Fan Girl (29 page)

We go through the house with Dean as he starts to transform the house in his head. Fascinating things we hadn't thought of are suddenly possible. Sarah takes copious notes, rarely looking up as she shadows him. We end up in the kitchen before Deklan takes Dean downstairs with a cameraman while Sarah, Holly, and I stay upstairs with the other two cameramen. Sarah looks down at my stomach, “Looks like you started showing since a few days ago!” Holly gasps and I turn to her in exasperation, my patience gone.

“What the hell do you think I’m doing here? And how do you not know this? You didn’t do any research on your clients? How did you even know we could afford this place?”

Sarah tsks and nods. “Planning precedes performance. They even do that on that show Million Dollar Listings.”

I snap my fingers. “That’s where I saw it.”

Holly says in a small voice, “This is my first listing.”

Sarah says, “Well, shame on your dad for giving you an A-list celebrity your first run.”

I add, “And shame on you for flirting with the client when the girlfriend is standing right next to you.”

Now Sarah gasps. “For shame!”

Holly looks around the room, anywhere but where we are when she says, “I thought you were the assistant.”

I roll my eyes. “Nice try. If holding my hand didn’t give us away, I’m sure the kissing would have clued you in.”

Sarah gasps mockingly. “Kissing.”

I wave it away. “Not the good good kind, but it was a PDA and she still tried.”

Sarah says in a quiet voice Holly can still hear, “Screams desperate.”

“Agreed,” I say out of the side of my mouth.

Deklan and Dean make it back up to the kitchen, and Deklan is telling him he’ll email him the equipment he wants down there. Holly has her arms folded and is pouting as hard as she can. Deklan looks at her, then rears his head back. He comes to me and puts his hand on my waist. “What’s up with church Barbie?”

I shrug. “Just a little girl talk. Apparently I’m showing and she hadn’t noticed yet.”

His eyes go dark. “Did she say anything to you?”

I shake my head. “No, she just gasped. No big deal. Let’s finish this up.”

Another hour and a half later we finally finish with the rest of the house, barn, and apartments.

We walk back to the cars and Dean turns to us. “Sarah and I are going to take measurements. I suppose Holly will have to stay with us. This is going to cost a mint to do it right. Especially on your deadline.”

Deklan folds his arms and locks eyes with Dean. “I can give you two to start, more if you need it. This has to be done by July, though. Can you make that happen?”

Dean purses his lips in thought and looks back at the house for a long minute. “With a budget of two mil I can get things done, but I don’t know how much that recording studio in the basement is going to cost.”

Deklan sighs in relief. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll get you the info and you can bill that separately.”

Dean nods his head and shakes both of our hands. “Then I can get this show on the road as soon as you get me some keys. The sooner the better.”

Deklan nods in agreement. “I’ll get on that, you start ordering supplies. Send my lawyer a contract, and I’ll get you a check.”

Dean starts back to the house. “Sounds good, Deklan. We’ll get something sent to you by morning. Ali, email me the link to your Pinterest so I can see what you’ve got.”

I wave to them. “Thanks guys!”

Deklan and I get in the car and turn in our passes at the gate, then head to the farmer’s market for lunch. We get sandwiches at an organic stand with a berry tea that is shockingly good.

I say with my mouth full of goodness, “I can’t wait to live here.”

Deklan nods in agreement and takes a drink of tea. “We’ll be eating healthier that’s for sure, and have a bomb house. The best part will be being there with you, having shared space and our bed, with our things. Not your house and my house.”

I agree. “Exactly. I think I should keep the condo though, since Sashi is coming here and so is Reed. I can rent it out to one of them and make some money that way.”

Deklan takes my hand as I reach for my drink.

I stop and look up at him. “You know you don’t need money, right baby? I mean, I don’t expect you to just automatically spend all my money now that we’re together, but don’t be stressing out about going part-time. I have plenty, and I’ve never really spent it, so it’s all been sitting there building interest for a long time.”

I think over what I want to say before I open my mouth. “I don’t want your money. I just want the guy, I don’t care how much you make. I like nice things, and I don’t want to ask you to buy them, so even though I’m going part-time, I still want to pay my way. I’m going along with you paying for the remodel and house because there’s no way I can afford that, and it’s what you want. But I’m not poor. Speaking of that, I think it’s time I trade my car in.”

