Take What You Want (36 page)

“
And,
now what?” Danni asked. “What happens to us, so you can
live this
complete
life?”

Chase sighed loudly. “I
don't have a clear plan,” he said.

“
Maybe
I should leave so you can have this thing with Alex and not have me
getting in the way,” she said, and came to her feet.

Chase stood up with her. “I
don't want you to leave, Danni!” His fingers curled around her
bicep and lightly squeezed “I want you to be part of this –
with me.”

“
And,
what if that's not what
I
want, Chase?” she asked. “Maybe I want to be selfish and
have you all to myself! Maybe I still want to have the life we
talked about before Alex fell into our bed!”

Tears began to spill from
Danni's eyes. Her hands flew up to her face to conceal it and Chase
pulled her against him. She bristled at first, then crumbled against
his broad chest, using his t-shirt to absorb her emotion.

He pressed his face to the
side of her head, breathing in the scent of her hair; feeling her
warmth seeping into him. He was overcome with everything unfolding,
hated what he was doing to Danni, but still wanting to stay true to
what he'd discovered about himself through Alex. His head ached; his
body trembled, as rawness of the moment washed over him. He cradled
Danni's head in one hand; his other arm held her tightly to him, and
closed his eyes, pushing out tears of his own.

“
I
love you, Danni,” he whispered beside her ear. “So, so
much.”

Danni's sobs grew louder.
Chase gently lifted her up in his arms and carried her through the
house. He stepped into their bedroom and laid her out on the bed,
then carefully climbed up beside her, quickly pulling her against
him.

He kissed her forehead and
rubbed at her back. “Our love is strong enough,” he said
softly. “I know we can find a way to make this work.”

They clung to each other,
face-to-face, touching; comforting, until Danni finally drifted off
to sleep. Chase watched the peace ease over her beautiful face;
relaxing her delicate features. His heart clenched at the thought
she might still end up walking out if they weren't able to figure out
a way to make it work. He glanced across the bed at the alarm clock
on the nightstand. He wondered where Alex was in his trip back to
the West Coast; wondered if he really would text him when he got
home.

His eyes fluttered closed,
the image of Alex very clearly displayed in his head, and fell
asleep.

-0-

Alex boarded the private
charter flight at the Martha's Vineyard airport, the lone occupant of
the plane, and got comfortable in a soft leather seat in the
passenger compartment at the center of the plane. Fifteen minutes
later they were wheels up and airborne.

Alex watched the island grow
smaller from his side window, then disappear altogether beneath a
layer of white, puffy clouds. He rolled his head on the back of the
seat and closed his eyes. He hoped he was doing the right thing;
giving Chase and Danni time alone. Truth was, he needed some
distance between them, too. If he wasn't careful, he was going to
drown in the feelings he had for Chase and come out of it with
nothing at all.

He swore to himself and
sighed, realizing he had no one to blame but himself for the outcome
of this situation. He had broken his number one rule: never allow
yourself to get too close. And, hadn't he done just that?

Two fucking months and
you fell in love. Dumb ass!

Alex pulled the mini audio
recorder out of his backpack and listened to the music he stayed up
all night creating. He could already hear where the different layers
of sound would ribbon on the tracks; strings, piano, maybe he'd bring
in a whole fucking orchestra, he thought. The melody and slow ebbing
rhythm of this song was strong enough to bear the weight of all of
it.

He started making notes on
the sheet music, then hit the playback button again. This time,
fragments of lyrics began floating through his head. The music
stirred up images of Danni and Chase and one by one the visuals began
firing in his head. He remembered the soulful sound of Danni's
laughter and how it made him feel in that moment. Her sounds of joy,
mingled with the low timbre of Chase's voice, drifting into his
kitchen and washing over him; almost from above, like some sort of
celestial shower. He quickly reached for his lyric book and started
writing.

You sing to me through
laughter.

I see it dancing in your
eyes.

Pieces of you fall onto
me.

Like raindrops from the
sky.

I am imperfect.

So many broken pieces.

My scars run deep.

Take what you want.

I am all that you need.

I am imperfect.

Cut me open and watch me
bleed.

Tears for you.

I am imperfect.

When
you are so perfect.

To me.

By the time the plane
touched down at the executive airport in L.A., Alex had the lyrics to
the entire song written. He tucked away his notes and the sheet
music into his backpack. He couldn't wait to see Wheland and play
the song for him. Maybe while he was back in town, he and Wheland
could work on some of the different pieces to the song and record it.

Anything to keep your
mind occupied and off of Chase and Danni.

He had the car service drop
him at his estate to collect his car, then he drove directly to
Wheland's house. On the way he sent Wheland a text message.

“
U
home?”
Alex typed.

A
few seconds later Wheland sent his message,
“Yes.
Why?”

“
ETA
in 10. Grab the tequila,”
Alex replied.

“
U
in LA?”

“
Turning
on 2 ur st.”

