A Rock & Roll Romance (22 page)

             
We picked that day on purpose so we could play pranks every year on our anniversary. It would also be an easy date to remember. She produced the black dress from the garment bag. It had a lace corset bodice and a satin mermaid style bottom with a lace overlay. It was simple yet elegant. I wanted to try it on to make sure it didn’t make my hips look too big. Lulu showed me into the dressing room and helped me lace up the corset back. I turned to look in the mirror. I absolutely loved it, and I could totally see myself getting married in this dress.
It was the one!

“Could I order one and have it ready in time?”

“Absolutely. Let me just take down some measurements.” She pulled out a measuring tape, a pad and a pen. “What’s your fiancé like?”

“He’s
amazing. I’m sure all your brides say that, but he’s really great. Funny enough, I actually hated him when we met. Then he finally convinced me to date him. A month later he proposed and here we are a month later getting ready to get married.”

“Wow
, you guys didn’t waste any time.” She joked. “Wait…Aubrey. Aubrey? As in the one that’s engaged to Jake Parker?”

“Um, yeah.”
I said shyly.

“You are one lucky girl. That boy is delicious!” She sighed. “All
finished. I just need to take some information where to send it.”

I filled out the contact information and thanked her. I
walked outside and grabbed a cab to head to the venue. When we arrived the cabbie looked at me like I was crazy when I told him to pull around back. Event security stopped him from going any further. I pulled out my backstage pass, and they still said that I couldn’t go through. I was going to argue, but instead I pulled out my phone and called Jake.

“Hey, I’m here
and they won’t let me come back.” He hung up on me.

The security guard eyed me skeptically. Two minutes later Jake was strutting across the parking lot with Brett in tow. He looked enraged.

“You’re lucky I don’t get your fucking ass fired. She showed you her pass, and she told you that she was with
me!
I get it. I’m all about being secure too, but come on! Bullshit! Total bullshit! Now you better fucking apologize and hope I don’t see you again.” He yelled.

“Sorry ma’am.”
I nodded and took Jake’s hand to pull him away before he went on another rant. “Sorry.” I said to Jake.

“Why are you sorry? That asshole should be the sorry one.” He opened the door and led me into his dressing room. “Did you get your errands done?”

“I did. How are you feeling?” I asked.

“I’m better that you’re here. I missed you.”
He pulled me as close as he could.

“I missed you too. It’s weird, right?”
I laughed.

“Very.
I literally felt like I was missing something. You know when you leave the house and realize you forgot your wallet or your keys? That’s how I felt.”

He rubbed his nose along my hair.
“Me too.”

I walke
d over and climbed into his lap and curled up into a ball. He rubbed my shoulder blades soothingly. It was the times when I was away from him that I knew we were meant to be together. I couldn’t imagine life without Jake. He helped me. He helped me heal. He makes me want to be a better person. He gives me strength when I don’t have any. He makes me feel complete.
I should write that into my vows.

Derek came to tell him it was time to go on stage. I reluctantly climbed off his lap and watched him take the stage.
After the show, it was more of the usual. They did an interview and signed some autographs. I started not feeling well again. I brushed it off. I grabbed a bottle of water and sat down. I saw Jake look at me concerned. I smiled and waved. I hoped he wouldn’t pick up on anything. As soon as he finished up we headed back to the hotel. He ordered some snacks, but I still wasn’t feeling much like eating.

“Baby, you feel okay?”
He asked concerned.

“I don’t know. I was feeling
better, but now I’m not. One minute I feel like I’m on top of the world and the next I just want to climb into bed and sleep for days. I feel like a basket case.”

“Maybe we should get you checked out by a doctor tomorrow. Just to make sure there’s not something more serious going on.” He said worriedly.

“We’ll see.”

I t
ried to brush the symptoms off and even managed to eat a couple Buffalo wings. That seemed to appease him. I brushed my teeth climbed into bed. I passed right out. The next morning I woke up starving since I didn’t eat much the day before. I picked up the phone and ordered room service before I even got out of bed. Jake was sitting on the couch laughing at me when I walked in.

“What? I’m hungry.”

“You ordered two of everything. Do you have any idea how much that’s going to cost me?” He teased.

“You can afford it. You have lots of money.” I stuck my tongue out and grabbed my
cell phone to call my mom. I stepped onto the balcony and lit up. I told her that I ordered my dress. She was elated. We talked a little more about the wedding and how we were all getting over being sick. One minute I was talking and felt fine, the next my stomach turned, and I groaned.

“That’s it!
You’re eating breakfast and then we’re going to find a doctor.”

“Fine.”
I grumbled.

Breakfast came
and I scarfed down two giant plates of French toast and bacon. After we ate and showered we set out to find a doctor. We walked into the office and filled out the necessary paperwork. A nurse came out and handed me a cup to pee in. I brought it back to the receptionist. I picked up a magazine and waited to be called back. When they called me back, another nurse took some blood and said the doctor would be right in. A young doctor, probably in his mid-thirties, came in. He was tall, dark hair, dark eyes.

“I’m Doctor Chang.” He offered his hand to both of us.

“I’m Aubrey, and this is my fiancé, Jake.”

“Doc, everything in here is in confidence
right? There are privacy laws and such.”

“Of
course. We never disclose any patient information.”

“Please make sure your staff is aware of that. If something gets leaked to the press I will own you
, and your practice.” Jake said tersely. The doctor nodded.
Wow, Mr. Protective much?

“What brings you in today
, Aubrey?”

“W
e’re all just getting over the stomach flu, and since I’m still feeling sick nervous nelly over there demanded I see a doctor.”

“Let’s take a l
ook.”

