Bella sat at the desk in the study area of her tour bus, watching the world go by outside of the window. She was supposed to be working on her music, but her mind kept wandering over the past few days of their Miami stop. The night before had been the last of three concerts in that city and now she was on her way to Tampa for the next stop on her tour.
Not long after she had talked to Sam about not talking about Jacob and her, she had managed to get Emily alone at yet another after-party. There, Emily had asked Bella if she had managed to hook up with the eye candy from the last party to which Bella had feigned surprise.
“What? I thought you knew! You were the one who pointed him out in the first place.”
Emily had tsked. “I know I did, but once I knew you saw him, I went back to discreetly staring at Sam. I swear that man just doesn’t know how many times I’ve undressed him with my eyes! So, you did hook up with him! How was he and did he look as good naked as he did with clothes on?”
Bella laughed it off. “You just don’t give up on Sam, do you? As for that guy, if you saw the way he was dancing with me, you’d know how good he was.”
Emily shrugged. “No I don’t give up and no I didn’t see him dance with you. Like I said, once you zeroed in on him, my work was done and I focused on Sam.”
“Hm, well let me say this, his dancing was a great indicator of how he was going to be in bed. For once, the guy’s performance lived up to my expectations.”
Emily laughed. “Seriously! Oh man! Now I’m regretting that I didn’t get a good look at him! And that was only his backside! Now I’m wishing I had seen his front too! Well, at least you had fun.”
Bella gaped at her. “You honestly didn’t get a look at that fine piece of meat? How can you point someone like him out to me, then promptly forget all about him?”
“What can I say, I’m good! But yeah, I doubt I’d recognize him if I saw him again, even if I thought he had a nice ass! I wasn’t gonna ogle your prize. You know the men’s saying…which I’ve converted for my use…Sistas before Mistas.”
Bella couldn’t believe how lucky she had been once more. Emily hadn’t recognized Jacob at all. She had been too wrapped up in undressing Sam with her eyes to notice anything else. That alone had made her want to finally lock Sam in a room alone with Emily so the poor woman could finally have her way with him.
Suffice it to say, she was finally able to breathe a little easier. Then, when Sam told her that he had spoken to each of the other guards and gotten their assurances that they wouldn’t say a word about anything, she finally relaxed completely. So much so that on her final night in Miami, she had indulged in a little too much drinking and party favors at the after-party and wound up taking yet another guy back to her hotel with her.
She hadn’t really been looking for someone to spend the night with, but she had been feeling so good that when the guy had gotten persistent and rather persuasive on the dance floor, she had given in to it. It had felt nice rubbing against him, so she had allowed him to return to her hotel with her. However, she wasn’t so drunk or high that she hadn’t been aware of that night at all. In fact, he had turned out to be such a disappointment that she hadn’t wasted any time throwing him out of the room as soon as he was done.
She had used the excuse of feeling sick, faking the urge to throw up which had sent him scrambling for his clothes. She was glad her ploy had worked even if it meant she had to pull out her toys to finish herself off. At least then she could go to sleep a little less bitchy than she would have been had he stayed and prevented her from satisfying herself. Still, she wasn’t as satisfied as she could have been…as she had been once before.
Her thoughts turned back to the last time she had been so well satisfied, like they often did when she let her guard down. Once again she remembered what Jacob had looked like lying beneath her as she had straddled his body. He had known exactly how to touch her to get her off. In fact, she realized it was almost like he had been inside her mind, reading her thoughts. He knew what she wanted, when she wanted and how much she wanted. Not only that, but he had stamina that had matched hers that night. Weren’t guys supposed to be done after one round?
Yet Jacob had been up for whatever she had wanted. That was the other thing…he had let her have control all night long which was something else she thought guys didn’t like giving to women. Yet even giving her control, Jacob still managed to be the man she’d needed that night. She had never known a man could be that quietly dominating without seeming so.
What was it about him that had her that excited to have him so many times in one night? Really! She couldn’t remember the last time she had enjoyed sex that many times with the same guy. Was it his quiet ways? The size of his hands? The way he touched her?
She couldn’t figure him out and it bugged her.
It bugged her even more when she realized she was even thinking about him. Again! How many times was this?
She swore under breath, snatching up the piece of paper in front of her and wadded it up before throwing it at the wall. This was getting irritating! She had to stop thinking of him! He was her damn sound techie for Christ’s sake! Not only that, but she couldn’t afford to get involved with him even if he wasn’t.
