Phone Calls From a Rock Star (9 page)

“
Much better,” I grinned.
He shook his head and helped me to climb on the seat. I hesitantly
put my hands on his waist as he started the bike. I felt him sigh
as he grabbed my hands and tugged them tighter around him. Those
sparks went off again, this time in my stomach.

“
You okay?” he called over
his shoulder. I nodded, and he eased the bike out of the parking
spot and on the road. My fear flew away with the wind as I rested
my helmet clad head on his back, enjoying the closeness and the
thrill.

We drove around the small town for about
thirty minutes before I could tell Jake was getting a little bored
with the easy pace. I had a feeling he’d prefer to go faster but
didn’t want to do it with me behind him.

When he parked in front of a small café, he
helped me off the bike and to remove the helmet. I was grateful I’d
stuck my hair in a ponytail, although I was sure it was still a bit
of a mess. He turned his hat the right way and opened the door of
the café for me.

As we approached the counter, I noticed a
bored teenager manning the register and a touch of anxiety niggled
in the back of my head. I situated my body in front of Jake’s as we
ordered—a hot chocolate for me and a regular coffee for him. I
asked the girl questions, making her focus her attention on me and
not Jake, knowing she probably thought I was weird, but I didn’t
much care. I didn’t want her going into hysterics and hopping over
the counter to mug him or anything.

Once the guy responsible for making the
drinks plunked our order on the counter, Jake paid the girl,
grabbed his coffee with one hand and my arm with the other. He
walked me back to the bike slightly amused.

“
You don’t have to protect
me, Iz,” he said, gentle smile on his face.

“
I…well...I just didn’t
want her to, you know, go into a lust filled craze or
anything.”

Laughter shimmered in his eyes as he took my
hand. “Let’s go for a walk.”

“
Are you crazy?” I half
whispered, eyes darting around the area. “What if someone
recognizes you?”

“
Then we’ll deal with it,”
he said with a shrug. He squeezed my hand and tugged me down the
sidewalk. “Don’t worry so much.”

I relented and followed, answering his
questions about the little town. I explained that I lived about an
hour and a half away and didn’t know much except for the few spots
I visited with my friends on the weekends. That reminded me of a
question I’d forgotten to ask him earlier.

“
Where do you live when
you’re not touring?”

“
I have a place in L.A.,
near the studio.”

My heart fell to my shoes. L.A. was a long,
long way from Central Indiana. “Oh,” I said, dropping my eyes.

He squeezed my hand again. “But I looked at
a couple places near my dad’s house last week. I’m thinking of
buying something near Chicago.”

That was much better—still too far away in
my opinion but much closer than California. “That’d be cool. You
could come see me more often.”

“
I haven’t found a place I
really like yet but I’ll look at some more when I’m home for
Thanksgiving.”

Yeah, Thanksgiving. I was supposed to take
him to home to meet my parents. “Hey, um, Jake? How long of a break
will you have?”

He shrugged and finished off his coffee.
“I’m not sure, I’d have to check with Doc, our manager, but I think
a couple weeks. Why? Do you have another dance you need me to take
you to?”

I gave him a sarcastic smile - he was a
regular comedian. “Well, I sort of told my dad that maybe you could
come over or something so he could meet you. He was asking me all
kinds of questions when I asked him to sign the permission
form.”

Jake chuckled and stopped in the middle of
the sidewalk to give me a brief hug. “That’s not a problem, Iz. I
don’t mind.”

“
Seriously?” I asked,
dubious. “You’d really come meet my family?”

“
Sure? Why not? Unless you
think they won’t approve. I’m hardly one of those preppy boys that
go to school with you.”

I waved those words away as though they were
flies. “My parents are music freaks. They’ll love you. You should
see all the concert memorabilia they have.”

He smiled and glanced at his watch. “I need
to get you back to your car. I don’t want you to miss curfew.”

I held on to him a little tighter during the
ride back to the hotel, exactly how I wished I could hold on to the
night and make it last longer. He parked next to my car and ran up
to his room to grab my gifts. I reluctantly unzipped his jacket and
handed it back to him once he placed the presents in the passenger
seat. I’d already stolen one article of his clothing, no need to
turn into a thief.

