Phone Calls From a Rock Star (38 page)

I directed them to the little room off the
lobby where we’d set up for the reception following the show. I
explained to them the band would meet them there later. I then took
them to their seats, which were front row balcony—my idea, of
course. I winced as I remembered sitting in seats similar to this
the first time I’d laid eyes on Jake in person. I checked my
emotions, needing to keep them under control, and excused myself to
see to any last minute preparations.

Annie and Cammy were waiting for me in the
lobby along with volunteers from the Drama Club who were acting as
ticket collectors and ushers. They assured me everything was ready
and the doors would open soon.

“
Since you have this under
control, I’m going backstage to find out how long until they’re
ready to go on stage.”

I made my way backstage and knocked on the
dressing room door.

“
Iz,” Nick smiled as he
opened the door. “You look nice.”

“
Thanks,” I blushed as I
stepped inside. I felt Jake’s eyes burning me and my heart raced. I
met his gaze and heat swept through my body. “Um…how long do you
think until you’re ready?”

“’
Bout forty-five minutes,”
Ronnie answered, chewing a huge hunk of turkey sandwich.
“Hungry?”

As if I could eat. Not even the greasiest
cheeseburger would calm my nerves. I shook my head and shifted
nervously from foot to foot. Jake took pity on me and pulled me to
his lap.

“
Have a seat, Iz,” he said
as he locked his arms around my waist. Fire burned my face as his
lips brushed my ear. “You look beautiful. Everything’s fine.
Relax.”

I shuddered as his breath caressed my skin.
I felt his smile against my neck and wanted to turn in his lap and
press my lips to his. But I couldn’t. I didn’t know what all this
affection meant. Did he want me back? Or was he being friendly?
Trying to keep me from having a nervous breakdown? If the last
option was true then it wasn’t working at all. As a matter of fact,
my stomach was jittering more than coffee beans in a grinder.

“
I’m ready to go now,” Nick
declared, drumming his sticks on the back of a chair.

“
Dude, let everyone get to
their seats,” Matt laughed. He shoved the last huge bite of
sandwich in his mouth and chewed. He washed it down with soda and
smiled. “Thanks for the food, Iz.”

“
You’re welcome, but I
didn’t make it.”

Jake snorted. “We know that. I’ve already
informed them of your cooking skills. Or lack of, in this
case.”

I laughed, releasing much tension. The
bantering with Jake was comfortable.

About a half hour later, Cammy knocked on
the door and peeked her head inside, waving at the band. “We’re
ready whenever you guys are.”

I reluctantly peeled my body away from Jake.
“Okay. I’ll go announce you. You’re ready?”

Jake hugged me again. “Yep. Go ahead,
angel.”

I joined Cammy in the hall where Annie and
Zack were waiting. I positioned them on the side of the stage where
we’d watch the show together. Taking a steadying breath, I accepted
a mic from a sound guy and walked on stage, spotlight guiding my
way.

“
Thank you, everyone, for
coming tonight and supporting this great cause. Thanks to the Drama
Club, Dean Fletcher, and everyone who helped organize this and a
special thanks to Jake, Nick, Ronnie and Matt for agreeing to play.
So, I’ll shut up and let Controlled Environment do their
thing.”

I walked off stage as the curtain rose with
a roar of applause. Controlled Environment jumped in with their
most vulgar song. I laughed as I joined my friends.

The others got a big kick out of being so
close to the band and I had a hard time controlling my emotions.
Standing there, watching them play, forced many memories to gush to
the forefront of my mind.

The band was having fun, too. Nick spun his
sticks, tossed them in the air and caught them, throwing me a wink.
Ronnie and Matt pelted me with guitar picks instead of each other.
But when Jake sang the song he wrote about the night we first met,
I leaned against Cammy as tears sprinkled my cheeks.

I wanted him back. Badly. There was no doubt
whatsoever in my mind.

***

After the show, the guys asked to use the
showers in the dressing rooms before meeting with the reps. I left
Zach and Annie to wait for the band in the dressing room and
hurried off with Cammy to escort the reps to the reception. They
exclaimed over and over how much they enjoyed the show, and they
really seemed sincere. Most people would peg them too old for
Controlled Environment’s type of music but not me—I mean, look at
my parents for example.

