Encore (Stereo Hearts Book 2) (20 page)

It was the smatterings that were going to do him in. The sneezes. The coughs. If this were
his
concert,
his
fans,
his
crowd, the screams would already be deafening. He’d already be surrounded by people who’d accepted his music. His writing. Him.

But this… He looked out into the crowd, making eye contact with the unsmiling faces of people who’d yet to make their minds up about him. Caught the smiles of artists he’d been listening to since the day he was born, some of them having reached heights he could only dream of before he’d even taken his first breath. They smiled at him in the way only another artist could. They understood the white-hot terror. The doubt. The strange sense of loneliness, even in a room full of people. So they smiled when the cowards laughed. They smiled when the critics judged. They smiled when the first string of sweat finally broke free and ran down his face.

Wiping it away, he looked to the seat he knew had been reserved for Aria. When he found it empty, his entire body took on the tremor that had previously only lived in his hands.

For the first time in his life, he couldn’t look over his shoulder and see her. He couldn’t drink in the calm in her brown eye. The ease of her coy grin. Her beautiful aura. The aura that always calmed his nerves, even in the most dire circumstances.

He stewed in the regret of stripping his performance bare. Undressing it all the way down to just him and his piano.

The second bead of sweat raced down his forehead. He didn’t move it away, not even as it burned his pupil. As if staring at that empty seat would somehow make it so she appeared in it. As if she was seconds away from returning from a bathroom break to reclaim it. To cheer him on.

To keep him.

“This next artist is a fantastic talent, who has captivated the world with his phenomenal voice and is nominated for fourteen—count ‘em,
fourteen—
awards tonight, including Best Album….”

Yoshi blinked back to the present, stunned as his eyes raced across the stage and landed on Kevin Hart, smiling at the crowd in a classic tuxedo. The applause soared with every word Kevin said, entering Yoshi’s ears and calming the shake in his bones.

“He’s here tonight to perform the new single from his hit album,
Kings and Queens
, so make some noise for a new artist who is making a lot of
noise
in the music industry today. Give it up for the one, the only—Yoshi!”

The crowd erupted. The goose bumps boiling up on his skin burrowed. His thundering heart slowed.

He kept his eyes off that empty seat.

As his fingers floated over the black and white keys, Yoshi took a deep breath and stroked the first note.

--

Carmen’s smooth leg brushed against Yoshi’s under the bar.

His jaw clenched, and he ignited the lighter in his hand, letting the flame burn until the lever seared his thumb before releasing it. He did it over and over, the flame dangerously close to his tumbler of scotch. He shot a look at the bartender, who paid them no mind.

He’d chosen the secluded bar at the rear of the five-star hotel because the concierge had promised it would be quiet. With the award show after-party still in full swing at the hotel’s rooftop pool, he’d breathed easy after finding the empty library bar. He knew the floor-to-ceiling bookcases encasing every wall, along with the muted color scheme, would keep the addicts and celebrities partying upstairs at bay.

And it had.

All but one.

Carmen had come strutting in wearing a tight white midi skirt and matching crop top. She’d claimed to have been on her way to go sightseeing before she happened to catch sight of him sitting alone in that dark bar.

Yoshi’s phone buzzed, and he snatched it up from the bar in a hurry. When he saw it was Gus, he tossed it back down. It clattered against the wood and he buried his forehead in his hand, eyes shut tight.

“Have I mentioned how pussy whipped you are?” Carmen purred, her red lips teasing the rim of her wine glass.

“I won fourteen awards tonight. The first fourteen awards of my career. I swept every category, and my fiancée is nowhere to be found. You should’ve seen the way she was looking at me tonight…” He frowned. “Like I was a complete stranger. Holding a gun. Pointed at her head. Demanding she empty her purse. That was how my fiancée was looking at me tonight. My fiancée won’t answer her hotel door. My fiancée won’t pick up her phone when I call. Is this what being an international sensation gets me? A fiancée who hates my guts?”

Carmen tilted her head, stretching her crossed leg out so it brushed Yoshi’s again.

His eyes fell. “Don’t do that, Carmen. No one is here to witness it, or take pictures, so please don’t do that.”

Carmen snatched her leg away, searing him with a heated look. Then she huffed, finished off her glass of red wine, and waved the bartender for another.

“Look,” Yoshi’s voice deepened. “It’s just over the top, all right? It’s too much. And not just the leg under the bar. You’re over the top with the PDA in public….”

Carmen groaned just as the bartender set a full glass back down in front of her.