“Come on Bella!” she muttered to herself. “Get him out of your head! No relationships remember? Nothing more than one night! Stick to the program!”
She gritted her teeth for a few moments before doing some breathing exercises to calm herself down. It took her longer than she cared to admit, but she did it. Finally finding her center, she went back to focusing on working on some new music for her next album before the bus arrived in Tampa.
That had been her goal for the day and she refused to let herself down. She was nothing if not determined.
****************************************
“Okay darling, this is the last thing you have to sign, then I’ll be out of your hair for the rest of the day.”
Bella gave Michael a relieved smile as she signed her name once more exactly where he pointed to. “Thanks Mike, I’m glad you managed to give me today and tonight to just relax.”
Michael chuckled. “You’re welcome. I just hope you’re planning on doing nothing but resting. You look beat.”
She nodded. “Yes, I’m gonna stay in my room and vegetate this time, maybe later I’ll get some new music done once I feel more rested.”
“Good for you! I was going to threaten you if you told me you were going out or something like that! You’ve partied way too much lately,” he noted as he picked up the last document she had signed and slid it into his briefcase before closing it with a snap.
He glanced up at her. “Need anything else before I go?”
Bella nodded. “I want to see if I can have someone from the hotel’s spa come to my room for a massage.”
Michael pulled out his iPad. “Okay, is that all? No mani or pedi?”
Bella chuckled. “I thought you already had that planned for tomorrow?”
“I do, but if you want them today…”
She waved her hand. “No, it’s better for tomorrow. Today I just want a massage, it’ll help me relax and sleep better.”
“Okay, I’ll go take care of it then.”
“Thanks Mike.”
He nodded as he gathered up his things, then left the room.
Bella walked into the bedroom and plopped down on her back on the bed. She sighed heavily as she stared up at the ceiling. She did feel exhausted. That bus trip had taken more out of her than she cared to admit. She’d never had such a hard time focusing on meeting a goal of hers in all of her life, but today she had barely managed to get it done by the time the bus had pulled up to the hotel.
She knew the reason for her distraction and was still doing her best to ignore it. Even the knowledge that said distraction was probably in his own hotel room a few floors below hers was something she was trying hard not to think about. She was just going to relax today. That was it. Relax and think of nothing but getting some sleep.
She closed her eyes for a few moments, hoping to just rest until the masseuse got there, but her mind had other ideas. Once more she found herself thinking of Jacob and wondering what made him tick. He obviously knew more than she had originally thought since Leah had raved about how he had solved her guitar problem. Not only that, but he had also demonstrated to Leah that he could actually play the guitar and had also said he could play a bit of piano too.
It had been easy to see that Jacob had won Leah over with his knowledge and skills, plus there had yet to be any problems when he was working the sound board since he had arrived. He seemed to handle everything easily and Paul had remarked at how quickly Jacob had fit in with the crew. The deadline for her full approval of taking him on as a permanent roadie was just days away and so far it looked like he was a keeper.
Yeah, he was a keeper all right. If only she was the type to want to keep a man like him. She could imagine waking up to that every day.
Wait!
She sat up with a huff and shook her head. Shit! Would she ever get him out of her head?
She was saved from ranting at herself yet again by the sound of her personal cell phone ringing. She recognized the tone and scrambled off the bed to retrieve it from her bag.
“Angie!” she said, slightly out of breath from looking for the phone.
“Bella? Are you okay? Oh no! Don’t tell me I interrupted you doing that again!” came Angela’s flustered voice.
Bella laughed at her best friend’s assumption. “No Angie, I’m alone in my hotel room right now waiting for the masseuse to show up.”
“Masseuse huh? Guess I’m early then.”
Bella tsked. “It’s just going to be a regular massage Angela! Nothing more! It’s my only day off, so I’m holing up in the hotel room for some much needed rest and relaxation.”
“Well then, good for you!” came her now more cheerful tone.
Bella giggled, feeling better hearing Angela’s voice. It had been a while since she last talked to her best friend and she missed her. Although Angela and her husband, Ben, lived in the L.A. area, Bella was often too busy even when she was at home to spend much time with Angela. They tended to keep in touch mostly through phone calls and text messages, but even those were rare because Angela knew how busy Bella always was.
“So, how are you and Ben doing?” asked Bella.
