Absolutely Unforgivable

Tracy Tegan

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - First Impressions

Chapter 2 - Our First Date

Chapter 3 - Our New Life

Chapter 4 - Rowdy’s

Chapter 5 - New Life, New Clothes

Chapter 6 - Betrayed By My Dreams

Chapter 7 – Girls, Girls, Girls

Chapter 8 - Caught

Chapter 9 - Meet My Mom

Chapter 10 - Happy 4th of July

Chapter 11 - Out Like a Light

Chapter 12 - Recovery

Chapter 13 - All Alone

Chapter 14 - Homecoming

Chapter 15 - Good Morning Houston

Chapter 16 - Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Chapter 17 - Second Chances

About The Author

Tracy Tegan spent the last seventeen years as a dot com strategy consultant and has worked as a professional blogger about relationships, dating and issues pertaining to gender equality.

You can find out more about Tracy Tegan by visiting her on the web at http://www.TracyTegan.com, via email tracytegan@gmail.com or by visiting the official Facebook fan page at Facebook/TracyTegan. You can also follow her on twitter @TracyTegan.

Thanks dpgroup forum.

Chapter 1 - First Impressions

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. I've always hated that saying. It seemed so fake, like someone was trying too hard to be philosophical when they said it. But today, that stupid saying has deep and profound meaning to me.

I am happy but still nervous. However, as I sat across from Jeromy in the car that was taking us to the airport, I looked at his adorable smile and knew that everything was going to be okay. I couldn't help but consider how incredibly lucky I was to be with him. He was insanely good looking. I still can't believe sometimes he is with me.

I remember the first time we met. While in college, I was working at a bar near campus to make some extra money. He strode in the door with such confidence. He looked like every woman's fantasy lover come true. His observant eyes took in everything. He had devilishly dark hair and seductive green eyes that drew your gaze to his.

I wanted to look away but I just couldn’t. It took several seconds for me to appreciate the sight of him as he sat down at the bar in front of me. I noticed right away he was handsome and so did everyone else. He made all the girls stare.

Our eyes clashed and a wry smile lifted the corner of his mouth as I approached him about what his drink order would be. I gave him a polite smile in return as he ordered a beer. I handed it to him and walked away as swarms of drunken college girls rushed over to introduce themselves.

I had seen enough to know to avoid that kind of guy. Good looking guys like him could have any girl they wanted and typically preferred them in short stints and I wasn't looking for a one night stand. Still, his emerald eyes were breathtaking, almost mesmerizing.

As he stood up to go to the bathroom his t-shirt pulled away exposing a bit of his muscular stomach. I couldn’t see all of it but I imagined he had a nice six-pack under that shirt. He had on black jeans which he probably had to peel off at night, which showed off his great ass.

God, did I seriously just think that? What is wrong with me? I know how men like that are. I need to get my head back on straight and focus on work. He was a temptation I didn't need in my life right now. The night was almost over and he had his pick of the litter. I had to get home and study for my English Lit test.

When he reappeared at the bar, he waved me over to him to order another beer. I returned with his order, gave him another polite smile and walked away. He seemed taken aback that I didn’t stand around and try and chat with him more. But even if I wanted to, I wasn’t going to try and compete for his attention with the throngs of girls that now surrounded him.

At the end of the night I was making my way to my car and noticed he had parked right next to me. He was leaning on the passenger side door of his car speaking with a girl. She was giggling and giving him her number. I could hear her tell him that he better call her. I’m not even sure if you could call that monster he drove a car. Maybe it’s better defined as a tank.

When I got in my own car I looked at myself in the rear view mirror. Why am I letting this guy get in my head? I’m not bad looking. I’m in great shape, I have really long, wavy blonde hair that I love, and people have always told me that I have a smile that would melt any man’s heart. I have full lips. Sure, maybe not Angelina Jolie full but still, I’ve gotten quite a few compliments on them.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to stop looking in the mirror and over-analyzing myself. I put my key in the ignition, turned it and heard a click, click, click and then nothing. Great, my battery is dead. Just what I needed. I sat back for a moment trying to think about what I was going to do. I guess I could go inside and see if anyone had any jumper cables. Maybe one of the bouncers would be able to help me.

While I was lost deep in that thought, Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome came over and was tapping at my window. It startled me. I didn’t see him walking my way. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I noticed you were having car trouble.”

I sighed and opened the door so we could talk. “Yes, the battery seems to be dead. Any chance you have some jumper cables?” Here I spent my whole night trying to avoid him and now I am forced into asking him for help. Could this night get any worse?

“Pop the hood and let’s have a look,” he said as he tapped his hand on the front of my car.

Seriously? He’s good looking and he knows about cars too? Now I was impressed. I fiddled around until I found the right button. He looked under my hood for just a second, and as I was getting out, he walked over to his own and pulled out his jumper cables. I leaned over the hood and watched him closely as he attached them to my car, then his own, and before long my car was ready to go.

He disconnected the cables, and I stood back as he closed the hood of my car and then his own. “I’ll tell you a little secret, if you leave your lights on it tends to wear the battery down,” he said with a playful grin on his face.

I looked down at my headlights that were beaming brightly and suddenly I felt a wave of embarrassment come over me. He wiped the dirt he had gotten on his jeans and then stuck his hand out to mine to shake it. “I’m Jeromy Fagen.”

I felt my hands begin to tremble as I tried to answer him. When I finally managed to speak my words stumbled over one another. “I’m Stacy, Stacy Keller. I haven’t seen you around here before. Are you new to the area?” I don’t know why I felt so intimidated by this guy. I guess it was because he looked so divine.

“Yes, I am, actually. I’m originally from Texas.”

“What in the world brings you to Tulsa of all places?”

He told me as he was putting the jumper cables in the back seat of his car and slamming the door shut, “I’m here for work. I’m in the oil industry. We have some property in the area we are looking into.”

Figures. It seems that most people that come here are either looking into the University of Tulsa, or somehow related to the oil and gas industry.

He walked up and stood next to me, leaning against the side of my car. “And how about you?”

“Tulsa girl, born and raised,” I said with a sheepish grin on my face.

“Well then, maybe you can show me around sometime,” he said as he handed me his card with his cell number and email address on it.

I hesitated before taking the card. I didn’t want to appear rude; after all, he did just help me jump start my car. But I knew even if I did put it in my purse just to be polite, I would never call him. Even if I was the kind of girl who called guys, which I most definitely was not, I wasn’t the kind of girl who was stupid enough to call him. I had seen the girls swooning over him tonight. I’m just not into that kind of guy. I want someone who only has eyes for me. I want someone who makes me feel special. I don’t want to feel like I have to get in line and take a number.

As I politely tucked his business card into my purse, I thanked him for his chivalry and let him know it was late and I had to be up early tomorrow for an English Lit test that I wasn’t looking forward too.

When I got home I did my best to fall asleep, but it wasn’t easy. I couldn’t get Jeromy out of my mind. Just as I started to fade into a deep slumber something struck me. Work required the female staff all wear low cut shirts and as a result, when most men spoke to me to give me their order, they did so while staring at my chest. I didn’t really mind all that much, and if it meant bigger tips, all the better.

But Jeromy didn’t do that. When he had ordered his drinks, he spoke to my face and not my breasts. I don’t know why I didn't notice earlier. I guess I was so used to every man doing it, I just didn’t give it much thought any more.

◊

About a week later Jeromy made his way back to the bar. Just as before all the girls stared as he walked in and sat down in front of me. “You didn’t call me,” he said with an almost sad look on his adorable sexy face.

I looked up at him to say I was sorry but was taken aback by the stare that had such depth you could be consumed by his eyes alone. “I’m sorry,” I said softly. “I meant to, I really did, I just got so busy with work and school, time escaped me.”

I immediately felt bad for blatantly lying to him like that, but there really was no point in me calling him. Jeromy just isn’t my type. I don’t think I could date a man who was so damn good looking. He can’t even walk into a room without all the heads turning his way. I don’t like being the center of attention. That would drive me crazy.

Just then a drunken college girl came up to him and asked if she could buy him a drink. She was a tiny little thing, who barely weighed a hundred pounds, and had overly large breasts that were falling out of her tight red dress which didn’t leave much to the imagination. Luckily I didn’t need to worry if he’d seen through my lie about meaning to call him because he was distracted with other things at that moment.

“Thanks, but I’ve already got one coming; maybe next time though,” he said to the girl with a genuine sweetness about him. Maybe I had judged him wrong. Maybe he wasn’t this heartless pig that I had made him out to be in my mind. Or maybe he was, I thought as I caught him checking out the girl’s body as she walked away.

When he turned back to me I pretended not to notice what had just taken place. Instead I just gave him my best smile and asked him if he wanted a beer. After I handed it to him I went into the back room to check myself out. I had my long, wavy blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail. It was hard to keep my hair like this because it was so thick. There were always long strands of gold, wavy hair sticking out everywhere.

I pulled the scrunchy out of my hair and ran my fingers through it, as my hair hung loose down my back. I sighed and looked at myself in the mirror, wishing that Jeromy hadn’t come in tonight of all nights, when I looked so disheveled. Looking in the mirror I notice how little makeup I had on. I don't normally wear a lot of makeup. I didn’t need to really. I had long lustrous eyelashes that framed my big blue eyes. I had thick eyebrows that growing up I hated but as I got older learned to appreciate more. It gave me a unique look and helped my eyes to stand out even more. But tonight I suddenly wished I had a more made-up look.

I walked out of the back room to return to my post at the bar while Jeromy was just coming out of the bathroom and we ran smack into each other. I almost fell but he caught me in his arms that were rippled with layers of well-toned muscles fashioned from what must be constant visits to the gym. He had a natural looking suntan about his skin and standing this close to him it was almost as if his skin sparkled. I blinked my eyes. Surely they were playing tricks on me. The faint scent of his cologne tickled my nose.

Jeromy maintained his hold on me for a moment longer than necessary. His luscious mouth curved on one side and then let out a faint smile. His breath smelled of sweet peppermint.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to …” I started to say but trailed off. His grey shirt molded to every muscle he had and while standing there in front of him, so intimately close, my stomach did a slow tumble. He looked gorgeous.

I hurried back behind the bar and did my best the rest of the night to avoid looking at him. At last call I had no choice however. I had to go up to him and ask if he wanted one more. It was my job.

Jeromy had a long-necked bottle of beer dangling between his fingers, his other hand resting limply on his rock hard abdomen. “One more?” I asked him, while trying to avoid looking directly into his beautiful emerald eyes, and keeping my hands busy cleaning up behind the bar. “It’s last call”, I said as I tilted my head up towards him. He shook his head no.

After work I found him leaning against my car. He had parked next to me again. He had a sly grin on his face. “I like your hair better like that.”

I instinctively reached up and felt my hair. “What do you mean?”

I had asked the question but I already knew the answer. It meant that he had realized I put my hair down after he got there. I hope he didn’t think it was for him. Red filled my cheeks as I blushed with embarrassment.

“I just meant that I like your hair down like this. You have very pretty hair. You should wear it like this more often,” he said as he reached up to touch it. The way his eyes locked onto me, he looked as if he was studying me with deep interest.

“No girl falling over you, to give you her number tonight?” I asked sarcastically as I rolled my eyes at the thought.

“No, there’s really only one phone number I want. But I’m not quite sure she’s so willing to give it.”

“Why’s that?” I asked playfully, as I stepped closer to him.

He grabbed my hand and gently pulled me in to him. I was now standing between his legs with his hands resting on my hips. He was really tall, even leaning back against the car he still towered over me.

“Because she doesn’t seem to be the slightest bit interested in me,” he said, his tone low and almost in rapture.

“Maybe. You know Jeromy not all girls fall for tall, dark and handsome.”

His emerald eyes swept over me, making my body throb everywhere his gaze touched. “You know, my dear, you can’t always judge a book by its cover,” he said matching my playful but low tone.

“True, but I’ve found covers are often times rather revealing about the story inside.”

Jeromy inclined his head in acknowledgment. “Sometimes, perhaps. But not always. And if you don’t give the book a good read, you never know what great story you might have passed up, just because you didn’t like the cover.”

His lips tilted in a diabolical smile. He was good. So charming, seeming to know the perfect thing to say to get to me.

His eyes were lingering on my lips as he brushed the hair out of my face. I felt my stomach start to fill with butterflies and my head began to tingle. In my mind I just kept thinking, don’t let me go, don’t let me go. I licked my lower lip and made my interest known with a heated glance.

But I knew this wasn’t right. He was far too good looking for me. This guy was trouble. Trouble I didn’t need in my life right now. So as he leaned in to kiss me, I pulled back.

“I need to get home. It’s late,” I said as I walked around to the front of my car, stumbling to get my key in the door while doing my best not to look at him, in fear that I would lose my nerve and run into his arms.

As I drove off I glanced in my rear view mirror. He was still standing there, watching me drive away. His confidence made it hard to resist him, but I’m glad I did. I didn’t want to be just another notch on his belt, even if it was a belt that wrapped around one hell of a sexy waist. I had seen it far too many times in the bar and I didn’t want to be that kind of girl. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a prude but I’m also not a tramp. Maybe I was a little too reserved, but better that than the alternative.

Chapter 2 - Our First Date

The next day Jeromy made his way back to the bar. Only today I wasn’t working. I had come to pick up my check and sat down to have a drink while I waited for the manager to get it for me.

Jeromy sat down next to me. I didn’t look over to him, but I knew it was Jeromy because behind the bar with a big mirror that allowed me to see him clearly without having to actually look his way. “You know, I’m not going away.”

I replied without glancing over at him, “I figured as much.”

We sat there in silence for a few moments drinking our beers. Then on the jukebox someone had started playing the Rick Springfield song Jessie’s Girl. Through the mirror behind the bar I could see a big grin come across his face.

I swerved my chair so that my body was facing him. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh it’s nothing. It’s just this song made me think of an old friend. He’s in a band called Jessie’s Girl.”

“Jessie’s Girl? That’s a weird name for a band.”

“Yeah, I guess it is,” he said as he sort of chuckled to himself. He seemed almost lost in thought.

Now he had me curious. “Why did they name themselves that?”

“You know, I asked him that very thing once. He said it was meant to serve as a reminder that we always wanted what we couldn’t have but in the end it only caused pain and heartache and no bitch was worth that.”

I rolled my eyes at him and swiveled back in my chair facing the bar again. Eventually my manager walked up and handed me an envelope with my check inside. I opened it and sighed in disappointment.

“That bad huh?”

“Yeah,” I said quietly. And it really was. While I did make most of my money on tips, I at least looked forward to the $100 or so a week I got in my base wages. This week however my check was quite a bit smaller. I had taken a day off recently; only worked half a shift on another day and that really hurt.

Jeromy turned in his chair to face me. “Well let me take you to dinner to cheer you up.” He stood up and started pulling my arm to get me off of my bar stool. “Come on, I won’t take no for an answer. You owe me at least that, since you didn’t call me, after all.”

He was right, he was helpful that first night I met him I probably did owe him at least a dinner; so I begrudgingly agreed to go with him. Jeromy looked incredibly edible tonight, but then again when didn’t he? His looks really had a way of making me lose my good senses. Dinner was probably such a bad idea, but I guess it’s too late now, I already agreed to go.

“If it would make you feel better, you can drive your car and follow me to the restaurant.”

“No, don’t be silly. I’ll go with you in that monster you call a car.”

“Hey! Don’t hate on the car. I love that thing.”

His car was really a white, H2 Hummer, with dark tinted windows and tires that were almost as tall as me. I did my best to crawl into the passenger side gracefully. But it wasn’t an easy task.

Jeromy took us to a nearby Mexican restaurant that he had recently found. He said they had great fajitas. We ordered margaritas with our dinner and that was probably a mistake. One turned to two and two to three and three to seven. By now I was feeling no pain.

“So do you live nearby?” Oh my God, why did I just ask him that? I hope he didn’t think I was hinting to go back to his place. What is wrong with me?

“Yes, I’m at the Radisson around the corner.”

“The Radisson? That’s a hotel. Are you not staying long?”

“Another year or so,” he said with his head tilted slightly, wondering perhaps where my line of questioning was headed.

“That’s a long time to live in a hotel. Who lives in a hotel for that long?” I blurted out, while quickly realizing I probably shouldn’t have drank so much, at least not if I wanted the thoughts in my head not to come flying out of my mouth.

“No, no you don’t understand. It’s not just some cramped hotel room. It’s like a little apartment, with a kitchen, living room and two separate bedrooms, one of which I use for my office.”

“A hotel room with a kitchen?” I had a hard time imagining what it could have looked like in my head, probably in large part to the margaritas. “I want to see it!”

“Sure, okay. I guess that would be okay.” He said as if he was almost hesitant about taking me back to his place.

After dinner we made our way to his hotel. When I entered the room I saw what he had meant. It really was like an apartment, but it wasn’t little by any means. I had lived in little apartments and this was anything but that. The hotel room opened up into a spacious living room, and a half wall at the other end of the room, separated the living room from the kitchen. On each side of the living room was a bedroom, each with its own private bathroom.

First he showed me his office and then we made our way to his bedroom. I looked at the king size bed and winced at the thought of how many women he has been with in that very room. I started to walk back into the living room but then he said something that stopped me dead in my tracks.

“You know, you are the first girl I’ve brought back to my room before.” I turned my head to look at him. Surely he wasn’t serious. He looked over at me with an innocent look on his face.

“What do you mean? How is that possible? I see how girls fall over themselves to even get the opportunity to sit next to you.”

“Oh I’m not saying I’ve never been with a woman before. I just don’t bring them home with me. I just …” he paused as if to give thought to what he was about to say, “I don’t like to shit where I eat.” He had a devilish grin on his face as the words left his mouth.

I rolled my eyes and walked back into the living room. My gaze shot back to his eyes as I took my seat at the wide bar that separates the living room from the kitchen area and saw he was watching me watch him, yet allowing the perusal.

“Have you seen enough?” he said with a half-smile. “Or did you come hoping for me?” I stammered, my mouth unable to form a reply.

His white polo shirt hugged his broad shoulders, so stark and sexy set against his olive skin. Maybe I had come for more. What was I doing? I should leave now before I do or say something I regret. I started to stand up and grab my purse but he stopped me. His wide smile fell just slightly. “No please, I was just joking.”

His hands cupped my cheeks as he softly said “Please stay.” The tender, encompassing nature of the embrace made me want to give him whatever he wanted. His lips brushed mine but he didn’t kiss me, at least not yet. Instead he lingered there for just a moment, drawing out the anticipation of our first kiss.

He was surprisingly tender, gazing down at me, his green eyes were soft and seductive. He was a great kisser and I melted in his strong arms as he lifted me up and carried me to the bedroom while my hands twisted in his thick dark hair. His body was heavy on top of mine, but in spite of the urgency of his passion, he was gentle with me.

◊

I had never been a late sleeper and woke up with the sunrise the next morning. I propped myself up on one elbow and spent several minutes enjoying the novelty of watching Jeromy sleep. Then with a gentle grunt, he rolled over and crawled out of bed, almost as if he had forgotten I was there. I sat up and pulled the sheets up to cover my still naked body, but he was not so modest.

He stood there in front of me, partly stretching with one arm in the air and the other scratching his stomach. “Hey you,” he murmured and then gave me a wide smile. It was that smile, more than anything that melted my heart.

Jeromy crawled back in bed to be next to me. “What are you trying to hide? Is there any part I haven’t already seen?” He said with a devilish grin on his face. I didn’t answer. I just pulled the sheet tighter over my body as red rushed to my cheeks. Jeromy titled his head a bit and eyed me curiously. “Are you really not going to let me see?”

I started to protest and say “Of course not!” but he started kissing my neck and before I knew it, the sheet had given way. Jeromy was passionate and full of life and he had a way about him that got me caught up in his delight.

We spent the rest of the day in bed and most of the next two days as well, only venturing out when we absolutely had to, like to get subsistence. Jeromy didn’t keep his hotel kitchen stocked with much of anything.

Our second date I was sure wasn’t going to happen. I figured after I slept with Jeromy on the first date he would have blown me off, but I was wrong. The next day I had to work, I went back to the locker room to store my purse and throw my hair up in a ponytail. My eyes widened as I entered the room. It was full of roses of all shades, varying from the softest pink to the deepest crimson. The smothering flowery scent overwhelmed me. In one of the bouquet of roses I found a note that read “Thinking of you.” Jeromy, it turned out was a bit of a romantic.

I had to work until the bar closed that night but after work he took me to eat breakfast. We stayed up the rest of the night talking, getting to know each other better. For our third date Jeromy took me back to his place where he had cooked a wonderfully delicious meal for me.

The more time I spent with Jeromy, the more I wanted to be with him. His kisses took my breath away and his smile made my heart skip a beat. He had this charming way of making you feel like you were the only person in the room. I don’t think he was even aware he was being so charming. He was just being himself and the charm came naturally.

On our fourth date we decided to go to the flea market. It may not sound like a grand affair but it indeed was, as it was the very place where Jeromy won my heart. We walked hand in hand from stall to stall, while I looked for a new case for my iPhone and Jeromy looked at nothing but me. It was truly endearing.

Another reason I wanted to go to the flea market on this lazy Sunday afternoon was to stop by and see the new setup for Bell’s. When I was young, Tulsa had an amusement park that filled my childhood with many wonderful memories. But a few years ago the owner and his family were on the losing end of a fight with a corrupt city official. It was Tulsa however, that was the real loser in that ordeal. Now the city was without its landmark and a safe place for kids to gather. Bell’s Amusement Park had been in Tulsa and run by a member of the Bell family for generations and now it was gone.

Bell’s Amusement Park was my first job when I turned 16. It was the place I met my first boyfriend, had my first real date, my first kiss and my first heartbreak. No matter how many years pass, it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Recently, members of the Bell family had set up a small kiddy park at the flea market and I wanted to stop by and check it out. As we were walking into the area of the flea market that had the new Bell’s kiddy rides set up a small boy fell and skinned his knee. Without hesitation Jeromy ran to the boy’s side. He helped him up, reassured the child and helped him find his mother.

Most mothers would probably be horrified if some strange man was standing next to their child, but not with Jeromy. People just naturally took to him and trusted him. I stood off to the side watching the mother thank Jeromy for helping her son. I was awestruck by his gentle and compassionate nature. From that moment on Jeromy and I were an item and spent every minute we could together.

Thanks to his encouragement, I switched from working the night shift to evenings at the bar which allowed me to get off work by 9 pm and spend more time with him. And now instead of working four days a week, I was working only three days.

The tips weren’t as good on the evening shift but Jeromy more than made up for that. He was generous to a fault. He was always sticking money in my tip jar, far more than he should have but truth is, I wouldn’t have been able to pay my bills if he hadn’t. The evening shift was mostly a bunch of regulars and while they were nice, they didn’t have a lot of money to tip all that well.

I truly hated that Jeromy spent so much money on me but he seemed to enjoy himself when he did. The more he gave to me, the happier he seemed to be. He was just that kind of guy. There was nobody really that he didn’t get along with. He fit in with almost any crowd from the conservative businessmen, to frat boys and even with bikers. That worked out well since we seemed to attract a lot of bikers on the evening shift.

I wasn’t exactly sure what Jeromy did for a living so I finally asked him about it. He went on to explain that he was a landman. I had no idea what that meant but it turned out it had something to do with getting other people to let you lease the oil and gas rights they have on their land or something confusing like that. All I knew for sure was that when he made a deal with someone for their land rights, they always ended up with a lot of money and he seemed to get true joy out of making some really poor farmer into a millionaire almost overnight.

I guess that would be a nice job to have and they seemed to pay him well for it too. Not only did he earn his own salary but they also covered many things under what he called expenses, including where he lived, his meals, his cell phone, his iPad, his laptop, his car, and all the gas it uses -- and Hummers use a lot of it.

He once joked about his expense check being almost as much as his normal paycheck. This was astonishing because with his own money he really had almost nothing to pay for except maybe his clothes, his beer tab, and all the money he spent on me, which lately had been far too much.

Jeromy and I had been together just a few weeks before I found myself staying the night at his hotel almost every night. Within a few months I was officially living there.

Chapter 3 - Our New Life

Everything was going great in my life. That was until graduation. I finally had my bachelor degree in Marketing from the University of Tulsa and was excited to start my career and my new life, my grown up life. I’ve dreamed about this day for so long it hardly seems real now that’s it here. Finally, no more school. Just the thought of that gave me a thrill. The problem was, the economy was horrible and finding a job in my chosen profession wasn’t exactly an easy task.

I had only really just finished refining my new resume when Jeromy came home from a long day at work. He had a solemn look on his face as he sat down on the couch next to me, and began staring at the television. I turned the volume down and he didn’t seem to even notice, so I turned the television off completely and turned my body towards him.

“Okay Mr. Pouty Pants, out with it. What’s on your mind?”

“We are finishing up with this job next week.” I looked at him, trying to read the strange expression on his face. His voice was hushed and far away.

“Oh. What’s that mean?” I really didn’t get it yet. I hadn’t put it all together.

“Well, it means I have to move on to the next job.”

That was the worst part of his kind of work. While he might have been born and raised in Houston, Texas or a small suburb just outside of it, he hadn’t actually lived there in a long time. His job took him all over. There was the eighteen months he spent in Marshall, Texas; another nine months in the small town of Alice Texas; then six weeks in El Reno, Oklahoma; and the two months he spent in Provo, Utah. Tulsa was just one in a long line of temporary residences for him. Our life had been so wonderful lately, I had almost forgotten that.

I tried to hold back my emotions but I couldn’t help it. The sting of tears welled up in my eyes as I realized this meant he would be leaving me. I knew that long distance relationships never worked and this was in essence him telling me he was leaving me. My older sister Sarah tried the long distance thing with her high school sweetheart when they went off to different colleges and their relationship ended in disaster. I don’t want that for Jeromy and me, I would rather we part on good terms. I don’t want to end up hating him like my sister did with her boyfriend. I couldn’t bear the thought of that.

I took a deep breath and asked the dreaded question. “When are you leaving?” I was still doing my best to hold back my tears or hide the utter anguish I felt. It wasn’t easy but I didn’t want to let him see me fall apart like that. I took slow breaths and just tried to focus on the here and now, on the time we still had together.

The look on his face changed just slightly “That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about.” My heart sped up when he said that.

“I was offered another job already. It’s a really great opportunity and it would last a minimum of three years. I’ve never been on a project where I could be in one place so long.”

I was hoping we would have more time, but I guess not. Just as I started to ask him what place it was he would be going to, he interrupted me. He was almost excited. Was he really that happy to be leaving me?

“But that isn’t the best part. This job is back in my hometown, well close to it.”

I forced a smile across my face. “So you are going home? That’s great.”

He was gently stroking my hand by now. I think he probably knew I was about to burst out in hysterics and he wanted to comfort me. But then he said something I wasn’t expecting.

“Yes, but I was kind of hoping you would want to go with me.” He looked up at me with a boyish grin.

He didn’t really give me a chance to answer before continuing on. “I know it’s a lot to ask because you’ve lived here all of your life -- your friends are here, your family is here. You just ….”

Before he could finish that sentence I jumped on his lap and pushed him down on the couch. I kissed him passionately. He sat up with me still on his lap, wrapping his arms around my back to hold me in place as I wrapped my legs around his waist.

“I take it that’s a yes then?”

Seriously? He even had to wonder if I would say yes. Jeromy and I have been together for more than a year now. I’ve dreamed about our future together and now we get to actually start living that dream. I would have followed him anywhere but getting to be with him back in his hometown was all the better. I finally get to see all of the places he’s been telling me about. I would get to meet his childhood friends and visit his childhood home.

“When will we be leaving?” I asked him. I still couldn't believe he wanted me to go with him. I wanted to just scream out in excitement. It took everything I had to contain myself.

“We’ll need to head out in about two weeks. Do you think that is enough time? Can you be ready by then?”

“Jeromy, I love you. I could leave tomorrow if we had to. Sure, I would rather have more time to prepare but if we really had to go right away, I would make it happen. I love you and I just want to be with you. You are all that matters. Anything else is trivial and together we can work it out. Isn’t that what you always tell me?”

He gave me a cute little half smile and I leaned in to kiss him. I pulled back and asked him if we would be living in a hotel in Houston too. I didn’t know why that thought had suddenly crossed my mind but now that it had I really wanted to know. I wasn’t sure how all of that worked still. Did he have to live in a hotel or would they let him live in a normal apartment or maybe we could rent a house?

Since this job would last at least three years, it would be nice to get a place that was a little bigger. Don’t get me wrong, I loved our little love nest but it was still a hotel and I wanted to play house with him. Just the thought of that brought butterflies to my stomach.

He paused for just a moment before answering me. “We could but, I had another idea. You remember my friend Billy I told you about?”

“The one in the band?”

“Yeah, Billy Snow. We’ve been best friends since childhood, and he has this big house in The Woodlands that is only about a twenty minute drive from where I’ll be working. I thought since you’ll be living in a new city maybe we could stay with him, and when I’m not around he could be there for you to help you find your way.”

I hadn’t really had a chance to think about that. Houston, Texas was a far cry from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa may have been a big city to me, but in comparison to a place like Houston it was a mere speck of dust. There were millions of people who lived in Houston.

I began to panic just a bit. I could feel my heart speed up and my face begin to flush. I looked down at my hands as they started to tremble and I knew I had to get myself together. I took several long deep breaths. I knew I wanted to be with Jeromy but suddenly the thought of moving to this new place scared me to death. Jeromy however didn’t seem the slightest bit concerned.

“His place his huge so it won’t even be like we would be seeing him all of the time. We would have our own little corner of paradise, completely private, just for us. And, well, what do you think?”

Part of me wondered how some guy only five years older than me could afford a big fancy house while another part of me worried this was a bad idea. Roommate situations somehow always had a way of ending badly. You hear about it all of the time. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard of a roommate story that didn’t end badly. The thoughts of the crazy girl I lived with my freshman year in college still haunt me. But it was hard to say no to Jeromy, especially since he had such an adorably excited look on his face.

The Woodlands was a short drive to where Jeromy would be working just outside of Pinehurst. It was a suburb located north of the city of Houston. From everything I could read about it on the Internet, The Woodlands seemed like a nice place to live. And very out of character for someone like Billy. From everything Jeromy had told me about him, it just didn’t seem like he would be at home in a sprawling suburban neighborhood with tree lined roads and lush green golf courses. But then again, I had wrongly judged Jeromy when I first met him, so I decided to withhold judgment of Billy until I met him face to face.

Since Billy was going to be my new roommate I thought I better get to know more about him. I knew he was in a band called Jessie’s Girl but that was about it. What I didn’t know is that the band was somewhat of a local legend with a devoted fan base; its own website; and YouTube page with videos of some of their past performances.

I pulled up the first video of the band on YouTube and they were singing a cover of AC/DC’s “For Those About To Rock.” They were pretty good; it was a dead on rendition of the song.

I clicked the link to the band’s website. I don’t know what I expected to see but was surprised at how much was there. I clicked the biography page and read it eagerly. Jeromy came up behind me and leaned over to kiss my forehead and then took the seat next to me and watched over my shoulder as I read about each of the members of the band.

The drummer was Bran. I wondered what kind of name that was and Jeromy told me that his real name was Brandon, but everyone had called him Bran. Bran was tall and slender but with well-defined muscles and dark brown hair. He wore pants low around his waist and had no shirt on. He had several tattoos strewn across his chest and arms.

The lead guitar player was Zander. He was cute and had a mess of shoulder length, light brown hair with an intense look about him. He reminded me a little of Kid Rock.

The bassist was a wild-eyed guy named Travis. He had light skin and dirty blonde hair that was styled with little spikes and shone from far too much hair gel. His body was decent and the barbed wire tattoos on his arms were interesting to look at but he was nowhere near as appealing as Billy.

Jeromy’s friend Billy was the lead singer. If I weren’t so in love with Jeromy, he definitely could have captivated my attention. Billy Badass, I thought to myself, remembering what Jeromy had called him before. Now I got why that was Jeromy’s nickname for him. He definitely had that bad boy look down and no doubt stole the hearts of many girls. He had obsidian hair that tumbled all over the place, a strong jaw line and bright blue eyes with thick eyebrows that sat low on his forehead giving him a natural brooding look.

At first glance, Jeromy and Billy could be almost brothers. They both had dark, sleek hair and godlike features. Their eyes, however, set them apart. Jeromy’s eyes were a bold emerald color while Billy’s were a bright blue, equally as beautiful, only distinctly different than Jeromy’s. These two men together would be a lethal combination. I don’t know if the women of Houston, Texas could take it. Who am I kidding? I didn’t know if I could take it.

A loving smile spread over Jeromy’s face as I sat there staring at the web page. His hand, which by then was resting comfortably on my knee, slid up my thigh. This caught my attention and I turned to face him. He leaned in to kiss me, and with his lips gently pressed against mine, all thoughts of Billy left my mind.

Jeromy picked me up and carried me to the bedroom. Normally so gentle and compassionate, today he was more forceful. He threw me on the bed, then began kissing me hard as his body lay on top of mine. He was an incredibly sexy man. How did I land this package of pure perfection?

◊

I spent the next few weeks wrapping up loose ends; putting in my notice at the bar, packing, and giving my resume yet another update, this time with our new address. Houston was a much bigger city and I felt more confident I would be able to find work with my fresh new degree in hand, than I would in Oklahoma. Things here weren’t going so well. The state was hit harder by the economic downturn than others. Our unemployment rates were higher and even those who did have jobs, earned significantly less than they did doing the same job just a few years ago.

I was horribly sad at the thought of leaving Oklahoma behind; it was all I had ever known. But at the same time I knew it was for the best. Not only did it ensure me a better financial future with far more career prospects but it also meant that I got to be with the man I loved, an unbearably gorgeous man who for some reason, loved me just as much.

When moving day finally arrived it wasn’t the complicated mess I had imagined it would be. All of our clothes and the few possessions we did have were packed up and shipped over ahead of time. We were going to fly there with just a small carry-on bag to worry about.

On the way to the airport I sat in the car across from Jeromy staring into his beautiful face. I was nervous and worried about the move, more so than I had been in the past. I knew that Jeromy loved me and that should have been enough, but I was still horribly worried about what lay ahead of me. I was moving to a strange city, a big city, and the only person I knew was him. He had many friends there but they were his friends and what if they didn’t like me? I began to panic and my heart raced. What if all of this was a huge mistake? Should I really be doing this? But then suddenly Jeromy gave me one of his adorably sexy smiles and I knew everything was going to be all right.

It would be a less than a two-hour flight, and Jeromy had flown us to Houston first class, but I didn’t really notice because I slept the entire time. By the time I woke up, we were landing in Houston. My eyes widened as I looked out the window at my new home. The buildings were so tall and everything looked majestic. I suddenly felt overcome with excitement as butterflies filled my stomach.

◊

Billy had met us at the airport. He was even better-looking in person than he was in the pictures on his website and on Facebook. Seeing him in person made my stomach twist in knots and I wasn’t sure why. He had an easy smile, bright eyes and a chiseled jawline. His clothing was spotless and had the crisp-new appearance of garments straight off the store shelf, yet he wore them comfortably like they were made just for him.

The drive to his house from the airport was rather long and filled with lots of traffic congestion. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many cars in my life. It was nerve-wracking and made me nauseated. Jeromy and Billy fell into an easy conversation about what they had been up to lately in each of their lives while I quietly watched car after car rush by. Houston had so much traffic, I don’t know how I was ever going to get used to that.

When we arrived at his home -- what would be my home now too -- I was surprised at how big it was. Jeromy had said it was nice, but he had far understated how wonderful it really was. This house was amazing. It looked like a life-sized doll house. It was a beautiful two story Mediterranean style home that had four bedrooms and six bathrooms. Outside was a covered terrace and a sun deck that overlooked the gorgeous swimming pool.

My mind flashed to the thought of how many different swimsuits I could wear while laying out by the pool and getting a tan. I had a mild obsession with swimsuits, sort of like how some girls collected shoes. The swimming pool and the whole outside area had me distracted. The backyard was like a stand-alone house with a bar and its own kitchen. Billy said that he loves to cook out here and Jeromy and he made plans to grill steaks for dinner tonight and then we made our way back inside the house. I shrugged off my disappointment at having to leave what would no doubt be the favorite area of my new home to continue the tour.

Off to the side of the house on the first floor was what was at one time the media room, but Billy had converted it into a private studio where he and his band often rehearsed. I wondered how he got away with that, in such a fancy neighborhood, but it turns out with the doors shut, the room was completely sound proof. It was a large room, easily bigger than two normal sized bedrooms put together.

“This is where I spend most of my time,” Billy said as he showed us around his studio.

Next we went into the living room. We had glossed past it when we first came into the house. But now, giving it more than just the once over I realized how beautiful the room really was. It was very open and spacious and all of the furniture was turned to focus on the huge marble fireplace in the center of the room, flanked by oversized, built-in bookcases.

The house was immaculate. Everything was perfectly in its place. In some way it made me feel like we were visiting a museum, so much so that I was actually afraid to touch anything.

As we worked our way up the stairs we came to our bedroom. “It will be private here. Nobody ever comes up stairs except the maid,” Billy said while giving Jeromy a sort of nudge, nudge, wink, wink grin.

The bedroom was magnificent. It was really less of a bedroom and more of a suite, with a private sitting area and our own fireplace and a bathroom that looked more like a fancy showroom. It quite honestly looked like it had been done up by one of those design shows on HGTV. This bathroom was spectacular and no detail was left untouched from the seamless shower with dual shower heads that hung from above to the double granite counter tops. It was a beautiful room which I could have lived in and been perfectly happy.

The bathroom had an extra door and I was left utterly speechless as I went to open it. The door opened up into another room altogether. It was the size of a normal bedroom but it was a closet. It was the biggest closet I had ever seen in my entire life and it was all mine. I felt like I was living in a dream.

Billy picked up a remote that had been sitting on one of the custom designed tables, pushed a button and something started moving. “That’s for your shoes Stacy,” he said with a grin on his face. Wow, I had my very own rotating shoe rack. I truly did not know what to say. I was beaming.

“Okay, you boys can go play now, I’ll be fine in here,” I teased as I pushed them out the door of my new closet.

While Jeromy and Billy went off to get caught up on old times, I spent some time unpacking our clothes and putting them away in our enormous closet. I wasn’t a big fan of unpacking, but then again who was? However it almost seemed worth it, to have an excuse to get to spend time in my fabulous new closet.

Exhausted from the excitement of the move, I soon found myself unable to resist taking a nap. So after a quick shower I plopped down on our new bed. It was so comfortable. My body luxuriated in the soft Egyptian cotton sheets and I fell asleep the second my head hit the oversized, overstuffed pillows.

Chapter 4 - Rowdy’s

I had gotten at least an hour of sleep before Jeromy sat on the bed beside me and woke me up. He gently nudged me. “Stacy, are you awake?” I looked up at him groggily and then gave him a half smile.

“What do you think about going out? Billy’s band is playing tonight and I thought maybe you would want to go and meet the rest of the gang.”

I pulled his face down to mine and kissed him. “Sure. That sounds good to me.” I kissed Jeromy again and then stroked his arm as he moved his lips to my neck. I closed my eyes as he lightly ran his tongue up my throat. My heart sped at his touch and I moaned lightly.

But then I heard a soft tap at the door. “You guys ready?”

Jeromy jumped up and I quickly looked down to make sure I was still fully dressed. When Jeromy was around my clothes had a way of disappearing. Jeromy opened the door slightly and Billy cocked his head charmingly to the side as he checked me out as I laid on the bed. I pulled the bedspread over my body.

“Yeah, man, give us a minute,” Jeromy told him as he grabbed the door. “Stacy will need a few girlie minutes, if you don’t mind.”

Billy gave a light chuckle and told us to take our time; that we still had another hour before we had to leave. I jumped up and went to my new luxuriously large closet to try and find something to wear. I started to feel nervous. What do people in this city wear? My clothes suddenly felt so plain and boring. I wished I had taken Jeromy up on his offer of a shopping spree before we left Oklahoma. I sighed and grabbed a simple black dress out of the closet and some matching black platform heels.

I put on some makeup and did my best to fix my hair. I worried what the others would think of me. I know I shouldn’t, but it’s hard not to sometimes. I stared at myself in the mirror and I could feel the anxiety start to set in. What was wrong with me tonight? What do I even care what the people I don’t even know think of me?

I put some glitter above my eyes and then across my chest and I walked back into the bedroom where Jeromy was patiently waiting. I went over and stood in between his legs and leaned in to kiss him. Then he stood up, took me by the hand, and led me downstairs where Billy was waiting for us. He greeted us with a huge smile on his face as we came down hand in hand.

Billy eyed me up and down, locking his gaze on my face. “Well, don’t you clean up nice?”

I reached up and touched my hair. Oh God, did I really look that bad before? I could feel heat filling my cheeks. I gave Billy a smile and then put my head back down as Jeromy led me to the car.

When we got outside I noticed his familiar Hummer wasn’t in the driveway. I looked up at him curiously. I had just assumed that Jeromy had shipped his precious Hummer down with the rest of our belongings, but much to my surprise sitting in the driveway was a completely different car. For a moment I thought his Hummer hadn’t arrived and this was just one of Billy’s cars, but instead he said, “What do you think of your new car Stacy?”

“What?” What did he mean, my new car? This I loved. It was an actual car, unlike the monster he drives. This is a white convertible BMW with black leather interior. It was a beautiful sight. But I didn’t understand what he was saying to me.

I looked up at Jeromy with a confused look on my face. He bent down and kissed my forehead and handed me the keys, his eyes were sparkling with excitement. “I bought this for you. A housewarming gift.”

I felt tears forming in my eyes as I jumped into his arms. I couldn’t believe he had bought me such an extravagant gift. I wanted to protest but I knew Jeromy, it would do no good. He gives and he gives. That’s just his way ... his wonderful, wonderful way. It was as if he derived his own happiness from the joy he brought to others. I loved that about Jeromy, but sometimes he was so kind and so unbelievable, it made me feel like I wasn’t worthy of all that he gives me. He just gives me so much and it makes me wonder what I ever did to deserve someone as absolutely perfect as he is. But when those insecurities came creeping in I did my best to push them aside as quickly as possible, like right now. Today isn’t a day to question our relationship; it’s a day to celebrate all that I have with him.

Jeromy lifted me up and hugged me tightly. When he sat me back down on the ground he grabbed the keys and playfully said, “But tonight I’m driving.” We got into the car and followed Billy to the bar.

We turned into the parking lot of a shopping center. The marquee above the bar read Rowdy’s. I was a little disappointed we had arrived so quickly. I was enjoying the ride in my beautifully perfect new car. My shiny, new convertible BMW. I still could barely believe it was mine. I was still so caught up in the thought of my new car, I had almost forgotten about the people I was coming to meet. Billy and Jeromy met up in the parking lot and started to head into the bar together while I followed just behind them.

Rowdy’s was bigger than the bar I had worked in, back home in Oklahoma. To the right was a counter that was the full length of the building. To the left was a stage where they already had their equipment set up. Near the stage was a long table where the band and their closest friends gathered. Jeromy grabbed my hand and pulled me forward to meet everyone. I squeezed his hand. My stomach turned in knots.

“Oh my God! You must be Stacy! I’m so glad to finally meet you. I’m Mindy!” She was a perky blonde girl with dark brown eyes, and thinly plucked eyebrows that were shaped into a deceivingly perfect arch. She had tiny arms, velvety soft skin and a paper-thin waste that screamed of unnatural skinniness. When she pulled away from me, I noticed she had a huge smile on her face, as if she was genuinely excited to meet me.

I turned my head toward Billy, wondering if he would explain who she was, but he didn’t at first. He paused for a moment and then realizing his mistake, he leaned into me and said, “That’s Bran’s old lady.” He pointed across the table to where Bran was sitting. Mindy bounced back over to him and sat on the corner of his chair. He put one arm across her leg and with the other picked up his beer, tilted his head and lifted his beer up, as to acknowledge our arrival.

“Hey man. Good to see you again,” he shouted across the table to Jeromy. Jeromy gave him the same sort of acknowledgement. As Jeromy cocked his head back, I noticed a table of girls next to him checking him out, whispering and pointing. You would think by now I would be used to the attention that Jeromy draws from other females, but I quite honestly wasn’t. And now with Billy and him together, they seemed to be drawing quite a crowd of giggling girls. I did my best to ignore it and instead focus on meeting Billy’s other friends.

Bran was the drummer, I thought, trying to remind myself who was who. Sitting next to Bran was Zander, the lead guitarist. I recognized his messy hair. He looked exactly like his picture. Sitting across the table from Zander was Travis. He was speaking to a heavy set man with a goatee. “That’s Brick,” Billy said as he pointed to him. “He runs our website and makes our videos for YouTube.”

I glanced back over to Travis as I noticed two women fawning over him. They looked similar, with long bleach blonde hair, a clearly fake suntan, long nails with bright pink polish, and matching bright pink lipstick.

Mindy popped back up next to me and took my hand. “Come on, let me introduce you to Darla and Starla.” I immediately knew who she was talking about. The girls did look so much alike; it only made sense that they were related. They didn’t look enough like each other to be actual twins, so I surmised that they were just sisters.

But as it turned out, Darla and Starla weren’t sisters at all. They just happened to have similar names and looked alike. It was their similarities that had drawn them together as friends, they would later tell me.

Surprisingly, the bar wasn’t too loud and having a conversation with the others was easy. That was, until it was time for the band to play. Billy was the last to take the stage and when he did the crowds let out a loud roar. I sat down next to Jeromy, positioned perfectly near the stage so I could see the show.

Billy was superb, he really commanded the stage. Countless half-dressed women leapt to their feet and began shouting as Billy sang one song after another. He had such energy, such presence. It was hard to take your eyes off of him. At the end of their set, the band left the stage to uproarious applause and cheers.

As they made their way back to our table, they passed several girls waiting for their attention. While the other men seemed to revel in it, Billy didn’t. Instead he came back and sat down next to Jeromy and I, and the two began a conversation about sports and going to see a Houston Texans football game in the fall. It was strange, really. It was as if he didn’t realize the line of women standing by the stage who were waiting for him, dying to get even a second glance.

Billy was nothing like I had imagined him to be. I assumed he would be your stereotypical rock god with women falling all over him, which they were, but I expected him to love every minute of it and have a new bimbo every night. Although I had just met him, he didn’t seem anything like that at all. I was pleasantly surprised. But then again, maybe he was just putting on a good face since it was our first night in town.

As Jeromy went up to the bar to get us another round of beers, Billy slid over into his chair to sit next to me. “So what did you think?” he asked as he nodded towards the stage.

“Oh, you were fine,” I said to him nervously and then quickly looked away. This was the first time we had really spoken alone. I didn’t know why he intimidated me so much, but he really did.

“Fine?” he said, sounding almost offended. “I was hoping for a little more than fine.”

“No, no. I didn’t mean it like that,” I pleaded. “Really I didn’t. You guys were great. I’m so sorry.” My face was turning several shades of red.

Billy laughed it off and started to get up as Jeromy came back but Jeromy said, “No, man, stay seated; I’ll take this one,” and pointed to the chair next to me. He kissed my forehead and took the empty chair on the other side of me. “Miss me?” he purred into my ear.

