Stone Cold Notes: A Rock Star Romance (The Seasons Change)
Stone Cold Notes: Chapter 15

AUNTIE JACKIE OPENED HER DOOR WITH A BIG, white smile on her face. “Hey, Mama. Come in here. Ezra just kicked my butt at Candy Land.”

I shook my head and followed her into her house, which was a mirror image to Jenny’s next door. “He’s a regular Candy Land shark, is what he is. He pretends he’s never played, then cleans the floor with you.”

Jackie was a pretty, statuesque Black woman in her forties. Single, with no kids, she worked from home for a private investigation firm doing background research and other fun stuff she wouldn’t tell me. She’d moved in next to Jenny and me about a year after I did and had been a second aunt to me and Ezra.

“Hi, Mommy!” Ezra popped up from the floor with his arms straight out. I picked him up, giving him a squeeze and kisses on his cheek. Thank god it was Friday. I had missed this delicious kid all week.

“Hi, baby buddy. How was your day?”

“I made a dino and ate cakes for snack.”

I reared back and scrunched my nose. “Cake for snack?” Ezra’s preschool was liberal, but not that liberal. I didn’t necessarily object to cake for a snack, but I’d be surprised if that was what he’d actually eaten.

Jackie picked up his backpack from the floor. “I didn’t quite buy that story either, so I checked his daily report. Our boy had rice cakes for snack.”

“Oooh, yeah, that makes a lot more sense.” Laughing, I took his backpack from her. “Thank you for picking him up last minute today. I really appreciate it.”

Jenny normally picked Ezra up from his preschool slash daycare since she got off work a lot earlier than I did, but she’d been detained by a last-minute meeting. All it took was one frantic text to Jackie, and she jumped at the chance to grab Ez for me, like always.

She waved me off. “You know it’s always my pleasure. If I didn’t take a break to spend time with my favorite boy, I’d be libel to become surgically attached to my laptop.”

Ezra gave her a hug before bounding out the door to our house next door. As I unlocked our front door, the sensation of being watched prickled the back of my neck. I rubbed my nape and let the feeling wash over me. I was probably crazy, but I kind of found it comforting.

Ezra and I had a quiet dinner, just the two of us. He made a mess of his noodles, getting sauce all over his face and bare chest—we didn’t do shirts on spaghetti nights. I soaked up his voice and his presence. Working full time and seeing him less had been an adjustment for me. I was getting used to it, but that didn’t mean I liked it.

“I have three new friends, Mommy,” he said suddenly.

“Oh yeah? What are their names?” I put my fork down and listened to him.

“I like Vicky, Seamus, and Javi.”

I nodded. “Oh, those are nice names.”

He nodded back, his little stained-orange face serious. “Do you have any friends, Mommy?”

“Oh gosh, I don’t know if I have as many as you. Let me think.” I tapped my chin, legitimately racking my brain. Friends weren’t something I had in abundance, but I didn’t want my kid to think his mom was a total loser. “Well, I have a new friend named Natalie. And…um…I have a friend named Callum too. Obviously you’re my best friend.”

He cackled, like me calling him my bestie was ridiculous. “I’m your baby buddy!”

“That’s true. Silly me.”

Jenny arrived home as I was getting Ezra into his pj’s. She laid in his bed with us while we read stories and kissed his forehead good night after I did. He normally zonked right out after a long day at school, so he didn’t protest when I turned out his light and closed his door.

She followed me into my bedroom and perched on my bed while I scrambled to get ready to go out with Natalie and the girls.

“Long day?” I asked when she sighed.

“The longest. I’m looking forward to a glass of wine and some Netflix.” She shook her head when I held up a cardigan. “You can’t go out looking like a mom, honey.”

“But I am a mom. Besides, it’s not like I’m looking for a man tonight.”

“That may be true, but you don’t want to show up looking all dowdy to hang out with girls who undoubtedly are going to put in some effort. Why don’t you wear that dress you wore to the party a couple weeks ago?”

