Cake: A Love Story (22 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Casey

Those first couple of weeks after meeting Jake I kind of just floated through my life in Arizona. I had trouble concentrating on anything that did not have to do with a certain rock star. After an article appeared in the local paper about Jake’s visit to Outback Steakhouse, my connection to him spread fast. I became somewhat of a celebrity at work. My co-workers were continuously asking me questions about Jake and the status of our relationship. I was honest when I told them I didn’t know. Jake and I had never discussed what we were. Certainly we were more than friends but we weren’t exclusively together either. Even my boss, Tony, seemed overly interested in my relationship. He’d been extremely impressed with Jake during his visit to the restaurant. He asked me almost daily when ‘my boyfriend’ would be visiting again.

Jake’s visit had given a boost to Outback Steakhouse and we were busier than ever. Tony had framed the picture of himself and Jake on the wall for all to see. I was starting to see the side of celebrity that Jake had talked about. It really was a strange phenomenon. Everyone had a story, real or made up, about their connection to Jake. It was sort of funny but also a little disturbing. I understood better why Jake hid who he really was only for those he trusted. There were a lot of people out there willing to take advantage of another for their own gain.

Case in point was the reporter who arrived at the restaurant asking for ‘the girl Jake had come to see’. My coworkers pointed her in my direction. I was promptly offered a large sum of money to give an exclusive interview about Jake McKallister. Of course I would never dream of betraying Jake’s trust like that but I feared that the unscrupulous reporter would make up a story and use my name as her source. So terrified was I of this that the minute she left I called Jake and told him what had happened. And shockingly enough, he didn’t seem, at all, surprised. Instead he apologized for not warning me that this could happen. I was shocked that such an occurrence was common in his world. Jake coached me on how to handle a situation like that if it were to happen again.

We had been talking for two and a half weeks when Jake presented an offer that I couldn’t refuse.

“So I was wondering, do you have a passport?”

“Yes, why?”

“You do?” Jake seemed surprised.

“Yes. I’m not a country bumpkin Jake. I’ve travelled a little bit.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he said sheepishly.

“I know, I’m kidding. So why do you want to know if I have a passport?”

“’Cuz I was thinking maybe you’d want to use it.”

“Keep talking.”

“Well…I have three shows in London this weekend and I was wondering if you want to come?”

“Really?” I asked, lighting up with happiness. He wanted me to visit him!

“Yeah, I could buy you a ticket in one of those fancy first class sleeper seats that you’re so jealous of,” Jake grinned.

“You want me to fly to London?” I questioned.

“Yeah, why not?”

“Why not?” I laughed. I thought about it for a minute and then I realized that I might never get an offer so appealing for the rest of my life and I replied, “Yeah, why not?”

Jake looked at me confused. “Wait, does that mean you’ll come?”

“Heck yeah…I’ll come.”

“Great. I’ll book your ticket right away so you can’t change your mind.”

“I don’t want to change my mind. But Jake, just book me a regular seat. I don’t want you to spend that kind of money on me.”

“Casey, it isn’t that much money.”

“Yes, it is. I’m perfectly fine flying coach. Promise me, Jake, or I won’t go.”

“Okay fine. Should I book you a seat near the bathrooms too so you can be even more of a martyr?”

I laughed. “I’m not Mother Teresa. Just get me a window seat at least a few rows up from the porta-potty.”

“Oh my God, you’re so demanding,” Jake joked.

Chapter Fifteen

Jake

I didn’t have much time to prepare for her arrival. I’d been thinking about inviting her to visit me but the London idea came to me on Monday and I was going to be in town on Thursday. I assumed the chances of her having an active passport or that she would actually say yes were pretty slim but I had to ask anyway. When she agreed to come with no hesitation I was ecstatic but soon the nerves set in. What if we didn’t have the same chemistry in person that we had the first time? What if things were awkward between us? Then it would be a long-ass weekend.

Chapter Sixteen

Casey

Four days after getting the invitation of a lifetime, I stepped off the airplane in London. It was, by far, the best flight of my life. Jake totally went back on his promise to get me a seat in coach and surprised me instead with that damn luxury sleeper seat in first class. It was hard to be mad at him when I was pampered like a princess for eleven hours. By the end of my flight I finally understood what all the fuss was about. Flying first class was the bomb and I could definitely get used to such treatment.

A driver was waiting for me with a sign in baggage claim. He loaded my luggage and drove me to a hotel called The Langham. It was a grand hotel, in a picturesque area of London. As we pulled up I noticed a large gathering of people held back by fencing on the sidewalk in front of the hotel.

“What’s this?” I asked the driver.

“Fans. Jake McKallister is arriving at the Langham soon.”

“Oh…” It was weird now to think of Jake as a celebrity even though I clearly remembered my reaction to him the first time I saw him. There was this thrill that couldn’t be explained. “Do a lot of celebrities stay here?”

“Quite a good number, yes madam.”

“Is it always like this when famous people arrive?”

“No…no…it just depends on who it is. The better looking the boy is the more screaming girls show up,” he said grinning.

