Author's Chapter Notes:
Another :)
“You’re drinking again aren’t you?”
“Really?” I narrow my eyes.
“Well what the hell else should I think? You can’t be serious about this.”
I sigh a little. “Why not?”
“Look at this list.” He slides it across the table to me, and I barely scan the names before he continues on. “These are people who know the business, Justin. Hell, half of them worked on your last tour. Fuckin...Nikki? She lived in your damn house for years! You need to be sensible, not just hire somebody you feel sorry for.”
“I don’t feel sorry for her.” I cross my arms. “She knows what she’s doing.”
“Justin, she was a stewardess.”
“Who was a Marine Corps sergeant before that. She’s smart.”
r32;“What the hell does that have to do with the music business?”
“She an operational genius, Trace. None of those people on that list could top her. My mind is made up.”
He shakes his head, and lets out a bitter laugh as he crumples up the piece of paper. “I really...I just can’t believe you’re about to take a gamble on this girl, when you’ve been out of the music aspect of your career for this long. You realize that she could fuck it all up for you, right? This is so important, Justin. I don’t want to see you lose everything, get all washed up, and end up on some VH1 commentary show about the 80‘s or something.”
“VH1?”
“I’m just saying. You’ve seen the people they put on those stupid shows. They can’t get any other work.”
“I think I’m a little bit more motivated than them, Trace.”
He shrugs. “Whatever. I think you’re making a mistake, but you’re gonna do what you want to do.”
“You’re right.”
He slides out of the chair. “You tell your mom yet?”
“Not yet, but she’ll be okay with it.”
He laughs at me.
I know he doesn't believe me.
“I’ll...I’ll call you tonight. The girls still want to do dinner right?”
“Yeah. We’ll meet you at Katsura. Seven thirty.”
“Later.”
He walks away, gets in his car, and drives off into the busy streets of LA.
Thank God.
My phone buzzes to life before I can start to think about anything that was just said, and I glance at the ID quickly, smirk, and answer. “Hey.”
“Hey. Where are you?”
“I was having a coffee with Trace,” I smile. “What are you up to?”
“I was just walking Tina and your kids. They miss you.”
“Oh yeah? You took that challenge on all by yourself?” I smile.
“You know I’m diesel enough to handle the task, J.”
“You wanna show me more of that dieselness later on?”
“Only if you’re good.”
I laugh. “Meet me back at the house. I’ll be there in like...fifteen.”
“Okay. I’ll see you there, babe.”
“Bye.” I hang up and smile.
As weird as it is, we’ve been doing really well. When I came home, we met up, we talked, and after a few dinner dates, and a couple of random nights of...passion, we decided to give this thing of ours another go. She’s a little different now, not as tense, more like she was in the beginning of our old relationship. I think I’m a little more down to earth than I was too, and in turn, it’s making our relationship so much more real.
It’s been a month, and my mother is thrilled that we’ve lasted this long.
She’s my girl again, and I guess yeah...I feel on top again, really happy. Nothing is going to bring me down, and I know...I just know that this album is going to be amazing. I feel it in me, and I’ll make Fiona a part of it, because I believe in her, and I know she works insanely well under pressure. Trace doesn’t see it, because he doesn’t know her, hasn’t met her, despite the fact that she saved my life.
She gave me an answer last week. I gave her some more time, because she told me she had to deal with a few personal issues. I was willing to wait, because there wasn’t a single other person I could think of that would get the job done better. She called me up one night last week, and told me that she decided to come out...for a test run. I wasn’t really sure what that meant, but because I knew I could make her feel welcomed here, that my girlfriend could too, there was no risk. She’s flying into LAX tomorrow morning, and I can’t wait to see her. Jessica is real cool about it too. She just wants to meet the girl that saved my life...because she’s convinced it’s the reason we’re back together.
And in a way, she’s right. The crash changed me, and it changed her too.
I think if I asked her to marry me in a couple of months, she might say yes.
That’s great too, because at this point, I can’t see myself with anybody else, and I’d really like to settle my personal life before I tour. It’s easier that way, and if we get married, it’s not going to be some big thing. We’re simple. We’ll probably have a really small unannounced ceremony here, and a party at my house to follow. Next year I’ll tour, and she’ll be with me, right by my side. Our lives will be set, and once the album and promotion blows over, when I’m finally home from the tour, we’ll start to focus on starting a family.
That’s my plan anyway. I mean, I’m not getting any younger, and I’d like to have a kid before I’m forty.
I finish my coffee and get in the car so I can drive home. I smile when I see her Lexus SUV parked in the driveway, and I’m able to hear the three dogs barking when I get out of the car and walk up to the house. They bombard me the second I step through the doorway, but I laugh and let them tackle me to the ground. Tina, Jess’s Pitbull, is the greedy one. Pushes my boxers, Buckley and Brennan out of the way so she can give me the most kisses. I call her my adopted daughter, and Jessica agrees.
“Tina get down! Get down!”
She whimpers and looks back at her owner, and I smile up at her from my place on the floor. Naturally, my own dogs take the opportunity to attack me with their kisses and it takes me a good ten minutes to push them away so I can get up again. “Hey.” I walk over to her, wiping off the dog slobber with my hands, and Jessica conveniently has a paper towel handy. I take care to wipe off the excess drool with it before I lean in and kiss her gently.
“Mmm essence of dog,” she giggles. “How was coffee? Did you tell him?”
I sigh. “Oh, I told him all right.” I walk into the living room, and she follows behind me when I tug on her hand, falling into my lap when I settle on the sofa and pull her down with me. “He’s not the biggest fan of my choice, but...you know, there’s nothing he can really do but bitch about it. Doesn’t mean I’m going to change my mind.”
