Wild Chase (20 page)

I managed to escape the breakfast scene once Avery returned with a very sour faced Olivia, who, by the way, is so not a morning person by the looks of it.

Couldn’t help
that
smile.

With all the talk about ropes and studio time, my stomach couldn’t handle a single bite of food.

Jesse and ropes… ropes and Jesse… being in an actual studio for the first time… with Avery there…

Nope, no food for me. After excusing myself, I quickly make my way down our hall and nearly ran over a fully dressed, frowning Kennedy. He nodded at me, mumbling good morning, as I briefly smile and turn the knob to the bathroom, slipping in as quickly as possible. What was he scowling about so early in the morning, especially after just walking out of Victoria’s room? I’d been living with the girl for years now, and I was no stranger to her escapades, unfortunately!

Turning the latch to lock the door, I flip the switch and nearly jump out of my skin as I hear a groan come from behind me. Spinning around, I find my roommate, bundled up in her comforter, half asleep in our bathtub.

That poor thing always seems to be on the receiving end of our drama.

“Uh, Vic? What’s going on here?”

“Can’t ya dim that damn thing?” she grumbles, pulling the comforter up and over her head, snuggling herself even deeper into our old-fashioned tub.

I try to choke back a laugh, but it comes out anyway.

“That would be a no. Did you—did you sleep in here?” I ask bravely.

Another groan comes from underneath the comforter. I lift up the piece of her blanket and peek down at her. Her amber-colored brown eyes gaze back up at me. She winces and frowns again.

“Hardly,” she scowls.

“Why didn’t you come into my room?”

“Don’t you come in here with your judgey-ness and… and… and look at me with your judgey eyes! You didn’t get any of that mess from me when you went all bipolar last night, fleeing the room like you’d been caught in the middle of a Dexter murder scene.”

I hold my hands up defensively, stifling another laugh.

“No judging! Cross my heart! What happened?”

“O.M.G., Chase, I don’t even know where to start.”

I suck in my bottom lip to keep from smiling.

“Well, why don’t we start with why Kennedy just left your room without you being in it with him,” I say sweetly, trying to be comforting without laughing at my clearly frustrated, hung over, burrito-wrapped bathtub friend.

Sitting up, she pushes her blanket down, and flops her arms into her lap. Pausing, as if to think of how to start she just shakes her head and throws it back.

“Celibate,” she utters so quickly that I almost miss it. My eyebrows raise almost as high as my hairline.

“Do what?”

Turning her head, she cuts her half-glazed morning eyes at me.

“You heard me. That sexy, son of bitch that just left my bedroom is celibate! C-e-l… IBIT!” she whisper-yells at me.

My jaw hangs open slightly.

“Nu-uh! What happened?” I ask, hoping that she doesn’t catch on to my genuine amusement. There had not been a man yet who could resist this girl once she had her eyes on him. At least, not until last night.

She snorts, “We baked cookies and frolicked through fields of dandelions, Chase. What the hell do you think happened? You found me asleep in the bathtub— sans beefcake!”

I shrug my shoulders, keeping my mouth shut. Vic is one of those people that will eventually blurt out everything bothering her after she has a quick tantrum.

Rubbing her hands over her face repeatedly, she sighs heavily.

“Everything was going great. He’s quiet, which is not something I’m used to, but we had such a great time yesterday. He’s really sweet and funny, and once everyone headed to bed and he followed me to my room, I naturally thought,
hey! my lucky panties did the trick!”
I chose this moment to roll my eyes, but luckily, she didn’t notice.

“I started laying on all my moves and he instantly froze up, telling me that while he likes me a lot, he didn’t want me to get the wrong idea about him. He said he’s been celibate for a long time for ‘personal reasons’, whatever the hell that means! Then he kissed me on the cheek before curling up in my bed and falling asleep. I couldn’t just lay next to him in my ‘no longer lucky’ undies, so I grabbed my blankey and snuck in here.”

Shaking my head, I find myself at a loss for words.

I want to laugh so badly, but I know she is genuinely upset, so I take a second to collect myself before finding the right… well, some words to say.

“It’s not that bad, Vic. He said he likes you, and that’s great! Besides, you don’t have to rush into anything. You just met, plus, it’s just sex,” I finally say, trying to sound as casual about it as possible.

“Easy for you to say!” She roars, nearly shouting at me. I raise a finger to my lips to hush her.

“They are all right out there you know!” I whisper to her, making my way to the door.

“I know you’re right, because let’s face it, it’s not the end of the world, but it still sucks! I looked super cute last night, too. And his dimples had me all kinds of horny,” she grumbles, standing up and leaving her blanket behind.

“I could have done without that last bit of information,” I state in my annoyed voice, making a stank face at her.

Rolling her eyes, she smacks my shoulder.

“Oh, come on, I saw you last night. Between the two guys singing and then Jesse serenading you, I thought you were gonna ‘O’ right there on the couch.”

Horrified, my jaw drops, “SHUT UP! I WAS NOT! Jeez! You’re as bad as Adam! Gahh! Don’t take your sexual frustrations out on me, all right? I’ve got my own crap to deal with, thank you very much.”

Rolling her eyes, she puts a hand on her hip and stares me down, “I hate to break it to ya, but my sexual frustrations fail in comparison to yours honey. All that mess you’re dealing with is about 80% pent up sexual tension and only about 20% repressed feelings because anyone with half a brain can see that crap in the way y’all look at each other. I mean, your first time doesn’t really even count, Chase! It’s awkward, it hurts, and you barely know what you’re doing. You don’t have a clue what you’re missing out on or you would have already been speed dialing those people that make those cookie bouquets and sending me a sympathy gift after finding out that a fine specimen of a man like that is celibate.”

I literally stand there and mutter out the beginnings of an argument that I can’t even seem to form into actual words.

