MAXEN
“Look at that,’’ Dex told me, extending his phone for me to look at something.
I frowned and grabbed it, but I wasn’t in the mood for more shit on the internet about Lark and me. Since she left, I’d been on edge and I knew she wasn’t going to come back here. She told me she wanted to go back to Alan’s and while I wanted to say ‘fuck no,’ I had no right. So I shut my trap and watched her leave my hotel suite in the same dress I peeled off her perfect body last night.
I glanced at Dex’s phone and arched an eyebrow. It’s the video for the YouTube channel he went to record this morning. It’s an acoustic version of our new song, something very minimalist and it’s good. But what had me intrigued was the number of views on the damn video.
“Two hundred thousand views? What the fuck.’’ I toyed with my piercing with one hand and gave him back his phone with the other. “It’s spreading as fast as the music clip.’’
“I know. It’s crazy. Last night Harley told me that the scandal about you and Lark would benefit the promo of our new song and album, but I was sure it’d eclipse everything.’’
“You should trust your woman more. She’s smart.’’ I rubbed at my temple and checked the time on my phone. “When do you think Floyd will be here? It’s starting to piss me off waiting like this. Fuck, I should have gone with Lark. For all we know, she’s cornered by paparazzi. She’s not used to this shit like we are.’’
“Don’t worry. Lark is a strong woman.’’
I glared at my best friend and shook my head. “You weren’t the one last night with her shaking in my arms when we left the restaurant.’’
“She was taken aback, fucker. Today, knowing that it’s her man who’s responsible for this, she’s raging mad. I don’t need to tell you how you don’t mess with her when she’s feeling like this.’’
I smiled ruefully at the memories from back in college when she would get mad at me or someone else. “Yeah, you’re right.’’
Someone knocked at the door, and I sprung to my feet, ready to finally do something instead of waiting like this doing nothing but worry. I opened the door, and I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
In front of me, I saw Lark wearing dark skinny jeans, a long-sleeve v-neck top in a cream color and white converse at her feet. Her hair was piled on top of her head in an untamed mess. And she didn’t have any makeup on. In her hand, she had a big khaki colored duffle bag.
“What are you doing here?’’
“Um… when the cab drove by Alan’s bar, there was a horde of paparazzi there, and Alan told me I shouldn’t go there or else it’d make things worse. Basically, I’m officially homeless right now.’’ She looked away from me and fixed the space between our feet. “Are you going to let me stand here all day or what?’’
I shook myself and crouched down to grab her duffle bag from her hand. My fucking heart was doing some weird shit in my chest. She was here. She was fucking back here with me. I knew it was because she didn’t have anywhere to go and because of the media attention, but I didn’t give a fuck. She was here, and that’s all that mattered.
“Hey, Lark. You okay?’’ Dex asked from the couch. The fucker had a smirk on his damn mug when he looked at me and how smooth I was around her. I was nothing of a womanizer with Lark. I had even less game than Dex when he met Harley.
“I’m fine, but these people are everywhere. I’m pretty sure one got a pic of me with my bag walking into the back of the hotel. I bet they’re going to write something scandalous about it. Good thing I stopped at a Starbucks on my way to change clothes.’’ She pursed her lips and I was ready to pounce on her and kiss her. But instead, I tightened my grip on the duffle bag before setting it next to an armchair. She walked to the couch and sat on it, letting her purse fall at her feet.
I walked to her and sat, making sure my leg and side touched her. She glanced back at me with a small smile. I didn’t try and control my own as it broke free, stretching my lips until my cheeks hurt. When her eyes fell on my mouth, I had to check myself before I let out some caveman growl. I was totally and utterly fucked.
“What happened with lover boy?’’ I asked, going for nonchalance by placing an arm on the back of the couch and turning my head to stare at her, but the hard edge in my voice at the mention of Caleb gave away how I’d love to bash his head in.
Lark’s face became somber, and she stared briefly at Dex still sitting in the armchair before she brought her blue eyes back on me. “Nothing much. He’s an ass, and I don’t know how I didn’t see it before. But I dread Monday at work. He’s my direct boss and this past week he’s been awful. Now that it’s over and I’m moving out of our place as soon as I can get movers to get my stuff, I’m sure he’s not going to act any better.’’
“Quit then,’’ I said and shrugged.
She lowered her thin eyebrows over her eyes. “Are you for real?’’
“What’s wrong?’’
She rolled her eyes and looked back at Dex. “He is for real. Damn, you guys have been swimming in money for too long already. You don’t remember how it is for us ‘commoners.’’’
Dex smirked at her and scratched at his face. “You’ve seen what our life is like now.’’
“Fuck, I’m not dumb,’’ I said with a glare to them both. “I’m just saying that you should quit and find another job. You know I wouldn’t leave you struggling, Lark. After all, it’s my fault.’’
She brought a hand to my thigh, and I reflexively flexed my muscle when I felt her touch through the denim. “We went over this already. It’s not your damn fault. Being a martyr doesn’t suit you, so just quit it.’’
“She’s right, man,’’ Dex added. “We all know our shit is going to come out at one point. We’ve been damn lucky it’s taken so long.’’
I watched Dex turn a ghostly white and crossed his arms in that same move he’s always had when he’s being defensive. He didn’t want the whole mess with his junkie mother to come out and I get it. I wouldn’t want the world to know that my mother was a junkie and whored herself out to get enough money to keep doing drugs and had her own son beat more than once when she owed money. My parents weren’t much better, and I knew my mother was going to pump me for more money soon, but I didn’t give a fuck if it came out. As for my drug addiction… that’s another story. In the band, we all had stuff we wanted to be kept hidden from the world.
