Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

NOAH

T wo days before the Christmas festival we had coming up, the guys and I finally had a day off. Grabbing the opportunity with both hands, we decided to spend it just hanging out and not even trying to write any new songs.

Between events during the holidays, we had to find time to chill or we would burn out. Our schedules were always crazy between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we were all already feeling the pressure. The late nights, big shows, constant press engagement, rehearsals, sound checks, charity appearances, and all the rest of it were a lot.

We were happy to do it, but every now and then, we appreciated a break. Lewis, Jack, and Brandon were lounging around my suite this morning, having arrived one after the other without us even having talked about it.

We drank coffee and shot the breeze, occasionally tossing out ideas about how to spend the day but mostly just lazing around.

“Here’s something,” Jack said, glancing at me. “I think you’re going to like it.”

“What is it?” I asked absently, glancing up from my phone for a moment. I was selecting a bouquet of flowers to be sent to Gemma, but I focused on him.

“How would you feel about going to a racetrack and spending the day driving the cars? There’s a group package we can get that starts at nine.”

“I’m in,” I said without hesitation, a bolt of adrenaline shooting through my veins. I liked anything outside with a thrill component, so this was right up my alley. “Book it.”

Lewis shrugged his agreement and Brandon whooped, doing some kind of pelvis thrust to celebrate. I rolled my eyes, chuckling, and went back to my phone.

After scrolling for another minute, I found an arrangement made up of a variety of deep purple and white flowers, immediately adding it to my cart. The color reminded me of that dress Gemma had worn the night she’d danced around that pole, and while the memories threatened to make me hard, I knew she would love this bouquet.

Once I’d entered the address of the cabin where they were staying, I checked out, happy to see that the estimated delivery time was less than an hour from now. That meant she’d probably receive it before they went out shopping or whatever for the day.

I grinned as I tossed my phone down on the mattress beside me. Looking up, I found all three of my friends staring at me with weird expressions on their faces. “What?”

Brandon laughed, dragging a hand through his long blond hair and giving his head a quick shake. “You’re whipped, man.”

“Can we talk about how whipped he is when we get there?” Lewis asked as he glanced at the watch on his wrist. “If it starts at nine, we should get going.”

Jack rose from his chair, striding to the door and opening it. “ Vamanos . We could be racing right now.”

“Hell, yeah!” Brandon roared as he bolted toward the door.

I laughed and rolled off the bed, following them out for a guys’ day I was really looking forward to. Although I still wished Gemma was here, the thought of spending the day racing around a track in professional cars was almost just as good.

Laughing and joking on our way to the parking garage, we called Alana to let her know what was up and let her handle the rest of the arrangements. Jack had already made our booking and I knew she was going to be pissed about not having more of a heads-up, but it was her job to handle this stuff. We paid her well to be available for spontaneous changes of plan. Sometimes it meant booking flights and sometimes it meant coordinating with racetrack people so things went smoothly.

Our bodyguards were with us, and if even we hadn’t known we would be doing this today, there was no way the paparazzi could be waiting for us. Even so, Alana worked her magic, arranging for us to be driven straight onto the property without any holdups, and a safety instructor was waiting for us in a private area inside.

The guys and I filed in, surprised to see that there was even a continental breakfast spread and coffee available.

Brandon grinned as he headed straight for it. “Alana deserves a raise, dude.”

“Amen.” I followed after him, piling my plate high.

Lewis went to go introduce himself to the instructor. Jack fixed himself a cup of coffee, simply nodding at the instructor when Lewis said his name.

Once we were settled and eating, the guy started his briefing, showing us all the applicable gear and explaining the rules we were expected to follow while we were on the track. I only listened with half an ear and Brandon appeared to be sleeping with his eyes wide open, but we’d both done this a few times in the past.

Lewis looked like he wished he had a notebook handy and Jack sipped his coffee, constantly glancing out the wide windows at the track like he couldn’t wait to get out there. The safety instructor kept droning on about procedures and checks to do before, during, after every drive, but I knew most of it and what I didn’t know, I’d figure out later.

In the meantime, my mind drifted to Gemma.

I wonder what they’re doing right now.

Almost immediately, I imagined them having a pillow fight in lingerie, but the lacy, white garments my mind had put Gemma in were going to make me race this damn car straight to Gatlinburg, so I yanked my mind out of the gutter and tried to keep it in the moment.

At this point, my delivery had probably already arrived and I smiled at the thought of her surprise when she received it. I would’ve given anything to have been a fly on the wall so I could’ve seen her face, but just knowing she was happy was enough.

As soon as she got back though, I would buy her flowers again so I could be there to see her face next time. A soft voice at the back of my mind scoffed at the thought.

Jeez. Next time? It’s possible she hasn’t even seen what you sent her this time yet.

