Forever Red (33 page)

“No. No you don’t.” Mike argued from the front seat, shaking his head. “Just let it go.”

“If you start singing that fucking song, I’m gonna pull this car over and—” Reb’s threat was cut off when the men next to me started screaming at the top of their lungs.

“The snow glows white on the mountain tonight, not a footprint to be seen.” I sat, amazed, while three grown men continued to belt out the song I recognized from
Frozen
. Yeah, it had been all over the radio recently, but that didn’t really explain how they knew it verbatim.

When they finally finished singing the song, I looked at Neil. He shrugged, sheepishly. “We may have watched the movie a few times.”

“A few? Jesus, we broke the DVD.” Mike gave me a shrug that mirrored his friend. “What? Elsa’s fucking hot.”

“The chick can move,” Reb told me as if we were talking about someone real. The others nodded in agreement.

“Elsa’s hot and all, but she can’t begin to compete with Betty,” Noah insisted.

I turned to him. “As in Boop?”

He looked horrified. “Christ, no. Rubble.” His face twisted in a smirk that made him look too much like his brother. “My girl Betty’s got some fucking curves. Mmm-hmm.”

“Nah, man. Wilma was the one to watch. She made
Flintstone’s
awesome,” Reb pointed out. “Feisty, hot as fuck, and loyal. That’s my dream woman, right there.”

Neil shook his head. “Wilma was okay, but she was no Jess.”

I stared at him in amusement, not following.

“Nothing sexier than Jessica Rabbit,” Mikey agreed wistfully.

“Not true.” Neil leaned in close, breath hot on my ear. “I’m looking at something a helluva lot sexier. And she’s all mine.”

I could only laugh. I was surrounded by little boys trapped in adult bodies. Boys who argued over which cartoon character was hotter.

Reb slowed the car down, pulling into a parking garage. “We’re going to leave the truck here, have dinner, and then walk to the club,” Neil explained quietly. “Less likely to draw attention that way.”

The boys kept me laughing as we walked to the restaurant, while we waited for a table, and then after we ordered. When our waitress brought our food, she flirted with the boys and I stopped paying attention to what she was saying. Reaching across the table, I pulled Mikey’s plate toward me and plucked half of his onion rings off, replacing them with half my fries. Then I lifted the top of his burger bun, moving my tomatoes onto it. Finally, I stole his pickle before sliding it back in front of him.

It was something we’d done hundreds of times over the years and I didn’t even have to ask. Just like he asked the waitress to bring over mayonnaise for me. I shoved a fry into my mouth and looked up. Noah and Neil were both watching me. Neither said anything, but I knew they’d seen what I’d done.

Meeting Mike’s eyes, I saw the warning. We hadn’t told Neil that we’d kept in touch. If I didn’t pay attention, we wouldn’t have a chance to tell him before he figured it out. I didn’t want to ruin our good night, but we had to be honest with him soon. My stomach tightened in knots and I suddenly I wasn’t hungry anymore.

Their playful banter, which they started as soon as our waitress disappeared, distracted me, almost instantly vanishing my worry. They were easy to laugh with and were a great distraction. Before I knew it, my worry had completely disappeared.

The club was practically empty when we got there. Snagging a table in the back, away from the DJ, we talked and laughed through two rounds. When Noah declared it shot time, I sat back in my chair and looked around, surprised to see every table taken and the dance floor packed.

Noah was grinning when he came back, carrying a tray with ten mini-glasses filled with red liquid. He set two in front of each of us before turning his chair around and straddling it.

“Um…” I picked one up, sniffing it. “What is it?”

“A redheaded slut,” he announced proudly.

The others groaned and swore at him. “Dick.” “Ass.” “Fuckwad.”

I only grinned back. It was perfect. “Do I want to know what’s in it?”

“Don’t ask. Just drink.” He raised his glass at me and I tapped it with mine. Not waiting for the others, we tipped our heads back and swallowed. Then I coughed and gagged. Jager. Gross! I grabbed Mike’s beer, trying to wash the taste from my mouth while the other three took their first shot. Then, against my better judgment, we did the second. It didn’t taste any better.

“I don’t know what ass tastes like firsthand, but I’m pretty sure that’s the closest I’ll ever get.”

“Ass tastes better,” Reb, with a shrug and a smile, assured me. “And I do know firsthand.”

