Our Song (15 page)

“Actually, I think I’ll take a raincheck,” I said, rising to my feet. “I’m exhausted. I need to catch up on my beauty sleep if I’m going to be partying on Saturday
and
Sunday now.”

Colton shook his head and smiled. “Okay. I guess I should probably get some writing done, anyway, while you go play Sleeping Beauty.”

“Writing? You’re going to write without me? I thought everything had to be fifty-fifty,” I reminded him jokingly.

“Yeah, for
your
album,” he replied. “I’m working on one of my own right now, too. It’s supposed to be released about a week before yours.”

“Oh.” Why hadn’t I known that until now? He’d been spending so much time working on the songs for
my
album that I hadn’t even considered that he probably needed to be working on his own.

“Do you need me to give you a ride back to your place?”

I shook my head. “No, my driver’s still here. But thank you.”

“No problem. Hey, I’ll give you a call later, okay?” Colton met my eyes, searching them for my approval.

I smiled. “Sounds good.”

As I walked out of the house, I wondered why he hadn’t mentioned the kiss. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he
didn’t
regret it, after all.

Chapter 22

When I got back to my apartment, I headed straight for the fridge.

Just as I was about to open the door to grab a bottle of water, I spotted the note that was hanging from the door.

Viola,

Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I’m going to go spend a few nights with my parents, and then I’m heading back to Nashville to really try to get this music career started. I hope you understand.

Don’t worry, though. I won’t go another three years without calling you. I’ll call you every week, maybe even every day.

Love you like the sister I never had.

Skylar XOXO

Wow. That was the very last thing I’d been expecting to happen, for some reason. Even though I was happy that my best friend was going to pursue her dreams, my apartment suddenly felt lonely again. It had been nice to have a roommate, even if it only was for a few weeks. I was going to need to get used to being entirely on my own again.

I may have told Colton I was coming home to sleep, but it had actually been the very last thing on my mind. I’d been planning to come back to schedule an appointment to get my hair done and to search my closet to see if I had a dress for his sister’s birthday party. If I didn’t, I was going to need to go shopping.

Suddenly, though, the only thing I wanted to do was curl up into a ball, pull the covers over my head, and just lay there. And so that’s what I did.

*

By eleven o’clock that night, I figured Colton wasn’t going to call me. If he was, he probably would’ve done it already. He was probably already in bed, possibly with someone else.  Just the thought made my heart squeeze.

What was wrong with me? I never got this way over guys. Well, except for Jake… But that was different. I really believed I would’ve been able to move on from Jake a whole lot quicker if he’d just told me why he was breaking up with me. It was the not knowing that had killed me.

Things were different with Colton, though. I knew it was probably crazy, but…it felt like I was beginning to fall in love with him.

I tried to shake the thought away. You couldn’t really love someone after only knowing them for a few weeks…
could
you?

But as hard as I tried, I couldn’t seem to figure out any other explanation for the way I’d been acting. This was clearly more than just a little crush. There was a reason I didn’t want Colton to be with Tessa or anyone else.

Ugh. I
knew
agreeing to work with him had been a mistake from the get-go.

Grabbing my phone, I opened a new text message to him. I typed:
Way to not call me, jerk.

Just as I was about to hit ‘Send’, my phone started to ring and
Colton
scrolled across the caller ID.

I waited until it rang three times so I didn’t make myself seem too available before hitting the ‘Talk’ button. I pressed the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Hey. I didn’t wake the sleeping beauty, did I?”

I smiled. His voice sounded deep and sexy on the other end of the line.

“No, I was awake.” I paused for a moment and then asked, “Did you get some writing done?”

“Yeah, I was feeling pretty inspired.”

I waited for him to elaborate. When he didn’t, I asked, “What’s the song about?”

“You’ll hear it once it drops,” he replied.

“Oh.”

The disappointment in my voice must’ve been obvious, because he explained, “Sorry. It’s nothing against you. I just have a really private songwriting process. I don’t tell
anyone
—not even my family—what my songs are about until after they’ve been recorded. It’s just how I work.”

“I understand,” I replied.

Colton yawned into the phone.

I found myself giving into a yawn, too. “Yawning is so contagious.”

He laughed. “Sorry. I should probably head to bed now. I just wanted to call and say goodnight.”

I smiled again. “Okay, goodnight.”

“Night, Viola.”

