Simon: Rockstar Romance (The ProVokaTiv Series Book 3) (8 page)

I couldn’t believe the way my night had transpired and the day had gone. I’d come out to LA with a fiery mission and ended up sleeping with Simon. Don’t get me wrong, I had no complaints. And now here I was, lying in his bed, wearing his awesome t-shirt and chatting with him as casually as if we were at the library for a study group. Wow!

“Favorite movie?” I asked, fluffing a pillow so I could lean up against his headboard.

“Blood Diamond,” he answered immediately, grinning as he propped himself up on one elbow.

“Really? I would have pictured you being Citizen Kane,” I said. I was only half joking, really.

He sat up. “You still think I’m a ruthless business guy?”

“Yeah,” I said, but I couldn’t meet his intense gaze. That’s how he caught me by surprise when he kissed my shoulder, as softly as a butterfly landing.

“Well, there is more…” he kissed me again, this time on the cheek. “At least I hope there is.”

I smiled. “I definitely know that there is more to you.” The way Simon smiled back at me made me horny again, but I wasn’t going to act on it this time.

“And what’s your favorite movie? Gorillas in the Mist?”

“Touché,” I said, laughing. “For your information, I am a real sucker for RoboCop, the original, not the remake.”

“Really?”

“I love action adventure films; it’s a nice break from reality sometimes and I can just watch. Maybe wish that I could do some of the things they do occasionally.”

All in a rush, he lunged for me, grabbed me, wrapping both his arms around me.

“Well Jessie, we’ll be in West Africa in five weeks. Maybe you’ll find your adventure there,” he whispered into my ear.

“One does always seem to pop up when least expected,” I said.

“Indeed,” he said, and kissed me.

I’m not even sure when it happened, but I eventually drifted off to sleep and woke up to the morning light streaming in through the small holes in the blinds of his bedroom. Simon wasn’t next to me. I adjusted my eyes and got up, wrapping my arms around my waist. I couldn’t help but smile at my night shirt. I loved the t-shirt, so soft and warm, the slight scent of Simon’s cologne on it.

Stopping for a quick bathroom stop and to hope he had some mouth wash, I made my way out into the living room, where I saw a sight that was one I could easily enjoy waking up to every morning. Simon was on the ground doing push-ups, going up and down rapidly.

Shirtless.

His back muscles rippled with each movement. I felt like a peeping Tom but I wasn’t about to turn away. After all, it might not be safe to startle him in the middle of a set. That’s what I told myself and I was glad to believe it.

“Hey,” Simon called out, moving up and down.

Now I felt silly, busted by my silence. “Good morning.”

“Just a second.” He kept going, pounding out twenty more and then he stopped, got to his knees and jumped up, doing a burpee. He looked real good.

Simon turned and looked at me, breathless. “Did you sleep well?”

“Great, and you?”

“Pretty decent,” he said. I saw him glance at my legs and I suddenly wished that I had my sundress back on, which was silly, of course, because it showed my legs, too. Just maybe not quite so much of them.

“Hopefully I didn’t take up too much space in the bed,” I managed to sputter.

“No, you were fine. Just had a lot on my mind.”

“I understand that,” I said.

“Why don’t you sit down?” Simon asked, gesturing toward the couch. “I’ll go make us some toast and coffee or something. Sound good?”

“Sure, if that’s what you have,” I said.

“I’m a predictable breakfast guy. Toast and coffee…and the newspaper. That’s what I like.”

“Wall Street Journal?” I asked.

“Of course. Hunter actually turned me on to reading it when the band first got together.”

“Really?” I realized that sounded kind of snotty. “I wouldn’t have guessed,” I added.

“Why would you?” he asked.

“Good point.”

I sat there and watched Simon. Part of me wanted to go up and give him a huge hug and kiss, maybe see if there was something else stirring inside of him. Thank you, Scope! The other part of me thought it was best to talk about what happened last night so there were no false expectations. I couldn’t risk anything coming in the way of the project now that it had moved up to such a grand scale.
 

*****
 

Simon handed me a plate with two pieces of toast on it and a mug of coffee. “Thanks, the coffee smells great.”

“So, what time are you headed back today?” he asked as he headed back to this kitchen.

“My flight leaves at 4 p.m.”

“Do you need a ride to the airport?”

“I don’t think so. I’ll take a cab or Brynn can take me.” I could have kicked myself. This would have been the ideal time to state my desire:
yes I do need a ride to the airport and I need it from you.

“Oh, well let me know if you need one. I’m happy to help out,” he said.

I looked at him and thought I sensed a bit of disappointment. That was huge! Not that I wanted him to be disappointed, of course. It was the thought of him maybe liking me. I realized I didn’t just want to be his business partner. I really wanted him to like me. For this to not be a one-time thing.

