“
Construction continues at
the house of Jake Johnson, lead singer of Controlled Environment.”
I was surprised, and pleased, that Ms. Silicone dropped the ‘bad
boy’ label. “Sources say he’s preparing his home for when his
current love, Isabella Ames (cue video of Jake escorting me to
school), graduates high school this June.”
“
Oh, please,” I snorted.
Annie giggled.
“
Other sources, however,
say Jake is having the property fenced so he can continue to hide
Monique DuVois, who hasn’t been seen in public since Johnson left
L.A. last weekend.” The evil silicone woman grinned. “I wonder what
Miss Ames thinks of that.”
I gawked at Annie, utterly speechless. “Can
you believe this?”
Annie was beside herself. “I wonder who else
he’s hiding. Elvis? Jimi Hendrix?”
I froze suddenly, startling her out of her
hilarious rant. “Annie, how am I going to sneak off campus and pick
up Jake’s puppy?”
“
Cammy and I will pick up
the puppy,” she said and we plotted my escape the rest of the
evening.
Saturday afternoon, Cammy and Annie left to
pick up the puppy while Zach escorted me to my car. The horde of
reporters had grown, and I expected they must have gotten wind of
Jake’s birthday party. I tried to take a page out of Jake’s book
and tucked my blonde ponytail under a baseball cap but I’d left my
sunglasses in my car. I was definitely a very inexperienced
paparazzi dodger.
We’d almost made it to my car when one of
the reporters, a man I recognized as one who’d taken to walking the
perimeter of the school grounds, noticed me. “Hey, Isabella, are
you going to Jake’s birthday bash?”
I opened my mouth to shout something rude
enough to make my mother blush but Zach yanked on my arm and
dragged me toward my car.
“
Come on, Isabella,” the
reporter pleaded. “Are you part of the party they planned in
Chicago? I heard Monique is going to be there.”
I stumbled but Zach kept a firm hold on my
arm. “She’s even staying at his place. I have photos.”
I stopped that time but we’d reached the car
and Zach took that opportunity to shove me inside. He calmly walked
around and climbed in the driver’s seat, slammed the door and
locked it.
“
He was trying to get a
rise out of you, Bella,” Zach said quietly. “You did a good job
keeping your mouth shut.”
A sudden surge of affection swelled inside
of me. I was so glad Annie found such a nice guy like Zach. I
nodded in agreement but my mind was whirring, wondering if those
photos actually existed.
***
We successfully dodged all reporters and
camped out in a couple hotel rooms in another town. My father
arranged the rooms and ordered us to keep inside and not peek our
noses out for anything that wasn’t an emergency. So we ordered room
service and pay-per-view and took turns playing with the puppy.
Annie and Cammy were in charge of sneaking him out for potty
breaks.
It was fun—almost like a slumber party
except for the fact that Zach was there. Jealousy clenched my heart
when Annie kissed him goodnight and sent him to the adjoining room
when we all decided to retire. But I reminded myself that I would
be with Jake the next day and excitement would chase away all the
gloom.
I had tried to call him all day to wish him
a happy birthday but my calls went directly to voice mail. I
decided he must have started on the birthday bash early. That
frightened me. I prayed they’d be careful and take a cab. It was
bad enough they’d be drinking, I didn’t want them driving, too.
Jake’s new puppy was an adorable ball of
soft, black fur. I set off the next day with him, a crate and a box
full of fun puppy things. Halfway to Jake’s house, that adorable
fur ball turned into an annoying, carsick mutt. I had to stop to
let the puppy out while I cleaned out the crate and aired out the
car. I gave him a drink of cool water and started out again.
By the time I turned off the interstate and
onto the two lane highway, I began to tremble. I couldn’t wait to
spend an entire week with Jake. And the puppy, who was starting to
grow on me again even after the carsick incident.
I turned into his drive and approached the
brand new gates. And a horde of hungry reporters. They grinned when
they figured out who I was.
I pulled slowly to an intercom attached to a
steel post, afraid to lower my window and push the buzzer. I did,
anyway, and the questions began.
“
Did you go to the
party?”