My throat dried up as I stood next to my
car. I couldn’t believe I had to wait until tomorrow night to see
him again.

He placed a knuckle under my chin and forced
me to look at him. His smile caused my heart to flutter. “Thanks,
Jake. It was a perfect birthday.”

“
Any time, Iz,” he said
with a wink. My heart fluttered faster. “I’ll see you tomorrow
night.”

“
Are you sure you want to
do this?” I had to ask. My nerves about the dance hadn’t subsided
in the least.

He kissed my temple, making my heart stop
completely.

“
I wouldn’t have offered if
I didn’t want to do it,” he whispered close to my ear. I suppressed
a shudder and looked into his brilliant blue eyes. “Everything will
be fine.”

“
What if you get
mobbed?”

He laughed and the corners of his eyes
crinkled. His dimples appeared much to my delight. “I can handle
it.”

He leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on my
lips. It was only a friendly goodbye kiss but it left me stunned.
He cupped my cheek before stepping back and opening my door. “Drive
safe, Iz.”

I nodded as I got in the
car. He closed the door behind me and I drove towards school, my
heart frantic in my chest. It took everything I had to keep my
focus on the road as my mind played pictures of Jake before my
eyes. My heart thudded with each flash and I wondered—did this mean
I
liked
Jake for
more than just the friend I claimed he was?

Chapter Seven

“
Hold still, woman, or
you’ll get this stuff in your eyes,” Annie ordered. She was quite
merciless with a bottle of hairspray and a comb. I was deathly
afraid to touch my hair, certain it would crumble in my
hands.

“
Relax,” Cammy smiled.
“You’re nearly finished.”

She patted my arm, playing the part of
consoling parent while Annie played disciplinarian – torturing my
hair as punishment. I cringed and swallowed, hoping to stem off the
water collecting in my eyes. If any of it spilled over and smeared
the pounds of makeup they’d caked on me, they might be tempted to
start all over. I couldn’t handle it.

“
There,” Annie announced,
standing back to admire her work. The way she grinned; you’d think
she created the Venus de Milo. Cammy stood next to her, just as
proud.

“
Bella, you look so
beautiful!” Cammy gasped.

Gingerly rising from the chair, I approached
the full length mirror hanging on the bathroom door. My eyes
widened in stunned shock at the transformation. My skirt reached my
knees and made my legs appeared longer. The sweater they’d conned
me into buying clung lightly to my waist and dipped modestly.

They’d dusted a surprisingly light amount of
makeup on my face to hide my freckles and accent my eyes and cheek
bones and somehow managed to tame my unruly hair, straightening it
so it hung in a sleek curtain to the middle of my back.

A shiver ran up my spine. I was actually
excited. Lance, eat your heart out.

The dorm phone rang, and Cammy ran to answer
it. The tremble started at my toes and worked its way to my head.
No one ever used the dorm phones but Admin so that meant Jake must
be here, waiting for me.

“
I’ll tell her,” Cammy said
politely. She thanked the caller and hung up the phone. “Miss Ames,
your guest is in the Admin building.”

I nodded, suddenly rooted to my spot. Annie
shoved me toward the door. “Go, now, before someone else snaps him
up!”

I had no clue how I made it down the hall
and over the grounds to the Admin building without falling flat on
my face, although I did stumble a few times but managed to keep
upright. I cursed both of my best friends for convincing me not
only to buy heels but to wear them.

Angrily yanking the Admin door open, all
thoughts flew from my head. Jake leaned against the counter,
smirking. The same Jake I’d spent the previous night with in town,
only this time he was dressed in pressed, black dress pants and a
deep blue button down shirt. I spotted a slim black tie hanging
from his neck peeking out from his leather jacket. I discovered the
piercing blue of his eyes were indeed natural. He took my breath
away.

He pushed away from the counter to take my
hands in his. “You look beautiful, Iz.”

A blush heated my cheeks. “You don’t look so
bad yourself.”

