The Album: What happens when you fall in love with a rock star? (Cruise Control Book 1) Read online

  He smiled and stood up, as well. He made a show of taking off his T-shirt. Ariana would have complained that he would at least have something dry to put on later while she would be completely drenched, except that she enjoyed the view too much as his muscled form stalked towards the edge of the pool.

  “So, do you work out a lot?” she asked Gabriel after he had joined her in the water.

  Ariana could feel an ache between her thighs, and her breathing increased as she watched him. The silk fabric of her dress was clinging to her, and her nipples were hard against her lace bra.

  “Yeah, a bit. I use it as my time to zone out and get away from everything, plus I find the ladies tend to like the muscles.” He winked at her, and this time she was sure he was flirting.

  “I thought you didn’t like groupies?” She stuck her tongue out at him; being in the water and so utterly turned on had definitely loosened her inhibitions.

  “Not all women are groupies or even fans,” he told her.

  “Trust me, after your tour, pretty much everyone will be a groupie, or at the very least a fan. Your album is amazing.”

  “You flatter me.”

  “I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true,” she told him.

  They were silent for a minute as they were treading water. Music floated on the air to them from the house and mixed with the sounds of the water lapping against the sides of the pool and the water feature trickling away.

  “Where do you get the inspiration for your music?” Ariana asked.

  “Where do you get the inspiration for your stories?” He parried.

  “Fair call. How soon will you begin working on your new album?” Ariana had always been curious about this timeframe.

  “I’ll probably work on it during the tour, so we’re ready to record by the time the tour ends. Sadly, these days the record labels mostly just care about output. They don’t put any time or effort into acts anymore. If you can’t produce sales, you’re fucked.”

  “That must be a lot of pressure. Do you write all the songs yourself?”

  “I write most of the lyrics, sometimes the music as well, but a lot of the time we collaborate with each other to write a song. I excel at lyrics if I do say so myself. I want my songs to mean something to the person listening to them, as well as to myself. I don’t even care if they get the same meaning out of it that I do, just that it means something. Does that make sense?”

  “It sure does,” she said, smiling at him. “I often wonder if what I think the song means is the same as what it means to the artist.”

  “You’ll never know,” he replied with a wink, “unless you can catch them to ask!”

  With that, he swam quickly away from her, and she followed as fast as she could. She was a fairly good swimmer, but he managed to outstrip her easily, despite the fact that his jeans had to be slowing him down. When he reached the deep end of the pool, he turned and watched her swimming towards him, but as soon as she got almost close enough to touch him, he pushed off quickly in the other direction. Ariana turned herself around and swam towards the shallow end. She pushed herself to swim faster, and, as they got near the end, he slowed down as she sped up. It was only a few seconds before she was able to reach out and grab his foot.

  “I got you!” she cried, like a child playing tag.

  He stopped completely, and she lost her grip on his foot but kept moving forward, suddenly finding herself in his grasp.

  “Who’s got who?” he asked while smirking.

  Ariana’s heart thrummed in her chest, and she couldn’t answer. They were both panting with exertion as he continued to hold her in his arms for a second or two longer than was comfortable, or appropriate, for two near-strangers.

  She was overwhelmed by how good it felt being held in his arms, and she wanted to stay here forever. She wanted to wrap her legs around his waist and be as close to him as she possibly could. She wanted to feel him deep inside her and experience all the carnal pleasure she sensed he could offer her.

  “I should probably get back,” Ariana said huskily, ignoring her body’s pull towards him. “It’s getting late, and my aunt might be wondering where I got to.”

  She felt utterly disappointed when her words broke the spell, and Gabriel released her immediately.

  “Of course, I didn’t mean to…” Gabriel stammered, “that is to say that…”

  He trailed off, and they got out of the pool in awkward silence. Ariana shivered as the cool night air hit her body. Perhaps swimming in their clothes hadn’t been such a stellar idea after all. Her wet dress was clinging to her body, and she felt incredibly exposed as Gabriel ran his gaze over her. While she enjoyed his gaze, she wasn’t sure how good she’d feel parading around like this in front of anyone else.

  “I’ll just go get our stuff.”

  He gestured towards his shirt and their shoes on the deck chairs down the other end of the pool, and she nodded while shivering. As he walked away from her, she couldn’t help admiring his physique. It was amazing how, in the last hour, he had gone from the amazing, unobtainable rock star Gabriel Knight to Gabe, the handsome, friendly guy who quizzed her on her life plans. When he bent to pick up their items, she smiled as she thought just how good he looked in those wet jeans. He put on his shirt as he walked back to her, and they headed back towards the main building, her shoes dangling from her right hand.

  “This garden is absolutely beautiful,” she said aloud.

  “It is beautiful, and so are you.”

  She blushed, but didn’t know what to say to that, and changed the topic.

  “So you’re going on your first tour, how do you feel about that?”

  “Equal parts excited and completely petrified.”

  He had seemed at home on stage and in front of an audience tonight, so his answer surprised Ariana. She couldn’t understand how this amazing man who performed so well could possibly ever be scared of going on tour.

  “What part of it scares you?”

