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"Gem? Do you have a girlfriend? Because I am really not that kind of girl!" she snaps at me.Whoa!I raise a brow and cross my arms, watching her until she gulps.
"No, I'm single. She's my assistant."
Her face softens and she bats her eyes, trying to play off her overreaction. “Oh, well in that case. Want to go grab some food?”
I burst out laughing and she furrows her brow in confusion.
“Oh babycakes,” I say with a shake of my head. “You blew it. Time for you to go,” I open the door wider and step aside. She huffs, then pouts, before sighing and moving quickly to the front door. “Right, well, I’ll just go then.” She shuffles out, and I don't follow. Whatever her name is, is way too dramatic for me. I would have taken her to eat, before going our separate ways. I mean I am a nice guy, but nope. I don't need more crazy in my life. I wait twenty minutes, quickly taking a shower and dressing before calling down to the concierge to make sure she's left.
When the coast is clear, I make my way to the BBQ food truck around the corner. I’ve been craving some good ole southern cooking.
I load up my plate of ribs with bbq sauce, then find a table in the shade. The sun is just starting to set and I sigh. I miss home. The big city is nothing compared to empty fields of wheat, sitting in the back of my pickup, watching the sun go down, and listening to Cara sing softly to the radio.
Sometimes, when I am in the studio laying down a new track, I think back to those summer nights. I guess you could call it my happy place. I glance down at my watch and jump up.Shit!I’m late for rehearsal. Again. Sending Gem a quick text, I toss my paper plate in the can next to the food truck, and haul ass to the venue we’re performing at in a few hours. I throw open the door and race up the four flights of stairs. Damn, I really need to work out. Not hauling hay bales and dealing with the livestock every day has made me weak.
“You’re late, man. Keep this shit up and the boss is going to start shortening our play time,” Alex growls from his position on the couch. I try to not roll my eyes but he just gets under my skin sometimes.
“I know dude sorry. I was eating dinner and forgot to check my watch.”
He has no problem rolling his heavily made up eyes. Who does he think we are, some rock band? We play country for fuck’s sake.
“Good, everyone is here,” Gem says, coming into the room. “We have a change of plans it seems.” From the tone of her voice I know I’m not going to like the next words to come from her mouth. I plop down in a chair and lean back, preparing myself.Fuck! Can today just end already?
Three
Carson
“Come here, shortcake. Give me my little strawberry. How are my favorite girls today?” My husband says taking our daughter from my arms.
“Daddy,” Brantly shouts before crashing into his legs, giving them a big hug. He’s missed him so much. Being a musician’s wife is hard, but the life, and freedom it has rewarded us is worth it. Plus, I would never want to put an end to his dreams. My man was always meant to be a star.
“It’s time to get up,” he whispers in my ear, confusing me. I look at the ground. What is he talking about? I’m standing right now.
“Girl, get up!” someone says into my ear before smacking my butt, waking me from the very nice dream I was having. Wait! I jolt awake and roll over, falling out of my bed onto the floor. Laughter erupts all over my room, and I roll onto my back glaring at three of my best friends.
“What are you guys doing here?” I grumble, pushing myself up from the floor with a wince. Yeah, that's definitely going to leave a mark. Lee jumps off my bed with a giggle and helps me up giving me a huge beaming smile. “Well miss sleepy butt, we’re going on an adventure.”
I raise my brow at her and she rolls her eyes. “I know you leave for college in a few days, and I start my job teaching down at the dance studio in town, but girl, this is our last summer to be wild and free.”
