For Now (Forever Book 1) Page 2

  ‘Groupie chick’ is flailing her arms around and screaming for them to stop. Really? This wouldn’t be happening if she could just keep her legs closed.

  I push my way back to where they are fighting. There is a crowd of gawkers holding out their phones and taking videos of the brawl. When I finally make my way to them, Ryder has the guy on the ground and is pounding his fists into his face. It looks even more violent with the pulsing strobe lights and the flashes of the cameras. Damn it! I pull Ryder off him and to his feet. I have to push him back to few times and tell him to calm down.

  I look back at the guy lying on the ground, there is blood on his face and he isn’t moving. Shit! Not good. The redhead decides that even though, she was about to cheat on this guy mere minutes before, she suddenly cares about him and runs to his side.

  Just as I’m about to tell Ryder to go to the car and get my phone to call 911, there is a cop shoving Ryder up against the bar and cuffing him. I look up at all the phones out recording. This will be all over the morning news.

  **********

  I wake in the morning to my phone ringing. Ugh, what time is it? The sky is still dark, though I can see a little light on the horizon. I look at my clock and see it is only 5:45. I was up until 3:00 talking to my dad and trying to figure out how to handle things. Ryder’s reputation has taken a bad turn with his behavior lately; putting a guy in a coma isn’t going to help.

  “Hello?” I mutter as I put my phone to my ear.

  “You can pick him up at 9:00,” my dad grumbles.

  “Okay, I’ll be there. Are we still leaving for the tour?” I ask as I get up and find my jeans and pull them on.

  “Yes, but you two will have to be back for his hearing whenever it gets set. Really, how could you let him do this? I trusted you to be able to talk him down,” he scolds.

  “Dad, I was going to get the car and the guy came out of nowhere and punched him,” I snap. Now I’m pissed off too. How is any of this my fault?

  “Just keep a better eye on him for now; I’m working on a strategy to help his persona. I got him a private plane scheduled for today at 1:00. The last thing he needs right now is to be in the tabloids doing anything but helping orphans or feeding the damn homeless. He needs to stay out of the spotlight until we figure this out. The rest of the band will meet you there.”

  “Thanks Dad, I’ll try to think of a way to fix this too.”

  He sighs and I know he is rubbing his temples like he used to do when my sister and I were young and we would cause trouble. “I wish he could stop messing around with all the girls. That is what started this whole disaster. He needs to start thinking with his other head every once in a while. If he could just find a nice girl, and stop being seen with so many of them, the tabloids wouldn’t have any ammo. Wait, that‘s it!” he says. “We need to find a respectable girl. The public needs to see him with a sweet girl to prove that he is capable of growing up and putting an end to his wild ways. No more trouble. Find someone ASAP.”

  Great, where was I going to find a nice girl willing to put up with his shit for a while?

  **********

  I get to the jail a little after 9:00 to pick up Ryder. His hair is a mess and he looks like shit. He is fidgeting and pacing back and forth on the street with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

  “Thanks for making me stay here longer than necessary,” he barks.

  “I’m sorry, I was getting you breakfast and making calls, trying to fix your problems,” I snap back at him. If he could just learn to control his temper or keep it in his pants for a night, we wouldn’t be in this mess. “Dad thinks he has a plan to get you back in the tabloids in a positive light. How do you feel about a good girl?”

  “What are you talking about?” he asks me, confused, throwing his cigarette down and stepping on it.

  “Dad wants us to find a nice girl to be seen in public with you, trying to show the world that you can change your ways and settle down. If people see you with only one girl for a while, it would help. Think you can keep it in your pants that long?”

  “What the fuck?!?” he yells as an old couple walk by us on the sidewalk earning him an evil glare. He just glares back, pulls out another cigarette, and places it to his lips. “I can’t stay with one girl and where am I going to find a girl that I can put up with? You know that sweet isn’t my type.”

  “You don’t actually have to like each other, it’s for show. Just for now,” I say trying to placate him.

  “Dude, we’re going on tour.” We are now walking back to the car, but he stops to look at me.

  “Yeah, about that, she’ll have to join us on tour.” Poor girl. Where am I going to find a sweet girl willing to be stuck on a tour bus with a bunch of rock stars? The kind of girls that follow the band around, aren’t the kind of girls we need right now.

  “What? I can’t have some stuck up, prissy girl trying to cock block me every night,” he complains. He looks intently me at me, “I’m making you responsible for her.”

  “Fine, just as long as we get through this mess,” I tell him. “Our plane is leaving today at 1:00; we just need to get out of LA and out of the spot light, so we are taking a private jet to Chicago. The rest of the band will meet us there.”

  “Chicago sounds fun,” he says. “Find me some good bars; we need a night out after this mess.”

  “Really? Do you really think you should be seen in a bar right now?” I ask him.

  “We’ll find a low key bar, it’ll be fine. Besides, we gotta find me a hot girl,” he says with a wink as he heads toward the car.

  “Dude, bars aren’t usually the place the good girls hang out,” I shout after him, but I know I’ve already lost him. Guess we are going out tonight. Again.