“You are impossible,” I finally say.

“Yeah, well it’s not my fault. Blame the hot celibate. How y’all willingly go without, I’ll never understand,” she mutters, pushing passed me and heads down the hall to her room.

I shake my head and lock the bathroom door behind her, hoping that a shower will scrub away all the craziness flying through my head.

After I get her comforter out of it, that is.

After taking far too long to get ready, I come out of my room in a pair of jeans, flats, and a few layered tank tops in random colors, to find my kitchen completely cleaned up and everyone else dressed and ready to head out.

Looking around, “Thank you mystery cleaner-upper person!”

Kennedy smiles, “It was the least we could do. I haven’t eaten that well in weeks. Thanks.”

Jesse walks over and links pinkies with me; for some reason, it makes me grin like a schoolgirl.

“You ready?” he asks, smiling just as much as I am.

Nodding, I grab my bag and notice my roommate is still in her pajamas.

“You’re not coming along?” I ask, sounding worrisome.

She shakes her head, “Nah, I have a test shoot in a little while that I can’t miss. Some make up campaign.”

While everyone gathers up their belongings, I notice Kennedy making his way over to Vic and leaning in closely to whisper something to her. A faint pink color takes over her cheeks and a sly grin appears. She turns to look at him and he leans in further and kisses her gently. I turn away quickly, not wanting to invade their private moment, but secretly laughing on the inside.

TOLD YA
! I think to myself.

The ride over is hella awkward, and by hella, I mean *% *#$*ing awkward.

First, Jesse insists that I ride with them. Olivia isn’t shy about her complete discontent in the matter. I receive dirty look after dirty look from the girl, and considering that I am making a conscious effort not to stare at her man, you’d think she would have been in a better mood.

Kennedy hops in to drive and Adam calls shotgun. As I climb into the back, all I can hear is Olivia’s whiney voice going on and on under her breath about purple something or another. Jesse follows in closely behind me, snuggling in closer to me than he needs to be. Truthfully, I don’t really mind.

The huge, black SUV fit all of us comfortably. I had never seen a vehicle with the windows completely tinted before. I hadn’t really noticed that all of the guys had put on hats and sunglasses before we left the apartment. It was easy at times to forget that they were celebrities; they really are just a great group of guys.

Until they ruin you for all other men
, I thought bitterly as I gaze out of the window.

When we finally arrive at the studio, I follow in closely behind Jesse. I hesitate at the door, suddenly feeling out of place, as if I have no real business being here, when I felt a gentle hand at my back. Looking over my shoulder, Avery’s stormy eyes meet mine and he gives me a gentle smile.

“Go on, Chase,” he whispers, making sure that his words are so quiet that no one else hears them but me. I don’t want to feel comfort from him, but it doesn’t matter what my head tells me, my body reacts to him as it always does. I kindly smile back at him and my legs start to move with a renewed purpose.

It hits me—I am actually in one of Blurr’s recording studios! My heart starts to race wildly as we pass a few doors until the guys start filing into one at the end of the long hallway.

Inside the room looks like any other recording facility that I’ve seen in photos; soundboards, speakers, couches, and headphones are all over the place. My heart swells at the sight of the separate room through the glass with the microphones and instruments, but my feet stop moving just inside the doorway as I stand in complete awe.

Before I can take it all in, Olivia huffs, barreling in passed me, nearly knocking me over in the process.

“We don’t have all day, you know!” she mutters, throwing her purse and body onto the leather sofa. “You know they only have a certain amount of time in here, and it’s all paid for hourly.”

Avery actually rolls his eyes, tossing his hat and glasses onto a nearby table with all of the other guys’ stuff.

“Olivia, seriously? She’s our guest.” He gazes back at me with an apologetic look; I just shrug. What the hell am I supposed to say to that?

“Mel, this is Mike, Mike this is the sexy genius I was telling you about,” Jesse says, yanking my hand and dragging me a few feet over to a middle age guy in a chair at the soundboard. He flashes a weird look over to the couch before he gives me a hesitant smile and shakes my hand.

“Well, play it, Mike!” Jesse exclaims, sounding as excited as a kid on Christmas morning.

The producer begins flicking around with a few knobs here and there. Jesse directs me to sit in the free seat by the soundboard as the song starts to play and I can’t help but instantly smile. The song is noticeably heavier than before, but the violin makes the song come alive. Alternating between Jesse’s heavier voice and Avery’s smooth vocals, there’s no doubt in my mind that the song will be a hit. I shut my eyes and completely lose myself, playing along to Adam’s killer drumbeat with my hands. Opening my eyes, I peek around the room and all of the guys are watching me, smiling. I close my eyes again and listen as the rest of the song plays, quietly humming to myself and then softly singing along for all of a few seconds before Jesse’s hand flies over to my shoulder and startles me.

“Hold on. Do that again.”

I wrinkle my forehead and look up at him, “Do what again?”

“Mike, back it up by about 20 seconds. Sing that ad-lib you just did again,” Jesse demands. The excitement in his voice matches the excitement in his bright blue eyes.

Looking around at all the other guys, they all nod at me.

What am I missing here?

I wrangle in my thoughts as Jesse turns a few knobs and the song starts to play again. I sing out again, hoping I did whatever it was he wanted me to do. I make an unsure face as I look around the room again, hoping someone will pipe up with an answer.

“DUDE!” Adam says, hoping up from the couch and coming over to lean on the soundboard next to me.

“Right?” Jesse answers him before turning his attention back to me.

“So what do you think of the track?” he asks me casually.

Smiling and tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear, “It’s amazing! It really turned out incredible. The way you guys did the violin piece—it’s insane.”

Jesse sweeps his eyes around the room before bringing them back to me. “I think it could be better.”