I walk over to my bathroom and shut the door, taking a moment to wake up. I love my girls, but sometimes they can be a bit too peppy in the mornings. I need my coffee and at least ten minutes of lying in bed, scrolling Instagram or Tik Tok on my phone. I am not prepared for this. I quickly pee and hop in the shower, turning the water scalding so I can feel the tension and stress seep from my shoulders. I close my eyes and think about my dream. This isn’t the first time I’ve pictured a future together, but it is the first time I woke up wanting to cry. I’ll never have that now. I shut the water off and the door swings open. “Cara, I’m setting your required clothing on the vanity. Nope. Shush. You will put this on and meet us in the kitchen for coffee and omelets.” The door slams shut before I can argue. I hesitantly reach for my towel and dry myself off before opening the curtain to find my hot pink bikini and a pair of my shortest ripped jean shorts laying there on the counter. I think the last time I wore those was last summer. They’re not going to fit over my butt now. Oh hell no. I’m okay with a beach day. It actually sounds perfect, but I’m not wearing those. I hang my towel on the rack then grab my bikini, quickly putting it on, before storming into my room. I move over to my closet to grab a sundress and find all the hangers missing. Well that's odd. I shuffle over to my dresser to grab a T-shirt to at least cover my chest and my drawers are empty. Oh my god! They are incorrigible. I move to my bathroom, pull up the tight ass shorts, walk over to my bedroom door—which is still broken—and stomp down the stairs in a huff.
“You guys think you’re so funny! I am not wearing this in public!” I holler, coming around the corner, only to freeze. Holy crap! Not only are my girls sitting at the kitchen table, but three of the hottest guys in my school are there as well. “What’s going on?” I ask, quickly grabbing my mother’s apron from the hook by the fridge and covering myself. Cassie rolls her eyes at me and plumps up her hair, pursing her lips. “Really babe. You have a killer body. I don’t know why you insist on dressin’ like Mary Sue from church,” she says with a snort. Sam giggles and comes around the counter to give me a hug. I wrap my arms around her in return, only to be totally fooled. She snatches the apron from over my head and tosses it to Lee. “As much as I love the little ruffles and lace, girl, it will look a bit odd at the beach.” I roll my eyes and huff, tugging my shorts down. “If I agree to wear this, can we at least compromise on these shorts. I haven’t worn them in over a year and I can barely breathe,” I whisper quietly as I don’t want the guys to hear. She looks over at Lee, who I’m guessing is the one in charge today and nods. “Come on, I stuffed all your clothes in the guest room.”
I sigh in relief and follow her out the door and down the hall.
After changing to some bigger jean shorts, I move back to the kitchen to finally get my caffeine fix of the day. Sam hands me my mug, and I sigh in bliss after the first few sips. “Better?” she asks with a mischievous glimmer in her eyes. “Yes,” I reply warily giving her a look. “So is anyone going to tell me what the plans are for today? And why the guys are in my backyard throwing the football around?”
Lee comes over and smacks the back of my head making me yelp, but thankfully not drop my mug. “What the hell was that for?” I sputter out.
“That, girl, was a wake up smack. It’s time for you to wake up, get over Memphis, and maybe even hook up with someone before you go off to college.” The blood rushes from my face and I know what she's about to say before she says it. “That's right babe, this is operation ‘Help Carson Lose Her V-Card.’”
Lord please save me! I look up at the ceiling ignoring their snickers, and pray. I’m almost at the end of my prayer when my dad walks in and bursts out laughing at my face.
“Baby girl, why do you look like someone is holding you at gunpoint?” Ha! right on the nose, Dad. I can’t help but think. I quickly mask my face and give him a smile. “Good morning, Dad.” I move over to the coffee machine and pour him a mug. “Good morning girls,” he says, taking the mug from me and giving my friends a look. “Good morning, Mr. Matthews,” they say in unison. Like they aren't the devils in disguise. He gives them a wink, and I swear Cassie sighs. Eww. “So what are you girls up to today? I take it from the bathing suits you are going to the water?”
Lee speaks up before I can reply, “Yep. We’re going down to Galveston for the weekend. Do some shopping, swimming, tanning.” Wait, the whole weekend?
“I can’t go the whole weekend. I still have some things to do here, and I made plans with Frankie to have a girls day.” I say pointedly towards my father hoping he will speak up. Should have known. He’s such a traitor.
