Transitions (A Thousand Words Book 1) (9 page)

Dev took his pages and left. That would be something else he’d have to think about this summer. Along with his online classes, the tour, and his new relationship with Lindsay. He wasn’t going to take the time to write new lyrics now. They had a date and he had to talk to Lindsay about boundaries, compromises, and practicing communication. Non-physical means of communication.

○ ○ ○

Dev finished his time at home without finding the will to have Bryan’s suggested conversation with Lindsay. They needed boundaries. But she seemed so happy to have their private time actually require privacy, Dev didn’t have the heart to cast a shadow on her happiness. Besides, they didn’t have long before they were back to phone calls and video chats. There would be plenty of time when they’d
only
be able to talk. Or so Dev thought.

The tour was more exhausting than Dev anticipated and he started regretting the two online classes he was taking. Their portion of the show was shorter, but Alec’s idea to post video clips of their on-stage antics on the band’s website made them instantly popular. It also put more pressure on Dev to keep coming up with new ideas instead of recycling things already tested and proven. And because Rushing On was coming on after them, Dev was limited by what he could do to the stage itself.

It was after the show that Dev’s real source of stress was evident. Dev would prefer to leave when their part was over, but Alec and Kenny wanted to expose him to what it was going to be like for them when
they
were the headliner. Worse, the guys from Rushing On actually liked having them around, so Dev was stuck backstage mingling with fans after every show. And the number of women taking an interest in him kept growing.

Lindsay was Dev’s sanity. Jess and Kenny refused to discuss her, which was fine with him. He wasn’t sure how to explain their increasingly interesting video chats anyway. To keep things ‘spicy,’ Lindsay still dressed up for the times when they could steal a bit of time for video conferencing, although it was different than before.

It started simple, a Renaissance Fair costume with a tall princess-hat. Lindsay also tried a skimpy Jester outfit that kept Dev too distracted to hold up his part of the conversation. She tried a skin-tight strapless formal, then skateboarding gear complete with elbow pads and a helmet. At first Dev thought it was to make him laugh off his stress over the post show parties, but a French maid costume changed his mind.

When Lindsay appeared on his screen only wearing what looked like a corset a few days later, Dev decided it was time for the talk on boundaries. He didn’t get that far. Lindsay stood to show off the matching thong, garter and stockings, and her new ‘fuck-me pumps’ and Dev had to look away, speechless.

“What? That’s what they’re called,” Lindsay said, sitting back down with a frown.

“It’s not the shoes.” Dev shook his head, his well-rehearsed monologue completely wiped from his brain. “Lin, no thongs. Or whatever.”

She gave him a sweet smile and Dev blushed as he realized what he just said.

“Not that I want less in terms of clothing. Please don’t be sitting there naked next time. Please?”

“Too far away to do anything about it? Poor baby.”

“That’s not it and you know it. I can’t do this. Slow it down. I love the enthusiasm, but you’re sixteen! What if someone saw you?”

Lindsay smiled again and leaned closer to her webcam. Her cleavage drew Dev’s eyes and he couldn’t tear his attention away. “They’d think you were pretty lucky,” Lindsay whispered conspiratorially. She leaned back again, her firm breasts threatening to spill out of the boned lace and satin holding them in. “I understand your need to slow down, however, so I’ll behave.”

Relief flooded Dev, and he nodded with wordless thanks.

Lindsay’s idea of behaving turned out to be a series of swimsuits. She even got a tropical island backdrop, a sun lamp, and a goldfish. Lindsay named the goldfish ‘Chaperone’ for Dev’s benefit. Dev replaced his computer wallpaper with screenshots of his bikini-clad girlfriend. Not that he told her.

○ ○ ○

Lindsay watched the news clip for the fourth time. She felt like she was going to die, and for that she was going to kill her sweetheart of a boyfriend. Lindsay was reasonably sure Dev didn’t do what the overly made-up blond in the interview claimed, but the fact he was putting her through this at all was unacceptable.

“You know he didn’t sleep with her,” Becky’s voice behind her made Lindsay jump. “Dev’s too straight-laced. If he won’t sleep with his girlfriend, he sure as hell wouldn’t sleep with a groupie.”