I groaned internally, but that little voice was quickly drowned out by a much louder one insisting that Gemma was a girl who deserved to be spoiled. She and I were making a real go of this and I’d been waiting half my life to meet someone I could shower with gifts and attention.

Brandon thought it was because I had grown up poor, but even as a kid, I’d been generous. Despite not having much, I liked making people happy, which was also why I’d always enjoyed singing. As soon as I’d figured out I could make people smile with my voice, I was all over performing when I had the chance.

The safety instructor finally left us to finish our food. Lewis turned to me and arched his eyebrow. “Did you even hear a word that guy said?”

I shrugged. “Not one, but I’ll be alright.”

“The heartthrob of City Lights says an hour before he gets rushed to the hospital after having sustained serious injuries in a fiery crash,” Lewis muttered. Sighing, he shook his head at me. “Just don’t do anything stupid today. We’ve got a lot of shit packed into the next couple weeks. We can’t have you laid up for it.”

“I won’t be,” I said, exasperated but understanding where he was coming from. “Man, you know I’ve done this before. I’ve got it. Stop stressing.”

“Noah’s brain is only so big.” Brandon pumped his eyebrows and held his thumb and index finger less than an inch apart. “He can’t listen to instructions and obsess about his girl. You can’t blame him for it. It’s a mental capacity thing.”

I snorted and flipped him off. “Gee, thanks. I love you too, man.”

He laughed. “With that little part of your heart that’s left after you gave the rest of it to Gemma?”

“Sure. With that part.” I wasn’t even going to deny that the rest of it belonged to her. When not even Brandon threw out a comeback, I realized the guys hadn’t been expecting it. I frowned. “What?”

Lewis blinked hard, his chin lowering before he narrowed his eyes at me. “Things are going that well with her?”

“I’m sold,” I said, deciding on the spot to show them my cards.

These were some of the few people in this world I could be completely honest with, and I’d been realizing over these last few days that I was done fucking around. Gemma was the one, as elusive as I’d previously thought finding that might be, and I wasn’t afraid to admit it.

I was confident about how I felt and I sure as hell wasn’t ashamed. There was no reason not to tell them. I wasn’t figuring it out anymore and I wanted them to know.

Besides, she and I would need their support once the press realized she wasn’t just another in the long line of women I’d been photographed with before. As I looked around the table, I met each of my friends’ gazes in turn. Jack was the first to recover from the declaration I’d just made.

“You’re sold?” he asked. “What exactly does that mean?”

“I’m off the market?” I said, leaning forward. “Sold. Unavailable. No longer open to anyone else.”

His eyebrows shot up. “That’s what I thought, but I had to check. Are you sure? You haven’t known her all that long, bro.”

“Yeah, but I’m sure,” I replied with absolutely zero doubt in my mind. “I’ve found my girl.”

Brandon finally snapped out of it. Chuckling, he reached across the table to shake my hand. “Congratulations, Parks. I’m happy for you. Of course, I’m also going to give you shit about this for the rest of eternity, but I am happy for you. Also, I’d like to point out that I called it first.”

“Bullshit,” Lewis chimed in, rolling his eyes at our friend. “You only called it because I told you he was different all of a sudden, which means that I called it first.”

“Either way,” Jack said, grinning at me. “She’s hot and she fits in with us, and it really helps that I think she actually likes you. I didn’t get any kind of feeling that she was only there for the fame or the money.”

“Nah,” Brandon said. “That girl is only in it for our boy. You saw how she looked at him.”

Lewis nodded his agreement, but I saw the worry in his eyes when he glanced back at me. “Let’s just hope she can handle the fame, then. At least with the chicks who are only with us for that, we know it won’t chase them off, but with her?”

My gut twisted, but I shook my head. “It won’t chase her off. And if it does, I’ll chase after her.”

“You found a good one, Parks,” Brandon said, standing up and patting me on the shoulder. He nodded toward the door. “Can we go now? We’ve got gas to burn and only one day to do it.”

I laughed. “Let’s go, but I know I found a good one. I’ll pass on my luck to you.”

“I don’t need that kind of luck,” he retorted. Smirking, he opened the door and walked out of it.

Jack sighed but dipped his chin in a slight nod when his gaze met mine. “I wouldn’t mind some. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

I knew Brandon wasn’t looking for anything serious, but I also knew that Lewis and Jack would be open to it. At the moment though, they just kept bringing around gold diggers and clout chasers who wanted the fame, but hopefully, the City Lights luck had turned when I’d found Gemma.

The fame-seeking gold diggers had been fun for a while, but I was already over that scene. The others were slowly getting there. Eventually, all kids had to grow up, and not even Brandon would ultimately be able to escape it.