He checked my throat, my ears, my mouth, my glands, and my heart.
He had me lay flat and pushed around on my stomach. He grabbed the chart and took a look. He said he would be right back. He came back into the room wheeling a machine with a paper in hand.

“I think we might just have an answer.” He lifted my shirt up and squeezed some cold gel on my stomach.
He glided the probe across my skin.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Great Expectations

My heart was in my throat as I looked at the machine. I knew what they were usually used for. I watched the screen as he started hitting buttons. I had no clue what I was looking at, but it looked like a bean.

“You have kidney stones.”
He pointed to the screen.

“Kidney stones?”
I choked.

“They can be caused b
y dehydration along with other factors, but they’re right there.” He pointed to the bean. “They generally pass on their own, but I will warn you that when they do they are extremely painful. If it persists you should see another doctor right away.”

We thanked him
and I got cleaned up. I looked over at Jake who was moping.

“What’s the matter?”

“More like what’s not the matter. First, you’re sick
, and it’s going to hurt you. Second, I thought as soon as he wheeled that thing in that he was going to tell us we were pregnant.”

This was clearly bothering him.
Seeing Jake like this made me wish that it were true too. For whatever reason I felt ready. I was really nervous about what I was going to say next.

“Why don’t you take me home and try and knock me up.”
I cocked an eyebrow.

“Seriously.”
He grinned.

I nodded.
In that moment, something just clicked, and all was right with the world again. We were out of that office like the place was on fire. Jake had me in the back of the car and told the driver to book. As soon as we were back to the hotel we headed straight to the bedroom.

Jake

I would never admit to Aubrey how disappointed I was when they said it was kidney stones. Don’t get me wrong
, I was miserable when the doctor said that they would cause her pain, but I seriously wished that she were pregnant instead. Growing up like I did and coming from a fucked up broken home made me want to have kids. I wanted to give them everything I didn’t have. Aubrey would make a fantastic mom too. It was nice to see her coming out of her shell more lately. I liked to think that I had something to do with it. Every day I tried to do something to show her how much I loved and cherished her no matter how small or trivial. She looks at me like there’s nobody else in the world and that’s all I could ever hope for. I’m seriously the luckiest guy in the fucking world that she agreed to marry me. I never in a bazillion years thought this existed for someone like me.

Our last few tour dates were
coming to an end. We would just have the Radioactive show left, and then it was off to Arizona for the wedding. We decided to get married at Ron’s ranch since he was in a wheelchair now and wasn’t up for travelling. I felt like it was important to involve him especially because he was the closest thing I had to family. He was beyond thrilled about Aubrey. He couldn’t wait to finally meet her. We were flying everyone in to stay there a couple days before the ceremony to have a meet and greet. It was plenty big enough to house everyone. The ranch was a little extreme for what he needed but I wanted to make sure that he could get around in his old age. After what he did for me, the least I could do was buy him a crazy, big house and make sure that he was set for life.

I’m sure a shrink would have a field day with me.

Tomorrow was Aubrey’s twenty-fourth birthday, and I had grandiose plans in the works. I watched as she slept peacefully beside me. She always looks like an angel when she’s sleeping.
I can’t believe I get to do this for the rest of my life.
I felt bad because she had a bit of a rough day with the kidney stones passing. I was hoping she would be better tomorrow. I thought about rescheduling the first event, but I thought it was something she would really enjoy so as long as she was feeling up to it we’d still go.

I woke her up at a little after ten
. I wished her a happy birthday and gave her breakfast in bed. She seemed to be in a great mood and was feeling much better today. After breakfast, I told her to get ready and to dress comfortably. She came back in the room fifteen minutes later wearing jeans and a hoodie, with a grin on her face. To me she looked like the most beautiful girl in the world no matter what she was wearing. I led her down to the car with Brett following closely behind. He was on high alert with all the activities I had planned for today. She was shocked when we arrived at our first destination.

“I know you’ve been up in one of
these plenty of times, but I don’t think you’ve ever jumped out.”

She
clapped her hands and grinned excitedly. We watched a video, and they gave us a quick lesson before we were strapped in our harnesses. We ushered over to the plane. I was cracking up because Brett was jumping too, and he looked hilarious in his tight harness. Once we reached altitude they opened the hatch. I kissed Aubrey before our tandem jumpers grabbed us and jumped out the door. At first I was scared to death, but it was so freeing and the view was spectacular. Brett screamed like a girl the entire time. Once we were on the ground Aubrey ran over and tackled me to the ground.

“That was so much fun!” She squealed.

I smiled because her happiness was contagious. I told her there was more, and we left to go on our next adventure. We headed off to start the scavenger hunt that would lead us to her main present. I worked really hard all this week setting everything up. I had the guys out most of the night helping me finish setting it up so that she wouldn’t get suspicious. I handed her a basket that held a clue. It would help her find the first place on the list.

“Let’s see, it’s got something to do with chocolate.”
She beamed.

I nodded.
My little chocoholic.

We pulled up to the main street in Polk, Oregon and climbed out of the SUV. Brett was following closely behind as Aubrey followed th
e trail of cupcakes drawn in chalk up the sidewalk to Cora’s Confections. I opened the door, and we walked in. In the front of the store was a table set up with an assortment of cupcakes. There was an edible note attached that said
Eat Me.
She sat and happily ate her cupcakes feeding me the occasional bite. Aubrey was a sucker for anything sweet, especially chocolate. Cora boxed up the rest of the cupcakes and wished Aubrey a happy birthday. She put them in a pink bag and handed her a brown lunch bag with a note attached. Aubrey opened the envelope and pulled out the note. It said
Feed Me
and
there were directions attached
.
They led us to a little pond that was full of swans and ducks. The bag was filled with breadcrumbs. There was a purpose for this one other than her entertainment.