Gauge: Rockstar Romance (The ProVokaTiv Series Book 1) (8 page)

The doors of the elevator opened up, revealing an elegant, sophisticated rooftop setting.  The pool was over to the right and to the left there was a privacy wall, about four feet tall, I guessed, that had an opening in it to allow people to go through.  There was a rope in front of it.

“Let’s check it out over here.   This view was really cool,” Gauge said.

“I don’t think we’re supposed to go there.  The rope.”

“Who cares?”

“Um, me, if I get in trouble,” I said.

“Not so brave in person as you are with the keyboard, huh?”

“Fine, but let’s be quick.”

Gauge walked first and released the small rope barricade that separated us from that section of the roof.  “Just over here.”  He walked toward a sectional couch along the corner of the roof.  “What a cool seating area!”

“Surprise!”

Thank goodness I wasn’t at the edge of the roof, because I jumped and whipped my head around.  I blinked.  I was pretty sure I was staring at Trinity and Jessie.  The way they ran over to me and wrapped me in a big hug confirmed I was.

“What’s going on…I don’t…”

“We’d never miss your birthday,” Jessie said.

“Especially in Barcelona,” Trinity added.  “Damn, you look sassy, Brynn.  Life on the road is treating you good.”

I couldn’t even respond.  I turned my head around and saw Gauge standing off to the side, watching the scene unfold.  Then I looked past Jessie and Trinity and saw Hunter and Simon there, along with a few of the people from the crew.

“This is so amazing,” I said, blinking rapidly to hold back the tears.  “You two look incredible!”

Trinity was wearing a pair of J Brand jeans that were skin-tight on her already very slender, stick-straight frame, along with a flowing tank top with a few leopard print accents.  Her stilettos were absolutely killer, too—leopard-print and strappy.

“Killer outfit,” I said.

“My payment for a shoot last week.  It’s not money, but it is a hell of a great outfit,” Trinity said, laughing.

I turned to Jessie, who looked more like a sweet Bohemian girl walking on the beach.  She had on a printed and flowing knee-length Michael Kors skirt with a plum-colored sleeveless top and some chunky necklaces.

“And you look amazing, Jessie,” I said, taking in her sincere smile and sparkling green eyes.

“Let the party begin!” Trinity said. 

“I like the way she talks,” Hunter shouted out, adding a “woo!”

Trinity waved someone over. A waiter, who’d been standing in the corner, came over with a tray of champagne.  Trinity took a glass and handed it to me, and then grabbed one for herself.  We toasted and I fumbled with a few heartfelt words.  I was so overwhelmed.

The music flowed freely, and the drinks, even more freely.  I was so excited to talk with Jessie and Trinity, who I found out would be staying with me—excellent!  Much of what I wanted to talk about would have to wait for a more private time, though, because while Gauge kept space between us, I knew he could hear what I was saying. I’d be remiss if I didn’t admit that a healthy dose of liquid courage was starting to take over, though.

“What you doing back here?” I asked Gauge.  I took a sip of champagne, hooked on its crispness and loving how it made me feel.

“Just giving you some time to talk with your friends.  You haven’t seen them for awhile.”

“You were pretty sneaky, you know.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know you know what I mean,” I said, laughing.  “I’m just glad you didn’t take me up here to push me off the roof from that review.”

“No need to dwell on that.  I’ve chosen to forget it,” Gauge said.  He folded his arms, and there was no smile on his face.

“You know, now that I know you better, you still seem friendly when you’re making sure you don’t smile.  It’s familiar.  Who would have thought that I was more suspicious of a happy you? This you, not so much.”I took a step back and felt my body sway just a bit.  “It’s getting breezy up here.”

“No, not really,” Gauge said.

“The building must have a slight sway to it then.  Do they get earthquakes here?”

“I suppose they can, but I don’t think it’s the building.”

My body started to shake as I tried to hold back my laughter, but I couldn’t any longer.  “I’m definitely enjoying my champagne then, I guess.”

“I guess.  Excuse me; I’ll be back in a bit.”

I watched Gauge walk off. The second he was out of the small, private party area, Trinity and Jessie were by me, each on one side.

“Let’s sit down and chat.  There are some things I’m very curious about,” Trinity said.

“Me too,” I replied.  “You seem to be the only person I’ve met so far that can compete with Hunter sentence for sentence.”

“You know me, love a good challenge,” Trinity said.

“Come on, let’s sit down and get you a bit of food,” Jessie offered, starting to walk with me over to the couch.

“Am I getting that bad?” I whispered.

“No,” Jessie said.  I could tell she just didn’t want me to panic.  Trinity and I definitely weren’t as sweet as she was.  We would have said, “You’re gone.”

After I was sitting down, Mama Bear Jessie hustled off to get me a plate of food and a bottle of water.  “You’ll thank me for it later.”

“So, what’s going on with you and Gauge?  You two have some sort of strange chemistry happening,” Trinity said, leaning in.

“He’s nice.  We’re just friends,” I said.

“Even I can see that’s not the way it is,” Jessie said.  “It’s okay to like him, isn’t it?”

“Did you two…”  Trinity was curious.

I cut her off, not wanting her colorful description of what I’d thought might happen that night.  “No, I thought we might, but we didn’t.”

“So, you’re close,” Jessie said.  “Nothing wrong with taking time.  I bet he has women hitting on him all the time.  He’s a rock star, after all.”

“Oddly enough, not so much.  He keeps his distance.  Hunter is the one who really is out there, the ‘come and get it’ guy.  Gauge is kind of introverted, not really into that scene.  He’s no angel, mind you, but he doesn’t really go about his status the way Hunter does.”

“How about Simon?” Jessie asked.