In those few minutes Simon was gone, banging around in the kitchen, my mind went on a full-out alert, making me think about things I really didn’t want to. Why couldn’t I just enjoy a moment? We could have sex one time and still go about our project in a professional manner, right? Damn me. Now I had to bring it up. If I didn’t, I’d dwell on it and end up Skyping about it or something lame like that. Face to face was the best, but it was so hard!

Poor Simon walked back into the room and I must have had an odd look on my face to alert him because he immediately asked, “You okay?”

“I am, but I was just thinking about something. We need to talk about last night, just for a bit, maybe.” Oh, real smooth. I’d practically said yes, no, and maybe in the same sentence.

“Okay, what’s up?”

I looked at Simon, who sat back down next to me. Why did he have to be so close? It would have been less awkward if he was sitting in that chair on the other side of the coffee table, a safe distance away from me.

“Well, I just want to make sure that last night doesn’t come between the project and everything we have going on. I’d hate for things to get awkward or cause any problems,” I said. I breathed in and waited.

“I absolutely agree. We’ll be fine. After all, we’re adults. Our team is about West Africa now, nothing else. No worries.” Simon got up and went to refill his coffee and I don’t mind admitting that I was a bit bummed out about his answer. I was so mental! He’d given me the answer I thought I was looking for, basically mirroring what I’d said to him, but now it bummed me out a bit. I wanted…I don’t know, to feel like he’d feel lousier without me in his life on a more personal level.

My phone beeped and I sprung up to get my purse from the corner, where it had been since I’d arrived last night. Digging through it, I pulled out the phone and saw that it was a text from Brynn. I was thankful for the diversion so I could recompose my face and hide any signs of disappointment lingering there from Simon’s answer.

Brynn: Thought you would be back home. Hmm…

Me: Me too. I’ll be home in a bit.

Brynn: Need me to pick you up?

I really didn’t know. I had to turn around and look at Simon now. He was reading his paper, acting like he didn’t have any concern on his mind except the stock market. Lucky bastard! “Hey, should Brynn come pick me up?”

“If you can wait an hour, I can drop you off on my way to Blaze Line.”

“Okay, I’ll have you do that,” I said.

Me: Simon will drop me off…about an hour.

Brynn: Excited to interrogate you.

Me: I’ll never talk. ;)

Then I put my phone away. “Well, I’m going to get dressed. Then I happened to catch sight of the table where we’d eaten the night before. It was all cleaned up.

“When did you clean the table up? I really should have helped.”

Simon glanced up at me and smiled. “After you fell asleep.”

“Was it driving you crazy?” I felt kind of bad.

“Not until I couldn’t sleep, which is pretty rare, actually.”

Okay, I think that was a twisted kind of compliment. I’d take it!

“Well, thanks for picking it all up. I wouldn’t have minded helping.”

“I know,” Simon said. “Well, if you’ll excuse me. I’ve got to take a quick shower and get ready. Make yourself at home.”

He walked off and I was left standing there. I wanted to get dressed, but decided to wait until I heard the shower going in Simon’s master bathroom. Then I went into the room to grab my sundress, where I’d noticed it was tidily placed on a hangar on a hook. Simon had picked that up, too.

To my shock, he was standing in there with a towel wrapped around his waist and I got completely embarrassed. “Sorry, I thought you were in the shower,” I said, not able to stop looking at him.

“Still warming up, it kind of sucks that way,” he said. “Well, see you in a bit.”

He walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

I got dressed quickly and then walked back out into the living room and decided to check my email on my phone until he got back out. It was something productive to do, at least.

An hour later, in a completely punctual fashion, I was holding the door handle of Simon’s car, saying my goodbyes and receiving a sweet kiss on the cheek…a friendly kiss.  And that was okay, kind of. Better than a brush-off, I supposed.

I walked into the apartment to be greeted by an overly cheerful Brynn. It was almost suspicious. “So, late-running business meeting?” she asked, laughing right away.

“You don’t waste any time, do you?”

“Nah, what’s the point?”

“None, I guess.”

“So, how did it go?” she asked.

“We’re going to West Africa,” I said.  That would get her attention focused on the mission, not my love life.

“What? Seriously? How did that come about?” she asked.

“Well, whoever his people are, they started thinking they could pull this concert off in Sierra Leone and it’s happening, I guess.”

“You’re good with that?” she asked.

“Oh yeah,” I said eagerly. “I’ll get to be right there where the people need help most, understand the environment, have access to the rain forest. It’s quite a long list, actually.”

“Well, send me the details because if I have anything to say about it, I’m going to try and get that assignment for The Rift. Sounds fascinating.”

“They have you on the radar,” I said. “I have five weeks until I go there; that’s a lot of work.”