I tossed a pretzel at him. “I can’t handle another one of those.”

“I’ll go this time,” Mike told the table as he stood and walked to the bar. He’d been sitting directly across from me, blocking my view of the table behind him. With him gone, I could see the four women that were staring at our table and not even trying to hide their gawking. They talked amongst themselves, but never once took their eyes off us.

“Neil?” I asked, leaning toward him and lowering my voice. “Those women aren’t reporters, are they?”

He glanced over, eyes moving over them quickly, before turning back to me. “Nope.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Pretty sure they aren’t hidin’ camera equipment in those dresses.”

I moved my eyes back to them, jolting in surprise when I realized one of them was staring at me. She held my gaze, giving me a look I couldn’t decipher. It was similar to the ones Ally had given me in high school – like she was judging me and found me lacking. I broke contact first.

“Red?” The question was full of worry and his fingers brushed a few strands of hair behind my ear before putting his thumb under my chin and pulling my face toward him. “You feelin’ okay?”

I nodded, eyes drifting back to their table, thankful she wasn’t looking at me anymore. I could see what Neil meant, though. Every single one of them was wearing an outfit that didn’t leave anything to the imagination. They barely fit in their clothes so there was no chance they’d be able to smuggle anything else in.

“Babe?”

“Maybe they’re not reporters, but I’m pretty sure you’ve been made.”

Neil sighed, turning toward them once more, this time with a bored expression. “Nope.”

“If they’re not reporters, and they don’t know who you are, why in the hell are they staring?”

Neil answered by raising an eyebrow. Noah, eavesdropping, leaned over the table. “You’ll get used to it, Lia. It happens all the time. Even when they don’t know who we are, Nate and Reb tend to get attention.”

Ah. Yeah. I looked at the guys again. They were definitely the kind of men I’d check out if I were here tonight. None of them looked like they were musicians, let alone a country music band. “Why don’t you wear hats and cowboy boots?”

Neil shook his head. “I’m not that kinda country.”

Mike showed up before I could respond, handing us each another shot, this one looking like chocolate milk. “I thought since Noah liked being a dick so much, blowjobs would be perfect.”

Noah grinned. “I do love me a blowjob. But, Mike, I just don’t swing that way. The lips I liked wrapped around my cock have to be soft.”

“Yeah, we’re done,” Neil said, pushing his chair back abruptly and downing his shot all in one move, he reached for me. “Wanna dance?” I’d had just enough to drink that I was feeling it, feeling really good. I nodded.

He grabbed the brim of his hat, flipping it around backward, allowing me to see his face clearly for the first time all night. The move made my heart clench. I’d seen him do that a hundred times when we were younger, and memories started to flood my mind. Thankfully, he pulled me to my feet and followed me to the floor, hands finding my hips and helping me keep a rhythm.

We danced. For the longest time, we lost ourselves in the beat, shaking our moneymakers and acting like we were younger and actually could dance. The balls of my feet were on fire when I finally had to pull him off the floor. “I have to pee,” I hollered in his ear.

“You want me to come with you?”

I shook my head. “I’ll be right back.”

I made my way – surprisingly, without tripping and landing on my face – to the side of the club and got in line. After what seemed like hours, I got in, did my business, and was washing my hands when a young woman stepped up beside me.

“You’re here with Nate Kelly, aren’t you?” She’d kept her voice low so only I could hear her. I watched her reflection, trying to keep the surprise off my face. She was a lot younger than I was, but had to be pushing mid-twenties. After a few seconds, I realized that she was one of the women sitting next to us. Unlike her friend, though, this one had a kind face.

I almost felt bad lying to her. “I’m sorry. You must have me confused with someone else.”

She shook her head and gripped my arm as if whatever she had to say was urgent. “I know who you’re with. He doesn’t recognize us, but we partied with him last time he was here.” I felt my face harden at her implication. “My sister is friends with someone on his crew so that’s how we know where he’ll be every time he’s in town. She’s…” The girl glanced at the sink and I saw color rise in her cheeks. “She’s partied with him a few times.”

My back straightened. “Oh.” It was all that would come out. I knew who he was. It was in the past. It was the past. Maybe if I repeated it, I’d feel better about that little tidbit. Probably not.