“Yeah, but Lark, I’m serious here. If you want out of your job, I’ll make sure to help you however long you want. It’s the least I can do.’’ I put my hand over hers still on my thigh and ran my thumb over her knuckles. This touching shit was nice. I’ve never thought that having meaningless sex would make me miss out on something. Then again, these other women weren’t Lark. I’ve never wanted to take care of a woman before her, and now that I’ve had her last night, that feeling was tenfold.
“I won’t let you pay for me, Maxen.’’ She pulled her hand away, and I let her go, but it was fucking hard not to tighten my grip on her and force her to stay there, to keep her touch on me.
“Don’t give me some independence bullshit excuse now.’’ I waved at the tall windows of the suite. “We’re fucking locked in here because of who I am. If I can’t use my money to help you get back on your feet, I don’t see why I’m making a shit ton if it’s only to sit in my damn bank account.’’
“Don’t, please.’’
“But—’’ I pressed on and she held up her hand, silencing me immediately.
“Before we start arguing about this, let me see how it goes tomorrow at work. Anyway, how long are you guys staying in New York?’’
“We were supposed to go back to LA tomorrow, but I don’t know what Floyd has in store for us,’’ Dex answered, his eyes on his phone. He’s probably checking Twitter. He wouldn’t admit it, but I was sure that the fucker had an addiction to the damn thing since Harley got us all on it a few months ago.
Knocking at the door interrupted us, and I jumped to my feet. “Speaking of.’’ I opened the door and came face to face with Floyd, Harley and behind them Otis and Beckett talking in hushed voices until they looked up at me. Otis was frowning, and Beckett was more stone cold than his usual. Floyd and Harley had a matching frown on their faces. “No good news then, huh?’’
I walked back to the couch and watched them all walk in. Floyd headed for the armchair facing the one Dex was sitting on. Harley went to her boyfriend and sat on the arm of the armchair, but Dex pulled her on his lap under the glower of our manager. Otis and Beckett grabbed chairs from around the dining table and brought them in front of the couch on the other side of the low table.
“I have some bad news, Maxen,’’ Floyd began after clearing his throat and fidgeting with the strap of his laptop case set at his feet. “Your mother went to a gossip rag.’’
I gritted my teeth and tensed all over. My blood ran cold in my veins and cold sweat appeared above my eyebrows. I knew it would be coming and I was sure she’s negotiated a nice price for her interview but as naïve as it sounded, I haven’t been expecting her to run her mouth so soon. “What did she say?’’
I looked at Floyd, waiting. I knew this man and how he’s trying like hell to protect us, but he couldn’t protect us from our own family and past. I watched the wrinkles around his eyes deepening and his eyes turning hard.
“She said that it’s no surprise you’re married, that you’ve always been after girls, that you’re uncontrollable and as wild as they come. That you’re irresponsible and she feels sorry for your wife.’’
I nodded and broke eye contact. I looked down at my hands clasping my thighs tightly. Fuck, it hurt. That shit never stopped hurting.
***
LARK
Watching Maxen retreating into himself with a pained look on his face was difficult. My heart was lodged in my throat and a foreign anger rose from the deepest part of me. Slowly, afraid he’d push me away, I brought my hand back on his leg, but this time, I was the one holding his hand and caressing it. He didn’t move, didn’t look up. But he closed his eyes and his breathing hitched.
“Can’t you do something to shut her up?’’ I asked the band’s manager, my voice a bit choked up.
“I don’t—’’
“She’ll stop if I offer her money,’’ Maxen said, cutting David Floyd short. His eyes were open again, but they’re still trained on his hands firmly holding onto his thick thighs. And I was still tracing soothing patterns on the back of one with my thumb, trailing over the thick veins bulging. “It’s only money that interests her. That, and men to fuck and let them mooch off of her.’’ His words weren’t angry like I expected them to be. No, his voice was flat as if he was completely detached to what was happening. It scared me and my heart squeezed tighter in my chest. It’s unbelievable that I ever thought he cared about nothing before. If anything, he felt a lot, and probably took things too much at heart sometimes.
“You’re not going to give shit to that bitch!’’ Dex butted in with force, his hard voice startling me.
“Dex,’’ Harley said in a calm voice, kissing his cheek covered with dark stubble.
“You don’t know how she is, Harley,’’ he pressed on and sought out Otis and Beckett with his eyes. I looked at them too, and they nodded their assent. Dex stared back at Maxen who was still not moving. “Fucker, don’t play into her game. The journalists won’t be interested in her for long anyway. She said her piece, and she can crawl back under that fucking rock she came out from. You’ve done more than enough.’’
“You’ve done too much,’’ Otis added with a grave voice I haven’t heard him use often.
“We have your back, Maxen,’’ Beckett said. “Don’t contact her.’’
At that, Maxen looked up and glared at his friends and pushed away my hand gently as he stood up. His muscles were coiled, and his jaw was locked tight. His green eyes turned a forest green as his anger finally broke through the haze of pain. “She’s my damn mother! What do you think I’m going to fucking do?’’ And with that, he stalked out of the suite, and nobody tried to stop him.
I watched the door close after him, and I had to lean back on the couch to keep myself from launching after him.
“You should go with him,’’ Dex said right then, a beat after the door closed.
“Don’t you think he should be alone for a bit?’’ I asked, unsure and yet buzzing with the need to run after my husband.
“With his mother fucking with his head like that? He better not be alone.’’
They all silently agreed, so I jumped to my feet and ran to the door, snatching my purse from the coffee table on my way.
I had no idea what I was going to say to make it better, but when I saw Maxen in the hall ready to walk into the empty elevator, I didn’t dwell on it. I ran to him, and as soon as I reached him, I wrapped my arms around his waist and tilted my head back in a silent invitation.
He locked eyes with me for a brief moment, long enough for me to see the glassy shine in them. And he lowered his head toward me until our mouths touched in the lightest of kisses.