  “Well, firstly, I’m told that most of the concerts have sold out, which is great for a first tour, but what if everyone hates us live?”

  “They won’t. Next problem?”

  “How do you know?”

  He sounded like a little boy asking his mommy if the kids will be nice to him on his first day of school.

  “I’ve seen you live, remember? Your performance tonight was fantastic, and you light up on stage, I couldn’t take my eyes off you. Next problem?” she repeated her question.

  “If you’re sure,” he said, looking pleased with himself. “I guess the only other big thing is being away from home for months on end. Living out of a suitcase and sleeping in a different bed every night.”

  “You must not be getting enough action if you’re not sleeping in a different bed every night!” she said cheekily, and he laughed.

  “I guess I’m not. Why? Are you offering?”

  He winked at her, and she felt a tingle of excitement from her head to her toes. She shivered as she remembered that moment in the pool and what could easily have happened if they’d stayed in there any longer.

  “I think you’ve mistaken me for a groupie. I’m not that kind of girl,” she scolded him playfully.

  “Believe me—” he looked her over again “—I haven’t mistaken who you are, sweetheart.”

  They reached the house just then and headed into the ballroom to find the party still in full swing. Her aunt was looking for her, though, and when they walked in, she gaped at them in their sodden state.

  “Ariana? Are you okay? I was wondering where you were. Why are you wet?” her aunt exclaimed.

  “I’m fine, Aunt Susan,” she told her, “we just decided to go for a bit of a swim.”

  “Well, that’s just great.” Her aunt sounded annoyed. “I’m ready to leave, and I have to be honest, I’m not thrilled about you sitting on the leather seats in the Porsche with wet clothes.”

  “I’m sorry, it just happened,” Ariana said, sincerely.r />
  As she caught Gabriel’s glance, though, they both had to hold back laughter.

  “Goodbye, Gabe,” she said, “it was lovely to meet you.”

  “It was great meeting you too, Ariana.” His smile was affectionate as she turned away from him.

  She and her aunt headed out to the parking area. Aunt Susan handed the valet her ticket, and they waited for the car to be brought around. Just as her aunt’s silver Porsche appeared in sight, she heard her name being called.

  “Ariana, wait!”

  She smiled as she turned to see Gabriel coming towards her.

  “What’s up?” she asked as he arrived in front of her, panting.

  “I just wanted to know if you want to go out on Friday?” he asked between breaths.

  “I thought you had a worldwide tour to be getting on with?”

  “It doesn’t start for another month and a half, Friday’s only this week!”

  Ariana hesitated for a moment. He was great, and she wanted so badly to just say yes, but his life was full of all of the trappings of celebrity, and she knew that was a dangerous path to travel down.

  Their eyes caught, and she was surprised by the electric shock that traveled through her. She was overwhelmed with a desire to be with him and ached to feel his touch again. In his eyes, she could also see his concern that she was about to reject him.

  “Okay, sure, why not,” she said against her better judgment and smiled at him.

  They exchanged phone numbers, and a slightly awkward goodbye before Ariana got into the passenger seat of her aunt’s car. Her phone buzzed, and she looked at it to see a text from Gabriel.

  I can’t wait to see you again.

  She texted back quickly.

  Me either. Tonight was awesome. Thanks!

  Ariana relaxed back into the seat and found that she really didn’t give a damn about the leather.

  The Second Song

  Gabriel arrived at her house for their on Friday night in a low, black, sleek sports car. She watched through the window, admiring the view as he got out and walked to the door of her apartment building. Her buzzer went off a second later, and she walked over to the intercom to let him in.

  “Hi, Ari!” he greeted her exuberantly when she opened the door.

  They’d been talking over text since the night they met. He’d taken to shortening her name, and she really liked it. She’d never really had a nickname, and it made her feel special that he was the first person to give her one.

  “Hi Gabe,” she said, giving him a hug.

  “Are you ready to go? We have reservations in twenty minutes,” he asked.

  “Sure, just let me get my jacket; it looks like it might rain.”

  “It’s a shame you have to cover up.” He looked her over appreciatively, and she blushed.

  “I’m sorry, did I embarrass you?” he asked, as she returned from her room wearing a green jacket over her strapless, emerald-green, silk, sheath dress.

  “A little bit,” she admitted.

  “I don’t want you to be embarrassed around me,” he told her, and took her in his arms, “but I can’t help complimenting you when you look as good as you do in that dress.”

  He kissed her thoroughly, running his hands down her back to cup her ass and pull her hard against him. She ran her fingers through his hair, and both of them were breathing heavily as he broke the kiss.

  “We have reservations,” he murmured.

  Every fiber in her being was screaming at her that reservations be damned, there was a perfectly good bed twenty feet away from where they were standing. One look in Gabriel’s eyes told her that he would very much like to use it just as much as she would, but her sensible side stopped her from taking him up on the unspoken offer.

  “We should probably get going then,” she said reticently.

  He dropped his head to give her the softest of kisses on her lips.

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  He took her hand, and they left her apartment. She locked the door behind her, and they headed out to his car.