“I did, very much so,” I said to him as I leaned in to kiss him.

“So what did you think of the band?” Jeromy asked me, while handing me my new beer.

“Yeah Stacy, what did you think of the band?” Billy said sarcastically behind me.

“I thought they were amazing. Billy really knows how to work the crowd.”

“We aren’t all of that. We were just … fine was it?” I turned to face Billy as he said it with a smirk on his face.

Billy leaned in and asked Jeromy, “So, have you told her yet?”

“No, I think she still needs a few more beers in her first.”

Billy hadn’t exactly been quiet about saying it and when he did everyone around the table laughed. They all seemed to be in on it. Whatever it was. I wondered what the heck they were talking about, but as I looked around nobody seemed to be willing to tell me.

Billy waved over the waitress. She was a beautiful brunette with lots of curly dark brown hair and soft brown eyes. Her long legs stuck out in the small, tight black mini skirt she wore. The waitress had a worried look on her face and I knew exactly what it meant. I had worked at a bar long enough to know that when regulars started ordering rounds of shots they were going to get rowdy. Rowdy … ha, I get it now. Rowdy’s. I laughed to myself as I realized what the name of the bar meant.

“To Jeromy and Stacy!” Billy shouted as he lifted up his shot glass and then downed it. Everyone at the table repeated, “To Jeromy and Stacy!” I drank my own shot and within a few minutes the waitress returned with another. By the time I had my third shot I was definitely feeling more relaxed and by the fifth shot, I was feeling wonderful.

So wonderful that it didn’t bother me in the slightest that across the table Travis was doing shots off of Darla and Starla’s breasts. Okay maybe it bothered me some. He noticed me looking at him, cocked his head up and said, “Want some?” God he’s an ass. I averted my eyes and turned my attention back to Jeromy and Billy, who at that time were looking at me with a sort of conspiratorial grin across their adorably sexy faces.

Billy started to get up. “It’s that time again.” He motioned for the sound guy and he quickly made his way over to us and handed Billy a tambourine.

“Know what this is?” he asked.

“Ummm yeah. It’s a tambourine,” I answered cautiously. I glanced over to Jeromy and he had a grin on his beautiful face, but he didn’t say a word. Instead he just watched me carefully as Billy continued to address me.

“See, we have this thing around here. If you are going to hang with us, you are going to have to pass initiation. You gotta show us that you can really handle it.”

I furrowed my brow as I looked at him. Initiation? What the heck was he talking about? Billy didn’t tell me anything more; instead, he grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the stage with him. The rest of the band had already taken their places. As we got on the stage the crowd cheered.

When Travis strummed the first few notes of the song, the crowd went wild. Billy grabbed the microphone in one hand, while still holding on to me with his other. “My good friend Jeromy has recently moved back in town and he brought this hot piece of ass with him.” He squeezed me tightly, pulling me in closer to him.

He paused for a moment and the crowd let out a load roar. Billy lifted his hand trying to get them to settle down so he could continue to speak. While Billy addressed the audience of eager fans, Travis continued to strum out first part of the song. It was a familiar beat and it only took me a second to realize the song was Jessie’s Girl. It was a song I knew well. I loved it but I still didn’t get what I was doing on stage with them. Maybe this was it. Maybe he just wanted to see if he could embarrass me with this introduction.

As the band played on, Billy continued talking to the audience. He twirled me around with his one free arm. “What do you think?” There were lots of whoops and hollers coming from the crowd. My face flushed.

“Well, you all know what that means. If she’s going to hang with us she has to pass the test.”

Billy handed me the tambourine and the crowd let out a thunderous roar. He let go of my hand and leaned into the microphone while he locked his gaze onto mine. He sang the first words of the song softly, with a sexy, come hither look on his face. The crowd ate it up. The tempo picked up and he sang his heart out.

I hated being on stage; my face was red, and my stomach was twisted in knots. I thought about bolting for the door, I’m really not one for being the center of attention but then I turned towards Jeromy to see the biggest smile on his face and I decided to just go for it.

I looked back to Billy and then took a deep breath and focused only on him, trying my best to block everyone else out of my mind and I started to shake the tambourine like I knew what I was doing.

Then when Billy got to the chorus, he stuck out a hand and motioned for me to come up closer to him. Without thinking I walked over, then leaned into him and sang the three lines with him. Billy had turned back to face the crowd after the chorus and I stepped back for the next part of the song. He leaned into the microphone and softly sang the next few lines, in a softer more seductive voice.

I stood on the side of the stage, shaking my hips to the beat of the song along with the tambourine, just watching Billy in action. He really came alive when he was on stage. His eyes lit with excitement. He was truly amazing at what he did and the crowds seemed to love him too. They were at his feet, whistling, cheering, clapping and screaming their approval.

As the beat of the song picked up again I knew it was my cue to start shaking my thing again. I gave Billy a big smile and he reached up to grab my hand and pulled me towards him. As I sang the last part of the song with Billy, I could see a sparkle in his eyes that I had not noticed before. It caught me off guard. Billy was in his element when he was on stage. Billy was a rock star, even if only a local one.

When the song ended he put his hands around my waist and pulled me in towards him. “You are fucking awesome. Jeromy is one lucky son of a bitch.”

I kissed him on the cheek and started to walk away. I was going back to sit next to Jeromy but as I tried to leave Billy pulled me back to him. He held me next to him with his arm around my waist, locking me in place. With his other hand he grabbed the microphone. I glanced out in the crowd, looking for Jeromy’s face, which still had his adorably wide grin on it so I knew he was okay with me being up on stage with Billy.

“You know, we don’t normally do this song but since tonight we have this pretty lady here to inspire me, I think it will be okay. You don’t mind, do you?”

I looked at Billy curiously as the crowd cheered him on. I wondered what song he was talking about. It started off with a slow beat and as I stood there wrapped in Billy’s arm I tried to figure out which song it was. It didn’t sound familiar. I wondered if it was one of their own. He loosened his grip on my waist but still didn’t let go as he softly sang, “When I first seen your picture, I knew that it was love at first sight. You stole my heart. You made me smile.”

Butterflies filled my stomach as our bodies swayed together with the beat of the music. At this point I had all but forgotten we were in a packed bar and my adoring boyfriend was sitting just feet away from us watching our every move. Billy had me completely captivated.

After the song ended, I stood there locked in an embrace with Billy, both of us staring into each other’s eyes. I bit my lip as I felt my entire body tingle. And then thankfully the crowd let out a thunderous roar, louder than they had been all night.

The loud noise shook me out of my daze and I turned my head to face the loud cheers and chants. The fans wanted more. Jeromy sat there watching us on stage and I worried if things had gone too far between Billy and me. Nothing had technically happened but still it was an intimate encounter, and inappropriate considering he was my boyfriend’s best friend.

But by the smile on Jeromy’s face I could tell he didn’t think of it as anything more than just an act, something we were doing for the crowd. But it wasn’t just all for show. There was something there. Electricity shot through my entire body when I was in Billy’s arms.

I took my seat next to Jeromy and he reached over to kiss me passionately. On the stage I heard Billy addressing the crowd again. “You ever loved somebody so much you could barely breathe when you are with them?”

I jerked my head around and shot my glare directly at him. He wasn’t talking about me was he? I put my hand on Jeromy’s leg and gently began rubbing his thigh, hoping desperately that what Billy was saying wasn’t about me or if it was, that Jeromy would be too distracted by the movement of my hand to notice.

When the crowds cheering died down just a bit Billy continued, “Well, this song isn’t about that.”

Oh thank God. I sighed in relief and then turned my attention back to Jeromy. I leaned in and gave him another kiss.

Bran started in hard with the drums and Billy screamed “AHHH YEAHHHH!” It was a fast beat rock song, another original. When he sang I noticed all the girls dancing around in delirium. The more the song went on, the more I thought girls were going to start throwing their panties at the stage.

As he screamed the last line of the song, “I want to fuck your fine ass all night long,” I noticed he had locked eyes with a cute red head in the crowd. He walked over to her after the song ended and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he started kissing her with a sort of frenzied desperation. That was the last we saw of Billy for the night.

◊

Jeromy and I made our way back home soon after and went right to bed. I rested comfortably in Jeromy’s arms. It really was the coziest bed I had ever been in. I quickly fell asleep but awoke not much later, as he was kissing my neck and then moved to my lips. “I love you,” he muttered. My heart quickened at his touch. I shifted my weight under him suggestively and a slow sexy smile spread across his face.

The next morning came all too soon. The bright light of the sun peered in through the windows and the big sliding glass door that led out to the terrace. I had forgotten to draw the drapes last night before going to bed. I groaned unhappily and I got out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. As I stood in the bathroom, I expected the tiles to be cold on my bare feet, but they were noticeably warm. Ahh, heated tiles. I had heard of heated tiles before on those home decorating shows, but I really had no idea how wonderful they really were until now.

I took a shower and then went into my luxurious closet to find something to put on. I grabbed a tank top and some boxer shorts and put my favorite pair of oversized, thick white Polo socks on my feet and made my way down the stairs towards the smell of bacon. Billy was standing in the kitchen making breakfast.

As I walked past the arched doors that led into the kitchen he gave me a nod and said, “Hey. How do you feel?”

“Like holy hell. Why did I do so many shots?” I groaned.

He let out a light-hearted laugh and pushed a drink towards me. “My sure fire hangover cure.” It looked a little bit like thick orange juice but by the way he warned me to drink it all fast to keep it down, I suspected it was anything but.

As I tried to force the concoction down my throat, I could taste something like a strange mix of tomato juice, carrots, 7Up, bananas and horseradish sauce. It was foul-smelling and tasted disgusting but he was right, it did make me feel better, and fast. Wow, that was impressive. He should bottle that stuff and sell it.

“Thank you,” I said shyly. Leaning across the bar, I eyed his plate of eggs and bacon and asked, “What’s that you have there?” He took a fork and immediately started twirling it in the eggs. He reached across the bar and put it to my lips. It was delicious. He was a great cook.

“Mmmm. Is that bacon?” I leaned over the counter to grab a piece.

He playfully pulled the plate away. “Oh no you don’t.”

I leaned in even more, locking my eyes on his said, “I thought roommates were supposed to share” as I grabbed a piece of bacon off of his plate and put it to my lips. I quickly sat back down on the bar stool and giggled. He gave me a huge smile in return and pushed the entire plate my way.

Just then Jeromy walked into the kitchen and kissed my forehead as he sat down next to me. While Billy and Jeromy exchanged pleasantries, I sat there wondering what the heck had just come over me. Why did I just say that? This isn’t like me. I’m not that kind of girl. Being near Billy seems to have some sort of strange effect on me. I can’t seem to think straight. Just being in his presence made my skin tingle and my breath quicken. I feel like a giggling schoolgirl around him.

Billy finished making Jeromy’s and his breakfast and as we sat around the bar eating Jeromy said “Last night was great,” and then gave me a glance. Billy no doubt thought he meant the show but I knew exactly what meant. I blushed with the memory.

“Yeah, man, we will have to do it again sometime,” Billy said to Jeromy and then turned to me. “Stacy, you were fantastic. I can’t tell you how many girls we have done that initiation with over the years and not a one of them took it like a champ like you did.”

“Oh God, please don’t remind me,” I said sheepishly, my face starting to redden.

Billy looked towards Jeromy, “You have yourself a hell of a girl there.”

“Yes I do,” Jeromy said as he leaned in to kiss me. I blushed and looked away. I love Jeromy and I loved how much he loved me even more, but I was also somewhat shy and I most definitely wasn’t used to public displays of affection.

I know Jeromy wished I would be more outgoing and confident, but it wasn’t easy for me. I’ve always been quiet and observant of others. I love to blend into the background and just watch what is going on around me. People watching fascinates me. But having others watch me makes my stomach turn. I really don’t like being the center of attention.

I am not even sure why. I think it’s because I grew up with two beautiful, very loud sisters who loved attention and always seemed to go out of their way to make sure they got it. That was hard to keep up with and I think, after a while, I just stopped trying. I became more studious and learned to enjoy the quieter things in life, like reading a good book, and let my sisters revel in the spotlight.

Chapter 5 - New Life, New Clothes

After breakfast Jeromy said he wanted to take me shopping. I told him no. I didn’t feel comfortable about all of the money he has been spending on me lately. Of course I didn’t want to turn down free clothes, I mean really, who would? But I still felt bad, I didn’t want Jeromy to ever think that I was with him for his money or the things he bought me, because I wasn’t.

I really wanted to get a job and have my own spending money but Jeromy didn’t like that idea. He said he wanted me to take my time, get to know the city more and decide on what kind of job I wanted later on. Money was a sensitive subject with us. The more he gave me, the more I felt guilty about it. But as usual, I gave in and Jeromy and I were going shopping today.

Billy had told me that The Woodlands has its own little shopping mall, and I couldn’t wait to see what fun stores they had in there. When we arrived I quickly realized it was anything but little. It was the biggest mall I had ever been to, but Jeromy said that it really was a small mall in comparison to some of the others, like the Galleria, which covered over 2.4 million square feet of space. In comparison, The Woodlands mall was a mere 1.3 million square feet.

I sighed at the thought of the enormity of things, I see now where the saying everything is bigger in Texas comes from. I could barely believe it at times. Houston really was vastly different than Tulsa. I liked my new home. But already I felt so small and out of place and it made me miss being back in Oklahoma all the more.

This mall had quite a few stores we didn’t have back home, like Nordstrom’s and Macy’s. Walking through these department stores, I just couldn’t wrap my head around how big they were. This one store was easily bigger than three football fields and spanned several stories. I felt overwhelmed by the size. I was so in awe of the mere beauty of it, with its marble floors, exotic plants and marvelous statues, I almost forgot we were there to buy things.

Next we went to a store I had been to before, only back home it wasn’t exactly this grandiose. As we made our way through Saks Fifth Avenue I found a dress I absolutely loved, more so than all the others he had already bought me that day. It was white with spaghetti straps. The top was made of feathers and it had a high waist that was decorated with tiny little Swarovski crystals. The bottom of the dress was a tiered tulle skirt that flowed outwards. I felt so pretty, like I was dancing on clouds, as I tried it on and pranced around showing Jeromy.

Next he got me a pair of Christian Louboutin crystal pumps that matched my new dress perfectly. With the other items I hadn’t really looked at the price tags but I did glance down and notice the price on the shoes. They were $850. I felt bad at how much money Jeromy was spending on me. But I also knew Jeromy enjoyed doing it. It really seemed to make him happy to do things for me, so I tried to push back the lump forming in the pit of my stomach. I loved the shoes so much but the feelings of guilt that came with them wasn’t easy to take.

At Macy’s we somehow found our way to the swimsuit department. I don’t know how, but I always seemed to find my way to the swimsuit department. Swimsuits were my weakness. I absolutely loved them. Because Jeromy was being sweet and buying me so many great things today I decided to let him help me pick out a bikini he liked best.

He was eying a white string bikini with a neon pink outline. And I must admit I liked it too. Before long he had picked the white and neon pink bikini he had first seen along with a bright yellow one that tied up the side. “When we get home I’ll try these on for you,” I said to him softly as I gently let my hand fall, playfully and softly rubbing his groin.

I loved to tease him for some reason. I think it was because I loved the look of angst on his face when he knew there was nothing he could do to satisfy his desire for me at that moment.

We had been shopping for a while now and our hands were full of bags; I wondered how much longer he was going to hold out, but as we exited Macy’s we walked past Victoria’s Secret. His eyes widened with excitement. I wondered to myself if this was his plan all along. Then again, he did spend the entire day buying me all the things I liked, I might as well return the favor, so I grabbed his hand and led him into the store.

As we walked inside he started to say “Could you …” but he didn’t finished. “Are you …” he trailed off. He looked down at the floor and shook his head. I could tell he was trying to find the right words to say but they just wouldn’t come. His cheeks were a little red and I could tell he was embarrassed to be in a store filled with so many intimate things. This really wasn’t like Jeromy. He was normally so confident. I really didn’t think anything fazed him. It was downright adorable watching him with the boyish grin on his face, trying to speak.

Saving him the struggle, I led him to a large couch towards the back of the store and sat him down there, along with all of our shopping bags from the day. His eyes never left my face, as I walked over to a rack and pulled out a chiffon ruffle babydoll dress. He nodded in excitement. Next I made my way over to the rows of gowns hanging on the wall. I pulled out a full length gown, only the entire bottom half was made of a see-through mesh. One glance over my shoulder towards Jeromy’s eagerly awaiting face and I could tell that this too was a yes.

I would need to find some panties to go with it, so I worked my way over to the center display aisle and picked up a tiny black pair and tossed them over to Jeromy playfully. He blushed and quickly put them to his side, along with the rest of the items I had already picked out. Next I found a simple black slip dress that was trimmed in pale pink lace. I looked over to Jeromy to see what he thought and got yet another nod of agreement.

I was starting to wonder if he was really paying attention or if he was just mindlessly agreeing with all of my selections when I came across a navy blue pleated babydoll dress that had a bow tied just below where my breasts would be. He gave me a sly grin and I added that to our growing collection of lingerie.

I found a few push up bras and matching panty sets that I liked and brought them over to Jeromy as well. Then I decided I should probably get something I could actually wear around the house that wouldn’t be too revealing. I found a cute ruffle tank with a matching pair of tiny shorts. I picked up a pair in black and one in pale pink. It was more cute than sexy and still decent enough to be able to trot around the house in without causing too much of a stir if I happened to run into anyone else.

After we left Victoria’s Secret we were headed to the car, which was parked just outside of Nordstrom's. While traipsing through the store a beautiful black dress caught my attention and I pulled Jeromy over to check it out. By now most men would have completely lost it or died of boredom. But Jeromy wasn’t most men. He was kind and compassionate and wanted to do whatever it took to make me happy.

I grabbed the black dress off of the rack and made my way back to the dressing rooms, Jeromy in tow. I put the bags I was carrying in the stall next to me and then told him to do the same. No reason to carry those bags around while he stood out there waiting for me to try this dress on.

It was a cute dress but it was impossible to really measure the fit because I couldn’t do the snaps myself. I asked Jeromy if he would come in my dressing room and help me. He entered the small room with caution. He looked like he was walking into an ambush and well, perhaps he was.

His hands caressed my shoulders as he zipped up the back of my dress. He slowly began running his fingers down my back, pushing his hips into me from behind. I let out of soft moan and then Jeromy pressed his hand against mine and interlaced our fingers. “No, baby, we can’t. We are going to get caught,” I said softly as he started to kiss my arm and then pushed my head back and began kissing my neck. He knew exactly where to touch me to make me lose all sense of reason and logic.

When he sat down on the bench, I straddled him like the wild stallion that he was. I ground against him as he pushed my head back and licked the front of my neck in a slow but forceful motion. While he nibbled on my ear I took a deep breath and inhaled the musk of his manhood.

I did my absolute best to stay quiet during our secret tryst in the dressing room, but at times he did have to cup his hand over my mouth to help. I couldn’t believe what I was doing. Someone could walk in and catch us at any moment; but then again that was also part of the excitement.

This really wasn’t the type of person I was. Before getting with Jeromy I would have never in a million years considered doing something like this and would probably have slapped him for even suggesting it. But that’s the thing about Jeromy, he has this way about him. He makes you get so caught up in his world that you lose part of yourself, namely your sense of sanity, just basking in his glory. Just being near Jeromy could make even the most down–to-earth person get swept up in it all. He just had something about him that made you lose yourself in his infectious smile.

Afterwards, we did our best to rearrange our clothes and my makeup so that it wouldn’t appear obvious to people walking by what we had just done, and made our way back to the car. Then again, judging by the devilish grin splashed across Jeromy’s face, I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard to figure out.

I didn’t pay much attention on the drive home. I was lost in thought, warm thoughts of how much I loved my boyfriend and how I was really beginning to love our new life together here in Houston.

When we arrived back home we found Billy wasn’t alone. Other members of the band were there now; they were in his studio working on a new song. More than anything I wanted to go in there and listen. I was curious how the whole making music process worked. I also think part of me wanted to see Billy again. But I didn’t want to intrude, so instead I went upstairs to my room and put away my new clothes while Jeromy went into the living room to watch TV.

I was so tired. I had been up late the night before, woken up far too early this morning and I had been on an all-day shopping trip. I only made it as far as my bed before deciding to lay down my head for a moment’s rest. I could put away my clothes after, I thought to myself as I closed my eyes and falling into a deep sleep.

I woke up to a clanging and clattering noise coming from my bathroom. I cautiously walked in to see what the noise was and was startled to see an older lady in my closet putting away my new clothes. She was short and had thin dark brown hair with olive skin that was worn with age. I tried to wrap my mind around who this lady putting away my clothes was and then I remembered Billy had mentioned a maid before. This must be her.

“I’m so sorry, Miss. I didn’t mean to wake you,” the lady said with a distinctly Hispanic accent. “Please forgive me, Miss. I just wanted to put away your pretty things.”

“Oh please no, don’t be silly. It’s more than fine,” I said to the lady, reassuring her. “I’m Stacy, by the way,” I said as I put out my hand to shake hers. “And your name is?” She seemed a little taken aback by my reaching for her hand, so I quickly pulled it back.

“Yes, Miss Stacy. I’m Kita. Billy told me all about you. You are more beautiful than he said.”

I blushed at her words. “Well, I better get out of your way. It was nice meeting you, though.”

I made my way back downstairs and left Kita to do her thing. I felt a little guilty that she was there putting up my new clothes when I really could have done it myself, but I did my best to push that guilt back. I had so much to get used to here in Houston. Life really was so different than it was back in Oklahoma.

When I got downstairs I found the boys in the kitchen chatting away, drinking beer. They were all smiles when they greeted me and offered me a beer of my own. I declined their kind offer and instead went to the fridge to find a bottle of water. I was still a little dehydrated from the night before.

I had on a tight pair of white jeans that hugged my hips and a loose fitting, low-cut tee. When I reached up towards the top shelf to get the bottle my stomach was exposed and Travis made a comment. “Damn girl. You’ve got a great body.” I turned to glare back at him as I pulled down my shirt. All the guys laughed and Billy punched Travis in the arm. Men! They really were so childish sometimes.

I made my way to the living room and attempted to turn on the TV. There were more than a few remotes lying on the coffee table and I tried to figure out which one had the stupid POWER button. As I clumsily fumbled around with the buttons I finally found the right one. That was, the right one that turned on a TV that was playing a porno. My face shot bright red as I quickly grabbed for the remote I had just set down to try and turn the TV back off or at least figure out how to mute the sounds of all the moaning and groaning going on.

Just then the boys walked in. Travis had a smirk on his face, “Yeah! Now that’s my kind of chick. Shit, Jeromy, please tell me this one has a sister.”

I was beyond embarrassed. I wished at that moment the ground would open up beneath my feet and swallow me whole. But what could I do? If I didn’t own it they would never let me live this down. I put on my best fake smile and said, “What? Don’t you all ever watch porn? What’s wrong with you? I thought you were good ‘ole, red blooded American boys.”

I turned back to face the screen where a buxom blonde had just begun straddling a well-endowed gentleman and tried to hide the red that was now filling my cheeks. Zander let out a loud laugh and made his way to sit down next to me. “Here,” he said as he handed me his beer. “You look like you probably need this more than me.”

He was right. I was utterly mortified, but still I think I handled it well. As we sat around the living room watching the adult movie play on the television, we all drank beer and chatted. I was still a little uncomfortable with the porno on the TV but it was nice know that I had earned the respect of the band. I liked being treated like one of the guys.

Overall it was a relaxing night. I liked getting to know them. I liked watching them together. They were all so playful with each other, roughhousing and telling jokes. I also noticed Billy was far more relaxed and carefree that he had been the night before in the bar.

I went to the kitchen to get Jeromy another beer. When I returned Travis was telling everyone a joke. “So this guy wakes up and was real horny, so he nudged his wife awake wanting to get it on. She wouldn’t though saying she had an appointment at the gynecologist tomorrow and she didn’t like to make love the night before. The dude rolls back over and started to go back to sleep but then a few minutes later he nudges his wife again and asked her if she had a dentist appointment tomorrow too.”

Everyone laughed. It was kind of funny, I guess. But Bran’s joke was much funnier.

“A couple drove down a country road, not saying a word to each other. An earlier discussion had led to an argument, and neither would concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules and pigs, the wife sarcastically asked, Relatives of yours? The man thought for just a moment and then replied, Yep, the in-laws.”

Jeromy turned to Bran, put his hand on his shoulder and said, “I like you. You remind me of when I was young and stupid.” It took everyone just a moment to get it but when they did, the room burst out in laughter.

Sometime during the night Jeromy and I got invited to see the band play again at Rowdy’s. Jeromy glanced towards me and I shrugged, so he said we would go. Part of me wondered how this was ever going to work. These guys were in a band and the party lifestyle, day in and day out, was apparently completely normal to them. Starting Monday, Jeromy had a real job to go to and I quietly worried their partying would interfere.

◊

When we arrived at the bar the next night I was surprised at how packed it was considering it was a Thursday night. Back home we couldn’t even pull in a crowd like this on weekends. As I glanced over at Billy, I wondered if it had something to do with the band.

Before the first set an older gentleman dressed in cowboy boots and a pair of all too tight jeans, made his way over to our table. He put his hand on Billy’s shoulder. “What a night. That fucking Penny broke her toe and she has to stay off of her foot for the next week. I don’t know what I’m going to do. It’s packed in here tonight and it’s too late to call anyone in.”

I looked down at my pretty white new dress and then glanced at my feet in my shiny new Christian Louboutin heels. I let out a sigh as I looked to Jeromy. He nodded his head. That was one of the great things about Jeromy. We knew each other so well that we often didn’t have to say a single word; we both just knew how to answer each other, instinctively as if one knew what the other was thinking.

But before I could say a word, Billy spoke up. “Don’t worry man. I’ve got the solution to your problem right here.” Billy put a hand on my shoulder and told the man who was now eyeing me warily; “Meet my roommate Stacy. She’s been a bartender for years.”

“Is that true?” the man asked with almost a sound of desperation in his voice.

“Yes, but …” I started to say when the man interrupted me and said, “Well damn, girl, what are you doing sitting here? We’ve got a line of customers a mile long at the bar waiting for you.” He grabbed me by the arm and started to drag me along beside him.

“No, wait. You don’t understand. I’m not from here.”

The man stopped and gave me a strange look.

“I just moved here from Oklahoma. My liquor license probably isn’t good here in Texas.”

The man paused for just a moment and then said, “That’s okay. I’ve got an idea.” He led me back behind the bar and then pulled out a piece of paper and a marker, and wrote in big letters, Beer Only. He taped it to the counter that hung above my head.

“You don’t need a license to serve beer. You’ll be a behind the bar waitress for the night,” he muttered as he walked around looking at his sign with a big grin on his face.

He looked back at me before walking off and reminded me not to touch any liquor, not even for a second. I nodded in agreement and watched him walk away. I had been around the bar scene for long enough to know how serious it was for an unlicensed bartender to serve drinks. I wouldn’t dare dream of it.

I looked around at the large tubs of beer and ice behind me. Okay, this is going to be easy. I only had to serve beer. I could do that. Anyone could do that. And one by one the customers started lining up.

Because I only had to grab beer bottles and hand them over to the customers that came up to me, my line moved fast. His idea had actually been a pretty good one and it sped things up behind the bar significantly. The other bartender looked to me with appreciation written all over her face. I completely understood what she felt at that moment. I knew what it was like to be alone behind the bar on a busy night.

In between sets I brought the boys buckets of beer and sat them on the table. They seemed grateful and showed their appreciation with a series of crudely sexual remarks each time I came by with a new bucket of longnecks for them to devour. Ahh, boys will be boys, I tried to remind myself each time.

When the night was over I was beyond ecstatic. My feet were killing me. As great as my new shoes may have looked, they weren’t meant for hours of standing behind a bar, slinging drinks.

It turned out the old man in cowboy boots was named Henry and he owned the bar. He asked if I would consider coming in to work again on Friday and Saturday and after discussing it with Jeromy,

I agreed to help. Tomorrow, however, I would be smart about my attire and wear something far less painful on my feet and just in case there are any other issues that arose I would fill out the online application for a temporary servers permit. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

It was nice to feel needed and, even better, I was earning some of my own money. The people at this bar tipped really well, even just for serving them beer.

Friday and Saturday night went by fast. Rowdy’s was so packed I could barely keep up. I felt bad that I didn’t get to spend much time with Jeromy and the boys over the weekend but I could tell they liked that I helped their friend Henry out of a jam.

Jeromy started his new job on Monday, so I wanted to spend every minute of his last day of freedom together. I suggested we hang out by the pool and I put on one of my new bikinis that he got me and met him downstairs.

There was a large stereo outside so I turned it on. I couldn’t find any station that I liked and then I realized that it had a docking station so I ran inside to grab my iPhone. I plopped it in and flipped to the first song. It was Rick Springfield, I’ve Done Everything for You.

I had forgotten that I downloaded his greatest hits album after that night with Billy on stage. I couldn’t seem to get the Jessie’s Girl song out of my head. Oh well, I shrugged. This song is as good as any I suppose.

I didn’t think anyone was around except Jeromy and me, so I danced around like a fool, mouthing the words as if I was really singing the song, trying my best to be seductive. I remembered seeing the moves in some movie and I tried my best to mimic them, to try and turn Jeromy on.

What I didn’t know is that directly above me was Brick, who ran the band’s website. He was in Billy’s office upstairs and had a bird’s eye view of the whole show.

After my little dance for Jeromy, I walked over to him. He was lazing on a lawn chair with a big smile on his face. I came over to him and sat on his lap. I threw all of my weight onto him, forcing him to lay all of the way back.

“Did you like my dance?” I asked Jeromy seductively.

But before he could answer I leaned in and began to kiss him. I ground my body against his as he pulled me into him even tighter, deepening our kiss.

After we made love in the lawn chair, I looked around, worried that someone might have been able to see it. But Billy’s yard was big and covered with swarms of trees so I felt like I was safe from prying eyes.

Chapter 6 - Betrayed By My Dreams

That night as I fell asleep securely in Jeromy’s arms, I must have had been thinking of Billy for some reason because the thought of his sinfully delicious body crept into my dreams.

In my dream I accidentally brushed up against him as he walked past me in the living room. Without saying a word he came up behind me and our bodies started swaying to the song that was playing only in our heads.

He briskly turned me around to face him, while his hips continued rocking into mine. I licked my lips in anticipation of his kiss -- A kiss that never came. He instead grabbed the back of my head and pulled it back as he started licking my neck lustfully, just as Jeromy had done before in the dressing room. I moaned in pleasure. A tide of tempestuous, erotic desire invaded my body.

Still holding my hair, he pulled my head back up, and then forced me closer to him. We didn’t say a word or make a move. We simply gazed at each other.

“I want you,” he muttered around my lips. My heart sped at his touch. “I want inside you,” he growled in my ear. My body desperately wanted that too.

“No, I can’t. I just can’t,” I said to him softly as I tried to pull away. He grabbed my arm forcefully and pulled me back to him. His eyes blazing with desire he huskily said, “I don’t recall asking.” And with that I melted into his arms. He flipped me over and kissed me from the nape of my neck down my back slowly. I wanted him to take me now, but he took things at his own leisurely place. I gasped, overwhelmed by pleasure.

The dream must have stirred something in me because I unknowingly put my hand on Jeromy’s crotch and squeezed. My hands bearing down on his private parts woke him up and as he heard me moaning, he just decided to go with it.

While my body was screaming for Jeromy to take me, somehow in my sleep induced haze, my mind replaced the image of Jeromy with Billy. I was technically awake but overcome with confusion and a desire I had not felt before.

The next morning Jeromy had to get up for his first day of work at his new job. He rolled over to kiss me good morning like he always did and as I opened my eyes I noticed he had the biggest grin on his face. My groggy mind was trying to recall what he could possibly be so happy about this early in the morning, when he whispered “Last night was great. You really know how to send a guy off to work on a good note.”

Oh God! Last night really happened. I grimaced as I remembered the events of the night before. My face reddened as waves of shame and guilt poured over me.

I knew you couldn’t control what you dream about. Still I couldn’t help but feel guilty about it and I really didn’t understand why I was dreaming about Billy in the first place. I have a perfect boyfriend who is gorgeous, attentive, tender, kind-hearted, decisive and strong. Just thinking about Jeromy made my stomach fill with butterflies, so why was I having naughty dreams about his best friend?

I was so embarrassed by what had happened the night before I did everything I could do to avoid even looking at Billy over breakfast. I know that Billy had no idea what had happened and it was only a dream, but still I couldn’t face him.

I looked around the room while we were eating breakfast. This was a nice house, but a home it was not. It lacked a feminine touch. The walls were rather bare and boring, so I decided that would be my project for the day while Jeromy was at work.

After breakfast I made my way to a Target to pick up a few supplies. I was going to put the money I earned from Rowdy’s to good use. I found four blank canvases and some paints. I made my way over to the home decor department and picked up a clear, large plastic tarp. I didn't want to make a mess after all. Before heading back home, I picked up a handful of black picture frames as well.

When I got back I went to the band’s website and picked a few of my favorite photos and printed them out so that I could put them in the picture frames I had just bought. I hung them up in the living room and then took the canvasses to the backyard and laid them on top of my plastic tarp.

I didn’t want to ruin my clothes so I had changed into an old bikini that I didn’t mind getting paint on. I thought about throwing on an old t-shirt and some shorts but decided against it. While painting in the backyard, I could still be getting a tan.

I knew that Brick was there with Billy and Zander but I wasn’t sure what they were doing, and I quite honestly was doing my best to avoid Billy, so I was glad they were keeping him busy.

I put my iPhone in the docking station outside and cranked up my music and danced around as I splattered various colors of paint on the four canvases in my best attempt at being creative, Jackson Pollock style.

It was getting hot by now and I wanted to cool off so I walked over to the diving board. I wondered as I approached it if I could still do the back handspring into the pool that I used to be able to do when I was younger. It had been years since I had tried but since nobody else was around, I thought what the hell and gave it a try.

I nailed it but as my head came up out of the water I was met with cheers from the band, who had all gathered at the open window in Billy’s office upstairs.

I tried to hide my embarrassment as I grabbed my towel and covered my body but really there was no hope of that. I went inside to shower and clean up as my artwork dried outside in the hot Houston sun.

I tried to waste time until Jeromy got home so I painted my nails pink and then my toenails and then messed with my hair some more, but eventually I was running out of things I could do to avoid leaving my room. Finally I decided to just suck it up. I was going to have to face them all eventually so I found an old pair of cutoff jean shorts to put on and a large t-shirt that hung loosely on my body.

When I walked out of my bedroom I could hear that they had made their way downstairs. There was a lot of noise so I figured they were in the game room which was next to Billy’s studio.

Still not wanting to face everyone, I made my way outside to check on my artwork. Since it was finally dry I hung it up in the living room near the photographs I had put up earlier. While I was admiring my handiwork the noise from the game room was getting louder and my curiosity finally got the better of me. I had to see what they were doing in there.

At hearing the clink of balls hitting each other, I glanced over and saw Mindy was playing pool with Darla and Starla. There were also a few others near them that I didn’t recognize. I made my way to the crowd and realized the entire band was there now and by band I mean, the band plus the sound guy Patrick, their webmaster, a handful or girls, including Mindy, Darla and Starla and their self-appointed publicist / manager named Trista who had been with the band for years now.

Billy told me that one day she approached them after a gig and offered her services, saying she would work for free because she could use the experience. It was like her own self-created internship. She was a very serious, organized person and made sure everyone else's lives were just as together. She screamed anal retentive. I remembered what Billy had told me about her before. He said that Trista was a very intense, highly focused person, who wanted everything and everyone in her life to fit into neatly organized little slots.

When I walked into the game room Trista, who was talking to Bran, stopped what she was doing and looked up at me with her mouth wide open. She stared at me and then after a moment of extreme awkwardness she leaned back into Bran. “So that’s her, huh? Damn, damn, damn, damn.”

“Yep. That’s her in all of her perky glory. Have you seen the video yet?” Bran asked Trista.

Perky? I’m not perky. At least I don’t think I am. Mindy, she’s perky. I’m far more subdued than that. And what video were they talking about? They spoke about me like I wasn’t standing right there, in the same room. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with them. Why were they treating me like this?

“Yeah, I checked it out on my way over. This girl is going to be trouble. Big trouble,” Trista said. She was attempting to be quiet, but I was close enough to still hear every word.

I started to walk over and say something to them; but then Billy caught my eye. He was behind Trista sitting on a bar stool strumming an acoustic guitar. He played a few chords and then looked up at me with a sort of sexy half smirk. I had to catch my breath. He extended his arm, calling me over to him.

While I stood next to Billy listening to him play, I heard Trista still talking to Bran. “That one is going to be the death of him.”

I don’t think they meant for me to hear that. But I did and it kind of hurt my feelings. What the hell was their problem? I turned to glare at Bran in disgust and heard him say, “Well if ya gotta go, that’s one hell of a way to go,” as he eyed my ass in my cut off shorts.

I rolled my eyes at his comment. I decided not to confront them. They weren’t worth wasting my time on. Instead I turned back to give my full attention to Billy but I still couldn’t help but wonder what video they were talking about. Something about that stuck out in my mind.

And then Travis, who just seemed to have noticed my arrival, gave me a nod and a big smile “Yeah! There’s our little superstar.”

Everyone in the room stopped to face me, which caused me to blush. I wasn’t used to being the center of attention.

Mindy let out a loud squeal, ran over to me and threw her arms around me. “I’m so glad you are finally here. Ya! I missed you.” She dragged me over to a laptop sitting on a table near the back of the room. “I want to show you something. You are going to love it,” she exclaimed. “Don’t get mad, okay?”

I looked at the computer screen cautiously. “Ummm okay.” Why would I get mad? I had no idea what she was about to show me on the computer but I was pretty sure that if she had to preface it with don’t be mad then I probably wasn’t going to like it.

As she pulled up the band’s YouTube page I read the title of the video, ‘Our Little Superstar ... Stacy Keller’. Then she pushed play and I could have died, right then and there. I felt so violated. How could they do this?

The band’s webmaster had pieced together a video montage of me and just uploaded it to their YouTube page. I know he had just finished it because the video started off with a shot of me doing my back handspring off of the diving board into the swimming pool earlier today.

I cringed watching every second of the video.

After the opening shot of me doing my back handspring off of the diving board, which they played back in slow motion, the video cut to a shot of me painting in my bikini, prancing around the back yard covered in different colors of paint and then the video flashed to my dance number I had done for Jeromy the other day by the pool, when I thought we were alone.

Oh God. Did they see everything? I began to panic as I watched the rest. Was this going to turn into a real life sex tape? I pushed pause and turned to Brick demanding to know how he got this footage.

“You guys are jackasses!” I shouted as my face reddened with an angry blush.

Billy came up beside me giving me a reassuring look. “It’s not what you think,” he said softly while grabbing my hand and stroking it in an attempt to calm me.

I frowned at him and sighed as he continued. “After he recorded your dance while hanging out the window,” his eyes looking upward for just a moment as if he was showing me where they were, “I pushed him away and made him give you some privacy. I promise. He left right after. I told him it wasn’t cool that he was spying on you like that.”

He leaned into me and grabbed my chin and forced me to look up at him. “I promise. If anything else did happen by the pool, nobody would have seen it.” My blush had returned in full force as he squeezed my hand tightly and then his fingers linked with my own.

“Please just watch the rest of the video. You are so adorable; we just wanted our fans to fall in love with you as much as we have.” I felt the hum of his words vibrate over my skin. “Trust me.” His voice was hypnotic.

I turned back to face the screen as the rest of the room cheered me on. They may have been enjoying it, but I wasn’t happy. This is not normal. What kind of jackass goes around recording people and posting those videos on the Internet?

The video cut to some scenes of me singing Jessie’s Girl with Billy on the stage that night at Rowdy’s and then ended with a shot from another part of that night that made my stomach fill with butterflies. It was the part of the night where Billy put his arm around my waist and pulled me into him tightly. I gently squeezed Billy’s hand as I remembered how that felt.

As mad as I wanted to be at Brick for creating this video of me, something else was keeping me calm. It was Billy. After the video was over he tilted my chin back so that he could look at me; I felt as if I could drown in the intensity of his gaze.

“Why?” I whispered to him, scarcely able to force the word from my lips.

He arched a brow, like he had just thought of something amusing. Then the corner of his mouth tilted up in a dangerously sexy grin. “You are my little superstar,” he rasped.

My mind flashed to my dream of Billy from the night before and I started to pull away from him; but he wouldn’t let me. The more I struggled to get free of his embrace, the more he pulled me in tighter to him, pressing his body against mine. I tried to relax but his body was mercilessly hard against me, provoking thoughts of lust and desire.

The frustration of the video mixed with a sweet ache that roared a little brighter with every brush of his body against mine was more than I could take. I struggled to regain control of my senses.

Luckily Mindy bounced back over to me handing me a drink. “Here, you look like you need this right about now.” She was right, I did and I quickly downed the entire glass and then took Billy’s drink out of his hand and drank it just as quickly.

She smiled and then pointed to the screen. “And look, you've already gotten over 80,000 views!” I turned away embarrassed. How could this really be happening? Did Jeromy know about this? Oh God, what was he going to say when he sees this video?

Eventually Billy dragged me back over to near where he was sitting before. He nodded to all the liquor bottles sitting on the table; so I happily joined him on that side of the room. Billy sat back down on his bar stool and pulled me partially down on his lap. I leaned over and poured liquor into my glass. I was so mortified after watching that video that I needed something to help me relax.

Since everyone was there, Brick decided to share his vision for a new video he had been working on. He looked around at all the girls in the room and said “Listen, I know this is going to sound crazy, but just hear me out.”

Mindy’s head perked up as she looked his way while Darla and Starla gave him a sort of fuck you glare. They didn’t seem to like Brick but then again they tended to give that same glare to a lot of people.

“We take the girls and put them in front of the instruments like they were playing. We can put Mindy on the drums, Darla and Starla could play the guitars while Trista shakes the tambourine and that fine ass of hers to the side of the stage.” Brick then turned his head my way and said “Billy’s bitch will play the part of the lead singer.”

I looked around the room wondering which of the girls there he was talking about being Billy’s Bitch, when suddenly I noticed everyone in the room was looking back at me.

I jumped up and started to protest. “Oh hell no!” I wanted to say first of all I’m not Billy’s bitch, nor would I ever be. But I found myself unable to come up with a way to say it without offending him and I didn’t want to do that.

“Come on! Just hear me out. It’s going to be a really cool video,” Brick said, pleading with me and perhaps the other girls as well, to consider doing it.

Billy pulled me back to him and I leaned up against him to hear what else Brick had to say. “In the first part of the video the chicks are all dressed up in really nice clothes. Then it flashes to them playing the same instruments but they are in lingerie.”

I rolled my eyes but relaxed as Billy started running his fingers mindlessly up and down the side of my thigh. It felt good. It was mind numbingly intoxicating.

Just then Trista looked at Billy and then to me. She noticed where his hand was and then gave me an evil glare. Something tells me Trista isn’t exactly fond of me, yet I have no idea why. I truly had no idea what I did to offend her so much but at that moment I didn’t really care. The liquor had started to kick in and I was feeling great.

“Let’s just give it a try”, Billy whispered into my ear. I turned my body around to face him and he lifted one eyebrow as if to say please without actually saying it. My heart melted. How could I possibly say no to that?

I placed my lips to his ear. He squirmed against my body and that gave me a charge. "For you, I will," I whispered to him seductively, drawing all of his attention to me. He began to breathe heavier but I did my best to maintain my composure even though my heart threatened to beat its way out of my chest.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as I looked over at Mindy and then to the other girls in the room. They were all dressed up in amazing looking outfits. I was really the only female in the room who was dressed so casually. I looked down at my baggy t-shirt and cut off jean shorts and then back to Billy. “I’ll be right back,” I said quietly and then darted upstairs to my bedroom to find something more appropriate to put on.

I searched through my closest, frantically trying to find the perfect dress. Then I saw it, it was a simple white dress that had a bit of a shimmer to the fabric when you moved. It was beautiful in its simplicity. It was sleeveless and short, probably to short. It was not a dress that you would want to bend over a lot in. I matched the dress with a pair of large white bangle bracelets and some white strappy heels I had picked up the other day while shopping with Jeromy. I touched up my hair and makeup and then headed back downstairs to the studio where they were setting up the video shoot.

“Hey that’s not fair, you can’t see me back here,” Mindy pouted from behind the drums.

I glanced over at Darla and Starla and laughed to myself as images of the Robert Palmer Addicted to Love video flashed through my mind. The girls had the exact same look of nothingness on their faces as they swayed back and forth holding the guitars awkwardly.

Billy came up behind me and wrapped his strong arms around my waist. He leaned into me and softly sang in my ear the chorus of that very song. I giggled as he sang the words to the song I had just been thinking of. It seems we were both of the same mindset. Then he led me over to the microphone stand and lowered it so that I could reach the top.

Brick looked toward Darla who was rolling her eyes at him; then he looked over to Mindy and said, “Okay girls, act like you are playing. Act like you know what you are doing.”

I let go of the microphone stand put my hands down to my side, turned to Brick and said “This isn’t going to work. We need some sort of music to pretend to play to.”

Travis shouted out, “Fuck yeah. That’s hot. Make them bitches work for it.”

“Like karaoke,” I said while rolling my eyes at Travis for the bitches remark.

Billy walked over to the sound guy Patrick and messed around for a moment with some equipment by the large soundboards and then they put on I Hate Myself for Loving You by Joan Jett. Well that works, I thought to myself.

I grabbed the microphone and started to sing the words, even though I knew the equipment wasn’t really on so no sound would come out. Perhaps knowing that is what gave me such confidence; or perhaps it was all the drinks I had earlier.

When I got to the slow part of the song, I grabbed the microphone and then ran my hands down the stand seductively as I danced around it, working my way down and then back up the microphone stand. Billy’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. I glared into his eyes as I mouthed the chorus of the song.

Trista stopped playing. “Okay that’s enough of that,” she said while glaring at Billy whose eyes were locked on me. “Let’s move on to the next part already,” she whined.

“I just had a great fucking idea. Seriously. This is my best idea ever,” Brick proclaimed.

Brick said something to the boys I couldn’t really hear and then the actual members of the band moved into position and took their instruments from the girls. Brick moved the other girls over to the side and gave them their instructions, except for Trista who decided she wasn’t going to be a part of our little video shoot anymore.

“Okay superstar, you ready?” Brick asked as he turned to me. I nodded that I was, but really I was secretly terrified. I’m really not a superstar. This is not something I really had ever seen myself doing, at least not in front of people. This time we were all going to perform the band’s rendition of Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation.

Billy stood next to me and then we leaned into the microphone as the beat started and we both sang the first line of the song. Billy took over and sang the next line by himself. Then Brick pointed to me. It was my turn to sing, alone. Only this time the microphone was actually on and people were really going to hear me. I took a deep breath and then sang the best I could. Then together Billy and I sang the next line.

When we came to the chorus everyone leaned into the microphones in front of them and sang the words, including the girls. They swayed seductively the rest of the time, waiting for their singing parts to come up.