I nodded, smiling. I couldn’t argue with his logic. Jake was the best-looking boy I’d ever seen. I paid the driver a tip with the pounds that were delivered to me by overnight Federal Express. As I walked toward the entrance, I looked over at all the young girls and women hoping, beyond hope, to catch a glimpse of the guy I was about to spend the weekend with. It freaked me out a little bit. I had never had to share a boyfriend with millions of adoring fans.

I checked into my room, a suite overlooking Portland Place and Regent’s Park. It was the size of the hotel I stayed at for the wedding but it was clear that this place was much more opulent. Everything gleamed in maple wood and there was a beautiful freestanding tub in the middle of a marble bathroom. I wasn’t sure if Jake would be sharing this room with me or not. In planning the trip, we never actually discussed living arrangements. Now I was left wondering.

Because Jake was not expected to be in London until the late afternoon, I decided to take a nice nap and a luxurious bath before he arrived. When he finally knocked on the door around 5:00pm I was on pins and needles. I opened the door and flung myself into his arms.

“Oh shit,” Jake replied…a bit stunned. “Nice to see you too.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him heatedly. Once I finally pulled away, Jake said. “Okay…I was worried it might be awkward but I guess not.”

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” I exclaimed, giving his lips quick pecks between the thank-yous.

Jake laughed. “For what?”

“For bringing me here. For not forgetting me. For being so hot!” I gushed.

Jake laughed. “I missed you, Casey.”

Turns out Jake had his own room and when he went across the hall to shower, I got dressed up to go out. Jake said he had a surprise planned for me. When he came back he was wearing a light blue button up shirt with black jeans and a slim-fitting quilted black jacket that hung open. He seriously looked like he stepped off a fashion runway.

“Damn you’re looking fine,” I complimented him.

He smiled. “So are you. I like that outfit.”

“This old thing?” I joked. “It’s something I threw together at the last minute.” In reality I’d gone shopping before making the trip to London. It took me hours to pick out three outfits. This one showed a little cleavage, which was what I assumed Jake liked about it.

We walked down the hallway and got in the elevators. “When I came to the hotel earlier, you had a fan club out front.”

Jake shook his head and joked, “Oh yeah…that. I’m kind of a big deal, Casey.”

“Yeah…I’m starting to figure that out,” I giggled. “So did your fans go crazy when you pulled in?”

“I came in a back entrance.”

“What? Oh, no way. That isn’t fair,” I laughed, punching him in the arm. “Poor girls…waiting out there all day and then you slip in the back entrance.”

“Sorry,” Jake smiled as he rubbed his arm. “I had no idea it would bother you so much.”

“Do you ever say Hi to them?”

“Yeah…of course I do.” Jake looked at me smiling. “But I was eager to see you.”

“Oh…well in that case,” I flirted. “You’re forgiven.”

“Would it make you happy if I went out and said hi to them?”

“Actually that would make me rather happy, yes,” I said with a serious British accent.

Jake laughed. “Okay, you asked for it.”

We stepped out of the elevator and the hotel manager rushed up to Jake asking if there was anything he could do to make his stay more pleasant.

“No, everything is perfect. Thank you. Could you order me a taxi though?”

“I’ll have one of our drivers pull around. Would you like for me to arrange a discreet pick up?”

“No, the front is fine. Thanks.”

“Sir, there is a crowd gathered outside. “

“I know. I plan on greeting them,” Jake said.

“Very well, but if you’ll be so kind as to give me a moment to gather my security team, things will go much smoother for all of us.”

Well, it took more than a moment. Jake’s tour manager was in the lobby when Jake made the request to greet his fans so the manager insisted that Jake’s private security team needed to be out there as well in order to help control the crowds. So then we had to wait for all those guys to come down from their rooms.

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” I whispered to Jake. “I feel bad. Now your guys are being inconvenienced because of me.”

“Don’t feel bad, Casey. It’s their job.”

“I know but…”

“Casey,” Jake interrupted me. “I pay these guys to drop everything and come running when they are needed. Its what they signed up for. This happens all the time so stop feeling bad.”

“Okay,” I smiled. “I’m done.”

“Good.” Jake grinned.

Just then we got the all clear. Jake took hold of my hand and led me outside. A roar came from the crowd, followed by shrill screams of “JAKE!!!!” The crowds starting pushing on the barriers. It was nuts. The security warned the crowd to stop pushing as Jake headed straight for them.

“Are you ready for this?” He whispered in my ear. I nodded a bit apprehensively this time. This was intimidating. How did he do this everyday?

Jake walked up to the throngs of screaming girls and even some guys. He signed their autographs, took pictures with them and chatted effortlessly. I found it interesting. There was no sign of the detached Jake from the rehearsal dinner. He seemed so comfortable around his fans and treated them like they mattered. And they loved it. They loved him. It didn’t take much for a celebrity to make others happy. Jake continued to sign autographs and talk to the crowd even after our car arrived. Then abruptly he turned, waving at the crowd, and walked away. Grabbing my hand, he led me to the car and we ducked into the backseat. You could hear the disappointed fans calling out to him as we drove away. I looked over at Jake.

