All the Right Things (Love in LA) (20 page)

“You were amazing. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you the entire time. And the ladies around me were lovin’ you just as much. I thought I might have to cut a bitch for a minute or two there,” she joked with a wry smile.

He laughed and shook his head. “Thank you for showing restraint. It would’ve sucked to have to bail you out of jail. That shit’s expensive.”

Wrinkling her nose, Annie grinned at him. “Yeah, that would’ve been no bueno, at least now I know you’d bail me out. Thanks for the amazing seat! I had a perfect view of the entire stage.”

“You’re welcome. I’m stoked you were able to come see me perform.”

“And me,” a voice chimed in. Annie looked over Casey’s shoulder and saw Mike and Travis, two of the other dancers she’d met at the club, sitting at a long vanity next to another guy she hadn’t met, yet. They were still in their costumes from the last song of the show and appeared to be removing make-up from their faces. Mike gave her a cheeky grin and winked, making her grin back at him.

“I’m thrilled I got to see
all
of you dance,” Annie assured them. “You guys are legit. Some of those moves were so hot that I thought the stage was going to light on fire.” She made sure to sound suitably impressed.

“Oh we know,” Mike said, nodding and looking innocently serious. “We are the panty-droppers.” Casey reached back and biffed Mike upside the back of his head, making Annie laugh out loud.

“Ignore him,” Casey told her. “He’s an idiot. His mother dropped him on his head when he was a baby.”

“Hey now, that’s not nice,” Mike complained with a sullen look on his face.

Annie grabbed Casey’s hand and pulled him back over to her to save Mike from further physical punishment.

“May not be nice, but it’s true. You are an idiot,” Travis added, finally joining in the conversation. Mike just elbowed him hard in the ribs, making Travis cough and then wheeze before turning to him and punching him in the shoulder. “Fuck off!” he snapped at Mike.

“You fuck off!” Mike growled back at him.

Casey sighed and opened the dressing room door to escape, pulling Annie behind him before closing the door again.

“Listen, the rest of the crew is going back to Ruby Skye tonight, and we can go there with them if you want, but I was thinking maybe instead, we could just do a late dinner together.”

“Mmm, that sounds perfect,” Annie said with a dreamy smile as she pushed up on her toes to kiss him soundly. She was all in favor of having Casey to herself for a while after having to share him with hundreds of other drooling women. That would take some getting used to.

“Great. Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll meet you out front.”

Annie nodded, but just before turning to leave, she saw Kayla walking towards them. The petite pop star who was even more beautiful up close was followed by a flustered looking young woman holding a coat and purse in one hand while she balanced a clipboard and cell phone in her other hand.

Beyond excited to meet the talented singer, Annie was about to gush over her performance and beg for an autograph, but Kayla completely ignored the fact that she was standing there and just started talking to Casey without giving her a second glance.

“Hey Casey,” Kayla purred with a seductive smile. “Nice work tonight. I have to say, you’re doing so well at filling in for Jake, I’m almost tempted to give you the job permanently.”

“Ahh thanks, Kayla, I appreciate that,” Casey said, blushing a little as he shifted his weight from foot to foot, “but I’ve toured with Jake before, and he’s one of the best. I’m honored to be filling in for him.”

“Hmm, talented and modest,” she observed, still pointedly ignoring Annie. “Well, I could always use another regular back-up dancer, so let’s talk when he gets back. In the meantime, I’m going to be adding in a new song I recorded recently and I want you to be the lead male for the new choreography I’m working on. I could use your input. Come to rehearsal early on Tuesday?”

Annie just bit her tongue and waited patiently for them to finish talking. Regardless what her opinion of Kayla was, the singer was still responsible for Casey’s livelihood, and Annie didn’t want to jeopardize his job or embarrass him by acting the jealous girlfriend.