Next it was Billy’s turn to sing. He grabbed the microphone from me forcefully with both hands and leaned into it. It was so sexy when he did that. He made my entire body feel all warm and tingly.

When it came time again to sing the chorus again I leaned in to Billy and shared the microphone with him. It wasn’t easy to do since he was so much taller than me. Even in my six-inch spiked heels I still had to stand on my tippy toes to try and reach him.

I had so much fun. I couldn’t believe I did it. I really had forgotten the video camera was running and I just relaxed and enjoyed myself. I had never sung before in front of people like that. Actually that’s not true. I guess I had done karaoke a few times in the past, but it was nothing like this.

Luckily this new version of the video left out the part where we were all playing in our panties. I was so happy not to have to do that part.

My voice wasn’t exactly that great so I knew the boys would have to do some auto-tuning when it came to actually getting the video ready for release but I didn’t mind. I truly didn’t have any delusions of grandeur about being a rock star. They may have teasingly called me their little superstar but I knew I was far from it. I was just having fun.

Brick examined the footage he had and then repositioned everyone randomly to get some different shots here and there to fill out the rest of the video. And by then, we all had several more drinks in us and things were getting a little more complicated. You could tell Brick was getting frustrated with us, but I didn’t care, I really was having a great time.

Time had gotten away from me and before I knew it, Jeromy was home. I ran to greet him at the front door and jumped into his arms. He lifted me off of the ground as we locked in a passionate embrace. I wrapped my legs around his waist and then put my arms over his head. I held on to him firmly and he carried me up the stairs, all the while continuing to kiss each other. He was big and strong and had no problem carrying my tiny body all that way.

When we got in the bedroom he shut the door behind him and sat his briefcase on the floor and then gently laid me back onto the bed. He positioned his body on top of me and began to grind his hips into mine as we kissed. I gasped and arched against him

“I can’t believe how much I missed you today,” he said gingerly. I didn’t respond, I just kept kissing his luscious lips, stopping only briefly to look into his eyes. He was irresistibly handsome.

His breath heavy, he brought his lips to my ear. “I need to be inside of you, as deep as I can go.”

I moaned shamelessly, feeling absolutely uninhibited and excited by pure lust. My body ached for him. I needed to have him inside of me too and Jeromy was eager to give me what I wanted most.

After, we laid in bed facing each other. I'd happily spend the rest of eternity wrapped in his arms. Just knowing we have an infinite number of days to spend side by side provides me more happiness than I think can bear.

He propped himself up on one elbow and began looking around the room. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I’m looking for ...” he started to say and then found it. He pulled a small box out of his briefcase and handed it to me as I sat up on the bed next to him.

I sat up on my knees and eyed the box carefully, cautiously, wondering what in the world he could have gotten me now. When I opened the box it revealed a shining pair of dangling earrings. They were beautiful and big and shone brightly with little clusters of small diamond chips.

“Jeromy, no. I really can’t. No. This is just too much,” I tried to object, but as usual Jeromy didn’t listen. Instead he pulled them out of the box and put them up to my ears. He helped me put them on as I stood in front of the mirror gazing at them in awe. There were dazzling. I had never owned anything like this in my life. Jeromy was just way too good to me. I didn’t deserve this.

Jeromy whispered, “I promise they cost less than the car.”

“Wait, what? Did ...” I started to say but he put a finger to my lips and said, “It’s okay. Please just enjoy them, for me.” His absurdly sexy smile made it hard to say no.

The crowd downstairs was beginning to get louder. I suddenly became acutely aware of the fact that we had a whole household full of people while I was upstairs having sex with my boyfriend.

Jeromy tilted his head to the side trying to get a grasp of what the noises were the he was hearing. “Billy must be home.”

“Yes, he has some friends over. I guess I forgot to mention that.”

“Well, we were a little distracted,” Jeromy said with a smirk on his face.

I went to the bathroom to clean myself up before heading back downstairs, but by then everyone was starting to head out. I made my way to the kitchen and started making Jeromy a sandwich. We spent the rest of the night together, alone, wrapped in each other’s arms mindlessly watching television just enjoying being together.

The next morning I got up to see what Billy had been cooking in the kitchen for breakfast but when I got there the kitchen was empty. Billy hadn’t come home last night. A wave of sadness washed over me and I didn’t know why.

Jeromy walked in the kitchen behind me, and sat down at the table reading the paper. I worked my way over to the stove and was about to make him something for breakfast but he said, “That’s okay, I’ll just take a bagel.” I went over to cabinet and pulled out the bag of bagels, toasted it and then smothered it with cream cheese and topped it with tiny bits of fresh strawberries, just the way he liked it.

I brought it over to him and then sat down beside him, lost in thought, as Jeromy ate and continued to read his paper. I drank my glass of orange juice, wondering where it was Billy could have gone last night and why he still hadn’t found his way home.

Chapter 7 – Girls, Girls, Girls

Jeromy kissed me on the forehead and then left for work while I began to think about the 4th of July. It was quickly approaching and I had an idea. I called Mindy and told her what I was thinking and she loved it. I really had only called her to tell her about it so that she could maybe help me find this perfect outfit, but she loved it so much so that she decided that all of the girls should do the same.

My idea was silly, really. I wanted to find a hot American flag themed outfit to wear for 4th of July. Mindy raced right over with Darla and Starla in tow, surprisingly they thought it was a good idea as well. We made our way to a store she knew about that had those kinds of clothes.

Every year the band played a special gig at a bar across town called Bimbo’s. It was really less of a bar and more of a triple wide trailer that had been converted into a makeshift drinking establishment that sat on a sprawling half acre. Each year they hosted a big 4th of July party in honor of the troops. It was an all day party that had smoked barbecue and a big stage set up outside where several bands played, leading up to the main attraction, which surprisingly weren’t the fireworks. When it came to Jessie’s Girl, the fireworks show played second fiddle.

The store they took me to was a high-end costume shop that had every kind of American flag outfit you could imagine. One of the great things about being in a big city is they had a shop for almost anything you could possibly want.

I walked around, struggling trying to figure out if I wanted to wear platform knee high boots or sparkly blue glitter pumps when Mindy called me over to her. She pointed out an American flag pleated mini skirt and handed it to me to try on. It was short -- very, very short -- and hung low on my hips and exposed all of my stomach. I loved it and it was exactly what I wanted.

Darla and Starla opted for some Texas flag themed short shorts. But to make all of our outfits coordinated, we all decided to wear a white shirt that tied in the front in a big bow. It reminded me a lot of my bartending uniform back in Oklahoma. I decided to go with the white, knee high go-go boots to match my top.

Mindy picked some little red glitter pumps that looked a lot like a slutty version of Dorothy's red slippers. Darla and Starla, however, had to one up the sexiness with pairs of stars and stripes garters, with attached red and white striped ties that worked their way down their leg like makeshift boots.

After our shopping trip, I invited the girls back to the house to lounge by the pool. I had assumed they had been to Billy’s house often but it turns out that wasn’t the case at all. Billy almost never had guests over; and if he did it was almost always just the boys in the band as they worked together in the studio. His big beautiful home wasn’t the constant party pad I had imagined.

The girls didn’t have their swimsuits with them but that wasn’t a problem. I had a ton of them. I ran upstairs and pulled out a few I thought they might like and we headed outside. We lounged by the pool we blared music and talked about random things.

Suddenly I found Starla glaring at me, moving her eyes up and down my body before finally saying, “You know you have a really hot body. You should show it off more.”

I wasn’t really sure what to say to that. Darla looked up at me after Starla spoke, “Yeah, I agree. You need to show your ass more,” then immediately glanced back down and went back to filing her nails.

Mindy burst out laughing and I soon joined in. Starla looked at us, trying to figure out what we found so funny, and said “What? I’m just saying. You could be really hot. I don’t see why you don’t flaunt it a little more.”

While I sat there trying to figure out how in the heck I was going to respond to that last comment, Mindy chimed in shyly. “Have you ever been to a ... you know ... men’s club?” She said that last part much quieter, looking around making sure nobody else was around to hear her.

I wasn’t quite sure what she was asking me. A men’s club? I had to think about that for a minute and as I did Darla looked up with her eyes but with her head still tilted down. “Duh, of course. Who hasn’t?” And then she went right back to smacking her gum and messing with her nails as if it were just some common thing that everyone did all of the time.

The way Mindy looked at me though, I knew it wasn’t. I was still trying to wrap my mind around what she was asking me when Darla spoke up again. “You know what I just hate?”

We all turned to look at her as she continued on her rant, “When you go to a titty bar with them and they get all sloppy drunk and for some reason think it’s sexy to do a lap dance for you. How fucking stupid do they really have to be to think that is somehow arousing for a female? We have no penis for them to accidentally grope or rub up against. There is nothing sexual about them dancing like that, at least not for us. God, men are so stupid sometimes.”

Everyone laughed, including me. But then it hit me. They meant ... oh ... they were talking about a strip club. Mindy wanted to know if I had ever been to a strip club.

I blurted out. “Oh my! No! Eww! No. Never!”

Everyone jerked their head towards me in unison. There was a dead silence and then Starla asked, “Why not? What’s wrong with going to a strip club? It’s no different than going to a normal dance club, only at a strip club you don’t have gross men trying to grind all over you. Instead they are too busy ogling the girls on the stage.”

I guess I hadn’t thought about it like that before. But still, I wasn’t quite sure if I would be so comfortable going to a strip club. “Don’t they get naked in there?” I asked curiously.

Starla gave me a snarky and surprising response. “No, gross! I wouldn’t go someplace where some chick had her nasty vagina in my face. That’s just tacky.”

“Then what do they ... do, in there?” I really had no idea.

Mindy giggled and explained. The girls danced around on the stage topless or in very skimpy outfits. They never got all nude. And Houston, it turned out, was home to quite a few high class gentlemen’s clubs. And my new roommate was a VIP member at one called Rick’s Cabaret which he proudly told me about as he walked in on us while Mindy was explaining how it all worked to me. I was mortified that he walked in while we were talking about a strip club but he really didn’t seem to mind. He acted as if it were just everyday conversation.

“I know where we are going tonight,” Mindy said with a huge smirk on her face.

“Oh heck no,” I snapped back.

But Billy agreed with Mindy’s plan and that was that. Before I knew what was happening, we were on our way to Mindy’s house to find a dress for me to wear that they thought would look hot on me, insisting that nothing I had was sexy enough.

About an hour later I made it back home. They had put me in an off the shoulder red mini dress, that had long sleeves that worked their way out as bells at the end. The dress was tight and clung to every curve of my body. When I walked in the door Billy stood in front of me looking me up and down and then the corner of his lips curled up as he smiled and nodded in approval.

I looked up at him and realized he was standing there completely shirtless. His jeans hung low on his hips, secured tightly by his black leather belt, and the top of his Calvin Klein boxers were showing through. He was standing there with one hand in his pocket. God he was so sexy. With his other hand he ran his fingers through his mess of hair, which caused the muscles in his chest to flex. My eyes met with the v-shaped muscles below his stomach.

Holy hell. This guy is gorgeous. How is it possible for one man to be so hot? He scrunched his eyebrows, as he if was trying to think of something important. He shook his head like he had decided whatever it was he was thinking about didn’t need to be said, and then walked back to his bedroom to find a shirt to wear.

I made my way upstairs, to put on the Christian Louboutin crystal pumps that Jeromy had bought me not too long ago. The red trim of the shoe that made its way up the heel matched the color of my dress perfectly. I grabbed my new dangly earrings and got them on as I heard the others arrive.

Billy had called Jeromy and told him what we had in mind, so he agreed to head home early that day from work. When Jeromy got home we all piled into the stretched Hummer limousine that was sitting out front. The club was across town and as much as everyone tended to drink, Billy and Jeromy thought it best to have a sober driver to get us home safely.

The whole gang was with us tonight. Besides Jeromy and myself, there was also Billy, Travis, Darla, Starla, Bran, Mindy, Zander, Brick the webmaster, Patrick the sound guy, and his girlfriend Tiffany, who I hadn’t met before tonight. Tiffany was tall and slender with pale white skin and long, black straight hair. She had long thin fingers and long nails that were painted black. She had a very scary look about her but really she was a rather sweet girl who I was beginning to warm up to. Like me, Tiffany tended to be shy and it took a while for her to loosen up.

I looked around at all the bodies packed into the limousine and realized Trista was the only one missing. That I was okay with. She was kind of a bitch to me before so I could do without her glaring at me for one night.

While Tiffany sat next to Patrick, I really looked at him, especially since he had just taken his shirt off to show off his latest tattoo. I hadn’t paid much attention to him before. The few times I had been around him before there was always so much else going on. He had well defined arms, which you could tell he must have spent a lot of time working on at the gym. Both arms were completely covered in tattoos, with a vine twisting its way around his right arm and on his left; there were various images of angels in seductive poses. His newest tattoo was strewn across his chest, near his collar bone that read “Live as if you die today” in a beautifully scripted font. He had a very short buzz cut, and a permanent five o’clock shadow. It looked like he might have been trying to grow a beard but it never came in so he just kept the small tiny bit of peach fuzz he did have.

He was about the same height as Billy, but he wasn’t nearly as good-looking. He was not bad-looking, I guess, but standing next to Billy he appears only average. Then again most people look only average standing next to Billy. That is, except Jeromy. Billy and Jeromy are two of the most amazing looking men I had ever seen in my life. They were both hot -- each in his own unique way. Either of them could drive any girl wild with just a look. They are just too much to even imagine being together, so tonight would no doubt be very interesting.

When we entered the club, Billy flashed the very large, bald man at the door his VIP pass and headed over to a roped off area to sit down. Seeing a large group of people enter that area of the club, the strippers swarmed over to us.

Get Low by Lil’ Jon played over the loudspeakers and a leggy blonde danced on the large stage in the center of the club. I looked around curiously. I don’t really know what I was expecting; but it was a nice place with expensive decor.

I spotted something I wasn’t expecting near the front entrance. It looked like it was a clothing boutique. I leaned into Mindy to ask her about it. Her eyes widened, as if she had forgotten it existed. She popped up, grabbed my hand, and dragged me across the club to go check it out.

While I worked my way through the racks of exotic looking clothes, Jeromy came up behind me and put his hands around my waist. Startled, I turned around to see who was grabbing me and was happy to see it was Jeromy’s strong arms holding me tight.

He glanced up at some of the sexy clothes and leaned in to whisper in my ear, asking if I wanted any of them. I shook my head no but seeing the disappointed look on his face, I pointed out one of the dresses I did actually like and he perked up. It was a simple white dress, tight-fitting like the one I had on today, with long sleeves, but at the bottom of the sleeves on this new dress were feathers. It was kind of cute and it made Jeromy happy that I picked a dress out in the club, so that was enough for me.

I put it up to me, looking back at Jeromy to see what he thought and I got a huge smile of approval as I laughed to myself, thinking of what Starla had said to me earlier that day. Guess she would be getting her way after all. Jeromy narrowed his eyes, wondering what I found so amusing, but instead I just leaned in and gave him a kiss, thanking him for buying me the dress.

Mindy found a few things she liked as well and then we all made our way back to the VIP section where Billy and the boys were already getting down to business.

My eyes locked on Billy who had a tall and slender brunette standing in front of him, seductively dancing before him. I sat back down in my chair, carefully trying to avoid getting in the way of the exotic dancer. Jeromy sat next to me and turned his head to watch the pretty girl now dancing on the smaller stage to the side of the club.

The bad part about being back in my chair was now I was only inches away from his leggy seductress and that made me rather uncomfortable, especially as she turned around to face me, her backside to Billy. Then she started to remove her dress. She locked eyes with mine, never removing her gaze from me as she bent over in front of Billy and then playfully tossed her dress in my lap, while giving me a wink.

She then turned back to face Billy, her body swaying to the music and Billy with his hands by his side, lifted one up to gently rub her thigh. I wanted to look away but I couldn’t. I was so intensely wrapped up in watching this tall and beautifully buxom brunette seduce him. He put his hand back down and then shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

She turned back around and bent over in front of him yet again. As her head came back up with her hair flying in the air, she glanced over at me. And then with a devilish grin on her face, she walked towards me. She put her hands on the side of my chair and then rolled it over to be closer to her and Billy.

I was now positioned directly in front of Billy’s chair with only just enough room for the dancer to stand between us.

She put her hand on the side of his chair, while still facing me, leaned back in a way that she was grinding her behind in his pants. I was close enough that, even over the music, I could hear as he let out a soft moan.

While she ground against the now growing bulge in his pants, she never took her eyes off of me. She then leaned in to me, our lips were millimeters apart, all the while making sure Billy had a great view of her ass, as she came in closer to me. I started to lean back, but she shook her head no. She then pulled her body up, and used the side of my chair to hold herself up as she started to dance for me. Her legs wrapped around mine, I was frozen in place, unable to move a single muscle as she gently rubbed her large breasts across my lips.

I was embarrassed at all the attention on me, yet strangely aroused by what she was doing. Soon she turned her attention back to Billy, while still at times playfully moving in to me as if she was going to kiss me.

The boys ate it up and after her dance was complete I noticed Billy tucked a hundred dollar bill in her little G-string panties. The stripper gave him a kiss on the cheek, thanked him for the dance, grabbed her clothes and then made her way back to the dressing room near the back of the club. I was surprised Billy paid her so much money for the dance. I was sure I heard someone saying earlier that a private dance was only twenty dollars but I didn’t give it much thought -- I was too distracted by everything else going on around me.

I scooted my seat back to its original position and leaned over to give Jeromy a kiss. He had hardly noticed what had taken place with Billy, myself, and the stripper, as his attention was on the girl dancing on the bigger, center stage. He seemed to be mesmerized by her and that for some reason really bothered me. I don’t even know why; he’s looked at pretty girls before.

I guess it was because just a few moments ago some girl was practically trying to have sex with me, right next to him and he didn’t even notice. I had some stripper’s breasts right in my face, with her nipples pressing against my lips and while all the other men loved every second of it, Jeromy didn’t seem the slightest bit interested.

But after a moment I realized I was being ridiculous and did my best to shake off my petty jealousies. Jeromy loved me. I knew he did and while he may ogle all of these half naked women, who admittedly were beautiful, I knew his heart belonged to me. And tonight, when we went home, he would be with me.

I put my hand on his lap and softly ran my fingers up and down his thigh. He sighed peacefully and then took my hand and started softly caressing it with his thumb but he still didn’t take his attention off of the girl on stage, the same girl who had previously been dancing on the smaller stage.

Maybe there is another way I could get his attention. I leaned over and whispered, “Baby, I need some money.” Without even glancing my way he took out his wallet, pulled some cash out and started to hand it to me. I looked at the wad of money in his hand and grabbed one of the twenty dollar bills.

I would like to say that what happened next was the fault of all of the drinks I had earlier in the day and then again in the limo on the way over. Yes, I would like to say that was the reason, but it probably wasn’t. I don’t know, maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. I guess I still don’t know why I did what I did next. It was so out of character for me. But still I couldn't seem to help myself. It was like someone or something possessed my body and dragged me to that stage.

At first I walked around to the front of the center stage, I folded the twenty dollar bill over so I could tuck it in the side of her panties like I had seen Billy do earlier with the other girl. But the tall, sensuous looking blonde shook her head now and instead eyed a small set of stairs to the side.

I walked over thinking it was easier for her to grab the money from me if I was slightly higher up. She eyed me carefully as I walked over to her and then gave me a huge smile was I started to reach up and hand it to her. Again she slowly shook her head no. She looked to the stairs, as if telling me to walk up them. I looked at them and then for some reason did it. I walked up the stairs carefully as she took my hand and guided me next to her.

As if on cue, another stripper came on the stage and started grinding on the pole in front of us while yet another came on stage with a folding chair which she put right smack in the middle of the stage. The girl who had just set out the chair then went over to the pole on the side of the stage and matched the seductive grinding that the other was doing.

Just then I noticed the DJ started playing a new song overhead and the lighting in the club changed just slightly. I looked over to my side, barely able to move, completely mesmerized by what was happening all around me, and saw someone had turned a fog machine on. I watched as the stage slowly became consumed by the smoke.

The sexy blonde pushed me down onto the chair and stood in front of me, slowly swaying to the beat. As the words of the song started playing she mouthed them as she danced provocatively in front of me. She turned around to face the crowd as the next part of the song played. I was frozen in place, unable to move, but not really wanting to either. I couldn’t see the faces that were in the crowd, only the few men who had begun to walk up to the front of the stage and lay their money down.

I glanced over to the girls who had been grinding on the poles. They were now doing feats of acrobatics that would have impressed anyone. They bounced and spun around the pole like they were performing some sort of graceful tumbling routine in the Olympics. I could barely take my eyes off of them. They were amazing.

Then my stripper came back to me. She stood in front of me again, alluringly swaying to the beat of the music. She was so captivating. Then just as quickly she was gone back to the center of the stage, entertaining the rest of the crowd.

I looked down and noticed the sea of people that had flooded the pit, the sunken area of the club around the stage. Again she turned to me to say, “You can touch me if you want.” And as she did you could hear the cheers from the crowd. They loved every minute of the girl’s act.

The two acrobatic strippers continued with their performance on the poles while my stripper came up behind me, and continued her onstage seduction of me and perhaps the rest of the crowd.

My body tingled, as she touched me. She bent over and whispered in my ear, while keeping her eyes on the men now crowding the stage area throwing money hand over fist at them. I couldn’t hear what she said; but I’m not even sure she said anything. It was all just so erotic and confusing and sensual.

At the end of the song the girls quickly scooped up the piles and piles of money on the floor of the stage and I stood up while another girl took my folded chair from under me. In a daze I walked towards the end of the stage and found Jeromy standing there waiting for me with a huge smile on his face. He put his arms up to catch me and I fell into his arms as he lifted me off of the stage.

“God, I love you Stacy,” he said to me as he gently put me on the ground.

“I love you too,” I quietly said to him and I softly ran my hand against the growing bulge in his pants and then led him by the hand back to our seats in the VIP area of the club.

When Jeromy and I took our seats again, I noticed Billy wasn’t in his. I looked around the club to try and find him but he wasn’t anywhere. I asked Jeromy where he had gone off to but Jeromy just shrugged as if he didn’t know. Travis must have overheard me and loudly responded, “You don’t need to worry about Billy. I’m sure he’s somewhere being well taken care of.”

The others started laughing but I wasn’t amused. I leaned into Jeromy and gave him a kiss on the cheek, trying to ignore what Travis said. Jeromy squeezed my hand and led it back down to his thigh.

Soon after, Mindy, Darla, Starla, and Tiffany decided it was time to make a trip to the bathroom. Mindy grabbed my free hand and informed me I needed to go with them. Jeromy nodded in agreement and let go of my other hand as Mindy dragged me to a brightly lit room in the back of the club.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the brightness and as they did I started to take in the strange sights before me. There was a long mirror that ran the full length of the room. The counter that was just below it had several small, short bar stools nearby. Strippers were everywhere. Watching them I couldn’t help but think back to the bar I worked at in Oklahoma. These girls were really no different than the waitresses back home. They were all back here touching up their hair and makeup, chatting about customers and the ’pervy’ things some of them had said to them, just like the girls back at home did. They were just normal girls, spending a day at work. The only real difference of course being, their day at work involved removing their top. I guess that was one glaring difference. But still at heart they really weren’t any different than me or any of my friends.

An older, pudgy woman with light brown hair with quite a bit of grey mixed in, stood off to the side of the room. Her table was full of all kinds of makeup and hair accessories. As she helped one of the girls touch up her makeup I noticed a large clear jar on her table full of money. While I wondered what that was all about Mindy leaned in a quietly informed me that was her tip jar. She made her living from the tips the dancers gave her for doing their hair and makeup and occasionally sewing up any wardrobe malfunctions.

Just past her was a row of lockers where I surmised the strippers kept their personal items safely locked up while they worked. On the other side of the room were some showers and then beyond that a few bathroom stalls. Compared to the glorious grandeur of the rest of the club, the dressing room was surprisingly plain and unattractive.

Darla and Starla were leaning against the counter fixing their hair and makeup and Mindy was deep in a conversation with one of the dancers asking her about how she got her hair to sparkle like that; so I took a seat in a nearby chair. The pudgy older lady came up behind me and started messing with my hair. “You are a pretty little thing, aren’t you?”

I gave her a smile, not really sure how to answer her. She dragged me over to her table and sat me down on a tall bar stool. She pulled out various cases and brushes and worked on my face. It felt so good having her do it. It was very relaxing. Before long she began working her magic on my hair and then she put a hand on one of my knees and spun me around to face the long mirror in the room as she asked me, “So what do you think?”

As I looked at myself in the mirror, I could barely believe my eyes. I looked so different. I looked hot. She gave me dark, smoky eyes and put all kinds of glitter in my hair. I normally didn’t wear a lot of makeup but now I found myself wondering why, if this is how I could turn out. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was me, but it wasn’t.

I moved over to get closer to the mirror to get a better look at myself when Starla piped up. “Damn girl. That’s what I’m talking about.”

Mindy bounced her way over to us giggling, “You are so hot. They are going to kick us out of the club.”

I looked over to her, trying to figure out what she meant, worried that maybe we weren’t supposed to be back here having our hair and makeup done when she laughed and said, “You are going to take all of the attention away from the dancers.”

I rolled my eyes and walked with her hand in hand back to our chairs. By the time we got back, Billy still hadn’t returned but I hardly noticed because by then Jeromy was all over me. We stayed in the club for another hour and then decided to head back home. It was already getting late and Jeromy had to work the next day.

Jeromy had a hard time keeping his hands off of me on the long ride back home. But I didn’t really mind. In fact, I sat on his lap on the ride home to tease him, knowing he couldn’t actually do anything about it, with everyone else in the limousine.

When we got back to Billy’s, the rest of the gang went to their own cars and headed back to their own homes. That was except Billy, who didn’t come home with us. I wasn’t sure where he had gone off to. Part of me had thought I would find him sitting there in the kitchen, waiting for us. But my heart sank when I walked in the door and found he wasn’t there. Why did I care if he wasn’t home? That’s just silly. I had the world’s most perfect man already; I didn’t need to be thinking about anyone else.

When we got home Jeromy scooped me up in his arms, kissing me. Noticing that Billy wasn’t home as well, he took me into the living room. Our bodies were burning with passion and I quickly forgot about Billy and everyone else for that matter. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered in my ear. His breath was hot and heavy, yet it sent a chill down my spine.

He pulled me into him and held me tightly as he kissed my neck. His hold eased as he pulled back just a bit to look at my face. His eyes never wavered from mine -- nor mine his. He grew with urgency, and I desperately wanted him to ravage my body. But he didn’t move. He just kept looking at me and smiling. “You are so perfect. I love you so much.”

He was so full of love for me that it took my breath away. It was horribly sweet and romantic, but I wasn’t in a romance kind of mood. I leaned in and licked his lips, then his chin, and then worked my way to his neck. I could smell his natural scent permeating through his cologne. It filled me with such an intense desire. I pushed him back on the couch and ravenously kissed his lips, then ran my tongue down his chest. It drove him mad with desire and that made me want him even more. Jeromy groaned softly and that sound cut through me like a knife. I couldn’t contain my lust for him anymore.

I don’t know why we didn’t go to the seclusion of our bedroom, but at the time it didn’t seem to matter. The next morning, however, as I lay tightly wrapped in Jeromy’s arms, I began to smell the familiar scent of bacon in the air. I sighed happily as I gently moved Jeromy’s arm off of me and stood up to make my way to the kitchen and see what Billy was making.

“Hey,” he said, as he did every other morning with his head cocked back. It was adorable the way he said it. I loved to hear it and it always made me smile. But when I looked at him standing in front of the stove, I could see a genuine look of sadness on his face.

I went over to the fridge and poured myself a glass of orange juice. As I did I glanced over at Billy and noticed he was looking back at me, with his head tilted as if he wasn’t sure what he was seeing.

As I noticed him noticing me, I looked down and realizing what I was wearing and blushed. In my excitement to see Billy, I ran into the kitchen without thinking about what I had on.

Sometime in the night I must have gotten cold and put on Jeromy’s white button up shirt. He was so much bigger than me, it hung off of my tiny frame. It was more like a dress than a shirt for me, but still, I loved wearing it. His shirt was so warm and comfy and it smelled so good, just like Jeromy. And quite honestly Jeromy’s shirt covered far more of my body than the tight red dress I had worn the night before. But still, knowing I had only my panties on underneath I suddenly became quite embarrassed by my attire.

Billy, noticing my embarrassment, smiled and then went back to making us breakfast. I leaned into him, with my hand barely resting on his hip as I stood on my tiptoes trying to see over his shoulder what he was making. I sighed in pleasure as I saw he was making me an omelet.

I sat down at the bar, propping my feet up on the bottom of the chair, and drank my orange juice, enjoying watching Billy at work. He really was a great cook and he just looked so great doing it.

Soon after Jeromy came into the kitchen, looking for me or, perhaps, looking for his clothes. As he stood shirtless in the doorway I couldn’t help but admire the body that stood before me. He had a broad, chiseled chest with a very well defined six pack below that. I smiled and he walked over to me and kissed my forehead. “Mornin’ beautiful.”

“Good morning,” I said as I spun around on the bar stool to face him. I put my hands on his hips and just sat there staring in his amazing chest. He arched an eyebrow and nodded a hello to Billy.

The boys had their own sort of communication. Instead of HI’s and hello's it was always a nod here and a nod there. It seemed to work for them.

I turned back around to Billy, noticing he hadn’t taken his eyes off of me as I turned around to greet Jeromy. He often did that. His eyes bored into me as if they reached the very depths of my soul. It was haunting, chilling, and perhaps a little bit arousing.

Billy pushed a plate across the bar to me with the most deliciously delightful tasting omelet I had ever had in my entire life. It truly melted in my mouth. Jeromy, standing behind me, reached over to snatch a piece of bacon and I playfully swatted his hand away. “Hey! That’s mine. Get your own.”

Of course he didn’t listen and took what he wanted anyway. He tended to do that often. But then again, I loved it when he did. It was one of his more alluring traits.

Looking towards Billy now he asked, “How was your night, man?” Billy just shrugged. Jeromy started to ask more but, quite honestly not wanting to hear about Billy’s sexual triumphs, I quickly changed the subject.

“You are such an amazing cook, Billy. I don’t know how you do it. I’m so going to gain a billion pounds living with you.”

Jeromy leaned over to me, taking my last piece of bacon and playfully said, “You better not.”

I tilted my head up to him, giving him an evil glare. “Are you saying you wouldn’t love me if I was fat?”

He swung me around and lifted me off of my chair. I wrapped my legs around his waist and laid my head on his shoulder. “If you were fat then I couldn’t do this.” He didn’t let me finish my breakfast. Instead he carried me off, up to our bedroom so we could have some alone time before he had to head off to work.

Chapter 8 - Caught

After Jeromy went to work I made my way to my bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. While I don't normally wear a lot of makeup when I was just lounging around the house for the day, for some reason today I found myself trying to mimic what the lady from the night before had done. It didn’t look anywhere near as nice as when she had made up my face, but still I tried.

I made my way over to my closet to find something to wear. I grabbed a dress off of the rack and put it up to my body, wondering if I would look hot in it. I sighed realizing what I was doing was stupid. I had the absolutely perfect man. I couldn’t go around lusting after his best friend, someone he had grown up with. Who cares if Billy thinks I’m hot. It’s wrong and I have to stop doing this. I have to stop thinking about Billy.

When I came back to my senses I grabbed a pair of shorts, a favorite pair that were super comfy. I threw on a white t-shirt and another pair of my favorite white Polo socks. It didn’t matter what I looked like. Jeromy was at work and I had nobody here to impress.

I made my way back to the kitchen to help Billy clean up after breakfast and to apologize for not getting to finish his wonderful meal. But when I got down there he was gone and the kitchen was spotless. Looking around I didn’t see Billy anywhere. Just then Kita entered the room carrying a large basket of clothes and another small basket on top of that one.

I grabbed the small basket, wanting to help, and followed her as she led me to Billy’s room. It was the only part of the house I had not been in before. This was Billy’s true private sanctuary. It was a place that nobody ever went, besides Kita, apparently. This was his space, his escape from the troubles of the world around him.

I paused for just a moment at the door, not sure if I should go in. Shaking off my fears, I carefully walked into the room. It was a big, airy room, full of light that streamed in through a tall window set in the far wall. This room was larger than the two bedroom hotel Jeromy and I had been living in back in Oklahoma. There were heavy, dark velvet curtains on either side of the windows. Windows that arched to the top and made of warm, sand-colored stone that matched the paint in the rest of the room.

The bed was an oversized, overstuffed bed that had to be custom-made, and that was as wide as two king-sized beds put together. I eyed it wanting more than anything to just throw down the basket of clothes and jump on it like a child.

Kita took the large basket of clothes into a massive closet in one corner of the room. It was a bigger than mine and unlike mine his was well organized; all of his shirts hung straight and perfect, and even color coordinated.

I sat the smaller basket down near to her and stepped back, taking in more of the room. At the far end of the room I noticed he had his own sitting room with custom-built bookshelves that lined one wall. There was a comfortable looking chair, near a small table with several books on it. There were also some lyric journals on the table. This must be where he wrote his songs.

My eyes made their way back to that big bed. I don’t know what came over me but I just had to lie on it. I guess I had to see if it was as comfortable as it looks. I jumped in the bed and lay on my back with my feet in the air and I continued to chat with Kita who was still in Billy’s closet putting away his clothes.

His bedroom was really nice. It wasn’t anything like I had pictured it would be. It was so comfortable and cozy. The bed hadn’t been made up yet so the soft Egyptian cotton sheets were exposed. They smelled fresh as if they had come straight from the laundry. This bed was like a little piece of heaven, it was so warm and inviting.

I closed my eyes, stretching my legs up over my head, still speaking to Kita about what an amazing job she does keeping up with such a big house when I heard it. Billy was standing in the door, clearing his throat. In a moment of panic I jumped up but not off of the bed. He was standing there in a grey tank top, hot and sweaty. His hair was wonderfully messy. He pushed the bottom of his shirt up high enough to wipe the sweat from his eyes and dry his brow before taking a careful look around his room.

He looked back at me, now standing on his bed, with the corner of his lip curling up in a soft smile and tilted his head up to nod a greeting to me, “Hey.” I didn’t know what to say back so I just gave him a “hey” in return. I bit the bottom of my lip to suppress a giggle.

He walked over to his bed and put his arms up for me and lifted me off of the bed. Holding me tightly against his body I slowly slid down, while looking into his eyes. His raw, manly scent invaded my senses as I felt his muscles flex around me. As he pulled me near him with his strong arms, I could hear the beat of his heart. His virility was almost more than I could take. There was something truly irresistible about this man. Something strong; and at the same time beneath the surface you could sense a vulnerability. I think maybe that is what I find so fascinating about him. I want to access those raw emotions that surge underneath.

Once my feet hit the floor, he relaxed and took a deep breath, which accentuated the muscled indentations of his well-defined abs. My entire body tingled and my head spun. I couldn’t take his eyes off of his face. I became mesmerized by the shape of lips, the sexy way they curved. He was scrumptious. I watched as his eyes went to my lips and then he looked back at my eyes and then back to my lips. There was a heat to his gaze that set my entire body ablaze with desire.

The air around us was sexually charged and it practically sizzled with longing. I never felt anything like this in my life. Billy oozed sexuality from every fiber of his being. I was drawn to him in a way I’ve never been drawn to any man before.

But then just when I didn’t think I could stand it anymore, he took a step back and ran his fingers through his hair. His thick eyebrows hung low over his eyes giving him that naturally brooding look. So sexual, so sensual. His eyes narrowed as they studied mine. His beautiful pouty smile gone from his face I started to say, “I um ...”

I struggled, trying to find the right thing to say. Trying to find a way to explain why I had so rudely invaded his personal and private space. Just then Kita walked out of the closet, empty clothes baskets in hand. She looked over to Billy and spoke. “Thank you Miss Stacy. I appreciate your help, Miss Stacy. You are a sweet girl, Miss Stacy.”

I looked back at Billy as I followed Kita out of the room, then put my head down and left him alone, in his room, a place I know I should have never gone without an invitation.

I was horribly embarrassed by it all. I blushed and felt foolishly tongue-tied. I just wanted to get the whole ordeal out of my mind, so I decided to go change into a bikini and lie out by the pool. Maybe getting a nice tan will block it all out.

I fell asleep in the warmth of the sun and began to dream about Billy. In my dream all I was able to think about his how warm his skin felt against mine when he held me in his arms. I leaned in to kiss him. His mouth was soft, his kiss fervent. I put my hand under his shirt, feeling his muscles tense as I touched him.

His breathing grew heavy. He pressed his forehead to mine and let out a long, slow breath. He pulled back, licked his lips, while his gaze brushed over my entire body like he was going to eat me alive.

Sexual tension hung heavy in the air as he closed the distance between our bodies. We stood still for just a moment, trading ragged breaths. He reached up and brushed a piece of hair that had fallen in my face.

Then I felt my body started to shake and a heavy hand on my arm. Someone was shaking me and softly saying my name. It was Billy. He had come out to wake me up before I got burned by the intense rays of the sun beating down on me from above.

“Hey. You better turn over before you get burned.”

I glanced down and realized where I was and that all that just happened was but a dream. I looked at my half-naked body and jumped up to grab a towel and cover myself but stopped when I saw Billy’s face. It was different. Billy had cleaned up but not shaved. He still rocking his sexy five o’clock shadow. I looked up and noticed that today he actually styled his hair upwards. That was what had changed. I hadn’t seen it like that before. I liked it.

“Heading out for the night?” I asked while checking out his new look.

“Yeah. We are playing a gig at a bar downtown.”

Jeromy called while you were ... napping,” he said as looked over at me and a grin came over his face, “and said he would be late tonight. You gonna be okay here by yourself for a while?”

“Yeah, no. I’m fine. I’ll just ...” I looked around trying to quickly think of something I could do “I’ll just watch a movie or something.”

“The girls are all going to be at the club if you want to come hang with me tonight.”

I looked down at my body, covered in baby oil. “No, I couldn’t. It would take me too long to get ready and you have to go.”

“They can’t exactly start without me, you know.”

I shook my head and started to say no thank you but Billy stood up and threw me over his shoulder. I screamed demanding he put me down. But he didn’t listen. Instead he just walked us over to the pool casually and jumped in. He submerged us both and then we I popped my head up front under the water, slapping him on the shoulder. “How could you?”

He just grinned and said, “Eh. Now we both need to get ready.”

I went upstairs to wash the mix of chlorine, baby oil and sweat off of my immensely dirty body. While I was in the shower my mind flashed to Billy and then to Jeromy. Billy really was a great friend to Jeromy. He not only took us into his home when Jeromy got his new job but here he was willing to be late for his gig so that he could take care of me. A wave of guilt washed over me. Here I was lusting after this incredibly sweet guy who was only trying to be a good friend to Jeromy. What is wrong with me?

One of the great features of my new bathroom besides the much-appreciated heated tile floors was the built in docking station for my iPhone. I plugged it in and the sound echoed loudly throughout the whole room.

Thinking I was completely alone, I turned it up and sang along with the music as I put on my makeup. I really liked a variety of music and would listen to anything from classic rock to grunge to top 40 pop. The only thing I didn’t really like was rap or maybe jazz.

This time I was playing Call me Maybe. It had a fast beat and I began dancing around the bathroom dancing and singing the song. Luckily I had gotten dressed before because standing in my door watching me dance around like a fool was Billy. I stumbled trying to quickly turn down the music.

“Don’t stop on my account,” he said with a devilish grin on his face. My entire body turned red.

He crossed his arms as he eyed me up and down carefully. “You know you really do have a great voice, Stacy.” As he sat on my bathroom counter a new song started playing. I stood in front of him and started singing along. At the chorus I broke off in a laugh.

“You are so silly, Stacy. You ready to head out?” I glanced over at the clock on the wall and saw it was nearly 4:00. I didn’t realize how long it had taken me to get ready.

I grabbed my lip gloss and threw it in my bag as we walked out the door. Jeromy had texted me while I was in the shower to let me know there was some money in the top dresser drawer and he wanted to make sure I was going to take some with me. I hated taking money like that from Jeromy but I hated being all the way downtown without any money even more, so I as Billy made his way downstairs, I quickly opened it up, grabbed a few of the twenties and made my way downstairs just behind him.

This was the first time I had taken a ride in Billy’s black Dodge Charger. It was a really hot car and matched him well. It was sleek and sexy like him. He put his guitar in the trunk and then opened the door for me to get in the passenger side.

The ride downtown was long and hectic. Houston had so much traffic and it was something I still wasn’t used to. As we raced down the highway my stomach turned in knots just watching all the cars. Luckily we were heading downtown while most people were headed the other way. Those headed north at that time of the day were stuck in miles and miles of traffic. It was horrible, nauseating even.

Billy could tell I was anxious being in so much congested traffic and he put his hand on top of mine and gently stroked it to try and calm me down. It helped some but still by the time we finally made it to the bar I was fit to be tied.

Mindy and Bran had arrived about the same time we did and as they approached the car Mindy bounced over to me, and jumped into my arms for a hug. “I’m so glad you are here tonight with us. We are going to have so much fun.”

We walked into the bar together and made our way over to where Darla and Starla were sitting with Travis who was already several shots in, which was evident by all of the empty shot glasses that lay before him. When I sat down at the band’s table, I noticed a man in an expensive suit come over to greet Billy and Bran at the door. The exchanged seemed friendly but Billy had a sour look on his face after.

I turned to Mindy to see if she knew what the problem might be but she shrugged like she had had no idea. Starla, however, did know. She leaned across the table, giving those behind her, including Travis, a nice look up her tight leather skirt as she told us that he was the manager and just wanted to make sure that the boys stuck to their agreement.

Their agreement? I flashed a glance over to Mindy but she looked just as clueless as I. Starla continued, “You know, to sing at least one cover song for every original.”

“Ohhh,” Mindy said while glancing over to Bran and Billy who were now headed towards us.

I didn’t understand what they were talking about but as Starla sat back down next to Travis, Mindy explained. Billy and the boys like to do their own original songs but some venues, like this one, require them to do a mix of both original and cover songs. It’s silly really, why hire a band that played bad original music? But it’s just what some places do to ensure the crowd gets a good mix of music they are used to and that is popular.

Billy didn’t look happy about it. I had seen them cover songs before at Rowdy’s but to be forced into having to do so many in a set seemed to be what was bothering Billy about it tonight.

We all downed a few shots and then the boys headed to the stage. The set started off with Nickelback’s Rockstar, which then led into Linkin Park’s Numb. By now the crowd had started to get a little worked up. They loved the band but then again, it was hard not to.

They played a few more songs before taking their first break of the night. Just before their last song. Mindy and I made our way over to the bar and grabbed the boys a bucket of beer so it would be ready for them when they got back to the table. When he finished Billy took the seat next to me. He cocked his head to the side, looking at me and then back at the beer. “Did you ....?”

“Yeah, I thought you might be thirsty when you got off the stage so Mindy and I went to get it for you.” He looked over to Mindy and she lifted her hands and shrugged her shoulders. He turned back to me, smiled, and took a beer.

Unlike before Billy didn’t ask me what I thought of their first set. So I leaned in and told him how much I loved it. He just shook his head. Without thinking about it, I put my hand on his leg and gently scratched the top of his thigh through his jeans. He seemed to really like it and perked up.

I couldn’t help but start laughing to myself, thinking about how Billy jumped in the pool with me over his shoulder. That boy does know how to get his way. He arched an eyebrow and gave me a look, no doubt wondering what I thought was so funny but I didn’t respond. I just shook my head.

After drinking his beer, I ordered the table a round of shots. Everyone enjoyed them except Billy. He said he had to be careful about what he drank tonight since he had to get me home safely. It was really sweet and for some reason knowing he was there to take care of me allowed me to relax and enjoy myself more. So I drank not only my own shot but also his.

He leaned in and whispered in my ear, “I think you’ll like this next set.” He didn’t explain what he meant but he had a grin on his face as he walked onto the stage. This time Patrick, who I had barely even noticed was there that night, had put a bar stool on the stage for Billy to lean against.

Billy didn’t seem to pay it any mind at first. He just leaned into the microphone and began singing as he normally did. His eyes were hauntingly sad as he sang, “Nothing lasts forever. I can’t bring you back to me. Life must go on.”

It was one of their original songs. It could easily be mistaken for a love song but I suspected it was about the death of his parents. He looked out in the crowd as he sang the song but he didn’t lock eyes with them like he normally did. Instead it was just like he was seeing through them. Watching him on stage sing that song, in the way that he did make chills go up my spine and I felt tears start to form in my eyes.

But just as quickly as the song had begun it was over and he perked right back up as if none of that had ever happened. I was so deep in thought about what had just taken place I didn’t hear the beat of the next song they began playing. Billy took the microphone off of the stand, something he rarely did, and started walking offstage, while singing the first words of Jessie’s Girl.

He’s coming my way isn’t he? Oh God no, please don’t let this be happening. I looked around me, desperately wanting to find something or someone that he might be singing to that wasn't me. Mindy started squealing in excitement and pushed me out of my chair as Billy made his way over to me.

He grabbed my hand and dragged me on stage with him before we got to the chorus. I turned toward Patrick and he threw the tambourine my way while Billy put the microphone back on the stand.

I slowly shook my hips and swayed side to side as he sang away, facing the crowd but still tilting his head towards me and as he got to the chorus. Just like before, I leaned in and sang it with him.

I never turned to face the crowd because if I had, I am sure I would have frozen in fear. Even with the several drinks I already had in me, I was still far too shy to be able to handle that many people looking up at me. This bar was much bigger than Rowdy’s, easily double in size and it was packed to the brim.

As the song ended Billy grabbed my free hand and lifted it above my head. “Everyone meet Stacy Keller. She is our little superstar.” He leaned over and kissed me on the forehead and the crowd let out a collective “Awww”.

Next Billy pulled the bar stool over to him and leaned against it. He lowered the microphone stand so that it was now even with his face and he put his arm around my waist and pulled me into him. This time the song was much slower. It wasn’t one I had heard before but by the cheers of the crowd I could tell they had.

“I need you right here by my side. I need you in my life. I feel like I am dreaming. You are the one. You haunt my dreams. It kills me to see you with him. I need you right here by my side.” It was a rock song, no doubt, but still it was passionate and heartfelt.

After Billy finished the song, he leaned in as if he was going to kiss me right there on stage in front of everywhere. My heart began to race wildly, and my hands started to shake. I panicked and turned my head to face the crowd and he reached up and kissed my forehead instead.

He finally released me and I made my way back to an anxiously waiting Mindy. “Did you know he was going to do that?” I demanded to know. She just giggled and shook her head ”no”.

After I sat back down the boys played a few more of their original songs and the crowd loved it. They really were amazing. One of two of them you could easily see being played on the radio. Just before their second set was about to end, again I went to the bar and grabbed the boys a bucket of beer.

Billy plopped down in the spot next to me, took a long neck beer from the bucket on the table and then leaned in to whisper in my ear, “You take good care of me”.

“Well someone has to,” I playfully bantered back.

