Stereo (9 page)

Shaun’s eyes went wide as she fingered the lanyard with uncertainty.

“One for you,”  Adam finished.  When Shaun didn’t take the pass from his hand, just stared at it, he added. “You’re coming with me.”

“As…Business, right?”

“Just business.”

Her throat was dry. “I don’t have anything to wear.”

“Perfect. Neither do I.”

--

Shaun was already digging the heels of her Chucks into the ground trying to free her arm from Adam’s iron grasp. “No, Adam.  Seriously, stop.  This is way too expensive.”

Adam turned to Shaun, exasperated, his Ray Bans teetering on the tip of his nose from having to wrestle her out of the car and across the street.  “Shaun, please try to relax.”

“You don’t understand, though.  You see my taste in clothes is geared more towards the TJ Maxx and Ross variety. My wallet practically seals itself shut the second I run out of sales racks to look through. I can’t… I can’t do this.  I wouldn’t even know how to act.”

Adam didn’t know what he had to say to help Shaun understand just how much money he actually had.  He could buy every item of clothing from every store on that block and his accountant wouldn’t have batted an eyelash.  It was nothing to him, and the fact that is was so clearly far from
nothing
to her almost made him smile.

The smirk at the edge of his mouth irritated Shaun to no end. “Don’t laugh at me.”

Adam licked his lips. “It’s just a store.  I promise you’ll live. Let’s
go,
” he demanded, pulling her with all of his might until she had no choice but to follow him into the monstrous Prada store on Rodeo Drive.

Once inside, Shaun could feel herself shaking.  She walked the isles with her arms held tight across her body, feeling like she was being watched and if she dared to touch anything every alarm in the building would sound and metal gates would drop from the ceiling to block every exit.

“What the hell am I doing here?” she mumbled to herself, afraid to even
breathe
on anything, let alone touch it.  She glanced to the other side of the store where Adam had already tried on three different black leather jackets that all looked exactly the same. She didn’t even want to think about what the prices were on any of them.

Across the store, Adam shrugged on another jacket before flagging over a retail associate, eyeing Shaun and thinking he’d never seen a more uncomfortable looking person in his life.  “You see that girl over there?” he asked the blonde associate. “The one who looks lost and a little constipated?”

The blonde associate spotted Shaun immediately, and gave Adam a knowing look.

“Please,” Adam begged, handing her his American Express Black Card. “Help her.”

The blonde took the card. “And what’s the occasion, Mr. Brand?”

Adam was examining the black leather jacket he’d just put on. “The MTV Awards.  Tonight.  I’ll take this jacket.  I need to wear it out of the store.”

The associate immediately produced a pair of scissors from her pocket, cutting the tag off of the jacket. “I’ll ring it right up.  Good choice,” she said with a wink.

Adam didn’t see it.  He was still watching Shaun across the store.  She was admiring a red dress but the second she looked at the price-tag she dropped it like it was on fire.  “Talk her into that red dress.  Make sure she looks beautiful.”  He finally looked at the associate. “But make sure she’s comfortable, too.”

“Beautiful and comfortable.”  The sales associate turned away from him with a roll of her eyes at the oxymoron he’d just given her, mumbling bitterly. “That sounds
totally
possible.”

“What was that, Miss?” Adam called.

The associate plastered a smile on her face. “Nothing, Mr. Brand.  I’ll get right on that!”

“Thank you…” Adam sang, adjusting the jacket on his shoulders while watching the sales associate out of the corner of his eye.

--

An hour later, Adam held the door as Shaun exited the store with a Prada box clutched to her chest.  She couldn’t remember ever loving anything as much as she loved the dress she was holding.  It was truly stunning.

The satisfied smile on her face quickly vanished when three random men seemed to jump into her walkway out of nowhere, camera flashes blinding her so fiercely that she stopped walking altogether.  It was only the feeling of Adam’s hand on the small of her back that made her heart rate drop back down to a normal level.

“Relax…”  Adam said, coming up next to her. He, too, had been startled by the photographers and he was also taken off guard by the need to keep a hand on Shaun’s back.  He
needed
to feel her next to him—to know she was okay.

Shaun shielded her eyes with her hands as the flashes intensified and the photographers shouted various demands at them from every angle.  The small crowd of three cameramen had somehow tripled to nine.  Where had they all come from?

“Shaun to your right!”

“Shaun straight ahead!”

“Shaun!—“

“Shaun—please!  Adam how about a kiss?”

Shaun’s head snapped over her shoulder as Adam unlocked the passenger door and held it open for her.  These guys already knew her name? She climbed into the car as quickly as she could, only allowing herself to relax when Adam closed it behind her.

--

“I’m seeing spots,”  Shaun said, blinking wildly. She continued to clutch the large Prada box in her lap as Adam zoomed through the streets of Beverly Hills in his hurry to make it to the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal City.  She was still in awe of the fact that those strangers had known her name, and even more so that they’d all wanted a shot of her so badly. “I, literally, cannot see
.”

Adam, completely unaffected, continued to race the streets. “I’m so late.  Janelle’s going to flip.”

Shaun rubbed her eyes from the passenger’s seat. “Well… I told you I would have taken a cab to meet Celia
.
”

“Right, because I’m really going to let you pay seventy-dollars to take a cab to Sherman Oaks while a dozen paparazzi harass you? I know you think I’m some kind of irredeemable scumbag, Shaun, but I’m not
the type of man to leave a woman stranded on the streets.”

“Well you’re going to have to let me pay for something eventually! I still can’t believe you bought me this dress…”  She clutched the box even closer to her body.  “I’ll pay you back every dollar.”