Once I hung up the phone, I deleted the text message I’d almost sent him. A feeling of relief washed over me. I could only imagine what his reaction would’ve been. If he didn’t already think I was a clingy, crazy bitch, he would’ve for sure.

*

“So, are the rumors true?” Lauren asked.

“You need to be a little more specific than that. If you heard a rumor that I ate a hot dog for lunch, the answer would be yes,” I joked.

“Wow. Viola Pierce ate a
hot
dog?! How scandalous,” she teased as she painted some bleach onto my hair and then wrapped it with tin foil. My head was so full of tin foil that I felt like I could’ve attracted the Tin Man. “Did you have ketchup on that or mustard?”

“Both,” I replied with a giggle.

“Well, just for the record, that’s
not
the rumor I heard.”

“What was it then?”

“You’re dating Colton King?” Her gray eyes were full of excitement, though I was pretty sure there was some jealousy mixed in there somewhere, too.

I let out a laugh. “No! Where did you hear
that
?”

“It’s been all over the news. Apparently, that’s what a ‘source’ who’s close to you said,” Lauren explained, meeting my eyes in the mirror. “You know you can trust me, Vi. I won’t say a word.”

She was right; I
could
trust her. Aside from Finn, she was the only person who I’d told I was dating Jake in the beginning and neither of them had let the cat out of the bag. The media hadn’t found out about our relationship until we’d decided to go public with it.

“If it was true, you know I would tell you. But we’re really not dating. We’re only working together,” I insisted, deciding not to mention our one night stand. It wasn’t that I didn’t think Lauren was trustworthy. It was just that I suddenly regretted that I’d told
anyone
. It felt like something that should’ve stayed between Colton and me. I wished I hadn’t kissed and told.

“I wonder why anyone would say you
are
dating, then,” Lauren said, shaking her head.

“Me too,” I murmured, wondering who it could’ve been. I wasn’t sure why, but for some reason, the only person I could think of was Skylar. Was it possible she could’ve said something that was taken out of context? Maybe she’d hinted that she
thought
we should date and the media had twisted her words.

“Your hair is getting so long. I need more foil than I realized.” As Lauren went to the back of the salon to get more foil, I grabbed my cell phone and opened a new text to Skylar.

Hey, did you tell anyone Colton and I are dating?

I waited for a few moments to see if she would respond. When she didn’t, I sighed. Most people either texted back right away or hours later. Apparently, Skylar was going to text me back hours later…though I couldn’t help but wonder if she was really just avoiding me, because she
was
the one who’d said something.

*

As I was walking out of the salon with freshly highlighted hair and covered roots, my cell phone went off. I glanced down, hoping it was Skylar getting back to me, but it was Finn.

I pressed my phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Hey, Vi. Congratulations!” Finn said.

“For?” I asked, even though I had a feeling that I already knew what he was going to say. Rumors traveled fast, clearly.

“You and Colton. I
knew
it was going to turn out this way.”

“Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s not actually true. Colton and I aren’t together,” I told him. “It’s just a rumor.”

“Damnit! Really?” The disappointment in his voice was obvious.

“Really,” I replied with a laugh. As I rounded a corner, I heard the familiar sound of cameras clicking. I rolled my eyes, relieved that they were hidden behind my Gucci sunglasses. “I gotta go, Finn. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Viola, is it true that you’re dating Colton King?” one photographer asked.

Another said, “Did you start dating Colton before or after you started making music together?”

“Are the songs you’re working on about your relationship?”

“Viola, has Colton King ever blown up
your
phone?”

At that moment, I spotted Eddie pulling up to the sidewalk in the limo. Glancing at the photographers, who were all taking pictures of me and waiting for their answers, I said, “I have no comment.”

As I headed for the limo, I smiled to myself. I tried not to make a habit of saying ‘no comment’, but I couldn’t help myself. I didn’t
care
what the media or what the world thought about Colton and me. If they wanted to think we were dating, then let them.

I knew the truth, even though I wasn’t going to lie. I really
did
hope we ended up a couple.

Chapter 23

On Saturday night, we pulled into the driveway at Colton’s parents’ house, which was where Kylie’s 21st birthday party was being held.  

When we climbed out of his car, I tried not to let the surprise show on my face. There were lots of gorgeous homes in Los Angeles, but this place was impressive. I was pretty sure I’d seen pictures of this one somewhere. I wasn’t positive, but I thought it might’ve belonged to Jennifer Anniston or Courtney Cox or some other celeb at one point.

