Phone Calls From a Rock Star (8 page)

But I didn’t know his address or what he
liked to do when he wasn’t playing music. All the times we spoke on
the phone and I rambled on and on about me but hardly ever asked a
single thing about him. I shrugged and filled in the form best I
could before faxing it to my dad. I would grill Jake when I saw him
this weekend and find out every single detail I could.

***

Before I knew it, Friday came. My friends
greeted me at breakfast with a small, chocolate birthday cake which
I couldn’t even eat. By lunch, I was nothing but a total basket
case. Annie and Cammy tried to coax me into eating, but I was
afraid nothing would stay down. Not even a greasy meal from my
favorite fast food restaurant sounded appetizing.

My cell rang and I jumped, spilling Cammy’s
milk. I snagged a couple nearby napkins to sop up the mess but
Cammy grabbed them from my hands and glared.

“
Answer the phone,” she
ordered.

I checked the number. It was Jake.
“Hello?”

“
Hey, Iz. I’m not
interrupting class, am I?”

I smiled, relieved and excited to hear his
voice. “No. I’m at lunch. Where are you?”

“
In a hotel room about
fifteen minutes from your school. I drove by earlier and it’s huge.
How do you not get lost?”

I gasped, catching the attention of the
people at a nearby table. “Really? You’re that close?”

“
Yep. Happy
birthday.”

“
Thanks,” I blushed. My
hands began to tremble as I mentally counted down the hours until I
could escape the campus and see him again. “I have a few more
classes before I can meet you.”

“
Do you have to wear plaid
skirts at that fancy school of yours?” he asked in a teasing tone.
The heat in my cheeks was nearly scorching.

“
No,” I said.

“
Too bad. I was imagining
you frolicking around campus in one of those Catholic school girl
outfits.”

I was going to hit him. Hard. In the
stomach. “I do not frolic, and I think those uniforms went out of
style ages ago.”

Cammy and Annie giggled beside me. I threw
them each their own menacing glare.

“
Call me when you get out
of class, Iz. I’ll see you soon.”

He hung up, and my entire body turned to
rubber. I didn’t know how I was going to make it through the next
few hours.

Chapter Six

“
Isabella, what do you
think you’re doing?” Annie demanded, glaring at me while I sat on
my bed to tie my shoes. I glanced up at her, totally thrown by her
question.

“
I’m getting ready to go
meet Jake,” I uttered. She should have known that—it’s all I talked
about all day.

She raised a perfectly plucked brow. “Like
that?”

Standing, I ran a hand down the legs of my
jeans. They were my favorite; comfortable but not holey or anything
like that. I also had on a green t-shirt. I have a thing for
colored t-shirts, and the green one matched my eyes. My hair was
gathered into a neat ponytail. I didn’t see a problem.

“
What? Do I have a stain on
my shirt? Something on the back of my jeans?” I looked over my
shoulder, twisting in complicated ways to see if that was the
case.

“
Bella,” she sighed gently.
“You’re going to town to meet a boy. A very cute boy. Dress
up!”

I laughed and took a step away from her.
“I’m going to town to meet Jake. He’s taking me for a fast food
dinner. He doesn’t care what I look like.”

Annie started to protest but Cammy came to
my rescue. “Let her go.” I smiled gratefully until Cammy’s eyes
turned scheming. “We’ll get a hold of her before the dance tomorrow
night.”

I gave her a wary look. “What do you mean
you’ll get a hold of me tomorrow?”

“
Nothing,” Cammy grinned.
She pushed me to the door. “Go. Have fun. Give Jake our
love.”

I was about to demand answers until she
mentioned Jake and set off an entire flock of butterflies in my
stomach. I darted out the door before I turned chicken and hid
beneath my bed.

***

My hands trembled as I parked my car in
front of the hotel. It took me three tries to dig my cell phone out
of my pocket and four to hit the correct button.

“
Hey, Iz. Where are
you?”

“
Parking lot,” I managed to
squeak.

“
Be right
there.”

I got out of the car and smoothed my shirt.
I leaned against the door, trying to look cool and casual. That
worked only when I shoved my shaky hands into my pockets.