“I know.” She barely glanced at her sister before turning her attention back to the news clip. The problem with the news of the paternity suit being online was that you could watch it over and over again.

“Then stop dwelling,” Becky said.

“No. I know it isn’t Dev’s fault. I know this is only the first time and it might happen again. I know I need to be understanding and supportive. I also know how this makes me feel, and I don’t like it.”

Becky walked over to lean against Lindsay’s desk. “Understanding and supportive sounds great. When exactly does that kick in?”

Lindsay hesitated. Dev would want her on his side, and she’d be there, but he’d probably do just about anything to make it up to her. Anything to make her feel better.

“I want Dad on the case,” Lindsay said.

Becky sighed. “First, Dev has a lawyer. Second, I don’t think being his potential client’s girlfriend’s father is Dad’s idea of a suitable reason to crash the legal party. You know how he is about ethics and all that. It’s probably a conflict of interest in his book.”

“Dev will do it for me,” Lindsay said with a confidence she felt justified in.

“Dev might, Dad won’t.”

That brought Lindsay up short. Becky was right. Her father liked Dev, but this wasn’t exactly just helping him out of a scrape. Dev had an attorney, a team of them from what she knew about the corporation his mother inherited. She wasn’t even sure this was the kind of thing her dad had any experience in. She might throw a fit and get them both to cave in just to appease her, but only succeed in taking the better suited lawyer off Dev’s case. Still, she wanted it.

Becky sat on the edge of her bed. “Don’t do it,” her sister told her.

“I want it.” She thought there had to be some way to make this happen without this causing problems for Dev. “If he’s innocent, it shouldn’t be a problem,” Lindsay said, more thinking out loud than seeking feedback from Becky. “We both think he’s innocent and we know him better than any women outside his family,” she continued.

“Grow up. The world doesn’t work that way,” Becky snapped.

Lindsay flinched at Becky’s harsh words. It wasn’t so much that she wasn’t used to being spoken to that way as that she wasn’t used to
Becky
speaking to her that way. Not anymore. Once, when Jack and Sabrina first married and discovered Lindsay and Jack in the same house would be a problem, back then Becky wasn’t so nice to be around. Downright bitchy, actually. Since that got worked out, Lindsay and Becky became friends. Her stepsister was her confidant and took her big-sister role-model job seriously. Lindsay didn’t like Becky’s position, but she couldn’t argue it.

“How would you do it then?” Lindsay demanded.

“I wouldn’t. Dev’s got a lawyer. It’s covered. Don’t try to fix something that isn’t broken, Lin, it just makes it worse.”

“But –”

“No! No ‘buts.’ Leave it alone. I’m serious. And to make sure you behave, I’m mentioning your jealousy-induced insanity to Dad. That way he wouldn’t do it anyway.” Becky fixed her with a hard look before standing and leaving the room. No doubt to go call their father.

Lindsay watched her go and thought. Becky tattling wasn’t an insurmountable issue. Lindsay could usually sweet-talk Jack into almost anything. He seemed to just want a happy little family and anything he could do to make sure everything ran smoothly he went out of his way to do. That and he liked Dev. Lindsay overheard her parents talking and Jack
really
liked Dev. He thought Dev was a good influence on her, but he would have liked him anyway. Dev was honest, hardworking, smart, and showed ‘character.’ Lindsay almost choked over her father’s description of the hacker she was dating. Not that she disagreed, it just showed there were a few things her dad didn’t know. She wondered if he had any idea what Becky did in her spare time.

Regardless of Becky’s interference, Lindsay decided Jack would
want
to help Dev. Dev had a team of lawyers, but Jack was a partner so he could offer Dev the whole firm. Even if he wasn’t the best-suited lawyer in the firm because of specialties or whatever, surely someone there could handle this. And if it was someone in Jack’s firm handling it, that was almost the same as Jack handling it.

Lindsay was satisfied with that reasoning. Now she just had to tell Dev.