“I understand it’s important for us to keep up appearances, but damn, Carmen. You saw how much it hurt her when you kissed me at the release party. Then you do it again tonight? I’m really beginning to wonder if you’re doing it purposely.”

“Yoshi, it’s hard enough to hold your hand on the red carpet, reminding you of designer names when they slip your mind, jumping in with jokes when a question catches you off guard, and being the all-around
bad bitch
I obviously am—”

Yoshi groaned, but he couldn’t help the smirk pushing his lips.

“My hands are full,” she said. “I can’t manage your fiancée’s insecurities too.”

“No, but you
can
exploit them.” He cut a look at her. “And you have been. And I’m asking you to stop. Ease up.”

Carmen searched his eyes. She licked her lips before letting her gaze fall to his tightened mouth.

Yoshi noticed where her eyes went. “I’m not your ticket.”

A lump moved down her throat.

“I love my fiancée.”

She looked ahead, focusing on the alcohol assortment stacked against the wall, a smile lighting up her face. “I know. We all know you love Aria, Yoshi. We all hear how much you love her in the back room on the private plane, the back room on the tour bus, and the back rooms in the studios. You guys never come up for air. We all know how much you love her. We get it. You’re faithful. You’re a saint. You’re a martyr.”

“A martyr.” He chuckled. “Adam might have a different opinion. And you know what? He’d be right. When he first went in on me at the pre-show, I didn’t want to hear it. Maybe I couldn’t hear it because what he was saying was too real. I convinced myself he was just jealous—”

“He
is
jealous.” Carmen caught his gaze when his eyes shot to her. “Anyone who’s in this business is in it to win it. To be the best. Some will succeed, but not thrive. They’ll be followed, but not revered. They’ll be loved, but not glorified. They’ll never have that extra something—that
something
that only allows the cream of the crop to rise to the top. Adam doesn’t have that, he knows he doesn’t have it, and you’d better believe he’d sell his soul to get it. The worst part? He has the coins to buy it, but sadly, it’s not for sale.”

Yoshi looked at her from the corner of his eye.

“You’re either born with it, or you’re not. He will never admit it, but he
is
jealous. And the higher your star rises, the more true that’ll become. The most important part of this industry is learning how to let people go. How to cut out the dead weight before it drags you down too. You’re right. You won fourteen awards tonight, but who was at the after-party to celebrate it with you? Not Aria. Not Adam. Me. Your road crew. Your management. All the people who are going to lift you higher, not drag you lower.”

“People who only showed up when they saw me rising to the top.” Yoshi swallowed heavily, twisting his glass. “Where were all those people when I was rotting away at the bottom?”

“That’s a bullshit way of thinking. That’s how poor people think. How mediocre people think. How settlers think. Yoshi, you’re no settler. There’s nothing wrong with surrounding yourself with people who are on your level. And there’s nothing wrong with saying good-bye to the people who can’t keep up.” She sighed. “You need to be around people who
understand
what it means for a man to live a life like the one you’re living. Any woman who tries to place the crushing weight of monogamy on her pop star boyfriend’s shoulders is a damn fool. Any woman who can’t understand that a man is only as faithful as his options is a damn fool. Any woman who can’t understand that a man will always be a
man
…
is a damn fool.”

“I’ve never cheated on Aria.”

“You
will.
”

Yoshi cringed at her.

“And it will crush her, because she will never understand what it means to live like this. You can’t see it, but you’ve already left her behind. She’s already choking
on the dust you’re kicking up. You can curl your lip at me all day long. My advice? Find a woman who doesn’t just understand the value of an open relationship with a man like you—the value of
freedom
with a man like you—but one who embraces it. Because the harder Aria works to clip your wings, the harder you’re going to dream about the day you fly away.”

Yoshi paid for the drinks, finished his off, and then met Carmen’s eyes. “You’re drunk.”

“I’m not drunk—”

“I’ll walk you to your room.” His voice remained deadpanned as he stood from his seat.

Carmen stared at him and let a long silence pass. With a roll of her eyes, she stood from her bar stool. He placed his hand on the small of her back and they both waved good-bye to the bartender before crossing the hotel lobby to the elevators.

The ride to their floor was quiet. Gus always made it a point to have the road crew stay on the same floor in international hotels. As Yoshi came to a stop behind Carmen at her hotel room door, he suddenly wished Gus wasn’t such a stickler for safety. If Aria got a look at them right at that moment, standing outside Carmen’s hotel room, she would almost certainly get the wrong idea.

The thought prompted him to take a step back.