Speaking of parents, I excused myself to go
find mine and invite them to the reception. I found them, thanks to
Seth’s great height, and took them to the reception area. About
thirty minutes later, Annie and Zach arrived with the band. I led
the reps over to meet them and let them express their gratitude. My
parents ambled over and Jake introduced his band mates to them. My
mother fussed over Jake, and I stood off to the side allowed them
all to mingle.

The reception began to wind down and the
reps thanked me for the hundredth time that night. They finally
declared that they needed to get going and Dean Fletcher offered to
escort them out. Seth, his date Amy, and my parents bid me a
goodnight as they all had a long drive home. My dad hugged me extra
hard and I didn’t want to let him go—I wanted to draw as much
strength from him that I could but eventually, I had to let him
loose. He kissed my cheek and whispered good luck wishes in my ear.
I swallowed a lump as he took my mother’s hand and led her
away.

“
Are you okay, angel?” Jake
asked, approaching me from behind. I turned and smiled. “We need to
go pack up our stuff.”

“
Don’t you have a crew?” I
asked.

“
Just a few people. We
asked for volunteers because we didn’t want to have to pay anyone
from ticket sales.”

“
I’ll help you if I can,” I
offered, wanting to squeeze every second with him that I could. “I
just need to clean up this mess.”

“
We got it, Bella,” Cammy
said, already clearing tables while Annie wiped them down. “You’ve
done so much as it is.”

“
Go,” Annie ordered as she
pushed me at Jake.

He caught me and reached for my hand. I
followed him out of the little room and to the stage. The guys with
him were already tearing down the drum set. Jake eased me into a
cushioned chair and gave me a wink.

“
You rest for a few
minutes. It won’t take long,” he promised.

Exhaustion from many stressful days and
sleepless nights crept up my body and reached my eyes, tugging on
my eyelids until they fell. The next thing I knew, Jake was gently
shaking me awake. “Huh?”

“
Let’s go, angel,” he
whispered. “I’ll walk you to your room.”

I didn’t argue as I rose to my shaky feet.
Jake tucked my arm in his and I waved over my shoulder at the
others.

“
Are you going back to
California soon?” I asked, covering my mouth so I could yawn. The
cool night air kissed my cheeks and brought with it a bit
adrenaline that I needed to make me coherent.

“
Not for at least another
week. But we’re almost done so I won’t be staying there long.” He
stopped in front of my building and leaned against the bricks with
both my hands in his. “Why? Do you need something?”

“
I…well…I don’t
need
anything,” I said,
dropping my eyes to the ground. “I just…you know…wanted to ask if
you’d come to my graduation next Sunday. If you’re not in
California.”

He cupped my face in his hands and forced my
eyes to his. “I won’t be in California, and I’d love to come to
your graduation.”

“
Thanks,” I whispered,
trying to smile. “I’ll…um…send you the tickets wherever you’ll
be.”

I hated that I sounded like a stammering
fool—it had never been this hard talking to Jake.

“
Not a problem, Iz,” he
said, teasing smile on his face. His thumbs caressed my cheeks as
he leaned closer. My heart thumped in anticipation. “I understand
you’re dateless for the prom.”

“
I am not,” I said, my
voice thick with emotion. I cleared my throat. “Cammy is my
date.”

“
Like I said,” he grinned.
“You’re dateless.”

I folded my arms over my chest, indignant.
“She’s dumping me for a guy?”

“
Yep,” Jake said. His eyes
shined. “She sure is.”

“
Who?” I
demanded.

He laughed and ruffled my hair. “Nick. He
was talking to her about prom at the reception and she explained to
him how her date canceled. He asked her if he could take her since
he dropped out of school and never got to go to his own prom.”

My jaw fell to the ground and nearly scraped
on the rocks. Jake chuckled and gently shut my mouth. “That was her
reaction also.”