Soon after an upbeat song came on the jukebox. After downing a shot Zander came around behind me and took me by the hand to dance with him. Travis and his harem soon followed. Zander was a really sweet guy. Always polite and well meaning. He was probably one of my favorite guys in the band, besides Billy of course.

After far, far too many drinks I somehow made my way to Billy’s car. The details of the walk to the car are a little fuzzy but I vaguely seem to recall Zander helping Billy carry me and gently place me in the passenger seat. Billy pulled a blanket out of his trunk and then put it over me, tucking me in tightly to make sure I stayed warm for the long drive home.

I don’t recall any of the drive back to The Woodlands but I do remember waking up just enough to know I was in Billy’s arms and he was carrying me to bed. After laying me on the bed he went and got a wet rag to put on my forehead. I must have been complaining to him that I was hot, as I began trying to rip off my clothes and get under the sheets.

I tossed and turned a bit before finally falling asleep but not before opening up my eyes just barely enough to see Billy still there, sitting on my bed, making sure I was okay and fully asleep before heading back to his own room, alone.

When I woke up the next morning I reached over to grab Jeromy’s chest as I did almost every morning. But he was not there. His side of the bed was exactly as it was the night before. He didn’t come home last night. I was terribly saddened by this revelation and couldn’t understand what would have possibly kept him away for so long.

He had told me countless times that his work was only a short drive from where we were living so why couldn’t he make it home after he finished doing whatever it was he was doing? Even if it was late.

Next my mind started to wander to thoughts of the night before, on how I had gotten home and of Billy putting me to bed. I had half convinced myself it was all just a crazy dream when I looked over on the nightstand and seen the rag he had placed on my head.

The rest of the band was out living the life of a rock star, partying it up after the gig but not Billy, he came home to be with me, to take care of me. His kindness overwhelmed my heart. He really was a good friend to Jeromy. I felt horrible about lusting after him so much before. I really need to find a way to control my feelings. But Billy made it so hard to resist him. He was so handsome and powerful to look at but it was his kindness that attracted me most. When you met Billy you couldn’t help but be drawn in by his looks, but he was more than just a pretty package. The more time you spent with him, the more you trusted him completely and saw what a truly caring person he really was.

As I pranced my way down the stairs I heard voices coming from the living room. “She is fucking off-limits man. What the fuck are you thinking? Consider that body a no fucking fly zone.”

I could hear Billy mumble something in response but I couldn’t tell what it was. Not wanting them to think I was spying on them, I purposely stepped louder on the last few steps so they knew I was coming. When I took a step in the kitchen I saw it was Travis that had been talking so loudly. I looked around to see his harem but they were nowhere to be found. I guess it was still too early for Darla and Starla to be out of bed yet.

Billy titled his head up and gave me his usual, “Hey.”

But Travis, on the other hand, didn’t know how to be so subtle. “Holy fuck, girl. You know how to make a good boy go bad.” He looked my body up and down as he spoke, making wide, animated gestures with his hands. While I had clothes on, Travis still had a way of making me feel like I was buck naked standing there with him in the kitchen.

I rolled my eyes at his rude comments, not even bothering to verbally address him. I wanted to say something to him about it, but I figured if I tried it would only encourage him to keep going so instead I stayed silent and walked over to Billy who was standing by the sink, leaning against the counter drinking coffee.

I looked over at the empty stove top behind him and turned back to Billy and gave him a frown. “No breakfast this morning?”

He looked up to me, “No, sorry. Been a little distracted this morning.”

I leaned into him and asked, “Want me to toast you a bagel?”

He didn’t look at me; he just kept looking down to the ground like he was deep in thought and shook his head “No.”

“Okay, your loss,” I said playfully as I walked over to the bread box and pulled out the bag of fresh bagels.

Just as I finished the last bite the rest of the band came into the house. They were loud and there was no mistaking their arrival. Today they seemed especially wound up. Billy and Travis went to join them and they headed to his studio.

Chapter 9 - Meet My Mom

Before I could give what had those boys so excited much thought, Kita walked into the room with my cell phone in her hand. “Miss Stacy, your phone has been buzzing all morning.” I wasn’t sure where I had left my cell phone the night before; but I was glad to have it back. I had become strangely dependent on the little thing. I had even started color coordinating my phone cases with my outfits.

I looked down at my phone and I saw I had quite a few missed calls and several text messages from Jeromy. I read through a few of them to see what reason Jeromy could have possibly given me for not coming home last night, but my phone rang before I could finish.

“Good morning, beautiful.”

I just grunted. I wasn’t going to let him off of the hook that easily.

“I know you are mad. Please don’t be, though. I couldn’t help it. It was so late when we finally wrapped up our meeting I just crashed here at the office.”

I sighed. I guess I could understand that. But still I missed him. “Why didn’t you call me?” I asked softly.

“Time just got away from me, baby. Before I knew it, it was already 3 am and I knew you were probably fast asleep and I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Will you be home tonight?”

“Yeah. I’m just finishing up here. I’ll be home in a few hours.”

When I hung up the phone I made my way back upstairs. With all the boys here in the house I thought I better find some actual clothes to put on. I didn’t mind prancing around the house in my nightclothes when it was just Billy and Jeromy here but with the rest of the band, I wasn’t so comfortable.

I decided that today I would try out my big fancy bathtub. Before now I had always just taken showers. I ran into Kita and asked her if she had any bubbles. She went off to find some and soon returned with bottle in hand. “Here, try this,” she said as she handed it to me.

After a nice, long bubble bath I found something to wear for the day; put my hair up in a ponytail on top of my head and with a light brush of makeup on my face, I made my way back downstairs.

Billy was in the kitchen again, leaning on his side against the wall with his hands in his pockets, while Kita made him a sandwich.

“Where are the boys?” I asked Billy as he took the first bite of his sandwich.

He shrugged and then looked toward his studio. “They are back there working on some stupid shit with Brick, I guess.”

Billy seemed tired and frustrated. I hated to see him look like that. It made me horribly sad and I just wanted to go up to him and comfort him, but before I could my phone started buzzing. It was Jeromy sending me a text message. “I see you’ve been having a good time while I have been away.”

“Umm I guess,” I texted him back. Not sure what he was talking about. Next came a link. I clicked it to see what video Jeromy had sent me. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open as the video started playing.

I had almost forgotten about the video we recorded the other day in Billy’s studio. It was all really innocent at the time but not so much after Brick did a little editing. Billy jumped up and stood behind me to look over my shoulder to see what had me so horrified.

The first thing I noticed was the song had changed. It was no longer Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation. He had dubbed another song over and now the song playing was Kid Rock’s Cowboy. It was strange how they could make it look like that was really the song we sang that day. I had to give him props for that.

Billy looked great for his part, singing the song. But when it came to the chorus, it flashed to me dancing erotically with the microphone stand. Then it flashed back to the other girls swaying back and forth, leaning into the microphone as if they were signing the words.

Oh God. I can’t believe I did that. I wanted to turn away and stop watching but I just couldn’t. Billy put a hand on my shoulder and gently rubbed my neck. I threw my phone down on the table. I wanted to jump up and yell BRICK! YOU STUPID PIECE OF SHIT. But how could I? Brick didn’t grab the microphone stand and treat it like a stripper pole. That was all my doing. I had nobody to blame but myself. All Brick did was piece together different clips of my dance moves. Then again, that jackass did release it without talking to me first.

I folded my arms, put them the table, and laid my head down.

“It’s okay,” Billy said as he gently stroked my arm.

I didn’t look up; I just kept my head down on the table. “Apparently not.” I popped my head up, flipped through my phone to find the text message from Jeromy and showed Billy what he had said. Billy just laughed and told me I was overreacting; but I knew that I wasn’t. Jeromy wouldn’t have said something if he wasn’t mad.

I wonder if my parents would ever find this stupid video online. Surely they don’t hang out on YouTube very often searching my name, but just in case I better give them a call and warn them about it. That’s not a call I’m looking forward too at all. I don’t even know how I am going to explain this video to my mother.

Before I could continue to argue my point with Billy, my phone rang. It was Jeromy.

“Baby?”

“Yeah, I just ...” But I couldn’t finish. What could I possibly say to justify what I had done? While he was off working hard to take care of us, I was at home partying with his friends, acting like a whore.

I tried to hide the tremor in my voice as tears began to form and cloud my vision. “I’m so sorry, Jeromy. I didn’t mean to ....”

Before I could finish what I was trying to say, Jeromy broke in. “Oh baby, don’t be upset. I thought your dance was great. I loved every minute of it.

All I could think to say was, “Are you kidding me?”

“No. Really. I loved it. It was the hottest thing ever. You are so sexy. I love seeing you dance around like that, confident and seductive. I wished you would do it more often.”

I could hear every word of what he was saying but still I felt mortified by my behavior. That wasn’t like me. I’m not that kind of girl.

“Please, baby, it’s going to be okay. And hey, I’ll be home in about an hour to show you how much I’ve missed you.”

“Oh?” I perked up that he would be home soon.

“Listen, I want you to go upstairs and get fixed up in a pretty outfit. I am going to take you out to a late lunch.

“Okay ... but ....” I started to say, when he interrupted me, “I want you to meet someone special. Can you be ready in about an hour?”

“Yeah. Of course. Are you going to tell me who we are going to have lunch with?”

“My mother.”

My heart skipped a beat when he said those words. It took me a second to catch my breath but before I could speak he continued. “My mom’s home now from Virginia and she wants to finally meet you.”

When we first arrived, Jeromy’s mother had been away visiting Jeromy’s little brother Nathan, who was stationed in Virginia. He was serving his second term in the Navy. I was so nervous to meet his mother, but it was something I had wanted to do for a while now. I had spoken to her several times on the phone before over the past year, but this would be our first official meeting. She was always so sweet when we spoke on the phone. But still, she was Jeromy’s mother and I worried about what she would think of me after meeting in person.

Without remembering that Billy was standing right behind me, I just ran up the stairs after I hung up the phone with Jeromy. I ran to my closest to try and find something to wear. Worried that something might be wrong, Billy ran upstairs after me. He found me in my closet in a full blown panic attack, going through everything I had, desperately trying to find something appropriate to wear.

He leaned on the door frame. “You okay?”

I fell to my knees, on top of the pile of clothes at my feet with a tear in my eye. “Jeromy is going to be here in about an hour.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

I sighed. “No. It’s just he wants to take me to meet his mother and I don’t know what to wear.”

He stepped into the closet, coming closer to me. He put his hands on my chin and forced me to look up at him.

“I’ve known Debbie for a long time. Trust me, it doesn’t matter what you wear, she isn't going to judge you like that. She is going to love you.”

“I can’t do this, Billy. I just can’t.”

“I have never been as confident as I am right now when I say that I know Debbie is going to absolutely adore you. How can she not?” His words, while sweet, were still not all that reassuring.

“How about I go sit on the bed and you try on some different outfits that you like and come show them to me and I’ll let you know which one I like best?”

“Okay. I guess that would be a good idea,” I said as I tried to wipe the tears from my eyes.

I picked out a few of my favorite dresses and as I put each of them on I paraded past Billy who was sitting on my bed, propping himself up with an elbow. After about the fourth or fifth dress he grumbled, “My Lord, girl, you have way too many clothes.”

“No way! A girl can never have too many outfits,” I said as I twirled around in my latest number.

“Oh yeah, that’s hot,” he murmured.

I was feeling better now. Billy did seem to know how to make me forget about my troubles. But before I could thank him for being so wonderful, my bedroom door burst open. I was startled and jumped. Billy quickly sat all the way up on the edge of my bed.

It was Trista. “There you are. Billy, damn it, they are waiting for you downstairs in the studio.”

“Uh yeah sorry. Something came up.”

Trista glared at me. “I noticed.”

She hurried him out the door, closing it behind them. I started to walk back into my closet to actually find something I could wear when she came back in to my room.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” she demanded.

“Billy was just trying to help me find something to wear.” I hated how she thought she could talk to me like that but I really didn’t have the time to deal with her drama today. I had to focus on getting ready to meet Jeromy’s mother.

Trista looked me up and down, “Yeah, well, I need this shit to stop. I don’t need you distracting Billy with your little clothing drama or whatever problem you may have. He needs to be downstairs with the band practicing, not up here with you.”

I really would have just apologized and let everything else she said go, but then she added, “We have enough bimbos in our life. We don’t need one more.”

I was livid. How dare she call me a bimbo! My hands started to shake. I took a deep breath and spoke my piece.

“I don’t know who in the hell you think you are speaking to me like that but that’s not going to cut it with me. First of all, you are in MY room. I don’t know what made you think it was okay to burst into my private part of this house but it’s not. And it better not happen again.”

I took another deep breath and continued. “Secondly, what I do with Billy is my business. Not yours, not the band’s. Mine! If I want to dance around for him buck naked then I will do just that and you don’t have a say in it at all. You don’t matter to me. You are nothing to me. I am not in the band and therefore you have no say in my life so take your rude little ass out of my room and go back downstairs and keep pretending like you matter to the rest of the boys.”

She stormed out of my bedroom, slamming the door behind her. I went back to my closet and pulled out a hot pink dress that hung loose off of my body and had a lot of flowing material.

I suddenly didn’t care what anyone thought of what I was wearing. If she didn’t like me it wouldn’t be because of the outfit I had chosen. I grabbed a pair of black strappy heels, and was putting them on as Jeromy walked in.

“What the hell did you do to Trista?”

I looked up at him and shrugged, finished putting on my shoes, and then jumped into his arms and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. He spun me around. “Let me look at you,” he said eagerly. “You look amazing.”

I gave him a soft kiss and a smile. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah but what’s going on with Trista? She is pissed off. I walked in on her ranting about how you think you rule this house.”

I grabbed Jeromy’s hand and said, “Don’t care. Let’s go” and I dragged him down the stairs.

When we reached the bottom of the staircase where Trista was with Billy, I didn’t say a word to her. I kissed Billy on the cheek and thanked him for his help and then walked out the door.

I threw my keys over to Jeromy and we headed to my car. As we got in, I plugged my phone into the radio and started playing Bad Reputation. It was really by accident that the song came up; but I must admit it was perfectly fitting.

A few years ago Jeromy had bought up some land out near where his company was now working. This wasn't exactly big news to me because he bought up empty land all of the time. But this particular acreage, which he had been sitting on for a while, was what kept him away from me the night before. It was a deal he was working on. If the deal went through and they drilled on the land he would get a big pay day. I wanted to ask him how big. But growing up in the South we learned at a young age that money wasn’t an appropriate topic of conversation, so I resisted the urge.

Luckily for me, Jeromy had no qualms discussing such things, so when he told me, I must say I was completely shocked. If the deal worked out in the way that he hoped, he stood to make about $3 million over a period of about eighteen months.

But, he warned, it wasn’t a done deal yet. There were still a lot of little details to work out. But there was a good eighty percent chance that it was going to go through in the next three to six months.

I was really happy for Jeromy. If anyone deserved that kind of success, it was him. He was the most kind and wonderfully sweet person in the whole world and the reason he turned out the way that he did was now standing in front of me.

When we arrived at the restaurant, Debbie was out front waiting for us. I was so nervous to meet her that luckily Jeromy distracted me with talk of his work on the way over or I might have actually gotten sick I was so worked up about it.

Jeromy’s mother looked nothing like I had imagined she would. She was tall, and incredibly thin. She had long, brown hair and a natural sun-kissed skin color. I looked at her carefully. Being from Oklahoma I had known several Native Americans before and while I couldn’t be sure, I had to wonder if she had at least some Native American heritage. Before I could put my hand out to shake hers, Debbie reached up and grabbed me, pulling me in for a hug.

“How’s Nathan?” Jeromy asked his mother.

She sighed. “You know your brother. He’s still the same ornery little shit that he has always been. Sometimes I wonder if he’ll ever grow up.”

“I really thought the military would smack some sense into the boy,” Jeromy told his mother and then he pulled her in for a tight hug.

“I know, son. Me too.”

When we sat down I glanced over the menu while Jeromy and his mother made small talk and continued on about Nathan. I hadn’t been to this place before and I wasn’t sure what to order. But luckily Debbie was quick to make some suggestions of things I might like.

Debbie complimented my outfit, my hair and spoke for quite a bit on the subject of my nails and how much she loved the color of my polish. I know she was probably just trying to find things to talk to me about and put me at ease, and I appreciated it.

I wasn’t quite sure what was going on with Jeromy’s brother Nathan. I had spoken to him quite a bit over the phone and through Facebook and Twitter, and he seemed perfectly fine. Young and crazy, but isn’t that what being young is all about?

Nathan was a sort of happy surprise for his parents, who after years of trying for another child had simply given up. Then one day, there he was. They were ecstatic, and treated him like the miracle baby he really was; because of complications from giving birth to Jeromy the doctor said she would never be able to have another child. So when Nathan came around some ten years later, they were beyond happy.

Perhaps treating him like a miracle baby wasn’t a good idea though, because he grew up differently than Jeromy as a result. He wasn’t the well-mannered, goal-oriented, ambitious, loving son that Jeromy was. He was far more carefree and reckless with his life choices.

When he joined the military, they were confident he would settle down and grow up but that only seemed to have fueled his wild ways. I was pretty sure they were exaggerating some of the stories but I didn’t want to speak up about it and get involved. It really was a private family moment and while I loved Jeromy dearly and knew he felt the same for me, I still wasn’t family and this Nathan problem really wasn’t any of my business.

Much to my surprise though Debbie made every effort to pull me into the conversation, asking me what I thought about Nathan.

“Well, you’ve known him longer than me so it’s hard for me to really say. But I think he’s a sweet kid and he means well.”

Debbie gave me a polite smile and then changed the subject, perhaps sensing I was uncomfortable. “You know we’ve been so caught up in talking about Nathan, I haven’t even remembered to ask how you have been enjoying Houston.”

“It’s different, that’s for sure. But all of the people I have met so far have been wonderful. I’ve really been enjoying myself. I’ve become good friends with Mindy, who is dating the drummer in Billy’s band.”

“Yes, I think I met her before. Sweet girl. She came by the house before with Billy and the boys for dinner.”

I started to warm up to Debbie and even told her about the horribly embarrassing video that Brick posted about me on the band’s YouTube page, the first one, not the latest one.

“Ahh yes, the superstar video. Billy told me about that.”

I was shocked that Billy had told her about the video. I hadn’t even realized Billy and Debbie talked as often as they apparently did.

“They do seem to have trouble with boundaries. I reminded Billy of that today. They sometimes forget that you aren’t one of the boys and they need to respect your privacy or at the very least ask your permission before posting videos that you are in.”

Jeromy chimed in, defending his buddies. “I don’t know mom, I thought the video was kind of cute.”

“Cute or not, it was not cool for them to post videos of your girlfriend without at least telling her first. If you and Stacy are going to live with Billy then his friends need to learn to respect her boundaries. She does have a reasonable expectation of privacy in her own home, does she not?” I was beaming. I was glad someone finally agreed with me.

Jeromy shrugged. “Yeah. I guess you are right, when you look at it that way.”

“Of course I am. I’m your mother. It’s my job to be right,” Debbie replied playfully.

Wow, Billy was right. She was wonderfully sweet. There was not a mean bone in her tiny little, frail body. I don’t know why I was so worried she wasn’t going to like me. She was great.

After lunch, Jeromy and I made our way back home. While I was sitting in the passenger seat looking out my window my phone buzzed. I looked down to see Billy had left me a text message. “Told you everything was going to be okay.” He was absolutely right. The lunch had gone great. I loved Jeromy’s mother. She was a wonderfully warm-hearted person. I texted him back to let him know that it went well and that I appreciated all of his support and that we would be home soon and I would tell him all about it.

With my phone in my hand, I mindlessly started flipping through photos I had taken from the night before of the band and the girls. I smiled as I looked at pictures of Bran drinking shots out of Mindy’s bellybutton and several different pictures of Billy on stage.

Soon though, Jeromy put his hand over on my knee and gently rubbed it. “Baby, can we talk?” I stiffened at hearing those words. He sounded so serious, it worried me, and even more so when I looked over at him and saw the horribly sad but serious look on his face.

“Okay? What about?” I asked him cautiously.

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but I’m not going to be able to make it to the big blowout this weekend.”

Just before I could say umm okay, it hit me. He was talking about the big Fourth of July party. My heart sank, tears started to well up in my eyes.

“Baby, I have to work. It can’t be helped.”

“Can’t I go with you? Maybe I can help. I’m not too bad with the clerical stuff,” I muttered, tears now rolling down my cheek.

“No, wives can’t go there.”

Wives? That was a strange way to say what he did. What did he mean wives can’t go there? Does that mean other kind of women could go? Why didn’t he say women can’t go there, why phrase it like he did? And where is there?

I barely got a “But ...” out of my mouth when he said, “Let’s go inside and talk about it.” I looked around, to see where we were. I was so caught up in what he was saying to me I hadn’t even noticed we were back home, in our driveway.

I was pissed. How could he do this? And what the hell did he mean by wives can’t go there? I flung open the car door, slamming it behind me and ran to the front door, Jeromy chasing behind me trying to catch me.

When I got in the front door I ran right into Billy. I didn’t say a word just let out a growl and then stormed up the stairs with Jeromy close behind me. Billy said, “Is she okay man?” Jeromy didn’t respond, he just ran up the stairs trying to catch me.

I was in a hurry to get to the bathroom so that I could lock the door behind me; I needed just a moment to myself to calm down, but I wasn’t fast enough and before I could slam it shut Jeromy had his foot in the door.

“Baby please, I have to go. I have about three million reasons why I have to go.”

“Don’t baby me! And I don’t care about the money. I just want to be with you. I want you to be here with me and I don’t understand why I can’t go with you.”

I probably wouldn’t have reacted in the way that I did, because we’ve spent time apart before, but something about the way he said wives can’t go really bugged me. It was like he was trying to say that other women would be there, like mistresses or hookers or something. I was probably just overreacting but I knew he wasn’t being honest with me. I knew something else was going on that he wasn’t telling me and that was what was getting to me.

I just met his mother. This should have been a huge step forward in our relationship. But it’s not. This news of his trip takes us two steps back.

He put his arms around me and held me tightly. “Please don’t cry, Stacy. Please. I love you.” I looked up at him, still tightly locked in his arms, but I didn’t say a word. I buried my face in his chest again for a moment and then Jeromy heard me sniff and pulled back to look at me. His eyebrows creased, and he asked, “Are you going to be okay?”

A few more tears toppled out but I did my best to say, “Yeah. I will be fine.” He pulled me back into him for another tight and reassuring hug, rubbing his hands up and down my back, trying to calm me down.

“I love you so much, Stacy. I hate seeing you like this.”

I looked up at him, while he looked down on me. He had just love and warmth in his eyes and I found it hard not to believe every word he was saying. He lifted me off of the ground as he hugged me tightly and began kissing me passionately. He lifted me up to the bathroom sink as we continued to lock lips.

Our bed was only a few feet away, in the next room, but in the heat of the moment it didn’t seem to matter. He took me right there on the bathroom counter.

Eventually I made my way back downstairs. I wanted to apologize to Billy for my rude entrance; but the place was quiet. He and the band must have already been at Rowdy’s for their gig.

Chapter 10 - Happy 4th of July

The next morning I got up early to see Jeromy off. Before leaving he told me he left me some money on the nightstand. While I appreciated the sentiment, it still for some reason, made me feel kind of cheap and dirty, considering what we had just done the night before in the bathroom. It didn’t sit well with me how easily he just threw money at problems and expected them to go away.

However, today’s problem was mine, and my not wanting him to leave. But it’s too late; he is gone and I’m alone. I became overwhelmed with a feeling of sadness and despair.

Then for some reason my mind flashed to him saying he left me money and I got agitated. Sometimes Jeromy treats me as if it is my job to just sit around the house and look pretty for him when he has time to spend with me -- As if I shouldn’t speak unless spoken to. Like maybe I was just a doll to him that he took out and played with when he had time and then put back on the shelf, to wait patiently until he has time to play with me again.

I wonder how long I’ll be his favorite toy. Over the last year as I’ve noticed a pattern with Jeromy and his former girlfriends. I’ve learned a lot about them since he’s still friends with quite a few of his exes. He would lavish them with money and gifts, like he does with me. Then one day, I guess when he gets bored of them and is ready to move on to the next, he helps them get some great job. He either teaches them to do what he does or uses his connections to find a good job with another company. And then they are over and he can be satisfied that they are taken care of, at least financially.

Despite their breakup, I get the feeling that almost every one of his exes are still madly in love with him and that if at any moment Jeromy was to ever even hint that he would take them back, they would drop whatever they were doing, or dump whoever they were with, and run to him. Jeromy had this way of taking hold of people. His smile is infectious. But it’s really more than his smile; it’s his presence, his aura, his very essence. When he is around, you want to bask in the warm sunlight that surrounds him. I guess I can imagine that would be hard to let go of.

I wonder if I will be like they are when Jeromy moves on from me? Will we still be friends? Will I still secretly long to be with him years from now, even after I’ve moved on and started a relationship with someone else? I cringed at the thought. I don’t want to be like those girls. That’s just sad. Just thinking of them makes me feel awful.

I shook my head as if I can physically force these thoughts out of my head. I know that I’m just being silly, insecure because I’m upset that Jeromy has to work this weekend. I know that Jeromy loves me and I know he isn’t one day suddenly going to get bored of me and just toss me aside. I’m ashamed of myself for getting so worked up over it all.

With Jeromy gone, I made my way back upstairs to find the money he left for me and put it away. It’s not that I didn’t trust anyone in the house but I just didn’t the idea of money lying around. I was surprised to find the “some money” Jeromy left for me was actually about a thousand dollars in a large stack of twenty dollar bills. What in the heck did Jeromy think I was going to be doing this weekend that I would need that kind of cash?

My irritation soon went away when I walked into the kitchen and Mindy’s smiling face came barreling towards me and she jumped on me for a hug. “Oh my God! I’m so excited! Tonight is going to be so awesome!” That girl was always so damn perky, even this early in the morning. How did she do it?

I glanced over to Billy who was walking my way with a glass of orange juice in hand. “Hey,” he said as he handed it to me. I thanked him and then went to sit down at the kitchen table. Mindy followed me, never straying more than a few inches from my side.

“I’m sorry Jeromy couldn’t be with us today but you know that’s totally okay because we are going to have so much fun without him. It’s so going to be his loss. He has no idea what he is going to miss.”

Mindy is normally a sweet girl and very cheerful, but something about this whole thing didn’t feel right. It felt a little forced. I get the whole bright-eyed and bushy-tailed thing, but this was something else altogether. I looked over to Billy, who by now was leaning against the kitchen counter, drinking coffee. He didn’t say anything; he just shrugged and looked back down to the ground.

Mindy didn’t stop talking the whole time. “So you know that lady who did our hair and makeup at Rick’s before?”

I nodded letting her know I remembered who she was speaking of but I didn’t get a chance to actually say anything because Mindy was so excited she didn’t take more than a breath before continuing on.

“Well I got her card that night and gave her a call and set up an appointment for us to go see her today so she can do our hair and makeup. Isn’t that a great idea? But if we don’t hurry we are going to be late. Oh my God, this is going to be so much fun!”

Mindy led me upstairs to find something to wear and then we were off to meet this makeup lady. When we got there the makeup lady asked if we had anything in mind but I really didn’t. She told me not to worry. She had something that would be perfect. Trusting that she knew better than I did about hair and makeup, I relaxed and let her take charge.

That was until she pulled out a paintbrush and a strange bowl of gold thick liquid. “What’s that?” I asked as I sat up in my chair eyeing the strange fluid cautiously.

“Don’t worry. It dries clear. It’s just a body paint. It’s going to make you look fantastic. You will look like your skin shimmers in the sun. The boys won’t be able to resist you.”

“Will this rub off on people who touch me or my clothes? What if I sweat? Will it stain my skin?”

“It’s okay, sweetie. Don’t worry. You are going to look great. This stuff dries clear so even if it does rub off a little on your clothes you won’t even notice anything more than a few sparkles.”

“But what if I get hot and sweaty? Is this stuff going to run down my body?”

“No. It’s water resistant. You could go swimming and this stuff would probably hold up. Well at least it would for a short bit. I guess if you stayed in the swimming pool long enough the chemicals would start to break it down. But no, your body heat isn’t going to matter.”

“How do I get it off afterwards?” This whole thing was making me a little nervous. I had never had anyone paint my entire body before. What if it didn’t come off?

“That’s simple. You soak in a bathtub that you’ve mixed this stuff in,” she said as she handed me a large blue bottle. “This will remove the paint from your body with ease. So see? You have nothing to worry about, so relax and let me finish. Here, stand right here.”

She moved me over to stand under some lights that reminded me of heat lamps and then she painted my entire body from head to toe. The bright lamps not only helped me stay warm while I stood in front of her completely naked so she could paint all of me, but it also served to help set the paint to my body.

As the stuff finally dried she brought me in front of the mirror to check it out. My skin looked amazing. It was if I had a deep dark suntan that literally shimmered. I looked like a suntanned version of Edward from Twilight.

By the time we got back from having our hair and makeup done, I realized four hours had passed. I couldn’t believe it took so long. The band was already on location setting things up. Billy knew how much we would be drinking that night so he sent a car to pick us up. It was a big, four door Lincoln town car. It wasn’t as big as a limousine but it did still look a lot like one.

As the car dropped us off at Bimbo’s the driver handed us his card and said that whenever we were ready he would be standing by for our call to pick us up. I tucked his card in my purse and headed toward the crowds. Darla and Starla found us rather quickly. They had three friends with them. The first girl she introduced me to was Erica. She looked like she might have been part Asian. She had black shiny hair and large breasts and was really tall, easily towering over the rest of us. She also had a perfect hourglass figure. The next girl was a redhead named Audrey who had porcelain-like skin and loads of red curly hair. Her bright green eyes shone as she smiled with her full, red lips.

The last girl was a perky blonde named Bree. She was quite a bit shorter than the other two girls and had the cutest face. She had wide brown eyes, long blond hair, and a cute little button nose. I had heard the phrase 50 watt smile before but until I met Bree I never really got what it meant. She looked adorable and that matched her equally adorable personality.

I had always considered Mindy perky, but Bree was in a class all by herself. She bounced up and down as she flung her arms around Mindy. “Oh my God! I’ve missed you so much. I’m so glad you are here tonight. Wow you look so totally hot. Oh my God, I’m so jealous.”

Bree then turned her attention toward me. “And you. I really need to speak to you if you don’t mind.” She locked her arm in mine and started walking with me as we made our way to the band. She leaned in as if she had something really serious to tell me. “I was just kind of hoping you would do me a favor.”

I looked over at her, wondering what in the world she wanted from me. I didn’t even know her. “You see,” she said as she sighed and stopped walking. She looked me up and down. “I was kinda hoping you would stand in the background and maybe give the rest of us a chance to find a man. With how amazingly hot you look, the rest of us don’t have a chance of getting a man’s attention.”

I looked at her trying to figure out what was going on. She did have a dead serious look on her face but no way could she really mean what she just said. Then she burst out laughing and hit my arm playfully. “Silly! I’m just teasing.” As she bounced her way back over to Mindy she said, “I just love her!”

I looked around just a bit still trying to figure out where Billy was, but he spotted me first. He took one look at me covered in the head to toe shimmering body paint that the makeup artist had applied, and his mouth dropped open and the microphone he had in his hand dropped to the floor. It let out a loud thump, as it hit the ground. This got the rest of the band’s attention and mine. I walked up to the stage just in time to hear Travis say, “Holy fucking shit.”

Billy didn’t say a word, he just stood there like a statue watching me walk onto the stage. His eyes were intently watching my every move.

“Hey there, rock star. You getting everything set up?” I purred.

He paused for just a moment as if thinking of something to say and then, just as he always did, he tilted his head back and said, “Hey”.

Bree and Mindy walked up on stage next and then Darla, Starla, Erica and Audrey soon followed. We hadn’t told Billy of our plan to dress alike previously, we wanted it to be a surprise and he did indeed seem surprised. It took it a moment for it to register as his eyes darted from girl to girl, taking in all that stood before him. Finally he came to and a big smile worked its way across his beautiful face. “You did all of this for me?” He had such a boyish charm.

It had really been no effort at all, but by the way he reacted it was like we had offered to give him a kidney or something. Billy grabbed my hand and pulled me a little closer to him as he looked me up and down. “You look gorgeous,” he said and then he winked at me. I immediately transformed into my shy yet flirty mode as I smiled back at him as I plucked up the courage to kiss him on the cheek.

Billy said, “Hey let’s go” while he slid his arm around me, and rested his hand on my hip as he pulled me closer to him. We were so close that I could smell his cologne. It was heavenly. He led me back to the band’s table and then waved to the waitress to bring us some drinks.

“I can’t believe how incredibly hot you look.” A smile tugged at my lips, while I noticed his eyes working their way up and down my shimmering body.

“It’s shimmer body paint. The lady painted me with it all over.”

“All over?” he said as he raised an eyebrow.

I leaned in closer so that only he could hear and whispered, “Yes. All over”.

Billy shifted uncomfortably in his seat so I gave him a flirty smile and leaned back in mine. I crossed my legs, shifting up my skirt slightly so that it revealed my tanned and shiny legs. Billy’s eyes immediately shot down to look and then quickly back up at my eyes as if he was embarrassed by what he had done.

I didn’t recoil. I just sat back and enjoyed every minute of him wanting me. Billy eventually turned in his seat so he could force himself not to look. He took my hand, and started fondling my fingers, which I enjoyed immensely. I tried to ignore the tingling sensation, but to no avail as I still ended up smiling and blushing.

Unfortunately our special moment was broken when a very loud and boisterous Travis; a hyper Bran; and a very cheery Zander came to the table. They had ordered drinks to be brought to them, and were now taking their seats. The girls soon followed and took their places around the crowded table as well.

“Damn girls. If your intention was to be so hot tonight that we would be too fucking horny to play, I think you might have accomplished your goal.” I rolled my eyes at Travis as Darla rubbed his arm sensually and Starla leaned in to kiss him.

I wondered for just a minute what it must be like to share your boyfriend with your best friend. I wondered if I could ever do that and then quickly shook that thought out of my head, realizing there was just no way I could. I would be far too insecure and jealous. Still, it seemed to work for Darla and Starla. I wasn’t sure how, but they always seemed to be perfectly happy sharing him.

When I turned my head away to avoid looking at Travis, Bree caught my attention. I thought she was giving Zander the once over which then made me turn my head to check him out. I looked down to the other end of the table where he was sitting without anyone special by his side so I stood up and took Bree by the hand and walked her down to Zander.

“Zander, this is my friend. I think you two should meet.”

He cocked his head back like Billy and greeted her. “Hey. I think we met before, at Billy’s house.”

“Yes. That was me! I’m Brianna but my friends call me Bree.”

“Hey Brianna.”

“No, silly, you can call me Bree too,” she said while playfully hitting his arm. I noticed he flexed when she did that. He liked her!

Feeling giddy with accomplishment, I went to take my seat near Billy when I noticed Brick, Patrick and Tiffany joining the mix. Everyone was here now; well except Trista who I had no doubt would be arriving any minute to give me more evil glares. Why was she such a bitch to me? What did I ever do to her?

“One, two, three, four ... yeah, this will work.” I turned towards Billy to see what he was talking about. It was female bodies he was counting. “Eight of my little flag girls tonight.”

Before I could respond though Trista came up behind me and stuck her head over my shoulder. “Nine. That would be nine.”

I jumped, surprised at her touch. Then turned around to see she was dressed up as well, like the rest of us. I was shocked. She was normally so conservative and always did her best to distinguish herself from the rest of us in the group. Tonight, however, she was one of us. But unlike the others, she somehow found a way to make her slutty American flag outfit look classy. She had a flag shirt on that came down just below her breasts and exposed all of her well-toned stomach. Man that girl must spend some serious time in the gym. Her skirt was solid white, short and frayed with fringe around the trim. Her boots were also white with matching fringe. I hated to admit it, but she looked hot.

Even Tiffany had joined us in our little dress up game, only she didn’t exactly wear what the rest of us had on. She had some skinny jeans tastefully dyed to look like an American flag with bright red heels and a white shirt that tied in the front, exposing only a small part of her stomach. It was cute and sexy but not over the top erotic, like the rest of us.

Trista put a shot glass in front of me. “Truce?”

I looked her up and down, thinking carefully about my next move. On one hand I could pick up the glass and throw my drink at her and tell her to kiss my butt, and that was an option I was seriously considering, but when Billy put his hand on top of mine and squeezed it tightly, I opted to agree to the truce. We drank to our new found friendship and then Billy leaned in to speak to me. He told me that tonight they would be playing two sets, one at around six and then again at midnight to close the show. In between, several other lesser-known local bands would take the stage.

“I want you and the girls up there with us tonight.” I looked around at all of us dressed in our matching outfits and I could totally get that. It would be pretty cool idea to have us up there with him. “There is no way in hell I’m letting you out of my sight tonight,” he said with a grin on his face.

I leaned into him to whisper seductively in his ear, “If I agree, do you promise to behave yourself up there?” I ran my hand down his chest before pulling away and sitting back down in my chair all of the way.

He raised an eyebrow and said, “Do you really think I’m going to give you a choice about this?” I knew he was only teasing but still, the way he said it was so commanding and sexy. It sent a chill up my spine.

I sighed and begrudgingly agreed. I didn’t really want to be in the spotlight but I also wanted to make Billy happy and I also liked that at least Billy was trying to include me in his world. He made a real effort to bring me into the act. He wanted me to be up there with him, near him. That and I also completely understood why we should be up on the stage with him, even if I didn’t exactly like being the center of attention. Although they may call me their superstar, it wasn’t my dream to be in the spotlight. I would be perfectly happy to sit in the background.

We had about an hour before Billy and the boys had to go on stage and we threw back as many drinks as we could in that time. That was probably not the smartest thing I could have done. The more I drink, the more I seem to forget myself and lose my inhibitions.

When it was time we made our way on stage. Before they started playing, Trista had positioned all the girls, in our cute little red, white, and blue outfits across the stage in various positions. Me, however, Billy wanted front and center near him. At this point I had enough drinks in me that I didn’t care. I was feeling great and ready to have a good time.

The set started with Billy screaming “AHHH YEAHHHH!” into the microphone. Everyone rushed to the stage. Those who weren’t already standing around watching us set up, that is. The crowds poured in from all over. It was an endless sea of people cheering Billy and the band on. I stood near Billy shaking my tambourine and my ass. Billy playfully turned my way to sing to me at various parts of the song.

For some reason my mind and body must have separated. Maybe it was all the drinks I had before, maybe it was the roar of the crowds and the excitement of being onstage. But whatever it was, something pulled me over to Billy and I started dancing seductively as he sang. With his hands firmly grasped on the microphone stand in front of me, I treated the rest of his body as if it were a stripper pole. Not to be outdone, Darla and Starla started to do the same to Travis. The crowd let out a deafening cheer as I bumped and grinded on Billy’s body. Amazingly, he never missed a beat.

When the song started to slow down, Billy reached out and grabbed me. He put his arms around my waist and pulled me into him. I, however, didn’t stop my erotic dance. I just slowed it down a notch. Then when the song sped up and he grabbed the microphone stand again with both hands I stepped back, getting out of his way and continued on with my sexy dance.

When the song ended, Billy turned his head my way and gave me a huge smile. I started to step back and take the spot on the side of the stage near Mindy and he shook his head and then pointed back to the spot near him. I shrugged and walked back to where I had originally been standing. I guess he wasn’t kidding; he really wasn’t letting me out of his sight tonight.

Billy rarely took his microphone off of the stand but for this song he did. That made me a little nervous. I wasn’t quite sure what he was up to. Behind us the band started to play a fast tempo and Billy walked over to me. I didn’t recognize the song. It must be a new one.

“I know a girl, she’s so fine. She’s one hot mess and for tonight she’s all mine. She looks so fine, maybe one day she really will be mine. She gives hot ass mess a new meaning.”

What the hell? Was Billy singing this song about me? I’m a hot mess? Seriously? I could feel the heat filling my cheeks. Is this really how he saw me? I did my best to shake off my irritation, reminding myself this was just a song and this was just an act. We are onstage performing, after all.

He stepped behind me and put one of his hands around my waist and sang, “All you want is just to hold her tight.”

He walked around me and back to my side. He pulled me into him and held me tightly in his arms. My pulse quickened and I started to breath heavily. Our lips were incredibly close. There was that sparkle in his eyes I had seen before. He loved being onstage. This was where Billy was at his best. As he looked into my eyes he continued to sing. I tried to pull away but he held me closer. Then he let go of his grip on me and sang the rest of the song as he walked around the stage, eventually making his way back to his stand and replacing the microphone on it.

When the song ended, I took a deep breath and put on my best fake smile. Normally he only tortured me with two songs in a set before moving on to something else, but tonight I wouldn’t be so lucky. I started to have a feeling I was going to be here in this spot for the entire set. Luckily the next song was much faster and easier to dance to. It had a fun, fast beat. I shook my tambourine on my hip as I swayed to the music and then something strange happened.

Billy turned his head towards me as if he was again singing to me and shouted, “I love you. I hate you. I can never let you go. No matter what you put me through, you always feel like home. You are here with me, but you’re not. I love you. I hate you. But I can’t fucking let you go.”

I froze in place. I suddenly couldn’t breathe or even think. I couldn’t remember what I was supposed to be doing. Was Billy singing that about me? No. He couldn’t be. Well, maybe. Is he trying to tell me how he really feels? God, what is wrong with me? It’s just a song. I’m just imagining things.

Trista, being the constant professional that she is, noticed I was in trouble. As Billy turned back to face the crowds to sing the rest of the song, Trista came up behind me and started dancing with me. It helped me come out of my daze. When the song ended, she didn’t leave and we continued to play up the girl-on-girl thing. It was very much not like the Trista I had known before. The beat of the next song started and I did my best to shrug off what Billy had said before.

Luckily for this next song he didn’t turn towards me and sing directly. I think I might have lost it if he had -- Especially since he was singing Simple Plan’s Addicted to You. Trista continued to dance with me throughout the song and soon Mindy joined our little fray and before long I had forgotten all about the incident.

At the end of the song Billy took the microphone back off of the stand, walked over to me, winked and then turned back to face the crowd. “Everyone give it up for our little superstar, Stacy Keller.” The crowd cheered. Next he took Mindy’s hand and lifted it in the air: “Mindy.” He made his way over to every person on stage, lifted their hand and called out their name.

I noticed behind me that Trista gave a commanding look to Brick and a few moments later he was making his way onto the stage with two shot glasses in his hand, one of which he handed to me, the other to Trista. “Here drink this quickly,” Brick said to me as he put the drink in my hand. I downed it and then Trista handed me hers. I gave her a look but all she would say was, “Hurry up, they are about to start up again.”

I did as she instructed and downed the drink. It was a sweet thick drink, with a butterscotch and chocolate aftertaste. I handed the empty glass back to Brick and he quickly made his way off stage. Just in time for me to hear that ominous riff on Zander’s guitar. Damn it. They are playing Jessie’s girl.

Before I could turn around to look, Billy was behind me, dragging me back to the center of the stage. The crowd cheered on as I stood near Billy shaking my tambourine. Trista was a smart girl. She knew those drinks would help me relax and they really did.

Just as before, at the chorus of the song I leaned in to sing with Billy. As the song ended, Billy addressed the crowd saying: “Thank you. Thank you all. We are going to take a break now but we’ll be back later tonight.”

A really crazy-looking all girl band took the stage next. The lead singer had long brown hair with the ends died purple and hot pink. The drummer had a hot pink Mohawk and was covered in tattoos. The other three girls in the band had quite a few tattoos also.

When we made our way back to our specially reserved table, Brick had buckets of beer waiting for everyone and a round of shots which we all quickly downed. The all-girl band on stage was really killing it. They were pretty good but I didn’t really recognize any of the songs they played. Still, the crowd seemed to like them a lot.

The night went by quickly. Before I knew it, the fireworks were exploding overhead. I leaned back into Billy’s arms as I watched the show overhead. But as I did I felt his eyes boring into me. I’m not sure he ever took his eyes off of me that entire time. He never said a word, just stared at me. I could feel the heat of his breath on my neck and could tell his breathing was getting heavier. It was arousing and I felt myself get caught up in his desire.

I turned my body so that I could face him. My body tingled, and my head was spinning. I couldn’t think straight. He put his hand on my face and I looked down at his lips while licking mine. The sexual tension in the air was thick. At that moment I wanted him more than I wanted anyone or anything in my entire life.

And then, as I leaned in to kiss him, my phone started buzzing and I pulled back. It took me a second to realize what it was that I was hearing. When I did realize what the noise was, I grabbed for my phone and looked down at the screen. It was Jeromy texting me, “Happy 4th of July baby. I love you. I miss you.”

I jumped back, quickly readjusting my body with my back to Billy so that I could continue to watch the rest of the fireworks show as waves and waves of guilt flowed over me. What did I almost do? What the hell is wrong with me? Here Jeromy is thinking of me, sending me “I love you” messages and I’m about to make out with his best friend. I am officially the worst girlfriend ever.

When I was a child, I would dream of how life would be when I was all grown up. I was sure that one day I would meet the perfect man, who was handsome and strong yet still gentle and kind. He would have some sort of fabulous job and together we would live in a big house. I may not have pictured Jeromy’s face specifically but in every way he was my childhood dream, this perfect man that, together, I would have this perfect life with. And now that I have exactly what I always wanted, all I can do is think about what I can’t have.

After the fireworks show, I found our waitress and ordered a few more drinks. I wanted more than anything to drink away the horrible thoughts in my head. As I was throwing back shot after shot, I suddenly became amused by Bree who was softly singing, “One drink, two drinks, three drinks, four.” I couldn’t get what she was singing out of my head and I burst out in laughter. Bree took her own shot off of the table and walked over to me. She pushed back my chair so she could fit her body onto my lap. Once she had firmly positioned herself on top of me, she grabbed the back of my hair and pulled my head back, then poured the drink into my mouth. Some of it spilled over and she slowly licked it off of me.

“Okay, girls, let’s try and behave. You are starting to draw a crowd,” Billy said as he tried to separate Bree and me. I think I sensed a bit of agitation in his voice, but I was having so much fun I didn’t really care.

Before long it was time to go back onstage. The boys were busy setting up when Bree came up to me. “Wow that is so intense.”

I looked up at her, with my brow furrowed, having no idea what she was talking about. “What is?” Did she mean our little drinking game?

“Billy. The way he looks at you. It’s like ... I don’t know. The way he watches you always. It’s like he’s your own personal bodyguard and he’s ready to jump in front of a bus for you or something. It’s really intense. Sexy but intense.”

I glanced over at Billy and she was right. At that very moment he was watching me. Thinking back he did that often. There was something arousing about knowing Billy was always watching me, there to protect me and that I was never alone, as he was always there for me, making sure nobody was ever going to hurt me. I think if it was anybody else I might be completely creeped out but with Billy it’s different. I trusted him and I knew he was just trying to protect me. No. This had to be wrong. I had to be mistaken. But still I couldn’t think of a single time tonight where I had been alone.