“You’re quiet tonight. I thought quiet people freaked you out,” Colton said as he handed the valet his keys.

Yes, his parents had apparently hired a valet for Kylie’s party, which seemed a little bit extravagant to me. You know how I spent
my
twenty-first birthday? At a dive bar with Skylar and a few of my friends from high school. The highlight of my night had been getting hit on by a self-proclaimed “real cowboy” (and, in case you’re wondering, his pick-up line had been, “Save a horse, ride a cowboy.” It was pretty classy, let me tell you).

Granted, I’d celebrated that birthday
before
I’d gotten famous, and it wasn’t like I’d had parents to throw me a fancy schmancy birthday party. So, I supposed that it was sort of different.  

“They do freak me out. I’m just tired,” I answered. It was a lie, of course. The truth was that I’d just realized how different our lifestyles were. I may have grown up more privileged than some people, but I was certain that the King children had been a lot more spoiled than I’d ever been. Not that it was a bad thing, but it made
me wonder if the Colton and I had less in common than I’d originally thought.

“Well, I hope you’re not too tired to have fun tonight. Parties at the King homestead tend to run late into the night…err, early into the morning.” His blue eyes darted over in my direction. “But we can leave whenever you’re ready.”

“Okay. I’ll remember that. Just in case it gets…you know, boring,” I said with a sly grin.

“It won’t,” he promised as we stepped into the backyard.  

My jaw fell open in awe. For some reason, I thought this party was going to be on the smaller side; I didn’t expect to find what I would’ve envisioned the ball in
Cinderella
to look like in real life. There was a huge crowd of people who all surrounded the pool in the center of the yard. And not just people—people who were dressed to impress. The emerald green dress from Ambrosia’s that I’d chosen to wear made me look entirely out of place in comparison to all of the gowns that most of the girls and women were donning.

The only silver lining was that I wasn’t the
only
one who was under-dressed. Colton’s navy blue polo shirt (which really brought out the color of his eyes) and black pants looked pretty dressed down in comparison to the suits and tuxedos that most of the men were wearing. He didn’t seem to even care, though. Maybe it was because his parents were hosting the party, or maybe he was just that comfortable in his own skin; I wasn’t sure which.  

It didn’t take long to pick Colton’s sister, Kylie, out of the crowd. She wore a light pink puffy gown with a sparkly bodice. Her long, dark brown hair was styled in bouncy curls that cascaded over her shoulders. What gave her away was the tiara, which sparkled under the moonlight. She looked just like a princess.

A waiter came over to us, carrying a tray of flutes. “Would you like some champagne?”

“I’d love some,” I replied, taking one from him.

“Alright.” Colton took some champagne, too, though I got the impression that he only did because of me. He glanced down at me, his blue eyes taking on golden flecks in the light that reflected in them from the pool. Holding up his glass, he said, “To songwriting.”

“To songwriting,” I replied with a smile as our glasses clinked together. I took a sip of my champagne, just as a man walked over to us. He was tall with very broad shoulders, auburn hair, and light blue eyes.

“Hey, Colt. I’m surprised you were actually able to make it today,” he said.

“Oh, come on, Dad. How could I miss my baby sister’s birthday? I need to witness her getting drunk before she has her first hangover.” Colton laughed.

“Let’s hope
that
doesn’t happen,” his dad said with a chuckle. Glancing over at me, he extended a hand. “Hello… I’m Christopher King.”

“Hi. I’m Viola Pier—” I started to say, but he cut me off.

“I know who you are. I have to say, I’m absolutely
thrilled
that my son had the opportunity to work with you. I’ve talked to quite a few people in the industry, and they all feel you have a very bright future ahead of you.” He smiled at me warmly.

“Thank you. I’m excited to work with Colton, too,” I admitted. And it had nothing to do with the way I’d begun to feel about him or that heart-stopping kiss. I genuinely enjoyed co-writing with him.

“I know you two will do great things.” Christopher turned to Colton. “Did Kylie tell you the good news yet?”

“No, she didn’t tell me anything. What news are you talking about?”

“Oh, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything about it. She’ll probably want to tell you herself.”

Colton glanced over at where his sister was standing. “Now you have me curious, so I think we’re going to head over there and talk to her.”

“Okay. But you should probably warn Viola first,” his dad said with a wink before he walked away from us and headed over to a small circle of people.