“Trust me it’s best this way,” Jake explained. “I hate disappointing people, especially my fans, but I can’t stand there all night signing autographs either, you know? And I’ve learned that if I give them warning that I’m leaving they start begging and pushing and crying. Then I feel bad for disappointing them. So I make it quick and decisive, like pulling off a Band-Aid…striking before they even know what’s happening.”

That evening Jake took me on a private dinner cruise down the Thames River. It was a magical experience. We saw all the lights. Then it was on to the London Eye where we were given our own private carriage with a large window. We actually didn’t get to see too much of the sights though since we were making out most of the time. When the ride was over, we didn’t want the date to end so we decided to take a walk. Because it was dark, Jake was more easily able to blend in with a crowd. As we were strolling through the streets the wind picked up and clouds filled the dark skies. As the first raindrops hit our heads, Jake pointed out a pub and we slipped in. It was crowded inside with music blaring. We weaved in and out of people until we arrived at the bar. Jake was wearing his jacket with the hood pulled up. No one noticed him.

He leaned over and shouted in my ear, “Gotta buy you your first draft beer.”

I nodded. There had to be at least twenty people trying to buy drinks at the bar. Initially we were completely ignored. Then Jake pulled down his hood, exposing his famous face, and all the sudden, several bartenders were eager to serve us. Jake ordered us two pints of bitter and we found our way to a little table in the corner of the bar.

“This place is crazy.”

“The Brits take their beer seriously.”

“Jesus, I guess. That was intimidating. I like how you used your fame to get served,” I laughed.

Jake grinned. “Sometimes it comes in handy. Cheers!”

I took a sip and tried not to gag. It was so bitter. I must have made a face because Jake laughed at me. I gave him a dirty look and took a big gulp then opened my mouth to show him that I swallowed it. Jake shook his head in amusement. Maybe it was the atmosphere or the excitement of the pub or my smoking hot date but about halfway through my pint, I was actually somewhat enjoying my beer.

That is until the pub owner came over and introduced himself then set two more pints on our table and told us it was on the house. Crap! More beer? Jake shook the man’s hand and chatted easily with him for a few minutes before asking about catching a cab. The man offered to call one for us so Jake arranged with him to have one pick us up in twenty minutes.

Having become slightly tipsy after finishing off my first pint and starting on my second, I got a little ‘handsey’ with Jake under the table.

“Check please,” he whispered, grinning.

“I’m ready when you are.”

“It’s considered rude if we don’t finish.”

“Oh God! I can’t drink another one of these. You have to help me then,” I demanded, a bit belligerently.

Jake grinned, “Jesus, I thought I was a lightweight, but you’re already an angry drunk and you’ve only had a pint.”

“It’s not that. I just want to get you back to my room so we can have a repeat of our last night together,” I whispered.

“You mean on our first date?”

“Uh-huh.”

“So wait…does that make this our second date?” Jake teased.

“It does.”

“I remember on the first date hearing you say that you didn’t have any rules on a second date.”

“You heard right,” I grinned.

Jake picked up my drink and started chugging it. I laughed.

We finished off our drinks then got up to go. Cameras flashed as we walked by but no one stopped us. While we were in the pub the storm had settled over London and rain was hammering down on us as we ducked into our cab. Ten minutes later we pulled up to the entrance of our hotel. I looked over at the fence that had once held back hundreds of fans and was shocked to find two lone figures standing under a single umbrella in the drenching rain. One looked like a younger girl. I pointed them out to Jake.

“Are you kidding?” He said. “What are they doing in the rain?”

“Waiting for you, I think.”

The cab came to a stop, Jake paid and we got out.

“Jake? Jake?” Cried a girl. Jake waved at her as we ran in the pounding rain from the car to the hotel entrance. Once under the awning, Jake said something to the doorman then put his hand on my back and guided me into the warmth of the lobby.

I started toward the elevator when Jake said, “Hold up a second, Casey.” I stopped and looked at Jake in confusion. He nodded toward the entrance. We waited maybe a minute before the doorman escorted in the two people who had been waiting in the rain. They were drenched from head to toe but the looks on their faces were ones of pure joy and excitement. It was a young teenage girl and probably her mother.

“I hope you weren’t out there waiting on me?” Jake asked with genuine concern in his voice.

“We were,” the woman said shivering. “Not my idea, hers.” She pointed to the girl. “My daughter Lauren is just such a huge fan. It’s her dream to see you in person but we weren’t able to get tickets to your concerts so I promised to bring her here instead.”

Jake turned to the girl and reached his hand out. She took it and looked like she might faint. “Well then, it’s nice to meet you, Lauren.”

She made a weird sound and swooned.

“We were here earlier when you came out of the hotel and signed autographs but we were all the way in the back of the mob. This is the first time we have ever done something like this so we didn’t know we needed to get here eight hours in advance. Anyway we never managed to get close enough to get your picture. My daughter was just devastated so I told her we would wait until midnight and if you didn’t return by then we were going home. There were lots of fans who stayed but once the rain started up people kept leaving until it was just the two of us left,” the mom said.