A couple minutes later, he appeared, robbing
me of breath. He was dressed in jeans, a hoodie and a baseball cap,
grinning. He pulled me into an embrace before I could move. All
nervousness flew away as I jerked my hands out of my pockets to
throw around his neck. I hadn’t realized how much I missed him
until I inhaled his scent and memories of our night together
flooded my mind.

Finally, he edged back and produced a
slightly smashed rose from the front pocket of his sweatshirt. He
held it out to me earnestly as my eyes grew. I couldn’t think of a
thing to say. No one had ever given me flowers before, except maybe
my father.

“
Happy birthday,” he said,
blue eyes sparkling. I took the flower and it trembled in my grip.
He kissed my cheek and waited for me to say something.

“
Thanks,” I said, nearly
choking on the word. I shivered, and he pulled off his sweatshirt
with a sigh.

“
Here,” he said, handing it
to me. “Put this on.”

“
Won’t you be cold?” I
asked. Déjà vu anyone?

He tugged on the long sleeve of his shirt.
“Nah. Come on. Let’s take your car to get some food.”

I pulled his shirt over my head, careful not
to crush the rose, and handed him my keys. My nervousness had snuck
back into my stomach and I didn’t trust myself to drive. He grinned
and opened the door, allowing me to climb over the console to the
passenger’s seat.

We ran through the Burger Kastle drive-thru
and Jake handed me the bag of aromatic food. He headed back to the
hotel, and I followed him up to his room. Once again, I found
myself alone with him, totally vulnerable, but I didn’t feel an
ounce of fear.

We sat at the small table and ate. I
remembered my vow to find out more about him so I pelted him with
questions.

“
Jake, what’s your favorite
color?”

He furrowed his brow. “Green. Like the color
of your eyes.” He winked and shoved a fry in his mouth. My heart
soared to my throat. “Why?”

“
Well,” I started, taking a
sip of my drink. “I realized the other day that I didn’t know a
whole lot about you.”

He shrugged and leaned back in his chair.
“Ask me whatever you want.”

So I did. I asked about his favorite food;
favorite movie; favorite thing to do. He answered each question
patiently. When I ran out of questions he smiled softly.
“Done?”

“
For now,” I smiled
back.

“
Good,” he said as he
sprang from his chair and strode over the chest of drawers across
from the bed. He smirked as he opened the top drawer and withdrew a
couple parcels. “Present time.”

“
No, Jake,” I gasped, heat
touching my cheeks. “This is so unnecessary. You don’t need to do
this.”

“
Sure I do, so just shut up
and open them.” He scooted two brightly wrapped gifts at me as he
leaned against the wall to watch, arms across his chest. “Go
on.”

With a sigh, I snatched one off the top. It
was the smallest and I as I ripped the paper off, I frowned. It was
a CD in a plain green jewel case and no label–just a bunch of
scrawl in black marker.

“
Me and the guys were
playing around in the studio one day–you know, kinda unplugged
style. The guys in the sound room recorded us. You are the only
person other than me and the band who have a copy. We all signed it
for you, too.”

My breath left my lungs in a whoosh. “Jake,”
I managed to say. “This is amazing. Thank you so much.”

He just grinned at nodded at the larger box.
“Open that.”

I blushed, a little embarrassed. I hated
opening presents in front of people except for family at Christmas.
But Jake was nearly squirming in anticipation, and I didn’t want to
let him down. I tore at the paper and found a plain brown box. When
I lifted the lid, I squealed. Inside were concert DVDs from every
awesome band available: Def Leppard, Aerosmith, Greenday,
Nickelback, Pink Floyd—the list was endless.

“
Jake, this is just
awesome. I don’t know how to thank you!”

His eyes softened as a smile floated across
his face. “Well, I know you love music like I do. I thought you’d
enjoy them.”

I pulled one out and flipped it over,
reading the back cover. I was beyond words. I had one or two
concert DVDs but nothing at all like this.

“
Okay, before you get all
emotional or whatever you girls do, there’s one more
thing.”

I tore my eyes from the DVD to glance at
him. “Huh?”