  “Nice wheels,” she complimented him, “what sort of car is it?”

  “This, my dear Ariana, is an Aston Martin Vanquish. It’s the very first thing I bought once we were signed. I absolutely love it. I’ve always wanted one!”

  “Well, it’s very nice,” she told him.

  The look he gave her made her laugh out loud. It was a mixture of exasperation and humor.

  They arrived at a high-end Italian restaurant and were greeted by the owner, who seemed to know Gabriel, before they were seated at a secluded table at the back of the big room, partially obscured from the view of the rest of the patrons. Their server came to their table and took their drink orders. When he came back, he hovered awkwardly before asking Gabriel if he could have his autograph, and Gabriel obliged.

  “Does that ever get weird?” Ariana asked Gabriel as the waiter left with their orders of gnocchi for her and chicken parmigiana for him.

  “The autograph thing?” Gabriel asked.

  “Yeah, strangers wanting you to sign stuff, isn’t it odd?”

  “A little bit. I’m getting used to it, though it doesn’t normally happen here at Giovanni’s,” he smiled at her and took a sip of his beer, “sometimes it’s inconvenient, but mostly it’s flattering.”

  “Have you ever had a woman want you to sign her boobs or something like that?” she asked him curiously.

  “Hmm—” he played for time “—do you want to know because you’re jealous or because you’ve got a Sharpie in your handbag and you’d like me to sign your cleavage?”

  “Ha-ha, very funny,” she said sarcastically. “I was just wondering what the weirdest thing that’s happened to you is.”

  “Nothing really, yet,” he told her. “Sebastian did have one guy ask him to sign his inner thigh. He was wearing some really short shorts and wanted Seb’s signature as high up on his thigh as possible. Apparently, he was planning to get it tattooed there.”

  “Did he actually do it?” Ariana laughed.

  “He did; I think he was too flattered to say no. It was when we’d first started getting some fame, and he was still excited that people knew who we were.”

  “I can’t believe he did it! I would’ve thought he was too much of an asshole to be so nice to a fan.” Ariana snorted.

  “Awwww, Ari, don’t be like that.” He looked torn as she shrugged at him in reply. “We’d both been drinking that night; in fact, Sebastian was completely slaughtered when you met him. I know it’s not an excuse, and he was definitely an asshole and totally out of line, but he’s still one of my best friends. If you can give me a second chance, can you possibly give him one, too?”

  “Maybe,” she said. “I tell you what; I’ll reserve my judgment of him until the next time I meet him.”

  “That’s all I ask.”

  Their food arrived then, and they began to eat.

  “This food is delicious,” Ariana said.

  “The parmigiana is amazing,” Gabriel told her. “Do you want a taste?”

  “Sure.”

  Gabriel speared a piece on his fork and reached it over to her. She leaned forward and took the chicken in her mouth. The sharing of his food felt intimate, and it was indeed delicious, a perfect combination of chicken, sauce, ham, and cheese.

  It crossed Ariana’s mind that it was the sort of thing that couples would do, sharing plates of food at a restaurant. She couldn’t reconcile the thought in her brain of Gabriel Knight and herself as a couple. When they were texting back and forth, it was just like he was any regular guy, but the times that she thought of him as the rock star that he was, she found herself a little overwhelmed at the situation.

  She saw the way their waiter looked at him, with complete awe, as though he were some kind of god. Ariana wondered whether she ever looked at him that way, maybe the night they met, but was she still doing it tonight? At the times when she was struck by who she was sitting and eating a meal with?r />
  “What are you thinking about?” he asked her.

  “Nothing much,” she told him and changed the subject, asking, “where are we going next?”

  “Ah, that’s a surprise. Are you done with that gnocchi?” He gestured to her half-empty plate.

  “Sure,” she told him, and they switched plates. “I love Italian food.”

  “Have you ever been to Italy?”

  “Nope, but I’ve love to go someday, particularly to Venice.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Well, I’ve heard that it stinks in the canals, but it’s made up for by the beauty of the place. The architecture is apparently amazing, and I’d love to see it.” She sounded wistful.

  “I’m sure you’ll go someday,” he assured her, sitting up as he finished the gnocchi.

  “You probably will,” she told him, “on your future world tour or something. What’s your favorite food?”

  “Similar, I’m a big fan of Greek food. There’s this amazing Greek restaurant in Oak Park that I absolutely love.”

  “We’ll have to go there sometime.”

  She smiled at him and was surprised at herself for the assumption that they would go on more dates.

  “Are you finished?” he asked.

  “I couldn’t possibly eat another bite,” she said. “That was delicious, but I’m so full.”

  “You don’t want coffee or dessert, then?” he asked.

  “I couldn’t possibly fit another thing in, but feel free to order something if you want it. I’m happy to just sit here.”

  “No, I’m fine.”

  Gabriel asked for the check and signed for the meal, and they left the restaurant and walked towards Gabriel’s car. Ariana was surprised when they didn’t get in the car but continued walking a couple of blocks to a pool hall.

  “Pool?” she asked him.

  “Yup, do you play?”

  “Not well, and not often.”

  “Great, because I don’t like to lose.”