Deklan raises his eyebrows. “I thought you wanted to keep the 911?”

I wag my head back and forth. “I did, but when am I going to drive it?”

“To work?” he says obviously.

“Yeah, but two seater sports cars aren’t as safe as SUVs right? I don’t need to be on the highway for hours a day and get crunched like a tin can.”

“Excellent point. SUV it is. You wanna get back on the road and go get your car to trade in?”

I agree so we throw away our trash and get back on the highway. The dealership gives me a good trade-in on my car, and I pick out a dark gray metallic that looks black unless it’s in direct light. It’s a Porsche Cayenne, and I’m in love. It was a pretty even trade. I paid five grand I think, out of pocket, since the 911 was more expensive but older. The inside is black leather and there are enough buttons to make it look like the cockpit of an airplane. There’s plenty of cargo room and big back seats.

We get back from the dealer and Deklan tells me about the concert coming up as I make dinner. “It's gonna be huge. We've got Daniel Walsh, Chimera, and a few other bands. Daniel's people contacted us, he's getting it together. I'm surprised Chimera is in. They're pretty random, though.”

“Chimera is pretty heavy, isn't it?” I ask him. From what I remember it's all screaming. I connect better with lyrics I can understand.

Deklan nods his head as I chop veggies. “They're hard metal. Screaming and shit. They've been around for years, but the lead singer is pretty young. I think she might be eighteen now. I'm sure you'll meet them. Danny's a trip.”

“Where is it?” I ask.

“Vegas. Bobby's in for photography. We'll autograph shit, put it up on eBay, sell out the venue. Should make some bank for the kids,” Deklan tells me, stealing half of a green pepper and eating it raw.

“That's awesome. I definitely want to go!” I tell him excitedly.

~

The next day I go into work driving my new SUV. Carmen calls it first. “Hot momma! Got herself some mom wheels. Next thing you know you’ll be at the baby chains loading up a cart with diapers,” she cackles at me.

I smile and turn sideways, framing my belly. “Check the bump!”

All of the girls come over and squeal over this little tiny thing. Good to know girls are girls are girls.

I check the business email and forward Sashi’s emails to Stacie. Sashi wants to come earlier than June like we had planned. She wants to get here in a month, says she doesn’t need a U-Haul or anything. I guess she’s going through a bad breakup and wants out of town. I tell her to come whenever she’s ready, then ask Stacie to see who’s available for a roommate. After that I get to work.

After work I get home to blue cheese burgers and home fries. We eat at the table this time and I tell Deklan, “You’re spoiling me. I haven’t had someone make me a meal in forever, before you.”

His face goes soft. “Anything for you, baby.” He pulls me into his lap, and I breathe him in. The scent is familiar to me now. Comforting like a warm blanket, but still arousing. Deklan makes me feel safe and reckless at the same time. “You wanna go for a ride with me?” he rumbles in my ear. I nod. He smacks my butt as I stand up and we go out to my garage that is housing his Harley.

I’m wearing a white tube top baby doll dress with cowboy boots so I have to tuck my skirt under my legs and keep my knees wide. After I put my helmet on, I tuck up close to his body. Riding is such a turn on, and he knows it. He backs out of the driveway as I breathe in his shirt at the shoulder and run my hands over the eight pack of abs he’s got. My arms squeeze tight as we take off, and the vibration gets to me before we’re out on the street.

We take the Pacific Coast Highway up a little, then back down south. We’re gone an hour, but by the time we get back to my house, I’m panting. There are paparazzi in the street by my house, but they can’t come on the property. Deklan drives through them and into the garage, pressing the automatic door opener he snagged from the kitchen before we left.

As soon as the doors are shut again, he twists his body and pulls me around so I’m straddling him on the front of his bike and in his lap. He scoots back more to give my butt room and puts my feet back on the pegs. I take my helmet off then help him get his off. Then our mouths attack each other. There are no words. We don’t need any. He runs his hands from my knees up my thighs to test me. I’m definitely ready. I pull his shirt up his back and we separate long enough to get it off, then Deklan goes back under my skirt.