Carmen turned to him before he could, taking the neckline of his shirt and yanking him in.

She lifted her mouth to receive his kiss but Yoshi caught her shoulders in the nick of time, stopping just a breath away from her mouth.

Inhaling sharply, he stepped back, attempting to sweep her arm away, but she kept the neckline of his shirt in a grasp.

“Stop,” he warned. “Let go.”

Carmen gaped up at him and tightened her hold. Her eyes shone for a moment, but she recovered, and her face bloomed into a smile. “You said I was exquisite.”

“Carmen.” Yoshi searched the hall again, a muscle rolling under his jaw, his eyes alight when they reclaimed hers. “Let go.”

She studied his eyes then released his shirt, shoving him back in the process. “God. You’ve really got yourself convinced of your own sanctimony. As if you didn’t know exactly what you were doing when you offered to walk me back to my room?” She smiled. “You were just being a gentleman, right? Is that what you’re telling yourself?”

Yoshi didn’t answer, lifting his chin from across the hall.

She pushed back against the open door of her room, running her hand softly over the full globe of her breasts.

Yoshi’s eyes fell, darkening at the sight.

“You’re no gentleman,” she whispered. “You’re a
star
. And eventually, one way or another, you’re going to give in to that demon in you. When you do… I’ll be ready.” Her eyes ran his body. “Good night.”

With that whispered word, she disappeared into her hotel room. Just before she closed the door, she ‘accidentally’ dropped her room key onto the carpeted floor outside.

Yoshi watched it clatter to the floor, just as she shut the door behind her.

He stared at the plastic card for several moments, until he heard his own breath bouncing off the hallway walls. He took a step towards the key, then took a step back.

Cursing under his breath, he forced himself to move down the hall. Every step he took away from that card eased the beating of his heart a little more, calmed his breath a little more, until all that mattered again was the only person who ever mattered at all.

The only person who’d loved him when he was rotting away at the bottom.

13

Aria stared up at the ceiling of her hotel room, lying on her back on the bed with her arms and legs spread wide. A trashy reality show played on the plasma as her cell phone buzzed next to her head. Outside the open white curtains, the moon shone in from the starry sky.

She yearned to turn her head and bask in its rays. To whisper her secrets and her deepest wishes.

But she didn’t.

She couldn’t.

Through the open doors of her balcony, screams from the crowd of fans gathered forty stories below floated in. Hours after the MTV Awards had ended, they still screamed, each for their favorite celebrity, hoping the artists partying on the rooftop might peek over the edge and wave. A few had, and the fans thanked them with more devoted cries and words of love. Thankfully, the hotel’s security was impeccable, and no one was getting into that hotel without clearance. Still, it wasn’t enough to make the crowd die down.

Aria wasn’t blind to the name being screamed the most—and with the most passion and vigor. It was the same name that hadn’t left her busy mind all night.

A bang came on the door of her room. One of the most beautiful hotels she’d ever stayed in, the banging remained controlled, and the door’s hinges didn’t rattle under the weight of the pounding. Not like it had in some of the roach motels she’d stayed in during the early days with The White Keys. They’d stayed in some shitholes, but somehow, she’d always felt safe.

She wished she could say the same for that five-star hotel.

The banging made her jolt. Sent her heart beating ten times faster.

Then, anger.

Anger roared through her for the man who had driven her to feel so off-kilter. It didn’t relent and eventually became impossible to ignore.

She jumped out of bed, crossed the room, and threw the door open.

Just as she was about to unload on Yoshi, the words got caught in her throat when she found herself craning her neck up.

All the way up.

The large black man on the other side of her door smiled down at her.

All the way down.

“Oh…” she breathed, leaning on the door and smiling back at a new member of Yoshi’s security team. “Larry. Hey.”

“It’s Leroy.” He grinned, his deep voice offset by the dazzling smile.

Aria blushed. “I’m a dumbass. Forgive me. I swear to God, yesterday Yoshi employed three people and today he employs three hundred.”

“That’s all right.” Leroy chuckled. “As fast as Yoshi is moving, that number will triple before the month is out. Then it’ll triple again. Then it’ll triple ten more times until you won’t even bother apologizing for having no idea who the hell all these people are.”

When Leroy’s gaze became fixed on her left eye, Aria suddenly remembered she’d forgotten to put on her patch before opening the door. She saw the familiar gleam of curiosity on his face, but he was too polite to follow through on it.

She waited for the sick feeling in her stomach. The heat on her cheeks. The mortification.