“Warn me about
what
?” I narrowed my eyes at Colton.

“Well, I don’t want to scare you or anything, but I’m pretty sure my sister is your biggest fan.” He stared into my face, waiting for my reaction with a look of amusement in his eyes.

I shrugged, not even bothering to suppress my own smile. “I’m sure that I’ve probably seen way worse. Trust me.”

“Well, I guess we’ll find out in five seconds,” he replied as he led me over to where his sister was standing in the center of a circle, chatting away with her friends.

As her eyes drifted over to us, she stopped mid-conversation, made a mad dash across the patio and threw her arms around me in a hug. “Oh, my God! You’re Viola Pierce! I’m your biggest fan e
ver
!”

I giggled. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Viola Pierce just said she’s excited to meet
me
,” Kylie squealed, hopping up and down excitedly, which made me laugh. “You’re seriously, like, the most awesome singer ever. I don’t know what you’re even doing here with this tool.” She motioned to her brother, feigning disgust.

“Hey. I know I’m not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, but…I’m not
that
bad,” he joked.

“He’s good people,” I said, laughing again. “Happy birthday, by the way.”

“Yeah, happy birthday, Ky,” Colton added.

“Thank you.” Her glossy pink lips formed a smile and then she turned to her brother. “Did Mom and Dad tell you the news yet?”

“Nope. Dad said you would probably want to tell me yourself. What is it?”

“I got signed to Regal Records!” Kylie squealed.

“Awesome. Congrats,” Colton said with a grin.

“Congratulations,” I told her. “That’s so exciting!”

“Thank you.” At that moment, a few girls who appeared to be about the same age as she was approached her. She glanced over at us apologetically. “I’ll see you guys later, okay? Enjoy the party.”

“You, too,” I told her with a smile.

“Yeah, don’t get
too
wasted,” he warned her, a serious expression crossing his face.

“I make no promises.” She shot us a grin and then turned to her friends.

As we walked away from her, I turned to Colton. “Your sister seems really nice.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, she has her moments.”

I laughed. “I didn’t realize she was a musician, too. Talent must run in your genes or something.”

His face clouded over with a dark look that I couldn’t quite identify. “Yeah, she has a really good voice. Better than mine, actually. But do you see what I meant about her being your biggest fan?”

I laughed. “Oh, please. If you think
that
was crazy, you should’ve been there when I’ve met some of my crazy fans.”

He looked intrigued. “What, have you had a stalker already?”

I shook my head. “No, no stalkers yet, knock on wood. But a taxi driver once asked me to sign his boxers.”

His eyes widened. “Wow.
Did
you sign them?”

“Well, I mean, yeah,” I replied with a shrug. “I figured that if he could go through all of that effort, signing them was the very least that I could do, you know?”     

“True.” He laughed. “I’m sorry about my sister, though. I’m going to need to have a talk with her about it later. She needs to learn to cool it. She can’t act like that around all of her favorite musicians if she wants to gain any sort of respect in this industry.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s no big deal.” I paused and then added, “Besides, I guess it makes us even now, considering how big of a fan Skylar apparently is of you.”

“Yeah, but that’s a little different,” Colton said.

“How is it any different?”

“Easy.” Meeting my eyes, his expression turned serious. “Skylar’s hot.”

Jealousy washed over me like a tidal wave. I knew I needed to get away from him and fast, or else I was going to say things that would probably be better left unsaid.   

“Where’s the bathroom?” I blurted.   

He stared at me for a moment. “When you go inside the house, you go up the stairs. It’s the first door on the left.”

“Thank you.” I quickly brushed past him. Straightening out my shoulders, I made a point of strutting my shit as I walked across the patio, trying to play it off coolly. Of course, in reality, I felt anything
but
cool.

The whole time, the only thing I could seem to think about was the fact that I shouldn’t have let this bother me. It wasn’t like the two of us were an item. That kiss in the elevator? I don’t know what it had been about, but clearly it didn’t mean anything.
Nothing
about us had ever meant anything. We were just co-songwriters and
maybe
friends, nothing more or less.

But no matter how much I knew I shouldn’t let it, it
did
bother me. Because, even though I knew all of these things, I wanted us to be more than just friends. I wanted to kiss him in elevators or anywhere I wanted. I wanted him to spend the night and not only because he felt the need to supervise me while I was drunk.

I guess what it came down to was that I wanted
him
.