Wheland was waiting for Alex
in the driveway at his house. He activated the electronic gate and
watched Alex drive his Lamborghini onto his property; his smile
growing the closer Alex got to the house.

“
I
see you brought your favorite girl along with you,” Wheland
said, admiring the sleek, black onyx sports car. The metallic flecks
in the paint sparkled in the dimming daylight.

Alex
stepped out of the driver's seat and stood up, lovingly stroking the
aerodynamic lines of the roof. “Like any girl, you gotta take
them out every once in a while and ride them,” he said, and
embraced his friend. “Good to see you.”

“
And,
it's good to be seen,” Wheland said with a chuckle.

Alex slid the backpack over
his shoulder and walked beside Wheland to his front door. “Are
you alone?” Alex asked.

“
Yeah,
I'm alone,” Wheland said. “I was gonna meet the guys in
town later, but I'm happy to hang here with you.” Wheland
opened his door and motioned Alex in behind him. “Dare I ask
what dragged your ass back to the West Coast and away from your new
toy?”

Wheland brought Alex through
his house and directly outside to the stone and grass patio terrace.
They sat at a table beside the guitar-shaped pool; an unopened bottle
of tequila sitting on the teak wood table with two shot glasses next
to it.

“
I
see you took my request seriously,” Alex said, eying the bottle
of clear liquid.

“
I
aim to please,” Wheland said. “Now, why the fuck are you
sitting at my house?”

Alex slouched in his chair
and tossed his bag onto the table. “I needed a break and I
have something for you to listen to.”

“
Okay,
I'm intrigued,” Wheland said. “But, first, tell me about
this break.”

Alex
looked across the pool area and the distant view of Los Angeles
before them shrouded in smog. The sun was moments away from setting
and everything was glimmering in that misty gold aura that comes at
the end of the day. Sunrise on the East Coast had a similar majestic
beauty to it, but the West Coast had it beat with their sunsets. It
was nothing less than spectacular every time the weather allowed for
it to happen and tonight the show would be brilliant.

Alex
smiled at the golden colors as they morphed into reds and purples and
then finally into deep shades of sapphire blue. “Fuck, I've
missed seeing this,” Alex said in a soft voice.

“
The
break, Alex,” Wheland said, trying to drag Alex back onto
subject. He cracked the seal on the tequila bottle and filled both
shot glasses, then pushed one in front of Alex. “Tell me about
your need to take a fucking break!”

Alex pulled his eyes away
from the horizon and looked at Wheland. “Danni came back,”
he said, as if that one short phrase explained everything.

“
What
the hell does that mean?” Wheland asked. “Was she not
supposed to come home?”

“
It
means, I wanted to give them some … space,” Alex said.
“That's all.”

“
Could
you do a better job of translation for me?”

Alex fidgeted in his seat,
then leaned forward to grab for the shot glass. He tossed the liquid
into the back of his throat and set the glass back onto the wood. “I
didn't want to be in the way,” he finally said.

Wheland contemplated Alex's
words for a moment and refilled Alex's shot glass. “It's
really none of my business, but what the fuck are you doing with
him?”

Alex lifted the glass to his
lips and swallowed the liquid in one gulp. “I keep asking
myself that same question,” Alex said. “But, he is …
something else, and now that I've met Danni … I don't know
what I'm going to do.”

“
You're
in love with him,” Wheland said.

Alex
met Wheland's gaze and his eyes grew moist. A moment later, he
nodded his head and his shoulders slouched in defeat. “I
fucked up,” Alex said. “I let things get away from me,
but he is so … fucking … perfect for me.”

Wheland sat back in his
chair and scratched his head. “Wow, Alex, you sure know how to
step in it, don't you?”

Alex
nodded and reached for his backpack. He pulled out the sheet music
and the mini recorder and set it in front of him and pressed the play
button. Wheland closed his eyes and listened intently. When the
piece ended he leaned forward and pressed the play button again. A
slow smile eased across Wheland's face.

“
Jesuuussss,
did you write this?” Wheland asked jokingly.

“
Yeah,
every once in a while I get a spark of genius,” Alex said and
smiled.

“
Chase
or Danni?”

“
What'd
you mean?” Alex asked.

“
Who's
mouth was on your dick when this inspiration hit?” Wheland
asked.

Alex laughed. “Do you
really want to know where this came from?”

Wheland nodded and lifted
the sheet music to study.

“
I
heard her laughing,” Alex said.

“
Danni's
laughter?”

“
Yep.
Combined with the sounds of the wind and the surf crashing in the
distance. All of it,” Alex said. “If you listen
carefully to the recording you can hear her in the background.”

Wheland
stood up from the table. “Let me go get a couple of guitars
and we'll jam.”

Alex watched Wheland walk
away and pulled his phone from his pocket. He remembered he'd
promised Chase he'd let him know he'd made it back to Los Angeles and
started typing out a message.