Chapter Fifteen
“A hot air balloon?” Ariel's uncertainty grew in her voice. She'd never done this before!
“I heard the views were great. Jaw-dropping, even.” Zeke clasped her hand, leading her to where a balloon waited. “It's private, quiet, and romantic.”
She gave him a sideways glance. “Did I hear the word romantic come out of your mouth?”
He feigned hurt. “What? Is that wrong? Don't women want a little surprise and romance in their lives?”
“You continue to surprise me, Zeke,” she said softly, completely touched at how much thought he put into this. After lunch with her parents, Ariel feared he'd find a way to cut out and run, especially after the way her father questioned his intentions when they were barely seeing each other outside of Sing It!, but here he was, still here and making plans.
They met up with the pilot, who explained the process and safety, then gestured for them to climb into the basket. Zeke picked her up and set her inside, then hoisted himself over the basket and stood beside her. His hand rested on the small of her back, sending tingles along her spine.
“Your first time?” The pilot- a silver haired middle aged man by the name of Eric asked as he climbed inside the basket.
“For me, yes,” Ariel answered.
“I've done this a few times.” Zeke stood close behind and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Thanks for doing this so last minute.”
“You didn't even have to give me an autographed CD to get in here, but I'm not complaining about the perk. Ready?”
“Ready,” Zeke replied, his lips close to the back of Ariel's neck. He pulled her closer. “This view is going to be stunning, I wish I'd waited to play the song in here.”
“Up we go!” Eric called.
Ariel stared over the edge of the basket as the balloon ascended into the air. A light wind blew her hair in her face. Before she could move her hand to brush it away, Zeke's fingers caressed her cheeks, tucking the loose locks behind her ear.
“This would make an interesting music video,” Zeke mused.
The view was definitely breathtaking. Ariel had never been this high up, aside from flying on a plane, but the hot air balloon experience was like nothing she'd ever experienced before. Still nervous, she stuck close to Zeke, but he didn't seem to mind holding on to her.
“It would!” she agreed.
“Zinger has a show in a few weeks. What do you say to coming to see us, maybe joining us on stage for a song? We could duet the one we did on Sing It!. I'll show you the tour bus, introduce you to the guys, and we'll have a good night.”
“I'd love to see you guys! I-I'm not sure about the singing part.” Butterflies danced in her stomach at the thought.
“It's your choice, of course, but I'd really love it.” Disappointment resonated in his tone.
Ariel swallowed a lump in her throat. Was this whole weekend about getting her to reconsider singing? Did she become his pet project, another thing to help clean up his damaged image?
She tried to push the thought away. That couldn't be it. Zeke could find plenty of talented women to take on as his project. Why would he choose her?
Then again, why would he choose her to want to see again?
*****
Zeke didn't want to leave Ariel Sunday night, but he had a full week of Sing It! obligations to fulfill. “Thank you for spending the weekend with me. I'll call you when I land, and I'll keep in touch all week. You can call or text whenever. If I'm working, then I'll get back to you as soon as I can.” He leaned close for a kiss, clutching his duffel bag. “Remember what I said about not believing everything you see and hear. I'll always be honest with you.”
“Have a safe flight back. Tell Jared hi. I hope everything gets sorted out with him.”
Zeke told her about Jared's predicament. Ariel already knew about it since Jared already talked to her, but she obviously still didn't know about what Jared did to get her on the show.
“So do I. I'll double check my schedule for next weekend and see if we can get together,” he murmured against her lips, desire taking over. Great, he'd have to get on the plane with a hard on at this rate.
“I work on Sunday. Back to the regular life for me.”
Damn. It wouldn't be easy to work through both of their schedules, but Zeke would find a way somehow, because he didn't plan on letting this thing between them fizzle out before it got started. He already sensed a distance between them, a hesitation from Ariel that he didn't want to press her on because their newness, plus the life he lived, was overwhelming.
“I hate to do it, but I really have to go. I won't forget this weekend any time soon,” Zeke swore, stealing one last kiss. He made himself walk away after that, uncertain about how things would play out for them. The weekend no doubt had been amazing, too short, and fun. He enjoyed getting to know Ariel, and while the sex was a damn good perk, being with her in general was what did it for him.
Zeke boarded the plane, stowed his bag, and sent a text to Ariel with a photo of himself. Kisses from the plane. Somehow he had no doubts at all this picture would never surface on the tabloids pages. Ariel wasn't like those women. She'd probably pull out her phone at random times and stare at his picture.
People were still boarding when his phone rang. Thinking it was Ariel, Zeke hurried to answer it, but the number rolling across the screen wasn't one he recognized. “Hello?”
“Zeke Sketcher? That you?” a strangely familiar voice asked.
“That would be me. Who is this, and what can I do for you?” Why couldn't he place the voice?
“Johnny Cortez here. Jared Reel passed along your number.”
He nearly dropped his phone. What the...? Cowboy?
“Still there?”
“Umm, yeah. I'm here. Sorry. I'm on board a flight about to head back to LA for this week's Sing It!.”
How and why was this man calling him? Was this Jared's way of making up for shit?
“Perfect. I'll be there this week. Since you're about to take off, I'll keep this short until you get here. I'm sure Jared told you I'll be offering a series of mentoring sessions for the runner up.”
