A Road to Let Go (Fallen Tuesday #4) (15 page)

“
Really?
”
Jake asked. He rubbed his chin.
“
Damn, I haven
’
t thought about those places in
forever.
”

“
Can
’
t wait for the new music,
”
Dave said.

“
Stop
by before I leave,
”
Jake
said.
“
I
’
ll sign something for you, man.
And I
’
ll make sure the band
comes in for a bite before we hit the road on tour, okay?
”

“
That
would be amazing.
”

Dave walked away and Jake was truly
humbled. He hadn
’
t met a
fan who went back that far before.

“
You
look dazed over there,
”
Mel
said.

“
Yeah.
Life is just interesting.
”

“
Yes.
Big time.
”

Jake sipped his coffee and set his
eyes on Mel.
“
Tell me all you
’
ve got, babe.
”

“
Oh?
”

“
That
’
s why we
’
re here.
”

“
How
about you tell me first.
”

“
Nothing
much to tell. The rockstar life isn
’
t
always partying. We are waiting for the new album to drop and then we are going
out on tour. We
’
ve just been
playing some radio shows and smaller shows.
”

“
That
brought you to a hotel without the band?
”

Jake smiled.
“
A piece of my past came back and
has been bothering me. I went to the bar to drink privately and to the room to
crash.
”

“
And
it just so happened a woman was there with you?
”

“
You
’
re tough, aren
’
t you? Are you a lawyer?
”

“
Hardly,
”
Mel said.

“
I
think there's more than what you're letting on,
”
Jake said.

The food arrived and they ate.

Mel had been spot on with the food
…
the blueberry muffin was the
best Jake ever tasted. And the scrambled eggs were amazing. Bright yellow and
fluffy with black specs of pepper. Perfection.

When they finished eating, Jake
looked at his phone. It was getting too late to not be checking in with the
band.
Or Chloe
. But he couldn
’
t
get away from Mel. Not yet.

“
Tell
me your story,
”
Jake said.
“
I can
’
t help myself right now. I
’
m sorry if I
’
m
being pushy but I have to go soon. I can
’
t
leave without
…”

“
Without
what?
”

Jake thought about his words but
figured
screw it
.
“
I
need to know why someone so beautiful is hiding in a hotel, working long hours,
and is crying because of something in Washington.
”

“
Wow,
”
Mel said.

“
And
Jon
…
?
”

“
Jon?
”

“
You
were on the phone with a Jon,
”
Jake said. He rubbed his face.
“
I
’
m sorry. This isn
’
t my business. Christ, I don
’
t know what
’
s wrong with me.
”

Jake knew. He wanted to find out if
Mel was single and he wanted to find out what was going on in her life. But
then he reminded himself that he had a pregnant woman counting on him.

“
Are
rockstars always this demanding and nosey?
”
Mel asked.

Jake smiled.
“
Only the ones who care.
”

(13)

Mel sat across from a rockstar. She
had just shared breakfast with that rockstar and she had just watched him come
close to freaking out with worry for her personal situations. Not to mention that
he thought Jon was her boyfriend or something of the like.

This was all very new and
interesting to Mel. She liked it. A lot.

“
You
really want to know about my life?
”
Mel asked.
“
It
’
s really boring.
”

“
I
doubt that,
”
Jake said.

“
First
off, Jon is
…
he
’
s not what you think,
”
Mel said.
“
He
’
s
a private investigator I hired.
”

Jake leaned back and reached for a
glass of orange juice he had ordered.
“
Now
you really have my attention.
”

“
Don
’
t worry, I
’
m not some crazy stalker chick,
”
Mel said.
“
I
’
m
trying to find my father.
”

“
Wow.
”

“
Yeah.
I never knew him. He left when I was really young. It never really occurred to
me to try and find him. I was content with my life the way it was. But then my
mother got sick and recently passed away.
”

“
Oh
no,
”
Jake said.
“
Mel, I
’
m so sorry.
”