“Great!” replied Angela. “Ben’s got a new project he’s working on at the studio and we finally found a house we really like! If we get approved, we move in next month!”
“Really? Tell me it’s not far away!” exclaimed Bella.
Angela laughed. “You’re in luck, it’s about five miles from your neighborhood.”
“Seriously? Oh thank God! Maybe this way you and I can visit each other more often!”
“More like I’ll be visiting you!” snickered Angela.
“Okay, yeah. But wait…what do you mean Ben’s got a new project? Is he already finished with the last one? Have they released it yet?”
“He finished it about two weeks ago, but they haven’t released it yet. It’ll be a while, you know how those things are, but it’s already getting good reviews!”
“That’s good. He’s really talented. Maybe I should get him to do a video for one of my songs.”
“You always say that! And you know he would if the two of you could coordinate your schedules.”
“I know. Anyway, tell Ben congrats for me and I can’t wait to see this new film he’s creating.”
“I’ll tell him, but you should know this new one is kind of graphic. I know you don’t like that kind of anime.”
Angela and Bella were both fans of anime, but their tastes tended to the more sedate ones such as the Shojo, Bishonen or occasionally the Shonen action ones. While Ben’s tastes covered most of the anime out there, he often worked on the more darker ones with either supernatural or post-apocalyptic themes. His talent and job was to draw scenes with lots of magic or gore using computers. He was good at what he did even though those themes weren’t his favorite ones to watch.
“Oh really? Well thanks for the warning, but you know I’ll try to watch it for Ben’s sake.”
“I know. So, how are you doing?”
Bella sighed as she sat back down on the bed. “Tired right now, but otherwise it’s been good.”
“Really? So when do you get a break?”
“In about two weeks actually.”
“Wow, so are you coming home?”
“Yes, I have a week off and I’m looking forward to it,” said Bella with a hint of longing.
“Oooookay, you never look forward to breaks. What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Bella ran a hand through her hair. Leave it to Angela to be able to figure out something was bothering her even when she wasn’t in the same room with her.
“Yes and no. Ugh! I really don’t know! No, I do know…it’s just that I can’t get it out of my head and it’s slowly driving me insane!”
“Okay, okay. Calm down. Just breathe, Bella.” came Angela’s soothing voice.
Bella took a few calming breaths before Angela asked, “Better?”
“A little.”
“Okay, now, do you want to talk about it?”
Bella had always loved the way Angela gave her the option to talk about things if she wanted to. Everyone else seemed to want to drag it out of her even when she refused to talk, but not Angela. It was for that reason that Bella never hesitated to share her problems with her best friend.
“It’s something I can’t stop thinking about. It keeps popping into my mind when I’m supposed to be concentrating on my work no matter how much I try to block it out.”
“Okay sweetie, I get that. Now do you want to tell me what this something is that you can’t stop thinking about?”
Bella picked at an invisible strand on the bed as she muttered, “My sound board technician.”
There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds before Angela responded with a soft, “Your sound board technician?”
“Yeah,” replied Bella, then before Angela could say anything else, she launched into a hurried explanation.
“The original one left the tour and Paul said he knew this guy from his hometown who was good at it. So he flew out, but I’ve been so busy and didn’t meet him right away. Then Paul took him to one of my after parties to meet me, but I brushed off the meeting in favor of this hot piece of ass that was down near the dance floor. I took him to my room that night and the next day Paul finally introduced me to the new sound board techie and it turns out to be the same guy!”
“Oh crap!” came Angela’s hushed voice. Even she knew about Bella’s so-called rules of touring relationships.
“Yeah! And now I can’t get him out of my head!” Bella whined.
“So, you didn’t know…”
“No! I didn’t know who he was at all! I talked to him later, after I realized what happened and he knows to keep quiet about it. He told me he doesn’t have a problem working with me despite that. He said he understands…”
“But?” prompted Angela.
Bella fell onto her back as she mumbled, “But I can’t stop thinking about that night!”
Angela whispered. “Sounds like he made quite an impression.”
“Yeah,” came Bella’s breathless sigh before she could stop herself.
“Oh my!” giggled Angela.
Bella growled. “This can’t be happening Angie! You know it can’t! I don’t have time for this!”
Angela answered in a sympathetic voice. “I know sweetie, but sometimes we can’t help it Bella…and you are obviously quite taken with him.”
“I’m not! Really! I don’t know him at all! It was just one night. A simple roll in the hay!”