With no time to go through my meager closet, I tossed the dress on the bed and vaulted into my shower. I spent five minutes under the spray, leaving my hair dry since it was in good shape, and honestly, doing it was a little too much effort. I really didn’t know how my planned shopping trip with Natalie had become Friday night drinks, but here we were. I’d rather be curling up with a glass of wine next to Jenny, but that was all the more reason for me to go out. I couldn’t spend my life hiding and afraid of social situations.

Jenny was still on my bed when I came out. “Are you sure you don’t mind me going out two nights in a row?”

“Not even a little. It’s not like hanging out in my own house while Ezra is sleeping is a huge burden. I love that you’re going out and getting a life. It thrills me.”

I slipped my dress over my head and fluffed my hair. My makeup consisted of a swipe of mascara on my blonde lashes, a little eyebrow powder, and raspberry lipstick.

“Speaking of the life you’re getting,” she held my phone out to me, “you have a text from a man. The man, if I’m not mistaken.”

“There’s no other man.”

Callum had found me in the coffee shop three times this week and we’d texted every night before bed. I was practically vibrating with anticipation for tomorrow night.

Callum: Be good tonight. I’m on my way to dinner. Thinking of you always.

Me: I’m thinking of you too. I’ll see you tomorrow. Have fun!!

Grinning to myself, I set my phone down and slid a pair of hoops in my ears. While I was at drinks tonight, Callum was going to dinner with the rest of The Seasons Change to celebrate finishing their album.

My phone started ringing just as I secured the back on the second hoop. Callum was calling.

“Hello?”

“Little Bird,” he breathed. “Are you mad?”

My eyes flicked to my reflection. “No. Why would I be?”

He exhaled in my ear. “Where were my hugs and kisses then?”

It took me a second to understand what he was asking, then it dawned on me. I hadn’t typed ‘xoxo.’

“That wasn’t on purpose. I’m rushing to get ready. Jenny told me to wear the dress I wore to Benson’s party.”

There was a pause, then another exhale. “You looked fuckin’ delectable in that dress. I’m jealous of everyone who’s gonna see you tonight. But I know you’ll be a good girl. You always are.”

My teeth dug into my bottom lip. My stomach flipped. God, this man was something else. He had a bead on the exact kind of thing to say to make me melt into a puddle for him.

“For you I am,” I replied.

“Wren.” My name sounded like a sigh. “I gotta go before I decide to say fuck everything and come get you. I just needed to make sure I didn’t fuck up.”

“You didn’t. I promise. Have fun, Callum.”

“Good night, baby.”

As soon as he hung up, I texted him.

Me: Xoxo!

Callum: That’s a lot better. I’ll talk to you later, Wren. x

“Oh, babe, you’ve got it bad. Look at your smile,” Jenny teased.

“I know, right?” Ignoring my fluttering heart and warm cheeks, I tucked my phone and lipstick into a small purse. “I’m really trying to take it slow with him, but he’s just so…he’s Callum.”

She snorted a laugh. “I get it. I’ve heard enough about him over the years to completely understand.”

I sucked in a deep breath and smoothed a hand over my stomach. “Shit, I have to go.”

“Go, go. Have fun. And don’t worry about a single thing.”

The bar where I was meeting Natalie, Marissa, and Adelaide was in the next neighborhood over from mine, a part of Queens that was becoming more and more gentrified by the minute. To my surprise, though, Natalie had chosen a low-key dive that wasn’t packed with dude bros in ill-fitting suits. Some of the people inside actually looked like they might live in the area and hadn’t been imported from Manhattan.

The four of us ended up tucked in a booth, sharing a pitcher of margaritas. I was sipping mine slowly since two drinks was my limit. No one wanted to deal with a hangover while chasing around a three-year-old.

Natalie was sharing my life story with Marissa and Adelaide while I listened, wondering how she knew so much about me. “So, Wren over here has a son. She’s a single mommy, y’all. The dad’s out of the picture, which, good riddance, I say. If he didn’t scoop you up when he knocked you up, he obviously has a brain the size of a shriveled walnut.”

