“It’s the other side of town.” He disagreed. “There are shops opposite the cinema that open late. We’ll buy you a couple of things to tide you through.”
“You want to go clothes shopping?” She stared at him, unsure whether to be amused or astonished.
“Want is a strong word.” He chuckled drily. “Go and get in the shower while I make reservations.”
“Thanks.” On impulse, she rushed to him and went up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I don’t care what the world thinks of you, you’re a grade
A treasure.” She whispered. Blushing, she fled the kitchen and missed his bashful smile. Jax sighed ruefully as he turned to pick up the tablet and navigated to the cinema site. If only she’d met him first...
Shopping with Jax was a weird experience. They’d only been in the store for about ten minutes when someone recognised him, and before long a gaggle of whispering and giggling girls were shadowing their every move.
“Does this happen a lot?” Noelle asked uncomfortably as they headed for the fitting room at the back of the shop.
“All the time.” He shrugged. “Mostly I just ignore it until they start intruding on my personal space. Then I’ll sign a few autographs and move on.”
“Look, I could probably get away with just buying these.” Noelle clutched the clothes she was carrying, not realising she was wrinkling the fabric, her grip was so tight.
“Go and try them on.” He urged. “I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?” She looked worriedly towards the girls and they instantly pretended to be looking at clothes.
“I’m a big boy.” He stopped at the door and gently shoved her through it. “I’ll be right outside.”
“I’ll be quick.” She promised
, hurrying inside. When she emerged a few minutes later, with a couple of pairs of jeans and three tops, Jax was surrounded and busy signing any available surface they could find to present him with.
“Sorry ladies.” His voice had dropped to a husky drawl and he stood up straight when Noelle appeared.
“Duty calls.” Edging his way out of the grasping crowd, he steered Noelle towards the checkout and carefully ignored the building furore behind them as they paid for her clothes. When he’d taken her from Gabriel’s, she’d been wearing nothing but a blanket. She didn’t even have her purse or phone with her. She promised quietly to pay him back as he handed over his card, but he waved the thought away dismissively.
“It’s the least I can do.” He put an arm around her shoulders. “I knew from the first time I met you that it would end badly. I should have rescued you long before now.” He pressed his cheek briefly to the top of her head. “You’re far too good to be with someone that twisted.”
“I guess I thought I could save him.” She hung her head as the cashier passed his card back to him.
“We’ve all thought that at some point. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” He scooped the bags off the counter. “You want to get changed before dinner?”
“No, it’s okay. I’m fine like this.” She knew it wasn’t the trendiest of outfits, but it smelled like Jax and right now that was the scent of comfort. “I could do with some shoes though. My feet are freezing!” They looked down at the cut-off flipflops, which had been the only shoes Jax had in the house they could make to fit, and burst out laughing.
“There’s a shoe shop next door. Come on.” Tucking her under his arm,
they moved onto the next shop.
Half an hour later
, they were sat in the pizzeria. Jax had insisted that she have a large drink, so she ordered a pint of OJ and lemonade and smiled when he nodded approvingly. “You need to stay hydrated.” He explained when the waiter moved away. “It’s one of the most common mistakes made in relationships where any kind of bondage happens. It protects your skin.”
“I get it, I do, but if I have to leave halfway through the film to visit the ladies room, it’s totally your fault.” She pretended to glare at him and he laughed.
“Small price to pay to prevent that alabaster beauty being marred.” The compliment rolled from his tongue like honey and she flushed scarlet, ducking her head behind the menu.
Reading the first page, she frowned. What was with all the choices? Surely a pizza was just a goddamn pizza? Why did she need to select a crust to within a millimetre
thickness of her preference? Turning the pages, she found the choice of toppings bewildering. There were three pages of variations, before a final page listing just about every culinary ingredient known to man.
“
Woah! Noelle! Breathe deeply!” Jax pulled the menu from her hands and caught her wrists. “What’s up?” He asked anxiously, rubbing his thumbs across her wrists.
“I just...” She felt dizzy and swayed in the seat. “I just...”
“Are you okay miss?” A passing waiter took in her pale face.
“No.” Noelle burst into tears. “I just want a pizza!” She hiccupped between sobs. “How hard can it be?”
“You’re having a panic attack.” The waiter said calmly, obviously recognising the signs. “Here, let me.” He took her hands from Jax and cupped them over her nose and mouth. “Breathe in and count to six.” He said soothingly. “Let it out slowly.” She complied and he knelt down in front of her. “And again...in for six...out for six. Focus on me. Don’t look at anything else. Just look right here. And in again for six...out for six.” He counted softly as she stared at him, her eyes wide and trusting even in her panic.
Eventually her breathing slowed and he
let her lower her hands. “Thank you.” She croaked, forcing a smile. “It’s been my day for embarrassing moments today.”
“Not a problem.” The waiter smiled. “My sister had them for years. I can spot one a mile off. Are you going to be okay?”
“That depends on whether you’re going to make me look at the menu again.” Her smile was more of a grimace than anything else, but he laughed anyway.
“It’s okay. I can surprise you.” He rose up to his feet.
“And for you sir? What would you like?”
“You can surprise me too.” Jax was too worried about Noelle to care about looking at the menu any more. “Thank you.”
“No worries.” Now the waiter seemed embarrassed. “At least you’ll know what to do next time, huh?”
“Hopefully there won’t be a next time.” Jax said quietly and the waiter nodded. Silently he took the menus and walked away.
“I’m sorry.” Noelle apologised for what seemed like the millionth time that day.
“Stop apologising.” He responded automatically. “Do you want to go home?”
