Elizabeth tried to tell him he hadn’t, but Darcy wouldn’t let her. “I’m quite sure I did. But I hope you are clear on it now?”
Elizabeth nodded and kissed him again. They exchanged words of love, and Darcy got up, saying he would leave her alone to make her call, and went to his studio.
By the time Elizabeth was done talking to her mother, she wasn’t sure if she shared Darcy’s affection for her parents. Elizabeth couldn’t believe how mercenary her mother could be, and it was a relief when her father took the phone.
“Hello, pumpkin,” he said calmly. “What is all this I hear about you and the big-shot rock star?”
Elizabeth smiled. Most other people would be offended, but she recognized her father’s dry sense of humor. “He’s made me his love slave,” she answered casually.
“Very good,” he replied. “Tell me, is being a love slave to a rock star a well-paid position?”
Elizabeth laughed. “You know, I think there might just be a ‘room and board’ clause to this. I’ll have to check on that.”
“Lizzy?” His voice had turned serious. “Are you sure you are making the right decision?”
Elizabeth was touched. This was how she knew that under all his bluff, he loved her dearly. “I am, Dad. He’s wonderful. I know this seemed to happen quickly, but it’s actually been building for a while and I’ve never been so happy in my life,” she told him confidently. “Listen, we’re all off next Sunday, maybe we could come up for dinner and you can give him a hard time.”
“Oh, no! The man is taking one of my daughters off my hands. I’m not going to give him a hard time. He might send you back!”
Elizabeth giggled.
“But it would be nice to spend a bit more time with the man. Perhaps Jane could bring her Romeo too?”
“I think that could be arranged,” Elizabeth replied, pleased.
“Very good, Lizzy, your mother just passed me a note that says ‘Tell Lizzy to call Alex.’ Well, now you have been told.”
“I have; thank Mom for me.”
“Take care of yourself, Lizzy.” His voice had a note of tenderness. “I’ve missed you around here. The house has suddenly gotten very quiet.”
“I will, Daddy. I love you.”
“All right. I’ll see you next week. Bye, Lizzy.”
Elizabeth turned off the phone and sat still for a moment, staring out the window at the trees. She had always been her father’s favorite but had never realized how painful her leaving would be to him. She resolved to be more faithful in her phone calls to him, even if it meant she would have to listen to her mother’s silliness.
With a shrug she turned to the phone and dialed Alex’s number. He answered with a doubtful, “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me. Mom said you called?”
“Lizzy? Where are you calling from? I thought you’d be back home by now.”
“Oh, that,” she grinned. “Slight change in plans. I’m at Darcy’s.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, I ran into him at Tanglewood and we talked and, well, here I am.” Elizabeth looked up to see Darcy coming up the short flight of steps from the studio, his mother’s guitar in his hands. She flashed him a bright smile and a wink.
“So now you’re fucking him, you mean?”
“What?”
“Oh, please, Lizzy. I’ve seen the way you two have been staring at each other for the whole tour.” His tone was ugly. “I’m just surprised you were willing to take him back after the VMAs. He must be damn good.”
“How. Dare. You.” Elizabeth was shocked and revolted. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
Silence was her only answer. Elizabeth was about to hang up when Alex said in a low voice, “I’m sorry, Lizzy. I just hate to see him treat you like that.”
“Alex, you have no idea how he treats me or what’s going on between us, and frankly, it’s none of your business.”
“Elizabeth, if it affects you or the band, it’s my business. That’s a manager’s job: keeping his band together. And frankly, I don’t like what that man and his friends have been doing to you.”
Elizabeth wished then that she had never said anything about Darcy to the others. She could see for herself how dubious her admission of love must look to the others, especially after she had been so vehement in her disdain for him. “Look, Alex, I’m sorry you don’t like him, but the fact of the matter is we are now a package deal. You want to deal with me, you deal with him.” Her nerve broke and her voice softened. “I don’t want to fight about this, Alex. I want you to be happy for me.”
Again, there was a long pause. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll be happy for you, Lizzy. And if you’re wrong, and I’m right, I’ll be there for you too.”
“I’m not wrong, Alex. Trust me.”
“All right. I just called to see how you were, Lizzy. Are you all set for Tuesday?”
“Yes, I’ll meet you at the airport.”
“You have all the details for that?”
“It’s on my email.”
“Good. I’ll see you then. Take care, baby girl.”
“Bye,” she whispered. He hadn’t called her that in a year and the words still had power over her.
Elizabeth looked up to see that Darcy was gone. She frowned and went to the bedroom, following the sound of furious strumming. She found Darcy sitting on a chair in his room, playing angrily.
Elizabeth crossed the large room to him and stopped his hands with her own. She looked at him, questioning him.
Darcy put the guitar down on a table next to him carefully and then turned to Elizabeth. “What is he to you?” he asked in a low, deliberate voice.
Elizabeth felt her mouth go dry. “He’s my manager. Nothing more.”
Darcy shook his head and waited, his eyes staring into hers.
“Does it show?” Elizabeth asked uncomfortably, realizing she needed to tell him; she owed him that.
Darcy shook his head. “Not on your side. But looking at him? Hell, yeah. There’s clearly some history between you.” He sighed and dropped his shoulders. “Elizabeth?” he asked.
She held up a hand in defeat and nodded. “Okay. It’s just, um, I’m not… It’s not a pretty story and I’m going to need your help telling it.”
Without another word, Darcy stood and took her into his arms. She held him tightly, anchoring herself in his embrace. A few moments later found them stretched out on the bed together.
“It happened a long time ago. I was seventeen and had just graduated from high school. We were very busy that summer, mostly because for the first time I could work past eleven o’clock.” She laughed lightly. “But we were traveling around the area, playing everywhere and starting to take off as a band.”
“I found myself wanting a boyfriend. Both Jane and Charlotte had serious relationships with guys and I was kind of feeling left out, so I started paying attention to Alex. He was older, and not bad looking, and, well, there.” She looked down and moved her hair out of her face. “I didn’t know that I could be attractive to a man. I was used to being compared to Jane and ignored, and I didn’t know that I could affect someone.
“So when I started flirting with Alex, I got really excited when he started flirting back. Looking at it now, I can see that most men would have trouble resisting a horny seventeen-year-old girl, but then I thought I was plain and unsexy.” She looked at him unhappily and Darcy kissed her lightly, encouraging her to go on.
“I don’t know what more there is to say. I started kissing him, and that felt good, so I started petting with him, and that felt good, and before I knew it, we were having sex.”
“Do you feel bad about that?” Darcy asked gently.
“No, well, in a way.” She shook her head. “I wished I had really been in love.”
“Weren’t you?”
“No. I thought I was, but I wasn’t,” she sighed. “September came and I started college, and between school, rehearsals, and work, something had to give, and that was Alex.” She shrugged. “I realized in November that we hadn’t had sex in over a month and that I didn’t miss him. That was when I knew I didn’t love him. I found out soon afterward that he had moved on. While that hurt, I couldn’t blame him.”