“
Wow,” I whispered. I
waited for the relief to come but surprisingly, it didn’t. I guess
Cammy’s and Annie’s excitement rubbed off on me a little. I
wasn’t
really
excited, but I did sort of want to go since it was our last
year. I’d never attended before and I wanted to see what all the
fuss was about. “Well, that’s good because now I don’t have to go.
You know me, that’s not my sort of thing. But Cammy’s date backed
out and the girls bought me a dress so I really couldn’t say no.
Now I can.”

“
Iz,” Jake said,
amused.

“
Huh?”

“
Shut up.” My mouth opened
and closed quickly. He grinned. “I’ll take you.”

“
I…that’s not really
necessary,” I said, weakly. He cocked his head and raised a brow.
“Really?”

“
Yes, really,” he
laughed.

“
What if you get
mobbed?”

His laughter grew as he hugged me to his
chest. He kissed the top of my head. “I missed you, Iz.”

“
I missed you, too,” I
mumbled in his shirt. I pulled slightly away. “Thanks,
Jake.”

“
Can you meet me at my
hotel in the morning? We’ll go grab some breakfast and maybe
talk.”

I stuck my keycard in the slot and he opened
the door. “Sure. I’d like that.”

He squeezed my shoulder and waited for me to
enter the building. As soon as the door shut I sprinted down the
hall to my room. I burst inside, tears rolling down my cheeks.
Annie jumped to her feet, alarmed.

“
What’s the matter?” she
asked.

“
Jake’s taking me to the
prom,” I sniffled. She exchanged a confused look with Cammy so I
took a deep, painful breath and explained to them everything Jake
and I had discussed.

“
So why are you crying?”
Cammy asked, her eyes bright with fright.

“
He didn’t even kiss me.
Not even a little one like he used to do when we were just
friends.”

To me, that was not a god sign.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Although I was extremely tired, I tossed and
turned all night. I gave up totally on sleep when the green numbers
on my alarm clock read five in the morning. Slipping my feet to the
floor as quietly as possible so as not to disturb Annie, I padded
to the shower. Once that was finished and I dressed, I paced the
room, not quite sure what my next move should be. The guys weren’t
staying on campus this time. Instead they rented rooms at a nearby
hotel—the same one where Jake stayed when he came to see me for my
birthday. My steps slowed as I recalled the squabble Ronnie and
Nick had while disassembling equipment—before I fell asleep—about
who was staying in what room. The debate ended when Nick produced a
keycard envelope with his room number written on it. And he
declared Jake was in the room next to him. That made Jake’s room
two-oh-six.

“
Stop,” Annie murmured as
she aimed a pillow at my head. “Either go to bed or go find
Jake.”

“
Sorry,” I muttered as I
stopped in the middle of the room. I bit my lip, glanced at the
clock again, and raced for the door.

I was not surprised in the least to see a
few reporters lurking around the parking lot. What they expected to
find that early, I didn’t know. But it looked like I was going to
give them a scoop. What would they write— ‘Sweet Isabella Leaves
Campus at Six in the Morning?’ That would sell a lot of papers. Or
‘Innocent Isabella is an Insomniac.’ Who knew what they would come
up with and at that point in time, I could care less.

I checked in at Admin, telling them I was
going for a jog then out for breakfast, and proceeded to jog to my
car.

“
Where are you going so
early, Isabella?” an eager, bright-eyed young woman
asked.

I rolled my eyes. “Shopping. I need two
lemons, a box of tampons and some vinegar. Will that make the
headlines?”

She blinked at me, not knowing what to say.
I waved and jumped in my car. I was sure that my little shopping
list would somehow come back to bite me in the rear but I wasn’t
overly concerned. It wouldn’t matter if I recited the Gettysburg
Address – they’d find a way to make a story out of it.

I parked in front of Jake’s hotel and raced
up to his room, smiling at Frankie sitting in his chair. He grunted
and I wondered if the man ever slept. Skidding to a stop in front
of the door, I bit my lip, hoping he wouldn’t be mad. I knocked
softly and waited while the hummingbirds in my stomach flittered
their wings. I couldn’t hear a peep so I knocked a little
harder.