She smiles, her brown eyes lighting up in that way I love. I run my hands down her arms, grabbing her thick muscular thighs and ass, laughing when she kisses me long and hard on the mouth. “I think you’re making a good decision, Justin. From what you’ve told me about her, she sounds like she’s amazing at coordinating things and organizing. You’ll need that with Trace not being around. Maybe he’s just jealous.”
“Trace doesn’t get jealous, baby,” I smile. “He would just rather me stick to what we know. We’ve always been private people. He’s not the biggest fan of an outsider, but Fiona is different. She...”
“You don’t have to defend it.” She says, silencing with a kiss. “She saved your life. Enough said. You can do whatever you want, Justin.”
I nod. “You know, I think I like you.”
She gives me a sexy little smirk. “I think I like you too.”
I kiss her harshly. “We have a couple of hours before dinner, you know?”
She nods, considering it. “A movie.”
“Hmm...no.”
“Xbox?”
I shake my head and kiss her again, pull back after awhile and look right into her eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
She says it seriously, and it hits me, right in the gut. I know she means it, really means it, and before I know it, she’s getting off of me, and puling me to my feet, dragging me upstairs and into the bedroom. She strips, and I laugh as she pushes me down on the bed, pulling off my clothes too. I feel her skin against mine, and it’s warm, and comforting. I close my eyes...taking it all in, but then, briefly, I’m swept back, into the past.
It happens sometimes, but only when I’m not expecting it. When I’m at peace, not thinking about the past, or the things that happened when I was marooned in the Rocky Mountains.
The memory hits me so hard, that I’m forced to gasp, even though my girlfriend is all over me, straddling me, ready to give me her sex.
“Fiona...”
“What.”
“You’re naked.”
“I know.”
She walks over to where I’m laying quickly, naked from head to toe. I take her all in, her legs, her breasts, her body that’s silky smooth and perfectly toned all over. It’s the worst time for this, but...but I can’t stop thinking about what an amazing woman she is. Then she lifts up the blankets, and gets underneath them with me. Moments later, her arms are wrapped around me and her naked body is pressed up against mine, so our skin is touching. It’s warm and inviting and it takes everything in me not to touch her. I know that’s not the reason for this...
“Fiona...”
I feel Jessica stop whatever she’s doing, and when my eyes open, and I stare back at her, I realize all too quickly what I’ve done.
Oh God.
“What?”
She’s staring at me, waiting for me to answer her, even though my dick is like...in her, and her boobs are just hanging there, ripe for the taking. “I just...nothing...”
“You just said Fiona.”
“I did?”
She gets up, off of me, and God, my dick hurts now...so bad. “Jess.”
“I just...I can’t believe what I’m hearing.” She furiously pulls her clothes back on. “Did you...did you two...I mean...”
“No.” I shake my head. “No it’s not like that.”
“Bull.”
“Jess, I’m sorry.”
She turns back to me, her eyes filled with tears as she crosses her arms. “She’s coming here tomorrow, Justin. You better tell me what the hell that was about.”
I shake my head a little. “Nothing happened.”
“Then why did you just say her name while we were fucking?”
“I...I don’t know. I just...I got lost in a memory.”
r32;“While we were having sex.”
I sigh, and painstakingly get up from the bed. Fuck, blue balls from hell. “Jess, come on.” I reach her and rub my hands up and down her arms. “It was stupid and I’m sorry.”
“So you didn’t have sex with her?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“You weren’t intimate at all, in any aspect?”
“Not intimate, no.”
“Justin?”
“I was...I told you about that avalanche.”
She nods.
“Well I was freezing. I had hypothermia. So...she had to strip me down, and...and she had to strip down too, for the body heat.”
“You were naked with this girl?”
“Yeah.” I look down at the floor and lick my lips. “I was, but it was only to help me survive.”
“That’s great and everything,” she laughs bitterly. “But that doesn’t explain why you just said her name instead of mine.”
“I don’t know why,” I say, pathetically. “It just happened.”
“Well maybe you can think of a good answer for me. In the meantime, I’ll be back at my place.”
“I want to marry you,” I say quickly. “What just happened means nothing.”
She stares at me for a long time, and lets out a sigh. “Justin, you don’t know what you want. That’s obvious.”
“Jess...”
“Look, I’ll call you tomorrow, all right? Just tell Trace and Sam that I wasn’t feeling well.”
I let her leave, watching her walk away from me like she’s so fucking let down.
Jesus, what the hell is wrong with me?
I go to the bathroom once I’m sure she’s gone, and get rid of my issues downstairs, before I yank some boxers on. I sit on my bed after that, trying to figure it out, why the hell I would put my relationship in jeopardy right now. I know it was like a reflex, saying her name...but the memory was so real. Her touch was so real, and...
Fuck, I miss it.
I’ve been addicted to the way her body feels, the way her skin feels against my skin, since the crash, and as much as I’ve tried to tuck it all away, those feelings are obviously coming back to the surface.
My mind is trying to tell me something, through those memories.
But it’s just...not possible, and hell, I have no idea how I’m supposed to make this up to Jessica. I mean, what do you do to make up for saying somebody else's name when you’re having sex with your girl?
I’d call Trace and ask but right now I think he’s pretty much fed up with the Fiona Carmicale situation.
This visit is going to be much, much harder than I thought.
Suddenly, everything I’ve been working for to make my life as happy and perfect as possible, seems all for nothing.
I’m right back where I started, single and alone. I mean, I doubt Jess is going to want anything to do with me after today.
But I can’t say I blame her.
Story Tags: enemiesturnedlovers