“I’m not trying to ruin your fun. I didn’t even want to come out tonight, not after that article.” She didn’t have to tell me which article she meant because I knew it was the one that told the world he wanted to marry Molly. “But I’m here now and you look like you’re a nice woman.” She paused again, wetting her lips. I wanted to beg her to hurry up and spit out whatever it was she was trying to say.

Finally,
finally
, she met my eyes and told me. “I just wanted you to know that his girlfriend is out there now, and that a bunch of reporters are with her. If you want, I’ll walk back to the tables with you and you can pretend you’re with me, get your purse, and I’ll get you out of here.”

I felt my posture relax. This girl, this very sweet and very kind girl, didn’t know me from a hole in the ground, but she was offering to save me from an uncomfortable run-in with Molly. Without thinking, I leaned forward and hugged her. “That’s very sweet of you. But it isn’t what you think.”

Her lips twisted. “I saw you dancing with him. It is what I think.” Then she glanced over her shoulder at the door. “Reporters are everywhere out there.”

I nodded, grabbed a paper towel, dried my hands, and then reached for the door. “Thank you for the warning. I appreciate it.”

She hadn’t been kidding. The place had been crowded before, but now it was swarming. The area around our table was body-to-body; I couldn’t even begin to push through. I couldn’t see over them to see if my friends were still there and I’d left my phone on the table. The buzz I’d had was gone, and jetlag had kicked in. Well, shit. So much for a fun night out.

“We got a problem.” Reb stepped next to me, voice low, but loud enough for me to hear. I’d walked toward the side of the bar, keeping my eyes on Lia while she waited for the bathroom.

“Carson or my brother?” I asked, not really caring. Both had been hitting shots pretty heavily while Red and I had a blast out on the floor. It was nice to get away and just pretend to be normal with her, even if it was just for a couple of hours.

“Neither.” His tone alarmed me and I looked away from Red long enough to glance his way. “Molly’s here,” he said and I snorted, eyes moving back to the line. That wasn’t a problem. She was still pretty pissed at me, but she could fuck off. “She’s not alone. Shutterbug stalkers followed her here.”

“What?” I wasn’t sure he actually heard me because the word came out as a hiss. How could she be dumb enough to lead them here? She knew I had Lia out with me and she knew they’d eat her alive. “Where?”

“Table.” He tipped his head back. “Go straighten out your shit. I’ll wait for Red.”

I headed straight for the back. Molly was sitting at the table next to Noah. But there were a shit ton of people standing around, pretending to talk, paying way too much attention to what she was doing. I pushed through them, causing a whisper of excitement to ripple through the crowd. They thought they were going to get their money shot if I was there. Assholes.

I eased into the chair next to Molly. “What the hell were you thinking?”

She leaned close, hiding it from the waiting cameras, and glared. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“You brought them here.”

“I didn’t bring shit. They followed me. What was I supposed to do – pull over and ask them all nice-like to stop fucking following me?”

“You were supposed to make sure you didn’t bring the fucking photographer scum to the same place Lia is. You were the one that said we had to keep a low profile and insisted that we keep her outa the spotlight. Then you fucking lead them right to her?”

“Guys,” Mike called, “how about you cool it until we get home?”

Molly ignored him. “You told me you wanted me here tonight. Said it would be good for me to get to know her. I’m fucking here, ain’t I? Where in the fuck is she?”

I felt like a dumbass. That was a good fucking question. Where was she? I turned, trying to see past the horde of assholes that stood between my girl and me, but they’d somehow managed to grow in numbers and get a lot closer to me. I hoped Reb had found her. “Right. Party’s over, kids.”

Mike nodded, tossing back the rest of his drink and standing. “I’ll make a path.”

Noah pushed back his chair and stretched. “You get Mols and I’ll follow.”

We’d done this enough times that we not only knew how to act, we knew how to get into the best possible formation to get through a crowd. I put my hand on Molly’s back and pushed her forward through the tiny path Mike had created.

We were almost clear when my eyes landed on Lia. She was on the other side of the room, stuck behind two men that wouldn’t let her get by them. If we got separated now, she’d be left here alone. I abandoned Molly, knowing Noah would step into my place, and went to rescue her.