Marissa, a production assistant in engineering I’d only said hi to in passing up until tonight, rolled her eyes. “My god, men are stupid. Does he at least pay support?”

I held my oversized glass up so it covered half my face. This wasn’t my favorite topic. “A little, but I’m fine doing it on my own.”

She flipped her long black hair. “Honestly, better to be on your own than putting up with an idiot for the rest of your kid’s life.” Her eyes widened. “Did I tell you I caught David texting his ex even though he’d promised he’d blocked her? That motherfucker.”

Marissa and Natalie started going off on David, who I gleaned through context clues was Marissa’s boyfriend, not that either of them bothered to tell me. The girl across from me, Adelaide, seemed just as lost. Her eyes widened, and she flashed me a cheeky sort of grin that put me at ease instantly.

She tapped my hand. “Want to go play darts? I’m absolutely terrible at it.”

“Sure.” Relief swept through me. A break from Natalie and Marissa was exactly what I needed. “I might be worse, though.”

“That sounds like a challenge.”

We took our drinks to the back of the bar where there was a free dartboard. Adelaide probably had the advantage since she was about a foot taller than me, with long, graceful arms, but I wasn’t much for competition anyway.

“Are you good friends with Natalie?” she asked.

“Friends? Um…I wouldn’t call us that. You?”

She snorted as she lined up her shot. “She accosted me in the hall and insisted I come tonight. She said you were lonely and needed friends.” Her dart landed in the wall next to the board.

My face flamed. “Me? What?” That was…not entirely inaccurate. But fuck Natalie. Jeez, where did that woman get off?

Her hazel eyes slid to mine. “Yeah, dude. I only came because you seem nice when I pass you every day and I didn’t want to leave you alone with her and Marissa.”

I laughed even though I was still a little confused. “Thanks? I feel like I owe you a life debt.”

She shrugged. “It’s cool. I didn’t have anything better to do. Natalie’s daddy is loaded, so she always pays for drinks.”

“Oh. Is her dad in the music business?”

Adelaide burst out laughing. It was deep and throaty, unapologetically turning heads. “Oh no, dude. Not her dad. Her daddy. As in, she’s taken care of by an older gentleman. She’s a kept woman. You know?”

“Uh, yeah. I think I do. That’s…” My picture of Natalie was becoming more and more clear, yet even more confusing. That was just Natalie in a nutshell.

Adelaide threw another wild shot, then raised her eyebrow. “Not surprising, right? Don’t worry, I’m not gossiping. Everyone knows, which is why I thought you knew too. Nat is proud of her crusty old man lover.”

I choked on my margarita. This girl was something else. She was tall, thin, and stunning, with the mouth of a frat boy. She seemed genuine too. Like she gave no fucks what people thought of her.

My attention was pulled from her when, out the corner of my eye, a light overhead caught on a diamond earring. I turned, dread pooling in my stomach. Edwin Cruz had just sat down at a table full of his buddies, and I seemed to have caught his eye too, gauging by his slow, oily smirk.

“Oh god,” I groaned and shuffled so I was behind Adelaide. “Hide me please.”

“What? Who are we hiding from?”

“This awful guy from my neighborhood who thinks no means try harder. He’s the one with the sharp edges and big, gaudy diamond in his ear at the table near the bathroom.” Describing him made me shudder and get a creepy-crawly feeling down my back.

Adelaide subtly pretended to stretch so she could peer over her shoulder to check him out. “Oh, gag. He’s way too pretty. You know he takes more time getting ready than any woman. Bleh.” She looped her arm through mine. “Let’s go to the bar so he can’t see you because mister mans is about to break his neck trying to check out your tits right now.”

There was more of a crowd around the bar area than there had been when I first got here. The pair of us tucked ourselves in between two groups. Adelaide’s head peeked out over the top of almost everyone else, but I was pretty well hidden.

We stayed there for a while, yelling in each other’s ears to be heard over the conversations flowing around us. Natalie swung by with another round of margaritas for us, then told us not to come back to the table because she and Marissa had invited some ‘cute boys’ to sit with them.