The realization of Billy’s watchful eyes sent a surge of electricity through my body. I liked this but still I would need to test this theory out and see if it were really true. I turned my head and saw Audrey near the back of the stage talking with Erica, Darla and Starla. I sashayed my way over to her and quietly asked her if my shimmer paint was still holding up. I spun around in front of her, giggling, and then she came up to me and forced my head back. She licked the front of my neck while Erica licked the side. “Oh yes, it is holding up nicely. And it tastes oh so good too,” Audrey said.

I squealed loudly and within seconds Billy was at my side, with one eyebrow arched upwards. “Problem, ladies?”

They released their grip on me. “No. They are just tasting my shimmer.”

Billy took me by the hand and led me back to the front of the stage. “Stay here and try and behave yourself.” Next he brought Bree and Mindy up to stand next to me. “Your three try and keep it clean.”

Bree laughed, grabbed my hand and Mindy’s, and bounced up and down. “Isn’t this exciting? I’m so happy to be here with you tonight. This is so much fun, don’t you think?” She never really gave you time to answer before she was off on to the next sentence.

Bree was a sweet girl but she tended to talk a lot. While Bree and Mindy were going on and on about God only knows what, I would occasionally glance over at Billy and each time found he was looking at me. Bree was right; he did have an intense watch over me. It was so exciting.

Soon the music started up. They were all on fire. Travis and Zander were even more animated than normal as Billy sang Never Again. Their energy was electrifying and the song was hauntingly beautiful. Well, beautifully tragic. Mindy, Bree and I stepped up our act and danced seductively to the music.

The boys rocked out a few more fast songs that lit up the whole place. Everyone was having a great time. Then it happened. I can still barely believe it. I was standing in the middle, with Mindy and Bree on each side. Billy had been singing the Nickelback song Feelin’ Way Too Damn Good. Towards the end of the song he turned his head to me and flashed his adorable smile.

I couldn’t take my eyes off of him, but still continued my dance with Bree and Mindy. He looked down at the crowd; then his expression changed. He put his hands down off of the mic and said, “What the fuck?” It echoed loudly as he said it and a hush came over the audience. He was looking at someone in the crowd who was standing near the stage just below me. I glanced down to see who it was that had upset Billy so much. There stood a man with his cell phone, trying to take a picture up my skirt.

I jumped back, horrified, and when I did, Billy jumped off of the stage and started pounding on him. “What the fuck do you think you are doing? What the fuck is wrong with you? You stupid piece of shit!”

Zander and Travis dropped their guitars, jumped off of the stage, and started fighting him as well. They were just wailing on him, beating him over and over again. Travis was shouting, “That hot piece of ass is our piece of ass. You don’t fuck with that!” A few seconds later Bran had jumped off of the stage and jumped in the fight too.

My heart was pounding and my mind was racing. I was trying to figure out a way to stop this. I looked to Mindy and Bree and they just stood there as frozen in fear. On the other side were Darla and Starla cheering the fight on. “Yeah! Fuck you, perv! Kick his ass, baby!” Erica and Audrey were cheering the boys on as well.

The man was on the ground now, covering his face and Billy was off to the side kicking him. “You sick fuck!”

I screamed “BILLY!” and as he looked up to me I jumped down off of the stage, into his arms, hoping he would catch me. He did and as I landed in his arms I said, “Please don’t.” He held me tightly, but catching me caused him to lose his balance and he fell backwards and my head hit the corner of a nearby table. And then nothing. I was out like a light.

Chapter 11 - Out Like a Light

As I started to come to, I heard voices. I think it was Mindy, crying. “Is she going to be okay?” Then another female voice. I don’t know who it was, maybe it was Bree. “She will be okay, Mindy. It’s all going to be okay. She’s going to be fine. You’ll see.”

I could feel the weight of someone else’s hand on mine but I wasn’t sure who it was. I tried to open my eyes but they were so heavy. I moved a finger and then turned my head towards where I felt the person who was holding my hand.

I slowly opened my eyes, expecting to see Jeromy sitting next to me but he wasn’t. It was Billy. He had a concerned look on his face. He looked horrible. His eyes were bloodshot and he had dark circles under them. I noticed he had a small cut above his left eye with dried blood still on it. I reached up to try and touch it. I was weak and could barely speak but I managed to squeak out, “Billy.”

His eyes widened and he smiled. Mindy and Bree let out a squeal. “Oh my God! She’s awake.” Billy ordered them to go get the nurse and they shuffled out of the room and within a few minutes they were back standing at the end of my bed.

I looked around trying to take in my surroundings, still unsure of where I was. I turned my head back to Billy and quietly said, “Jeromy.” His eyes darted to the ground. I looked at Mindy and Bree and they too were looking away. “Where is Jeromy?” I asked, almost frantic.

Mindy said, “Tell her Billy. She’s my friend. I’m not going to lie to her anymore. Either you tell her or I will. She deserves to know.” Mindy sounded annoyed, very unlike her. She was normally so cheery. I don’t recall ever seeing her upset before or even the slightest bit agitated at anyone.

Billy squeezed my hand. “Not right now. She’s just waking up. Give her some time to come to first.”

What are they talking about? Where is Jeromy? What is going on? I tried to sit up and find my phone but the second I did my head screamed in pain and I felt like I was about to pass out again. Billy jumped up and tried to get me to lie back down. “Don’t sit up. It’s still too soon.” He turned back to Mindy and sniped, “Where is that nurse?”

Within seconds she appeared in the room. “Well, hello there. I’m so happy to see you are finally awake. You had us all scared there for a bit.”

I tried to open my eyes again and look up at her. “How long have I been out?”

She looked at her watch and said, “Going on about four hours now.”

Four hours? I have been passed out for four hours? Oh God, what happened? I tried to think back about the events of the night. It was all still a blur and the pounding in my head was killing me.

“Okay sweetie, I’m going to need you to sit up now. We are going to take it slow.” The nurse gently helped me sit up and then started checking my vitals. She looked at the bump on my head. “You are going to have one big bruise there.”

I reached up but immediately regretted that decision. It was still very sore to the touch. The nurse turned towards Mindy and Bree and told them that they should be heading out soon, because I needed my rest. “Okay, we promise, we’ll go soon.”

“I’ll let you visit for now but don’t overdo it and if you need anything just push the call button.” The nurse pointed to a red button on the side of my bed and then walked out of the room.

My mouth was dry so I asked if I could have a drink. Billy turned to a small table behind him and poured me a glass of water. After taking a few sips I looked around for my phone. I saw it on the same table with the water and tried reaching for it, but as I did a sharp pain shot through my head. It was like how brain freeze felt when you drank a smoothie way too fast. I groaned in pain, squinted my eyes, and reached up to grab my head.

Mindy came to my side, stroking my arm. “I’m so sorry this happened to you, Stacy. I know you must be in horrible pain. I wished there was something I could do to make you feel better.”

“Can I have my phone please?” I begged, my voice still weak and shaky.

Mindy looked to Billy and he shook his head no but as if to purposely defy him she walked over to the other side of the bed, jerked it off of the table and said, “Here Stacy,” as she put it on my lap. Mindy walked back to the other side of the bed, where she was standing before, and bent over. “What are you trying to find? Is there something I can help you with?”

I didn’t answer. I clicked the brown little Find Friends button on my phone. I selected Jeromy’s name and waited for the purple flashing dot to show me where he was. I truly expected it to light up over Pinehurst, Texas on the map. But it didn’t.

What I did see was something that would change everything in my life. Jeromy wasn’t in Texas at all. He was in Nevada, more specifically Las Vegas.

“I’m so sorry, Stacy. I wanted to tell you,” Mindy said. But I didn’t respond. Instead I just laid back down on my pillow and closed my eyes. I think it was just too much for my brain to process. I just suddenly felt so tired and all I wanted to do was close my eyes and go to sleep.

I don’t know how long I was out that time but when I woke up Jeromy was rushing into my room. Mindy and Bree were gone. This time it was only Billy there with me, and now Jeromy. “What the fuck happened, man?” Jeromy demanded to know. “You said you would take care of her!”

Billy told Jeromy the story about the guy trying to take pictures of my panties and me jumping off of the stage and how we fell back and I hit my head. But before Jeromy could ask any more questions Mindy and Bree came in the room and two policemen were with them. One was an older gentleman who had a bit of a gut. The other was a young, handsome man. He looked far too young to be a cop and his good looks seemed to have sent Bree into a giggling fit.

The older officer asked, “Ma’am, you feel up to speaking with us?”

Both Jeromy and Billy twisted to see if I was even awake and I was. Billy helped me sit up so that I could speak to them.

“Have you ever seen the man in question before tonight?”

I thought about it for a moment and shook my head no. That was a mistake. It hurt to shake my head like that. I tried to think about the man they were talking about but nothing was coming to me. To be honest, I don’t think I could even tell them what he looked like if I had to. I really only seen him for a second before Billy was on top of him, beating the hell out of him.

“How often would you say you changed clothes last night?”

I tilted my head to the side trying to think about the question. “Huh? Never. I wore the same outfit the entire night.”

“That’s a problem then. Because I have a collection of photos of you from his camera in quite a few different outfits. That means he’s been following you around for some time now. Why don’t you take a look at some of these photos and see if you can recognize any of the dates.”

I flipped through the creep’s phone and found picture after picture of me. There were shots from the first night I was onstage with Billy, pictures of me from the bar downtown, even pictures of me from the night at the strip club. Nobody knew we were going there -- that meant he had to have followed us from the house. My body began to shake in fear and tears started to form in my eyes as I flipped to photo after photo of me. This guy had been following me around for a while now.

Bree, who was always trying to be the optimist, jumped up and down while saying “Oh ... My ... God! You have your first stalker. I told you that you looked too hot for words and were going to steal all of the men’s attention!”

“Ma’am, having a stalker is nothing to be joyous about. Often they go from voyeur to something far more serious like sexual assault, kidnapping and in some cases murder. Those are not situations to celebrate.”

Bree bowed her little blonde head to the ground and squeaked out, “I’m sorry. I was just ...”

The cop continued with his questions, ignoring her apologies. “You will notice that with the progression of the photos he has become more aggressive in his pursuit of you and that’s a problem. A big problem. His stalking behavior seems to have escalated from simple adoration to sexual predator.”

I looked to Jeromy and Billy, scared, not sure what to do or say or even think at that moment.

“We have him in custody now and he’ll be in jail for a bit thanks to some outstanding warrants from past trespassing offenses, but he won’t be behind bars forever. And there could be others out there like him. You ladies are going to need to learn to pay attention to your surroundings and take your safety far more seriously.”

Mindy and Bree were holding each other’s hands and now both looking at the ground. Then Bree looked back up at the officers and asked, “Wait ... did we do something wrong? Is that why ....”

“No, you didn’t. Not at all. It’s just, well look at yourselves. You are all very pretty ladies. And it’s not your fault that you are beautiful, but that combined with the fact that you are in the spotlight, tends to attract some crazies. We just want you to girls to stay safe and part of that means paying attention to what is going on around you.”

After, the officers talked to Billy and Jeromy across the room, where they tried to speak quietly so that Mindy, Bree, and I couldn’t hear what they were saying. “While we realize you were just defending Miss Keller and the other girls, it’s important to remember that there is a fine line between defense and assault. You need to be more careful in the future or next time you may find yourself sitting behind bars as well.”

After the police officers left, Billy and Jeromy came back to sit with me, Jeromy on one side, Billy on the other, with Mindy and Bree at the foot of the bed. Billy didn’t say much. Jeromy tried asking me some questions, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk. Bree and Mindy answered most of his inquiries.

Not much later the doctor came in to give me a final once-over. He said my ex-rays came back clean and I don’t seem to have done any permanent damage. He agreed to release me but with strict instructions to get plenty of rest at home and not to try and overdo it. He also wrote me a prescription for some sedatives that he said would help me get some sleep which would speed my recovery.

I don’t recall the ride home or anything after that; really, just random memories of waking up and looking over to see Billy sitting by my side or off in the corner, reading a book and writing in his lyric journal.

When I finally came to, I didn’t recognize where I was. The room was dark but off to the side I could see a faint light where Billy was sitting in a chair reading a book. Am I in Billy’s room? I must have made a noise because he looked over at me and saw I was waking up.

“Hey. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to come to.” He walked over to the bed and placed his hand on the top of my hand and with his other, gently stroked the side of my head. Billy helped me sit up and I looked around the room, still trying to figure out where I was. “Where am I? Am I in your room? Where is Jeromy?”

“Jeromy and I have been taking turns taking care of you but we didn’t want to keep moving you back up and down the stairs so we decided to keep you downstairs where others can help look after you too. Mindy, Bree, Kita, and I watch after you during the day, and he takes care of you when he gets home from work.”

I looked around the room, not sure what I was trying to find, and then back to his clearly distressed face. “Where have you been sleeping, Billy?” He didn’t say anything. He just looked over to his chair in his reading room.

“No! Billy! Please ...”

“Sssh!” He said as he put a finger over my lips. “Don’t get too worked up. The doctor told you to take it easy, remember?”

I playfully bit at his finger and as he moved it away from my lips; for the first time in a while I seen the corner of his lip curl up as a smile formed on his face.

“You hungry?”

“Yeah. I kinda am.” I put my hand on my now growling stomach. “I would love something to eat.”

He bent over and picked me up, not even letting me walk to the kitchen on my own. He sat me down at the bar, and the made me the most delicious eggs. I devoured them; I was so hungry. But soon after I finished drinking my third glass of water, I looked up at him, and could feel my eyes start to glaze over.

“Billy. I’m not feeling so well. Do you think you could ....” Before I could finish he swept me up in his arms and took me back to bed. I don’t know how long I was out or even what time it was the last time I woke up. Everything was just a blur and the hours and days all ran together.

As I opened my eyes the next time I heard Mindy and Bree talking to each other. “Poor Billy. He’s so torn up about this.”

“I know, right? Bran said he’s never seen Billy this bad before. The guilt is killing him.”

I sat up, leaning against my fluffy stack of pillows. “Mindy, is that you?”

“Ya! She’s awake,” Bree cheered as she bounced over to me along with Mindy. Mindy flipped on the lamp that was next to the bed. “Let’s see how you look.”

“How bad is it?” I asked her, not really wanting to know. I’m sure I look horrible.

“You are only the hottest sick person ever!” Bree mused.

I gave her a what the hell are you talking about kind of look as she continued. “Silly, your body still has the shimmer paint all over it. Even with the bump on your head you are still mind bogglingly beautiful.”

I lifted my arm to take a look. She was right. I did still have the shimmer body paint on. “You guys think you can help me into the bathtub to get it off of me?”

“Yeah totally. But we can’t leave you, Stacy. The only way we could get Billy out of the house to go to his gig tonight was to totally swear we wouldn’t leave your side or take our eyes off of you, even for a second,” Mindy said with a worried look on her face.

“Even if you have to go to the potty,” Bree added while giggling.

I rolled my eyes and caved, letting them help me out of bed and into the bathroom to soak in the bottle of chemicals that helped to remove the shimmering paint from my body.

When we finished the girls helped me put on some clean clothes. I leaned against the counter as Bree helped me put my panties on and I stood there thinking how strange it was having a girl I really only barely knew dress me in such an intimate way. I turned away in embarrassment and noticed that as the water drained out of the bathtub some of the shimmer remained.

“Oh no,” I said as the girls turned to see what I was looking at. “I think I ruined Billy’s bathtub.”

Mindy laughed. “I don’t think he really minds.” Then they helped me back to bed and then sat with me.

“Where is Jeromy?” I asked.

“He’s in the living room watching TV,” Mindy said. That bothered me. Why wasn’t he in here taking care of me? Why are Mindy and Bree tasked with my care when Jeromy is just in the other room?

“When I went to get your clothes from upstairs he was fast asleep on the couch. I know he’s so worried about you too, Stacy,” Bree told me reassuringly.

“Hey I know, let’s go to the kitchen and find something to eat. I think Kita made some chocolate chip cookies,” Mindy said as she jumped up out of the bed to help me stand up. I put my arm around her and leaned in as Bree came around on my other side, letting me put some of my weight on her as they led me out of Billy’s bedroom.

As we turned the corner and made our way through the living room, trying to be quiet as to not wake Jeromy, I noticed he was sitting up watching television. When he heard us he jumped off of the couch. “Stacy!” He rushed to my side and picked me up and then scolded Mindy and Bree for letting me try and walk.

“I’m fine, Jeromy. Really, baby. I promise. We were just going to the kitchen to try and find something to eat.”

Jeromy, not letting me out of his arms, carried me in the kitchen and sat me down at the table. He poured me a glass of milk as the girls grabbed some of Kita’s cookies to munch on. After drinking my milk I started to stand up to make myself a bagel. Jeromy jumped up and sat me back down. “Let me make it for you.”

As Jeromy toasted my bagel, Mindy and Bree made small talk. After eating my delicious bagel, Jeromy insisted I go back to bed and carried me just to make sure I complied with his wishes. He tucked me in and said he was going upstairs to bed himself. It was already late and he had to be up early for work tomorrow. He kissed my forehead and made me promise to stay in bed. I agreed, laid my head back on my super fluffy stack of pillows, and closed my eyes. I wanted him to stay with me. I needed him to stay with me. But I couldn’t bring myself to ask him. I guess I wanted him to want to stay and do it on his own accord without me having to ask him. I shouldn’t have to ask him. He should want to be with me on his own. But he didn’t.

When he walked out of the room I could hear him reading Mindy and Bree the riot act for letting me out of the room and told them not to do it again without him or Billy near. After, the girls jumped in bed with me and cuddled up next to me as I faded off. I was glad to have Bree and Mindy with me but at the same time sad that Jeromy wasn’t.

I woke up again as Billy returned home from Rowdy’s. “Hey,” he said as he looked me over. “I see you’ve been busy while I was away.”

I looked to my side and found Mindy and Bree were already gone. “I didn’t get to say goodbye,” I told him, with a frown on my face.

“That’s okay,” he said as he run his fingers through my hair. “They’ll be back another day. They don’t seem to know how to stay away.”

I smiled and then tugged his arm, pulling him into the bed with me. “What do you think you are doing?” he asked playfully, while trying to pull away.

“I want you to lay here with me. Please.”

He sighed and then wrapped his arms around me tightly, holding me as I started to fall asleep again. As my breath steadied, he started to get up. His movement woke me and I groaned and wrapped my arm around his tightly, not wanting to let him go. “Can’t believe you don’t have a TV in your room,” I said to him jokingly, with my eyes barely open.

He leaned over and pulled a remote out of the nightstand and pushed a button. “Who said I didn’t have a one?”

I turned my head and seen a big screen television slowly working its way down out of the ceiling. I grinned and sat up and he positioned himself next to me. I wrapped my arm in his and said, “Let’s watch a movie.”

“It’s late, Stacy. I don’t know if there are going to be many good movies on.” I laid my head in his lap and he flipped through the channels with one hand while running his fingers through my hair, careful not to go anywhere near the sore spot on the side of my head. We decided on a show about how the universe works on the science channel. The way he touched me was so soothing and relaxing. I was soon asleep yet again.

When I woke up the next morning I found Billy wasn’t there with me anymore. He was sitting in his chair reading a book. “Billy?” I said groggily, still not fully awake.

I sat up on the bed and he looked over at me. “Hey. How you feeling sleepy head?” He walked over to me, bent over the side of the bed, and kissed my forehead.

“Better. I think.” I reached up and touched the side of my head. I started to get out of bed; I wanted to go to the bathroom to check it out. But as I stood up I felt dizzy and had to sit back down.

“Where do you think you are going?”

“I’m sorry. I think I got up too fast.” This time I was much more careful as I made my way out of bed and to the bathroom. I bent over on the bathroom counter to get a better look at my face. The swelling had gone down and only a discolored bruise remained.

Billy stood in the door leaning against the frame and I turned around and shut the door pushing him out. “I need a girlie minute, please.”

I wanted to brush my teeth so bad but my toothbrush was upstairs so instead I just did the best I could with my finger and swished around mouthwash. I splashed some water on my face and then went back out to find Billy hadn’t moved. He stood there waiting for me patiently.

I couldn’t help but wonder at that moment how in the world this man could possibly still be single? His amazing good looks aside, he was so caring and attentive. How had some girl not already snatched him up? It just didn’t make sense.

Chapter 12 - Recovery

When I started to feel better I decided I should start sleeping in my own bed again, much to Billy’s objections. But I felt bad. I couldn’t stay in his room anymore. He had been sleeping in that chair for days now and I wasn't going to let him put himself out for misplaced guilt he felt over something that wasn’t his fault. It was an accident. If anyone was to blame, it was me for jumping in his arms in the first place. Well really, if anyone was to blame it would be the pervert who was trying to take pictures of my panties.

Mindy continued to come around daily to check on me. Sometimes with Bree, sometimes with Darla and Starla. The only person not around to check on my well-being every day was my boyfriend. He was getting busier and busier trying to finish up his big land deal and whatever else he was working on. I wasn’t sure. All I really knew is that he was hardly ever home. On days he did come home from work, he would leave early in the morning and come home late at night, exhausted.

There was one other change in my life that wasn’t exactly so small. He was a 6’4” mammoth of a man named Vincent, or Vin as everyone else called him. He was two hundred and fifty pounds of pure muscle, with a chest that spanned fifty-seven inches. Vin went to school with Billy and Jeromy. After high school Vin took off and joined the Marines. When he came home he started bulking up pretty heavily and then started working in the personal protection field. His newest client was me.

After finding out about the stalker, Billy and Jeromy completely overreacted and hired Vin to stick with me since they were pretty sure they couldn’t keep me locked up in the house for the rest of my life. They were right. I hated having Vin tail me everywhere but I also knew his presence wasn’t up for discussion.

If I ever wanted to leave the house again, then Vin was going to have to be with me. Vin even moved into Billy’s house so that he could be around more to look after me. His bedroom was next to mine. I couldn’t even step in the backyard without Vin hovering over me. It got annoying, really quick.

I was starting to get restless and decided that today I was going to hang out by the pool, so I put on one of my bikinis and headed down the stairs. On my way down I heard loud voices coming from the living room. It was Trista and Billy in a heated argument.

“Billy, you can’t just stay around the house day in and day out. You need to give her some space. She’s not a child. She’s ...”

“Stop it right there, Trista. If you say another word I swear I will fire your ass right here and now!”

“I’m not trying to attack her. I promise. I’m over that. Stacy and I were starting to become friends before all of this happened. I really am just trying to remind you that we all have obligations that we can’t meet because you are here at the house hovering over Stacy. That isn’t going to help her get better any faster.”

I took a deep breath and walked down the rest of the way where Vin met me at the foot of the stairs. “Where do you think you are headed, little lady?”

“I’ve been cooped up in the house far too long. I’m going to lie out by the pool and get some sun. Wanna come with?” I said as I playfully put my hand on his bulging chest. Since I was still standing on the last step I was taller and it was one of the few times I could actually reach his enormous chest to touch it. He folded his arms and shook his head, not the slightest bit amused by my playfulness.

Billy heard us talk and turned toward us. His eyes shot up and down my body, as I stood before him in an itsy bitsy string bikini.

I pushed Vin aside, well actually, I tried to and he stepped aside and let me through. You can’t actually push Vin anywhere he doesn’t want to go. He’s like a big rock that isn’t going to move unless he wants to.

I made my way to where Billy and Trista had been going at it. I grabbed Trista by the hand and said, “Come on Trista. You can come with me. We’ll leave the boys to themselves.” Vin let out a low grunt. But they didn’t come outside with us. Instead they stood nearby watching through the window.

Trista walked over to the outside bar and made herself a drink, and then walked back towards me and handed me a thick red looking concoction with a piece of celery sticking out of the cup. “No thank you. I’m still on my painkillers so I can’t drink.”

A big smile came across her face and she bent over to whisper in my ear, “Don’t worry, it’s just V8 juice but I put the celery in there to piss Billy off. Watch, the second he sees you take a sip of this he is going to flip out and run out here.”

I loved it. She was so devious! I took a sip of the V8 juice that she had made up to look like a Bloody Mary. Trista quietly said “One ... two ....”

And before I could even finish a single sip, Billy and Vin had run outside. Billy hit the glass and it flew out of my hand. Luckily it was a plastic cup or shards of glass would have flown everywhere.

“What the fuck are you doing? She’s on painkillers!”

Trista was right, he did freak out. I don’t know why I thought it was so funny, but it really was. I couldn’t contain my laughter and neither could she.

“What? It’s just V8 juice? Jeez, you really don’t trust me, do you?”

Vin put a hand on Billy’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry man, I got this.” Billy stormed off and went back into the house while Kita came outside to clean up the mess.

It was hard to stop laughing. I hadn't laughed like that in so long, it felt really good. Vin, however, didn’t think it was so funny which was evident by his stone-faced look, and he stood over me, with his arms crossed, not daring to take an eye off of me, even for a moment.

Trista stayed outside with me and we made small talk. She told me what everyone had been up to. Travis got a new tattoo on his right bicep in memory of the big Fourth of July fight. It was a dagger with a vine that worked its way around the blade. Within the vine was written the Italian phrase “Puoi Guardare ma non toccare.” Trista said it meant, you can look but do not touch. He thought it was funny and he loved to show it off.

I was not so amused. While I appreciated everyone jumping down to defend my honor, it still reminded me of the horrible pain I was in and the equally horrible pain Billy was putting himself through with the guilt he still held.

Trista also told me that Billy refused to play any gigs other than their weekly shows at Rowdy’s, and then right after the last set he would hurry home to be by my side. It truly hurt my heart hearing Trista tell me that about Billy. I hated that I made him so sad. I hated that I made him withdraw from his friends. I didn’t want Billy to be like this anymore. I had to show him that I was going to be okay.

But before I could give it much thought, Jeromy came home early from work to surprise me with flowers in hand. I jumped into his arms, wrapped my legs around his waist, and I kissed him passionately.

“I see someone is feeling better.”

I didn’t answer him. I just kept kissing him and he carried me up the stairs to our bedroom. He didn’t throw me on the bed this time, though. Instead he was gentle and sweet.

I lifted my chin up as he kissed my neck. I let out a soft moan as he murmured, “God, I missed this so much.”

His touch sent a combination of tickles and chills through my body. Our time apart hadn’t changed that. I pushed my hips up to meet his as he leaned in to kiss me, deeply. Tangling my tongue with his, my skin felt like it was on fire.

I inched his shirt up slowly but he stopped me. “You sure?” I took a deep breath and nodded yes. “I don’t want to hurt you baby.” His finger ran along my lower lip and then he removed my swimsuit top and his eyes skimmed my body. Then he removed his clothes.

I put my arms around him and pulled him back on top of me. I ran my hands down his smooth back, breathing him in. It had been so long since we had been together, I desperately needed him. My body tingled with desire. He began to caress and tease me with his tongue, until I was begging for more.

He slowly worked his way inside of me and I moaned, “Don’t stop.” He kissed me harder and his thrusts began to speed up. My leg muscles tensed as I wrapped them around his waist.

After it was over he held me tightly and I luxuriated in his warmth, his strength and his scent that was like a fresh spring day, like a mixture of cedar and rain. He rolled over on his back and gently pulled me up to rest my head on his shoulder. He caressed my arm and we lay there together in bed in complete silence. It was so peaceful.

Before long, he bent down and kissed my forehead and I could feel his body tense up. I sat up next to him to look at his face. “Baby, I need to talk to you.”

He looked so serious. I hated that look on his face. He took a deep breath, grabbed my hand and then proceeded to tell me that work had been really crazy lately and he was sorry he hadn’t been around more. And just as I was thinking how amazingly sweet that was of him to say, his voice softened. “But I have to head out of town for a few days.”

As he said it, my mind flashed back to when I was in the hospital, and seeing his purple dot flashing over Nevada. I had completely forgotten about his lie to me and now he was leaving to go out of town again? I wonder if this time he’ll tell me the truth about where he was going.

I could feel the sting of tears come to my eyes and a lump form in my throat. That was followed by a wave of heat that burned across my face. I took a deep breath and swallowed, as I tried my best to hold back the emotions. In my head I was screaming and crying, shouting out how could you leave me like this? But my mouth never forced any of those words. Instead I just sat there looking at him, dumbfounded.

Since the accident, I knew Jeromy had been distant but I had just written it off as guilt. I figured he probably felt bad for not being there when I got hurt and that is why he was acting that way but now I don’t know. Maybe he met someone in Vegas and he is going to be with her now.

I jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom slamming the door behind me.

“Please, Baby, don’t be that way. Not now. I’m already late,” he pleaded. “I am going to miss my flight. I’m so late. I didn’t know I would come home and ...”

I flung open the door. “And what? You didn’t know you were going to come home and fuck me?”

“Please, baby. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Here,” I said as I went to the closet, grabbed his suitcase, and threw it at him.

I went back into the closet and quickly put some clothes on. I looked around for my purse and didn’t see it. Then I remembered it was by the stairs, right by the little table with my keys on it.

I stormed out of the room as Jeromy was packing his clothes. By the time I hit the bottom stair and flung my purse over my shoulder, Vin had jumped in front of me. “Everything okay?”

“Get out of my way.”

Vin set his jaw firmly. “You know I can’t do that, little one.”

“One way or another, I’m leaving this house, Vincent. Either you can come with me or get the hell out of my way.“ I pushed and he stepped aside as I made my way to the door, but he was faster and got there first. He opened it for me and I ducked out under his massive arm.

When we got outside he asked, “Will you at least let me drive?”

I didn’t answer. I just jumped in the driver’s seat and started to put the top down as he groaned and got into the passenger’s seat beside me. I didn’t really know where I was going, just that I had to get out of there.

While we drove around, I started to cry. I thought about Jeromy and how he had treated me lately and then about Billy and how he had all but fallen over himself to care for me. I thought about how Billy always made me breakfast and how he stayed up in his chair reading and watching me sleep at night. I thought about how Billy always watched over me, even before the accident.

I thought about how much Jeromy made me feel like I was just an afterthought. The more I drove the more I began to wonder what kind of future Jeromy and I could really have together. I didn’t want to fault Jeromy for being ambitious and being so good at his job. I know that was wrong of me. But still, I wanted someone who didn’t make me feel second to his job. I wanted someone who didn’t lie to me and take secret trips to Las Vegas. I wanted someone who loved me. Did Jeromy still love me? I needed someone to talk to. I needed Mindy. She would make me feel better. She always seemed to know how to put a smile on my face.

Chapter 13 - All Alone

With Vin in tow I drove over to Mindy’s. She and Bran were getting ready for their gig tonight at Rowdy’s. I asked if she could help me. I wanted to go with her to the bar.

She looked up at Vin to see if he approved but he just shrugged, so she took me into her bathroom to take a shower while she went through her clothes to try and find something for me. In my rush to leave the house I had grabbed the first shoes I could find, which was a pair of black suede platform heels, so Mindy looked around to find something to match then. Before long she came traipsing back into the bathroom with a little black cocktail dress.

“Thank you Mindy. I really do appreciate all of your help. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Don’t be silly. I’m glad you are going with us tonight. Now sit down and let me fix you up. I love playing with your hair.”

I sat in front of her oversized mirror doing my makeup while she messed with my hair. I felt consumed by sadness as thoughts of Jeromy leaving for his trip crossed my mind. I also felt confused, angry, and even guilty. I knew he had to go out of town for work sometimes, and I really did understand that was part of his job, but lately he had been distant and I didn’t know why.

Did he not love me anymore? Has he grown bored of me? Did he find someone else? Did he blame the accident on me? Maybe if I hadn’t been dancing around on stage, I wouldn’t have attracted the attention of that crazy man in the first place.

I tried my best to push all of these horrible thoughts out of my head and finish getting ready. It wasn’t easy. I was overwhelmed by my negative emotions and my eyes started to water.

“Please don’t cry, Stacy. I know you are going to miss Jeromy but I also know he is going to miss you too. He loves you. You do know that, right?” I didn’t answer her. I didn’t really know how to. I didn’t know if he loved me anymore and I couldn’t find the strength to lie and say that I did.

When we stepped out of the bathroom Vin was there waiting, with his arms crossed. “Ladies,” he said as he looked us up and down.

“What? Are you going to tell me what I can and can’t wear now too?”

He shook his head and grabbed the keys from the nearby table. “I’m driving this time. I don’t know how we made it over here alive with you behind the wheel.”

“Fine. Whatever. Let’s go, Mindy.” I knew Vin was only trying to lighten the mood but I was still upset from earlier and not in the mood to hear anything any man had to say, no matter who it was. We met up with Bran who was in the living room and concerned by my sudden arrival. I assured him I was okay and pointed back at my bodyguard to let him know that Vin was watching out for me.

When we got to Rowdy’s, Billy was already there helping Travis set up. He took one look at me and ran towards me. My heart surged as he rushed to my side. “Where the hell did you go? Why didn’t you answer your phone when I called you?”

I shrugged. “I’m not a child, Billy. I can walk and talk all by myself. I promise.”

Billy paused for a moment, as if he didn’t expect that response from me. This time with a much softer voice said, “You’re right. I’m sorry. I was just worried about you. Please don’t scare me like that again.” He leaned in and kissed my forehead. “Jeromy told me about his little business trip. He also told me you didn’t handle the news so well.”

I sighed. “It’s not that. Well maybe. I don’t know. Can we just not talk about it please?”

Billy led me over to the band’s table and I took a seat next to Trista, who had just ordered me a drink. She winked as she handed it to me and I quickly took a sip while looking up at Billy. A look of fury crossed his face so I playfully patted his chest. “Billy! Did we not just have this talk earlier today? It’s only Sprite with a few cherries thrown in for good measure.”

He groaned and started to walk away but not before he turned to Vin and told him to keep a close eye on me.

The band played until about 1 am and Billy didn’t take his eyes off of me the entire time. I loved the way he kept a protective and loving watch over me. I only wished Jeromy was as concerned for my well-being.

By the time they were finished with their last set I could barely keep my own eyes open. The band was gathering their equipment, when I barely said his name and Billy flew off of the stage and was by my side.

“Billy, I don’t feel so good. I think I might have overdone it. Can we go home?”

He put his hand on my head, gently caressing my forehead. “We’ll be heading out in a second.” He motioned to Vin who scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the car.

Billy drove up not too long after us and opened the door to help me inside the house. I started to walk but he lifted me up and wrapped me lovingly in his arms.

“Billy?”

“Yeah, Babe?”

“Can we watch TV again?”

He looked down at me, smiled and then kissed my forehead. “Of course we can. I couldn’t imagine anything that I would rather do more.” His answer was so tender, it warmed my heart.

I rested my head back on his chest and he carried me inside. When we got in the house though, I noticed he was starting to carry me upstairs but I protested. “Billy, you promised.”

He let out a soft sigh and then took me to his bedroom and gently laid me on the bed and crawled in beside me. I put my head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat as he flipped through the channels trying to find something to watch. He settled on some show about cars and then put his arms around my body holding me tightly.

“Please don’t leave me Billy.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Stacy. I promise. I’m right here.”

“No, I mean when I fall asleep. Please promise you’ll stay here with me all night.”

“I promise. I’m not going anywhere.” He started to run his fingers through my hair and within minutes I was out.

When I woke up the next morning he was sitting up in the bed, still holding me tightly. I let out a big smile, stretched, and then jumped up on his lap, leaned in and kissed his cheek. With his hands around my hips he let out a soft moan and said, “Mornin’. Feeling any better?”

“Much, much better,” I said as I scooted down, positioning my legs between his and resting my head on his chest. Mmmm. Billy always smelled so good, like he was just freshly out of the shower. Then suddenly I realized that Billy had a growing bulge in his pants. I know I should have immediately pulled away, but I couldn’t. I got so turned on just thinking about him wanting me.

While I was scooting down, positioning myself between his legs he let out another soft moan and I lost myself for just a moment. His desire was overwhelming. I desperately wanted to grind against the swell in his pants, but I realized what I was doing and forced myself to pull away from him. It took everything I had to stop myself. My face was flushed and my heart was pounding as I rolled off of him and out of the bed.

I went upstairs to take a shower and get dressed for the day. When I got back downstairs I found Billy in the kitchen cooking us breakfast and soon after Trista came in the door.

Vin and Billy looked over the schedule Trista had set out for the band for the rest of the month and they agreed to several of the venues she wanted to book, except one. Vin warned that the club was too big and had too many dark corners that could potentially be a problem if one of the girls happened to get out of his line of sight.

As long as I was inside the house Vin didn’t follow me around or bother me much, but the second I get near a door he was all over me. I wasn’t happy about having him follow me around like a child. But I also knew the boys were only worried about my well-being so I tried to get used to him.

Wanting to give them privacy to discuss important things about the band, I decided to go upstairs and put on my swimsuit and lie outside by the pool. It was truly relaxing to be in the warmth of the Houston sun and it was quickly becoming one of my favorite pastimes.

It wasn’t long before I popped my head up from the lawn chair. I thought I heard a noise from off in the big flowery bushes to the side of the house. I was right. It was someone I didn’t recognize coming towards me. He was an older man with a deformed and pitted face with wild eyes and a wiry figure. I screamed in horror as my eyes locked on the strange man coming my way. He had his right hand buried in the pocket of a dirty brown overcoat and he started to make his way toward me. His walk was slow and strained, like he might be limping just a bit.

I started to ask, “Who are you?” But before I could even get out the first word, Vin was there and with a single hand, picked me up and threw me inside, shutting the door behind him with the other.

Before the door closed all of the way Vin shouted to Billy, “Don’t let her out of your sight.”

Trista was in the background dialing 911 while Billy pulled me into the kitchen and held me tight. I was scared and confused and panicked. My heart pounded as if it was going to leap out of my chest and my mind raced. “Who was that, Billy?”

He simply said, “I don’t know,” and pulled me closer into him, holding me tightly. My body trembled in fear but hearing Billy’s steady heartbeat helped me relax.

I was still scared, petrified in fact, but seeing the anguish on Billy’s face made my heart hurt and I didn’t want him to worry about me so much. I think I used my concern for Billy to help me block out my own fears. I was okay, after all, well technically. I was alive. The crazy man didn’t get anywhere near me. The whole situation could have been much worse.

So I took a deep breath, and then pushed Billy back into his chair. I plopped down on his lap and said, “So I guess that means you aren’t going to let me play with you on stage anymore.”

I wasn’t really okay. I wasn’t really that carefree, not even close. I just wanted to push all of this fear and anxiety in the room aside.

Billy sat there, with an angry look across his face. His big sexy eyes suddenly turned hard and lifeless. Trista did speak up, however. “Just tell her, Billy. She’s going to eventually find out.”

“Tell me what? Find out what?” I glared at Billy, then at Trista and then back to Billy. “Tell me!” I demanded.

He sighed and then sat all the way up in the chair, holding the back of my thighs to keep me in place on his lap. “Your superstar video has kinda gone viral.”

“What do you mean?” My eyes made their way to Trista, who was now leaning over the center island, and she filled in the blanks.

“It means that video of you shaking your cute little behind has had over one million views on YouTube. Your Twitter account has over 180,000 followers now and Brick has been tweeting your fans updates about your condition since the accident. We run your Twitter feed through the band’s website and it’s gotten so much activity we had to upgrade the servers.”

She looked over at Billy holding me in his arms. “Everyone seems to want to know the latest on Billy and Stacy.”

I tilted my head, giving her a look of confusion. “Do they not know that it’s Jeromy and Stacy? How did they get the idea Billy and I were an item?”

She shrugged and continued. “I know it’s crazy. But the fans want what the fans want. Did you not notice at the gig last night that everyone kept wanting to take your picture?”

“Yeah. I thought that was kind of weird but I just wrote it off as a side effect of sitting with the band. Fans have always thrown themselves at Billy and I just figured since I was sitting near him, well ... I don’t know.”

Trista let out a laugh and Billy glared back at her, not happy at all. “Fans want Billy and Stacy and as a result requests for bookings have been pouring in. It’s so insane, I can barely keep up.”

I looked back at Billy and smiled. “That’s great! I’m so happy for you, Billy.” I leaned in to hug him. In my excitement I almost forgot about what was going on in the backyard.

Billy wasn’t, however, as happy as I was at that moment. He lifted me up and then gently pushed my back against the wall. “Do you not get how serious this is? Do you not realize that just a few minutes ago some crazy man tried to attack you? This isn’t a game, Stacy. Take this shit serious.” As his body pushed up against mine, I could feel his heart was now beating much faster. His face was just inches from mine. His look was intense and deadly serious. It made my body tingle.

Wow, only Billy could actually find a way to turn me on while a man who is trying to do God only knows what to me is running around in my backyard right now, being chased by my bodyguard.

I tried to shake off the sensation and then my mind for some reason drifted back to what Trista had said earlier. If news of my antics were all over the internet, did that mean that my parents possibly knew? I should have called them when my accident happened. I bet they were worried. I wonder if Jeromy knew what was going on. He doesn’t normally keep up with the news when he’s busy on a project, so probably not. But my parents, they did keep up with me on the internet.

I pushed Billy off of me and grabbed my phone. I saw they had been texting and calling me. I don’t know why I didn’t call them after the accident. I should have. Suddenly the thought of calling them was the only thing in my mind. Nothing else around me seemed to matter. I had to get in touch with my parents and let them know I was okay; that the bump on my head had already healed and everything was perfectly fine.

Waves of guilt washed over me as I realized what a horribly thoughtless daughter I had been. Without thinking about anything else going on around me, I took my phone and ran upstairs to call them. I think my mind was just trying to deal with the fear of what was going on by focusing on other things. It was the best way I knew how to cope.

As I reached the top step the rest of the events played out like they were happening in slow motion. From downstairs I could hear Vin talking to Billy. “Where is she? The little fucker got away.” I could hear Trista saying that the cops should be here any minute.

And in front of me stood the crazy eyed man, walking towards me with a knife. He must have gotten away from Vin by climbing up the terrace and coming in through one of the open windows upstairs. As he stepped towards me, I stepped backwards. He leapt for me and I jumped back, only there was no more ground beneath my feet and I tumbled down the stairs. Billy jumped up and caught me in his arms before I could make it all the way to the ground.

The crazy man took the knife in his hand and stabbed himself in the stomach and then leapt forward, diving off of the stairs and landing on top of me. Vin pulled him off of me and tackled him and held him in place as the cops arrived. I started to pass out. Billy held me tight, rocking me back and forth, whispering, “It’s going to be okay, it’s going to be okay.”

Not much later I came to, slightly disoriented as a paramedic shone a bright light in my eyes. I looked around to see if the man was still there, and he wasn’t. Then I heard a noise upstairs. I was trying to figure out what it was I was hearing while Billy explained to me that just as the cops arrived the crazy man had gotten away and ran up the stairs. They were up there right now chasing him.

“Miss, please look over here,” the paramedic said while continuing to check me out. “Her pulse rate is a little fast but that is to be expected.”

I was cold, and confused. I looked down at my body. I had the man’s blood all over me. I was drenched in the crazy man’s blood. It was on my swimsuit, on my face, all over my arms and in my hair.

“Her blood pressure is a little low, but she’s probably in minor shock.”

As the man continued to poke and prod at me, I could hear loud noises upstairs, then a distinctly loud pop, followed by a dull thump.

I dug my hand into Billy’s chest and he squeezed me tightly. I started to panic, worried they were going to take me back to the hospital when I didn’t want to leave. I frantically looked around the room and found Vin standing by the window near the front door. I jumped out of Billy’s lap and leapt towards Vin. I scurried behind him for protection and sheepishly hid as the paramedic came towards me.

I shook my head and squeaked out a soft “No.”

Vin cleared his throat and told him, “I think the lady doesn’t want to be touched anymore. We are done here.”

“Sir I’m just doing my job. I need to make sure she is okay.”

This time Vin raised his voice and folded his arms across his large chest. “I said we are done here.”

In frustration the paramedic turned towards Billy and Trista. “She doesn’t seem to have any permanent damage; her vision isn’t blurry; she isn’t dizzy and she’s not vomiting. Just make sure she takes it easy for the next couple of hours. If she notices any bouts of dizziness or she suddenly has a hard time focusing, take her to the emergency room as quickly as possible.”

The man looked over at me hiding behind Vin, still covered in blood and then he looked back towards Billy. “Because of the possibility of blood-borne pathogens, you will want to make sure she pays a visit to her primary care physician for testing. It’s probably not an issue but it really is better to be safe than sorry. With all of that blood, you just never know.”

The man began to pick up his equipment and as he walked by me to head out the door Vin stepped in his path, making sure to block him from getting near me. The paramedic said, “I’m sorry ma’am. I didn’t mean to scare you. I know you’ve been through a lot.”

He walked out the door and began speaking to the others who were just arriving. After the shooting, the two cops that were at our house soon turned to five and before long the five cops turned into ten and from there I just lost count. There were so many people coming and going I just couldn’t keep up with them all.

As I stood safely between Vin and the wall, I began to look at myself. The blood was everywhere. There was just so much of it. Still holding on tightly to Vin’s waist I popped my head around his big arm and asked Trista if she could help me.

“Sure, hon. What is it?” She asked as she walked over to me and took me by the hand.

“I want to get this off of me,” I said pointing at the blood all over my swimsuit. “Can you help me?”

“Of course. Let’s get you in the shower.”

Without thinking I walked to the foot of the stairs and Vin quickly jumped in front of me shaking his head. I looked up, suddenly remembering why I couldn’t go there. My stalker’s dead body was sprawled out on the floor.

Trista pulled me by the hand towards Billy’s bathroom but before we could get too far an officer approached us. He needed to take pictures of me in my current condition for evidence. I didn’t want to do this. I wanted everyone to just leave me alone.

Billy came up to me, stood by my side, and assured me it was going to be okay and held my hand the entire time that they took the photos of me. Luckily, they were pretty quick about it. I wanted to get out of that room so badly. The officers said they wanted me to turn my bloody swimsuit over to them to be bagged and tagged for evidence, and Trista said she would bring it to them after.

Trista and I made our way to Billy’s bathroom once again. Vin went in first to make sure the room was clear. It was and then he allowed us in and then stood guard by the door. Billy stayed in the foyer talking to several of the police officers and paramedics who had just arrived to the scene.

Trista ran the bath water and I sat on the floor and sobbed uncontrollably. It had all just been so much to take in. Trista helped me take my bloody swimsuit off and then sat me down in the tub. She grabbed a nearby rag and washed my entire body while I sat there staring off into space. I started to come to as she rinsed the shampoo and conditioner out of my hair.

She helped me out of Billy’s big bathtub and put a towel around me to dry off. I looked down at my clothes laying on the floor, suddenly realizing I had nothing clean to put on and I couldn’t exactly go upstairs to get anything either.

Trista didn’t give it a second thought. She flung open the bathroom door, pushed Vin aside and went into Billy’s closet to find me something I could wear. Billy was much bigger than I was so it wasn’t exactly easy to find something that wouldn’t just fall off of me but finally she settled on a white polo button up shirt and a pair of his black silk boxers. Vin walked me into the bedroom and turned his back so I could dress in privacy, then he walked with me back to the bedroom.

I sat on the bed and lifted my legs, one at a time, as Trista slipped some socks on my feet and then I got up and carefully walked behind Vin to the kitchen where several police officers were waiting to speak to me.

Trista, ever the constant professional didn’t want to pass up a marketing opportunity, sat me down in the kitchen as the men spoke to me. She grabbed her purse and pulled out her makeup bag and started touching up my face while the police officers were asking me question after question that I didn’t really know the answers to. She acted as if the police were not there talking to me about a dead man upstairs near my bedroom. To her it was just like I was there getting ready to greet fans.