Adam’s eyes were the picture of confusion behind his sunglasses. “Are you
sure
you’re a model?  I didn’t even know they made you anymore.”

“Made me?  And what exactly am I?”

“A model who can't accept a gift,”  Adam said, making a sharp turn onto the 101. “And apparently one who can’t handle a few camera flashes and shops at TJ Maxx.”

Shaun’s teeth grinded and she wanted to kick herself for being so open around him.  She hadn't been able to control herself.  Adam was becoming easier to be around, easier to talk to with each passing day.  He was actually a really funny guy, she'd even venture to call him smart, and he had a knack for making people comfortable around him.  Apparently she had become so comfortable that she'd forgotten that everything he knew about her was a lie.

She'd also forgotten that she couldn't wear her Chucks or be shy around cameras.  Those were things that the real Shaun would do and Adam didn't know the real Shaun.  What kind of model saw spots just because of a few camera flashes?  She was the worst liar in history.  In an attempt to change the subject, she cried out, “well excuse me if I’m a little uncomfortable having a man that I’m never going to have sex with--or even go on a real date with for that matter--buy me a five thousand dollar dress!”

Adam’s eyes widened and he took a deep breath. “Wow… you’re tough.”

Shaun continued to hold the box close to her.

“I saw the way you were looking at it,” he said, throwing her a look out of the corner of his eyes.

“It’s
beautiful
,” she said, breathlessly. “I’ll almost be afraid to wear it, at all.  If I ruin it I think I’ll die—but, again, I assure you, Adam, I will pay you back every dollar.”

“Do I look like I’m worried about you paying me back?  I wanted you to have it, all right?”  He was getting fed-up with her at this point. “It’s yours.”

“Well…”  Shaun shook her hair out of her eyes, happy that she’d managed to steer the conversation. “Don’t do this just because you think it’ll get you into my good graces.  If that’s all you wanted it would have been a lot more affordable to just volunteer at a women’s shelter or adopt a stray dog or something…”  She bit her tongue when she realized she was being too much like herself again.  Did fashion models care about women's shelters and stray dogs?  She had no idea.

“While you do make an excellent point,” Adam smirked, “I hear ‘thank you’ works really well, too.”

Shaun’s head snapped to the driver’s seat and, as she took in Adam’s profile, a small smile crossed her face.  “Thank you, Adam,” she whispered.

Adam didn’t look at her, but his grip on the steering wheel tightened. “You’re welcome.  Jesus.”

Shaun slouched down in her seat a smidge and turned to look out of her window when she felt a blush threatening her cheeks.  Why was she fighting Adam’s friendly gestures so hard?  With every day that passed it was becoming harder and harder to answer that question.

--

Ten minutes later Adam had pulled to the curb of
Viva,
the small café where Shaun was meeting Celia for brunch.  Before she could get her seatbelt off, Shaun could already see Celia hurrying towards the car from the small table she’d been waiting at on the patio.

“Thanks for the ride, Adam,”  Shaun said, turning to him as she undid her seatbelt.

“Don’t forget, Gibson Amphitheatre in two hours.  You remember where we’re meeting?”

“Yes,” Shaun said with a small laugh.  If she wasn’t mistaken, she’d think that he sounded a little worried about her. “I know I was a little bit of a pathetic spaz back at Prada today but I do know my way around this city pretty well.”

“Fine.  Whatever you say,” he said, smirking softly.  “Leave the dress. I’ll take it in with me and you can change in the dressing room once you get there.”

“But I wanted to show it to Celia.”

“There are going to be a million photographers there.  She’ll see it in every gossip rag tomorrow.”

“So they’re going to take pictures of me?”

“No, they’re going to take pictures of me.  But wait… you’re my pseudo girlfriend, you’re on my arm.  Of course they’re going to take pictures of you.”

Shaun cut her eyes at him. Sarcastic bastard.

“If it’s the safety of your dress that you’re really worried about, don’t.  I’ll guard it with my life.”  Adam covered his heart with his hand and looked down at his phone vibrating from the cup holder as Janelle called him for the millionth time.  “And I’m officially late.”

“Okay.”  Shaun blinked at him. “Well, thanks. See ya.”

“Two hours.”  Adam rolled down the passenger window just as Shaun closed the door so he could give Celia a quick wave before speeding off, his wheels tearing into the tattered L.A. streets as he disappeared around a corner.

Celia and Shaun shared a look once Adam’s convertible was out of sight.

Celia’s bright eyes shone. “Tell.  Me.  Everything.”

--

“THE MTV AWARDS?!” Celia screamed.

Shaun chuckled over her Caesar Salad before shushing her friend from across the small café table. “Keep your
voice
down, Celia.  My god.”

“Holy shit you are actually pulling this off.”  Celia’s green eyes were wide with disbelief, the roasted chicken entrée sitting in front of her long forgotten.

“It’s nice to know that you had so much faith in me.  Thanks friend.”

“I just…”  Celia was at a loss for words. “The MTV Awards?” she beamed, much softer this time.

“Yes,” Shaun nodded. “He just showed up at my apartment today with two press passes and said—“

“You have to take me with you.”

Shaun blinked.

Celia was on the edge of her seat. “This could be the one chance I have to meet my future billionaire husband.  You know that George Clooney just left floozy number three.  I could be floozy number four!”

“Celia—“

“Oh my god what am I going to wear?”  Celia beamed, biting her lip before gasping and jumping out of her seat. “Oh my
god,
what the hell are
you
going to wear?  We have to go shopping right now.”

“Will you please calm down?” Shaun begged, reaching a hand out to Celia, who already had her purse on her shoulder and her wallet in her hand. “Sit down.”

Celia begrudgingly sat. “The show is in less than three hours—“