Songbird (8 page)

C
hapter Nine

W
e caught a cab to the museum. Most of the tourists were already inside so the queue was only small. Within minutes we were wandering around the huge rooms of the Smithsonian museum, our eyes boggling out of our heads.

The place was amazing to say the least. A real spaceship hung from the roof in all its glory. I tried to contain my excitement but the eight year old inside that salivated over that stuff kept managing to escape.

“I can’t believe I’m standing in the middle of a real rocket,” I gasped, touching the walls to make sure it was real. “This thing has been to space.”

Forest laughed. “Do you want a photo?” I nodded eagerly and handed over my iPhone. I stood in the spaceship like I was an astronaut just hanging a
round. Forest snapped some pics. They wouldn’t make it onto Twitter but would be included in my private collection. “Your turn.”

I did the same for Forest, he hammed it up for the camera. I thought I may have found a guy that was even nerdier than myself. I was seeing a whole new side of the guy and I liked him even more than I did before.

Every room of the museum was even better than the previous one. Forest loved the airplanes more than the shuttles but they were cool too. I had seen enough airplanes for a lifetime, but it was still nice seeing the old ones. I couldn’t believe people actually trusted them enough to get inside them. Those two-seaters were definitely not for me.

“I’ve always wanted to get my pilot’s
license,” Forest declared at a stand for the Wright brothers.

“Why don’t you?”

He shrugged. “I guess I never thought I could.”

“Why not?” I asked. Forest didn’t really strike me as the type who would let his ego stop him from doing anything. Not after
I saw his audition for the tour. He was the most self assured guitarist that had played for us. And we had seen a lot of performers.

“Something someone said one time,” he muttered before wandering over and engrossing himself in another display. It didn’t seem like the topic was open for discussion so I left it alone. If it was something he wanted to talk about, then I guessed he would.

The longer we spent there, the more people started to notice my presence. I was trying my best to stay to myself, but it only took a few people looking twice to recognize me. Once one person asked for a photo or an autograph, it gave everyone the courage to do the same.

Normally I didn’t mind stopping for fans. They were the reason why I had my career and I always promised to not forget that. Sometimes I would spend hours signing for them, often way longer than I was scheduled to.

However, this was my one afternoon off. I wouldn’t get another one for weeks and I just wanted to see the museum. For just a few hours, I wanted to be normal and enjoy being a tourist in the city.

The number of people approaching was starting to get overwhelming. I didn’t bring security with me because I didn’t think anyone would pay attention to me. Apparently I was wrong.

The amount of teenagers and adults alike swarming around me was starting to make it difficult to move – let alone breathe. “Can everyone just take a step back? We can’t take any photos so squished together,” I asked politely. It was starting to get really hot in the crush. I couldn’t see a way out, no matter which way I turned.

I knew they all meant well but they were suffocating me. I could have spent four hours there and they wouldn’t have got everything they wanted.

A strong hand gripped my arm and pulled me away. Fearing it was a crazed fan, I resisted. I didn’t want to be dragged to some dark place by someone who wanted me all to themselves. I had heard some terrible stories from my friends back in L.A.

“Come on, I’m getting you out of here,” Forest whispered when he got close enough. I relaxed when I
realized it was his hand clamped around me. He could drag me away – gladly.

I
apologized to everyone as we moved. Forest’s pace was fast, too fast to be able to be stopped again. I didn’t care where he was taking me, as long as it was somewhere I could breathe again.

The sunshine outside assaulted my eyes as we slipped out an emergency exit, I had to squint several times to be able to see.

“Mind the steps,” Forest warned. Clearly I looked just as dazed as I felt. He led me down the stairs until we were level with the street. But he didn’t stop there. We turned left and hurried along the road. People were looking at us, some were still following me. I ignored them, hoping my fans would understand.

“Close your eyes,” Forest ordered me. I obeyed, despite how difficult it was walking without seeing where I was going. He guided me well but it was still disorientating. It felt like I was going to trip over at any moment.

The sounds of cars were to my right, whizzing by at speed. We stopped for a moment until the beeping of a crossing light started. We kept on walking again.

I couldn’t say how far we walked, it felt like ages but I’m sure it wasn’t that long. Forest stopped me and my next thought was that there was no noise anymore. Everything was deathly quiet. Where in the world were we?

“Please tell me you haven’t kidnapped me and we’re standing in the middle of an abandoned warehouse,” I said bluntly, hoping I was only joking. If I opened my eyes and saw that’s where we were, I would probably freak out. Even if I did trust Forest.

“Open your eyes and see for yourself.”

I was afraid to, but curiosity got the best of me. I opened my eyes and took in our surroundings. It wasn’t a dank and depressing warehouse. Instead, we were standing in the middle of a perfect garden. Flowers cascaded down from archways, shrubs were clipped into perfect formation, and sculptures were beautifully placed amongst it all. I spun around, trying to take it all in.

“Where is this?” I asked. I was sure we couldn’t have walked out of the city and yet this place was an oasis. Maybe it was a mirage?

“We’re in the First Lady’s Garden,” Forest replied, smiling.

“We’re in the White House?”

He laughed, obviously at my ineptitude. “No, we’re just a block from the Smithsonian. This is her public garden where anyone can come and visit. It’s supposed to be a place of calm and relaxation.” Those two words described the place perfectly. It felt like a world away from the scrum of people in the museum. This was definitely a place where I could breathe.

The
colors of the flowers were amazing, so vibrant and bright. There was every type you could imagine from the happy snapdragons to the classic roses. “This place is beautiful.”

