The guys help me layer the lasagnas and we get them into the oven.
“You guys go ahead and do whatever you need to do now. The lasagnas need to for about an hour so you’ve got some time.”
“That’s ok Alex, we can stay and hang out.” Ryder says as he grabs a beer from the fridge. “I don’t want to leave you all by yourself.”
“Don’t worry about that.” I hold my phone up. “I’m going to do what you guys said and call Becca for some girl talk.”
“You sure?” Devon asks. “We don’t mind staying. It smells better in here than in the studio, anyway.”
“Positive. I’ll let you know when dinner is ready.”
“Ok, see you in a bit then.” Ryder tips his beer towards me in a wave as he turns to leave. “Come on, Devon. Let’s give Alex some privacy. I’m sure she doesn’t want us eavesdropping on her gossip session with Becca.”
Devon waves as he turns to follow Ryder. As soon as they’re out of earshot, I pull my phone out and call Becca.
Chapter 37
Connor - Take Your Time
“Iwon’t take the chance of losing her again, guys.” I’m pacing in the studio while the guys try to convince me I’m moving too fast. I sort of see their point, but I don’t know how else to go about this. “She’s been in my head for 20 years. And now she’s here. I need to know how I can get her to stay.”
“That is not something you need to worry about just yet.” Aiden stretches out on the floor, throwing one of his drumsticks in the air repeatedly and then catching it. “She’s signed a six-month contract, so she’ll be around for a little while. Get to know her again. It’s been 20 years man. You could both be completely different people now. You might not even want her to stay when you know her better.”
“Shut up.” I say, while flipping him off. There’s no way I could ever see myself not wanting her to stay.
“Yeah, you don’t want to overwhelm her. She just got out of a relationship with some dude who she caught cheating. And from what Becca said that night, it sounds like it’s happened more than just that one time.” Johnny is working something out on his guitar while talking to us.
“Do you think that would really matter?” She has to know that I would never do something like that to her, right? “If it’s happened lots, and she keeps trying, then it can’t bother her that much, can it?” I already know the answer to this. Of course it bothers her. I watched her run out of the bar at the mere mention of it, and I’m sure it’s not only because she just met most of the people there.
“Oh gee, I don’t know, dude. If you’d been cheated on a bunch of times, would you be interested in starting up a relationship with someone? Let alone someone you could google to see evidence of the countless other people they’ve been with?” He’s throwing my past back at me. It was a long time ago, but things on the internet never go away. I rarely regret the decisions I made in the past, but this is one time I wish I’d kept it in my pants a little more back then.
I sigh. “Yeah, that’s a good point, Johnny. It will take some work to gain her trust. I just can’t seem to control myself very well when she’s around. It’s like my lips are just drawn to her and I have to kiss her all the time. I’ve kept it innocent so far, but I can feel my willpower fading every time I see her.”
“It’s been less than a day!” Aiden says from his spot on the floor.
“I know! That’s part of the problem,” I agree. “I’ve been on edge since I saw her after the show and didn’t get her number. I was so worried she would disappear again that as soon as I saw her today, my brain has been trying to come up with a way to make her stay. And my body is trying to get closer to her any way it can. I feel so out of control.”
“You do seem to be a little out of it, man. Chill out. You may not have had a real breakup with her back then, but that doesn’t mean that you can just pick up right where you left off.” Aiden gets up off the floor and comes to sit beside me. “You’ve both been with other people in the years since you were together. And in her case, some of those people betrayed her, and that has probably left a mark.”
“And if you look at the stereotype of guys in our industry, it doesn’t exactly scream ‘will be faithful in a relationship’ so you’re going to have your work cut out for you if this is what you really want.” Travis is joining in now, just to really drive the point home.
The guys are right, though. I can’t just jump right back in. In the last 20 years so many things have happened and yeah, for the first little while, I was out of control. Too many parties, too many women, and way too many photos as evidence of both. It will be hard for her to trust anyone, let alone someone in my position. Even now everyone expects I will sleep with any woman who looks my way. Hell, half of Devon’s job is getting rid of groupies like the one who showed up in the bathroom after the show last week. So how am I going to prove myself to Alex?
I look up to see Devon and Ryder coming in. They’re speaking to each other too quietly for me to hear, but I see them both look at me so I know it’s about me. I’m just hoping that Alex hasn’t said anything bad. I’d hate to be starting at even more of a disadvantage than I already am.
“Hey guys, dinner done already?” I call out to get their attention. “That seems pretty fast.”
“Nah,” Ryder answers. “The lasagnas just went into the oven. She fucking made her own noodles, man. I don’t think I’ve ever had lasagna made with fresh noodles. You better not fuck this up.”
I’m already worried about fucking it up, so I don’t even respond.
Devon adds, “I’m going to need to start coming to the gym with you, Connor. If she feeds us like this for six months, I’m going to get too fat to move. Some security I’ll be for you then.” He laughs a little. The guy works out more than I do anyway, he is just naturally bigger than the rest of us. I’d run if I saw him coming at me in a dark alley, that’s for sure.
“So before Connor asks, did Alex say anything about him?” Johnny jumps right into it before I have time to. He’s right though, that’s exactly what I was going to ask next.
“Not much, man,” Ryder says. “Just that she’s going to call Becca to talk, because Devon and I are your friends first. I let her know that I’ve dumped you, though. I’m officially team Alex from now on. She’s way better looking than you are, and she cooks. It’s a no brainer, really.” He comes over and flops down beside me. “I think I’m going to have t-shirts made. I’ll wear them at our shows.” His grin tells me he’s not exactly kidding.
“She seems kind of confused.” Devon adds, glaring at Ryder. “This has likely been too much for her to take in all at once. Not only does she know where you are now, she knows you’ve been trying to track her down. And she’s now working for you. Being your employee might change things for her. All I know is that I like her. She seems super nice, and probably way too good for you. I didn’t come right out and tell her like Ryder did, but I’m probably going to need a team Alex shirt as well. So don’t fuck this up and don’t hurt her.”