The tour finally ended, to Jess’s relief. Fighting with Dev was always fun, but it was turning into more work than Jess planned on. He had to start getting creative, and more people were watching than just the audience. Their pranks were online now, he couldn’t keep doing the same thing over and over. The number of hits on their website had Kenny grinning wildly, but Jess just wondered where this echo of the cold war with Dev was going to end.

The kid upped the ante by making his shoes smoke and adding a heating element to his microphone. Jess retaliated with a super soaker squirt gun in the next show, which was so popular with the crowd, Dev countered with water balloons in the show after. He even built a compartment into the back of his guitar with a trapdoor release mechanism to feed him small water balloons. Kenny threw a fit when he saw it, but Jess didn’t think it looked too bad. It was painted to match so it really just made his guitar look thick if you happened to catch it end-on.

Jess thought the next logical step would be to fill the water balloons with something other than water, but Jello turned out to be a mistake. The first one he threw at the kid genius didn’t break on impact. Jess was annoyed, and Dev spent the rest of the song kicking the small Jello-filled balloon back under Jess’s own feet. Jess kicked it back at Dev with the lingering hope the balloon would break all over the brat’s Italian leather shoes. It was like playing soccer with a jiggly time bomb.

The balloon was near Dev when the song ended and he reached down to pick it up and inspect the new toy. The kid tossed it in the air and caught it a couple of times, making Jess’s heart soar with possibilities. It still didn’t break.

“What’s in this thing?” Dev asked into microphone.

“Jello,” Jess answered with a shrug.

“Nice.” Dev tossed it in the air once more and altered his stance. Jess recognized he was going to throw it back at him, most likely much harder than Jess threw it the first time. It would almost certainly break.

Dev pulled his arm back to throw the balloon, and Jess ducked aside. The crowd went wild when the balloon broke on Kenny’s shoulder. Jess and Dev looked at each other in horror, then sheepishly at their band mate. The rules were to keep Bryan and Kenny out of their little war.

Kenny looked pissed as he brushed bits of Jello off his shirt and guitar.

Jess picked up another Jello-filled balloon from his stash by the drums. He held it up for the audience to see and pointed to Dev. Pandemonium. Part of the crowd cheered for Jess’s proposed revenge, and part adamantly cried out ‘no’ in defense of the kid now quietly standing on his side of the stage ready to accept his fate. Jess stepped closer to Dev, and the crowd grew louder. He moved closer again, some girls in the front near his target screamed for him to stop. Dev just stood there. Jess got closer and chucked the balloon right at the back of Dev’s big head.

His victim flinched and it bounced off. Dev looked around at Jess, then the balloon lying on the floor in surprise. The crowd laughed in relief, except for a quarter of them in front of Kenny that yelled for him to try again. Again the balloon bounced off. Jess couldn’t believe it.

Dev laughed this time, and that was the final straw. Jess picked up the balloon, held it over Dev’s head, and dug his thumb into the thin rubber side. It exploded lime Jello all over both of them. Dev hung his head and let the goo drip off him and Jess wiped his hands on the kid’s partially dry jacket. The crowd clapped and cheered more than he’d hoped for.

Alec got it all on video too, from multiple angles. Plus the crowd’s reaction. Jess was surprised Dev went along with putting that one up on the website. Usually Dev won, so he didn’t hesitate to add the video clips when Alec suggested it. This time though . . . Jess savored the win. It was messy, it was dramatic, and he could relive it online over and over again.

Of course Dev got even, but they were banned from using anything messy anymore by the tour director. Next year, when they were the headliners . . . Jess contemplated the havoc he could wreak on Dev when they didn’t have another act following them to consider. The reverse was true too, but Jess didn’t dwell on that.

Now the tour was over. No more shielding the kid from the girls backstage after the show, not that it was a great hardship. No more groupies hanging out in the hotel lobby, which frankly Jess didn’t mind so much. No more sitting on a bus for hours with a dozen other musicians, managers, and groupies, listening to incomplete riffs on guitars. He’d be able to sleep in, eat a real meal, and unwind a little.