Our mouths never leave each other. Tongue rings battling like swords. His fingers pull my panties to the side then he’s thumbing my clit. I moan in his mouth and work his belt open, then get the zipper down to free him. He springs in my hand, and Deklan is already lifting me up. I get impaled in the best way possible. “Oh,” I yell as my body tries to adjust to him. He leans back more and spreads his feet wider to keep the bike up. Our gazes lock as Deklan picks me up over and over and pulls me down onto him.

He arches my hips so that I’m leaning further away from him and that gets his piercing to hit the spot that makes me shriek. He groans back and speeds up, arms straining to move me faster. I come in a blind of light. My head falls back and I stop breathing. Deklan rocks into me, striving to get as deep as he can… I love it.

I collapse onto him and bury my head in his chest. He groans and says, “It always gets better, but that never seems possible.”

“It’s always the best,” I mumble into his chest.

He sits up and says, “Let’s get you up, baby. My legs are shaking.”

I laugh and hop off the bike. He turns to glance at the garage doors. “Thank God there are no windows in those things.”

I laugh loud on the way to the door that leads inside. “That’s all we need. A sex tape getting out.”

“Hey, we should do that,” he jokes and I swat him on the arm.

I’m taking off my makeup in the bathroom when I hear his cell phone ring. He’s already in bed messing on his laptop. “Hello? Hey, Holly. Okay. Great. I’ll let Dean know he can get the keys from you then. Later.”

I lean against the door frame and brush my teeth while watching him. He looks over at me and explains, “Holly says the sellers accepted the cash offer. It’ll go through escrow fast and we should get the keys in about two weeks. She was very professional.”

Bending over I look at the clock. “She still called at ten at night.”

He rolls his eyes. “I’m not worried about it, I got the info. Now I can email Dean, and let him know. Then it’s all done, and we have a date to sign the papers.”

Chapter 31

A few days later I finally get to watch Deklan on the Late Show, since he made the trip to New York he’s been putting off. I sit down with buttered popcorn and queue it up on my TiVo. Deklan walks on stage in a henley and jeans, looking incredible, but that’s nothing new. He waves to the crowd and shakes hands.

The host starts out, “How are ya, man? Lots of news out there right now about you.”

Deklan's eyebrows go up. “Oh, I bet. It’s a busy time, we’re about to go into the studio.”

The host laughs. “No way. You’ve got a new girl!”

Deklan nods with a smile. “I do.”

The host points out, “You never commit. You are notorious for never ever being seen with the same girl twice. This girl, you’re seen everywhere with her. Who is she?”

“Her name is Ali.”

“And how long have you known this Ali?” the host asks as he leans forward on his desk.

Deklan answers, “A long time. We’ve been friends for years and finally took it to the next level.”

“So, what about the rumors that you knocked her up? Is that true?”

I hold my breath.

Deklan smiles, looking proud. “It is. Should be around September.”

The host reaches over to shake his hand. “Well, congrats! So does that mean you’re going to slow down at all?”

Deklan rubs his chin. “I don’t know, man. We’re definitely doing another album. We’ll be in the studio until fall, then it’ll drop at the end of this year or early next year. Then another tour. After that, we’ll see. I don’t know. We always ask each other before every album if we want to do it again. And the fans are still supporting us, so we want to give them what they like.”

The host pats Deklan on the shoulder, saying, “Well congrats again on the baby, and I can’t wait to hear the new music.”

Deklan nods. “Thanks man.”

The host looks to the camera. “Coming up, we’ve got—”

I delete the program and set the remote next to me on the couch. I stare at the blank screen for a while, thinking about how much my life has changed from when I left to Paris to how it is now. Less than a month has passed, and I’m about to move in with my boyfriend, who is on television frequently and also happens to be my online best friend. It’s insane to think about. But Deklan has ingrained himself in my heart. He dug himself in and has been unshakable through all of my doubt. I love him.

~

I have a Rihanna concert on Wednesday of the next week that Deklan can’t accompany me to. First of all, I only bought one ticket. Second, her fans would notice him for sure, so he opted out. He did offer to get me backstage passes, but I declined. I don’t need to meet anybody I see, just enjoy the music.