Private Show (The Private Series) (23 page)

“Hey girly, you busy tonight?” I ask Erin.

“What do you have in mind?”

“Well, Ben wants to go to Chatz for some reason tonight and he said I should invite you along.”

“Sounds fun! What time?”

“Eight okay?”

“I will see you there.”

Now, I do feel a little guilty, because I told a small white lie. Ben and I started talking, and I think Erin and Dan should meet. They would complement one another well. After talking to Dan through the week, I feel like I can trust him with my friend’s heart. I know she is sort of seeing a guy, but she said so herself that it isn’t serious, so why not?

I put on a shimmery black tank top, hot pink short A-line skirt, lacey black tights and black heels. But what’s really going to set this off is my fresh pink hair. I don’t mean touched-up streaks… no, I mean my whole head! I am feeling confident tonight and I was ready for a new color change. And now that I have a full-time job with
Tones
, I don’t need to worry about a customer complaining like they would at the coffee shop.

Ben’s eyes pop when I open my door. “You never cease to amaze me, you know that?”

“Do you like the hair?”

Pulling me in close, he nuzzles my hair and takes in my scent. “I love it. It’s just like you, full of life, light and energy.”

He hands me a box. “I saw them in a window and they screamed
Punky
.”

Opening the well thought of pink paper, I reveal a Chucks Converse shoebox. I look up at Ben and open the box to see one of the most beautiful pair of shoes I have ever seen in my life.

“Sparkly pink Converse?” I squeal. I kick off the stilts I am wearing and I glide to my red sofa.

Ben kneels before me and places the shoes on my feet. “So you like them?”

“I love them!” I launch forward, knocking him of his heels and onto his back.

“I am glad. I love you.”

“Hey, any man who buys a girl the most obvious and girly sneakers on earth must obviously love her! I love you, Ben, and thank you for my sneakers.”

At Chatz Ben buys me a drink at the bar, “Rum and Coke for my girl here, Charles.”

It’s a full house for Karaoke Night. I will just keep an eye on Erin and an eye out for Ass Hat.

As I take my first sip I see Dan walk in through the door. He looks pretty good dressed up, and this is coming from a girl who has seen him in a towel already.

Then I see a familiar face follow in behind him, Caroline. But she looks a little different, she has long blonde hair. Huh, I knew she was sporting a wig, but why? And why so dramatic? Wait, she is fifteen what is she doing here?

I grab Ben’s elbow when they approach, “Hey, you made it!” He greets his sister, “I am confused about the hair…”

Caroline runs her fingers through her natural hair nervously, “Yeah, the black hair was a wig.”

“Why?” I jump in, “I mean I love your hair, but why the extreme difference?”

She smacks her lips and shifts her weight, “Because I am a teenager, aren’t we supposed to be extreme?” She giggles at herself.

Ben kisses his sister cheek, “Well, I like it.”

“Me too,” Dan interjects, giving me an
off
feeling.

We make small talk at the bar as we wait for Erin. We didn’t tell Dan about her coming. I briefly talked about the other day when the three of us did lunch. He said she sounded like
one badass hottie
.

I keep an eye on the door and finally she shows up, nearly a half an hour late. She rushes right up to me and kisses me on the cheek. “Sorry, I am late, I was finishing a proposal I had to do for class. Hey Ben.” She gives him a quick awkward hug. I find it kinda funny and sweet how they interact.

“Red.” Ben calls her and raises his drink.

“Erin, this is Dan, Ben’s good friend from high school.” I introduce them.

They shake hands and exchange pleasantries. They look cute together; he even offers to buy her a drink but she turns it down. Wow, Erin turning down a free drink? What’s up with that? Instead she excuses herself to go pick out a song.

“So what do you think?” I ask Dan.

Scrunching his eyebrows, “She is stunning, but I don’t think she is digging the D Man.”

“You didn’t just call yourself that! Dude, we are not in high school anymore. You can’t call yourself that and expect a woman to jump on board.” Ben teases.

“Whatever.”

I spot Caroline off to the side looking into the lounge area, spying on whoever is on stage. She pulls out her phone and lights up at what looks like a text.

“Who’s blowing you up tonight?” I tease.

She finishes her reply and hits send, “Just this guy I have been texting.”

“Someone from school?” I have to ask.

She looks me dead in the eyes, “No, he’s a little older.”

“Does your brother know?”

She laughs, “I have tried, but he isn’t too quick to reply these days.”

“Well, I am here if you ever need to talk. I know what it’s like.”

She tips her head and her demeanor completely changes, like a façade has been lifted. I know when she is being Caroline and when she is trying to be someone else.

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. Hey, I have to use the restroom I’ll rejoin you guys in a minute.” She turns her heel, pulls out her phone again and disappears.

Back at the bar the guys chat with Charles for a second when I see the back of a guy grab onto Erin from behind. Motherfucker!

“Hey I will be right back,” I tell the guys. I take off before Ben can question anything.

I am going to kick this asshat’s ass, once and for all. By the time I get to her she has turned around and is making out with the guy. Are you kidding me right now? Not long ago, I had to drag her away from this guy.

I tap his shoulder. He turns around, and I think I nearly piss my pants.

“James?”

“Tess?”

I look to Erin who is looking a little lost, glad to see I am not the only lost one. “Tess, how do you know James?”

“Erin, what did I tell you my brother’s name was?”

“Whoa! You’re my sister’s best friend, aren’t you?” James asks, surprised.

I hold my hand to my head trying to grasp what I am seeing and hearing. “Wait, how… when… Erin?”

I feel a hand on my lower back.

“What’s going on, babe?” Ben asks in my ear.

Taking a few seconds to gather my thoughts I look from James and Erin, who are holding hands. “Um, well, it appears that Erin is seeing my brother.” After saying it I start to smile. I can get used to this idea.