When she finished touching up my face she started messing with my hair, still sopping wet from my bath. Maybe that was for the best though. Her constant touching was soothing and helped to distract me from the seriousness of all that was going on around me. I think left to my own accord I might have fallen into a full blown panic attack and been completely unable to speak to anyone.

Even with her help, I had a hard time focusing on what the policemen were saying to me. I just kept remembering the man coming towards me. The look in his eyes would no doubt haunt me in my dreams for a long while to come. I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t understand why he came after me.

Vin stood behind me, ever vigilant, with his arms across his bulky chest. Then one of the younger looking police officers came up to me. “Are you Stacy Keller, Superstar?” When he said it the other policemen in the room gave him a look of disdain. You could tell he regretted asking me by the look of embarrassment on his face, but it was too late. It was out there already.

Vin took a step closer to me and in his deep husky voice said, “Not right now, man.”

The police officer took a look at Vin and took a step back. “I’m sorry. I just can’t believe it’s really you. I just saw your superstar video on YouTube this morning. You’re so awesome.”

Something about his adoring fan boy attitude shook me out of my haze. I turned to Vin and put my hand on top of his which was now resting softly on my shoulder. “No it’s okay. Really.” I turned back towards the policeman and smiled.

“Yes. That’s me. Do you want to take a picture or sign something?”

“You sure you don’t mind?” he asked sheepishly while pulling out his cell phone.

“Of course not. As long as you don’t mind how dreadfully horrible I look right now.”

Billy stepped into the kitchen as the officer said, “Are you kidding? You look amazing.”

I walked over and stood in front of Billy as he put his hands around my waist. He bent down and whispered in my ear, “What’s going on?”

“Just taking a few pictures.”

And before Billy could protest several of the police officers pulled out their cell phones and began snapping pictures of Billy and me, while Billy complained. “What the hell, Trista. There is a dead body in the other room and you are in here playing publicist. Are you fucking kidding me?”

I turned in to face him and put my hand on his chest. “No, Billy, please. This was my idea. Trista had nothing to do with it.” I stood up on my tippy toes and reached up to kiss him on the cheek. When I did you could hear snap, snap, snap in the background as a few more pictures were taken.

Vin stepped in front of us as Billy squeezed me tightly. “Okay, that’s enough of that. She’s been through an ordeal. Let’s give her some space.”

Billy leaned in to me so that he could whisper in my ear, “Can you and Trista try and behave while I finish up in there?” Billy pointed to the officers with clipboards in hand standing in the foyer near the foot of the stairs.

“I promise.”

He kissed my forehead and went to speak to the men while Vin blocked the door with his body, obstructing my view.

I posed for a few more photos with different officers and then sat down at the table and made small talk with Trista and a few of the officers who remained in the kitchen with me. I did my best not to think about what was going on in the other room that Billy and Vin didn’t want me to see. Instead I just tried to focus on what Trista and the others were talking about.

Before long Billy returned and the rest of the officers started to leave the house. When the last police officer had left, I looked down at the clothes I had on. Billy’s silk boxers were comfortable but still I wanted to put on my own clothes. Without thinking I started heading up the stairs. When I hit the top stair Billy cried out. “No, Stacy! Stop!”

I froze in place, unable to move. Pools of blood were at my feet. I couldn't muster the strength to run away or even scream for help. Billy came up behind me pulling me into him, forcing my face into his chest.

“I ... I just ... I didn’t ...It was just ....”

“Sssh. It’s okay. Let’s get out of here,” he said softly as he led me back down the stairs. When we got back downstairs he put his hand on my chin and gently tilted my face up, so that I had to look at him. “What were you thinking going up there?”

Tears were now streaming down my face. “I just wanted to get my own clothes.” I started sobbing uncontrollably and he pulled me into him tightly.

While Billy tended to me, Trista was on the phone with the security company. The house, it seems, was about to get a heavy-duty upgrade. There was even talk of adding in a safe room.

We went into the living room and Billy sat on the couch and propped me up on his lap. I was mindlessly running my finger across his chest when I really started to think about what happened. My mind flashed to the man from the Fourth of July fiasco, and then to the man in the backyard. It suddenly hit me, they weren’t the same. There were two of them. I popped my head up and without realizing I had done it, squeezed Billy’s arm, -- my nails digging into his skin.

“Stacy!” he cried out.

“She okay, man?” Vin asked, coming towards the couch to see what was going on with me.

“Stacy, Babe please. You are hurting me,” Billy said as he tried to remove my fingers that were painfully digging into his arm.

I stared off into the distance and murmured, “There are two.”

Billy looked at me, trying to figure out what I was talking about. “Two of what?”

I continued to stare off into space. “Two of them. Two …”

“Two of who? What do you mean?”

“The man today. He wasn’t the same from the Fourth of July. He was not the same man as before. The other one is still out there.”

“Oh, is that what you are worried about? Babe, don’t. That other guy got his ass kicked. He won’t dare come back for more.”

I knew Billy was trying to reassure me that everything was going to be okay but still, the thought of that other man out there haunted me. This whole thing was just all so crazy. There was just no way all of this was really happening.

Before long the front door was flung open. It scared me to death and I jumped up out of Billy’s lap as Vin leaped over the couch to stand in front of me. I stood behind him shaking, my lip started to quiver but it was all for naught. It wasn’t another crazy stalker; it was only Travis and the rest of the gang.

I loosened my grip on the back of Vin’s shirt and peeked around his massive body. I half expected Travis to make a pervy comment about what I was wearing but surprisingly he didn’t. He just shook his head and said, “Damn girl. You okay?”

I didn’t get a chance to answer before Mindy and Bree rushed to my side. “I can’t believe it. Are you okay? This is so crazy. Did you see them shoot the guy? Did he touch you? Did you recognize him? Were you scared? Did you know what was happening?”

Their seemingly endless questions were overwhelming me and I started to feel the room spin. I tugged on the back of Vin’s shirt and he turned around and scooped me up in his arms and brought me to the couch. Mindy and Bree plopped down on either side of me, not letting up even for a moment with their questions.

When I saw Brick enter the room I started to remember what Trista had said earlier about him tweeting as me, telling my followers updates about my well-being. I turned to Mindy and asked if she could show me her phone. I clicked on the Twitter app and read what he had been saying. He had tweeted a few photos of me and the police officers that had been at the house earlier. I guess Trista had given him those. He posted several messages about me being okay and how wonderfully sweet and downright sexy the police officers were who came to my rescue.

My stomach started to turn as I read the pages and pages of tweets Brick had been sending out as me over the past few weeks. He made me seem like such a ditzy bimbo in some of them; I hated it.

“Don’t mind Brick. He’s just an idiot. He thinks that is how all women talk,” Mindy said as she took her phone from my hand. “So I totally have the best news. I was talking to Trista and in light of all the buzz around the band right now she thought it might be fun if we joined them onstage for the next few shows.”

Bree added, “And we can totally coordinate all of our outfits like we did the last time. Think how hot we would be!”

“I don’t know what Billy would think about that.”

“You really think that after all of this happened he would let you more than an arm's length away from him ever again?” Mindy joked.

I shook my head no. “I guess not.”

“We are going to be the most awesome addition to the band ever!”

Darla leaned over the couch and added, “And we have the first show this weekend.”

I looked over at Billy who was across the room talking to the boys. He seemed to be pointing out where various events from earlier had taken place. I had to look away. I just didn’t want to think about it again.

I was tired, more mentally drained than anything, and wanted to take a nap but I was too scared to be away from the crowd of people so I stayed on the couch quietly listening to everyone talk around me.

Eventually Trista joined us on the couch. “Okay. So Kita and the boys will be moving some of your things downstairs to Billy’s room. You’ll be staying with him until Jeromy gets home.”

“No, I can’t. No way.”

“Stacy, why are you arguing with me? Do you really think this is optional?” Trista said as she glanced over at Billy. I sighed. She was right. After what happened today, Billy really never was going to let me out of his sight. And, truth be told, I really didn’t want to be upstairs by myself. I would rather be in the safety of Billy’s arms until Jeromy got back. Jeromy. Now more than ever I wished he was here with me, taking care of me.

I tried my best to keep my eyes open but as the conversations dragged on it all got just too much for me. My eyes were just too heavy to stay open. I laid my head back on the armrest of the couch and fell asleep.

When I woke up it was dark outside. Mindy and Bree were still sitting on either side of me, this time watching TV. Billy and the rest of the guys were sitting on the other side of the room at the card table they had set up in the living room, drinking beer and laughing. “Zander, you cheating mother fucker,” I heard Patrick say and then they all laughed.

“Hey, Little Miss Sleepyhead. You totally missed it.” Mindy said.

“Missed what?”

“We decided on what we are going to wear this weekend, silly!”

“Darla wanted us to cover our bodies in crystals instead of clothes. Starla wanted us to dress up like Las Vegas showgirls. While they were both great ideas, I think they are just a little much. So after some debate, we agreed to dress as go-go dancers. You know like from the sixties. We are going out tomorrow and pick up our costumes. Aren’t you excited?”

“Oh yeah, that sounds great.” I wasn’t really all that enthused about the upcoming shopping excursion. But they were so excited I didn’t want to be rude or hurt their feelings, especially after they had been so sweet and supportive.

“And while we are there we can check out what else they have. This is going to be so much fun!” Bree enthused.

“You know we don’t always have to dress up in costumes. Can’t we all just wear the same color? Like one day we all wear black, the next we all wear red?” I asked, hoping she would agree so I could get out of the shopping trip.

“Well, yeah, but where is the fun in that? I guess we can do that sometimes but we should at least try and get a few cool costumes to wear, don’t you think?”

Out of the corner of my eye something that flashed on the TV caught my attention. I grabbed the remote and turned it up. Oh my God! It was a story about me. Please tell me they did not just flash a picture of me in Billy’s boxers. Oh God they did.

“Houston’s very own superstar Stacy Keller had a run in today with an overzealous fan. The story ended in tragedy when he resisted arrest and was shot by an HPD officer. After the incident Stacy tweeted a message to her fans letting them know she was okay and appreciated the officers that came to her rescue. The man who has yet to be identified broke into her home in an attempt to get closer to the star. We’ll have more on this story as it develops.”

The second the station cut to commercial everyone’s phone almost simultaneously started to buzz. I turned to Billy to see if he had watched what I just did. Vin was talking to him. “This shit’s not going to die down anytime soon. We might want to consider bringing in some additional security for the girls at the shows, at least for a while.”

“Yeah, man. Do whatever you think is best. That’s a good idea.” Billy was patting his hand on his leg, as if he wanted me to sit on his lap.

I made my way over to the table and sat down on his leg. I watched them play cards for a while but as the hour got late I really wanted to go lie down. I didn’t want to be alone but I also didn’t want to take Billy away from his friends so I just sat there quietly. Luckily my body spoke volumes for me and I let out a yawn and laid my head on his shoulder.

“It’s getting late and I need to get this one to bed.” Billy stood up with me in his arms and started walking to his room.

The next morning I woke up when I heard a noise coming from the closet. I jumped up, frightened. But it was only Kita, who had been putting my clothes in Billy’s closet.

“Miss Stacy, you are awake. I put your clothes away. Come see.”

“Where is Billy?” I asked, as I looked around the room hoping to find him.

“I’m right here,” Billy said as he walked out of the bathroom in just a towel that hung low off of his hips, with his toothbrush in hand. My heart skipped a beat at the sight of his bare chest and my eyes immediately made their way down to the shape of the V his lower stomach muscles made. I know I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t stop staring at him. The sight of his nearly naked body took my breath away. He smiled and was very aware that I was enjoying the view.

“Come, Miss Stacy, let me show you,” Kita said, sticking out her hand. I walked into the closet so that she could show me how she organized my clothes. She explained that she put some of his clothes in one of the spare bedrooms upstairs to make room. She then walked me over to one of the smaller dressers.

“Here this is all for you,” she said proudly as she opened one of the drawers and then the next. “I put all of your little things in these.” I reached in and hugged her, thanking her for all she has done.

“It’s my pleasure, Miss Stacy. Now head on into the kitchen and grab one of the fresh bagels before the boys eat them all.” I did as she told me to and walked out of the bedroom, headed toward the kitchen.

As I left the room I walked cautiously; I was still very shaken up from the day before. After taking my first step around the corner a big man stepped into my view. “Hey, you must be Stacy.”

I froze in place and screamed bloody murder. Billy ran up behind me and held me tight. I didn’t, however, take my eyes off the stranger who was now pleading for me to forgive him. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Billy in his rush to come get me had dropped his towel and was now pressing me tightly against his body. With one arm across my chest, securely holding in place and the other stroking my arm, trying to soothe me, he walked me backwards, back into his bedroom. He turned me around, making me face him and I dug my face into his chest. Listening to his heartbeat soothed me.

“It’s okay. Those guys are just friends of Vin’s. He brought them in for extra security until some of the madness dies down.” His voice was soft and consoling.

While he was telling me about Vin’s friends, I suddenly became aware that I was leaning against Billy’s now very naked body. When he pulled me back to lift up my chin and ask me if I was okay, my eyes darted down to his private parts.

“Hey now, no peeking at the goods,” Billy said playfully. But he didn’t recoil or pull away. He seemed to have no problem whatsoever standing there buck naked for all the world to see. I blinked several times and forced myself to focus on his eyes.

Vin came into the room to check in on me and then took me into the living room to meet his friends Rocco and Devin while Billy put some clothes on. They were big like Vincent was, also as equally scary-looking. Devin in particular had a rather menacing look. Of course the big skull tattooed on his neck probably had a lot to do with that.

Rocco was the man who I had ran into before, and he apologized for scaring me. I assured him it was more than okay. It wasn’t his fault. Just after the incidents of the day before, I was still really shaky.

After eating breakfast I decided I better call my parents and let them know I was okay. I had meant to do it yesterday but I just couldn’t. I needed time to pull myself together enough so I could make myself sound okay. I knew they would be worried and if I couldn't pull off calm, cool, and collected they might try and make me come home. That phone call turned into a two hour long conversation with quite a bit of tears. But eventually I convinced them I was fine, especially after Billy hired Vin to take care of me and he never left my side.

To drive the point home, when Mindy arrived I had her help me take a picture of me standing next to Vin, measuring his arm. His biceps were twenty-two inches around. I was really impressed. His arm was just a few inches smaller than my waist. Okay well, maybe more than a few, but still. I texted the picture to my mother to show her she really had nothing to worry about. Vin was a beast and he was my beast, taking care of me. With him by my side, I was going to be fine and she had nothing to fret about.

When I finally got my mom off of the phone, I went to take a shower, and get ready for my afternoon of shopping with the girls for clothes to wear to our next two gigs at Rowdy’s on Thursday and Friday night. I did my best to put the thoughts of that crazy man behind me but when I was alone, in the shower, I felt the thought of him creeping up on me. I felt the terror grabbing at my chest and I desperately tried to fight it off.

Suddenly I could see flashes of the moments from yesterday. They jumped into my brain like lightning bolts. There was him coming out of the bushes, and then him coming at me upstairs. There was the blood. So much blood. I shook my head sharply to try and break the images free from my mind. Tears were now streaming down my face as the water poured from overhead.

I didn’t hear the tapping at the door so when I didn’t respond Billy burst into the bathroom to make sure I was okay. I wasn’t. I was sitting in the shower, cowering in the corner, sobbing uncontrollably. He jumped in after me, clothes and all, and turned off the water and then lifted me up and into the bedroom, ordering Vin to avert his eyes and get us some towels and Mindy.

I did my best to stop crying as Billy wrapped a large towel around my body. I was so out of it, I hadn’t even realized he had seen me naked. I don’t know how much he had seen but under any other circumstances I would have probably died in horror. But today that wasn’t the case. Today I didn’t care. Today it was all I could do to keep it together.

Mindy and Bree came in just as he got the towel wrapped around my body. Mindy hurried Billy out of the room so they could get me dressed. I apologized for being such a mess and assured them I still wanted to go shopping. Maybe getting out of the house would make me feel better.

Darla and Starla said they would meet us there, while Bree and Mindy were going to ride with me and Vin. Of course he wasn’t going to let us out of the house without him and I didn’t mind this time. I felt safe with him near me. What once irritated me now felt soothing and reassuring.

We all picked various versions of a 1960s go-go dancer costumes for the first night. For the second night we would be wearing Lycra metallic silver miniskirts with matching knee high boots. The shirts were a mixture of white with some silvery shimmer mixed into the fabric. Darla and Starla decided to get some metallic silver boy shorts instead of the miniskirts that the rest of us were going to wear. They wanted to set themselves apart.

When we got back home I had a visitor. It was Jeromy’s mother Debbie. She had come by the house to check on me after seeing the story on the news. Until then I had been really good about Jeromy being out of town but having a piece of him standing right in front of me was too much and the tears dripped down my cheeks.

She put her arm around me. “Stacy dear,” she whispered softly. “It’s going to be alright. I know Jeromy misses you too. I know he loves you so much and he would never want to know he made you this upset.”

“I thought Jeromy loved me. But lately I just don’t know,” I said to her as she rocked me back and forth in her arms lovingly.

“Look around you. Don’t you think with all the money Jeromy makes he could more than afford a place for you two to live on your own?”

“I guess,” I sniffled.

“He brought you here to Billy’s house because he loves you and he wanted to make sure you would be well taken care of while he was away. His job will take him away from time to time and this was his way of making sure you were going to be alright while he was gone.”

I hadn’t really thought about it that way before. But she was right. He did make a lot of money. I didn’t exactly know how much but more than enough to secure us a nice place to live on our own had he wanted to.

I began to perk up and she hugged me again. “Now let me see that beautiful smile of yours; you know like the one I saw on TV last night.”

“Oh God. I had almost forgotten about that,” I laughed. “I hated posing for those pictures but I felt like I had to.”

“I understand. That was very sweet of you. Especially considering everything else going on around you at the time.”

I shuddered at the memory of the pools of blood upstairs.

Vin came up and hugged Debbie. He had also known her as a child. She was in awe at how much he had grown. They talked back and forth, catching up on what they had been up to over the years, and he introduced Debbie to his friends Devin and Rocco.

“I hope you boys are taking good care of my little Stacy.”

“Absolutely, ma’am,” Devin respectfully answered.

Seeing that I was in their capable hands, Debbie made her way back home and left me to get ready for tonight's show.

But before she left, I had asked her to please not tell Jeromy about what had taken place at the house. I was fine now and I didn’t want him to worry about me. There was no point in him rushing home. It was all over. After all, he was out of town right now and there was probably no way he would even hear of the story. He didn’t typically have a habit of perusing news of the local crime beat so unless someone specifically talked to him about it, he would not find out on his own.

She agreed that was mostly likely for the best to not worry him while he was away and said she wouldn’t tell him. But in return I had to promise to come to her house for lunch tomorrow. I agreed but reminded her I had to take along Vin.

She smiled and patted his stomach. “Good. I was wondering how much food it took to fill that boy up. Guess tomorrow we’ll find out.” Billy walked her to her car and I made my way to the bedroom to get ready.

The next afternoon when Vin and I arrived at Debbie’s house, we were both surprised by the feast she had laid out for us. Food was everywhere. There were little plates of perfectly cut squares of cheese, tiny little sandwiches with the crust cut off, bite sized burgers and an assortment of fruits. My favorite was the pastel colored deviled eggs. They were absolutely scrumptious. I’m not sure but I think there was just a hint of dill in there. Debbie had really outdone herself. It was all just so good. Vin filled his plate with food and then walked into the living room to give Debbie and I some privacy.

Debbie had set out some photo albums of when Jeromy was in high school. The more I browsed through the pages, the more I began to realize how often Billy was pictured with him. Not just at school functions either. He was even in family photos, like at Christmas and Thanksgiving. There really wasn’t a picture of Jeromy and his family where Billy wasn’t present.

I was starting to wonder about that when Debbie spoke. “I think it was their sophomore year when Billy’s parents died and he came to live with us. We took him in and raised him like he was our own and have loved him just as dearly ever since. I guess the boys were both about fifteen at the time.”

I knew that Jeromy and Billy had been close, but this was different. They weren’t just great friends, they were like real brothers.

“How did his parents die? Billy seems still really torn up about it, like it was somehow his fault.”

She paused for a moment as if she was remembering that fateful event and then she shook her head. “It really wasn’t his fault. It was just a horrible accident. Billy had gotten into a fight at school and broke his arm. The hospital called his parents who were out of town at the time. They took the next flight so they could be with their son. They loved him dearly. He was their whole world.”

She let out a soft sigh and continued. “They said it was mechanical failure caused by a bolt of lightning that hit one of the engines. It took a few weeks but they were finally able to recover most of the bodies, including Mr. and Mrs. Snow. Billy always blamed himself for that accident, thinking that if he hadn’t been in that fight and landed himself in the hospital they wouldn’t have been on that plane. Despite my best efforts to persuade him otherwise, sharing with him the word of the Lord and that it was just their time, there was just no convincing him otherwise.”

I was consumed by grief for Billy’s tragedy. My stomach twisted into knots just thinking about it. I had known that his parents had died, but I had no idea how bad it really was and how it has torn at him his entire life, while he blamed himself for what had taken place.

“Billy stayed with us until after graduation. Then he was eighteen and able to access his inheritance which included some money in a trust and quite a few houses around town that his parents owned and rented out. Everyone thought he would move back into his childhood home but he didn’t. He said it was too painful, too many ghosts. So my husband and I helped him go through all of the different houses he now owned until he found one he liked and that’s the place in the Woodlands. He’s been there ever since.”

I took a deep breath and tried my best to hold back the tears that I felt now forming in my eyes. Debbie rubbed my shoulder lovingly. “Now, now. I didn’t mean to make you cry. You dry those pretty eyes of yours and start eating some of this food before Vin devours it all.”

I couldn’t help but laugh as I looked up and seen Vin had returned for his third plate.

“I can’t help it. It’s all just so good,” he said as he popped a bite-sized pizza puff in his mouth and made his way back to the living room. He was right. Jeromy’s mom was an amazing cook.

After we finished with lunch I looked through more of her photo albums of Jeromy and Billy growing up. Jeromy looked much different than he did now. He was a lot skinnier and had a boyish look about him, vastly different from the manly man that he had grown up to be. He’s now far more muscular with a firmer jaw and broader shoulders. Billy, however, wasn’t hard to recognize. He looked exactly the same at seventeen as he did now at twenty-six, only his hairstyle was different and he didn’t have any facial hair back then.

Debbie started to box up all of the extra food she had made and that Vin hadn’t eaten so he could take it home with him. It was getting late and we needed to get back to the house to get ready for the show tonight.

When we arrived at Rowdy’s, Vin and I made our way towards the stage where Billy had been helping set up their equipment. When we got closer I realized he was standing there without a shirt. The way the light hit his skin had me mesmerized and I stopped walking. My knees were jelly as I stood there looking at his bare chest. I couldn’t take my eyes off of that hard, muscled flesh. I stopped so abruptly Vin almost crashed right into me. He glanced up to see what had me so captivated and then let out a low grunt.

Right after, I felt someone push up against me and then heard a loud thud. I felt more hands on me. I was frightened and I turned around to bury my body in Vin’s protective arms. He lifted me up and carried me to a room in the back. As he put me down on a chair, he started in on Devin and Rocco. He was pissed. You didn’t really hear Vin speak often, let alone raise his voice, so it startled me.

“It took you two about six seconds to get to her. Get your head out of your asses and do your job. When she’s in a room and other people are close enough to touch her then you failed.”

Trista came in next, makeup bag in hand. “Let’s look at you,” she said as she started to touch up my makeup. “It was just some stupid drunks fighting, but not to worry, the bouncer kicked them out.”

Billy came in the room and lifted my chin up to look in my eyes. “You gonna be okay to go on, Babe?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry. I just got scared. I didn’t know who was touching me.”

Billy pulled back and then glanced at the others in the room with stark impatience. At that moment I could see the Rock Star Billy turn on. It was a very different Billy than he was when we were at home. “Trista, finish her hair and makeup. Vin, after that, get her on stage,” he commanded.

Brick walked in and threw a shirt to Billy and as he pulled it down over his head I found myself incapable of removing my eyes from his flexed stomach muscles. The shirt had Rowdy’s written across his chest.

“Get your shit together, people, we have a show to do,” Billy snapped as he walked out of the room and back to the stage.

Trista, and to some extent the rest of the band had always treated Billy like a delicate genius, fragile and irreparably broken. But that wasn’t the Billy I knew. He wasn’t some weak, hypersensitive musician. He was strong and together, at least on the outside and with me. Especially now seeing him large and in charge like that, caused a chill to run up my spine. It was so arousing.

Caught up in Billy’s strength, I forgot about the earlier incident and with my hair and makeup finished, I walked out of the back room and took the stage.

When we got home Billy was back to his sweet, attentive self and held me tightly in his arms until I fell asleep. The next morning I woke up to breakfast in bed. I admit Rock Star Billy was sexy but this is the Billy I liked most. I loved how he doted on me. But then again, who wouldn’t? He was an impossibly gorgeous man who was so sweet and sensitive.

When we lay in bed together, I could see the look of contentment in his eyes. It warmed my heart. He had suffered enough in his life. He deserved peace and I loved that the peace he found was while holding me in his arms.

The rest of the time while Jeromy was away things went pretty smoothly. There were no more incidents or attacks, and the more time passed the more I was able to put the thought of that horrible day out of my mind.

Chapter 14 - Homecoming

After two long weeks I couldn’t wait to see Jeromy. I missed him so much so I decided to meet him at the airport. Vin drove and walked me to the designated gate and stood just behind me while we waiting for Jeromy to deboard the plane. Vin saw him first and said, “Oh shit”. He then grabbed my arm firmly and started to pull me away. I tried my best to resist him; I wanted to see Jeromy and I didn’t understand why he was trying to make me leave.

I turned to see if Jeromy had gotten off of the plane yet and saw him walking down the runway carrying a blonde woman on his back. He had a huge smile on his face, laughing like he used to do with me, something I hadn’t seen in such a long time. She was a beautiful girl, with long straight blonde hair. She had a tiny little face, with high, well-defined cheekbones. She had a cute little perky nose and a mouth full of really white teeth.

Jeromy noticed Vin first and stopped walking. He looked down and then saw me. His emerald green eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in surprise. The girl slid down his back to stand on her own two feet.

His brow wrinkled as he stared at me, watching to see what I was going to do. Perhaps he was unsure that he was really seeing me standing there.

I turned to face Vin and Jeromy shouted out, “Stacy, please, it’s not what it looks like!” He ran up to me and grabbed my arm, trying to force me to face him.

“Get your hands off of me!” I shouted. Now everyone was looking but I didn’t care. “Don’t you dare touch me!” My stomach was churning, my head was pounding, and I felt like I might pass out. How could Jeromy do this to me? I can’t believe this. This just can’t be real, it just can’t be. No. This isn’t happening. I tried to push Jeromy back, I didn’t want him touching me.

Looking up at Vin standing next to me, Jeromy slowly dropped his grasp on my arm and quietly said, “Please, Baby, let me explain.”

I turned and pushed my body into Vin. He wrapped his arm around me and escorted me out of the airport. But before walking off he turned to Jeromy and said, “That’s fucked up, man.”

Vin rushed me back to the house and I ran into Billy’s arms crying so hard that he couldn’t understand what I was trying to say. It was hard to form a whole sentence, I was just so upset. “Jeromy … He wasn’t alone.”

Billy hugged me tightly trying to reassure me everything was going to be okay. But it wasn’t going to be okay. I found Jeromy with another woman, a beautiful blonde woman and they had been out of town, together.

“How could he do this to me? Did you know he was out of town with her?”

“No. Of course not. I had no idea any of this was going. Stacy you have to believe if I had known I would have put a stop to it.”

Jeromy followed, only about fifteen minutes behind us. I had run into Billy’s room to get away from Jeromy as he came into the house. Vin followed Jeromy into Billy’s room and, as Jeromy got closer to me, I ran into the bathroom and into Billy’s waiting arms.

“For fuck’s sake, Stacy, let me explain, please,” Jeromy pleaded.

Billy was holding me from behind; Jeromy was standing in front of me. Vin was standing behind him. Jeromy started looking around and saw my personal things all over the sink. He looked at Billy whose hands were around my waist; then Jeromy looked up at my face and then took a step back.

“What’s going on here?” he demanded to know.

I turned my head and looked at my nightgown hanging off of the counter. I started to explain but then stopped myself. I didn’t owe him any explanation. I stepped behind Billy to get as far away from Jeromy as I could.

“Don’t go there man, it’s not what you think,” Vin said in his deep husky voice.

“Fuck you, man. I’m not blind. I can see exactly what is going on here.”

Jeromy puffed his chest out and looked like he was going to hit Billy. I screamed and Vin tried to pull him away as Billy turned around to make sure I was okay. I tried to jump in the middle to stop Jeromy and it was just all a big twisted mess of bodies. Before I knew it, Jeromy’s fist met the corner of my eye and I fell to the floor, crying out in pain. My face stung as it started to swell.

Vin looked down at me, now on the floor in tears, and shouted out, “What the fuck man?” And then he dragged Jeromy out of the room.

Billy dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around me. I could hear Vin and Jeromy talking in the other room. “What the fuck is going on? Is he fucking her?”

“Jeromy, man, calm down. It’s not what you think. Someone broke into the house while you were gone and attacked Stacy. The cops killed him just outside your bedroom door. We moved her downstairs while you were gone. She’s really freaked out man. She hasn’t been well.”

“Why didn’t someone tell me? I would have come home.”

“She didn’t want you to worry about her while you were away, man. She loves you. She was more worried about you than herself.”

“You gotta let me see her. I need to tell her I’m sorry.”

“I don’t think so, Jeromy. Not right now. You need to give her some space. You cheated on her, man. She’s not just going to get over that right away.”

At this point I began sobbing uncontrollably and couldn’t hear what else was being said. I was hysterical. Billy only wanted to comfort me but I didn’t want him touching me. I wanted to be alone. I wanted to block the entire world out.

Billy went into the living room, leaving me lying on the bathroom floor crying as I asked him to. He told Jeromy it would probably be a good idea if he went to stay with one of the other guys for now, or maybe his mother.

Next he called Trista and had her bring all the girls over to look after me. I appreciated the sentiment but I really didn’t want to see anyone. If I had my way I would have never moved off of the bathroom floor. I would have laid there until I died. How could Jeromy betray me like that? I guess I should have suspected something after he lied about Vegas but I just trusted him so blindly.

I don’t know how long I was on that bathroom floor but eventually Darla and Starla came in. Darla gently kicked my leg and I sniped, “What?”

“We are just seeing if you are still alive. If not we want your clothes. Well, not all of them because some of them are like old and gross. But some of them are okay I guess.”

“Leave me alone, Darla. I’m not in the mood for this right now.”

“Whatever. If you want to let some guy treat you like that, I guess that’s your own business.”

In the background I could hear Starla smacking her gum loudly like she and Darla always did. Something about it today though just went through me. I was so annoyed by her incessant chewing I sat up and said, “Would you please just leave me alone!”

I don’t know if it was the anger I built up over Darla and Starla annoying me or if it was the process of finally sitting up or maybe some strange combination of the two but I suddenly felt much better. I saw a smile come across Darla’s face as if she knew that by making me get up, even if it was to yell at her, I would be okay. And she was right.

I was still horribly upset about Jeromy cheating on me, but I had taken the first step. I picked myself off of the floor and walked into the living room where Mindy and Bree bounced up and down in joy at seeing me up and walking around.

“Do you know where Billy is?” I wanted to apologize to him for bringing all this drama into his house. He’s been such a sweet guy; he really didn’t deserve all of that.

Rocco said he was in the gym working out so I asked him if he would go into my room and grab my big suitcase. He did as I asked and brought it to me. I went into Billy’s closet and started packing my clothes. I didn’t really have enough room in that suitcase to fit everything but I packed what I could.

As I was just about finished Billy came into the room, slamming his bedroom door behind him. “What are you doing?”

“I’m packing.”

“I can see that, but why?”

“Because, Billy. I obviously can’t stay here anymore. So I’m going back home.”

My heart surged as Billy rushed up to me and grabbed my wrist, forcing it off of my suitcase. “This is your home.”

“You know what I mean,” I said, exasperated.

“No, I don’t.”

I sighed. “I mean I’m going back home to Oklahoma, to stay with my parents until I figure out what I am going to do with my life.”

Billy, who had finally released his tight grasp on my arm, gently put his hand on top of mine. “You don’t have to go. I don’t want you to go. I need you.”

I stopped for a moment and looked at him as he said that. His beautiful blue eyes were horribly sad. I tried to pull my hand away but he tightened his grip and then pulled my body into his.

“I can’t let you go,” he said softly as he ran his finger gently over my lips. I felt electricity course through my body.

I bit my bottom lip and then he pulled me into him tightly and gently started kissing me. His soft lips felt so good against mine. We both began to breathe heavily and he pressed his forehead to mine, sitting there for just a moment as if he was trying to control his heart rate.

His eyes narrowing, he lowered his head and took possession of my lips with a passionate kiss that made my head spin. I let out a soft moan as his lips pressed against mine. My body was burning with desire. He pulled back and brushed his thumb over my lips. His eyes were so warm and tender. The way he looked at me made my knees wobble and my breath quicken.

I started to say no, but I couldn’t force that word out of my mouth. I didn’t really want him to stop. As wrong as it was, I wanted him to throw me down and take me right here and now. My hand worked its way up his arm and he indistinctly flexed his muscles. His arms were so strong, so firm, and so damn sexy.

Still my mind raced with thoughts of Jeromy. But then again Jeromy did cheat on me. Clearly we were over, so this really isn’t cheating. Is it? My mind wanted to pull away, but my body wouldn’t move. I was in Billy’s arms, exactly where I wanted to be. If it was wrong, I truly didn’t care. All I wanted was Billy and I was tired of saying no. My body was consumed by desire and I had to have him.

“Kiss me again,” I purred and within an instant his lips were back on mine.

I ached for his body, his sensual touch. I wanted him inside of me so desperately. All of the troubles of earlier that day were no longer on my mind. The only thing I could focus on is how good it felt to be in Billy’s arms.

There were no regrets, no second-guessing. I was confident about what I wanted and that was Billy, deep inside of me. He ran his hands down my thighs and then growled.

I had pretended our flirting was nothing more than innocent banter between friends. But it had never been innocent. I wanted him and he wanted me and it had been that way for a long time now.

He pushed me down on the bed and my thoughts scattered. I pulled his shirt over his head and ran my hands over his firm chest. I moaned in pleasure as he put his hands on my stomach and started to remove my shirt.

I licked my lips with anticipation as Billy ran his hands down my thighs and then back up to my hips. He pushed my skirt up to my waist and then ran his fingers under the waistband as he gently pulled it down my now quivering legs.

There was a fire burning inside of me that only he could quench. “I need you, Billy, right now.”

He stood up and pulled off his pants. His beautiful naked body now stood before me. My eyes immediately darted to the bulge that had been growing in his pants. I didn’t realize how well-endowed he was before. I had seen him naked but it was only for a second and not fully erect.

My lust for him took over my every thought and body movement. I crawled to him and sat up on my knees and pulled him into me as we kissed -- a deep and mind-blowing kiss that took my breath away. It was if we had connected on a level that truly transcended our physical bodies. My breath grew heavy, my vision clouded and my entire body began to shake. He felt so good.

His smile deepened, and he leaned in closer. Then he pushed me back on the bed and climbed on top of me. I closed my eyes and let out a soft moan as he rocked himself gently against my body.

After, I looked up at him. His face contorted with pleasure and he said, “You are incredible.” He kissed me passionately and then laid down beside me, holding me tightly as I fell asleep in the safety of his loving arms.

When I woke up for some reason I started to think about all of the women Billy had been with before and winced at the thought. I can’t believe we had unprotected sex. I had never done that before in my entire life. What was I thinking?

“What’s wrong? Do you regret what happened?” I could feel his body tense up when he asked me that.

“Oh no, no way. Not at all. How could you think something like that?”

“You just have this look on your face like you are unhappy about something.”

“Not unhappy. Just worried I guess. You’ve been with a lot of girls and we were so caught up in the moment, we didn’t exactly play it safe.”

“No Stacy, I never.”

“Oh my God. Don’t try that with me. I know I’m not your first. I’ve seen you with other girls before!”

“No, I mean I have never been with anyone else without protection before you.”

“Seriously? Never in your entire life?”

“I’m serious. And you?”

“Never. I have always been safe. I have only been with one other guy besides Jeromy but still always, always, always. I’m so safe I am even on the pill and still use condoms.”

Billy laughed but I was serious. I had never been so irresponsible before. Still, it worried me. But then again what’s done is done. I can’t exactly go back and change the past so no point in obsessing about it. We’ll just have to be more careful in the future.

Billy kissed me on the forehead and headed to the bathroom to get ready for the show. I looked into the mirror at my black eye and told him that I didn’t think it was a good idea that I went with him tonight.

He pulled me in to give me a hug and sighed. “Okay. I want you to stay near Vin tonight, though. Promise me you won’t be out of his sight for even a moment.” I hated how overprotective everyone was sometimes, but considering all that had gone on lately I knew it was probably for the best.

After Billy left I lay on the couch staring at the television, but not really watching what was on. I couldn’t get my mind off of what had happened earlier that day. I was still upset that Jeromy had cheated on me, but happy that I had finally given in to my desire for Billy. I loved Jeromy, I truly did and what he had done hurt, but being with Billy just felt right. Just thinking of him made me blush.

I jumped off of the couch and Vin’s eyes met mine. “What’s on your mind, little lady?”

“I want to go to Rowdy’s and see Billy.”

Vin looked at the large bruise on my face. “You sure that’s such a good idea?”

I put my hand to my face, almost forgetting about the mark that Jeromy had left on me. “I can cover it. You forget we girls have makeup that can cover almost anything.” Sadly there was no makeup in the world that was going to truly cover up that mess of a bruise on my face but I did my best.

By the time we got to the bar, Jessie’s Girl was already on stage. Billy was speaking to the crowd of fans that surrounded the stage.

“This song is for a special someone that I just can’t seem to get off of my mind. She couldn’t be here with us tonight. She’s at home right now but she’s on my mind every minute and this song is for her.”

At this point the crowd cheered loudly. Billy, I suppose, thought they were cheering about his talk about me. But what he didn’t know was that I was sneaking up behind him.

Bree and Mindy, who were standing next to a smiling Zander, started bouncing up and down excitedly. I shook my head no and put my finger to my lips and shushed them. I didn’t want them letting Billy know I was there yet. I glanced towards Travis and found even Darla and Starla were smiling back at me.

The cheers of the crowd were deafening. The band started playing but had I not been standing right there watching them play their instruments, I don’t know that I would have been able to hear them.

The way Billy sang, “Another day is going by. I'm thinking about you all the time. But you're not here. And I'm waiting all alone,” gave me goose bumps.

I stood off to the side of the stage mesmerized by his singing, waiting for the perfect moment to let him know I was here. I had always loved this song and probably heard him sing it fifty times but tonight I couldn't remember any of it. It was like my body had left my mind as I stood there just watching Billy onstage.

When the tempo picked up just a tiny bit, I took a step onto the stage, thinking that was a good time to join Billy, by his side. The crowd screamed in joy. Their cheers scared me and for a moment I froze. I took a step back, realizing now probably wasn’t that perfect time.

Billy was still oblivious to what was going on behind him. The song slowed down and he softly spoke into the microphone: “I close my eyes and all I see is you. My mind races and all I want is you.”

I knew the song was almost over so as he sang the last part, I made my way onto the stage. When the drums banged out the last part of the song, I put my hands around his waist. He whipped around, wondering who was touching him and a huge smile came over his face as he saw it was me.

The noise and jostling coming from the crowd at that point was getting out of control. I glanced down and wondered if they were going to rush the stage. Vin, Rocco, and Devin must have thought the same thing because they began to close in on me as I stood locked in Billy’s arms, kissing him passionately.

He pulled his head back, looked at me for just a moment, smiled and then picked me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and laid my head on his chest. With all the noise around me I couldn’t hear his heartbeat but I could feel it.

With Vin, Rocco, and Devin clearing the way, Billy walked me to a room in the back of the bar. It was a locker room, where the waitresses stored their purses and personal belongings while they were working.

I glanced back as the door shut and saw that Vin, Rocco, and Devin had positioned themselves in front of it, standing guard. I didn’t really give them much thought though. I was too wrapped up in being there with Billy.

In the back of my mind I knew there were two hundred cheering fans in just the other room but at that moment, I didn’t really care. It was almost as if that made what we were doing all that more erotic. Those people out there were cheering for us. They were in love with our love and that was exciting.

He slid my dress up around my waist and ground his hips into mine while mine were coming up to meet his downward thrusts, each motion coordinated perfectly. The sensation was absolutely incredible.

Soon after we had finished, while Billy still held me tightly in his arms, there was a quiet tap on the door. Billy pulled away and I put my dress, which had been pushed up around my waist back down. Billy looked back at me and I shook my head no. I still couldn’t find my panties. After I did and quickly got them back on, he opened the door. It was Trista standing there with her trusty makeup bag in hand.

She didn’t say anything to Billy, just glared at him and then came over to me. “Here sit down and let me fix you. We can’t have you go back out there looking like a hot mess.”

She touched up my makeup and did her magic with my hair and then Billy led me by the hand back onstage with Vin, Devin, and Rocco walking around us, as if to block others from getting too close.

Since my first appearance on the stage nearly incited a riot, Vin didn’t feel comfortable with me being back onstage, at least not front and center, so instead he sat me off to the side on a bar stool, with a wall behind me, where he felt he had more control over my surroundings. He did let me have my tambourine to play with though, so at least that was something.

Billy’s first choice of songs when we returned probably wasn’t the best thought out. My entire body blushed as he sang, “Your love consumes me. Your heart, your passion, you desire to have me. I love the sound of your voice and the way we touch. Your love consumes me. Sometimes it’s all too much.”

I was so embarrassed. I knew it was just a song but still, it seemed so personal considering what we had done just moments ago in the back room. Did he really have to sing this song, of all songs, afterwards?

The crowd loved every minute of it. And Trista loved that because to her those whoops and hollers and deafening cheers meant more bookings and to her that is what all of this was about. If she could make this band huge, a worldwide sensation, she could hand pick any PR job she wanted with probably any company she desired. A fact she constantly reminded us of.

After playing a few more songs, their set was over and it was time for us to go home. I was hoping to stay for a bit and hang out with the gang but Vin wouldn’t hear of it. He had me by the arm and was dragging me out of the bar and back in the car before I knew what hit me.

Billy was home less than an hour later. He had to stay and help pack up all of the equipment. I had been waiting for him on the couch, watching TV, but dozed off. When he got back he scooped me up in his arms and carried me to bed and held me tightly as I fell into a deep slumber.

When I woke up the next morning I could hear Billy and Vin talking to Trista. She had come over to discuss the night before. Trista was excited.

“That was so insane. We booked six new gigs out of that. I couldn’t have planned the whole thing better myself. We also got you an interview on Good Morning Houston in three weeks. Can you believe all of this? It’s really happening.”

Vin spoke next. He grunted. That meant he wasn’t happy. It was a sound I was very used to hearing. “I don’t know, Trista. The more we put Billy and Stacy out there, the more we put them at risk. She’s already had two stalkers, one that died in this very house.”

I grimaced at the memory. I had done my best to block out the thought of that crazy man, but hearing Vin talk about it brought all of those memories rushing back. I looked around the bedroom, almost in a panic.

Trista’s voice was louder now. She wasn’t happy at what Vin had said to her. “That is what we hired you for, Vin. If you do your job then we won’t have these problems to worry about.”

I didn’t want them fighting over me; so I sat up and softly called out for Billy and within seconds he was by my side. He tilted his head up and let out a sexy, “Hey.”

Trista and Vin followed behind him. Trista crawled into bed with me. “You are not going to believe the reaction to last night. It literally brought our web server down when Brick posted the video of you and Billy when you surprised him on stage.” She looked at me, waiting I guess for me to respond, but when I didn’t she continued. “You have another three thousand followers on twitter too! Can you believe it? Three thousand in one day! And the picture of you jumping in Billy’s arms has already been retweeted over four hundred and fifty times!”

Again she waited for me to respond. I knew she wanted me to say something, maybe even jump for joy like she was but I couldn’t think of the right words to say. I was happy for Billy’s success. I wanted his band to have all of the success in the world. But in the back of my mind there were still those lingering thoughts of that crazy man who had died upstairs.

“Anywho,” she continued. “In three weeks you and the band are going to be on Good Morning Houston. They want to do a sit down interview with you and Billy and then after the whole band will play one song. An original.”

That made me perk up. One of the greatest things about all of the attention Billy and I were getting was that more people wanted to hear their original songs, so they didn’t always have to do covers. Billy wrote some great songs and I was glad that at least in a small part thanks to me, more people were getting to hear them.

I looked over to Billy to ask what song they were going to perform. He just shrugged. “I haven’t talked to the band yet. Trista just told me about this a few minutes ago. Everyone is on their way over now.”

I was sitting there in just a t-shirt and my panties. “I guess I better get up then.”

“Actually, if you don’t mind, I’ve called someone over to do your hair and makeup. There is a photographer coming at noon and I want you to look your best.”

“What?” I tilted my head a bit trying to figure out what she was talking about.

“Oh, hon, don’t worry. It’s nothing really. We just need to get some head shots and new band posters printed up so you can sign them at the shows.”

By the time I got out of the shower, Trista had already laid the clothes out on the bed that she wanted me to wear. It was a dress Jeromy had gotten me when we first came to Houston with the feather top and white tulle skirt. I put my hand to my ears, remembering the diamond dangling earrings Jeromy had gotten me as well. I sighed as I wondered if it would be appropriate for me to wear them today. They did match the dress and shoes that went with this dress so perfectly. I took a deep breath and walked over to my jewelry box now sitting on top of Billy’s long dresser and pulled them out. I ran my fingers over the little diamond chips and thought about Jeromy and how horribly things had ended with us.

He was still calling me non-stop and sent me a large number of text messages, but I didn’t bother to answer any of them. There was no point. There was nothing left to say. It wasn’t just that he lied to me and cheated on me. I was with Billy now and that’s who I wanted to be with, who I wanted to be with for a while now.

I did my best to shake off my guilt about Jeromy and walk back over to the bed to look at my pretty white dress. I did love it and since that first night I hadn’t had the chance to wear it again.

I still wasn’t dressed and had just a towel wrapped around my body; I had only had time to put on my bra and panties before Trista came bursting into the room.

“Throw this t-shirt on and some shorts.” She made her way to my dresser as she looked for some shorts she approved while I looked at the t-shirt she had handed at me. She had printed up t-shirts with the band’s name on them.

It was a simple black t-shirt with the band’s name in red raised lettering, outlined in white, in grunge-type lettering. It was actually a really cute shirt. I put it on as she turned her head to go through my dresser drawers. She pulled out a pair of my white jean shorts. They were short and hung low off of my hips. I eyed Trista warily as she handed them to me to put on. Trista may seem like she’s being nice and helping me get ready but I know her, I know she always has some other agenda.