Dev spent all his time video chatting with Lindsay. That irritated Jess. He tried to introduce him to some of the nicer, smarter-sounding girls back stage, but Dev didn’t take to any of them. Jess finally gave up even trying. At least Miss Former Death-Warmed-Over was too young to join them on tour was a small comfort. Hopefully Dev would get over her before that became a problem.

They were in L.A. now. The weather was great and the girls were hot. It was the cherry-on-top reward for a long summer. Jess looked forward to spending some time here after they were done shooting the music video that kept them from going directly home.

Jess sat by the hotel pool, watching a group of girls sunbathing. It was a pleasant sight. A curvy brunette stood up and adjusted her bikini top. She kept her eyes on Jess, and he toasted her with his ice tea. He got caught ogling, Jess knew the polite thing to do would be look away. He also knew he wouldn’t, and the girls didn’t mind. In fact . . . Jess smiled to himself as the brunette headed over. She had her bag slung casually over her shoulder, like she expected to go somewhere. She could be leaving, but he doubted it. No, she was walking directly to him, ready to go. Jess awarded her points for confidence.

“You know, you don’t have to watch from afar,” she said, standing so she blocked the sun and shaded Jess’s eyes. It allowed him to look at her and created a halo effect around her glossy hair. Nice touch, he thought. Nice curves too.

“There are too many of you.” Jess shook his head. “I’m shy.”

The brunette laughed. “No you’re not. Try again.”

Jess sipped his ice tea before responding. “Okay, I’m not shy. I’ve been touring all summer and I’m taking a well-earned rest. A group of young women in swimsuits is always fun, but at the moment, I’d prefer . . . less.”

“Women or swimsuits?” the brunette asked.

Jess smiled. “Both. One woman, the swimsuit is negotiable.”

“Come on then,” she beckoned with a finger and shifted her weight to show off the curve of her hip. Jess put down his drink.

“We don’t even know each other,” he said with a smile.

“You’re Jess, I’m Blossom. Good enough?” she asked, raising one eyebrow. The natural pout of her lips drew Jess’s eye, and he nodded.

“Good enough.” Jess stood and followed Blossom away from the pool and upstairs to her room.

Once the door closed behind them, Blossom dropped her bag on the floor and turned into Jess’s arms. Her skin was hot in his hands, and her kiss was even hotter. In seconds, he had her backed against the wall and let his hands creep up toward her bikini top where her breasts strained to be free of the binding.

Blossom was a step ahead of him, pulling Jess’s T-shirt up and he had to pause to remove it for her. Her fingers slid across his shoulders, nails leaving light trails that felt warm and lingered even after she’d passed. Manicured fingers ran down his chest, her touch sent shivers through him. When she reached the waistband of his swim trunks, Blossom eased just her thumbs inside the elastic and slowly circled Jess’s waist.

He stepped closer, untying the strings on her bikini top, letting the small garment fall to the floor. Her full, round breasts sat in his hands and Jess leaned down to kiss the tops. The position was awkward. Wrapping an arm around Blossom’s waist, Jess pulled her against him and kissed her. He backed her farther into the room to the bed.

Once he had Blossom lying comfortably on the bed, Jess settled down on her and she wrapped her legs around his. They still had some clothes to be rid of, but that was part of the fun in his mind. Right now, her perfect breasts called to him. He didn’t want her to feel used though.

Jess let one hand gently caress one breast, running a thumb over the stiffening nipple, as he nuzzled Blossom’s jaw.

“Where are you from?” Jess asked, kissing her cheek then mouth again.

“Here actually,” she answered. Damn, he was half hoping for her to say Seattle. Plus she wasn’t breathless enough yet. He felt himself getting hard. Wait . . .

“Here? Los Angeles? Then why are you in a hotel?” Jess hesitated. Something was very wrong. His senses were tingling with hyper-awareness bordering on paranoia.

“I moved to New York, but I’m back for a visit. I have a room at home, but I don’t want to deal with my family,” Blossom answered, her voice getting deeper and husky. Jess liked where this was leading much better.

“Understandable.” He slid down her body, kissing her neck, shoulder, and breastbone before devoting his attention to her breasts. Magnificent.