Instead, she held his gaze and pushed her hair away from her face. “I’ve always prided myself on having a great memory, but the names are getting muddled pretty fast. I’ll never forget yours again though, I promise. Especially since you’re one of the big guys. From the sounds of that crowd downstairs, I’m going to be spending a lot of time by your side these days.”

Leroy held his arm out. “My door’s always open.”

Aria crossed her ankles. “So, what’s up? Is everything okay?”

“Yoshi sent me,” Leroy said. “We’ve got a car waiting out back.”

“For me?” She straightened at his nod. “A car going where?”

“Didn’t say. Wants it to be a surprise.”

Though she wasn’t remotely in the mood to see Yoshi at the moment, Aria cut her eyes at Leroy, unable to resist the coy smile that took ten years clear off his face.

Plus, she
was
in London, one of her favorite cities on Earth. She’d been there a few times with the Keys, but they’d never stayed long enough to actually enjoy the city. They rarely did. What she really loved about London was the vibe. The people. The accents. They had always made her want to stay a little longer, and always left her disappointed at the good-byes that came too soon.

It was amazing. Her feet had touched the soil of so many different countries, so many different cities, but she’d only truly experienced a handful of them appropriately.

“I’ll grab my purse,” she said.

--

“I can’t believe I’ve allowed a man whose name I couldn’t remember fifteen minutes ago to blindfold me.” Aria gripped Leroy’s big hand, amazed that she was barely able to get her small fingers around it. She gasped at his strength when he pulled her from the backseat of the car with ease. She had to plant her black combat boots on the ground, because his sheer strength had moved her body so easily she found herself stumbling. When the nippy air hit her, she was happy she’d opted to stay in her gray jeans and off-the-shoulder black sweater. Both the jeans and the sweater were some designer name she couldn’t pronounce. She insisted to Yoshi that she could get the same outfit at Forever 21, but he’d insisted that she deserved the best.

She heard the car door close behind her, breathing in the cool air. She could already feel it making her curls tighter. They bounced along with the breeze.

The big hand that had just helped her out of the car tightened, the other sliding around her waist.

“You better not turn out to be a serial killer, Leroy.”

“It’s a good thing Yoshi already introduced us before your memory escaped you. Ledge. Step up…” Leroy laughed when Aria lifted her leg and brought it to an unsure, wobbling stop on the ledge.

“Stop laughing at me,” she warned, taking another deep breath when she had both feet up on the ledge and Leroy was moving her forward. “I smell water and dew. I hear waves lapping. I hear cars.” She smacked her lips when she realized she’d just described every major city in the world, confirming that she was indeed currently in one of the largest.

“Patience.” Leroy laughed again, taking her waist in his hands. “We’re here.”

Aria bopped from one foot to the other as Leroy untied the blindfold.

Her vision was blurry for a moment but then focused, and as she lifted her eyes to the breathtaking sight that awaited her, she was unable to bite back a scream.

She turned to Leroy just in time to see laughter lighting up his face as she jumped up and down with her hands over her mouth, stifling the second scream threatening her throat.

Before them, the London Eye soared into the starry night sky. Lit up in rainbow colors for the Gay Pride Parade—in town that upcoming weekend—it was even more beautiful and grand than Aria had always imagined. She found her neck tightening as she tried to see all the way to the top of the giant Ferris wheel.

Now, there it was, all lit up in a way that seemed just for her.

Sensing movement, her eyes lowered to the open door of the capsule before them, and she found Yoshi standing in the entrance with his hands in the pockets of his red slacks.

Leroy gave her a soft push from behind, and she looked back at him. He nodded towards Yoshi, raising his eyebrows. “Seems like a hell of a way to say I’m sorry. If I were you, I’d hear the poor guy out.”

Aria breathed out a laugh before turning back to Yoshi. She checked the surroundings. The winding metal bars where people lined up for entry went lonely. She didn’t even see any employees, save for the young girl manning the Ferris wheel, who couldn’t have cared less, flipping through a
Hunger Games
book inside the wheel’s operation booth. “Wait… but what about the public? The wheel isn’t set to close until eight tonight…” Aria’s words trailed off when Leroy tilted his head. “He bought out the wheel,” she concluded, turning to Yoshi again.

His hands pushed deeper in the pockets of his burgundy slacks. He’d gotten rid of the matching jacket, leaving him in just a breezy black T-shirt up top. The shirt’s deep V revealed the strong lines of his pecs, which rose and fell rapidly under her gaze.

“He bought it. Just for the night,” Leroy said. “Like I said, maybe the guy deserves a chance?”