“
Are you moving in after
graduation?”
“
Were you aware Monique was
at the party and that she’s here, at Jake’s house?”
I fought back tears of frustration as I
pushed the button again and again. Finally, a scratchy voice
answered.
“
What?!”
“
It’s Iz. Please get me
away from these people,” I begged over the din of their constant
questions.
“
Sorry, Iz. The gate’s
opening.”
I sighed in relief as heavy, steel gates
swung open and I could pull through them. I followed the long drive
and stopped in front of the house. I rested my head on the steering
wheel, allowing my breathing to slow, when someone tapped on my
window. I jumped, hand to heart, and found Ronnie grinning widely
at me. I opened my door and stepped out, into his warm embrace.
“
How are you, Iz?” he
asked.
“
I’m fine. Can you help me
with this stuff?”
He released me to smile and ooh over the
puppy. He lifted the crate carefully, poking his fingers through
the door so the puppy could reward him with a wet kiss. I grabbed
the box of puppy stuff and followed Ronnie to the house.
“
Is this Jake’s present?”
he asked.
“
Yeah. He better like it.
The little fur ball already puked in his crate on the way
here.”
Ronnie’s eyes grew and he peered carefully
in the crate. “That’s nasty.”
“
I cleaned it up, don’t
worry.”
He nodded dubiously as he opened the door
and held it so I could brush past him. I set the box on the floor
and watched as Ronnie opened the crate and took the puppy in his
arms.
“
Jake’s going to love
this,” he said.
“
Where is Jake?” I
asked.
Ronnie snorted a hollow laugh. “He’s still
in bed. We didn’t get in until very late. It wasn’t pretty,
Iz.”
I tilted my head and studied him. “You look
fine.”
He shrugged, tickling the puppy’s ears. “I
didn’t drink. I was the designated driver. But Jake, on the other
hand…”
Shaking my head, I exhaled long and loud. “I
don’t understand you boys and your need to drink excessively until
you’re sick. What’s the point?”
Ronnie laughed, his eyes sparkling. “It’s a
guy thing. You only turn twenty-one once.”
“
So, what, you try to
squeeze a lifetime of drinking into one night?”
“
Aww, Iz, don’t be too mad
at him—you know he’s not much of a drinker anyway. It was his
birthday so he let loose a little bit.”
I relaxed and let a smile touch my lips. “I
know. I’m not mad or anything. I just feel bad for him. I’m sure
he’s not going to be feeling very well this morning.”
Ronnie winked as he stood with the puppy in
his arms. “He’ll feel much better when he sees you. He talked about
you all night.The boy is smitten with you, Iz.”
He frowned at the lump covered by a blanket
on the couch. “Go on up and get Jake.” He pointed at the lump.
“I’ll wake Nick and get him started on breakfast. I’m starved.”
My heart bounced as I patted the puppy’s
head and started up the stairs. My pulse raced as I thought about a
whole week with Jake, alone. Well, the guys were here now and that
was fine with me. It would be fun to hang out with them all day - I
missed them nearly as much as I missed Jake. Maybe they would have
a couple embarrassing stories about Jake to tell me. Something I
could use to wheedle anything I wanted out of him.
I laughed to myself. I wouldn’t need to do
that. Jake pretty much gave in to whatever I wanted - except that
one little thing. And I would behave and wait for that. Jake was
much too important.
As I ascended the stairs, I planned to slip
in his room and slid into his bed next to him. I’d kiss him softly
until he woke.
But my plans fell to the floor of my mind
when I found a not so pleasant surprise at the top of the
stairs.
“
Oh, I hadn’t realized
anyone else had arrived,” Monique said in her thick, French accent.
She shuffled out of the guest bedroom and headed toward the
bathroom. “I doubt if Jake is up for visitors.”
“
Like hell,” I muttered as
I brushed past her and walked in Jake’s room. I slammed the door,
and he jumped, nearly rolling off the bed.
“
Wha…?” he asked,
incoherently. He sat up, cradling his head in his hands. He was
dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, all terribly rumpled. “What’s
going on?”