“I have a dinner tonight actually. You should – oh, that’s good.” Blossom moaned as Jess sucked one nipple into his mouth and teased it gently with his tongue.

“You were saying?” Jess prompted with a slight laugh as he switched to the other side. It wouldn’t be fair not to make them even.

“Dinner tonight. Come with me. You should meet my dad.” Blossom gasped as Jess worked on her nipple and gently squeezed her breast to complement his actions.

Normally he’d brush off an invitation to meet the parents, but there was something about the way Blossom said it. She was somebody’s daughter. It couldn’t hurt to meet Daddy. Maybe. Of course this was a short-term relationship, but she didn’t seem to get that. Pissing her off now or in a week or two didn’t really matter. It didn’t have to be about ditching a dinner. He could enjoy her luscious company, then start teasing her about being named after a cartoon character and she’d probably leave him.

Whatever, meet the father? Kenny would want him to, it could be useful.

“Fine, I’m game,” Jess said edging farther down Blossom’s flat stomach. He kissed a trail down to her navel. It was hard because she was breathing heavily now. “Who’s your dad?”

“J.C. Michaels,” Blossom said with a gasp.

Jess froze, his lips an inch above her bronzed skin. “What?”

“J.C. Michaels. You know, the actor? Director too. Don’t tell me you don’t know who he is.” Blossom propped herself up on her elbows to look at him.

Jess raised his eyes to look at her. Dark hair, great cheeks and lips, but Blossom didn’t look like – actually, she had J.C.’s eyes. Jess’s eyes.

Jess rolled off Blossom and stared up at the ceiling. She was his half-sister. His erection wilted at the thought.

“I know who he is,” Jess said. “This isn’t happening.”

“Dinner? He’ll love you.”

“No, he won’t. Especially not if I continue this with you.” Jess slid off the other side of the bed, not looking at the half-naked woman sitting there. He walked over to get their clothes.

“This, right now, this isn’t his business,” Blossom said, an edge of anger in her voice. Jess tossed her bikini top over to her. It landed neatly in her lap, but she didn’t pick it up. “You’re afraid of him,” Blossom said in surprise.

Jess chuckled as he turned his back on her and pulled his T-shirt back over his head. “I’m not afraid of him, sweetheart, I’m irritated with him. More than happy to pick a fight, actually. I’m just not willing to go this far to do it.”

She sniffled and Jess looked back at her, trying to avoid looking at her breasts. A tear ran down her cheek as he watched. Clear blue eyes looked up at him and Jess sighed. It wasn’t her fault, she obviously didn’t know. Plus he hated it when women cried.

“Listen, you’re gorgeous, it’s not you. Ask your . . . ask J.C.. Although, I seriously doubt he’ll answer, or at least give you an honest one. If he does, and you want to talk about it, he knows how to reach me.”

Jess shook his head, unable to think of anything else to say. He should tell her, but he didn’t think he could. Too many memories, and he didn’t need a sister. Besides, Blossom seemed nice at a glance, but everything associated with J.C. was crap in Jess’s opinion. She was probably as nuts as his mom. Worse maybe, Blossom grew up with the bastard.

He glanced back. “I’m sorry, really. I’d love to do some really fun things with you, but I just can’t.” Jess left before she could respond.

○ ○ ○

Dev sat in Kyle Mercer’s office, thinking. The last time he was here was the reading of Paul’s will. Where Paul, at the time the single person he hated the most, acknowledged him as equal to his own children and his mother as the love of his life. He’d misjudged Paul and always regretted it.

A secretary came in and offered Dev a drink, breaking him out of his disturbed thoughts. He declined and she left, although he should be grateful for the interruption. Whenever he considered Paul, and how wrong he’d been to hate him, his thoughts inevitably turned to Flynn. Dev didn’t want to think about Flynn, and he looked around the room to find something else to distract him.

Dev didn’t know exactly why he was even here. That stupid groupie and her false accusations had him tied in knots. He was ducking reporters and running from cameras. Dev had hardly slept since the news broke a couple weeks ago and it was sapping his energy for the shows. At least it gave him an excuse to sneak away after their part was done.