Adelaide held up her drink. “Once I finish this, I’m out. You too?”

“Absolutely.” She was good company, but I was pretty much done socializing for the night.

“You probably get up early with your kid, huh?”

I nodded. “Yep. Pretty early.”

She poked her lip out. “Bummer. Well, if you ever go to a playground at a reasonable time, text me. I don’t get to swing as much as I’d like since an adult hanging around playgrounds without a kid gets side-eyed.”

I snorted into my drink again. Meeting Adelaide tonight made all the awkwardness with Natalie and Marissa worth it.

I took a long swallow of my margarita while Adelaide started talking to the group of girls behind her about…well, something. I couldn’t quite hear over the rising din of conversation and music clouding the air.

Someone grazed my back, bumping me forward. I leaned my elbows on the bar to get out of their way and set my glass down. I took a deep breath and froze. My nose and throat were coated with cloying, heavy cologne so familiar to me, I didn’t even have to look to know who’d sidled up beside me.

Edwin brushed my hair aside and placed his lips right next to my ear. “Hey, mami. What are you doing here?”

“I’m leaving, actually. Sorry.” Shit, I had to stop apologizing!

“Come on.” He gripped the back of my elbow. “Stay. I never get to talk to you.”

His lips grazed my ear, and my stomach lurched. I really didn’t like this man.

“Back up please.” I hated that I couldn’t make myself sound more forceful. I felt it. In my head, I was wielding a sword and shield, releasing a battle cry that put dread in my enemies.

“Aw, mami.” His hand slid from my arm to my back, tracing down my spine. “We could be good friends. The best friends. I don’t know why you keep being so stuck up. I’m a good guy. I’ll take care of you…in every way.”

I’d had enough. His rape-y flirtation had been going on for two long years. It didn’t seem to matter how many times I turned him down. He wasn’t getting it, or he chose not to.

“You don’t even know me,” I said.

His head cocked. He hadn’t heard that from me before. “I know all about you. You’re sweet and shy. Some men might be turned off by that, but I think it’s sexy as hell.”

“What’s my son’s name?”

That seemed to stump him, but not for long. “Details, baby. I’ll get to know him in time. He needs a man around the house to show him things.”

His hand inched lower and lower until he was fully palming my ass. Bile rose in my throat, and I lurched sideways to escape him, but he only pressed closer, trapping me against the bar.

“Oh yeah, that’s nice. Nice and thick,” he purred like a fucking lecherous cat.

I shoved at his arm and whispered for him to stop, but he was enjoying taking liberties with my body too much to even give one iota of a damn about my reaction.

Suddenly, Edwin’s head was slammed down on the bar beside me. A massive hand gripped the back of his neck, holding him immobilized.

It happened so fast, I whipped around to face the attacker, and the air was sucked from my lungs. Callum’s face was etched in fury, the razor-sharp planes of his jaw and cheeks strained, his eyes narrowed into angry slits. His wrath wasn’t aimed at me, but I staggered back anyway, my spine colliding with the bar.

“Don’t touch her,” Callum gritted.

Edwin’s arm flailed, harmlessly bouncing off Callum. He changed tactics, clawing at the hand holding his nape like a vise. “Man, get off me. I’ll kill you!”

“You don’t get to touch her.” He bent over Edwin and drove his elbow deep into his spine. “You won’t have hands if I ever see you try to put them on her. You won’t have legs if you ever try to walk close to her. I will feed your tongue to the feral cats who live in my alley if I catch you talkin’ to her. You hear me?”

“You’re crazy!” Edwin screamed. “Get the fuck off me. I don’t want that bitch.”

The people around us were watching, but no one was stepping in. They were eating up the drama instead. From the corner of my eye, I saw one camera pointed at them, but there had to be more. I just couldn’t bring myself to look away from my furious man to replace out.

Adelaide reached for me, to pull me from the fray, but I shook my head. I wasn’t leaving Callum, even if he looked like he could tear the bar apart with his bare hands.