“And a lot of coordination. How are you two busy peeps going to pull that off?”

“Phone and Skype…daily.”

“Oooh,” Brynn said, smiling again. She was raising her eye brows in a playful manner and eventually I burst out laughing.

“Just shush.”

For the rest of the day, Brynn and I chatted some, but honestly, I was completely distracted with all the work I had to do.  The number one thing was revamping my paper to hand to my professor.

And what a mission it was turning out to be. It had all the elements: achievement, intrigue, sex, massive man crush, and helping others. I shocked myself by the thinking of others being last on my list. It was a sure sign that Simon had gotten under my skin.

Five weeks passed by so quickly and it was really strange only talking to Jessie via telephone and the occasional Skype, not being able to physically touch her. I couldn’t stand it, but she did have school, not just this concert. The amount of work she’d put in was admirable, though. She wasn’t a slacker and I appreciated that.

My flight had finally landed at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport and that’s where I sat, waiting for Jessie to board. I was pre-occupied, thinking about how one of the new acts that Blaze Line had just signed had gotten into some legal trouble. Did I cancel their contract, which I could, or still take a chance on them? I had a hard time being tolerant of people who got great opportunities and acted dumb.

Staring out at the tarmac and hoping that everyone would board the flight quickly so the 737 could get back in the air and start making its way to Newark, and then finally to West Africa, I thought about how there had better not be any unexpected surprises that I couldn’t take care of from across the ocean. It wasn’t like Gauge or Hunter could help me out until they arrived in West Africa for the concert. I was going to be gone for ten days and all the forms of technology I relied on regularly might not always be available or at optimal performance. I just had to hope that I’d put everything into perspective.

“Simon, hi,” Jessie said.

I jumped up and if it wasn’t for the extra space in first class, I would have bumped my head on the overhead luggage bins that would have been there.

“Jessie, hey there.” I looked at her. She looked like a walking ball of sunshine, wearing a white t-shirt with an abstract orange swirling sun on it, a white skirt and some sandals. A bit hipster, but she pulled it off, especially when you factored in her slightly tanned skin and the smile. She instantly made me happier and I felt like a better man.

I stood up and grabbed her carry-on bag. “Overhead?”

“Under the seat,” she said.

I slid it under the seat as she stood in the aisle and then turned around. It was only then that we hugged each other and I gave her the ‘friendly’ two back pats style hug, but I didn’t want to let her go. That floral scent she wore came back to me and I really liked it.

“Want me to take the inside seat?” she asked.

“If you don’t mind.”

“No problem,” she said, looking around. Her left eye brow raised slightly and then eased past me to sit down. Her skin brushed against my leg and although it was just material on material, my flesh reacted like she’d just seductively stroked my inner thigh.

I dropped into my seat and watched her fiddle with her seat belt. “Everything okay, Jess?”

“I guess. I was just looking around. This is so luxurious up here. Where’s everyone else?”

“In coach.”

“That makes me feel kind of snobby. You didn’t have to spend this money on me for first class, you know. I bet it costs more than a semester of grad school.”

“I don’t know if it does or doesn’t, but we haven’t had a chance to talk face-to-face for five weeks. I kinda thought we might have a lot to say. Easier to talk up here than it is in coach, yes?”

“I have no idea, but the money this cost could have probably been put to a better use,” she said.

I looked at her and thought,
oh no, here we go again
. Her money, rather lack of money, fascination tripped me up a bit.

“No turning back now,” I commented.

“Well, I’ll be eager to see how different a conversation is in first class than in coach,” she said, winking at me.

A flight attendant came up and smiled. “Would you care for some champagne or another beverage before take-off?”

I saw Jessie contemplating it. “I think you should have champagne to celebrate the kick-off to the festival.” Then I looked at the attendant and said, “I’ll take one, as well. Thanks.”

Two minutes later, we had crystal champagne flutes in hand and were toasting our adventure as the plane started to taxi down the tarmac, preparing to take flight again.

“To Eradicate Festival’s success,” I said.

“To our success,” Jessie added. “And a successful flight.”

My face dropped and she sensed her comment warranted an explanation.

“I recall you saying you didn’t care for flying,” she said, smiling and patting my hand with her free one. “Let me know if you need me to hold your hand.”

Okay, she was teasing me, but I didn’t mind. We each took a sip of the champagne and I tried to hide the fact that I despised champagne. Why I even thought I’d drink it just for the sake of the toast with Jessie was beyond me. It wasn’t something I’d normally do, but it seemed fitting.