He produced a long, slim box wrapped in
shiny green paper. He slid it on the table to me, and I caught it
reflexively before it could fall to the floor. “My sister helped me
with this one.”

I couldn’t stop staring at him. He sighed
and nudged the box, forcing my eyes to the package. I carefully
ripped the paper off and lifted the lid. My heart stopped as I
fingered the shimmering gold bracelet. I smiled at the round charm
with ‘IZ’ engraved elegantly on the front. I flipped it over and
read ‘Love, Jake’. I couldn’t stop the emotions as my eyes misted.
I stood on shaky legs and hugged him. He rubbed my back and
chuckled lightly.

“
I take it you like it,
then?”

I nodded in his chest, ashamed to show him
my moist eyes. He squeezed me as he dropped a kiss on the top of my
head. He held me for a few minutes more before reluctantly
loosening his grip. “I wrote a new song, and I want you to hear
it.”

I nodded again and stepped back, wiping the
tears from my cheeks. “Help me put this on, first,” I asked, taking
the bracelet out of the box. His fingers brushed my wrist as he
fastened the hook and made my skin tingle in an eerie sort of
way.

“
It looks good on you,” he
said, a twinkle in his eyes. I blushed and ducked my head but the
wide smile on his face clued me in that he’d noticed. He picked up
a guitar out of a case and strummed on the strings. Plopping on the
bed, I scooted up to the headboard.

“
That night with you
inspired this song. And be warned, this is the closest you’ll ever
get to me singing about butterflies and rainbows.” He gave me a
stern look that he totally ruined when an impish grin cracked his
lips.

Laughing, I pulled my legs to my chest. I
rested my chin on my knees and listened as he strummed a short
introduction and began singing, sending my heart to outer space. He
sang about a night free from responsibility and hanging out with a
friend. He sang about lying under the stars and watching fireflies
play in the fields. It wasn’t the least bit corny. It was more
about realizing how insignificant you really were and how so many
out there had more on their plate than you. I felt the tears build
behind my eyes as he finished. He just looked at me, waiting for my
reaction.

“
Wow,” I managed to say, my
frozen body still absorbing the notes that seemed to waft in the
air.

“
Thanks,” he grinned,
setting his guitar back in the case. “That song is on the CD I gave
you.” He paused to stare at me a moment. “What do you want to do
now?”

“
Listen to you sing some
more,” I blurted. My cheeks heated again.

It was his turn to blush as his grin
softened into a deep smile. I gasped.

“
What?” he
asked.

“
You have a
dimple!”

Rolling his eyes, he stood and held out a
hand to help me to my feet. “Let’s go for a ride on my bike.”

“
Your bike?” Surely he
didn’t ride a ten-speed all the way here from Chicago.

“
Motorcycle,” he laughed.
“You’re not afraid, are you?”

“
How did you manage to haul
all these gifts and your guitar on a motorcycle?” Was he a
magician, too?

He laughed again and tugged on the sleeve of
the sweatshirt I still hadn’t returned. “It wasn’t hard. Give me
the sweatshirt back. You can wear my jacket—it’ll be warmer.”

I removed his sweatshirt and took the heavy
leather jacket he handed me. The sleeves fell way past my hands and
Jake smirked. He rolled them back a little and zipped the jacket up
before removing his hat to pull the hoodie over his head. He put
the hat on backwards, stuffed the keycard in his back pocket and
took my hand.

The motorcycle was big and intimidating.
Jake grabbed a helmet hanging from the handlebars and forced it in
my hands. “Put that on, Iz and get on back.”

“
Shouldn’t you wear the
jacket?” I asked. Maybe I was stalling, though I wasn’t sure if it
was fear of the bike or fear of wrapping my arms around him so
intimately. “You’ll be in front, you know.”

“
No, I’ll be fine. Just do
as I say and put the helmet on, huh?”

I huffed. “Don’t order me around.” I wasn’t
mad, really. It was the principle of the thing.

He rolled his eyes again—a quirk of his I
was beginning to recognize—as a small smile played around the
corners of his mouth. He took the helmet from my hands and gently
put it on my head. He fastened it tightly, his fingers brushing my
skin and sending sparks down my spine. “Will you please get on the
bike, Iz?”