“He’s more serious like Gauge, but outgoing, too.  He’s all about the business aspect of things, maximizing his advantages by working hard.”  I looked at Jessie and remembered the day with the interview.  “Oh, I asked for the picture, but I didn’t get it yet.  Something else came up that day.”

“No worries.  I asked him earlier, and he said he’d bring one by the room later.”

“Nice,” I said, taking a bite of the small shrimp appetizer on my plate.

I looked to the two women who knew me better than anyone in the world.  It was still hard to believe this was really happening.  “It’s just so great you two are here.  I can’t believe it.  You’re the best.”

Tears sprung to my eyes again. Jessie leaned in and wiped one that had gotten loose and was sliding down my cheek.  “No place we would rather be,” she said to me.

“No way,” Trinity added crisply.

“Talk tomorrow.  Party now,” Hunter said, running up and extending his hand out to Trinity.  “I’m looking at you, and I’m thinking body shots.”

“Only if I can do one off you,” Trinity said, jumping up and laughing.  She turned and mouthed, “Later.”

Hunter was all over the reciprocating body shots, and the two went over to the table. Trinity laid down on it first, her flat, rock-hard stomach holding the shot glass perfectly still. Hunter put his mouth over the shot of Patron, lifted his head, glass in teeth, and swallowed it.

Trinity jumped up, raising her hands in the air, and hopped off the table in a swift, completely graceful motion.  I wondered how she did that.  She’d been drinking as much as me, and I couldn’t imagine pulling that off.

And the party marched on, until a three-layer chocolate birthday cake with sparklers rolled in, the candles’ flames like little falling stars in the chilly, night sky.  Everyone sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to me and the party carried on.  I yawned in exhaustion but smiled in elation.  What a special evening it had been.

“Why don’t we go tuck you into bed,” Gauge said.  He came up to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.  It was only then that I realized how chilly my skin felt against his warm arm.

I smiled and went to hug Trinity and Jessie.  “I’ll see you later.  You have your keys, right?”

“See you later, sweetie.  Sweet dreams,” Jessie said.

“Definitely,” Trinity said, winking at me.

As Gauge and I made our way back down to my hotel room, I said, “That was so fun.  Mind if we hang out just a bit longer?”

“Sure,” Gauge said. 

Even as Gauge was taking me to his room to hang out, I was yawning and exhausted.  All I longed for was just a minute alone with him, though, and no interruptions.  I knew that my friends could take care of themselves, anyway.

“Let’s kick back on your bed,” I said boldly as soon as we were in Gauge’s room.

I didn’t give him a chance to answer, just strolled over and plunked down on the left side of his bed. I finally looked at him, and he wore a saucy half-smile.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Gauge asked.  He sat down at the edge of the bed, not far but not near.

“Don’t worry,” I said casually, flicking my hand in the air. “I’m not going to try anything and I don’t expect anything.  You’re safe.”

He didn’t answer.

“But out of curiosity, why did you start something with me and then stop it?”

“I didn’t want you to have any expectations from me the next day.”

I sat up a bit and looked at him, assessing what he might mean by ‘expectations.’  “So, you think I’d expect us to be together if we slept together one night?  That’s not how all women operate, you know.”

“Yeah, I definitely know that,” he said.  He was staring me down. A poetic thought came to mind:  his eyes were definitely windows to his soul.  Those were words I’d never write—not in a million years—but I was feeling them at that moment.

“Is it because of how
she
screwed you over?”

“I was mad at her for a long time for it.  Honestly, it wasn’t her fault.  It’s not easy to have a good relationship with someone who’s always on the road, not to mention in the spotlight.  It takes a special kind of woman and a whole lot of security.”

“Does that mean you’re never going to give anyone a chance again?” I asked.  Although my head was spinning, I loved this honesty from Gauge.  He was sharing something real, and I was glad to be there.

“I don’t think like that.”  He paused and didn’t continue on, cutting the conclusion off.

“Okay, how do you think?” I finally asked.

“I have always known what I want. When I’ve veered from what was in my gut, things didn’t work out.  I’m smarter now, and I know how to control the field.”

“That sounds a bit manipulative, Gauge.”

He looked at me with that raised eyebrow, and I hoped he didn’t take offense from it.  After all, the word
manipulative
was hardly a compliment.  “Some see it that way, but I’m the one in control of my life, no one else.  Unlike most people, I am not afraid to live by the creed I’ve made for myself.  I don’t care if others think it’s wrong.”

“It helps build the legend of you, you know,” I said softly.  Then I yawned. 

“Not everyone sees it like you do.”

“Not everyone gets to see you like I have.  Maybe that’s why,” I said.

This was the first time I’d ever been so close with Gauge. I wasn’t focused on the physical energy of his presence as much as the emotional intensity of our talk.  I wanted to hear more, and since he seemed to be a bit more open, I wanted to keep asking questions and take advantage of it as much as I could. We talked and talked until I drifted off to sleep. 

When I woke up, I was lying nestled in his arm on the bed.  We were under the covers, and I slowly lifted the covers to look under.  I was still in my clothes, but my shoes were off.  From the fabric I felt on my leg, I knew that Gauge was still in his jeans, too.  The only thing I didn’t know is what we had talked about last night.  I’d blanked it out, but somehow, I knew it was a good conversation.  My instincts hadn’t failed me.

I rolled over, trying to get up without waking Gauge up and looked at the clock.  It was 7 a.m.  As I stood up and stretched out my stiff body, I saw him open his eyes, just barely, and look at me.

“Good morning,” he mumbled, more asleep than awake.

“Hey, thanks for letting me crash.  I’m going to get going,” I said.  My head was pounding.  “Thanks for letting me crash here.”

“No problem.”  Gauge rolled over and got dressed, and then rolled on out of his room.

As I made the short walk to my room I felt so excited, despite a world class hangover.  Happy birthday to me!