I’d go chase down that bitch and shove her face in the toilet. With clear venom and hatred in my voice, I mutter out, “This mad woman chose the wrong people to fuck around with.”

“She certainly did,” June agrees. “We’ll have two lawyers backing us up, so Violet has no chance in surviving this.”

Clearly upset, Wayne comments, “Yeah, but the whole world is gonna see this, June. My best friend doesn’t deserve it.”

“Of course he doesn’t,” June tells him. “That’s why we are dealing with this shit before it starts. Until it’s over, you have to keep low key, and stay out of the public eye as much as you can.”

Walking toward the kitchen, I add, “Hopefully Lyric’s dad will get to Violet in time before the shit goes down.”
Fucking hell,
I really hope he does. Not sure how we’re gonna handle it if the public sees us together like that. No doubt they’ll have a field day over it.

Getting a beer from the fridge, Wayne comes with me. He slaps a hand on my back and says, “Man, I am so sorry. Had no idea you were going to give us some shit like that. Sucks big time.”

“Yeah,” I sigh. I unscrew the top, and take a nice, long, necessary drink. Then being a jerk, I add, “Just don’t go making jokes with Lyric, alright? She won’t be able to deal with it.”
Fuck.
Now I feel like a complete porchdick.

From the glower upon Wayne’s face, I knew I hit a nerve. “I may be an ass at times, dude, but I’m not fucking stupid. I’d never intentionally hurt Lyric. Love her like a sister.”

I lean back against the counter and apologize. “Sorry, man, I was out of line. I just hate what this is doing to her.”

He places a hand on my shoulder. “It’s happening to you, too,” he reminds me. “I’m behind you all the way, bro.”

“Thanks.” As much as Wayne can annoy the crap out of everyone, he has always been there for me, and continues to have my back.

Once everyone has had a chance to process the news, I pass out some beers. We get talking about the tour Lyric is working on, the music video filming next week, and Lucky’s engagement. Even though the pictures are in the back of all our minds, we have to distract ourselves. No reason to dwell on them when there is nothing we can do - not until Lyric’s dad gets here. Lyric texts me just then, letting me knows she’s okay. I feel a bit better knowing she is okay. The last thing I want is for her to disappear on me. I don’t know why I think she would, but her disappearing on me after the crash gets me a little worried she’ll do it again.

After about an hour, there’s a knock at the door. Sloane and his lawyer are here. “Hey, come on in. Nice to meet you in person,” I say, shaking hands with Sloane. Since he’s a big movie star, you’d think I would be blown away with him being here, but I’m not. I can’t think of anything else besides those damn pictures. More than anything, I want this fucking nightmare to go away.

“Same here,” Sloane says back. “This is our family lawyer, Clint Mayer.”

“Mr. McQuaid.”

We shake hands. “Call me Slim. Thanks for coming down here. I really appreciate it.” After walking them both to the living room, and introducing them to the gang, I pull Sloane aside. “Have you spoken to Lyric?”

Sloane crosses his arms. “I thought she was here?”

“No, she’s back at her place. My buddie’s women are with her.”

“Okay, good, because I tried calling, but she didn’t pick up. I’m really worried about her.”

“Yeah, man, so am I, but she’s in good hands.”

Filling him in on the recent discussion we had with June and Darrin, I sit back in my recliner and let the lawyers take over.

I’m fucking beat.

I TOLD SLIM I WOULD
be okay before he left for his house, to have the meeting with the band. But he wouldn’t hear of it, and asked Faith to come keep me company. Just because I had no desire facing the guys didn’t mean I needed to be babysat. But I understood his concern and accepted him wanting to take care of me. He’s the sweetest guy. What I didn’t expect walking through my front door was a gang of girls; Faith was joined by Harmony and Melody. Having Harmony here was fine, but Melody? It’s not like we’re enemies or anything, it’s just…I didn’t think she cared all that much for me. Although I was completely mortified with sharing the latest mishap, it felt good to get it off my chest.

The hurt has passed and the anger has taken over. Some people are such low lifes, it astonishes me. Although Violet is my biological mother, she is no one to me. As far as I’m concerned, she never existed. Now, it’s how to get her back for what she’s done - or is about to do. Since I won’t give her what she wants, she is more than likely going to sell the pictures off; the entire world will see what happens behind closed doors.

I can just see it now:
Hot rock star guitarist, Slim McQuaid Jr., from JINKS, gets caught in a whirlpool of steam with band manager, Lyric Newton, daughter of mega movie stars - Donovan Crow and Tilly Newton. Looks like another Crow figure is in deep waters. Who will the next Crow be?
It’s going to be the nightmare of all nightmares.

Faith and Harmony just left for the grocery store, while Melody decided to stay behind. Sitting curled up on my couch, I pretend that Melody isn’t here by scrolling through my Twitter feed. I am no mood to talk.

Despite my lack of conversation and awkward silence, Melody speaks up. “Look…I think I’ve been a bit bitchy to you lately.”

Without looking away from my phone, I scoff, “You think? More like you
have
been a bit bitchy.”