Jessie, on the other hand, took a sip of the slightly amber bubbly liquid and as it slid down her throat, I saw her smile in complete delight. I loved how she appreciated the indulgence at that moment. I would have loved to indulge in her, but that would have to wait until we’d pulled off our business partnership. Oh yeah, and there was the friends thing, the ‘it happened once’ deal that we’d discussed at my apartment that morning. I’ll admit, it had thrown me off that she’d brought that up because that was usually what I might do—business before pleasure and all that. Oddly enough, I wouldn’t have said a word that day about it; didn’t think it was necessary. Didn’t want it to be necessary.

“It’s great that Brynn gets to come to do a story on the concert, isn’t it?” Jessie asked.

“Definitely. She’s become quite a well-known woman on the music scene, good for The Rift’s business, that’s for certain.”

“Yet her best work has been done outside the parameters of The Rift, in my opinion, anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“Without she and Gauge hooking up, Trinity wouldn’t have met Hunter, and… I wouldn’t have met you.” She blinked, then blushed and quickly added, “For getting this concert thing done.”

Interesting. It sounded like a relationship hint, not a very subtle one, either. I didn’t show a smile on my face, but I felt myself light up from the inside out. “It’s been a lot of hard work and intense nights, but I think we’re ready.”

“Is there anything in specific I have to do with you when we get there?  I know we have a week for coordinating efforts and whatnot, but I need to manage my time between the lab and learning what they’ve already done and sharing my research, and the village itself. Not sure how good I’d be at coordinating the actual venue.”

“And you don’t have to worry about it…unless you want to, of course.”

“No, not really,” Jessie said earnestly.

I would have never said it out loud, but I was quite thankful to hear that. Remembering how ticked she’d gotten at me for just taking over that day had startled me a bit and I didn’t want to have to deal with any emotional issues when it was time to take care of the details. Still, we’d come far since then. Maybe a bit too far that one time.
 

*****
 

After what seemed like forever, we were on the way to Freetown, Sierra Leone, for the concert. The pilot had just announced that we were beginning our descent, but Jessie didn’t notice. Her blond hair was tickling my neck and I glanced down at her, relying on my peripheral vision. Her head was nestled into my shoulder and she was sound asleep. I couldn’t recall anyone ever sleeping on my shoulder like that before.

It was a strange feeling to know that I couldn’t move around and do what I wanted, but I didn’t want to disturb Jessie, either. So I sat there, my heart softly pounding and thinking about everything that was going on, checking and double checking the plans. And when I was sick of doing that, my thoughts were about Jessie, wondering how she’d felt that night when our business turned into some pretty great pleasure.

Maybe it was just having her head on my shoulder, but it was true I’d loved the sex with her and the conversation afterward. Then I’d felt a bit nervous about those thoughts deep inside me, my subconscious mind betraying me every time I thought of Jessie as more than just a friend, a business partner.

“Fasten your seatbelts to prepare for landing,” the flight attendant whispered to me.

I nodded my head and looked over at Jessie, again through my peripheral.  She was blinking her eyes and starting to wake up. “We’re here,” she whispered, still sounding so groggy.

“Almost, good sleep?” I asked.

“Thanks for lending your shoulder to me. I don’t even know how that happened.”

I laughed. “Well, you were sleeping erect and I was going over some spread sheets on my tablet and then ‘plop,’ your head ended up on my shoulder. It just sort of toppled there.”

“Oh no, I’m so sorry, Simon. Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“I really didn’t mind,” I said softly. I put my hand out on her leg and gave it a gentle pat, which reaffirmed that regardless of how much internal bitching I was going to do about it, I really didn’t mind. Having her next to me felt good and I’d take it however I could get it, even if it was a sleeping beauty. At least I found out she didn’t drool.

“What are you smiling at?” Jessie asked.

I realized that I’d been lost in a thought and I looked over at her, “I don’t think you want to know.”

“Okay,” she said, stretching her arms above her head, “I’ll take your word for it.”

In about a minute flat, Jessie was energized and completely awake. It was zero to sixty with her—coffee not mandatory.

“I’m just so curious about Freetown. I wonder if they’ll understand that we’re there to help them. My research shows that they are a bit guarded, but research doesn’t really help you when it comes to the spirit of human interaction, right?”

“Makes sense, but for business, research is everything. I’ve hired the best interpreters to help relay that message and talk about the concert, so hopefully.”

Jessie looked at me and shook her head, a smile playing on her full lips.

“What was that for?” I asked.

“Simon, I doubt many of these people even own a music device. They are caught in their ways, a bit untrusting of some Westerners and superstitious about new technologies. I feel like it’ll be a challenge, but I think it’ll best be conquered by them seeing us in action, not just telling them we’re great.”

“You saying I’m not great?”

Jessie laughed and reached over to squeeze my hand, brushing her arm against mine in the process. There was a slight pause and then she softly said, “I think you’re really great, Simon.”