“Hey listen. I know how you are and I know you are going to put on those huge white socks you like to wear around the house so at least these shorts will match.”

She was right. I did love wearing my comfy white Polo socks and as soon as I got my shorts on, I put my socks on next and made my way to the kitchen where the rest of the gang was waiting.

There was an annoying, all-knowing smirk on Travis' face. I really wanted to smack it off of him but I resisted the temptation. Instead I walked over to Billy and kissed him.

Billy handed me a bagel smeared with cream cheese. I put it in my mouth, loving every bite while Darla sniped, “How can you eat that thing? That’s just way too many carbs.” I didn’t listen.

In the living room Trista had large tables set up, and sent the girls in to sit at them to have our hair and makeup done. After our makeup was fully on, Brick came in with the camera. He staged various shots of the women putting our makeup on, as if they were just doing it, when in fact our faces were already fully made up.

He said he would overlay the band singing Jessie’s Girl to the video before putting it online. After we finished getting our hair done we lined up for our shots with the band wearing the new branded t-shirts. These photos were more casual and playful. Trista even let me keep my comfy socks on.

After a few group shots, Trista sent the girls to go change into their dresses. Me, however, she kept behind. Billy was seated and the other guys stood around him. I wasn’t sure where I should go but it turns out they wanted me in various places, like on Billy’s lap, learning into Zander while he held his guitar, spread out while each of them held various parts of my body like I was a surfboard and a few of me standing behind Billy.

Eventually Billy jumped up and threw me over his shoulder and everyone laughed as he carried me off. Billy put me back on the ground when we got to his bedroom door. “And here I thought we were going to have a hard time convincing you to do these photos.”

I giggled and then went into the bedroom with the other girls to change into my next outfit. After I had slipped into my pretty white dress my phone rang. I half expected it to be Jeromy, but it wasn’t. It was my mother.

“Hi Mommy!”

“Don’t hi mommy me! What is this video I am seeing of you? Did you have sex with that boy in the club?”

Oh my God. My mother had seen the video of Billy and me from last night. My mind began to race, trying to come up with something to say. How could I possibly explain away what had happened? She would never understand. I still don’t understand. My hands started to shake and as I looked at them I flashed back to last night when I had been frightened by the crowd. That’s when the story came to me.

“Mother! Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I didn’t. How could you think that?”

“Because Stacy, I’m looking at the video right here in front of me.” She was mad, more than mad. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her this upset with me before.

“Then you aren’t seeing what you think you are. Yes, it’s true he carried me off stage and to the back room, but if you look you’ll see three other large men following close behind. The crowd was getting a little worked up so they rushed me into the back room for my own safety. I had started to cry a bit and was shaky and Billy just wanted to get me away from all the noise and madness.”

I took a deep breath and continued.

“What you don’t see in the highly edited video, Mother, is after Billy got me to safety, Trista came in and touched up my hair and makeup and then we made our way back on stage. Look at the video carefully. You’ll see my hair and makeup looks better after than it did before. How do you explain that? Wouldn’t it have looked worse if I was in the back being naughty?”

“Stacy, I’m sorry. It’s just from the way the video made it look ....”

I lowered my voice and continued. “I know, Mother. I really do. I’ve talked to Brick about that before. He’s a perv. He likes to make things seem the way that they aren’t. I will talk to Billy and Trista about him again. I don’t like what he does any more than you do. I’m sorry if the video upset you, but please trust me a little more than that. I’m not going to get drunk and run around the stage naked. You know I’m not that way.”

“I just worry about you, being so far away from home, dear.”

“I know, but ... well, I hate to cut this call short but I’m in the middle of a photo shoot and they need me back out there. Can I call you later?”

“Sure. Just please remember to use your head and think before you do anything you might later regret.”

“I promise, Mother.” As I said those words my mind went to the thought of what Billy and I had actually done in the back room of the bar, not just the cover story I had told my mother. I sighed. I don’t want my mother to worry about me and I don’t want her to think badly of me. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that. Maybe things around here have been getting to out of hand lately. I’m not that kind of girl. Well, at least I wasn’t. What is it about being here in Houston that makes me lose my common sense and good judgment?

After I hung up the phone, I finished getting dressed. The other girls were waiting on me. When we came back out of the bedroom all dressed up in our fancy clothes, Trista had them touch up my hair and makeup. I had become a tad disheveled.

It wasn’t long before Trista had me positioned in Billy’s arms, smiling for the cameras with the rest of the gang. All of the girls were dressed to the nines. And the boys, well, they were in their usual jeans and t-shirts.

Billy leaned in and whispered in my ear, “I love you.” I looked up at him and smiled as he squeezed me tightly. This was the first time he had ever said that to me. My heart skipped a beat as I thought about those precious words. I know it was soon but it really wasn’t. We had been building up to our first embrace for a while and in that time had become really close. God, I have been in love with him for a while and I just didn’t realize it until now.

The cameras continued to snap photos but I didn’t care. When I was in Billy’s arms, he had a way of making me think of nothing else but him. After a few different poses everyone was starting to get restless. Finally Trista released us, telling us she got the perfect shot for our poster. It turned out to be the shot of me looking up at Billy smiling at the moment I realized that I was in love with him too.

I had felt love before. I loved Jeromy. But it wasn’t the same way that I felt for Billy. With Billy it was a deep, passionate love that bored into the very depths of my soul. It was as if fate had drawn us together and no matter how hard we tried to resist, we were going to somehow, some way be brought together as if it were decreed from the heavens above.

With Jeromy it was about the sex. It always had been that way with us. I couldn’t keep my hands off of Jeromy when we were together. There was no time to second guess the value of our relationship because if we were together, and we were always together, we were having sex, mind blowing sex. He was great in bed, strong and aggressive. You couldn’t help but get caught up in his passion.

But with Billy it is so much more. First he was my friend, a truly caring friend that I learned to depend on and trust. Then came the sex, but different than how it had been with Jeromy. Billy’s body felt like it was made to be with mine. We just physically connected in such a way that I felt like for the first time in my life I knew what it meant to make love.

But even before things got that far, things with Billy were different. We had intimate moments together without having to have sex. He knew how to make me feel loved without making love to me.

He also made an effort to include me in his life, even if I protested, not wanting to go on stage and be the center of attention. Billy at least tried to include me in his life whereas Jeromy, if we weren’t having sex or he wasn’t buying me things, we had nothing else together. He didn’t really even like to talk about work. He made me feel like a burden so many times. I hated that feeling. I wanted to be my own person but he made me feel guilty because then I wouldn’t have enough time to be there for him when he got home from work. And since he made all of the money, I felt I had to do things his way.

Realizing how much I had been standing here obsessing about all of this, I tried to force the thoughts out of my mind. Now wasn’t the time to obsess about Billy and Jeromy. I could think about that later when there weren’t so many people around. Still the guilt about Jeromy was strong. Billy was his best friend.

“I guess my sister was right, sometimes the worst thing you can do is fall in love.”

That last part I didn’t realize I had said out loud, soft but still audible. “What?” Billy asked.

“Oh I’m sorry, nothing. It was just something my sister used to say. It’s nothing. Really. Let’s go over and see the pictures. The photographer has his camera hooked up to his laptop, showing Brick and Trista how the shots turned out.”

We walked over to the photographer to check out the pictures. They were all great. Darla and Starla really knew how to work the camera. They never took their eyes off of Travis. They gave him a sort of we are going to take you right here and now look in every single photo.

I started to think how Billy’s little four man band had grown so dramatically. Besides the sound engineer, manager and website guy who had been there before me, there was now me and the rest of the girls who joined him onstage for every performance. Their gang now had twelve people and that didn’t even include the three bodyguards. It was a huge group but it felt so right. We all just clicked and things fell perfectly into place. We were all one big happy family, despite a few members who may annoy me at times. I glared over to Travis and then to Brick. Okay maybe we weren’t one big happy family all the time, but we definitely had our moments.

I was completely lost in that thought when I heard a loud thump outside. The room fell silent as everyone wondered what the noise was. Mindy grabbed my left hand and squeezed tightly. I looked down at her hands that were now shaking uncontrollably. The girls began to scream and the situation quickly got out of hand. I couldn’t hear Billy but I see him mouthing the words “get them out of here” as he made his way to the backyard where they thought the noise might have come from.

Devin scooped all of the screaming girls up in his big arms, a couple at a time, and scooted them towards the safe room, one of the newest additions to the house. Billy had the room added on after the last attack. At the time I thought he was just being way too overprotective but now I was really glad he did it.

I didn’t go with the other girls into the room. Devin had somehow missed me and I stood there frozen in fear, looking around me, taking in all of the madness.

Billy looked back just before he walked out the door and again, I couldn’t hear a word he said but I could see him mouthing” “Noooo” as he ran towards me. He didn’t get to me before Vin had picked me up and threw me into the safe room and once inside, Trista slammed her hand down on the large red button. I stood in front of the big door that shut before me and listened to the steel rods latch in place, one by one, securing the room; making it near impossible for anyone to get through the door.

When the last one clicked, the lights above us began to flicker on. I turned around to look at the room which was now coming to life. The girls stood huddled together, too scared to move, too scared to make any noise. Still you could hear soft whimpering coming from them. It didn’t really matter though. The room had been made soundproof so as to not give away our location.

The bad part about the soundproofing was that we could no longer hear what was going on outside, something I desperately wanted to know. I needed to know. Not knowing was just too much pressure. I started to panic. I could feel my heart beating louder and faster. I took slow deep breaths trying to regain my composure. I didn’t want to pass out. I needed to keep it together, not only for Billy but for all the other girls who were in here with me right now, scared out of their minds.

Hearing the soft whimpers coming from the girls all huddled together, I turned to face them and when I did, I remembered the cameras Billy had put in this room. There was no sound but we could see almost every part of the house from here. I started flicking switches and as I did the cameras came to life and the screens lit up showing us different spots. There was a shot of the gate, of the front door, of the back door, of the side of the yard near the terrace where the last crazy guy had appeared. There were a few cameras in the house including the kitchen, the foyer, the living room and one in the upstairs hall.

Swarms of police soon arrived and did as the boys were, walking around every inch of the house inside and out looking for an intruder.

Kita, who was locked in the safe room with us, told us what she had seen when she was coming home from the grocery store. There was a man with a large knife, like a machete, coming out from around the corner of the house. The loud thump we heard was the man jumping the fence getting to the backyard or perhaps Kita running her car into the house. She was so freaked out by what she had seen, she wasn’t paying attention and told us that she bumped the car into the wall.

I couldn’t understand how the alarm didn’t go off. I thought they had long since secured the grounds. We eyed the cameras carefully, looking over every inch of the house and yard we could see.

Eventually the search of the grounds was called off and the door to the safe room opened. Still cautious, we made our way out of the room and ran into the arms of the men waiting for us, to comfort and reassure us.

But in a way it was a false sense of security because out there somewhere was a crazy man with a big knife, waiting for his opportunity to get back in. It might not be today, it might not even be next week, but one day, I knew he would try again.

That night Billy and I made the news again. The story was about our intruder but still Trista delighted in the fact that they mentioned us playing at Rowdy’s this Thursday and Friday night.

As expected the bar was packed; it was standing room only. Vin hated every minute of it and made sure that he, Devin, and Rocco never left my side the entire time. While at times in the past I liked to give him a hard time about how much he watched over me, after the incident with the machete-wielding psycho, I stayed as close to him as I could, just in case.

Things between Billy and me were great. Our love was new and exciting and the more we were swept up in each other's bliss, the more our fans seemed to follow along and revel in it as well.

I guess to some it might seem strange how we lived our lives in the public eye, tweeting pictures of us having breakfast together or shots of him throwing me in the pool, something he enjoyed all too much. There really was no part of our life that was off limits, at least not in the minds of Brick and Trista.

They captured and broadcast every tender moment that they could. Minus that, to me our lives were perfect. I don’t think that I had ever been as happy in my life. I was definitely in the love bubble, completely unaware of anything else going on around me. I was happy. Billy was happy. We were together and that was all that mattered to me.

I even somehow found a way to ignore all the girls that would fall over themselves just to get a look at Billy while he was onstage and the swarms of girls that tried to touch him when he wasn’t.

Chapter 15 - Good Morning Houston

The day of our big television appearance had finally arrived. The only problem was we had to be up really early as it was a live show and it started at 6 am. We weren’t scheduled to be on until 8 am, but still they wanted us there early for preparations.

The host of the Good Morning Houston show was a sweet lady that came into the green room to give us a welcome. When she did she took one look at Billy and let out of soft, “Oh my.” All the girls giggled. It was something by now we had seen and heard a million times. Billy was drop dead gorgeous, even at this time of the morning.

It was so early and nobody was really awake yet, so for the most part the gang was pretty subdued, barely paying attention to the production assistant who came in after the show’s host to give us some instructions while Trista was frantically pouring cups of coffee down the boys’ throats trying to make sure they would be awake enough when it came time for them to go before the cameras.

Unlike the men, the girls had been up for quite a bit longer. We had wardrobe to get into as well as hair and makeup. Brick had wanted us to really slut it up for the cameras but luckily Trista agreed with me in the wardrobe department and had styled all the girls in matching white and gold dresses. They were sexy, but classy. Well, all but Starla and Darla’s. For some reason they decided to forgo the elegant outfits and instead wear matching very low-cut white dresses that had shiny golden belts. When Trista asked them about the change they just went on about how the bigger belts would sparkle better for the cameras in the overhead lights. That, of course, wasn’t what Trista meant. The dresses were rather provocative for morning television and we all worried they would make them change or prevent us from getting to go on altogether.

Bree, Mindy, and Tiffany had similar looking Greek-goddess-like dresses that fell to the floor but had a split up the entire length of the gown exposing their legs. Tiffany was going to go onstage with us today. While she normally preferred to stay near Patrick while we were performing, with Trista’s encouragement, today she would be front and center with the rest of us. And by “encouragement” I mean Trista’s incessant whining.

For me, I had figured that since I was going to be placed front and center of the stage next to Billy they would find some outrageous costume to put me in and I wasn’t wrong. Mindy had found the dress in a magazine and had shown it to Trista. Together they worked with a local seamstress who handmade a similar copy for me. The dress was made into sections. The main part was a tight, flesh colored mini skirt that had delicate gold embroidered design around my chest to cover my breasts but just barely. Just in case anything happened or my dress moved in some way I hadn’t foreseen, I covered my nipples with a bronze sparkle eye shadow. Better to be safe than sorry.

Starting at about my hips the back of the dress went on to flow to the floor. It wasn’t really a separate piece, it all flowed seamlessly together, but to me it felt like different pieces since the front of the dress was so tight and short. Nobody else could tell from just looking at me, but I could feel the little pins that were attaching the train. On my feet I wore a brand new pair of gold sequin, platform heels that Trista had bought for me to match the dress. I loved them and marveled at how they sparkled in the lights as I nervously paced the floor waiting for them to call us on to the stage.

I tried to keep my focus on my shiny new shoes as we were shuffled off down a long hallway, headed towards the stage. Like the real pros the boys were, when it came time for them to head out they perked up and turned it on. You could actually see the transformation take place in their body language. It was fascinating to watch them go into rock star mode.

We strutted out to the stage where the equipment had been set up for us and the lights overhead were turned on. It took me a moment to adjust my eyes to their brightness. Trista was clapping her hands and saying “Places, ladies. Come on, we are about to go live.”

She stepped into the background standing behind the cameras and a man started to count down, “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six …” and then he said nothing. Instead he lifted his hand in front of him holding up five fingers, then four, then three, then two and then a bright red light on top of the camera came on.

Darla and Starla were perfectly positioned as always on each of Travis’ arms. Tiffany, Mindy, and Bree stood near Zander, and I was placed up front with Billy, only off to the side more. Billy took center stage and rightfully so. He looked so sexy in his faded blue jeans that hung a little low on his waist and showed just the top of his white Calvin Klein underwear underneath when he put his hands in his front pocket. He had on the band’s black t-shirt that fit him tightly and showed off every bit of the well-toned chest underneath.

The second the red light came on above the main camera in front of us, the band started playing. In all of the excitement I had forgotten to find out what song they had decided on. It was an upbeat song that had a solid rock beat to it. It was one of their originals and the lyrics mentioned something about his favorite memory. I had heard Billy singing it before in the bathroom in the mornings.

It didn’t really matter what song they played, us girls pretty much always had the same role; we were arm candy for the band. Sure I may have had a tambourine in my hand but I knew the real reason I was on stage with the other girls. We made the boys look good and that is all that Trista cared about, the image of her little rock gods in the making.

After the song was over, Billy and I were led over to sit next to the host of the show while she asked us several questions. While we were heading over to that part of the stage I heard her say, “Everyone give it up for our special guests Billy Snow, Stacy Keller, and the rest of Jessie’s Girl who performed their new song Favorite Memory.”

As we sat down she started in right away with her questions. They were your typical interview questions like how did you meet, did it bother me that all the girls were screaming for Billy throughout every performance, and so on. She talked to Billy a bit about how the band got together and what the name meant.

I turned my head to look at him, wondering what story he was going to tell her live early morning TV. I held my breath as he grinned and told her the story about how the name served as a reminder that women may come and go but friendship lasts forever. He shrugged. “It just reminds us that friendship is more important than some fling.”

I finally relaxed, grateful he didn’t add the typical “and no bitch is worth all that shit” to the story, which he had done so many times in the past. I squeezed Billy’s hand but when he didn’t squeeze it back I looked his way again. He was looking down at the ground.

The host turned to me next. “So tell me, Stacy, what was it like to suddenly wake up one day and be famous?”

“It was exactly like that,” I said enthusiastically. “I woke up one day and I had Trista, the band’s manager, telling me about all these Twitter followers and how many views our videos had on YouTube. I couldn’t believe it.”

I turned my head towards Trista who was standing behind the camera with Brick. He was slowly shaking his head, mouthing “no”. I think he was a little bit panicked that I would reveal he had been tweeting as me. But I knew better than to do that.

“The great thing about Twitter is that you don’t really feel like you are sending out a message to thousands and thousands of followers. It’s just like you are talking to a few friends, like I was saying, hey Mindy this is what I’m wearing tonight, what do you think about it? But in reality that message would go out to everyone. It’s still hard to wrap my head around the fact that I now have over 200,000 followers. It doesn’t even seem possible.”

I paused for a moment and continued. “It’s strange, really, if you think about it. I can’t sing. I don’t even know how to play a real instrument, all I really am is ambiance, Billy’s arm candy. Heck, even our sound guy Patrick can play the keyboard and his girlfriend Tiffany can play the piano. If you ever heard her play it would make you cry it’s so beautiful.”

“Now that’s not true. A little birdie told me that you and Billy have a song that you sing with him. Tell us about that.”

I knew immediately who that little birdie was and she was standing behind the camera right now next to Brick in her navy blue pencil skirt and spiked heels.

I blushed as I told the host of the show the story of our love song. “I’m so embarrassed. I didn’t think anyone knew about that. It’s not really a song that the band plays. It’s just something Billy and I played around with when we are at home alone.”

The host nodded her head and softly said, “Uh huh,” as if she wanted me to go on.

“I had heard a song before playing on the radio and immediately fell in love with it. Billy said that we could do one better so we sat down and wrote our own love song.”

There was some shuffling behind me and as I turned my head Tiffany was sitting behind a piano that had now appeared on the stage where Billy and I once stood. Turning back to Billy, I saw him getting up to grab his guitar.

The host asked, “What are we going to have to do to get you to sing it for us?”

“No, no, no.” I shook my head furiously. “I couldn’t. Oh my goodness no”.

I looked up at Billy as he was now putting the guitar strap over his shoulder. “No please,” I muttered softly as I looked into his eyes. He didn’t actually say the words but mouthed, “For me?”

In the background I could hear Tiffany start to play the first few notes of the song. Billy leaned against the arm of the loveseat with his acoustic guitar in hand, where I sat looking up at him with my hand on his knee.

“Your heartbeat helps me sleep at night and your kiss warms my soul.”

This time Billy didn't look to the camera as he performed. He never took his eyes off of me and I never stopped looking at him. I’m pretty sure he did it because he knew if he didn’t keep me focused on him I would have bolted off of that stage so fast their heads would have been spinning.

He strummed the chords on his guitar and continued to sing the romantic sweet words of the song we had written together. As he sang the words, “My arms feel empty when you aren’t in them. My love for you grows every day. My heart aches for you in each and every way,” a single tear fell down my cheek.

At the last line of the song he stood up and so did I. He pushed his guitar to the side and pulled me into him and I looked up at him as together we sang, “I love you more than I ever knew I could love someone. I love you more with every kiss. I love you more than I ever knew I could. Your love is true bliss.”

As the song ended a loud man shouted, “And we’re clear.” The staff quickly shuffled us off as they set up for the next segment of the show.

Walking down the long hallway back towards the green room Travis said, “Holy fucking shit. That was unreal. We are going to be so fucking famous after that shit.”

I turned my head towards him and smiled. “Yeah, Travis, you guys were amazing today. You killed it onstage. I’m so proud of you guys. We are going to have to beat the girls off of you now with big sticks.”

Trista came up behind me, locking her arm in mine. “Hon, I don’t think that’s what he meant.”

I stopped walking for a moment and looked at her, waiting for her to fill me in on what she was talking about but she didn’t bother. She just tugged my arm and said, “Come on, you have some autographs to sign.”

Vin stood at the back door of the studio shaking his head. “It’s a madhouse out there, man. No way are we getting out of here without getting mobbed.”

“Well, let’s get the fuck on it,” Travis joked as he pushed his way out the door, Darla and Starla hanging on each arm. The fans screamed his name and he signed several autographs while Darla and Starla threw out our new posters to several of the hysterical girls.

Zander and Bree went out next, quickly followed by Mindy and Bran, all pausing to sign autographs as they made their way to the waiting stretched out Hummer limousine.

Patrick and Tiffany walked out next, alongside Brick and Trista. They jumped into the back and then it was just me and Billy, well, and Vin, my trusty bodyguard who I knew would never leave my side, especially with a mob of screaming fans just feet away. Devin and Rocco were already waiting by the car with their hands on the doorknob to quickly open it for us when we got close enough. When we didn’t come out right away, they started walking towards Vin to help him out.

I held my breath and looked into Billy’s eyes. He still stopped my heart with his perfection. We took a single step out the door and the screams and shouts began. Hastily I began to pick my way through the sea of women that stood between us and the door to the limousine. Vin, Devin, and Rocco did what they could to clear a path for us but it wasn’t easy. Women were grabbing at Billy, ripping his shirt off as he tried to walk by them. We stopped for a moment to sign a few autographs but things were getting out of hand and Vin wanted us to get out of there.

As more hands reached out to grab at us, Billy came up behind me, grabbing my waist and leaning in on me, covering my body with his, and acting as a shield while Vin got the door opened and shuffled us inside. Vin, Rocco, and Devin followed behind and then we were off.

The mood on the ride home was electric. Everyone was so revved up from all that had taken place that morning. At that moment I really thought everything was truly perfect in my life. I however, was wrong. Oh so horribly wrong.

When we pulled into Billy’s driveway, Jeromy was there leaning against his car waiting for us. “Hey man! Long time no see,” Vin said as he jumped out of the limo and put one hand on Jeromy’s back and then shook his hand with the other. Jeromy shook it back but didn’t take his eye off of the limousine. He waited for me and Billy to step out before he started towards us.

“I saw you on Good Morning Houston. I no longer have to wonder why you haven’t been calling me back. I completely get it now. How could I have been so blind? It all makes sense now.”

He turned to Billy, who had grabbed his arm trying to pull him away from me to get him to calm down. Jeromy jerked away from him. “I fucking trusted you, man. How could you?”

“Excuse me? You cheated on me, Jeromy. I never touched Billy until after we broke up. A breakup, might I remind you that was due to your infidelity! How dare you come in here acting all high and mighty. I loved you with every fiber of my being. You broke me. I was devastated by what you did, so don’t play victim with me.”

I started to walk away when Jeromy said, “I never cheated on you, Stacy.”

I quickly turned around. I was shaking as he said those words. How dare he deny what he had done? I had seen the two of them together with my own eyes. I screamed, “Bullshit!”

But Billy, who was standing next to me, now said something that would shake me to my very core. “No, Stacy. He didn’t cheat on you.”

I turned to face Billy, unsure if I really heard him say what I thought he did. Billy looked down to the ground and said “I found out last night.”

I turned towards Jeromy, who said, “You never gave me a chance to explain.”

I turned towards Mindy and she just shrugged. Bran and Zander were just looking at the ground, trying to avoid eye contact.

My heart was beating fast. My head was spinning. I was having a hard time catching my breath. I couldn’t understand any of this. I could hear Jeromy talking to me but still I couldn’t get what Billy said out of my head. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

I only found out last night, and everyone was rushing around this morning trying to get ready for the show. I just didn’t think it was the right time. I didn’t want you to freak out before we went live on the air.

“I can’t believe you Billy. How could you?”

“It wasn’t like that Stacy. I’m sorry. I should have told you as soon as I found out. I made a bad judgment call.”

My whole world was crashing down around me. I had a hard time thinking straight. I just wanted to get away and go somewhere I could be alone to think and sort it out.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see my car. I ran and jumped inside, quickly locking the doors behind me. Vin wasn’t too far behind me and positioned his massive body in front of my car blocking my departure. I was angry and I wasn’t going to let him or anyone else stop me from leaving. I rolled the window down. “Get out of my way, Vincent, or I will run over you. I’m not joking.”

Billy said, “Let her go, man. Let her go.”

As Vin moved out of my way, I spun out of the driveway and drove around aimlessly until my car got low on gas. I looked around trying to find a gas station, truly having no idea where I had gone. Nothing around me looked remotely familiar. After filling my car up with a new tank of gas, I pulled out my phone. I thought for a moment about where I wanted to go. I knew I didn’t want to go home. And then it hit me. I knew exactly where I wanted to be.

Thanks to the map feature of my phone, I found my way to where I wanted to go, which was only about a forty minute drive. I really had gone much further than I realized. When I pulled up in her driveway and stepped out of my car, Debbie was standing at the door and met me with a huge smile on her face.

“Well, aren’t you adorable?” I looked down realizing for the first time I still had my fancy dress on from the show. “I watched you on TV this morning. You lit up the stage. Why aren’t you out celebrating with your friends?”

I didn’t say anything as I walked towards her. When I got to the door she put her arm around my shoulder and we went inside. A few steps in I dropped my knees and the tears began streaming down my face.

“Now, now. It’s can’t be all that bad.”

I tried to speak a few times but I was crying so hard Debbie couldn’t understand a single word I said. She sat down on the floor beside me, with her arm around me, rocking me back and forth, just letting me get it all out.

“Those boys sure did a number on you, didn’t they? I have a right mind to bend them over my knee and spank their little behinds for what they have done to you.”

She was so loving, her tiny little frail arms so supportive and warm as she gently rocked me back and forth while I cried. Still, I couldn’t help but let out a little laugh at what she was saying.

“Now that’s what I like to see. You have such a pretty face. You should never have anything but a smile on it.” She pulled some tissues out of her pocket and started to wipe my tears away and clean up some of the makeup that was now streaked down my face.

“Those boys. I just don’t know what I’m going to do with them sometimes.”

Jeromy walked in and looked down at us sitting on the floor. I looked up at him with my swollen and bloodshot eyes.

Debbie stood up, brushing off her pants leg. “Well now, I better get on those dishes that have been piling up in the kitchen. I suppose you two have some serious talking to do.”

She walked off into the kitchen and Jeromy pulled me up to my feet. I fell into his arms and buried my face in his chest as he chastised me for running off. “Stacy, what were you thinking? You can’t take off like that. Do you know how worried everyone has been about you? I don’t know what I’m going to do with you sometimes.”

He put his arms around me and hugged me tightly, lifting my feet off of the floor just slightly. “I’m so glad you are okay.”

“I’m sorry, Jeromy. I just had to get away. I had to think. I just ...” I paused for a moment trying to find the right words. “Why didn’t Billy tell me the truth?” I felt stupid the second I asked it. I knew why he didn’t tell me. He knew that if I knew the truth I might go running back into Jeromy’s arms and he was right; I probably would have. I don’t know, but it should have been my choice to make.

Jeromy took me back to the bedroom he had been staying in at his mother’s so we could have complete privacy. He sat me down on the edge of his bed and then sat down next to me. I twisted my body a bit and rested my legs over his. Jeromy and I spent about two hours just talking. We talked about his trip to Vegas.

“I was wrong to go without telling you first. I put my job before you. I put a big money deal before you. I should have made you a bigger priority in my life. When I got on that plane to Vegas I knew it was a mistake. I should have told you the truth. I don’t know why I didn’t. You probably would have understood the situation I was in and that I had to go to close that deal. But I justified it, because it was easier to just not tell you.”

We talked about his trip to Detroit and the Barbie doll looking blonde I saw him leaving the plane with. He explained that the two had worked together for years and she was happily married to his boss and she revealed to him on the plane that she was pregnant with her first child and they joked about the delicate condition she was in, so she jumped up on his back and let him carry her. It was really nothing more than playful banter between two friends but that after the struggle in the house where he accidentally blackened my eye he thought it best to give me some time to calm down before trying to speak to me about it. Then after that I just refused to see him or even talk to him.

My stomach turned in knots. What he said did completely make sense and I felt horribly guilty for not hearing him out before. But still, despite the guilt there was still something else I was feeling and it wasn’t for him. I was angry with Billy for not telling me the truth about Jeromy, but even with my anger, my heart still ached for him.

“Please, Baby, tell me it’s not too late for us.” I looked at Jeromy as he said those words to me, but I think we both knew that it was. There was no going back. Too much had taken place between then and now.

Jeromy went to go to the bathroom and I pulled my buzzing phone out of my purse to check my messages. There were a ton of them. Besides the forty three text messages I had from various people including Mindy, Bree, Trista, and Billy, I also had a ton of missed phone calls and some voice mail messages too. I pushed play on the most recent one. It was from Billy.

In the background you could hear Trista saying, “You better find a way to get her back here.” Billy sighed and then spoke into the phone. “Hey. I know you are upset and I don’t mean to bother you. I just wanted to make sure you are okay. Please just let me know you are alright and I’ll leave you alone.”

You could hear the sadness in his voice. It tugged at my heartstrings. But I wasn’t going to let him off of the hook that easy.

I scrolled through some of the text messages from Billy. “If I had a penny every time I thought of you, I'd be the richest man in the world.” I couldn’t help but laugh at that one. Billy is such a cheese ball sometimes. The next text message however almost made me start crying again. “To the world, you may be just one person. But to me, you are the world.” After reading his text messages I wanted to play another one of the voicemails he left me just to hear the sound of his voice again but, before I could Jeromy came back into the room.

He leaned on the door frame as I put my phone back into my purse. He looked down at my still red and swollen eyes. “You going to be okay to drive back home or do you want me to take you? I can have your car sent back to you later.”

“No, I’m okay. I can make it. But I guess I should really give the car back to you. I can’t keep it. It’s way too expensive.”

“Stacy, I got that car for you as a gift. I’m not going to take it back just because we broke up. That’s your car. I can’t take back what isn’t mine. I even put the title in your name. That is your car.”

“Jeromy, no, it’s really too much. I can’t.”

“Please. It would mean a lot to me if you would keep it. I still love you. I will always love you. Just because we aren’t together anymore doesn’t mean that is going to change. You will always hold a special place in my heart and I don’t ever want you to forget that.”

He pulled me up into his arms and hugged tightly and there we stood for a moment. I didn’t want him to let me go. It felt safe and comforting being wrapped securely in his arms like that. For just a brief moment in time all of the problems of the world were gone. There was no Billy, no lies, no band drama, no stalkers, and no photographers, nobody asking for my autograph, there was just Jeromy and I and it was as if that was exactly how it should be.

But still, I knew my time with Jeromy was over. He has always been generous to a fault. Even though I knew it was Billy I wanted to be with, I couldn’t deny how wonderful Jeromy had been to me. Jeromy was in so many ways a great boyfriend, but my heart wanted Billy and no matter how much my brain might have thought Jeromy was the better option, the rest of me wanted nothing more than to fall into Billy’s arms. Jeromy was a good boyfriend, someone I knew and could depend on. He was stable and mature and giving. He was every girl’s dream, just not my dream. I was in love with Billy and no matter how mad I was at him right now, I needed him.

“Now let’s get you back home before they send Vin and his buddies over to collect you. I think that might freak my mother out, seeing them carry you out the door.”

Before leaving I let Jeromy know that I would be returning the car when I was able to get a job and get back on my feet. I appreciated the sentiment but I couldn’t keep the car. It really was just way too expensive. He smiled and agreed but something tells me that’s a battle we’ll be fighting again one day. He doesn’t normally just give in like that.

I took the long way home, wanting to stretch out the drive as long as I could to give me time to think. Through all of this the only one who ended up really betraying me was Billy. Could I ever forgive him for lying to me? Could we fix this? Trust is such an important factor in a relationship, could I trust him again? I had all of these questions and thoughts on my mind as I pulled into the long driveway at Billy’s house. The gate was not only unlocked but it was wide open. As I got closer to the house I saw a police car in the driveway.

My heart sped up. I began to panic. Oh God not again! I turned off the motor, grabbed my purse and ran in the door, frantically looking for Billy, to make sure he was okay. He was standing in the foyer next to Vin, talking to one of the officers from the last attack who had only come back to finish up his report. He had a few more questions for us about the break-in.

“Stacy! Oh my God! We missed you!” Mindy and Bree ran over to me, hugging me and bouncing up and down. Billy eyed me cautiously as he continued to talk to the police officer. Devin and Rocco were now next to me; reading me the riot act about going off by myself.

“Leave her alone!” Bree told the men who were starting to make me cry. Mindy and Bree put their arms around me and walked me into the living room and over to the couch. Devin and Rocco were never more than two steps behind us. There was no way they were letting me get away again.

As we sat down on the couch I threw my purse at them. “Here, jackasses! Take my purse if you don’t trust me.”

Mindy put her arm around me. “It’s okay, Stacy. Just ignore them.” But they weren’t exactly easy to ignore.

In the background I could hear the officer ask Billy what that was about. Billy must have told him about me taking off earlier today because before I knew it he was on his way over to me.

“Miss, are you okay?”

The officer looked around at all the people in the room and when they put their heads down and looked away he asked me to come with him into the other room. He wanted to speak with me alone. Devin and Rocco tried to follow but the officer ordered them to stand down. He put his hand on his gun and assured them I was more than safe with him.

“Want to tell me what is going on, ma’am?”

I sighed. “It’s really nothing. I promise. Just relationship drama.”

“Why did you run off like that without protection? Did you already forget about what happened not too long ago?”

“I don’t know. I think I just panicked and I was upset and I just needed to get away.”

“What had you so upset?”

“It wasn’t a what, it was a who.” I looked down to the ground, thinking about Jeromy and then about Billy. My eyes started to mist over as I thought about all that had happened and my breakup with Jeromy and how Billy lied to me.

“Did someone hurt you?”

“Not physically, no. It was my ex-boyfriend. He saw us on television this morning and he didn’t react well to it.”

“And your ex-boyfriend is one of the guys in the other room?”

“Oh goodness no. No, no ... They are from the band. My ex is staying in Tomball with his mother.”

The officer relaxed when I said that and took the seat at the kitchen table next to me. “Is that where you went when you left here?”

“Not at first, no. I really just drove around for a while. Then somehow for some reason drove over there. We talked for a little bit and then I came back home and here we are now.”

“Do you understand how dangerous it is out there for you right now? There is a machete-wielding stalker on the loose who is looking for an opportunity to get you alone.”

“I know. I really do. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make everyone worry about me like that.” I put my hands up to my face and started to cry again.

“Please for the love of all things holy, don’t get the girl crying again.” Starla scoffed as she came into the room and put her hand on my shoulder.

Darla came in right behind her and took her place standing on the other side, placing her hand on my other shoulder. “Look, Stacy’s had enough excitement for today. Can we wrap this up already so we can get her cleaned up and into bed? She needs to rest.”

The officer looked up and down at the girls who clearly were not budging. “Alright ladies, you take care of your friend while I finish up with Mr. Snow.”

Darla smacked her gum and shouted out, “Billy, you’re up!”

Mindy, Bree, Tiffany, and Trista came into the kitchen as the police officer went to talk to Billy again.

“Thank you,” I said looking up to Darla and Starla.

“Whatever,” Darla said as she smacked her gum loudly. Starla, however, smiled and gave me a wink. Darla and Starla may act like they don’t care about anything or anyone but when it comes right down to it, they do have big hearts.

“How totally mad at Billy are you?” Mindy asked.

“Yeah, that. Can you guys help me with something?”

“Sure!” Bree answered.

I walked them into the bedroom I had been sharing with Billy. I asked them to help me pack up some of my things so I could take them upstairs. They begrudgingly agreed to help.

When the police officer left, Billy walked into the bedroom and looked at the packing being done. “What’s going on?”

I didn’t respond. I just kept folding up my clothes, trying to pack them into the suitcase on the bed.

Trista came in right behind him. “What the .... Are you leaving?” She smacked Billy in the arm. “Stop her, Billy!”

“I can’t make her do anything. If she wants to leave, then what can I do to stop her?”

I glared at Billy. “I’m not leaving Trista. I’m just moving back upstairs.” I didn’t understand why Billy was being such a dick to me. He was the one who lied to me. I didn’t do a damn thing to him so I don’t know what his problem is with me. I can’t believe he’s acting this way. I have every right to be upset.

After stuffing the last bit of clothing I could in the suitcase, I zipped it up and tried to remove it from the bed. It was too heavy so I asked Vin to take it upstairs for me instead. “Let’s go, little one,” he said as he grabbed my bag with a single hand as if the heavy weight was nothing for him and headed towards the stairs.

I followed closely behind him. I hadn’t been back upstairs since they replaced the floor and when I got to the spot where the blood stains had been I paused for just a moment. I took a deep breath, walked around it and then into my bedroom. Vin placed the suitcase on my bed and then walked over to the sliding glass door that led to the terrace.

“See this door? It stays shut at all times. I mean it. I don’t want you trying to open it for any reason.”

“Okay, I promise,” I said quietly as I unzipped the suitcase and started to unpack my clothes. Mindy and Bree came up a few minutes later, each with a bag of clothes in hand.

“I am not going to tell you that you can’t move back into your old room but you aren’t going to be alone up here. I am going to have someone posted outside your door at all times.” I wanted to complain but I knew it would be pointless.

I spent the rest of my day putting away my clothes. I heard Billy telling Vin that he was heading out for the night so I went downstairs and watched some television before heading off to bed, alone. I tossed and turned for a while before I finally got out of bed and opened my door. “Rocco, since you are going to sit there and protect me all night, think you could do it in here?”

Rocco nodded in agreement and came into my bedroom. He sat in the chair near the terrace door where just a bit of light was peeking through the curtains. Something about having Rocco so close by helped me finally get to sleep and when I woke up the next morning, I was happy to still see him there. Happy for me, but then sad knowing that he stayed up all night in that uncomfortable chair.

When Vin woke up and saw that Rocco wasn’t sitting outside my door, he burst into my room to see what was going on. It scared me and I jumped out of bed. I did my best to explain that I had asked Rocco to sit with me in my room because I couldn’t sleep but still I could tell he wasn’t happy. He preferred that they kept a professional distance from me and even just sitting in my room was inappropriate to him.

I went downstairs wondering if Billy was making breakfast. He wasn’t. The kitchen was empty. I made a piece of toast and after eating it, I realized Billy was in his studio. I walked in and sat down in a chair, listening to the light twang of his guitar. When he realized I was in there with him, he put his guitar down and without saying a word started to walk out of the room. As he made his way to the door, I stood up and blocked his exit. “Billy, we need to talk.”

A sad look crossed his face as I put my hand on his arm. But before he could respond there was a knock at the front door. He walked past me to see who it was. I walked up behind Billy and saw it was a man delivering a large bouquet of flowers. It was a beautiful mixture of peach roses and pink calla lilies. I took the flowers and sat them down on the table by the door and pulled out the small card. It read, “Thinking of you. Love, Jeromy.”

When I looked up to explain, Billy was gone.

I didn't see him again until that night at Rowdy’s. I wasn’t so sure if being there was a good idea after seeing the scowl on Billy’s face. I started to ask Vin to take me home but Trista wouldn’t hear of it. She insisted I get on stage with the rest of the gang.

When the first song started Billy leaned into the microphone, the bottom of the stand coming up off of the floor. The lights in the bar had dimmed and a small spotlight now shone on him. He looked directly at me as my face colored red but he did not retreat. His gaze locked onto mine. The first line of the song he said almost in a whisper, yet he could still be heard clearly. “I have to block out thoughts of you so I don’t lose my mind.”

The song picked up tempo and the rest of the words he spoke truly broke my heart. “So much is left unsaid. You are so beautifully broken. I want you to know. I love the way you laugh. I want to hold you. I want to be your better half. You are so beautifully broken. I want to take away your pain.” He flashed his trademark smile at the crowd and they went wild.

There was a slight pause and the lights flashed back on. The song was a much faster beat now. There were no longer the soft spoken words coming from his heart. He screamed into the microphone, “Kill me now you fucking bitch! You are killing me inside!” I glanced over to him to see if his eyes were still looking towards me and luckily he was not. He was looking out into the crowd as they cheered him on adoringly.

I tuned out the rest of the song. I couldn’t bear to hear any more of it. I knew exactly who he had written that song for and I didn’t want to know what else he felt for me. I didn’t want to hear any more about his pain. I got it. I knew he was hurting but he was the one who had lied to me. He could have told me Jeromy didn’t cheat on me but he didn’t. He said he only learned that night before, but who knows if that was true. For all I know he could have known about Jeromy the entire time.

I knew Trista would be mad if I left but I didn’t care. I walked off of the stage and made my way to the back room where I sat down and tried to block the throngs of screaming fans out of my head.

After taking a short breather I came back out and sat down at the band’s table. I sat back and watched Billy on the stage. He was really on fire tonight and the fans were eating it up. One fan in particular. I recognized her from when I first moved to Houston. She was a cute little redhead that Billy had been intimate with before.

I don’t recall seeing her since then, but tonight she was eagerly cheering him on and when they finished their set I was horrified to watch him go up to her and disappear into the parking lot with his arm wrapped around her. I couldn’t believe my eyes. How could he do that to me? I was devastated by his betrayal and asked Vin to take me home.

When I woke up the next morning I went downstairs with my head still reeling from what had happened with Billy and the redhead. I decided that today I was going to confront him and make him talk to me about everything.

Clearly, our relationship was over; that was evident when he stuck his tongue down that girl’s throat, but I still wanted some answers. I needed that closure. However, when I got downstairs I realized Billy hadn't come home last night. And he wouldn't come home for another two days. And when he finally did get home he wouldn’t even look at me, let alone speak to me.

I called Trista to let her know that I wouldn’t be performing with the band anymore; it was just too hard to see Billy with other girls. She freaked out and rushed over.

“I know you and Billy are having a hard time right now but please Stacy, don’t do this. Please don’t just ditch the band. We are on the verge of something big.”

“Trista you are being ridiculous. I’m not part of the band; I’m just eye candy who can be easily replaced. Stick Bree up front with Billy onstage and nobody will even notice I’m gone.”

“I don’t know where you get the idea that we can just replace you. Do you not realize how big Billy and Stacy mania is?”

“I think you are exaggerating just a bit Trista. I don’t think I’ll be missed in the slightest.”

“Please Stacy. I know things seem bad right now but think of the rest of the band. We are all counting on you. The more Billy and Stacy are out there, the more gigs we book, the more money we make.”

“The success of the band should be about the music Trista, not the drama surrounding it.”

“Yeah you would think that, but you and I both know that isn’t how things work. Drama drives sales. The more drama you have, the more newsworthy you are and the more you are in the news, the more people want to hear your music. You have a degree in marketing, you know exactly how these things work.”

I hated to admit it but Trista was right. It takes more than just great music to make it big anymore. The drama that was Billy and Stacy did increase the fan base. But how could I possibly keep going on like this? I hated seeing Billy with other girls and he clearly wasn’t going to stop anytime soon.

“Please just come to tonight’s gig and sign autographs. You don’t have to be on stage the entire time if you don’t want.” I reluctantly agreed. I would give it one more shot before making my final decision to leave or not.

Tonight we would be playing at a club inside the loop, near downtown. It was big venue and we expected large crowds. Vin wasn’t happy to hear that and sent Devin and Rocco to the club early so they could get a handle on the security situation before the rest of the gang arrived.

Tonight was a costume night. The girls were all dressing up in our slutty schoolgirl outfits. I was against getting these in the first plus but Darla and Starla had gone with so many of our ideas in the past, we had to finally give in and let them pick at least one and this was it. My skirt was so short and hung very low on my hips. With the white top that came up just under my breast, this was the most skin I had ever exposed. But I guess this is one way I would get Billy’s attention.

When we got to the club I felt nervous about going inside. I don’t know why really, I had done this countless times before and tonight was no different than all the other times. Well, I guess it was different. Tonight might very well be my last performance with the band.

As we walked in the door I wondered if Billy would even notice I had arrived. There was once a time when he would never take his eyes off of me. I missed those days. Bree found me first, and dragged me to the band’s table. She was worked up tonight, more so than normal. I wondered what put her in such a good mood.

“Here,” she said as she handed me a shot glass. “To Jessie’s Girl!” She quickly downed her shot and then so did I.

“Where is Mindy? Is she not here yet?”

She sighed. “No. She and Bran are running late. She texted me though. They should be here any minute.”

We sat down and grabbed a beer from the bucket that the waitress had just delivered to the table. I tried my best not to look around for Billy but I couldn’t help it. He wasn’t on stage. I wondered if he was even here yet but I couldn’t ask anyone. I wasn’t going to give him the pleasure of knowing I was worried about him.

“Trista is setting up a table on the side of the stage.” Bree pointed towards the table she was speaking of. “After the first set Trista wants us to take pictures and sign autographs over there.”

When I glanced over I noticed Billy was there talking to Patrick. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about but he was pointing up at the lights. He had that serious look on his face he gets sometimes before a show. I loved that side of him. It was so sexy.

Mindy came in right after and we all shared another shot. Darla and Starla came in next and they too wanted to have a drink. We hadn’t even completed the first set and I was already getting way too drunk. I knew I had to slow it down if I was going to make it all night, but still I couldn’t help it. The more I drank the easier it got to deal with all of this anxiety I had about Billy; our relationship; and being on stage. It was all just so much better this way. I didn’t want to think about any of that drama and the more I drank the quicker those thoughts went out of my head.

The first set went well. The guys played a few popular cover songs to get the crowd warmed up. When we made our way to the table Trista set up for us, she leaned in to me and Billy and reminded us that we were supposed to be a happy couple so we better start acting like it. I giggled and jumped in Billy’s lap. He whispered in my ear. “What are you doing?”

“I’m being your pretend girlfriend, like I was told to do. What, worried I’m going to scare off one of your whores for tonight?”

Billy just rolled his eyes and then we started signing posters and taking pictures for the lined up fans and every once in a while Billy would throw out one of the band’s t-shirts to a hot girl. When someone wanted to take a picture, I would lean in and kiss Billy on the cheek or look up at him adoringly.