  Chapter 3

  Elaina

  The bar is busy for a Sunday night. I’m running around trying to make drinks and small talk with the regulars; that always helps with the tips. The bar is in a lot of debt right now, so every little bit helps. My Aunt Karen inherited this bar from her dad when he died fourteen years ago. She had to take out a loan to pay some hospital bills. I have to help her since she was there for me when I had no one else.

  I’m wondering why I’m doing a lot of the work myself and I’m unable to find any of the other waitresses when I see a group of girls standing around a table near the back. I work my way back there to find Amy, flirting with a guy that kind of looks familiar. He is tall and lean with short black hair, but what really grabs my attention are the eyebrow piercing and the tattoos. Lots of tattoos.

  “Amy,” I say, “can you please help me out? There is food in the window and I need to go take a few drinks out.”

  “Be right back babe,” she purrs as she get up from the table. “Do you know who that was?” she asks me.

  “I guess he kind of looked familiar,” I sigh as I blow my hair out of my face.

  “Ryder Kinick from Line 9!” she squeals, walking right by the food in the window that she should be taking out now.

  “Oh,” I say as I head back up to the bar. I hope she is at least delivering the food before heading back to flirt some more.

  Luckily, it started to die down a bit by 9:00 and I could take a few minutes to check my phone and see if Karen called. No missed calls.

  I look up from my phone and see the most amazing guy I’ve ever seen. He is big, muscular and tan. He is wearing a tight, grey V-neck shirt that makes his light blue eyes stand out even more. His brown hair is styled in a messy way that makes it look like he just got out of bed and he’s one of those guys that can make scruff look good. He’s smiling at me now because I’m just standing here gawking at him like a loser. Oh wow, look at those dimples.

  “Can I get a drink?” he asks.

  “Oh, umm, sure,” I stutter, trying to reassemble my thoughts. “What can I get you?”

  “I’ll just take a water,” he says smiling at me again.

  “I haven’t seen you in here before, you must be visiting?” R
eally, Ellie, this is the best you can come up with? You talk to guys every day and you can’t come up with anything better. Though I don’t think I’ve ever talked to a guy as hot as him before.

  “Yeah, just here for work. We are leaving in a few days. You don’t really look like the bartenders where I’m from,” he says.

  Is he making fun of me? I was called in to work today with no notice, so I’m wearing what I wore today when I went out to lunch with a few of my former classmates, my short coral colored sundress that flared at the bottom. I love this dress and Amy tells me that this color looks good with my blonde hair and tan skin.

  “What is wrong with the way I look?” I ask with a note of irritation in my voice.

  “Nothing, you just look too sweet to be a bartender. You aren’t originally from here, are you?” he asks while eyeing my cowboy boots.

  “No,” I admit, “I’m from a small town in Iowa.” Why am I telling him this? I never talk about personal stuff with customers. There are guys who come in here several times a week and still don’t know anything about me.

  “Oh, so did your family grow potatoes there or something?” he jokes.

  Really? Can no one get it right? I roll my eyes at him. “No,” I answer him, “Iowa is known for corn, not potatoes. You are thinking of Idaho. And not everyone that lives in Iowa is a farmer either. My mom was a schoolteacher and my dad was a vet. Though I did live at the edge of town and have a corn field in my back yard.”

  “When did you move here?” he asks.

  “I moved here with my aunt and her son when I was thirteen. Well, my mom’s best friend and her son. I still live with them. This is her bar,” I tell him. Jesus Ellie, stop talking.

  He looked a little confused and just as he was getting ready to respond, the guy Amy was flirting with walked up to the bar. Ryder Kinick. Why was he in here anyways? We never got celebrities. It was just a neighborhood bar; we only really get the regulars.

  “Hey,” he said, “I was wondering where you went.”

  Just as I was trying to figure out what he was talking about, the cute stranger at the bar answered him. “I was just getting another drink and talking to….”

  “Ellie” I tell him.

  “Hi Ellie, I’m Camden and my friend here is…”

  “Ryder Kinick,” I say.

  “Oh, so you’ve heard of me?” he asks with a smirk and a wink.

  “Everyone has, you’ve been all over the papers today,” I say. With that comment, his smile drops.

  “Just a misunderstanding,” he assures me.

  “Is this the girl you found for me?” he asks Camden.

  What’s this guy talking about? Was Camden just interviewing me for a night with the “Ryder Kinick”? What kind of girl does he think I am?

  “Excuse me?” I say glaring at Camden. “What do I look like some groupie who will just jump in bed with any famous rock star?” I say as I can feel the tears in my eyes.

  “N-no,” he stutters, “it isn’t like that. That isn’t what he meant.” Then turning to Ryder, he says, “No, I don’t think that she can help us.”

  “Help you with what?” I snap at him.

  Then Ryder answers, “My manager and my personal assistant here, seem to think that I have a bit of a PR issue.” he rolls his grey eyes, “They think I need to been seen with a good girl to prove that I’m capable of settling down and all that bullshit. Blah blah blah. I need a girl who can go on tour and be in a few pictures with me acting like a stupid, sappy couple, in love. You are cute and you look sweet too, would you wanna be my girl?”