“Yet you can’t stop thinking about it,” she said, simply.
Bella closed her eyes. “And he’s the best I’ve had in a long time. Even last night’s romp was awful!”
“I hate to say this, hon, but maybe he spoiled things for everyone else then.”
“Oh Angie! What am I going to do?” she whimpered.
“Have you thought about getting to know him?”
“I can’t do that!”
“Why not?” came Angela’s placating voice. “You are close to several others who work with you, so why should he be an exception?”
“Because this is different! I know I don’t have to tell you why that is!”
Angela didn’t immediately reply, but just when Bella thought she had hung up, her quiet voice came through again.
“Bella, it’s been years, maybe it’s time to move on. Maybe that’s what your mind is telling you.”
Bella began shaking her head frantically even though Angela couldn’t see it. “No. No, Angie! I can’t do that now! My career is too important! I’m doing so well right now that I can’t afford to let anything interfere with it!”
“I get that sweetie, I do. But you’re going to have to realize that there may be a reason why you can’t get this guy out of your head. Get to know him Bella, it may be the only way you can get control of your thoughts again.”
Bella didn’t think getting to know her sound board technician would stop her from having naughty thoughts about him, but she decided to just go along with Angela’s words. She waited until Angela finished talking before she went on.
“Just start out as friends if that’s all you can do. You don’t have to start dating him, just talk to him, okay?” asked Angela.
“You’re right, maybe I should just spend some time with him, get to know him. I’ll see if I can do that.”
“Good, just take your time, okay? Remember, it’s not the end of the world.”
Bella chuckled. “Okay, thanks Angela! I’m glad I could talk to you about this.”
“Me too sweetie,” she paused for a moment. “I’ve got to get going, but you’re okay now?”
“I’m fine. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks okay?”
“Okay Bella. Love you!”
“Love you too, Angie! Bye!”
Bella ended the call and set her cell phone down on the nightstand. She couldn’t help but feel much lighter and less stressed now that she had been able to get her problem off of her chest. Angela had always been so easy to talk to, never judging Bella or her life. Plus, she was the one person who didn’t have a stake in any of Bella’s career. Angela was simply the girl who had lived near Bella in Seattle who eventually married a man whose own career took them to California, just like Bella’s career had.
Angela and Bella had been best friends since high school and Bella was always so grateful that Angela had met Ben in college where they had fallen in love with each other. Once they had graduated, they had gotten married and moved to L.A. because Ben had gotten a job offer he couldn’t resist. The move had allowed Angela to be closer to Bella once again. Even though Bella was always so busy, at least she could run to Angela when she needed her friend.
Now that Angela had cheered her up, she was more than ready for a good massage that would put her to sleep. And with that thought came a knock at her door.
She smiled as she heard a woman’s voice say, “Ms. Swan, you ordered a massage?”
“Yes,” she called out as she almost skipped to the door that Sam now held open while the two women rolled in the massage table.
Her smile widened easily as she watched the women set up. She was so looking forward to the rest of this relaxing day.
***************************************
Jacob was in his hotel room where he had just finished telling Embry all about his first week working on Bella Swan’s “Live For It” tour. It had actually been an easy conversation since Embry had been an enthusiastic listener. Jacob would have chalked it up to Embry being a fan of hers, like most guys who looked at her like a wet dream come to life would, but he knew Embry wasn’t really a fan of her music. While Jacob’s tastes tended to cover a broader spectrum of music, Embry’s typically ran to alternative rock or classic rock.
Embry was just living vicariously through Jacob since he was unable to travel through his job like Jake was. That was something the shy and reserved Embry didn’t think he would ever do in his life. He was happier surrounded by his computers more than anywhere else, but Jacob was the exception to that. Only with Jacob did Embry’s playful and funny side come to life.
“Awesome! I am totally jealous of you right now!” exclaimed Embry over the phone.
Jacob just laughed. “No you’re not! You’d hate being on the road like this, Em. I know you despise traveling.”
“I don’t despise it, I just don’t see the point in going anywhere I’m not interested in. Besides, why travel when I have the whole world at my fingertips?”
Jacob rolled his eyes even though he knew Embry couldn’t see it. “Sometimes I worry about you, bro.”
Embry chuckled good-naturedly. “There’s no need for that! I’m perfectly fine! ‘Course, I do miss your hairy ass, but that’s besides the point.”
This time both Jacob and Embry laughed over that comment until Embry spoke up again.