Once I thought that Billy might be getting a little turned on by having me sit in his lap but I wasn’t quite sure. I whispered in his ear that I needed a break for just a moment. I wanted to order a shot and asked if he wanted one. He didn’t but Bree did so I got off of Billy’s lap and flagged down the waitress. She quickly returned with a whole tray of shots for the table. I grabbed mine and downed it in one gulp.

Bree poured a tiny bit of hers on my chest and then started to lick it off. She popped her head up and said “Hmmm. You know what would make this better?” She looked around at the crowd of staring men, and then giggled. “Salt! You need some salt Stacy.”

Before she could say another word someone handed her a shaker. She poured it on my breasts and then licked up and down, slowly and seductively. I laughed. I couldn’t help it. That girl was always doing something crazy like that. “Mmm, Stacy, you are deliciousness.”

Billy didn’t stop us this time, but I noticed him watching. Trista piped up. “Okay girls, that’s enough of a break. Let’s get a few more posters signed before the next set.”

When I sat back down on Billy’s lap I purposely squirmed so that I would rub against him. I knew now I was right. He was aroused. A huge grin came across my face and I leaned in to whisper in his ear. “This skirt is so short; I hope I remembered to wear my panties tonight.”

His eyes widened and his hand shot down between my legs to feel. Of course I had remembered to wear them. I was just teasing him; but still it was funny to watch the expression on his face when he wasn’t sure if I was serious or not.

Feeling I had my panties on he started to pull them to one side and insert a finger. I let out a soft moan. But then I realized we were in a club with a huge crowd of people around us, I stiffened up. “Okay you win. Stop. Billy! You win, you win!” I started to giggle and move my hips trying to force his fingers out of me and the rest of the table started looking our way wondering what was going on.

“You Mister are a very naughty boy.”

“What? You started it. You can’t tell me something like that and not expect me to check.”

For just a moment things were like they used to be between us and all was right with the world. But that moment would end all too soon because it was time to go back on stage. This set would start off with a new song Billy wrote. He didn’t look at me when he sang it, but I knew it was about me.

Hate me today. I hate how I loved you. Hate me tomorrow. I hate how you make me feel.

I hate everything you said that made my heart melt. I think I’m ready to let you go.

I hate what you did. I hate that you made me hurt. I think I’m ready to let you go.

I however wasn’t going to let this get me down. I had seen the set list earlier so I knew the next song was going to be “Crazy Bitch”. It was a fast tempo, upbeat song and the perfect song to get wild and crazy with. I pulled Mindy and Bree front and center with me at the start of the song and we did our naughty dance.

The song was great and had the crowds revved up and excited, but our dance put them over the top. The air in the room was electrifying. Billy knew things were getting out of hand, not just on stage but also in the club and that could be dangerous, so the next song he sang was much slower. He pulled me into him and sang “No Matter What”. It was a romantic rock song and I secretly wished he really meant the words of the song he sang to me.

The room swelled with applause and after the song was over the crowd started cheering, “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” and he did it. He leaned in and kissed me slowly, making me savor his lips, which tasted like cherries. I felt a stirring inside of me that I’d been trying so hard to keep squashed. He broke away from my mouth, took my face in his hands, and smiled. We gazed at each other for what seemed like an eternity. His fingers caressed my cheek, and then his lips found mine again.

Sadly however Billy’s love act didn’t last and when the set ended so did his affections towards me. He set his sights on a petite brunette and her friend, an exotic looking girl with dark blonde hair and aqua blue eyes. I knew he was going home with them after the club closed and I didn’t want to see it. When we finished the last set I had Vin take me home.

Chapter 16 - Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

All I wanted to do was be with Billy, to be near him, touch him, and kiss him. My body ached for his touch and my mind raced with thoughts of him. But finally I had enough. It was all just more than I can take.

The next day I filled my suitcase with what I could and then put the rest in trash bags. I took my time packing, not really wanting to but I knew I had to. I couldn’t do this anymore.

It was getting late, probably about dinner time now, but I knew the time had come for me to leave, so I trotted downstairs with my clothes and put them in the trunk. It had started to rain outside and it was getting dark but I didn’t let that deter me. I went back upstairs for my suitcase and did my best to drag it down the stairs. When I got to the front porch Billy came running outside.

“What the fuck do you think you are doing?”

“What do you care? I’m just a horrible mistake. Remember Billy? I heard what you told that girl about me.” It was something I overheard him tell one of his bimbos from last night when she asked who I was.

Billy rolled his eyes. “Get back inside. It’s pouring rain out here.”

“I don’t care, Billy. I can’t do this anymore. I’m going back to Oklahoma.”

“Please, Stacy, just come back inside and let’s talk about this.” He held his hand out to me; it was shaking slightly, just barely enough to be visible.

“There is nothing left to say. You’ve made your feelings about me abundantly clear. You prefer your whores to the real thing. I got it. You don’t have to keep reminding me.”

“You are blaming me for this? You are the one who went back to your ex-boyfriend. I was just giving you the space you needed to be together.”

I looked at him in confusion. What did he mean I got back with my ex-boyfriend? But all I could stammer was, “What?”

“I saw it, Stacy. I fucking saw it with my own eyes.”

“You saw nothing! That’s impossible, because there was nothing to see. I never went back to Jeromy!”

“Las ... Vegas.”

“Las Vegas? What does that mean? I’ve never been to Las Vegas in my life.” I really had no clue what he was talking about and what Las Vegas had to do with anything. Was he just throwing out random words to be an ass?

“I mean, the same way you found out Jeromy lied to you about being in Vegas is how I knew where you were.”

I desperately tried to search my memory for what he was talking about. Then it hit me. It was my phone, the Find Friends app. Oh God, my phone gave away my location. “Billy, no. I was not with Jeromy. I went to see his mother. I sat on her floor and cried in her arms. Jeromy did eventually go there but we didn’t make up. We didn’t do anything like that at all. We just talked and realized that there was no way we could ever go back to how we were. For us it was over; our time had passed.”

The rain was coming down harder now, we were soaked from head to toe but I hardly noticed. My heart was breaking. I didn’t want to leave but it was clear Billy didn’t want me to stay, not really. His love for me was gone, he had been so cruel to me lately, and there was no way I could be near him and watch him with all of those other women.

“Then why did you move back upstairs?”

“Because, Billy, you lied to me. I was still hurt about that. I needed some space. We needed some space.”

“And what about the flowers he sent you?”

“Oh my God, Billy. Stop it already! They mean nothing. That’s just the way Jeromy is. He’s impossibly sweet. He just wanted to let me know he was thinking of me. But that didn’t mean I was going to go running back into his arms. There is only one man who has my heart and he’s too busy stomping on it day in and day out to notice.”

“I never meant to hurt you, Stacy. I just wanted to give you the space you needed to repair your relationship with Jeromy. I love you so I wanted to give you what you wanted.”

“If you love me then why have you been so brutal to me, Billy?”

“It hurt watching you get back together with Jeromy. I wanted you to pick me but you went off with him. What could I do?”

“I never did anything with Jeromy!”

I started to walk away and move closer to my car but Billy moved quickly to wrap his body around me and hold me tight. “I know that now, but in my mind at that time I really thought you two were back together or at least trying to fix what I felt like I had helped break.”

He gently ran his finger over my bottom lip. “The thought of him touching you was killing me.”

“There is only one person I want to touch me and he’s standing right here in front of me. Did you really think it would be even possible to want another man after I had been with you? I love you, Billy, from the very depths of my soul. You are my everything.”

I traced his jaw with the barest touch of my fingertips. All I felt was the heat of his body next to mine. The rain coming down on us didn’t even faze me. I lost myself in feeling his body pressed up against me. My body began to tremble and he pulled me in closer, holding me tightly in his arms. “I love you,” he whispered. “I don’t ever want to be without you.” The incredible connection I felt to him at that moment was more than I could have ever hoped for. I felt all the empty places inside me fill with his very essence.

“I want to wake up every morning for the rest of my life and feel your warm naked body next to mine,” he said, while brushing my soaking wet hair back out of my face. He leaned in and kissed me. It was soft like he was being cautious, but so unbelievable that it took my breath away and left me feeling lightheaded.

“You’re so amazing, Stacy. You are like a dream come true. Sometimes I wake up and wonder what I ever did to deserve you and when I lost you it was more than I could take.”

I smiled and put my hands on the back of his neck and then gently ran my fingers through his hair. He smiled back and kissed me again. At first his kiss was soft and slow but then it began to build in intensity. I tightened my grip on his hair and he moaned and the soft kiss became hotter and more passionate.

I couldn’t fight the urge to touch him anymore, so my hands traced down his chest until I found the bottom of his shirt. I tugged on the bottom of it and then started working it upwards. Finally Billy realized what I was doing and pulled it off, and threw it to the side and as he did I could feel his well-defined muscles flex. That made my entire body tingle. I thought of nothing now but how unbelievable it was to be back in his arms.

He leaned in to kiss me again but all too soon he pulled his head back, breaking the kiss but keeping his lips close to mine as he huskily whispered my name. “Stacy. Oh my sweet Stacy.”

I swallowed hard and attempted to steady my voice, as well as my legs. “I love you, Billy.” At that moment I wanted him so badly that my entire body was quivering in fiery anticipation.

Billy whispered in my ear, “Then marry me. Be my wife.”

I couldn't believe the words that had just left his lips. I took a deep breath and let it out in a shuddering exhalation. My mind was awhirl with thoughts and emotions. It’s not possible. Is he serious? “Billy, no we can’t, it’s too soon.”

“We can. I’m not saying we have to get married today or even next month but I want you to know I’m serious. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

We kissed again to seal the deal. I was going to be Mrs. Billy Snow. Maybe not right away but one day and I was so happy.

Then he loosened his grip on me and let out a gasp of breath. I looked up at him to see what was wrong. He had a strange look on his face, one of deep pain and agony. Then his look was joined by a sort of confusion and haze.

I felt a warm sensation on my hands. I looked down and saw they were covered in his blood. I looked up at Billy. I didn’t understand. Where was all this blood coming from? Billy fell to his knees and that is when I saw the man standing behind him wielding a big knife. It was the same man from the Fourth of July fight. I recognized him right away.

I screamed in horror as he said, “I have you now” and jumped on top of me, forcing my skirt up around my waist, while holding my mouth with the hand he had the bloody knife in, trying to prevent me from screaming again.

Within seconds Vin picked the man up off of me, slamming his body on the ground while Devin and Rocco beat the man to a bloody pulp. I leaped up and threw myself over Billy’s lifeless body, crying and screaming for him to wake up. But he never did. Billy was gone and no amount of crying was going to bring him back to me. Pools of blood were beginning to form around him.

I leaned in and tried to breathe into his mouth as if somehow CPR would help. I didn’t know what to do. I just couldn’t give up. He couldn’t be dead. He can’t leave me like this.

Vin tried his best to get me to come inside and out of the rain but I wouldn’t hear of it. I clung to Billy’s body until the police and ambulance arrived and took him away.

I was overwhelmed by grief. My mind started playing tricks on me. As I lay across his body sobbing uncontrollably I started to think that this wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. There was no way he was dead. We were going to be married. I was going to be Mrs. Billy Snow.

Snow ... yes. We could have a winter wedding, maybe on Christmas Eve. That would be so beautiful. Does it ever snow in Houston? Maybe we could bring in fake snow like they do in movies. How wonderfully romantic would it be that just as I became Stacy Snow, it floated down all around me?

I could see the wedding scene in my mind. But the thoughts of my dream wedding would soon go away as the paramedics and police arrived. They were trying to pull me off of Billy’s body but I wouldn’t budge. I just screamed out and cried, “Nooooo!!!”

Vin picked me up and put me over his shoulder and carried me into the house. I kicked and screamed as he did, demanding he put me down. But he wasn’t listening. I was hysterical so one of the paramedics followed Vin into the house to check me out.

He put something on my upper arm. “What is this?” I asked frantically as I tugged at the large square thing now stuck to my arm. My body began to tingle, and my eyes started to get heavy. I tried to fight back the desire to sleep and focus on what was going on. I blinked several times but sleep was winning.

“It’s okay ma’am. It’s just something to help you calm down.”

“No! I don’t want to sleep. Billy needs me.”

“They are taking him away right now. What you need to do is to try and relax.”

When I finally came to I found myself lying on the couch, with Mindy and Bree not too far away, their eyes red and swollen. They too had been crying. Even Darla and Starla had broken down over Billy’s death.

At first I didn’t move a muscle. My eyes were open but I didn’t move any part of my body. My eyes just darted from person to person. I had no idea what anyone actually said to me. Their words were all sort of a mash of strange sounds and noises.

Suddenly I remembered some voicemails Billy had left me that day I went to see Jeromy’s mom. I never deleted those. I jumped up off of the couch, frantically looking for my phone. I must have startled everyone in the room as they all rushed to my side. I pushed person after person back as I tried to find my phone. Jeromy, who always seemed to be able to read my mind, picked it up off of the little side table near the front door where we had always kept our car keys.

“Is this what you are looking for?” he asked as he handed me my phone and then put his arm around me and walked me back to the couch. In my grief I hadn’t even realized he was there.

Jeromy sat down on the couch first and then pulled me down on his lap, cradling me in his arms. I barely noticed. My mind was occupied with pushing the buttons on my phone to find those messages. Finally I found the one I wanted, pushed play, and held the phone up to my ear. “Hey. I miss you babe.” Then I played the next one. “Where are you, Stacy? Come home soon, okay?” Hearing his voice was so soothing. It was almost as if he was here with me again, just waiting for me to call him back. I closed my eyes and just let the sound of his voice run through me.

Finally the motion of pushing the button and then putting the phone back to my ear became too taxing so I put it on speakerphone. The room fell silent as I played message after message from Billy. There were probably about ten of them in all. I don’t even know why I saved them on my phone. I guess I just never got around to deleting them. Now I’m glad I didn’t. It was the only thing I had left of him. As I started to fall back asleep, Jeromy gently tried to take the phone from me but I fought him off and held it tightly to my chest. This was all I had and I wasn’t letting it go.

I faded in and out of consciousness over the next few days which was preferable because when I was awake emotions overwhelmed me. When I closed my eyes I could still see him. I could almost feel his touch.

The next time I came to I was in the shower and Mindy and Bree were trying to clean me up. After my shower they led me to a chair in front of the bathroom mirror where they did their best to fix my hair and put some makeup on my face. I was so out of it, I didn’t even wonder why it was they were trying to clean me up. But when Trista walked into the bathroom with a black dress, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I started screaming, “No! No! No!” and the tears started rolling down my cheeks.

“Damn it, Trista. We just got her makeup done. Now look what you have done,” Mindy sniped while Bree tried to calm me down and hold me in place.

“I’m not ready for this. I can’t do it. No. I can’t. It’s too soon.”

Jeromy came in to see what had upset me this time and ripped the dress out of Trista’s hand, while giving her an evil glare. Trista left the room as Jeromy came into the bathroom, squatting down on the floor, trying to get eye level with me.

“I can’t, Jeromy. I can’t.” I shook my head and then put my face back in my hands to cry some more.

Jeromy turned to Vin, who was now standing behind him. “Get her some more.”

Oh God they were going to drug me again. “No!” I said loudly. Lowering my voice, I continued. “Please. I don’t want to be sedated. I can do this. I’m sorry. I’ll pull myself together. I promise.” I know they were only trying to help but I wanted a clear mind for Billy’s funeral. I needed to remember this day, as horrible as it would no doubt be.

Jeromy, who had always been a take charge kind of guy barked out instructions to everyone. Bree was to fix my makeup, Mindy was to get me in the dress they had picked out for me to wear, and Vin was to stay close by, just in case.

We need to leave here within an hour. We can’t be late today of all days, so hurry it up,” he snapped as he left the room.

I looked around at everyone else as they were getting me ready and I couldn’t understand why they didn’t have black on too. This was Billy’s funeral. They should be wearing black. The more time went on, the more it started to get to me. I felt myself starting to have another panic attack, then some women I didn’t recognize entered the room.

She was tall and slender with really long legs. She had really long brown hair that flowed down past her shoulders and fell into soft ringlet curls. She took me by the hand. “Hi, Stacy. How are you doing, sweetie?”

My immediate reaction is to jump up and scream how the hell do you think I’m doing? I am about to bury the love of my life, my soul mate and you are in here asking me how I am doing? Of course I didn’t say any of that. I just kept looking at her wondering who she was. She had a genuine look of concern on her face but for some reason having this person I didn’t know touching me just got to me. Then I looked at her clothes. She was in a nice dress but it wasn’t black. It was green. Why the hell was she here on this day of all days and not showing the proper respect and wearing black? That was just the final straw.

I screamed as loud as I could. “Jeromy!”

“I’m right here,” he said as he rushed to my side. The woman dropped her hold on me and stepped back, letting Jeromy in to console me. “It’s okay,” he said as he gently rubbed my arm.

“Why are people I don’t even know coming up to me and touching me on today of all days? Do they not get I’m about to bury my fiancé?”

As I said that, Mindy gasped and a strange look came over Jeromy’s face. Jeromy dropped to his knees in front of me, putting his hands on my face, forcing me to look up at him.

“No, Stacy, no.”

I guess I didn’t tell anyone that before he was killed Billy had asked me to be his wife.

Jeromy stood up and pulled me into him to hug me tightly. “Oh Stacy, they have you on a lot of medicine. You are just confused.”

I wasn’t confused though. I remembered every minute of my last night with Billy. I had run it in my head a million times. It was only everything after his death which was a blur. But before I could say anything, I pushed Jeromy out of the way and ran to the toilet. I had been sick a lot lately. It was one of the only things I did remember vividly from the past few days.

Jeromy came in to comfort me and held my hair back. He wanted me to see a doctor but I knew what was wrong with me. My body, mind, and soul were irreparably damaged. Of course I was sick over it. I watched the man I love being murdered and he died in my arms.

Afterwards, I splashed some water on my face and then asked everyone to give me a second. I needed just a moment alone. As I ran my hand along the contours of Billy’s dresser I noticed his lyric journal. I recognized it instantly as the one he had been writing in on our last day together. I had replayed that day in my mind and I remember vividly him scrolling down the words to some new song. I didn’t know for sure but I suspected it was about me, or maybe our relationship.

I picked it up and browsed through it. I found the last page he had written in. I sat down in his chair, the one he sat in so often while he watched me sleep. My hands were shaking as I held the book. What he wrote wasn’t complete but they were his words, his final words. The thoughts that had been on his mind just before he died.

Sometimes the worst thing you could ever do is fall in love. Love is cruel. Love is not always kind. I shed too many tears and wasted too much time.

I search for the right words to say. I wonder if you do the same.

I have to let you go. I have to say goodbye. I have to find a way to get you out of my mind. It’s over now. You broke my heart.

Someday you’ll miss me. Someday you’ll want me back. Someday you'll realize how lonely life can be.

I awake each morning to start a new day. But the pain of losing you never goes away.

Sometimes the worst thing you could ever do is fall in love. Love is cruel. Love is not always kind. I shed too many tears and wasted too much time.

My body began to shake and tears started to stream down my face yet again. Jeromy, hearing my distress, came into the room and wrapped me in his loving, supportive arms.

“It’s going to be okay, Stacy. You’ll see.”

“How is it going to be okay, Jeromy?” I really just didn’t understand how he could say that. It wasn’t going to be okay. My relationship with Billy may not have been that long, but he was my soul mate. The time we had together was the most amazing time of my life. He was my world and I didn’t know how I could go on without him.

“Listen, Stacy. I need you to really focus on my words right now. I need to make sure you understand some things.”

I rubbed the tears from my eyes and really tried to understand what Jeromy was saying to me. He had that serious look on his face that I hated all too much.

“We are about to head out and when we get to the hospital there are going to be some crowds. Are you sure you can handle this?”

Hospital? Why are we going to the hospital and not the funeral home?

But before I could ask Jeromy he continued. “Do you understand me, Stacy? I know they have you on a lot of meds right now to keep you calm, but I need you to try and pull yourself together. Billy needs you to be strong for him right now.”

I could hear every word Jeromy was saying but none of them made any sense. Billy was dead. I watched him die in my arms. I watched them put him on the stretcher and take him away. My mind flashed to that night and the image of him on the stretcher. Then I remember the IV bag hanging over the stretcher. Why would they give an IV to someone who was dead? My heart began to race.

“Jeromy, is Billy okay?”

“We don’t know yet. They’ve had him in a medically induced coma for the past few days while they operated on him. But today they are waking him up and that’s why we are going to the hospital.”

“To the ... hospital. Where Billy is. The hospital. In a coma.” I jumped up and a huge smile came over my face.

“Stacy, are you okay?”

“Oh my God, yes I am. I am wonderful. I can’t tell you how okay I am right now. Billy is alive and that is all that matters.”

Chapter 17 - Second Chances

On the way to the hospital, Jeromy introduced me to the brunette from earlier. Her name was Susan and she and Jeromy had been friends since high school. They recently ran into each other and revived their friendship.

When the car pulled up to the hospital, I jumped out. I couldn’t wait to see Billy. Vin was quickly by my side, trying to shield me from the onslaught of rushing fans and media. I didn’t care though. Let them take all of the pictures they wanted. Nothing was going to get me down today. Billy was alive. Just barely; but still we had a fighting chance and nothing was going to take that happiness away from me.

When we arrived, Billy had just started coming to. I wanted to leap in his arms but I could tell he was far too weak for that. I wanted to know the extent of his injuries and the nurse filled me in.

“The blade went through his back and puncture an intestine and then sliced through the lining of his stomach.”

“And that’s where all of that blood came from that night?” I asked squeamishly.

“Yes and the sudden loss of so much blood is what made him fall to the ground and pass out and that is when he must have hit his head on the concrete and had some swelling of the brain. That is why we’ve had him in a medically induced coma, to help facilitate his recovery. In essence, he slept off the swelling while we repaired his other injuries.”

“So he’s going to be okay now?”

“They have repaired the damage and he should be fine but it will be a slow and painful recovery. He’s not just going to pop up out of bed and be fine. He’ll need plenty of rest to give his body time to get better.”

I didn’t care how long it took though. At least there would be a recovery. That was all that mattered to me. I must have had a worried look on my face because Billy reached up and grabbed my hand and squeezed it as best he could while the nurse told me all that was going on.

When she left I sat down beside him and started crying. I couldn’t help it. I was just so happy that he was alive. Billy was weak but still he did his best to comfort me. “Please don’t cry. I’m going to be okay. I promise.”

“I know. It’s not that. I’m just so happy you are alive. I thought you were dead. I can’t even begin to tell you how horrible these past few days have been.”

After crying a bit more, there was a tap at the door. The rest of the gang wanted to know if they could visit. The nurses would only allow them to come in two at a time. Bran and Zander came in first, then Mindy and Bree, followed by Travis and Jeromy, then Darla and Starla, Patrick and Tiffany, then Trista and Brick.

I knew Billy was happy to see everyone but I could also tell it was taxing on him so when they left I turned down the lights and let Billy sleep. I sat in the corner reading a book Bree had gotten me from the gift shop.

He slept a lot but when he was awake I was there. We watched TV, Jeromy snuck in his iPad for us to watch movies on, and we talked. We talked about our plans for the future, our dreams, and talked about taking a trip to Rome, somewhere both of us wanted to visit. We wouldn’t be able to go right away, but perhaps next year.

Billy spent the next twelve days in the hospital recovering and I almost never left his side. One of the few things I did leave Billy for was to go to the bathroom to throw up, which I did quite often. One of the nurses finally pulled me aside and asked if I was okay. We were trying to be quiet as Billy was sleeping. I thanked her for her concern but assured her I would be fine. I had just been through a lot lately and my body was just trying to find a way to deal with the stress.

“Uh huh,” she said as she listened to me explain. Then she pulled a small cup with a lid fastened securely on top out of her pocket and said, “Here, go pee in this and we’ll see.”

“No really, I’m fine. I promise.”

“If you are fine then you won’t mind just doing this small thing for me. You need to take care of yourself so that you’ll be strong enough to take care of Billy. He needs you to be one hundred percent right now.”

“Fine,” I said as I grabbed the cup and went into the bathroom to fill it up. I mean, how could I really argue with her logic? Billy did need me right now and admittedly I had been vomiting for a while. It seemed like everything made me sick. Every smell seemed over-amplified and sent me running to the bathroom to throw up.

After I finished I sat the cup on the sink like she had instructed. She came in behind me and pulled a little white testing strip out of her pocket. She looked around to make sure nobody else was coming, as if nobody else knew what she was doing, and then stuck the strip in my urine.

She pulled it out and within seconds three blue lines appeared on the strip and a big smile came across her face. “That’s what I thought,” she said as she emptied the cup and tossed it in the trash. “Stacy Keller, you are going to be a mommy.”

I stood there looking at her in disbelief. “You need to make an appointment to go see your doctor soon. You are probably not that far along, but still it’s important you see your doctor right away. With all the stress you’ve been under from the attack it’s probably not good for the baby; so you’ll want to get everything checked out.”

I nodded my head indicating that I understood what she was saying to me. But still in my mind I was frantically trying to do the math. How long has it really been since I have been with Jeromy? Could this baby be his or is it Billy’s? Oh how proud my parents must be. Their daughter is knocked up, unmarried and she doesn’t know who the father is.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized there was no way it could be Jeromy’s. Even though I was on the pill, we had always used a condom, plus I hadn’t been with Jeromy for a while now. I would probably be showing by now if it was his. The baby could only be Billy’s.

“How is this even possible though? I’m on the pill and have been for years.”

The nurse gave me a sympathetic look and explained. “The pill isn’t one hundred percent effective and becomes even less so with outside factors. Drinking alcohol could reduce the effectiveness, other medications like antibiotics and even some over the counter allergy pills.”

“What about sedatives?”

“Possibly, some can. And also if you ever miss a day of taking your pill. That’s how most girls on the pill find themselves in this situation. The pill is something you have to take every day without fail.”

Between the sedatives, the drinking and a few days here and there I’ve missed taking the pill, I guess it was only a matter of time before this happened. How could I have been so irresponsible?

The nurse walked out of the bathroom and noticed Billy was awake. “I’ll leave you two alone. I’m sure you have a lot to talk about.”

Billy looked at me, wondering what the nurse meant, but I didn’t know how to answer him. I really didn’t know how to explain what I had just learned moments ago. My head was still spinning. I fell back into the chair near Billy’s bed but I still didn’t speak.

“Babe, please. What’s going on? Are they not letting me go home today? Did something happen?”

“Yes, no. Everything is fine with .... You are coming home with me today. I … The doctor … I think he should be here any minute to sign off on your release.”

“What has you so freaked out? I’ve never seen you like this before.”

I took a deep breath and then walked over to his bed. I grabbed his hand and intertwined my fingers with his. “Billy, do you remember what you said to me before ... well, before that crazy man attacked you?”

He sat up in his bed. “Of course I do. And I meant every word of it. I want you to be my wife. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life showing you exactly how much I love you. I know we haven’t been together that long, but I knew from the first moment I saw you that I wanted to spend the rest of my life looking at that beautiful face of yours. You have no idea how in love with you I am.”

I looked at him and smiled. “That’s good because I don’t want my baby to grow up without a daddy.”

He paused, looking at me, letting what I had just said sink in, and then he looked around as if trying to get familiar with the environment, wondering if maybe he had stepped into the Twilight Zone. Billy looked at me in bewilderment, and then let go of my hand. His blue eyes widened and then darted to my stomach.

“Are you?”

I nodded and smiled as tears started to form in my eyes. Billy jumped out of bed and hugged me as he put his hand to my stomach.

“How far along are you? Is it a boy or girl?”

“I don’t know. I just found out. The nurse thinks I’m not really that far along. I’m going to make an appointment with the doctor tomorrow and find out the rest.”

Billy’s doctor came in the room and Billy sat back down on his bed. The doctor glanced at his chart, and then signed off to let him be released but not before reminding us that he should take it easy and not even consider being intimate, exercising or heavy lifting for the next three months minimum. I assured his doctor Billy would be well looked after and wouldn’t do anything he shouldn’t. Then after filling out a mountain of paperwork we were on our way back home. I stood by Billy’s side as the nurse wheeled him out of the hospital and to the black limousine that was waiting for us.

The crowds had ballooned and were double in size what they had been when I first arrived at the hospital. Billy held up his hand to wave at his adoring fans and then got into the back of the car. When he did we found Brick and Trista were there waiting for us. They couldn’t wait to tell us the good news.

When Billy and I were creating our special love song, the one we sang that morning on Good Morning Houston, we had recorded our sessions. Billy said it would help us figure out which parts of the song worked and which ones didn’t. There were easily ten or fifteen hours of footage of us singing that song and Brick had pieced it all together with Patrick and Tiffany’s help and they had released the song on iTunes. The song has now had over one million downloads.

They played their version of the song for us on the ride home. They had done a great job piecing the final song together but still I wasn’t so sure if I liked that they released it without talking to us first. That was our love song.

“Billy and Stacy are the absolute biggest thing out there right now,” Trista proudly told us. “You are megastars. The house is mobbed with a legion of fans outside of the gate every day, all night and all day. They never leave.”

I squeezed Billy’s hand. I was nervous about all of this. I was happy that Billy and his band were finally having the huge success I really always knew they would, but the thought of all of those screaming girls worried me and the possibility of another crazy man scared me to death. That probably worried me most of all.

I leaned in and put my head on Billy’s chest as Brick and Trista continued to talk about all that was going on with the requests for interviews, the offer to sign the band with a major record label, and all of the merchandise they were moving from the website. Billy didn’t say anything to Trista and Brick. He listened to what they had to say, smiled and nodded, but no words actually left his mouth.

I did speak up though. I reminded them that Billy still wasn’t one hundred percent and he had months of recovery ahead of him, so any thoughts of him doing anything but staying at home in bed could leave their little minds because it wasn’t going to happen. Now was my turn to take care of Billy and I wasn’t going to let them try and force him into performing before he was ready. I almost lost the love of my life and I wasn’t going to risk his health and well-being for a few bucks. No amount of money in the world was worth that.

When we got home Billy and I went into his room and closed the door behind us. We were going to be alone, truly alone for the first time in a long time.

We didn’t tell anyone about the baby. It was still too early for that. But Billy did insist on going with me and when the doctor examined me; and we found out I was only a few weeks along, as the nurse had thought. He would do a more thorough exam on my next appointment in two weeks but for now it looks like my due date was going to be July 23rd.

Because I was so small it was easy to hide my growing baby bump by wearing loose clothes. But Christmas was fast approaching and that meant two things. First it meant that we were going back home to see my family and if that wasn’t enough stress, we had also agreed to do an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. I didn’t really want to but Trista had been bugging us about it non-stop and I felt kind of bad that the rest of the band had to put their own lives on hold while Billy recovered.

Billy had been feeling much better for a while now and performing one song and doing an interview was Okayed by his doctors, so I felt like I had to agree.

The real problem with doing the interview was that by then I would be about sixteen weeks along and I didn’t know how I was going to hide my ever-growing belly. I was in really great shape and had a small frame so chances are I wasn’t going to be showing a lot at sixteen weeks but there would still be a noticeable bump. I hadn’t let anyone else know I was pregnant yet, so I was on my own to find a dress that would cover my stomach.

I searched online for hours trying to find the perfect dress. When I finally found it, I was ecstatic. I found it at a prom dress store, of all places. It was strapless and the top part was all white sequins and was heart shaped. That worked out perfectly because my breasts were starting to grow and that style would bring attention to them instead of my stomach. The bottom part of the dress was made out of bright red tulle that poofed out. The dress had a high waist that was brought together by a huge red flower and that meant my entire stomach would be covered by the flow of the skirt fabric.

We would fly into Los Angeles a week before Christmas to tape the show. Ellen was having a big special so she was having a lot of guests that day, which was great because that meant our segment was only a small part. Hopefully we would be in and out and then we could be on our way to Oklahoma so that Billy could meet my parents. And we could tell them about the baby. I really wanted to tell my parents before the rest of the world. I wanted that more than anything but sometimes things don’t always work out like planned.

While we were sitting in the green room, Trista offered everyone some eggnog that the show had provided. I started to take a drink but when I put it up to my nose and took a whiff I could smell the alcohol in it. I was about to put it back down but Billy jumped up and took it from me. “There’s alcohol in that!”

The room fell silent. Trista looked at Billy, who was holding the eggnog glass in his hand and then back at me. She furrowed her brow and then asked, “Why do you care if there is liquor in the eggnog?”

I never got the chance to answer before Mindy and Bree jumped out of their chairs bouncing up and down, screaming, “Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!” and ran to my side putting their hands on my stomach. “How far along are you? Why didn’t you tell us? Oh my God! I can’t believe it. This is so great!”

“Please, guys. I don’t want anyone to know.”

Mindy and Bree started to lift up my skirt to try and see if they could see a baby bump but I quickly put it back down. “Guys, stop it. I’m not really showing that much yet. I’m only about four months along.”

“That’s why you were so sick when Billy was in the hospital. It so totally makes sense now,” Mindy said as she squeezed my hand in excitement.

With everyone’s mind on the baby growing in my belly, all of the tension and nerves about the upcoming performance were gone. When the producer came to get us, she was barely noticed. Everyone was still so excited about the baby; even pervy Travis had some nice things to say.

The song the band was performing today was called I Truly Love You. It was a new song that Billy wrote for me.

“I really, truly love you. You are my heart and soul. Without you I'd be nothing, you're the half that makes me whole.”

After he sang out the first two lines of the song I had to try and turn my focus from him. Otherwise I might start crying. It was hard holding back my emotions now that I’m pregnant. It was hard before, but now it is near impossible. So instead of the words of the song I just focused on watching Billy sing. I loved watching him perform. He took my breath away. When the song was over, I melted into Billy’s arms and we kissed. I forgot for just a moment that there were cameras everywhere recording it.

After we kissed, someone in the background yelled out, “Cut!” Then a group of people swarmed around us, pulling us to the next spot we were supposed to be at. When we were all in place, sitting and standing around a long couch they had set up for our interview portion with Ellen, the cameras started up again.

“That song was great. I don’t normally like the slow songs. I like to dance but that one really tugged at my heart. Did you write it for anyone special?” She looked towards Billy and then to the other boys in the band.

“Yeah. I wrote that song for my fiancé, Stacy.” Billy, who had been holding my hand already, lifted my arm up. “I wrote the words and Zander, Travis, and Bran wrote the music to accompany it.”

“Will that be a single or released with your upcoming album? I heard you just signed with a label. Congrats!”

Travis spoke up next. “We just started working on it. But we think it should be ready by this summer. We’ve laid down a few of the tracks already.”

Without thinking, Billy had rested his hand on my stomach. It was something he did all of the time; he loved to put his hand on my baby bump, but this time we weren’t alone. We were on a sound stage recording a Christmas special for the Ellen show. Millions of people would be watching this.

Ellen, who had turned back towards Billy to ask him another question, instantly noticed where his hand was. Her eyes widened and she now had a huge smile on her face. I shook my head no but it was too late. She had already started to speak. “Well, Miss Keller. I can tell Billy really loves you.”

There was nothing I could really do to stop her. Luckily this won't air until Christmas Day so we would have time to tell my parents before the rest of the world found out.

“So how far along are you?” Ellen asked as she leaned in to put her hand on my stomach.

“About sixteen weeks. We are flying home to tell my parents after this.”

“Well, won’t that be an interesting Christmas surprise for them!”

I didn’t get a chance to answer because next she turned in her chair and started speaking into the camera about some upcoming parts of the show. She wished us a Merry Christmas and then sent us on our way.

After Billy and I said our goodbyes to everyone in the band, they took a flight back home to Houston while Billy and I boarded one heading to Oklahoma.

One of the great things about being back in Oklahoma was that people here just didn’t bother you. We got off of the flight and I was still decked out in my fancy dress from the Ellen show but nobody even seemed to notice or really care. It was Christmas time and they had their families on their minds, not us. The only time we even knew for sure someone had recognized us was at the baggage claim. An adorable little girl was tugging on her mom’s coat. “Mommy. Mommy. Mommy, look. It’s Billy and Stacy.”

The mother bent over to hear her daughter speak and then turned her head to look at us as the little girl pointed. “Britney! Don’t point. That’s rude. They are probably here to see their family. Let them be.”

We grabbed our luggage and made our way outside where my father was waiting for us. We jumped in the car and drove home. He told us that my mother had been cooking all day and would have dinner ready for us by the time we got there. My sisters were already at the house; they both had arrived there earlier that morning.

When we got there my father opened the trunk and started pulling all of my luggage out. I walked back there to give him a hug and he looked down at what I was wearing and just shook his head.

“Daddy! We didn’t have time to change after taping the Ellen show.”

Billy helped my father. When we went into the house my mother and sisters showered us with hugs and kisses. Billy and my father went to put the luggage in my old bedroom. My mother took me by the hand and twirled me around. “Let me look at you.”

My sisters started to ask about the Ellen show but my mother broke in. “Well, well.” They stopped what they were saying and turned to look at her. She put her hand on my stomach and asked, “So how far along are we?”

I couldn’t believe it. How did she know? And why was that always the first question everyone asked me when they found out?

“I’m your mother, Stacy. Did you really think you could hide something like this from me with a frilly little dress?”

“No, Mother. It’s not like that. We didn’t have time to change after the Ellen show. We had to run to catch our flight. This is what I wore for the Christmas special.” My sisters stood off to the side in stunned silence.

As Billy and my father returned from dropping off our luggage my mother leaned in and said, “Let’s put this conversation on hold for a bit. Let your father get to know Billy first.”

My sisters and I nodded in agreement and then went off to the kitchen to set the table for dinner.

My normally boisterous sisters were very quiet over dinner and my father knew something was wrong, but he seemed too distracted by Billy to worry about my sisters for now.

“So, son, you’re in a band, huh?”

“Yes, sir. But I also have money in trust from an inheritance from when my parents died. I also own quite a bit of real estate. So if you are worried about me being able to support your daughter, you don’t need to. I’ll take good care of her.”

My father grunted. I knew that wasn’t good. “There is more to a relationship than being able to afford it.”

I looked up at Billy. I was scared. I didn’t know what he was going to say to my father but he gave me his adorable smile and I knew it was going to be okay. “With all due respect, sir, I know that. I love your daughter very much and I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life showing her just how much.”

My father didn’t grunt that time. That was a good sign.

Then my younger sister Stefani spoke up. “So let’s just ask what everyone wants to know.” I looked up at her, panicked she was going to spill the beans about the baby. But what she said was probably even worse. “Billy is drop-dead gorgeous. How are you going to handle all of those groupies that want to get with him?”

My mother gasped. “Stefani! That’s not appropriate dinner conversation.”

Surprisingly, my father defended Stefani. “Now, now. That’s not a bad question. Billy’s clearly not without his charms. Stacy needs to really think about what she’s getting herself into here.”

I rested my head on my hands, utterly shocked at where this conversation had gone. I took a deep breath and spoke up. “Daddy, I love you. I get that you are worried about me. I appreciate that and I get that it’s your job to terrorize my boyfriends. But Billy isn’t just some guy. I love him. We are going to be married and he’s going to be the father of my children.”

My father sighed. I could tell he hated to hear what I said but he also knew I was right. “Let’s get you married before we start planning any little ones.”

“I’m not a child anymore, Daddy. I’m an adult now I’m going to be a mother.”

“This is a ridiculous conversation to even be having. I’m sure when the time comes, Stacy, you are going to be a great mother. But that’s not even the point I’m trying to make here.”

“No, Daddy. I’m going to be a mother now, well, in a few months. Billy and I are having a baby and next week the whole world is going to know about it.”

My father looked at me, seemingly confused by what I was telling him. I shrugged. “It kind of came out on the Ellen show. We didn’t plan it to happen that way but it’s out there now and we can’t exactly take it back.”

“How ...” he started to say but then my older sister Sarah jumped it.

“Seriously? That’s what you want to know, how she got pregnant? I would think that was the one part of the story that was obvious.” She pointed to Billy and continued. “Her rock star boyfriend knocked her up.”

“Okay, that’s enough of that,” my mother said as she got up from the table and started clearing the plates.

“Well, son, I guess the only thing left to say is welcome to the family.” My father put his hand on Billy’s shoulder and stuck his other hand out to shake Billy’s. I’m sure he was still worried about his baby girl, but at the same time, what could he really do? Billy was going to be part of my life from now on and I was glad my father finally accepted it, or at least was trying to.

On Christmas Day when the news broke about our pregnancy I was a little worried people would figure out where we were and bother us. But they didn’t. Even my parents’ neighbors who knew we were there didn’t. Billy and I had a truly peaceful vacation -- while back at home things were exploding.

Vin, Devin, and Rocco hopped a flight and came to gather us. I didn’t want to leave the safety and comfort of my family but Vin insisted he had to get us home. Vin was worried that he couldn’t contain the crowds around the house much longer and if we didn’t show up soon to make some kind of statement they might storm the house and burn it down. I was pretty sure he was overreacting; but still I knew eventually we were going to have to deal with all that.

When we got home we could barely get our car into the driveway. There were so many people waiting on our arrival. Once we were safely inside and the gate securely shut behind us, Billy and I stepped out of the car to address the fans. Billy thanked them all for coming by and then reminded them that it was Christmas and that they should be home with their families.

As he said that a young girl shouted, “I love you Billy!”

I laughed and so did others from the crowd. Billy continued speaking and again thanked them all for their love and support. He confirmed that I was with child but that it was still too soon to know if it was going to be a girl or a boy yet. He told them what I needed now more than anything was rest and that he asked them to please give me that.

He put his hand on my stomach and said, “This is my baby in here. I need to keep it safe. I’m sure you all understand that, right?”

Billy and I went inside the house after that and for the most part the crowds dispersed.

The record label agreed to let the band work on their album in Billy’s studio at the house. It was either that or Billy wasn’t going to sign off on the deal. He didn’t want to leave my side for even a moment. He went to every doctor’s appointment and spent a lot of time setting up the room for the baby, which was actually a new addition to the house. He wanted the baby’s room downstairs near us and that worked for me since Vin, Rocco, and Devin had pretty much claimed upstairs for themselves. Plus, I wanted my baby near me too.

Just before Valentine’s Day, I had an appointment to get an ultrasound. This was the big reveal. If all went well then Billy and I would know the sex of our baby. As a girl who grew up with all sisters part of me really wanted it to be a girl but then again I would love to have a little mini-Billy. He would be so adorable. I was so torn. I guess really all that matters is that baby is healthy.

I was really nervous leading up to the big day; but when it had finally arrived Billy helped me to stay focused on him by talking about potential baby names, so that I would not have the full blown panic attack I knew was coming on.

“I was thinking, if it’s a girl maybe we could name her after my mother, Nicole.”

“Billy, that’s a beautiful name. Of course we can name her after your mother.”

Billy looked off in the distance and smiled at a memory he seemed to be having about a time he had spent with his mother as a child. Then, a look of sadness crossed his face as he contemplated yet another memory, one that clearly wasn’t as joyous as the first. "You know, I used to have a sister. A twin sister.”

I gasped at hearing this news, I truly had no idea. I turned my body towards his and laid my hand on his wrist that was comfortably on the armrest of the chair he was sitting in. His eyes glistened with tears. “She died when we were younger. She got sick and just never got better.” His voice had a haunting sadness about it.

“So I was thinking maybe if we had a baby girl we might name her after my sister, Amberly. Or my mother. I don’t know. What do you think?”

“That is wonderful,” I exclaimed, almost jubilantly. “Amberly Nicole. There could not be a more perfect name in the world. I love it. I absolutely love it.”

He still had looked sad though. He hesitated for a moment and then asked, “What about your mother? Won’t she be upset that we named the baby after my mother and not her?”

“Of course not. I’ll just tell her that we’ll name our next daughter after her. I’m sure she’ll be more than happy with that.”

His eyes lit up and a big smile came across his face. He looked down and patted my stomach. Billy and I had never talked about how many kids we wanted but when I said our next daughter, he really lit up.

“What if it’s a boy?”

“That’s easy. He would be William Thomas Snow, just like his daddy.”

“I don’t know, Stacy. Wouldn't you want to pick something more unique? You don’t have to give the baby my name. That’s an outdated tradition.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Why can’t you be rational about this?” Billy muttered under his breath.

“It’s not even up for discussion, Billy. It’s your name, it was your father’s name, and it was his father’s name. Naming our son after you is the easiest decision I ever made in my life.”

I leaned in and kissed him on the lips, and when I did could feel him smile. I pulled back and pressed my forehead to his. “I love you.” But before I could say anything else, I felt the baby kick really hard. It startled me and I jumped back.

Billy leapt out of his chair and dropped to his knees in front of me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. The baby just kicked. I think someone wants some of their daddy’s attention.”

I giggled and leaned back while Billy put his ear on my now rather large bump and tried to see if he could hear anything. He did that quite a bit. I don’t know what he expected to actually hear but he did seem to delight in trying.

Before long the nurse came to get us. It was time. We were finally going to find out if our baby was going to be a boy or a girl. Anticipation and excitement filled the air. My hands started to tremble as I lay back on the table and she began her exam.

The ultrasound tech had a really strange sounding voice, like she was pinching her nose when she talked. “Now you know we can’t always tell the sex. Sometimes the baby doesn’t cooperate.”

I squeezed Billy’s hand tightly as she spoke, and prayed that our little bundle of joy would be in a position to reveal its big secret.

The lady pointed to different things on the screen. We had opted for a 4D ultrasound because we had heard you could see so much more detail of the baby. They were right. It was astonishing. You could see every little feature of the baby’s tiny little body. There was no mistaking what you were looking at.

When the baby yawned, my heart just melted. “Looks like your baby girl is tired.”

“What? It’s a girl? Are you sure?”

“I’m as sure as I can possibly be. Of course we can’t guarantee anything but your baby is in the perfect position. You are having a girl.”

Billy squeezed my hand and tears ran down my face. I was so happy. After it was over we got into the car and were headed home. I pulled out my phone and texted my mother. I wanted her to be the first to know it was going to be a girl. After that, I put my phone down in my lap and started thinking about how much has changed in my life in the last year.

Then my mind went to Jeromy. What I did to him was absolutely unforgivable. Billy was my boyfriend’s best friend and what I did was wrong. While I technically didn’t cheat on Jeromy, emotionally our relationship was headed for disaster long before it was over and that was all my doing.

From the moment I met Billy there was something that drew him to me. Some may call it fate or destiny and that might be true, but it didn’t make what I did to Jeromy any easier to stomach. Jeromy was a good guy and he deserved all of the love and happiness in the world and I truly hoped that one day he will find it.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - First Impressions

Chapter 2 - Our First Date

Chapter 3 - Our New Life

Chapter 4 - Rowdy’s

Chapter 5 - New Life, New Clothes

Chapter 6 - Betrayed By My Dreams

Chapter 7 – Girls, Girls, Girls

Chapter 8 - Caught

Chapter 9 - Meet My Mom

Chapter 10 - Happy 4th of July

Chapter 11 - Out Like a Light

Chapter 12 - Recovery

Chapter 13 - All Alone

Chapter 14 - Homecoming

Chapter 15 - Good Morning Houston

Chapter 16 - Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Chapter 17 - Second Chances