“Yes, he told me all about it.”
“Well, short version of my call is I'm wondering if you'd be interested in joining me for the mentoring. I'm looking for a few other singers to help me out, and you're one of the first who came to mind.”
Whoa. Was this real? He'd have to talk to Jared, and if he pulled this off just to make up for the last few weeks, he'd kick his ass and fist bump him at the same time.
“I'm definitely interested.” He didn't sound like a crazed rabid fan, did he?
“Great. I'd hoped that would be the case. One more thing. This is about Ariel Lexington.”
Zeke sat up, fully attentive now. “What about her?”
The seats were filing up fast, and Zeke wouldn't have much more time before he'd have to turn off his phone.
“Jared has an idea about a mentoring program for young singers like Ariel who are more shy about performing. He's already talked to Tucker and Danielle, and he wants to see if you'd be willing to pitch in here and there, too.”
Zeke leaned back in his seat. “With a little more information, I'd be interested. I'd better hang up. The plane is about to take off. I'm looking forward to meeting you this week. I've got a few ideas myself that I've been hoping to discuss with you.”
*****
“I know I screwed up, and me being fired was inevitable. I admitted what I did for Ariel. So, after the next few weeks are done, I'll step down as producer for Sing it!.” Jared sighed. “But the support I'm getting for the new idea is great. I hope you don't mind, but I'm not going to rejoin Zinger.”
“It's all right, man. I'm a little disappointed, but you have some new ideas that are waiting for you,” Zeke said after listening to his old friend. “So, did Cowboy really want to talk to me, or did you pull that one off, too?”
Jared made a face. “Yeah, I got the ball rolling, but when I mentioned your name, he was all for it. So while I may have started it off, you seemed to be on his radar.”
“I guess you're forgiven, then. I'm sorry you're getting canned from the show, but at least you have some new ideas to keep you going.”
“Yeah. It was Tucker's suggestion about the mentoring program. I don't know how it'll all play out or how involved Cowboy will actually be with it, but I love the new idea. I think it's neat, considering Tucker's personal story, so him taking the lead on it was pretty neat. I didn't expect Cowboy to tell you about it, that was jumping the gun a little, but it's all right. So you met Ariel's parents, huh? They grill you?” Jared snickered.
“Her father wanted to know my intentions. Are they always like that?”
His friend gave a slow nod. “Yep. Can't tell you how disappointed they were in me several times. I had the best of intentions getting her on this show, and her parents are one of the biggest reasons. They're so old fashioned and raised Ariel and her sister so strictly. I've already been warned that if you hurt her, there's gonna be hell to pay.”
“I don't plan to hurt her.” He said it over and over, and the only thing Zeke could do was prove it to everyone. He was a different man now.
*****
Ariel found herself glued to the TV Wednesday night when Sing It! aired. She'd talked to Zeke twice since he left, though he'd been the one to initiate the conversations. And every time, he mentioned music.
Then again, why wouldn't he? It was a huge part of what made his life. That was how they met. Maybe he didn't realize how much the whole thing terrified her. She should take it as a sign that a man like Zeke would have such an interest in her musical dreams, but for some reason, it put her off. What if he didn't want a 'regular girl?' Look at the list of people he'd dated.
“A week ago, I was there,” she whispered to herself. Hopefully the nurses wouldn't have a fit because she was here so late with Lucy, but it only seemed fitting she come here and watch it and spend some time with her. “I don't know what to think, Luce. Does he want to boost his image and get me a music career, or could he really want to start something with me?”
Of course her friend didn't answer, and fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. “I need to grow up,” she muttered, facing the TV when an image of the judges popped up. Zeke, wearing a dark hunter green shirt, appeared distracted.
“After last week's elimination, there are only two more weeks until the finals, which means this week we will have two eliminations. We've seen some tough competition and the losses have been huge. Last week, young hopeful Ariel Lexington went home. Prompted by a few of our judges, a new program is in the works to help singers like Ariel get mentoring to be better prepared for the music world.”
Bile rose in her throat. “No way.” Who the hell...? Fury consumed her. Did Jared do this? Zeke? The idea was great, but why did they have to use her name as an example?
Could that explain Zeke's continuous talk about her music?
She grabbed her phone, left Lucy's room, and made a phone call to Jared. He didn't answer, not that she thought he would right now. In the bathroom of the hospital, Ariel let it all out. “What the hell was up with that announcement? Isn't it bad enough I made a fool of myself? Now I'm an example? Why didn't you talk to me about this first? Warn me! Did Zeke know? Is that why he's constantly bringing up music when I've already stated I'm unsure?”
Despite her anger and frustration, Ariel watched the show in Lucy's room, talking to her friend about everything and anything, wishing so bad for her to come out of this.
She needed someone on her side right about now. Someone who understood. Ariel had never felt more alone than she did now.
Somewhere midway through the show, Lucy's machines started going crazy, beeping erratically. Everything else forgotten, Ariel watched as doctors rushed into the room and ushered her out, saying she couldn't be in there right now.
“Don't you leave me, Luce! Don't you do it!” she cried, her voice drowned out in all of the chaos.