Melody smacks her lips. “I deserved that.”

I settle the phone down in my lap, then cross my arms, letting out a sigh. “I don’t really feel like being all nice, so what do you want, Melody?”

“Just want to apologize,” she genuinely says. She moves her way over to the couch, and sits on the opposite side of me. “We got off on a rocky start, because I’ve been jealous of your friendship with my sister -”

“Yeah, and why’s that?” Oh man, I am being such bitch. “She’s besties with Faith, so I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“You’re right,” she agrees, looking down at her hands. “It isn’t a big deal. I guess I’m afraid Harm won’t need me anymore. So many new friends, me getting married, and starting a music career, I don’t want my sister to forget me.”

Okay, maybe I need to start giving her a break. So I tone down the bitch and speak like a friend instead. “She’s not going to forget you. You’re her sister. Don’t make this all about losing anyone, think of it as a gain. A good one. You’re gaining new family, Mel. Deal with it, and be happy.”

“You are brutally honest. I like that about you, it means you’re not so stiff after all,” she laughs.

“Good,” I chuckle. “Can we please get along then? Our men are BFF’s, so…”

“Totally,” she shouts. “So now that’s all over with, how about I make us a margarita?” She winks, which gets me to laugh.

“Sounds perfect.”

After the girls left, I felt so much better. Spending the few hours I had with them made all the difference. Slim cares about me so much, he knew I needed to spill my sorrows on my best friends. He is such a good guy.

However, the second he comes clean to me about how he called my dad - behind my back - let’s just say, being angry is an understatement.

I.Am.Livid.

Standing furiously in my cat PJ’s, pink furry slippers and wild hair up in a bun, you’d think I was ready for a slumber party. Instead I’m a couple feet away, glaring at the man who looked me straight in the eye, and promised me he wouldn’t break down and call my dad. I trusted him.

“For the love of God, Slim, how could you do this,” pushing his chest out of anger. “You totally lied to my face! You promised you wouldn’t say anything.” I turn away from him, I am so mad.

“I’m sorry, Sunshine, I really am.” He never meant to keep his promise, so how can I believe his sincere apology?

Crossing my arms, I just want to cry. “Do you even realize how humiliating this is for me? The last person I wanted to know about this was my dad. He’s going to be so disappointed in me.” Furthermore, what’s he going to think when he sees those pictures? It’s going to hurt him.

The sudden feel of Slim’s hands resting on my shoulders causes me to flinch. “Don’t touch me. Just go away.”

Before I get the chance of walking away, he turns me back around. “Lyric, come on, don’t pull away from me. Look at me.” He lifts my chin to meet his eyes. I begin to tear up. “You know he’s the only one who can make this all go away.”

“What if he can’t stop Violet, and she leaks them anyways? He’ll still see them.”

“And so, what if he does?” He swipes away the few tears that escape my eyes, and cups my face. “At least he knows his daughter is with someone who loves her and would protect her with everything he has. It’s better than him finding out through the internet, don’t you think? Babe, he knows exactly what you’re going through. He’s the last person who would judge you, Charlie, and it’s not like you gave permission to have someone take pictures of us in my backyard. It was fucking illegal. You’re a grown ass woman who was fucking her man. It was a beautiful night for the both of us. So don’t let some porchdick take that away from us. Please.”

Good grief, how this man has a way with words. It
was
a beautiful night, the most amazing night of my life. Though, the thing he said about love. Did he mean it?
Does Slim love me
?

I’m breathless, I can barely form any words. “You love me?” I whisper.

Slim blinks a couple times, probably not even aware he just said what just he said. Yet, he doesn’t deny it. “More than the fucking planet, yes I do.”

The deep, tender, seriousness in both his eyes and tone definitely buries all of my anger. I can no longer be mad at him. Instead, I cover his lips with my own, erasing anything that happened before, and relish this fine man. In a flash, I jump up and wrap my legs around his waist, devouring all that is Slim. The noises that I hear from within his mouth excite me. His growling is such a turn on, I’m about ready to burst. His hands go directly under my butt as he carries me over to my kitchen island, and lays me flat on the cold counter. This is not going to be a slow making love moment. No, this is going to be a ‘screw my brains out’ until I scream,
have mercy me,
at least a dozen or so times.

Just as turned on and burning with need as I am, Slim whips my PJ top off and begins sucking on my breasts. Immediately, my hands go straight to his hair, squeezing the amazing roots as he bites down on each nipple. I whimper from each bite, causing my legs to quiver and my breathing to accelerate.
Good freakin’ Lord, his mouth can do amazing things
! Feels so good, I can’t get enough. I’ll never have enough. His mouth moves from my breasts, up my neck, to my jawline and back to my mouth. Our tongues embrace the other, dancing to the beat of our hearts. My fingers grasp onto his t-shirt, giving him a hint that I want it off. He listens, and in seconds the shirt is off. Then, just as fast, the bottom of my PJ’s are taken away. I am exposed at his mercy, and have his complete, undivided attention.