I took a deep breath and planted my fists on
my hips. “That’s exactly what I want to know.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jake winced and rubbed his forehead, eyes
shut tight. “Keep it down, will you, Iz? My head is killing
me.”
I huffed and tapped my foot, not concerned
in the least about his head. “Do you know who I ran into out
there?”
He groaned, sounding like a hippo with a
toothache, and slid his feet to the floor. Barely cracking an eye,
he fumbled around on the night stand and produced a crumbled pack
of cigarettes. I tensed. He never smoked around me. In fact, I was
under the impression he’d quit.
Obviously you’re
wrong
, I thought as he light one and blew
out a long stream of smoke. “What’s the problem?”
“
Do you know who I ran into
out there,” I repeated, pointing at the door for visual
effect.
“
Hard telling,” he grunted
with a laugh. He took another drag off his cigarette and I scowled.
I hated to see him smoke. “Although I’m pretty sure only reporters
followed us back here.”
I stomped my foot childishly. “Monique,
Jake, that’s who is out there.”
He crushed his cigarette out in an ashtray.
“I knew that. She was at the party. She has to crash here for a few
days.”
My jaw dropped right along with my heart.
“Are you serious? How come you didn’t tell me this? You mean all
that stuff they said on TV was true?”
“
Of course not,” he barked.
“But they gave me the idea. The tabloids figured out she was
staying at Ronnie’s place in L.A. so naturally her ex found out.
She came to town for the party and I told her she could stay here
for a few days until we figured out what to do with
her.”
“
Why didn’t you tell me
this?” I asked, flabbergasted.
“
I didn’t want to upset
you,” he said, cradling his head.
“
I had a right to know,” I
insisted.
He lifted his bloodshot eyes to my face.
“Why? It’s my house.”
“
And I’m your girlfriend,”
I shouted. My fists clenched and my nails dug into my
skin.
“
Yeah, that’s right,” he
snarled. He got to his feet and gently took my shoulders. “And
she’s not. I’m not sleeping with her if that’s what you think.” I
dropped my eyes and he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Come
on, Iz. I don’t want to fight with you.” He cupped my cheek and
kissed my trembling lips. I closed my eyes as he deepened the kiss
but had to pull away, not able to take the sour taste of his
breath. “Sorry. I forgot.”
My head spun and my emotions shot up and
down. I just wanted to be with him but this latest twist only
hurled me farther into a tense nightmare. Everything was coming to
a head, and I felt all those mixed, complicated feelings swirling
in my stomach. I ducked my head and allowed a couple tears to
escape. I didn’t want to cry, not now, but I couldn’t stop it.
He placed a knuckle under my chin and lifted
my face to his. “Iz, I’m…”
Before he could tell me what he was, the
door flew open and Monique raced in the room. “Jake, one of the
photographers climbed on top of his van and took my picture while I
was playing with the puppy in the yard.”
He cursed rapidly under his breath and shot
out of the room, totally forgetting our conversation. Monique
raised a brow at me, frown marring her beautiful face. I ignored
her and slowly followed Jake, finding him on the deck shouting into
his cell phone. When his conversation ended, he glared at me, fire
in his eyes.
“
They’ll stop at
nothing.”
I nodded, not knowing what to say. He
started to pace and I hopped up on the deck rail. The April sun was
bright, sending its warm rays on us so that a jacket wasn’t
needed.
“
Um, I tried to call you
yesterday,” I said, slowly, hoping to defuse the
situation.
“
I turned my phone off. My
manager kept calling me about some stupid video and I didn’t want
to listen to him,” he said.
I’d never seen him so agitated and I hated
it. I was afraid to speak but there were things I had to know. “So,
is … um…everyone staying here this week, too, or what?”
He stopped to look at me. “Monique has to
stay here for a little bit. She doesn’t have anywhere else to
go.”
Riled, I jumped off the rail. “She has
money, Jake. She can rent a hotel room.”
“
She can’t. They’ll just
find her. They won’t leave her alone.”
“
They haven’t left me alone
for a month, and I don’t see you hiding me,” I pointed out. I was
being difficult, I knew that, but it hurt to see him protecting
her.