Aria stepped forward, her fingers playing together as she and Yoshi grew closer and closer. Only when she was a foot away did she come to a stop.

“I’m sorry.” Yoshi eyes softened as his hands left his pockets and he showed her his palms. “I’m sorry for agreeing to this shit with Carmen when I have the most beautiful woman in the world, the most beautiful singer in the world, the most beautiful
soul
in the world standing right here in front of me.”

Aria moved into his open arms, unable to resist wrapping her own around his neck.

“No, I’m sorry,” she whispered. “For being too insecure to be there for you on your big night. I’ll never be able to turn back the clock and watch you win in all fourteen categories again. I’ll never be able to see your first award show performance again. All because my stupid feelings are hurt.”

“Your feelings aren’t stupid.
I’m
stupid. And I’ve already called Simon and told him that I’m done pretending this relationship with Carmen is real.”

Her eyes widened, cheek tingling when Yoshi stroked it with his thumb.

He swallowed. “He’s going to meet with me in Rome so we can discuss the only woman I have ever and will ever love.” He leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers. “I love you more than anything, Aria. Those fourteen awards didn’t mean shit tonight, because every time I looked out and saw that empty seat, it broke my heart all over again. The one woman I strove to win those awards for—the one woman who loved me before I had any of it—wasn’t there. She was alone somewhere, hurting, while I was inside, what, winning? It wasn’t a win. It was an epic fucking fail.”

Aria’s eyes fell shut as he brushed the tip of his nose against hers.

“I’ll never fail you like that again,” Yoshi whispered.

Aria opened her eyes and lifted them to his. His callused fingers swept the tears off her cheeks, and she rose to her toes. He bent his neck and met her halfway, catching her lips with a moan. Cupping the back of her head with one hand, he encircled her waist with the other, bending his knees and standing tall again, lifting her off her feet.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, throwing her head back with a laugh as he carried her to their waiting capsule. When she saw that he’d set up a small picnic blanket, with a single candle lit in the middle, her laugh soared.

“I can’t believe you did this,” she said. “You’re so getting laid in this Ferris wheel car, it’s not even funny.”

“Sex at the top of the London Eye? That’s what I like to hear,” he said, his voice muffled from where he’d buried his head in her cleavage. He allowed himself to enjoy the sensation as he stepped onto the waiting car, turning towards Leroy, who had his back to them, guarding the entrance.

“Thanks, Leroy!” Yoshi called.

Leroy turned towards them, drank in the picture they made, and then shook his head, lifting his hand to give Yoshi a wave in return.

--

The view from the top, as expected, took Aria’s breath away. Though she sat cross-legged across from a gorgeous man who’d just won fourteen awards that night, she couldn’t keep her eye off The Westminster Bridge, the Palace at Westminster, or the iconic Big Ben clock that sat at its north end—all winking up at them from the River Thames.

“This is unreal.” Her hushed voice echoed in the encased glass shell.

“Since we were kids, you always talked about how bad you wanted to ride to the top of the Eye. Raised hell every time the Keys left without enough time to see it.”

“By the end there, I was convinced White Keys’ management was purposely sabotaging my dream to be at the top of this Ferris wheel.”

“And now that dream is realized.”

“
Every
dream,” she corrected, meeting his eyes over the white picnic blanket, the sweet pastries they’d demolished, and the single candle flickering between them. “
Every
dream we ever whispered to the moon when we were kids is coming true.” Her eyes shone. “Isn’t it just insane? It’s so insane to see it happening. I wasn’t in the audience tonight, but I was watching you on TV at the hotel. I saw your performance, and it made me cry. To see the kid who sang to me every night on that rooftop center stage at an award show, killing it? I ugly cried, Yoshi. I cried
hard.
” She sighed. “I wasn’t in my seat, but I saw you, okay? And I’m so damn proud of you.”

“I’m proud of you too.” He shook his head. “And I can’t stand that I’ve put you through all this shit with Carmen. I’m just surrounded by all these people blowing my head up. Saying nothing but good shit to me. Praising me. If you weren’t here to knock me upside the head, to keep me grounded, there’s no telling the places my head would be taking me right now. Everything else is starting to feel really… inorganic. Even Simon was more pliable when I spoke to him on the phone tonight. He doesn’t cut me off in the middle of my sentences anymore, doesn’t raise his voice anymore. It’s all just… It’s starting to feel
handed
to me. And I don’t ever want that. I don’t ever want anything just given to me. That sounds ridiculous, I know….”