She tried to not care about it, even though she knew she would.
The afternoon rush finally died down, giving time to reset the restaurant for what promised to be a busy night. Not to mention the celebrity coming.
The chatter between all the women had been going on all day. Most of them had been to the Chasing Cross show the other night. Not only did Anna not attend that show, but she had to endure a hellish night in the restaurant. She had made a ton of money in tips, but her body still ached from it.
A couple of the women joked with Anna about her being the right age and look for a rockstar. Anna joked back, but quietly fantasized about the rockstar paying off her debts.
But the more she thought about debt and the more her cell phone vibrated with people calling for money, the more she thought about Eddie. He was her asshole ex-boyfriend that put her in this position. Between spending, gambling, and a small but what he claimed was a manageable drug problem, Anna’s credit cards were maxed out in no time. And call it coincidence but the second Eddie tried to take a cash advance and realized there was nothing left, he decided to go back with his ex-girlfriend.
Anna stormed around the restaurant, telling herself the faster she moved, the more she wouldn’t think and the faster the day and night would come and go. The dinner rush started and never stopped. It kept Anna moving and she needed it. She finally put her cell phone in the back and left it there. She couldn’t deal with the calls and reminders of the true reality waiting for her. One thing about both her jobs that pained her in a way she never confided to anyone was watching people together and watching families grow. Seeing the couples coming into the restaurant, enjoying a night together. Seeing those hopeless glances and casual touches. It always seemed sort of funny how those couples, if they stayed together and had a family, would be sending their children to the school where Anna worked. The cycle of relationships and life. The cycle Anna always seemed to view but never got to experience. There was a few times when a parent recognized Anna from school. Those were the worst encounters. They would stare at her, wondering what kind of life she had that forced her to have two jobs. And the saddest part of it all was that Anna hated talking about what put her in that position because it only made her judgment questionable. She could see now how terrible it was to be with Eddie during his mess, but at that time, in those moments, all Anna knew was that she had a relationship and wanted to make it work.
And speaking of work...
Anna watched as Bill raced towards her, his eyes blinking frantically, his black tie bouncing off his large stomach, looking ready to lift up and fly over his shoulder.
“Something on fire?” she asked.
He rubbed his cheeks. “No, no. It’s busy as hell tonight. Listen, Anna,
he’s
here
.
”
“He?”
“Our guest,” Bill said. “Chasing Cross...”
“Oh, okay,” Anna said, trying to be calm. Her heart already started jumping.
Anna looked beyond Bill just as
he
walked into the dining room.
He
being Davey Z., the guitarist from Chasing Cross. Anna knew who he was instantly, picturing him on the covers of the band’s albums and photo shoots. Wearing a pair of jeans, a white shirt, a black leather jacket over it, he looked like a rock n’ roll dream. He strutted his way in, knowing damn well that everyone was looking at him. He had the facial structure of a statue, the black scruff on his face moving up to where his hair started. His black hair, short and spiked, purposely messy because he could wear it that way. At first, Anna didn’t see the woman behind Davey and when she reached forward and grabbed for Davey’s hand, Anna felt a sting of jealousy.
Davey walked by Anna, looked at her, nodded, and half smiled, leaving Anna bending her knees for relief. When the woman looked at Anna, the warm feeling turned to ice. She had dark eyes. Bitch eyes. Her dark hair and soft complexion accented her beauty and it made sense why Davey was with her.
“Anna... are you listening to me?”
“Bill, what?” Anna asked, snapping out of her trance.
“I’m giving them the back corner,” Bill said. “Please, tend to them. I’m pulling a couple girls to your tables now, okay? Let this one be your focus.”
Anna put a hand to Bill’s shoulder. “Bill, relax. They’re just people, like us. Okay? I can handle it.”
Bill opened his mouth and Anna shook her head. Bill retreated and walked away. Anna took a deep breath and touched her hair for the hundredth time that night. She knew she looked like a mess, but whatever, right?
They’re just people...
Only Davey wasn’t just a person. He was a rock star. The guitarist from Chasing Cross. And for as hot as he looked in pictures, he looked ten times hotter in person.
All Anna could hope for was to not spill something on him, including her heart.
(5)
Davey felt Cassy’s hand touch his and he wanted to cringe, scream, and shake her hand away. But she proven herself to be a potential disaster so he let it go. Thankfully she didn’t try interlock her fingers with his. He led the way to a small table in the corner of the restaurant. When he made the reservations he asked for privacy and when he was told the restaurant couldn’t reserve specific tables, Davey had to use his status to get on the phone with the manager to get the table he wanted. It was the last thing he wanted to do, to come across like some conceited celebrity looking for special treatment, but that’s what he was going to get tonight.
And with Cassy and the sensitive situation at hand, that’s just what he needed.
He pulled a chair out for Cassy and then took his seat. He looked at her, appreciating her beauty, but knew it was all a show. She wore a mask and nothing pissed Davey off more than a person who hid.
“Okay, so where do we start?” Davey asked.
Cassy looked at him and smiled. She reached for his hand and said, “Let’s start with a drink before anything else.”
Davey didn’t want a drink. Hell, he didn’t even want dinner. He wanted to figure this thing out. To match up the dates, the times, the place, the everything. To find out if he fathered Cassy’s son, Donald. And if so, what the hell to do next?
“Where’s the waitress at?” Cassy asked, looking around. “Don’t they realize who we are?”
Davey raised an eyebrow. “Who we are... meaning?”
“Famous people,” Cassy said. “You’re the guitarist for Chasing Cross. They should have drinks and food ready for us.”
“Is that how you think it works?” Davey asked.