Mel nodded.
“
Me too. It
’
s
okay. But I found a picture when I was cleaning out her stuff and it had a date
and place. It was my father. I figured it was a good time to do a little
searching. So that brought me here and I hired Jon to help. That
’
s why I work so many hours at
the hotel. It
’
s an easy
enough job and I don
’
t need
to know how to do brain surgery to do my job. Although working with my boss
makes me sometimes wish I could go do brain surgery instead.
”

Jake laughed.
“
That
’
s a hell of a story. Where did you come from?
”

“
North
Carolina. That
’
s where I
lived my whole life.
”

“
So
how does Washington factor into this?
”

“
Jon
found a connection in Washington. My father helped with some non-profit
companies. Found a picture of him a newspaper. It might be a dead-end. It might
be the big break. I don
’
t
know. But I can
’
t really
get into that right now.
”

“
Why
not?
”
Jake asked.

“
Money,
”
Mel said.
“
I can
’
t afford to go there. I can
’
t afford to send Jon. I can
’
t afford to pay Jon and someone else who is based
in Washington. Maybe it
’
s
just my sign to stop while I
’
m
ahead here, you know?
”

“
You
shouldn
’
t give up,
”
Jake said.
“
You never know where the journey
will take you.
”

“
Yeah,
well, no offense, but I don
’
t
have a rockstar's paycheck coming in,
”
Mel said.

They both fell silent for a few
seconds. Mel could feel the swelling of emotion collecting inside her again.
She hated it. She hated that not knowing the truth could bother her so much.
Growing up, she never gave her father more than a passing thought. Now it
seemed to consume her. Only because she let it and she didn
’
t know how to let it go.

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
Mel said,
“
if
I seem bitter. Just more or less annoyed with things. Not sure what I expected
when I left everything I knew to come here. I think I watched too many family
shows when I was younger. Too much of that lovey-dovey-life-always-works-out
crap.
”

“
I
know that,
”
Jake said.
“
If it means anything, I didn
’
t grow up with much of anything.
Spent most of my time outside and ended up wandering into a music store once.
Worked there for free to earn my first guitar. The thing was a piece of crap
but I played it. You hear people say they learned by bleeding, I literally did.
My fingers got ripped up on the old strings. But it was worth it in the end.
”

“
I
can imagine,
”
Mel said.

“
It
’
s always about the music though.
Not money or any of that business stuff. It
’
s
music. And what music does for people.
”

Mel stared at Jake and felt like
she could do so for the rest of the day and not think twice about it. Aside from
the aura of being a rockstar, he was really sexy. He had a little scruff on his
face and a strong jaw line. His eyes were big and addicting, his messy short
hair just added to his persona.

“
Well,
that
’
s kind of the basis of
my story,
”
Mel said.
“
I got the call this morning from
Jon because yesterday when he told me about Washington, I stormed out on him. I
was upset.
”

“
Still
are,
”
Jake said.

He looked down to his shirt. Mel
looked too. There weren
’
t
any marks or stains but there had been tears on his shirt.

“
Sorry,
”
Mel said.
“
I never cry. But it's just
…
to wonder sometimes is a
blessing and curse.
”

“
I
’
m sorry you
’
re going through this,
”
Jake said.
“
I hope you find what you want
out of it, even if it
’
s not
favorable.
”

“
Yeah.
Thanks.
”

Mel hated that the breakfast had
turned into this. This was why she never talked about things. Because they
always turned out like this. The happy mood was now somber, and she didn
’
t know how to change it because
her mind thought about everything Jon had said.

“
Hey,
just throwing it out there,
”
Jake said.
“
We have another
show tomorrow night. You should stop by, if you can.
”

“
Just
stop by?
”
Mel asked.
“
With no tickets?
”

Jake reached for her hand.
“
Babe, I
’
m the guitarist in the band. If I want someone
there, they
’
ll be there.
What I
’
m asking is if you
can show up.
”

“
Alone?
”

“
Who
would you bring?
”

“
Maybe
a friend.
”

“
A
guy?
”

Mel smiled.
“
Maybe.
”

“
Bring
ten people, I don
’
t care.
As long as you show up. Take a night off and enjoy a concert. It
’
ll do you good.
”

“
I
think I like that.
”

“
Is
this where we exchange cell numbers?
”
Jake asked.

