From previous conversations with Mike, Declan knew what song MJ Labels wanted to debut. They all discussed it and decided I had to agree since it was so personal. There really wasn’t an explanation about how I ended up going to Vegas. Declan told me he wouldn’t go without me and the guys knew that. He was surprised they may get to perform, but wasn’t surprised about Sayge attending the event. Jay had been pushing for it all summer. From what I could tell, Jay had been working very hard and the results were starting to show. Mike and he worked well together, and Mike had no problem with his lack of
experience.
After we covered all my questions, Declan took me to bed where I took my time making-up for leaving him in bed alone that morning.
“Good morning, beautiful, did you sleep okay?” he whispers while kissing a path from my ear to my shoulder.
“I did, what about you?”
“Sure did, want me to show you what I dreamt about?” His fingertips rub over my nipples which react immediately.
“Baby, I wish, but we have to get up. I have to meet Charlie in an hour and you have to get to The Steamroom.”
“Shit, I don’t want to get out of bed today. Will you meet me after your lunch?”
“I can’t I have to meet with Jay.”
“I’ll have him meet you at the bar. He needs to be there anyway to bring us the travel itineraries for Vegas.”
“Okay, but I do need to go home today. I promised dinner with your sisters and I need to get some stuff done.”
“Can’t you rearrange for tomorrow? I really wanted to spend the whole day in bed tomorrow and it’s much easier to be naked here.”
“Nope, we can do bedroom day on Friday. Tonight’s my place and then we can come back here tomorrow after the show.”
He’s not happy about my compromise but agrees. Then we take a shower together to save time. I’m still fifteen minutes late.
Charlie is waiting for me when I get to the restaurant. She jumps up and swallows me in her arms, repeating her apology in my ear over and over.
When I get a look at her face, she has tears in her eyes. “Calm down, and tell me what’s going on. You’re not exactly the crying type”
The waiter interrupts us in greeting, and we both go ahead and order since we have the menu memorized. Once he delivers our drinks, I turn back to her waiting on her to explain.
“Raven, I was so out of line. About everything, Blake, Finn, Declan, all of it. I want to blame it on the alcohol but that’s not an excuse. Actually, I don’t think I was that drunk. But I was jealous.”
“What the hell do you have to be jealous of? It can’t be me because I’ve made some really stupid decisions the last few months.”
“Maybe, but Declan adores you. I want that. I want that with Blake and I thought if I forced you to invite him so he could apologize, it may make us closer.”
“I’m not sure I follow your logic. That sounds crazy to me.”
“It sounds crazy to me too once I say it out loud. The thing is I’m sure you’ve heard the stories from this summer. I was only around for a few shows, but at times it was pathetic. The first few weeks, Declan held a lot of animosity towards the guys. Blake begged me to get a hold of you so you would talk to Declan and I refused. After Ella’s birthday, things started to change. I could tell he was holding back and I tried everything to get him to talk to me. We still had great times, but there was a sort of shield around him. So I thought if I could get him invited to your welcome home party, he would open back up to me.”
“Charlie...Oh Charlie, this was not about you. This was about me and each of them individually. The weekend of Ella’s birthday is when they all found out Finn was with me in Europe. Declan knew, but didn’t share with the others. From what I’ve learned, it was shortly after that things turned around for everyone.”
“Yeah, it did, but I still feel a wall up between us and I don’t know what to do. I want what you and Declan and Abbi and Jimi have. All those guys love you. Hell, you even had to approve the first track they wanted to use. Blake never talks to me about the band business. Whereas, Declan won’t make a decision without you. And, the reason I went so ballistic about Declan chasing Finn off is because Declan is so protective and alpha-badass about you. I had no right to say the things I did. Again, I chalk it up to jealousy.”
“Are you saying you want Blake to be protective and alpha-badass about you? That doesn’t sound like your style.”
“Shit no, but Declan does it because he loves you so much. I want Blake to show his own form of badass to me. If he starts with half the shit Declan does with you, I’ll have to kick him in the balls.” Charlie laughs shaking her head.
“Have you tried talking to Blake? You know, telling him how you feel. You are kind of abrasive and he may not know how to show you his feelings. Maybe you should start with that.”
“You’re right. I’ll talk to him.”
“Are you coming to The Steamroom tomorrow night? I think we’re all going early if you want to join us. Abbi has to work so she’s offered to drive and I’ll spend the night at Declan’s if you want to crash in my room.”
“Yeah, I’ll come with y’all. This is my last week of freedom. I start at MJ on Monday morning.”