“That’s how it should work,” Cassy replied with a sharp tone. Before Davey could reply, Cassy said, “Oh, here she comes now.”
Davey looked up and watched the waitress approach the table. She moved with a hesitated confidence, one that played with Davey’s emotions almost as much as seeing Donald did. She was short with messy curly hair. She looked exhausted, but her crystal clear blue eyes were bright and full of life. Not to mention a sense of honesty and humbleness that poured from her. She smiled and looked at both Davey and Cassy, introducing herself.
Anna.
Davey pulled his hand away from Cassy’s. He looked at the menu, but did not see a single word. He looked at Anna again as she took Cassy’s drink order. When Anna looked at him, he was taken back for a few seconds.
Mark it down, a woman finally left Davey speechless, even if it was for a few seconds.
And of course, he had to be sitting next to a woman who claimed that Davey fathered her child.
“I’ll just have a water for now,” Davey said.
“A water?” Cassy asked. “Aren’t you a rockstar?”
Davey looked at Cassy. “It’s not always about that.”
“Try telling that to yourself a couple years ago,” Cassy said. “You know, when you were forcing drinks down my throat.”
Davey felt his body burning with anger. He put his eyes back to Anna and wanted so desperately to say something to her. To do something, but what was there to do? Stand up in front of the restaurant and try to explain himself to a pretty waitress?
“Okay,” Anna said. “I’ll be right back with your drinks. Then I can take your orders.”
“Um, excuse me, are you our personal waitress?” Cassy asked.
“Personal waitress?” Anna asked.
“Are you waiting on other tables? Because if so, I think we should speak with a manager. We don’t have time to wait, you know, like everyone else.”
Davey clenched the menu tight in his hands. He felt his right foot tapping the floor. He wanted to explode. But he needed to do this the right way... and the right way suddenly felt like what Peter had suggested. To stay the hell away from the situation as much as possible and let him figure it out. But Davey insisted on handling it himself. If Donald was his son, he wanted to be there. To see the child. To hold him. To... love him...
“I’ll be taking care of everything you need,” Anna said.
Davey watched as she kept cool and collected. She focused on Cassy, keeping her smile, looking so damn pretty while doing it. Davey couldn’t believe what he was picking out about the woman. How on her left side, she had two dimples but on her right side only one. How near her ears on both sides her curls were wild but sexy looking. How the blueness of her eyes was like nothing Davey had ever seen before.
When Anna walked away, Davey resisted all he could not to watch her walk away. Cassy made sure of that when she asked, “So, how much do you think we can arrange here?”
“How much?” Davey asked.
“Well, yeah. I had to go through being pregnant alone, having Donald alone, raising him alone... you know how much that costs?”
“Cassy, can we just talk about what happened?”
“What do you mean what happened? You and I had sex and I got pregnant.”
“In my hotel room?”
“Yes. I already told you this.”
“I’m not trying to be mean... but how do you know it’s me?”
“Are you saying that I’m a whore?”
“No,” Davey said.
“Okay, I understand,” Cassy said. “I understand how this looks then.”
Davey paused, waiting to see if Cassy was being sincere or not. She asked to wait until they got their drinks, which Davey agreed to. Anna brought the drinks. She gave Davey plenty to look at, doing his best to look at her casually, only when needed, but sneaking glances while Cassy pointed to the menu, asking unnecessary questions about her choices.
It bothered Davey that he couldn’t just do what he wanted to do right then. And that was just inform Anna that he and Cassy were not a couple. But what would it matter? By the time Davey had a chance to debate it in his mind, Anna was long gone, leaving he and Cassy alone again.
“Okay, here’s my story then,” Cassy said. She took a drink and turned towards Davey. “You, believe it or not, were sort of a rebound for me.”
“A rebound?”
“Yeah. That’s right. My boyfriend and I broke up a couple weeks before the concert and I needed a little relief, if you know what I mean.”
Davey laughed. A woman claiming she used him? That seemed so far off, but whatever, it wasn’t like Davey didn’t get any pleasure out of it. Not that he could actually remember.
“When we went to your room, you insisted on shot after shot,” Cassy said. “So I went along with it. I mean, you’re a rockstar. I was going to sleep with the guitarist from Chasing Cross. I’d have a story for the rest of my life, right?”
And a baby
, Davey thought.
“You didn’t have protection?”
“You’re the guy,” Cassy said.
“I mean, you didn’t have birth control?”
“Well... no,” Cassy said. “I was always horrible at taking birth control so I kind of stopped.”
“Kind of stopped,” Davey said. He wanted to get mad but he knew he could only be mad at himself. For not taking precautions on his own end. It wasn’t fair to just assume a woman would be on birth control.
“And we had fun all night and... a few weeks later I realized I was late.”
“I have to ask again, Cassy,” Davey said. He took her hand. “How do you know it’s me?”
Cassy swallowed, absorbing her pride. “I’m not that kind of woman, okay? I know how it looks - I go to a concert and sleep with someone in the band. Fine. But that’s not me. Okay? I’m sorry if I come across as a bitch, but what else can I do right now? I’ve been a single mother and if I even think about telling someone my situation, imagine the looks I get...”
Davey watched as Cassy started to blink, tears forming in her eyes. His heart ached a little and he ran his hand up her arm to her shoulder.
“Okay, just try to relax,” Davey whispered.
“Easy for you to say,” Cassy said. “Touring the world, playing shows, making millions.”
“That’s not fair to me, Cassy. I’m not that kind of man. Or father. Okay? I would never abandon my child, or family.” Davey paused, thinking about adding,
I’m not like him
... “If Donald is my son, I’ll take care of him. And you, Cassy.”