Her face lit when she saw me, and struggled again to push them apart enough to squeeze by. When I stepped in front of them, they did a double take. “‘Scuse me,” I growled, giving one a push with my shoulder hard enough that he had to take a step back. I reached out, finding her hand, and with one quick tug, she was standing next to me. I laced my fingers with hers, offered a quick apologetic smile, and turned to follow the rest of our party.

I took one step and came to a screeching halt when Lia didn’t move with me. I snapped my head around but my confusion cleared as soon as I saw his hands on her. One of the fucking dicks that hadn’t let her get by him five seconds before now had his fingers wrapped around her upper arm, preventing her from leaving while his buddy had raised his camera and was capturing the whole thing.

“Can you tell me how you know Nate Kelly? Did you know that his fiancée would be here tonight?” The man was firing questions at her, but Lia was too busy trying to pry his fingers off her to pay attention.

I stepped back to them. “Let go.”

He sneered, and from the way she tensed, I assumed he only tightened his grip. “Is she the reason you and Molly were arguing?”

I dropped her hand, stepping between her and the idiot, going toe-to-toe. I knew he was trying to antagonize me, get me to react. My quick temper made pricks like him lots of money. But they’d never touched any of my dates before, and if he didn’t remove his hand instantly, I was going to do it for him. “Let her go. Now.”

“She’s not really your type, Nate,” he goaded, ignoring my warning tone. “Is your relationship with Molly worth risking over a cheap—” He didn’t get a chance to finish his insult before my fist crashed into cheek. I didn’t stop with one. The fucking grub had put his hands on Lia.
My
Lia. And, then he thought he’d throw an insult or two at her. Fuck no. I only stopped hitting him because I was pulled away.

Carson had appeared and was using all his strength to restrain me. I struggled against him, wanting to get to Red, but he kept pushing me back. “Noah’s got her,” he ground out, forcing me across the floor. Someone had opened a back door and ushered us through it to Sam, waiting with another Suburban. I didn’t know how he magically appeared, exactly in the spot we were, but it had happened so many times over the years that I didn’t question it anymore.

“Where the fuck is Lia?” I demanded as Mike slammed the door behind him and Sam punched the gas.

“Noah and Reb got her and Mols. As soon as you threw the first punch, no one was looking at anything but you. How’s the hand?”

I opened and closed my fist a few times before shaking it. “Sore. But he had it coming.”

“He did.” Mike nodded. “Nikki’s going to have a coronary.” A truer story had never been told.

The second SUV was sitting next to my trailer when we pulled in and I was out of the car before Sam shifted it into park. Bounding up the stairs, I found Reb and Noah, both with a beer in their hand, retelling the story to Rhett and Billy. There was no Lia, though.

“Bedroom.” Noah pointed without me asking. “She’s fine. Pissed. But fine.”

I grabbed two bottles of beer from the fridge and then headed straight for her. I needed to see for myself that she was okay. She’d changed out of the clothes she’d been wearing, replacing them with light blue pajama bottoms decorated with yellow rubber ducks, and a blue tank. They must have been home for a while because even her face had been scrubbed clean. She looked as good as she had earlier. “Hey.”

“How’s the hand?” No welcome greeting. No smile. Shit.

“Fine.” I sat next to her, holding out the bottle. “How you doing?”

She took the beer and met my eyes. “Honestly?” She snorted. “I don’t know.”

“I’m sorry you had to see that.” I stopped talking when she gave me a hard look.

“He grabbed me. The asshole actually thought it was okay to put his hands on me. If you hadn’t punched him, I was going to,” she started and my bottle paused halfway to my mouth. “I don’t react well when men put their hands on me in anger. I’m glad I had someone there to stick up for me.”

I lowered my hand, leaning over and putting it on the floor. I didn’t like how she’d said that. “Someone put their hands on you before tonight?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I’m exhausted. Tonight was…” She searched for words. “Intense. Can we just go to bed and talk about this in the morning?”

“No.” We’d never be able to sleep, either one of us. We weren’t the kind of people that slept on shit. We were the stay awake all night and hammer it out type. “You talking about me or someone else?”

“What are you talking about?” she snapped, obviously beyond irritated.

“Seems to me I’ve grabbed you the same way, more than once.”

“That’s completely different.” Waving a hand in the air, she dismissed my concerns. “You would never hurt me. Not physically. I’ve never been afraid of you. Tonight, I was afraid of him.”