Exchanging glances with the woman standing a few feet behind Kayla, Annie wondered if she always followed her boss around to be at her every beck and call. The woman, who she guessed to be Kayla’s assistant, gave her a sad, sympathetic smile as she too patiently waited for Kayla to finish talking to Casey. Just then, her cell phone chirped with an incoming text, making her duck her head to squint at the phone. She started typing back a reply with her thumb, and then hesitantly moved forward a step to gently tap Kayla on the shoulder.

Whirling around, Kayla snapped at the woman. “What? Can’t you see I’m talking here?”

“Uhh, sorry Ms. Miles. It’s Mr. Brady. He said he’s waiting outside to take you to dinner?”

“Dammit to hell—I forgot he was coming.” Kayla sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Fine, tell him I’ll be out in a few minutes.” Before turning back to Casey, she plastered a big, fake smile back on her face. “So I’ll see you before group rehearsal on Tuesday?” Casey nodded. “Good.” Kayla gave him the smile of a woman who always got what she wanted and sashayed down the hallway, her assistant scurrying behind her.

Casey looked at Annie as soon as she left and started to apologize. “I’m sorry about that—” he started, but she just shook her head and waved her hand.

“Forget about it. I get it.”

“It’s just a job,” he promised. “I swear there’s nothing going on there. I’m with you, princess.”

Annie just nodded and gave him a half-hearted smile. “I know. I trust you,” she said. “I’ll see you outside in fifteen.” But in spite of her brave words, Annie knew she was facing a long, uphill battle when it came to Casey. He was an incredibly good looking, talented, sweet, sensitive, funny guy. Beautiful women would always be throwing themselves at him, celebrity or not. Brushing it off, she kissed his cheek and left him to finish changing.

A local diner seemed to be the only restaurant still open at such a late hour. Over pancakes and omelets, Annie and Casey chatted about a variety of topics, most of them surrounding their respective childhoods. She learned that he had two older sisters and a younger brother and had lived in southern California his whole life. Not only had he been on the varsity basketball team in high school, but he’d also been in choir and on the debate team. She told him she was a SoCal native as well with only one younger sister, had played volleyball and ran track in high school, and had participated in choir as well. Talk about your overachievers.

Casey ordered himself a coffee, and they split a piece of apple pie ala mode before calling it a night and heading back to the hotel. Back in their room, he undressed Annie slowly and made love to her tenderly, as if to reaffirm his feelings to her. After climaxing together, they snuggled close to each other and fell asleep within minutes.

Morning came all too soon, making her regret booking such an early flight, but she’d wanted time to get some chores done around the apartment before having to head back to work the next day. Annie let him sleep while she re-packed her small carry-on and got ready to leave for the airport. After finishing her shower and getting dressed, she crawled onto the bed and leaned down over him, kissing his neck and nibbling on his ear as he groaned and tugged her down, wrapping his arms around her.

“Baby, I gotta go. Thank you for a wonderful weekend.”

“Mmm, you’re welcome.” He cracked an eye open and smiled up at her. “Call me when you get back.”

“I will,” Annie promised. Smiling wistfully at Casey, she turned and started to get back up off the bed, but suddenly he reached out and grabbed her by the wrist.

“Wait. I need to ask you something.”

Uh oh. Here it comes.
Taking a deep breath, Annie braced herself for the blow. He was going to confess something terrible, like he’d already hooked up with Kayla. She swallowed hard. “Yes?”

“Will you be my girlfriend, princess?”

“What?” Annie sat back on the bed, caught off guard by his question.

Casey pushed himself up into a sitting position next to her and caught her chin in his grasp, looking at her intently as he brushed his thumb across her lips. “Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

Blushing, Annie tried to look down, but he wouldn’t let her. Reluctantly, she looked up into his eyes. His expression was serious, but gentle and loving. “I didn’t think you were into long-term relationships,” she said softly.

Dropping his hand, he looked confused and asked, “What makes you think that?”

Annie looked down again. “Well, um… I think I overheard Kelli and Kelly talking last night, and one of them said she’s known you for years and that you aren’t into relationships. She also made it sound like you’ve slept with her before.”