Mel laughed.
How romantic.

“
Sure,
”
Mel said.
“
I
’
ll
just ask for a rockstar
’
s
phone number.
”

“
Come
on,
”
Jake said.
“
Don
’
t keep calling me a rockstar.
”

Mel couldn
’
t believe it when Jake took her phone and added a
number to it. He then held up her phone, pressed the call button, and a few
seconds later, Jake
’
s phone
started to ring.

He put the phone down and smiled.
“
There. We have each other
’
s numbers.
”

Mel wanted to say something
important but managed to mutter,
“
Wow
…”
and that was it.

Dave came over to their table and
talked to Jake for a few more minutes. Jake took a picture with Dave and then
Jake put a hand out for Mel. She took it and stood from the table. Jake didn
’
t let her hand go. He looked at
her again with those tempting eyes. It confused the hell out of Mel, but she
enjoyed it.

“
Let
’
s get out of here,
”
Jake said.
“
I have to track down the band.
They
’
re going to be pissed
at me.
”

Once outside, Mel stood at her car.
They were parked on the side of the restaurant, in a small alley. She sensed
Jake lingering, and she could see him getting nervous. Whatever he was going to
take care of couldn
’
t be
good.

“
Are
you going to be good?
”
Mel
asked.
“
I mean, whatever
you have to do today?
”

“
I
’
ll survive,
”
Jake said.

“
I
don
’
t know what to say
right now,
”
Mel said.
“
My morning has been
…
I guess I
’
ll just say thanks. This is
definitely a morning I
’
ll
never forget.
”

Mel turned and Jake grabbed her
wrist. He turned her and they were just inches apart. Her mouth was open. Jake
’
s mouth was open. There were
plenty of words to say, but Mel saw the way Jake
’
s
eyes were dancing around. She knew her eyes were doing the same.

Oh shit oh shit oh shit
…

Before Mel could think anything
else, Jake
’
s lips touched
hers. She let out a shuddering gasp but then found herself clutching to the
sides of Jake
’
s t-shirt.
One sweet kiss turned into two. When Mel tried to kiss a third time, Jake
’
s mouth became a little more
eager. One of his hands touched her hair as his lips parted. Mel did the same
and offered her tongue first. The thought that she was making out with a
rockstar didn
’
t hit her for
another few seconds. By then, they were locked in a deep kiss.

Mel
’
s
breaths were shaky and Jake
’
s
mouth was delicious. She didn
’
t
want the kiss to end but when it did, it was abrupt and with Jake stepping back
and putting his hands to her shoulders. It was the same move he had done in the
hallway of the hotel. It could have been Jake trying to be a perfect gentleman.
Or it could have been Jake regretting the move.

“
Mel
…”

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
Mel said.
“
I
…”

“
No,
it
’
s fine. It
’
s good. I mean, that, wow
…”

Mel reached for her door. She
opened it. Jake didn
’
t stop
her. She managed to get into the car, sit down, and start the car long before
Jake seemed to notice.

“
Can
I see you again?
”
Jake
asked as he snapped out of it and opened her door.

He held the door open. Mel looked
at Jake.

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
she said.
“
This has been such a
…
different morning.
”

“
So
what? I want you to come to the show tomorrow night.
”

“
Are
you going to want to kiss me again?
”

“
Want
to? Yes. Will I?
”
Jake
shrugged his shoulders.
“
I
’
m not giving warnings, Mel.
”

Mel swallowed hard. That actually
turned her on. A lot.

“
I
’
ll try my best,
”
Mel said.

Jake slowly shut the door, but Mel
put her window down. He crouched down next to the open window and stared at
her. Mel could easily got lost in his eyes again and stay there forever.

“
Seriously,
Mel, thanks for this morning. Thanks for not judging me.
”

“
Who
says I didn
’
t judge you?
”
she asked.
“
Or that I
’
m not judging you right now?
”

Because I am judging you. Why
the hell are you a sexy rockstar kissing me? I
’
m a freaking housekeeper at a hotel. I
’
m broke. I have nothing to offer
…