  How dare this jerk just assume that I have nothing better to do than follow him around on tour and get my picture taken, like some trophy girlfriend. I, unlike him have to work very hard just to help put food on the table and help pay for this bar. Then I think about it, this guy has lots of money to burn, which was obvious when he started buying shots for all the groupies at his table. He wants a favor and I need money. I look down and start to bite my lip and contemplate if I’m really willing to do this. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a picture of Jackson behind the bar and think about everything he has been though in the last few months and I have my answer.

  Chapter 4

  Camden

  What an asshole, this was a mistake. I can’t really do this to a nice, sweet girl like Ellie. She really is cute with her long blonde hair up in one of those messy ponytails that are so sexy, big green eyes, nice curves and legs that never seem to end. Though, I look at her standing there looking down and biting her lip and I think, she’s exactly what I need. Wait, I mean exactly what we need to fix his image. She’s sweet and just by looking at her I can tell she’s innocent. Just the thought of someone thinking she could be a slut had her almost in tears. I start to tell her to just ignore him when she looks up.

  “$20,000,” she mummers.

  “What?” we both reply, shocked.

  “$20,000 and I will be your girlfriend,” she says a little more confidently. “I mean, pretend girlfriend,” she adds.

  “Why would a girl like you want to follow around a bunch of rowdy rock stars?” I ask her.

  “You need a girl like me and I need money. The reason doesn’t matter. Do you want me or not?” she asks looking at Ryder, trying to feign confidence.

  “Well, sweet usually isn’t my thing, but I could make an exception for a night with you.” Ryder says and I want to hit him. I have the intense urge to defend this girl from him. I’ve never felt protective of a girl that he flirted with before, why was she any different. Maybe because this wasn’t the usual girl and she just seemed to need protection.

  “Let’s get one thing straight right now,” she demands, “if I do this, no more inappropriate comments, no touching, no flirting and no sex, and this is only for one month. I’m going to be your pretend girlfriend, not some slut you can pay to follow you around and have sex with you.”

  Ryder’s mouth dropped open and I smirked. Why was I worried about this girl? For being so sweet and innocent, it seems she can handle herself just fine.

  “I need you for two months,” I say. “I mean, we need you for two months.”

  “Fine, just let me know where to go and when,” she says as she writes her number down. I grab it before Ryder has a chance. No way is he getting this number. I look over at him and see him wink at her. What the hell have I gotten her into?

  Chapter 5

  Elaina

  What the hell have I gotten myself into? I can’t leave Karen and Jackson behind, they need me, though this money would be enough to pay a good chunk of the loan and hospital bills. I need to talk to Karen and figure this out. She’ll know what to do.

  I chat with Ryder and Camden some more about the tour and say goodbye to them and they head out to arrange for me to join them. Amy agrees to close up without me, so I can go home and talk to Karen, since I wasn’t originally scheduled today. I’m just glad she doesn’t know about what Ryder asked me to do, or I would never get out of here with all the questions she would have for me.

  “Hey, how was work today?” Karen asks from the kitchen table, as I walk in the door.

  “Good,” I say as I kick off my shoes and go into the kitchen to find a snack. “Ryder Kinick came in today.”

  “Oh, I’m glad you had a good….Wait, what? Ryder Kinick was in the bar? Tonight? And you didn’t give me a call to let me know, so I could come in a stalk him?”

  “He is just a person. Why is everyone freaking out over him? Besides, you were spending time with Jackson. I haven‘t talked to you much this weekend. How was Jackson‘s appointment on Friday?” I ask her trying to change the subject. We both sit at the table. She usually stays up on the nights that she doesn’t work, until I get home and chats with me at least a little while before going to bed.

  “Good, he is making progress. Ugh, they asked about payment as I was leaving though,” she sighs. “I’m sorry; I shouldn’t be burdening you with this.”

  Now, I know
I need to go with Camden and Ryder, for Karen. I hate to see her struggling like this. “Okay, I’m not really sure how to say this, but I have a solution that will pay for the hospital bills. Tonight when Ryder was in the bar, he kind of asked me to do something for him and agreed to give me a lot of money.”

  “He what?” she yelled, “I know I should have believed those rumors about him, I bet they are all true.”

  “No, no, it isn’t like that,” I reassure her. “I met his personal assistant and they are having some trouble with his image after the incident at the bar last night, and they need him to be seen with a nice, sweet girl for a while to show that he can change his ways.”

  “Oh really, that could be interesting. She still looked a little skeptical. “So you would just go out to dinner a few times while he is in town? You really are the perfect girl for something like this, nothing like the trash he is usually photographed with.”

  “Um, no actually,” I say playing with a string on my dress, trying to avoid her penetrating eyes, “they need me to travel with them for a few months, so it can be more believable.”

  “You what? You can’t go on tour with a bunch of drugged up rock stars.”

  “Um actually, I just read an article that said that Ryder is very anti-drug after watching his parents struggle with addiction, he doesn’t allow anyone in the band or crew to use drugs.”