“I thought you’d like it.”

“How do you even know about it?”

I couldn’t be sure, but he might have been blushing a little. “I brought my
mom here once. She went nuts over the place.”

Forest as a momma’s boy? I couldn’t quite see it. I started wandering, unable to stay in the one place when there was so much to see. We strolled through the paths, trying to take everything in along the way. I took out my iPhone and started snapping away. The
photos couldn’t quite capture all the hues in the flowers, but it was enough to trigger my memory later on.

In amongst the flowers and pathways was a checkerboard made out of pavers. A stack of wooden checkers were to one side.

“Want to play?” I asked. I had always been good at checkers, I got enough practice on long flights and waiting around for media. I could even beat my computer.

Forest had to think about it, his eyes twinkled with mischief by the time he actually replied. “Sure. But let’s make it interesting.” I raised an eyebrow at him, how could you make checkers interesting? He was going to have to explain. “The winner gets whatever they want.”

“That’s a bit ambiguous.”

“Okay, you go first then. What do you want if you win?”

A flash of images filled my mind, all things I shouldn’t be thinking about. I was glad Forest couldn’t read my mind, otherwise he would see himself in several compromising positions.

I needed an answer, one that didn’t have an R rating. I wished it wasn’t so hot in the garden, I needed something to cool me down and not foster those thoughts. “If I win, you can buy me dinner tonight.”

“Okay,” Forest replied before a smirk spread across his face. I dreaded what he was going to put down as his prize. “If I win, I want a kiss. Not just any kiss, one of my choosing.”

There were different types of kisses? Clearly I had been doing it wrong all those years. The chances of me
winning was high and the chances of me not enjoying the kiss if Forest won were low. It was a win-win situation. “Agreed. Let’s play.”

We flipped a coin to see who would go first – Forest. He moved the black checker on the board and I did the same with the red one.

The game went for longer than I had expected. Forest was actually quite good, obviously he had spent a lot of waiting around time playing too.

After fifteen minutes, we both had a pile of checkers at our side. We only had a few more in play. I was trying to position my pieces so I could wipe out all his with one go. He had three left and I had four. My competitive instincts were kicking in and I really wanted to win.

Forest went next, taking out another of my checkers. Now we were even. As I studied the board, I found my play. If I moved one of my pieces to the diagonal left, I could bluff him so he moved to the diagonal right. Then he would be exactly where I wanted him. I could win on the next move.

I approached the board and got ready to make my move. My arm froze, mid-reach. If I did that, I would only get dinner. If I lost, I would get a kiss from Forest. Remembering the last time we had kissed, my knees went weak. Suddenly I didn’t want to win anymore.

I moved my piece to the diagonal right, exposing my piece. I gave Forest a look, like I was pleased with my move so he wouldn’t think I was throwing the game. It would be so embarrassing if he knew the truth.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” he warned as he
moved his piece to jump over all of mine. With that one movement, he won the game. “Victory is mine. I’m going to collect my winnings now.”

He took a step closer to me and I swear a shiver ran down my spine. Not the kind from being scared about something, but the shiver of anticipation. My body still remembered his last kiss and I knew what was in store for me.

My breath caught in my throat as I tried to speak. The effect he had on me should have been criminal. “A quick kiss, I believe that was the deal.”

He shook his head as he re
ached me, devouring me with his eyes. I felt naked. “The type of kiss was stipulated in the agreement as one of my choice. The ambiguity means I get to choose whichever I like.”

I pretended to be annoyed. “I knew I should have called my lawyer first.”

Forest placed his hands on my waist, sliding them around so they locked at my back. There was no room between us, I was completely at his mercy as I pressed against him. His chest was rock hard, I could only imagine how good it would look underneath his shirt.

“Your lawyer can’t save you now.”

“I guess not.” My voice was barely a whisper with the anticipation. If he didn’t kiss me soon, I was going to attack him with desire. And I knew I shouldn’t. Everything about Forest was bad for me. What the hell was I doing?

Before I could answer my own question, Forest’s lips were pressed against mine and I completely forgot about what I was thinking. His lips hungered, pressing me for more.

I opened my mouth to let him in, his tongue greedily devouring me. He tasted like coffee and sugar. Every inch of my body screamed for more. I melted into his chest, not caring anymore. If he could make me feel that way with just a kiss, I wanted more. I wanted every part of him. And now.

He continued to taunt me, his lips continuing to come back for more. I was only too happy to give it to him. With our lips pressed against each other, my hands found his neck. I cradled his strong jaw, pulling him even closer than he was before.

I was quickly getting breathless but I didn’t care. He was everything I needed at that point, breathing was overrated.

“Hey, look, it’s Brierly Wilcox.” A kid’s voice brought me crashing back to earth. I quickly pulled away from Forest, my cheeks burning with embarrassment at being caught out by a fan.

I let go of his neck and his arms let me free. I jumped back to see a girl of about eight staring at us open-mouthed. Her mother joined her, both standing there like we were zoo animals.

One look at Forest’s sheepish grin and I couldn’t stop the laughter. I was giddy with endorphins as they coursed through my blood.

I grabbed his hand and started hurrying for the exit, past the girl and her mother. My giggling fit wouldn’t stop, the whole thing just seemed so bazaar. Forest and I, caught kissing in the First Lady’s Garden. If the little girl didn’t catch us, we probably would have been asked to leave by the staff anyway.

Getting thrown out of the garden for kissing my lead guitarist, that would have been a good headline for the tabloids. They would have had a field day.
Thank goodness the girl didn’t have a camera pointed our way.