“So? Met any hot girls yet? I know there has to be a lot at the concerts, it is Bella Swan after all and we all know every girl wants to be just like her.”
For a moment Jacob went quiet at Embry’s question, but when Embry finished talking, Jacob had managed to recover.
He tsked. “Seriously, Embry! Most of the girls at her concerts are too young for me! I’d probably be arrested just for looking at them!”
“Well, what about at these after parties you mentioned?”
“I only went to the one and that was just so Paul could introduce me to Bella Swan.”
“So you met her and then what? Went to the hotel? Come on! You can’t tell me you didn’t hang out and meet chicks!”
Jacob sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. “Not exactly.”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
He leaned forward in the chair he was sitting in, placed his elbows on his knees and stared out of the window as he contemplated on how much to tell his friend. He knew Bella had warned him not to tell anyone, but Embry wasn’t just anyone. He was his best friend. They had grown up together so that they were practically brothers. Jacob trusted him and knew Embry would always have his back.
“Jake? You still there?”
“Yeah man, sorry.”
“S’okay. So, you gonna answer my question?” Embry asked.
“Yeah, I met her at the after party.”
“Okay, and then what?”
Jacob sighed.
“No way! Are you telling me you really did go back to the hotel instead of meeting chicks?”
“Yeah, I went back to the hotel, but I wasn’t alone,” he murmured.
“Damn! You scored that quickly! First night there and Bam! You rock, bro!”
“Yeah,” replied Jacob.
“So? Was she hot? Did she rock your world? Come on bro, I need deets!”
This time Jacob couldn’t help but sit back in the chair as a smile played over his lips. He remembered that night well and like Embry said, she had rocked his world.
“Yeah,” he breathed.
“Whoa! Now that sounds good! Did you at least get her number afterwards?”
Jacob sighed. “No, it was just a one-night thing. We both knew that.”
“Well damn, that sucks! Guess it’s ‘cause the possibility of ever seeing her again is too slim, huh?”
That made Jacob close his eyes. If only that were true. Instead, he saw her every time she got up on that stage. She couldn’t see him, but he always saw her.
When Jacob didn’t respond to his last comment, Embry knew something was up. He had the sudden suspicion that Jacob wasn’t telling him everything.
“Jake?” he asked in a subdued voice, “What’s going on up there, bro?”
“Nothing really,” came Jacob’s quiet reply.
“Doesn’t sound like nothing. You sure you don’t wanna tell me? You know I’m here for ya.”
“I know, it’s just…” He hesitated once more, trying to figure out what to say. “I told her I wouldn’t talk about it, is all.”
“Why would you…” Embry’s voice trailed off and Jacob could picture Embry’s brain working through everything the way it often did.
Moments later his matter-of-fact voice came through the phone. “You slept with Bella Swan.”
Jacob smiled, he knew better than to ever put one past Embry Call.
“Yeah,” was his only answer.
“Holy shit! You slept with Bella Swan!” Embry crowed, then he repeated it in a dismayed voice. “You slept with Bella Swan, your employer?”
Jacob sighed. “I know Em!”
“And you still get to work for her?”
“Yep.”
“Wait, does she know…”
“She knows who I am now. She didn’t know the night we met.”
“What?”
“Look, I’ll tell you what happened, but you gotta promise me you won’t tell anyone else, okay? Not even your cyber-buddies!”
“Jesus Jake! Do you really think I’d do that to you?”
“No, but I told her I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“Right, got it. I promise this stays between us, bro.”
So Jacob told Embry the story of how he met the famous Bella Swan. He didn’t go into details about their night together in her hotel room, but Embry got the picture. Then, once Jacob had gone on to tell Embry about the conversation he had with Bella in his hotel room after the fact, Embry couldn’t help but voice his worry.
“Are you okay with it though?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I knew going into it, what it was.”
“Okay, well if you’re good then I guess that’s all that matters. I just hope no one else noticed you two, for your sake. I hope she was telling the truth about that because if not, it could mean your job.”
“I don’t think anyone else knows. I think Bella would have found out already. The secret’s safe.”
“Okay Jake. That’s good then. You need this job. I know what it means to you.”
“Yeah. Thanks Embry.”
“No problem.”
There was silence for a few moments, then Embry quietly spoke again. “Oh, and Jake?”
“Yeah?”
“You sly dog! You got to see that sexy goddess naked!”
This time they both howled with laughter.
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