“She doesn’t want you,” Callum gritted out. “You see her, you turn the other way. Do. You. Hear. Me?”

Edwin’s face had turned puce. He was bucking viciously under Callum’s iron hold. I thought he was going to fight him or deny Callum’s demand, but slowly, his arms slackened and he started to sag into the bar.

“I hear you, asshole,” he muttered through a tightly clenched jaw. “Get the fuck off me. I hear you!”

With one last shove into the hard surface of the bar, Callum straightened and took a step back. Edwin immediately flipped around, hatred pouring from his black gaze. He stayed slumped back over the bar, scrubbing his flaming red face with his hand. Callum loomed over him as he rolled his shoulders and smoothed a hand over his hair, appearing completely unthreatened by the man shooting eye daggers at him.

A whimper climbed up my throat. Callum’s head jerked, and his eyes landed on mine. They were icy blue, colder than I’d ever seen, but he still looked like a life raft, even if he was made of stone. I lunged for him. Not on purpose, but because my legs weren’t working properly. He caught me easily in one arm, pressing me tightly to his side.

He didn’t speak or assure me everything was going to be okay. Vibrations rocked his muscles, but his hands were gentle where they touched me, soothing caresses up and down my arm and over my shoulder. It sort of felt like I should have been comforting him, but right now, he seemed untouchable.

Just as he started for the exit, Callum pushed me into the random bodies surrounding us and whipped around. Edwin charged him, growling with rage. He was nearly a foot shorter than Callum. If the situation were less fraught, I might have laughed. But Edwin had anger powering him and surprise on his side. He collided with Callum, wrapping his arms around his middle, and they both went crashing to the ground.

It was over in seconds. Callum rolled and locked his arm around Edwin’s throat. He whispered in Edwin’s ear with a dangerous gleam in his eye. Defeat filtered through Edwin’s limbs. Again, he slackened, training his gaze on the ceiling, most likely so he didn’t have to face everyone who’d watched him get taken down for the second time in minutes.

Callum shoved him away and hopped to his feet with more grace than he had any right to with his impossibly long limbs. Standing over Edwin’s prone form, he held his hand out to me, and I took it. I thought I heard Adelaide calling my name, but Callum swept me out of the bar before I could replace my bearings or even think to turn around to tell her I was okay.

An SUV was waiting for us out front. Callum bundled me inside, following right behind me and slamming the door. The driver took off, putting distance between us and the bar. My hands were clutched in my lap, twisting the material of my dress. I was shivering so hard, my teeth clacked together.

“My coat.” I turned around, staring out the back window. “I don’t have my coat. We should go back. I have to have my coat.”

Callum wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his lap. Fingers stroked my hair, soothing and soft, until I tucked myself under his chin. Obviously, we weren’t going back. That had been stupid to suggest. Maybe I was in shock. I certainly didn’t feel normal.

“People were filming you,” I whispered.

“I’ll deal with it,” he murmured.

“I didn’t want him to touch me.”

His lips touched my crown. “I know.”

“Am I going home?”

“No.”

“Are you mad at me?”

“No.”

“Do you need a minute?”

“Please.”

Because I needed a minute too, I gave it to him. We rode in silence. Callum’s rhythmic stroking of my hair calmed my thrashing heart. His quiet breathing helped to bring my thoughts back in order. By the time his driver stopped at the curb outside his building, I had mostly calmed down. Well…I wasn’t on the verge of a panic attack anymore, at least.

He held me close through the lobby and inside the elevator. I willed him to speak. To tell me why he’d shown up tonight and what he’d seen before he went ballistic. He said he knew I didn’t want Edwin touching me, but was he being truthful? God, why did his silence make me feel like I’d done something wrong?

We stepped into his apartment, and Callum leaned his back on the door. Head tipped back, eyes closed, he exhaled a long, heavy breath. I kept twisting my dress on my fingers, watching him, unsure what to do or say.

“Please, Callum,” I pleaded.

His fingers clenched into fists at his sides. Eyes flying open, they locked on mine. Chest heaving, he took a great breath.

And then he came for me.