Ben nudges me. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your brother, then?”

No sooner do I start than James interrupts me.

“Ben Mitchell. I know who you are.” James sounds clipped.

Ben extends his hand to James, but he doesn’t take it right away. James looks to me and I give him a pleading smile. He rolls his eyes and shakes Ben’s hand, “Nice to meet you. Tess has told me about you and I have heard about you from others as well.”

Ben looks down to his feet and I give his hand a reassuring squeeze.

“James…” I drag out.

He shrugs and gives me an apologetic look, “Hey, sorry, man, it’s just that I have heard a thing or two about your lifestyle.”

“Understandable, but I have changed since meeting your sister. She is all I want and need. I couldn’t imagine being with another woman as long as I live. I feel like I have been filling a void that harbored deep inside of me…” Ben looks down to me. “But how I lived my life in the past doesn’t mean a thing to me now. What matters is that I have her and I am a lucky son of a bitch for receiving her heart in return.”

I hear Erin gasp and sigh.
Man, what a girl
…

“That is the sweetest and most romantic thing I have heard in my life.” Erin smacks James on the shoulder. “Why don’t you say those things about or to me?”

“Because you won’t even let me label us.” James raises his eyebrows at her.

I break the tension by asking how they met. Erin begins.

“I was at my father’s office, which is in shambles, because it’s being re-done. The whole building was full of contractors and workers. When I was sitting in his office there was a knock on the door. My father let the man in, but he wasn’t a laborer, but he announced himself at the architect. I looked up intrigued and there he was. In a light blue shirt and a charcoal suit… no tie.” She looks up and winks at James, obviously some sort of inside thing with them.

“I didn’t even see her at first seeing as the small leather sofa she was sitting up was pushed almost behind the door, due to the equipment in the office,” James continues. “When he turned to clear his desk so I could lay out my plans, I turned to close the door and that’s when I saw the most beautiful set of green eyes I have ever seen. And she was rocking this deep skintight plum dress too…” James whistles at the memory.

Erin lifts her chin and he kisses her. “So are you going to sing?” James asks Erin.

“I am! I just put in my song and I should be up after this one. Tess, you have to do one tonight!” Erin squeaks out.

I snort out a laugh. “Yeah, right!”

Just as Erin is about to argue with me, she is called to the small stage in the corner of the lounge. She looks right at home up there. Man, it must be nice to stand in front of people with no fear. As the music starts people look up from their phones and drinks.

Erin is just about finished when Ben excuses himself for a moment. I can’t believe how great of a performer she is and I can see
the
look on my brother’s face. So it was Erin who he talked about the other day at lunch…

James lifts Erin off of the stage when she is done and lays a hot kiss right on her mouth, I don’t know if I want to awe at it or turn away and gag, because it’s my brother. Either way they look amazing and cute together.

I introduce Dan and James. Dan then bumps into Ben’s shoulder and gives him a big grin. What’s up with these two? “Ready?” he questions Ben.

“It’s been far too long, man. Let’s do this.” He takes my hand and leads me to the front of the small stage and greets me to a chair that is front row center.

I scrunch my brows. “What’s going on?”

“I’m going all Balls Deep tonight,” he whispers in my ear, trying to keep a straight face.

When I look up I see Dan at a set of drums and Ben picks up an electric guitar and positions himself in front of a mic. He looks back at Dan and nods his head. Dan starts a beat and Ben starts to strum away. Oddly enough just a set of drums and guitar work for these guys, unlike the White Stripes, now that brother and sister really needed more instruments…

As soon as Ben opens his mouth to sing, my panties want to drop immediately. His voice, oh lord, his fucking voice could get me off just by listening to him sing. I thought his husky yet smooth accent was sexy as it was but when he sings he sounds like Gavin Rossdale from Bush. He needs to sing more often and if not publicly… well, I wouldn’t mind being serenaded alone in the bedroom.

His eyes never leave mine; it is almost as if he is trying to make love to me through his voice and I can feel it. I want him naked more than anything right now. Just then I have a flashback about my dream I had of him not so long ago…

The song they choose is a little older and I know it by heart. It’s so much better than the original artist’s version. I am so captivated I didn’t even notice Erin sitting next to me trying to get my attention, but I don’t look at her until they finish and Ben signals that he’s going to grab us a couple more drinks.

“Did you know he could sing like that?”

“Not at all.”

She elbows me and says, “If he is anything in the sack like he is on stage, then you are one fucking lucky woman.”

I blush a little. “Oh yeah.” She gives a little squeal.

“Okay that’s a little gross.” I hear James groan from the other side of Erin. “I don’t want to hear about my baby sister doing it with a guy, and second, I don’t want to hear my girl talk about how hot another guy is.”

Erin turns and kisses him on the cheek. “You have nothing to worry about, Grizzly.”

“Okay, now it’s my turn to say ew.”

Ben and Dan make their way to us. “What’s so ew?” Ben asks as he hands me a drink.

“Hearing what Erin calls James, and what I can only assume is a sex-based nickname.”

We sit and relax for about five minutes when the lights go out, leaving only the few lit candles on the tables glowing and the cell phones in people’s hands.

Everyone is looking around to see what’s going on, as do I. Then a single stage light beams on, and I see Ben standing there with an acoustic guitar.

He looks at me intently and signals with his finger to join him on the stage. He has got to be kidding, right? I approach the stage and he leans down to hear what I have to say.

“What’s going on? Are you going to play again?”

“We are going to play together.”

No. no, no no…

“I heard you singing in the show the other night. And I want to sing that song with you tonight.”

“‘Connect?’” I ask.

He nods. How can I say no to my beautiful man? I can’t. So, I jump on the stage with him and when I turn to look around all eyes are on us. Oh shit.