Groaning, Casey leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “Jesus.”

“So it’s true?” Annie asked, frowning at him.

“Yes, no. I mean, look… yes, I slept with Kelli like four years ago. It was a one-time thing and a total mistake. We were both drunk, and the next day, she was going on and on like we were in an exclusive relationship when I had never said anything like that. I told her as nicely as possible that she was a cool chick, and I hoped we could stay friends, but I wasn’t interested in dating her.”

“Hmm… well, I guess I can understand why she would say that then. So you don’t have a problem with long-term relationships?”

“Babe, I’ve never met a girl I’ve wanted to be around continuously… until I met you. Now I don’t want to imagine what my life would be like without you.”

Annie could feel herself getting teary at Casey’s heartfelt confession. She was touched by his vulnerability and honesty. Wiping away a tear, she laughed. “You have the
worst
timing, you know. I’m about ready to get on a plane to go back to L.A., and you ask me to be your girlfriend and confess your lo—” She stopped, looking down at the bed in embarrassment. He hadn’t said he loved her, yet. Here he was pouring out his heart and asking her to be his girlfriend, and she had to ruin it by sticking her foot in her mouth and asking for even more.

Casey reached out and brushed another tear away before softly caressing her cheek. “Hey, look at me,” he commanded. Slowly, she did as he asked, biting her lip uncertainly. “I do, you know. I know it’s kind of fast, but when I know I feel something this honest, I don’t run away from it. Running is for cowards, and I’m no coward. I love you, Annie.”

That did it. Grinning like a fool, Annie burst into happy tears, launching herself forward into Casey’s arms, kissing him repeatedly. He returned her kisses, and then pulled his head back slightly to look at her sternly. “Hey, what about you?”

Feeling unbelievably happy, but a little mischievous, her eyes twinkled as she looked at him innocently. “What about me?”

“Brat. Do you love me?”

“Oh. Well. Hmm… love’s a strong word,” she started to say, then burst out giggling as he started tickling her mercilessly. “Okay, I do, I do! I do, I swear. I love you, too. I do love—” she stopped as he kissed her deeply, his tongue diving into her mouth, effectively silencing her. They kissed and cuddled each other for a few more minutes, but then Annie groaned and reminded him she needed to leave for the airport.

With a regretful sigh, Casey nodded and rolled out of bed to pull on some jeans and a t-shirt while she went to the bathroom to repair the damage he’d done to her hair and make-up. As she returned, he slipped on some sandals and then picked up her carry-on.

“Come on, princess. I’ll walk you down.”

Casey was already the perfect boyfriend, waiting until the Uber driver arrived to take her to the airport. He helped Annie into the car before leaning down to kiss her and then closed the door carefully behind her. He waved as she drove away from the hotel, and then turned back to head inside as they disappeared around the corner.

The flight back home was smooth and uneventful. As per usual for these short trips, the flight attendant had barely finished picking up their empty cups and other trash when the pilot announced that they were beginning their descent into Los Angeles. She called Casey on her ride home from the airport, chatting with him for a few minutes before he had to go.

Once Annie was home, she unpacked her bag and sorted all her dirty clothes into piles. It took over two hours to finish her laundry, and then she started preparing a pan of lasagna to put in the oven. Alex came over for their weekly dinner date and asked about her weekend with Casey, so she gave him a rundown of everything that happened. From the night out dancing at Ruby Skye to what happened afterwards once they got back to the hotel and in the shower the next morning to the interesting encounter with Kayla after her concert—she spared no detail.

“So it was good?” Alex asked as he helped himself to another piece of lasagna.

“Oh yeah,” she said, nodding vigorously. “It was worth the wait, for sure.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“And there’s one more thing,” she added, pausing as she took a bite out of her Texas toast. She took a sip of wine to wash it down, then grinned at Alex. “He asked me to be his girlfriend.”