That destroyed me. “Babe, you never have to be scared of anyone when I’m with you. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

Nodding, she reached for my hand. “I know. He just caught me off guard.”

I squeezed her fingers. “Who’d he remind you of?”

She took a deep breath. “A man I dated not too long ago.” Her confession had my gut clenching. I’d find him and I’d destroy him. He had no idea what was coming for him. “It’s not a big deal, Neil. I’m not running scared of all men. I think it was just a combination of being exhausted from traveling, the alcohol, the girl in the bathroom, and then the overwhelming intensity of all those people trying to get your picture. How do you handle it?”

I heard what she was asking, what she needed to know. There’d be time for that later. “What girl in the bathroom?”

“Someone that you’ve met before. You’ve partied with her sister a few times when you’ve been here. Well, that’s the word she used, but I’m smart enough to know what she actually meant. I think it was the idea she thought I was another one of your groupies that bothered me the most. She warned me that your girlfriend was there.”

Damn. Shit. Fuck. That was the kind of thing I had hoped to avoid.

As if she read my mind, Lia continued, “Not a big deal, Neil. It isn’t like I’m going into this blindly. I really think that I’m just on sensory and information overload.”

“What can I do to make it better?” At this point, I’d do anything short of leaving her alone.

“You can drop it, strip out of those clothes, crawl into bed, and hold me while I sleep.”

That I could do. As much as I wanted to talk this through tonight, there was no hiding how exhausted she was. I stood, grabbed my beer, took hers from her hand, and put them on the nightstand before peeling off my clothes and doing what she’d asked. We’d talk in the morning.

*****

We didn’t talk about it the next morning, though. Lia slept almost the entire day. I woke her up right before we went for sound check. She didn’t want to join us backstage and she had no desire to be in the audience, which given the number of pictures of her floating around the internet, I was thankful.

I knew she’d seen the pictures when I walked into the bedroom after the show. We had a mandatory after party and I wanted to see if she’d like to be my date and get out of the trailer for a little while. She was sitting Indian style on the bed, back propped against the wall, staring at her tablet, completely horrified.

The articles had been bad. The pictures had been worse. There were five shots – all out of context and order – that had been used to paint the picture. First one was just me with the guys. Lia had been there when it was taken but had leaned back enough so unless you knew she was there, you didn’t see her. Next was a grainy photo of Red and me dancing. Third, Mols was sitting at the table, yelling at me. Fourth was me with my hand on Molly’s back, ushering her through the crowd. And last was the one that killed me; Red being rushed from the club, Noah’s arm around her, his hat nestled over her head, a ferocious look on his face while he tucked hers into his chest.

I was happy he’d been there to protect her in a way I could not. But I hated that it was his arms shielding her. Nikki had seen all the pictures, but this was the one she focused on. She wanted to use it to spin the story. She’d talked to Molly’s manager, who’d sold it to Mols, and now they all thought it was the perfect solution.

Gossip rags claimed I’d been out with the boys and a redheaded fan had approached me. We’d then gotten hot and heavy on the dance floor because I was obviously drunk and wasn’t planning on Molly’s surprise visit. When Molly appeared, they claimed I begged for forgiveness. The unidentified Ginger, as they’d taken to calling her – extremely original, left with the next best thing – my kid brother.

I hated how they were demonizing Lia. Some sites trashed women like her, angry that she’d go after a man that was publically taken. Others took it one step further, attacking her clothes and physical characteristics. One even asked its readers, “
doesn’t this woman know Nate never dates redheads?
” as if they knew me. And yet another had the headline,
She Never Had a Chance
.

When I opened the door to the bedroom, and found her still in her PJs, candy wrappers scattered around her on the bed, I knew she’d seen them all, too. I didn’t even try to pretend.

“I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t write that crap.” She shrugged. “How was the show?”

“Decent. Good crowd.” I sat on the edge of the bed next to her. “I can’t get out of this party. Want to come with me?”

“Nope. I’m good.”

“Lia, you can’t stay in here forever.”

“I know.” She set the tablet next to her. “I can’t do my job if I stay in here, silly. But Nik says I don’t have to go to the parties with you. She only went to make sure you didn’t pick up what she referred to as a “clinger.” I’m pretty sure I don’t have to worry about that.”

“You talked to Nikki?”

She gave me a look that clearly said she thought I was a moron. “She is my boss.”