“No.” She took another deep breath. “I’m done with being pathetic. I’m going to go and rinse my face. Then we’re going to eat pizza. Then we’re going to watch a film and, so help me God, I am going to enjoy it.”
His lips twitched
, but he managed to restrain his amusement. “That sounds like an excellent plan.”
They made it through dinner with no more incidents and left the waiter an exorbitant tip. He waved them cheerfully out of the door, holding more money in his hand than he probably made in a week bussing tables.
They arrived at the cinema with only minutes to spare before the trailers started, and settled into the warm darkness. Noelle found it strangely comforting. The darkness was close and cocoon like, shrouding her from the pressures of the outside world. In here she didn’t have to pretend. She could just abandon herself and be absorbed into the story playing out on the screen. Jax took her hand, tethering her to reality, but the rest she let slip away for a couple of hours of blessed relief.
When the end credits rolled, the lights didn’t come up and they looked around in confusion as people started stumbling around the darkened theatre.
“Mr Wilding?” A member of cinema staff popped up beside them, mini torch shining a pencil thin light just below their faces. “If you’d like to follow me please sir, there are paparazzi surrounding the front of the building.”
Jax swore softly. “Thanks for the warning.” They followed the guy out into the hall and through a door that clearly led into the staff area. “How many are out there?” He asked quietly, as they were introduced to the manager of the cinema.
“At least thirty.”
The manager nodded to Noelle politely, not really paying her much attention. “Where’s your car parked? We have a back entrance, but it’s not much good if you still have to walk through them to get to your vehicle.”
“It’s out front.” Jax sighed. “Do you have a trusted staff member that could bring it around the back?”
“I’ll fetch it myself Mr Wilding.” The manager offered graciously and Jax handed over his keys.
“This is bad.” He murmured to Noelle as they waited. “I don’t ever get that many
journos just for going out.”
“Is it because you’re with me?” She blinked up at him and he shrugged.
“Probably. Despite my playboy lifestyle, I’m very rarely seen out and about with women.”
“What if they’ve realised who I am?” Her heart sank. “The pictures of me and Gabriel at New Year were all over the news. He’s going to go ape-shit.”
“Let him.” Jax wasn’t bothered about Gabriel’s reaction. “He needs to grow the fuck up and understand that the world doesn’t revolve around him any more.” He forced a chuckle. “It revolves around you now, princess. Don’t worry. We’ll deal with this.”
Jaxon had
massively underestimated the scale of the mess. They were awoken the next morning by a crush of journalists making a racket outside the house. “What the hell is going on?” He mumbled grumpily, sliding out of bed. “It’s only just six.” He parted the curtains and peered down into the street, swearing loudly at the sight that met his eyes.
“What is it?” Noelle asked sleepily.
“Journalists. Lots of them.” He let the curtains fall back and grabbed a remote from the drawer of his bedside cabinet. “I wonder if there’s anything on the news.”
They weren’t the first story, or even the second, but they were the third. Obviously some of the
fangirls that had trailed around behind them in the shops had been videoing events and uploading the clips to Youtube. Clear as day on the screen was an image of Jax and Noelle at the checkout in the clothes store. He had his arm around her and, when he leaned down, it looked like he was kissing her.
The newsreader was barely able to contain her delight. “Lead guitarist Jaxon Wilding, of the notorious band Darkness Falls, appears to be having an affair with his front man’s girlfriend.” She declared
gleefully. “Sources have named her locally as Noelle Winters, a primary school teacher. The pair were spotted out clothes shopping, before sharing a pizza and moving on to the cinema. It’s believed they left together afterwards.”
The reel cut to a clip of one of the girls that had been following them. “Oh it was definitely a walk of shame.” She smirked. “She was wearing his clothes and flip flops.
In January.”
Cut back to the news presenter. “The lead singer of Darkness Falls, whose name and identity have remained a total mystery, shocked partygoers on New Year’s Eve when he played new music dedicated to his mystery woman and then announced he was going backstage to perform lewd acts with her.”
“Oh my God.” Noelle pulled the covers over her head, unbearably embarrassed, but she could still hear the news reader’s muffled voice droning on.
“At the time her identity remained a mystery, but comparisons of the photographs from last night and photographs from New Year’s Eve show that it is clearly the same woman.”
“A good lawyer could dispute that.” Jax tried to comfort her as he slid under the covers, eyes glued to the screen.
“At the time of going to broadcast, all parties were unavailable for comment. We are awaiting a statement from the school.”
The picture cut to an angry parent, who railed about people in charge of kids hanging around with “perverted heathens who preach about the virtues of suicide”.
“I’m going to lose my job.” Noelle murmured in horror as the reality of what was happ
ening began to sink in. “Oh my God. What the hell am I going to do?”
“Suddenly marrying me doesn’t seem so bad, does it?” Jax joked, flipping the screen off and scooting down under the covers to gather her up.
“That’s not funny.” She was reeling with shock. “The school are going to go nuts.”
“How can they?” He didn’t see the problem. “It’s not like we bite the heads off chickens on stage or anything. Can they really dictate who you date?”
“Gabriel announced live on stage that he was going to go and fuck me, and then he did the second set with dust all over his knees. That’s hardly appropriate behaviour for a primary school teacher, whether she’s dating a doctor or a musician.” She started to shake. “If I was a parent, I wouldn’t want my kids anywhere near me right now either. He’s Darkness Falls, Jax. Public enemy number one. I’m finished.”
“We’ll get you through this.” He promised, realising that humour just wasn’t going to fix it.
“I don’t see how.” Grimly, she set her jaw, refusing to cry again.
“It all seems a little crazy right now.” He squeezed her tight. “Just sit tight and it’ll all blow over.”
***