Mrs. Bartholomew, the ancient Admin
secretary, smiled sweetly at us so I pulled Jake out of the
building to escape her prying eyes. I stumbled along the sidewalk,
cursing under my breath. “Do you want to drop your jacket off in my
dorm?”

He slung his arm over my shoulders. “Is that
an invitation, Iz?” The blood left my face, and I tripped over my
own feet, crashing into his chest. “I was just kidding.”

The blood returned, hot as lava. I had a
feeling a blush would remain on my cheeks throughout the night
totally canceling out the need for makeup.

“
I hate these shoes,” I
grumbled as I pushed my face away from his chest.

He raised a lazy brow, devilish smirk
slipping on his lips. “I don’t.”

With a wink, he offered me his arm. I took
it, clutching it much harder than he probably anticipated, and
steered him toward my building, stopping a few yards away.

“
Great,” I
mumbled.

Jake flashed me a curious look before
following my gaze to the doors. Dean Gold and Zach Washington were
standing there, waiting patiently to be buzzed in by Annie and
Cammy.

“
Is that him?” Jake asked,
his voice a low growl. His eyes hardened and I felt his muscles
bunch beneath my hand.

“
No. Come on. Let’s get
this over with.” Sighing, I let go of Jake to push past the other
two boys and insert my key card in the slot.

“
Wow, Bella,” Dean
observed, eyeing me appreciatively. “You look great. Lance is gonna
be sorry.”

“
Yeah, well, who cares
about Lance,” I replied hotly. “Are you guys going in or
what?”

Jake snorted a laugh but the others ignored
him.

“
Yeah, thanks,” Zach said
with a weak smile. He glanced quickly at Jake. “Is this your
date?”

“
Yep. This is Jake. Jake,
Dean and Zach.” I yanked the door open, grabbed Jake’s hand and led
him to my dorm room, Zach and Dean close behind. When we finally
stopped in front of my room, Zach got a good look at
Jake.

“
Hey! You look like…” his
jaw fell. “No way! Are you really Jake Johnson?”

I rolled my eyes while a grin toyed with
Jake’s lips. I stuck my head inside my door. “I’m bringing members
of the male gender in this room. If you’re not decent you better
get that way!” I smiled at Jake as the girls shrieked. We could
hear their rapid footsteps head for the bathroom. “They’re a little
unbalanced.”

I pushed the door open once I head the
bathroom door slam. Jake moseyed inside as I stood, hands on hips,
and glared at the other two. “Are you going to ogle my date all
night or would you like to come in and wait for your own
dates?”

They came in and stood near Annie’s bed.
Jake fought an amused grin as he studied the room.

“
Which one is your bed,
Iz?” Jake asked. I pointed to it and he plopped down. Dean and Zach
stood slack-jawed, watching Jake’s every move. With another sigh, I
reached through them to close the door. Jake laughed as he jumped
off my bed and snatched his hoodie off my dresser. “I thought I
lost that.”

I yanked it out of his hands and hugged it
to my chest. “You’re not getting it back. It’s my favorite.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Geez,
Iz. Don’t go all psycho on me.”

I stuck my tongue out at him, still
clutching his sweatshirt, and pounded on the bathroom door. “Hurry
up in there.”

Jake’s groan caught my attention and I spun
to see what Dean or Zach were doing to aggravate him. “What?”

“
Tell me you didn’t
organize all these DVDs as soon as you got back last
night!”

“
She did,” Annie grumbled
behind me. “She’s a freak like that.”

Turning, a smile on his face, Jake extended
his hand. “Annie or Cammy?”

“
Annie,” she said in an
even voice. But I knew her, and I could tell it was taking all her
strength to keep cool. “It’s nice to meet you, Jake.”

Cammy, on the other hand…
“Oh my!!! It really
is
Jake Johnson!”

“
Cammy,” I whined. “You
promised you wouldn’t do this.”

Jake just laughed and shook her hand which
was enough to shut her up. For the time being.

So far so good, I thought.

“
We should get going,” Zach
suggested. I nodded, stomach twisting.